Juveniles: family finding.

This bill would authorize a county child welfare agency or probation department to conduct family finding and engagement activities prior to the removal of a child from parental custody, as specified.

(2) Existing law establishes various public social services programs to provide for protection, care, and assistance to the people of the state in need of those services. Existing law, in this regard, and with some exceptions, requires all applications and records concerning any individual made or kept by any public officer or agency in connection with the administration of public social services for which grants-in-aid are received by this state from the federal government be kept confidential. Existing law exempts from those confidentiality provisions the disclosure of information between employees of a county's adult protective services agency and a county's child welfare agency for the purpose of multidisciplinary teamwork in the prevention, intervention, management, or treatment of child abuse or neglect or abuse or neglect of an elder or dependent adult. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly secure or possess a list of persons who have applied for or who have been granted any form of public service in violation of these provisions.

This bill would additionally exempt from these confidentiality provisions information regarding children receiving child welfare services to be disclosed to relatives and nonrelative extended family members without consent if the disclosure is directly connected to the administration of the child welfare program and serves the purpose of identifying placement and support resources for children. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3) Existing law defines "child welfare services" to mean public social services that are directed toward the accomplishment of various purposes, including protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, and includes, among other services, emergency response services and family maintenance services.

This bill would modify the definition of "child welfare services." The bill would require, upon providing child welfare services to a child or family, whether court-ordered or voluntarily accepted, the county child welfare agency or probation department to develop a case plan, as specified. The bill would authorize, as part of the case planning process, a county child welfare agency or probation department to conduct family finding and engagement activities to support the goals identified in the case plan. The bill would define "family finding and engagement" for these purposes. To the extent this bill increases the duties of county welfare agencies or probation departments, this bill imposes a state-mandated local program.

(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.