This ACLs advises county child welfare and probation departments of the requirement to provide notification to relatives of children being placed into out-of-home care. Effective January 1, 2010, social workers and probation officers must exercise due diligence to identify and engage relatives and to provide notice to those relatives when a child is removed from their home. Within 30 days of a child’s removal from the home, the county must conduct an investigation to identify and locate all grandparents, adult siblings and other adult relatives, including those suggested by the parents. Due diligence efforts shall include asking the child in an age-appropriate manner about relatives important to the child and obtaining information regarding the location of the child’s adult relatives. Parents are required to disclose to the social worker the names, addresses and any known identifying information of any maternal or paternal relatives of the child. There is preferential consideration for placement is given to an adult who is a grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling of the child, and DV exceptions to the notice requirement. The letter also sets out the requirements for the content of the notice, and special facts for probation cases. [Download]
Summaries of select CalWORKs, CalFresh, Health and Housing Regulations