Child Welfare Services

Changes to the Bringing Families Home program

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance regarding changes to the Bringing Families Home Program. Bringing Families Home provides financial assistance and housing support services to families receiving child welfare services, including tribal child welfare services, where the family is experiencing or at risk of homelessness and housing stability will increase family reunification or prevent foster care placement.

For Bringing Families Home, grantees were required to provide dollar-for-dollar matching funds.  That requirement was waived beginning July 1, 2021.  That waiver is extended to June 30, 2025.

The definition of homeless is now expanded to include individuals or families who are fleeing, or is attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other dangerous or life-threatening conditions that relate to violence against the individual, family member, including a child.

The definition of permanent housing is now clarified to be no predetermined time limits on the length of stay at the premises.

CDSS must adopt regulations for the Bringing Families Home program by July 1, 2024.

Technical assistance about the Home Safe program is available to all grantees from CDSS.  (ACL 24-21, March 21, 2024.)

Requirements for truncating Social Security Numbers

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued guidance regarding AB 499 (2020) that requires mailings from state agencies, which includes counties operating state and federal programs on behalf of CDSS, to only include the last four digits of a Social Security Number in outgoing mail.

Effective January 1, 2023, with limited exceptions, state agencies must only include the last four digits of a Social Security Number in outgoing mail.  Computer systems must make changes to implement this requirement.  County processes must be revised to meet this requirement.  Computer systems that must make changes to comply include, but are not limited to, CalSAWS and BenefitsCal, CMIPS, ACMS, EBT, Child Welfare Services/Case Management System, Child Welfare Services CARES, and County Expense Claim Reporting Information System.

If a system is unable to make necessary changes in a reasonable timeframe, the system must implement a workaround to redact or truncate all Social Security Numbers in outgoing mail.

Counties should report any mailings that violate this requirement to CDSS using the breach and incident process.  (ACL 23-17, January 31, 2023.)

Family Urgent Response System for foster caregivers and children or youth

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has issued information regarding Family Urgent Response System for foster caregivers and children or youth (FURS).

FURS is a coordinate statewide, regional and county-level system to provide state-level phone-based response and county-level in-home in-person mobile response during situations of instability for the purpose of preserving the relationship between the caregiver and the child or youth, provide conflict management, and connect the caregiver to local services.

CDSS must establish a state-wide toll free hotline that is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week.  Hotline still will provide de-escalation and conflict management and warm handoff to the County Mobile Response Team where services are needed.

The County Mobile Response Team must be available 24 hours per day, seven days per week, to provide immediate face-to-face in-home response to address instability and preserve the relationship between the caregiver and the child or youth.  Counties must submit a plan to CDSS by November 15, 2020 describing how they will meet the County Mobile Response Team County Mobile Response Team requirements.  (ACL 20-89, August 6, 2020.)

COVID-19 extension of child welfare caseworker visits by alternative means

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has informed counties of extensions of various COVID-19 policies for child welfare services caseworker visits. ACIN I-33-20, summarized here, about monthly caseworker visits using alternative contact methods is extended until the end of the COVID-19 State of Emergency.  (ACL 20-73, June 26, 2020.)

COVID-19 extension of various foster care and child welfare changes

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has informed counties of extensions of various COVID-19 policies for foster care and child welfare services.  The following guidance is extended until the end of the COVID-19 State of Emergency:  ACL 20-33, summarized here, about placement preservation in the event of exposure to, symptoms of or a positive test for COVID-19, and ACL 20-58, child welfare reassessments during the COVID-19 State of Emergency.

The following guidance is extended through August 4, 2020: ACIN I-32-20, summarized here, verification of foster care status for cell phone access.  ACL 20-74 (June 26, 2020).

COVID-19 resuming in-person visitation for dependent children and wards

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In ACL 20-25, summarized here, the California Department of Social Services provided guidance regarding waiver of in-person monthly caseworker visits for dependent children and wards.  County child welfare agencies and juvenile probation departments are to resume requirements in-person visits for children, wards and nonminor dependents effective July 1, 2020.

Before conducting an in-person visit, county staff should screen for COVID-19.  If someone in the household has been exposed to COVID-19 or is experiencing symptoms, the caseworker should obtain essential protective gear (gloves, face covering, hand soap, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant) before the in-person visit.

Visits may be conducted by videoconference on a case-by-case basis, if the state, county, or local public health department provides direction and/or shifts back to Stage 1, the family or caregiver refuses entry because of their COVID-19 related concerns, or the family, caregiver, child, or someone else in the household is experiencing symptoms of or has tested positive for COVID-19.  If in-person contact is not possible because of one of these exceptions, the flexibilities in ACL 20-25 may be used through August 14, 2020.  (ACL 20-70, June 17, 2020.)