Implementing a new provision that reunification services need not be provided to a parent or guardian when the court finds that the parent or guardian has been required by the court to be registered on a sex offender registry. The Notice also transmits the instructions for new requirements regarding county child welfare services trainings. [Download]
Summaries of select CalWORKs, CalFresh, Health and Housing Regulations
Foster Care
ACL 13-36: Complete, Accurate, And Timely Adoption And Foster Care Analysis And Reporting System (AFCARS) Data Entry And Updates To The Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS) (7/18/13)
The how-to’s of recording complete, accurate, and timely case information updates into the CWS/CMS, in order to meet required Child Welfare Services Program documentation, data reporting, and program performance measurements. The feds had found that California not in substantial compliance in this area. [Download]
ACL 13-60: 2012 Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Review Results And Findings (7/24/13)
Notice to counties of the upcoming federal review, a review of the prior errors and a note about promising practices. (California was in substantial compliance last go round.) [Download]
DHCS MEDIL No. 13-07: Extension of Former Foster Care Children’s (FFCC) Program
This MEDIL provides guidance to counties on the expansion of the FFCC program to comply with federal law, which requires that, starting January 1, 2014, former foster youth be covered by Medi-Cal up to age 26. DHCS has directed counties to grant an additional six months eligibility minimum for former foster youth set to age out of the FFCC program between July 1, 2013 and December 31, 2103. The letter can be downloaded here.
ACL 13-43: New Roles And Responsibilities In The Specialized Care Rate Program (7/11/13)
Description of the changes in the Specialized Care Rate Program (or Specialized Care Increment), and clarifies roles and responsibilities pursuant to the changes to W&IC section 11461(e)(1). [Download]
ACL 13-04: Notice Of Education Travel Survey Tool (7/1/13)
Federal law provides that foster care case plans includes a plan for ensuring the educational stability of the child, and allows the cost of reasonable travel for the child to remain in the school in which the child is enrolled at the time of placement as an allowable foster care maintenance cost. In ACL 11-51, the CWDA and CDSS agreed to develop a survey tool to capture relevant educational travel data. This ACL transmits a Microsoft Word version of the survey too, and is putting out a request for the provision of information regarding October 2012. [Download]