Foster Care

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 resuming in-person requirements for RFA complaint investigations

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In ACL 20-43, summarized here, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) provided guidance regarding waiver of in-person various requirements for Resource Family Approval (RFA).  In ACL 20-71, summarized here, extended this waiver for investigation of complaints that do not allege serious health and safety risk. In addition, ACL 20-71 authorized other investigation to continue remotely 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 resource family refuses entry because of their COVID-19 related concerns, or the resource family, child, or someone else in the household is experiencing symptoms of or has tested positive for COVID-19.

CDSS has now extended the waiver in ACL 20-43, as modified in ACL 20-71, for the duration of the Governor’s Declared State of Emergency due to COVID-19, unless further guidance is issued from the Department.  (ACL 20-91, August 7, 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 extension of child care for families at risk

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In All County Welfare Directors Letter May 4, 2020, summarized here, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) implemented extension of child care vouchers under the Foster Care Bridge program that would expire for 60 days because of COVID-19 until June 30, 2020.  CDSS has issued instructions extending this authority until August 4, 2020.  (All County Welfare Directors Letter, June 19, 2020.)

COVID-19 resuming in-person requirements for RFA complaint investigations

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In ACL 20-43, summarized here, the California Department of Social Services provided guidance regarding waiver of in-person various requirements for Resource Family Approval (RFA).  Effective July 1, 2020, all requirements for in person complaint investigations are reinstated.  All other waivers in ACL 20-43 remain in place.

Investigations of complaints that do not alleged serious health and safety risk may continue remotely 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 resource family refuses entry because of their COVID-19 related concerns, or the resource family, 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 20-43 may be used through August 5, 2020.  (ACL 20-71, June 18, 2020.)

COVID-19 financial support for at risk families

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has provided information about financial support for eligible at-risk families with child welfare contact during the COVID-19 state of emergency.  Households are eligible if they meet one of the following criteria with a case open at any time in April, 2020 or a new case opened in May or June, 2020:

  • Households with a Family Maintenance service component without a subsequent entry into Foster Care.
  • Households with an Emergency Response service component without a subsequent entry into Foster Care.
  • Households with a substantiated Emergency Response referral, without an accompanying case opening or entry into Foster Care.
  • Households with an inconclusive Emergency Response referral, without an accompanying case opening or entry into Foster Care, where the Structured Decision Making Risk Assessment was considered high or very high.
  • Probation cases where children or youth were at imminent or serious risk of removal or candidates for foster care.

Eligible households will be issued prepaid cards. The assistance payment will be $200 per month for April, May and June, 2020 or $400 per month for an eligible household with three or more children at risk of entering Foster Care.  Households with cases opened in May will receive the payment for May and June, and households with cases opened in June will receive the payment for June.

These payments will not count as income for CalWORKs or CalFresh.  (ACIN I-44-20, June 1, 2020.)