Foster youth: trauma-informed services.

Assembly Member Jackson's proposal to enhance trauma-informed services for foster youth would require California counties to develop and regularly update comprehensive service plans in collaboration with tribal authorities and interagency leadership teams. The legislation builds upon existing requirements for county memoranda of understanding (MOUs) that coordinate services for foster children who have experienced severe trauma.

Under the proposed changes, counties must submit their initial service plans to the state's joint interagency resolution team by January 1, 2027, with updates required every two years thereafter. These plans must detail how counties will provide coordinated trauma-informed care while incorporating recommendations from the resolution team regarding placement options, therapeutic services, and identified systemic issues. The plans require input from county child welfare, probation, behavioral health, education and developmental services agencies, as well as tribal governments and foster care advocacy groups.

The legislation maintains current confidentiality protections while allowing necessary information sharing between agencies to reduce barriers to services. Counties must consider statewide assessments of placement and service availability when developing local implementation approaches. While establishing these new planning requirements as a state-mandated local program, the bill specifies that counties will not receive additional state funding to fulfill these obligations.