California Children’s Services Program: county designation.

Assembly Member Hadwick's proposal to modify California's Children's Services (CCS) Program would allow counties with populations under 2,000 to designate another county to administer their CCS services, provided both counties agree to the arrangement and meet specific requirements. Under current law, counties must administer these services independently or jointly with the state Department of Health Care Services, depending on their population size.

The designation option would only be available when both the originating and designated counties are not part of the Whole Child Model program under Medi-Cal, and the designated county meets CCS standards established by the Director of Health Care Services. This change adds to existing provisions that allow counties under 200,000 residents to choose between independent or joint administration with the state, while requiring counties over 200,000 to administer their programs independently.

The CCS program continues to provide medically necessary services to eligible residents under age 21 with qualifying medical conditions such as cystic fibrosis and hemophilia. County boards of supervisors retain their authority to designate either their public health department or social welfare department as the primary administrator for the program, maintaining local oversight of these essential health services.