California Children’s Services Program: county designation.

Assembly Member Hadwick's proposal to modify California Children's Services (CCS) program administration creates new options for the state's smallest counties while preserving core program functions. The legislation permits counties with populations under 2,000 to designate another county to administer their CCS program, provided both counties agree to the arrangement and neither participates in the Whole Child Model program.

The Department of Health Care Services must establish regulations for these county-to-county administrative agreements, though it may initially implement the changes through provider bulletins and written guidelines. The bill maintains existing requirements for larger counties, with those over 200,000 residents continuing to administer their programs independently while counties between 2,000 and 200,000 residents retain the option to operate independently or jointly with the department.

For counties transitioning to the Whole Child Model, the legislation delineates responsibilities between county agencies and Medi-Cal managed care plans. While these plans assume case management, care coordination, and service authorization duties for enrolled beneficiaries, county agencies retain authority over program eligibility determinations. The CCS Medical Therapy Program continues to provide occupational and physical therapy services under existing protocols.