Youth Services & Family Support

Requires juvenile courts to develop detailed rehabilitation plans focused on transitioning youth to less restrictive programs. Mandates courts to hold hearings every 6 months to review progress and consider transfers to less restrictive settings. Orders transfer to less restrictive programs when youth show substantial progress in meeting rehabilitation goals. Establishes new standards for secure youth facilities including design, security, and educational requirements.

Expands access to juvenile case files for parents' treatment teams and probate court officials. Requires child welfare agencies to provide records within two weeks of written requests. Mandates that accessed records must be filed under seal in family law and probate cases. Creates stricter rules for sharing juvenile records with penalties for unauthorized disclosure.

Reduces the adoption request filing deadline from 10 to 7 working days after signing an adoption agreement. Requires immediate notification to child welfare if an adoption plan is terminated. Mandates detailed documentation before releasing newborns to prospective adoptive parents. Prohibits releasing children back to birth parents without a safety investigation.

Authorizes tribal agreements to administer child welfare and prevention programs. Eliminates tribal cost share; the state bears nonfederal costs; counties cover costs when transfers. Provides funding for independent legal representation and requires a cost plan by 3/31/2026. Offers startup funding for three years, contingent on Budget Act.

Limits ward probation to 12 months from the latest disposition, extension possible. Requires a noticed hearing to extend probation on proof by a preponderance of evidence. Removes authority to order a $250 fine or uncompensated work in lieu of restitution. Requires progress reviews at least every six months after extension.

Protects guaranteed income payments from affecting eligibility for state benefit programs like CalWORKs and Medi-Cal. Requires state agencies to obtain federal waivers to implement the income protection provisions. Defines guaranteed income as unconditional recurring cash payments from public or private sources. Mandates that benefit program payments cannot affect eligibility for guaranteed income programs.

Expands juvenile court supervision rules to cover youth released from secure treatment facilities. Allows youth on probation to live in different counties with local probation officer supervision. Requires youth to follow probation officer instructions or return to their home county for court review.

Makes technical changes to foster care sibling placement requirements.

Limits denial of family reunification services to parents with violent felony convictions within the past 5 years. Requires courts to prove specific risks to child safety before denying reunification services due to violent felonies. Mandates reunification services unless courts find it against the child's best interests. Expands county welfare departments' duties to provide reunification services without state reimbursement.

Requires county jails to facilitate in-person visits between incarcerated parents and their children in foster care. Allows video calls or phone communication when in-person visits are deemed detrimental to the child's well-being. Mandates child welfare agencies to coordinate visits and document all visitation activities in court reports. Requires written notification to incarcerated parents about their visitation rights and dependency proceedings.

Expands child abuse reporting requirements to include sending reports to attorneys of parents and legal guardians. Requires agencies to redact personal identifying information of all individuals except the child in abuse reports. Mandates sharing abuse reports with all attorneys representing children in the same placement facility. Excludes parents whose rights were terminated from receiving abuse reports about their children.

Establishes the FOSTER Act to guide nonminor dependents on tax filing. Requires guidance to counties and juvenile probation departments by July 30, 2026 with updates every two years. Requires annual mailings to nonminor dependents with eligibility, max credit, other credits, and VITA resources. Mandates the mailing window Nov 1 through Jan 31; local costs reimbursed only if funds provided.

Requires detailed case plans for juvenile wards that include specific goals and family input. Mandates courts to review ward's progress toward case plan goals every six months. Establishes strict safety protocols for emergency placement of minors with relatives. Requires probation officers to coordinate services across mental health and social service systems.

Establishes a two-year pilot program in Los Angeles County to improve child abuse reporting accuracy and equity. Requires mandated reporters to use a new online decision-support tool after completing comprehensive training. Protects participating reporters from legal penalties when following the tool's recommendations. Connects families with community support services when child welfare intervention is not required.

Authorizes large counties to appoint a youth development expert to perform chief probation officer duties. Applies only to counties with populations of 3.5 million or more residents. Maintains existing probation officer duties including juvenile hall operations and community supervision.

Requires the Department of Social Services to provide foster parents with educational resources on culturally appropriate grooming products. Ensures foster youth receive hygiene products that respect their culture, ethnicity, and gender identity. Expands foster youth rights to include access to culturally sensitive personal care items.

Requires counties to conserve foster youths' Social Security benefits for their future use rather than offsetting care costs. Mandates screening of all foster youth over age 16 for Social Security benefit eligibility. Expands account options for managing benefits including ABLE accounts and self-support plans. Requires counties to help youth maintain benefit eligibility through annual payment arrangements.

Requires courts to order parent-child visitation within 72 hours of initial hearings in juvenile dependency cases. Mandates unsupervised parent-child visits unless there is proven substantial danger to the child's safety. Requires social workers to document efforts to expand visitation and explain why supervised visits remain necessary. Orders visits to occur in the least restrictive settings that promote quality family time.

Establishes a presumption against jailing pregnant and postpartum defendants unless public safety risks exist. Requires county jails to provide pregnancy tests within 24 hours of request and maintain confidential records. Allows pregnant defendants to delay serving sentences until after pregnancy or one-year postpartum period. Mandates courts to document specific safety risks before ordering detention of pregnant defendants.

Establishes statewide hotline as primary entry point for Family Urgent Response System. Requires counties to submit biennial plans detailing data tracking, staffing, and response protocols. Mandates deidentified data on hotline and county calls, published annually. Allows regional or cross-county mobile response systems with 24/7 teams and rapid on-site response.

Mandates a placement transition policy to support foster youth moves and reunification. Gives foster youth input in transition planning and sharing information. Creates a unified resource family approval system with state guidance and a year deadline.

Expands Medi-Cal's nursing facility incentive program to include non-network providers through 2026. Authorizes $280 million in performance-based payments to skilled nursing facilities in 2023. Requires retroactive payments to nursing facilities for Medi-Cal services provided since July 9, 2024. Mandates at least two performance metrics be tied to workforce quality measures.

Establishes a three-year Family Advocacy Pilot Program to prevent families from entering the child welfare system. Provides grants to qualified organizations for free legal services and family support teams. Requires organizations to have at least three years of experience serving low-income Californians. Mandates a program effectiveness report to the Legislature after the three-year pilot period.

Adds requirement to include adoptive and existing parents on final adoption orders. Clarifies omitting an existing parent on the order does not terminate rights. Expands CA-born minor jurisdiction and endorses out-of-state home studies meeting CA standards. Establishes a 180-day investigation window for independent adoptions.

Requires biennial hunger surveys of youth under 26 in county juvenile detention facilities. Mandates counties to cover all food costs without charging youth or their families. Requires publication of survey results and recommendations on government websites. Ensures physically active detained youth receive additional food for healthy development.