AB 898

Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to establish a statewide hotline as the entry point for the Family Urgent Response System, as defined, to respond to calls from caregivers or current or former foster children or youth during moments of instability, as specified. Existing law requires the hotline to include, among other things, referrals to a county-based mobile response system, as specified, for further support and in-person response. Existing law requires the department to collect deidentified, aggregated data, including the number of current and former foster children or youth served through the statewide hotline and the disposition of each call, and requires the department to publish a report on its internet website, as specified.

This bill would instead specify that the statewide hotline shall be the primary entry point for the Family Urgent Response System. The bill would also require the department to collect data on the number of calls received by a county mobile response system, which includes calls received through the statewide hotline and portal.

Existing law also requires county child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies, in each county or region of counties, as specified, to establish a joint county-based mobile response system that includes a mobile response and stabilization team for the purpose of providing supportive services to, among other things, address situations of instability, preserve the relationship of the caregiver and the child or youth, and stabilize the situation. Existing law requires county child welfare, probation, and behavioral health agencies, in consultation with other relevant specified entities, to submit a single coordinated plan to the department describing how the county-based mobile response system meets the requirements described above.

This bill would require the plan to also describe and include the date of plan submission and a point of contact for the plan. The bill would require the plan to be updated and submitted on a biennial basis. The bill would also authorize a county-based mobile response system that is not otherwise responding to calls placed through the statewide hotline to utilize mobile response team staff based on local needs, including, among other things, by providing ongoing support to a child, youth, or caregiver who has received mobile response services. The bill would also require a county-based mobile response system that is not otherwise responding to calls placed through the statewide hotline but that chooses to utilize mobile response team staff to prioritize calls placed through the statewide hotline for urgent responses and continue to maintain sufficient staffing to ensure county-based mobile response teams maintain compliance. By increasing the duties of county agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.