California § 18987.7 - The State Department of Social Services shall convene a workgroup of public and p

§ 18987.7. The State Department of Social Services shall convene a workgroup of public and p

(a) The State Department of Social Services shall convene a workgroup of public and private nonprofit stakeholders that shall develop a plan for transforming the current system of group care for foster children or youth, and for children with serious emotional disorders (SED), into a system of residentially based services. The stakeholders may include, but not be limited to, representatives of the department, the State Department of Education, the State Department of Health Care Services, and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; county child welfare, probation, mental health, and alcohol and drug programs; local education authorities; current and former foster youth, parents of foster children or youth, and children or youth with SED; private nonprofit agencies operating group homes; children’s advocates; and other interested parties. (b) The plan developed pursuant to this chapter shall utilize the reports delivered to the Legislature pursuant to Section 75 of Chapter 311 of the Statutes of 1998 by the Steering Committee for the Reexamination of the Role of Group Care in a Family-Based System of Care in June 2001 and August 2002, and the “Framework for a New System for Residentially-Based Services in California” published in March 2006. (c) In the development, implementation, and subsequent revisions of the plan developed pursuant to subdivision (a), the knowledge and experience gained by counties and private nonprofit agencies through the operation of their residentially based services programs created under voluntary agreements made pursuant to Section 18987.72, including, but not limited to, the results of evaluations prepared pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 18987.72 shall be utilized. (d) The workgroup described in subdivision (a) shall be the workgroup described in Section 11461.2. The responsibilities described in subdivisions (b) and (c) shall be assumed by the workgroup and the recommendations shall be submitted as set forth in subdivision (f) of Section 11461.2.