Foster youth: placement of siblings.

Existing law provides for the implementation of the resource family approval process, which replaces the multiple processes for licensing foster family homes, certifying foster homes by foster family agencies, approving relatives and nonrelative extended family members as foster care providers, and approving guardians and adoptive families. Existing law defines a resource family as an individual or family who has successfully met both the home environment assessment standards and permanency assessment criteria, as specified, necessary for providing care for a child placed by a public or private child placement agency by court order, or voluntarily placed by a parent or legal guardian. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to adopt standards pertaining to the home environment and permanency assessments of a resource family according to specified standards, including that the total number of children residing in the home of a resource family be no more than the total number of children the resource family can properly care for, regardless of status, and may not exceed 6 children, except as specified. Existing law states the intent of the Legislature for siblings to be placed in foster care together, unless it has been determined that placement together is contrary to the safety or well-being of any sibling, and requires the responsible local agency to make a diligent effort in all out-of-home placements of dependent children and wards in foster care, including those with relatives, to place siblings together in the same placement, and to develop and maintain sibling relationships. Existing law requires the court to suspend sibling interaction if it determines by clear and convincing evidence that sibling interaction is detrimental to the well-being of any of the siblings. This bill would prohibit the physical capacity of the home from being the sole reason to deny placement of a sibling group if each child in the home has an age-appropriate place to sleep and there are no other safety risks. The bill would repeal an obsolete requirement on the department to provide specified recommendations and would make conforming changes consistent with the implementation of the resource family approval process. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 16519.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by SB 354 and SB 584 to be operative only if this bill and SB 354, this bill and SB 584, or all 3 bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.