Foster care payments.

Existing law provides for the out-of-home placement, including foster care placement, of children who are unable to remain in the custody and care of their parents. Existing law, the federal Social Security Act, provides for benefits for eligible beneficiaries, including survivorship and disability benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for, among others, blind and disabled children. Existing law requires every youth who is in foster care to be screened by the county for potential eligibility for SSI and requires that screening to occur when the foster youth is at least 16 years of age and not older than 17 years of age. This bill, among other things, would require a placing agency to act in accordance with specified guidelines and pursuant to certain requirements when acting as the representative payee or in any other fiduciary capacity for a child or youth receive federal Social Security Administration survivors' benefits, including, among other requirements, ensuring that the child's federal Social Security Administration survivors' benefits, as defined, are not used to pay for, or to reimburse, the placing agency for any costs of the child's care and supervision, as defined. The bill would make these requirements operative January 1, 2025, or 30 days after the department issues the necessary all-county letters and informing materials to county placing agencies, whichever is later. By increasing county duties with respect to foster youth, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to convene a workgroup to develop best practice guidelines for county welfare departments to assist eligible children who are in the state's or a county's custody in obtaining all federal benefits for which they are eligible. Existing law requires that workgroup to make recommendations to the department, by December 31, 2006, regarding the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of reserving a designated amount of foster children's social security and SSI/SSP benefits in lieu of reimbursing the county and the state for care and maintenance, and, in making those recommendations, to consider that the reserved benefits would be for the purpose of assisting the foster child in the transfer to self-sufficient living in a manner consistent with federal law. This bill would repeal the requirement for that workgroup to make the above-described recommendations regarding feasibility and cost-effectiveness. The bill would also delete other obsolete provisions of law. 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.