Foster care: placement: family finding.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not specify the exact nature of the statewide average rate or provide details on how it is calculated.

Foster Care Placement: Family Finding

AB-562 requires counties to review data and consult experts if their placement rate of foster children with relatives is lower than the statewide average, starting in 2027.

What This Bill Does

• Requires each county to compare its rate of placing foster children with relatives against statewide averages.
• If a county's placement rate for foster children with relatives is less than the statewide average, it must consult with the Center for Excellence in Family Finding, Engagement, and Support to identify best practices that may be adopted by the county to improve its placement rate.

Who It Names or Affects

• County social workers and welfare directors
• Foster children and their relatives

Terms To Know

Family Finding

The process of finding family members who can care for a child in foster care.

Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)

A federal law that sets standards to protect the best interests of Indian children and promote stability within their families.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not specify what happens if a county does not improve its placement rate.
• The bill starts in January 2027, so there is no immediate impact now.
• It only applies to counties that have lower than average placement rates.

Official Summary Text

AB 562, Solache.
Foster care: placement: family finding.
Existing law requires a county social worker to investigate the circumstances of each child taken into temporary custody by a peace officer under specified circumstances. Existing law requires the social worker to conduct an investigation, within 30 days of the child’s removal, to identify and locate adult relatives of the child, as specified, and to provide them with a notification that the child has been removed from the custody of the child’s parents, guardians, or Indian custodian, and an explanation of the various options to participate in the care and placement of the child.
This bill, the Justice through Placing Foster Children with Families Act, would require, beginning January 1, 2027, each county to review publicly available data comparing the statewide national average rate of placing children with relatives in the prior year for
comparison with the county’s placement rate during the same period, and, in the case of Indian children, the statewide average rate according to the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 placement preferences, as specified. The bill would require that, if the county’s placement rate is less than the statewide average, the county welfare director, or their designee, to consult with the Center for Excellence in Family Finding, Engagement, and Support to identify best practices that may be adopted by the county to improve its placement rate, as specified. By increasing the duties of county welfare departments, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make related findings and declarations.
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.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF