Foster care supplement.

Assembly Member Dixon's foster care legislation would require inflation adjustments to the $489 monthly supplement currently provided when children live with parents receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC), Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP), or Approved Relative Caregiver (ARC) benefits. Starting January 2026, this supplemental payment would be adjusted annually according to the California Necessities Index.

The bill also codifies provisions for expectant parent payments, providing additional funds to pregnant minors or nonminor dependents in foster care during the three months before their anticipated due date. These payments would equal the standard child care and supervision rate, delivered either as automated monthly payments or as a one-time lump sum before system automation is complete. The California Statewide Automated Welfare System would implement these payment changes by July 2023 or upon readiness notification from the department.

While the changes create new requirements for counties administering these benefits, the bill specifies that local agencies would only implement provisions beyond current service levels if the state provides annual funding for the increased costs. This maintains compliance with constitutional requirements regarding state-mandated local programs while establishing a framework for inflation-adjusted support payments within California's foster care system.