Youth Services & Family Support

Requires juvenile courts to develop detailed rehabilitation plans focused on transitioning youth to less restrictive programs. Mandates courts to hold hearings every 6 months to review progress and consider transfers to less restrictive settings. Orders transfer to less restrictive programs when youth show substantial progress in meeting rehabilitation goals. Establishes new standards for secure youth facilities including design, security, and educational requirements.

Expands access to juvenile case files for parents' treatment teams and probate court officials. Requires child welfare agencies to provide records within two weeks of written requests. Mandates that accessed records must be filed under seal in family law and probate cases. Creates stricter rules for sharing juvenile records with penalties for unauthorized disclosure.

Reduces the adoption request filing deadline from 10 to 7 working days after signing an adoption agreement. Requires immediate notification to child welfare if an adoption plan is terminated. Mandates detailed documentation before releasing newborns to prospective adoptive parents. Prohibits releasing children back to birth parents without a safety investigation.

Expands tribal agreements with California to include foster care prevention services for Indian children. Provides state funding for legal representation of tribes, parents, and children in tribal custody cases. Offers three-year startup funding for tribes establishing new child welfare programs. Requires tribes to meet state service standards while maintaining control over child welfare decisions.

Limits juvenile probation periods to 6 months with possible extensions only after court review and evidence of benefit. Requires probation conditions to be individually tailored and developmentally appropriate for each youth. Eliminates courts' authority to impose fines or mandate unpaid work programs for juvenile offenders. Mandates regular court hearings every 6 months to review any extended probation periods.

Protects recipients of guaranteed income payments from losing eligibility for state benefit programs. Defines guaranteed income as regular, unconditional cash payments meant to support basic needs. Applies to major programs including CalWORKs, CalFresh, Medi-Cal, and other state assistance programs. Requires counties to exclude guaranteed income when determining eligibility for benefits.

Expands juvenile court supervision rules to cover youth released from secure treatment facilities. Allows youth on probation to live in different counties with local probation officer supervision. Requires youth to follow probation officer instructions or return to their home county for court review.

Makes technical changes to foster care sibling placement requirements.

Limits denial of family reunification services to parents with violent felony convictions within the past 5 years. Requires courts to prove specific risks to child safety before denying reunification services due to violent felonies. Mandates reunification services unless courts find it against the child's best interests. Expands county welfare departments' duties to provide reunification services without state reimbursement.

Requires county jails to provide regular in-person visits between incarcerated parents and their children in foster care. Mandates video calls or phone contact when in-person visits are not possible due to safety or logistics. Requires child welfare agencies to document all scheduled visits and report them to the court. Orders jails and welfare agencies to coordinate visitation schedules and remove logistical barriers.

Expands child abuse reporting requirements to include sending reports to attorneys of parents and legal guardians. Requires agencies to redact personal identifying information of all individuals except the child in abuse reports. Mandates sharing abuse reports with all attorneys representing children in the same placement facility. Excludes parents whose rights were terminated from receiving abuse reports about their children.

Requires state agencies to help former foster youth access tax credits and file tax returns by July 2026. Mandates annual mailings to foster youth about tax credits and free filing assistance between December and January. Establishes partnerships with volunteer tax assistance sites to provide free tax preparation services. Requires biennial updates to tax guidance and resources for county welfare departments.

Requires detailed case plans for juvenile wards that include specific goals and family input. Mandates courts to review ward's progress toward case plan goals every six months. Establishes strict safety protocols for emergency placement of minors with relatives. Requires probation officers to coordinate services across mental health and social service systems.

Establishes a two-year pilot program in Los Angeles County to improve child abuse reporting accuracy and equity. Requires mandated reporters to use a new online decision-support tool after completing comprehensive training. Protects participating reporters from legal penalties when following the tool's recommendations. Connects families with community support services when child welfare intervention is not required.

Authorizes large counties to appoint a youth development expert to perform chief probation officer duties. Applies only to counties with populations of 3.5 million or more residents. Maintains existing probation officer duties including juvenile hall operations and community supervision.

Requires the Department of Social Services to provide foster parents with educational resources on culturally appropriate grooming products. Ensures foster youth receive hygiene products that respect their culture, ethnicity, and gender identity. Expands foster youth rights to include access to culturally sensitive personal care items.

Requires counties to conserve foster youths' Social Security benefits for their future use rather than offsetting care costs. Mandates screening of all foster youth over age 16 for Social Security benefit eligibility. Expands account options for managing benefits including ABLE accounts and self-support plans. Requires counties to help youth maintain benefit eligibility through annual payment arrangements.

Requires courts to order parent-child visitation within 72 hours of initial hearings in juvenile dependency cases. Mandates unsupervised parent-child visits unless there is proven substantial danger to the child's safety. Requires social workers to document efforts to expand visitation and explain why supervised visits remain necessary. Orders visits to occur in the least restrictive settings that promote quality family time.

Establishes a presumption against jailing pregnant and postpartum defendants unless public safety risks exist. Requires county jails to provide pregnancy tests within 24 hours of request and maintain confidential records. Allows pregnant defendants to delay serving sentences until after pregnancy or one-year postpartum period. Mandates courts to document specific safety risks before ordering detention of pregnant defendants.

Establishes a statewide 24/7 hotline as the primary entry point for foster youth and caregivers during crisis situations. Requires counties to provide mobile crisis response teams within 3 hours for urgent needs and 24 hours for non-urgent cases. Mandates counties to review their mobile response system plans every two years to ensure service effectiveness. Prioritizes trauma-informed care by requiring specialized training for response team staff and inclusion of peer support.

Requires counties to develop placement transition policies to support foster children moving between homes or reunifying with family. Mandates 14-day advance notice to all parties before changing a foster child's placement unless safety risks exist. Ensures foster children and caregivers have input into placement transitions to reduce trauma and maintain stability. Requires social workers to create preservation strategies before changing any foster care placement.

Expands Medi-Cal's nursing facility incentive program to include non-network providers through 2026. Authorizes $280 million in performance-based payments to skilled nursing facilities in 2023. Requires retroactive payments to nursing facilities for Medi-Cal services provided since July 9, 2024. Mandates at least two performance metrics be tied to workforce quality measures.

Establishes a three-year Family Advocacy Pilot Program to prevent unnecessary child welfare interventions. Provides grants to legal aid organizations offering free prevention services to at-risk families. Requires interdisciplinary teams including social workers and peer advocates to assist vulnerable families. Mandates program evaluation through a legislative report after the three-year pilot period.

Expands California courts' authority to oversee adoptions of minors born in the state. Allows state courts to handle adoptions when no legal proceedings are needed to make a child adoptable. Maintains compliance with existing interstate adoption agreements and protocols.

Requires biennial hunger surveys of youth under 26 in county juvenile detention facilities. Mandates counties to cover all food costs without charging youth or their families. Requires publication of survey results and recommendations on government websites. Ensures physically active detained youth receive additional food for healthy development.