10553.14. (Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 43, Sec. 33.)

(a) The Tribal Dependency Representation Program is hereby established to provide funding to assist any federally recognized Indian tribe located in California, or with lands that extend into California, in funding legal counsel to represent the Indian tribe in a California Indian child custody proceeding, as defined by subdivision (d) of Section 224.1, that is initiated or ongoing in the juvenile court. An Indian tribe may designate another entity to administer the allocation of funds on a tribe’s behalf upon designation by the tribe for this purpose. There shall be no tribal share of cost for any agreement executed under this section.

(b) To be eligible for an allocation of funds under this allocation, an Indian tribe shall enter into an agreement with the department pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 10553.1 or in accordance with Section 1919 of Title 25 of the United States Code.

(c) An Indian tribe that seeks funding pursuant to this section shall submit an annual letter of interest to the State Department of Social Services. The letter shall include all of the following:

(1) The approximate number of Indian child custody proceedings, as defined by subdivision (d) of Section 224.1, involving an Indian child who is a member of the tribe or eligible for membership in the tribe that were initiated or ongoing in the juvenile court in the preceding 12 months.

(2) The approximate number of cases in an appellate court or the California Supreme Court involving an Indian child in which the tribe was an active participant in the preceding 12 months.

(3) The approximate number of Indian child custody cases for which the tribe will be served by the legal counsel funded through the allocation provided by this section in the upcoming year.

(4) If the tribe plans to designate another entity for representation, the name of that entity.

(d) Subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act for the express purpose described in this section, the State Department of Social Services shall provide each eligible Indian tribe, as described in subdivision (a), that enters into an agreement pursuant to subdivision (b) and submits a letter of interest pursuant to subdivision (c), an annual base allocation of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) for the purpose described in subdivision (a). If the annual Budget Act provides for an allocation of funds of more than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) per eligible tribe, then each eligible tribe shall receive an adjusted allocation within and for that same fiscal year. The allocation methodology and the implementation plan shall be established by the department in government-to-government consultation with tribes. The department shall provide an update to legislative staff and stakeholders on the progress of implementation of this section, preferably by January 1, 2023, but no later than February 1, 2023.

(e) An Indian tribe that receives funds pursuant to this section shall submit a progress report to the department. The progress report shall be submitted on or before September 30 following the close of the fiscal year in which funding was received. The report shall include all of the following information:

(1) The total number of Indian child custody proceeding hearings and the number of hearings attended by the Indian tribe with legal representation paid for with this allocation.

(2) The counties in which the hearings were held.

(3) The total number of appellate proceedings and the number of appellate proceedings in which counsel paid for with this allocation appeared on behalf of the tribe.

(f) The department shall seek federal approvals or waivers necessary to claim federal reimbursement under Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 670 et seq.) in order to maximize funding for the purpose described in this section.

(g) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department may implement, interpret, or make specific this section without taking any regulatory action.

(h) This section shall be implemented only to the extent that funding is expressly provided in the annual Budget Act for this purpose.