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(a) (1) The Legislature hereby establishes the CalWORKs Home Visiting Program as a voluntary program for the purpose of supporting positive health, development, and well-being outcomes for pregnant and parenting people, families, and infants born into poverty, expanding their future educational, economic, and financial capability opportunities, and improving the likelihood that they will exit poverty.
(2) The program shall provide high-quality, evidence-based, culturally competent services to pregnant people, parents or caretaker relatives, and children that meet the needs of at-risk assistance units, including those in underserved, rural, tribal, impoverished, and other communities. The services provided under this article shall not exceed the duration of the applicable home visiting model.
(b) Subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, the department shall award funds to participating counties for the purposes of this article in order to provide voluntary evidence-based home visiting services to any assistance unit that meets the requirements of this article. Services authorized pursuant to this section are not entitlement services and participating counties may limit the number of families participating in the program to ensure that the costs do not exceed the amount of funds awarded to the county for this purpose. Funding awarded for the purpose of home visiting services provided under this article shall not supplant expenditures from any other existing funding sources subject to county control for home visiting services. Funding appropriated may be used in combination with funding from other sources if the entirety of services provided meet the award requirements of the program.
(c) (1) Participation in the program established in this article is optional for counties, and counties that apply for, and are awarded, funds shall agree to the terms of this article. A county’s application for funding shall describe all of the following:
(A) How the program’s purposes, as specified in subdivision (a), will be accomplished.
(B) How the county will integrate and coordinate the evidence-based home visiting programs with county workers and core CalWORKs services to maximize the utilization of those services provided to CalWORKs recipients.
(C) How the county consulted with existing home visiting programs, if applicable.
(D) The county’s plan to recruit and retain home visitors that reflect the population of its CalWORKs program.
(E) The voluntary population of CalWORKs applicants and recipients the county intends to serve, which shall include those populations identified in paragraph (2).
(2) A voluntary participant shall meet both of the following criteria:
(A) The individual is one of the following:
(ii) The parent or caretaker relative for a child-only case.
(iii) An individual who is apparently eligible for CalWORKs aid.
(B) (i) The individual is pregnant or the individual is a parent or caretaker relative of a child less than 24 months of age at the time the individual enrolls in the program.
(ii) A county may serve additional individuals not described in clause (i) with departmental approval (For example, parents or caretaker relatives of children younger than 36 months of age at the time of enrollment).
(3) The department shall work with counties to develop the outreach and engagement process that will effectively reach the priority populations.
(4) The county shall demonstrate in its application to the department how services will be designed and provided as specified in Section 11330.7.
(d) (1) Participation in the program for eligible assistance units shall not be considered a condition of CalWORKs eligibility and this shall be explained in the document required pursuant to paragraph (2).
(2) Participation in the program shall be offered in writing to an eligible parent or caretaker relative. A document that includes a description of the program, its anticipated benefits and duration, a description of how to opt into the home visiting program, and a description of how to terminate participation shall be given to the parent or caretaker relative. Other forms of outreach are permitted and encouraged.
(3) An assistance unit agreeing to receive services under this article need not be eligible for, nor shall be required to participate in, the welfare-to-work program established pursuant to Article 3.2 (commencing with Section 11320). If an assistance unit elects to participate in the welfare-to-work program, the scheduled hours to be spent directly with the home visitor shall count toward allowable activities under a welfare-to-work plan.
(4) Participation in this program shall not affect a family’s application for aid nor eligibility for any other CalWORKs benefits, supports, or services, including, but not limited to, welfare-to-work exemptions pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 11320.3, good cause for not participating pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 11320.3, participating in housing support services pursuant to Article 3.3 (commencing with Section 11330), or participating in family stabilization pursuant to Section 11325.24.
(5) If the parent or assisted caretaker has been removed from the assistance unit or exits the CalWORKs program, voluntary home visiting services may continue for up to 12 months or until completion of the evidence-based home visiting program, whichever is sooner, or until the parent or assisted caretaker relative terminates their own participation.
(6) A county and the home visiting program may incorporate participation of the noncustodial parent of a child who is a member of a CalWORKs assistance unit into home visiting services, subject to the mutual agreement of the custodial and noncustodial parents.
(e) The following definitions shall apply for purposes of this article:
(1) “Cultural competence” means the ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures.
(2) “Evidence-based home visiting” means a home visiting model approved by the department, which shall be evaluated considering criteria developed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services for evidence-based home visiting.
(3) “Home” means a temporary or permanent residence or living space, or another location identified by the assistance unit.
(f) 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 and administer the changes made to this section by the act that added this subdivision by means of all-county letters or similar instructions from the department that shall have the same force and effect as regulations until regulations are adopted.