11461.36. (Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 656, Sec. 29.)

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide support to emergency caregivers, as defined in subdivision (c), who care for children and nonminor dependents before approval of an application under the Resource Family Approval Program or a tribally approved home.

(b) For placements made on and after July 1, 2018, each county shall provide a payment equivalent to the resource family basic level rate of the home-based family care rate structure, pursuant to Section 11463, to an emergency caregiver on behalf of a child or nonminor dependent placed in the home of the caregiver pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 309, Section 361.45, Section 727.05, or clause (i) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 319, or based on a compelling reason pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 16519.5, subject to the availability of state and federal funds pursuant to subdivision (e), if all of the following criteria are met:

(1) The child or nonminor dependent is not otherwise eligible for AFDC-FC or the Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Program, pursuant to Section 11461.3, while placed in the home of the emergency caregiver.

(2) The child or nonminor dependent resides in California.

(3) The emergency caregiver has signed and submitted to the county an application for resource family approval or has initiated a tribally approved home process.

(4) An application for the Emergency Assistance Program has been completed.

(c) For purposes of this section, an “emergency caregiver” means an individual who has a pending resource family application filed with an appropriate agency on or after July 1, 2018, and who meets one of the following requirements:

(1) The individual has been assessed pursuant to Section 361.4.

(2) The individual has successfully completed the home environment assessment portion of the resource family approval pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 16519.5.

(d) The beginning date of aid for payments made pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be the date of placement.

(e) Funding for payments made pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be as follows:

(1) For emergency or compelling reason placements made during the 2018–19 fiscal year:

(A) Payments shall be made to an emergency caregiver through the Emergency Assistance Program included in the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant.

(B) The county shall be solely responsible for the nonfederal share of cost.

(C) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B), if the child or nonminor dependent is determined to be ineligible for the Emergency Assistance Program included in the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant, 70 percent of the cost of emergency payments made to the emergency caregiver shall be funded by the department and 30 percent shall be funded by the county.

(D) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), payments required to be provided pursuant to subdivision (b) shall not be eligible for the federal or state share of cost upon approval or denial of the resource family application, consistent with subdivision (g), beyond 180 days, or, if the conditions of subparagraph (E) are met, beyond 365 days, whichever occurs first.

(E) The federal and state share of payment made pursuant to this paragraph shall be available beyond 180 days of payments, and up to 365 days of payments, if all of the following conditions are met:

(ii) On a monthly basis, the deputy director or director of the county child welfare department, or their designee, has been notified of the delay in approving the resource family application and that notification is documented in the resource family approval file.

(iii) On a monthly basis, the county provides to the department a list of the resource family applications that have been pending for more than 90 days and the reason for the delays.

(2) For emergency or compelling reason placements made during the 2019–20 fiscal year:

(D) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), payments required to be provided pursuant to subdivision (b) shall not be eligible for the federal or state share of cost upon approval or denial of the resource family application, consistent with subdivision (g), or beyond 120 days, whichever occurs first.

(E) The federal and state share of payment made pursuant to this paragraph shall be available beyond 120 days of payments, and up to 365 days of payments, if all of the following conditions are met:

(ii) On a monthly basis, the deputy director or director of the county child welfare department, or their designee, or the chief probation officer, or their designee, as applicable, has been notified of the delay in approving the resource family application and that notification is documented in the resource family approval file.

(iii) On a monthly basis, the county provides to the department a list of the resource family applications that have been pending for more than 120 days and the reason for the delays.

(3) For emergency or compelling reason placements made during the 2020–21 fiscal year:

(i) On a monthly basis, the county has documented good cause for delay in approving the resource family application that is outside the direct control of the county, which may include delays in processing background check clearances or exemptions, medical examinations, or delays that are based on the needs of the family.

(ii) On a monthly basis, the deputy director or director of the county child welfare department, or their designees, or the chief probation officer, or their designee, as applicable, has been notified of the delay in approving the resource family application and that notification is documented in the resource family approval file.

(iii) On a monthly basis, the county provides to the department a list of the resource family applications that have been pending for more than 120 days and the reasons for the delays.

(F) The 365-day payment limitation pursuant to subparagraph (E) and accompanying rules and regulations is suspended through June 30, 2021, subject to guidance from the State Department of Social Services.

(4) For emergency or compelling reason placements made during the 2021–22 fiscal year:

(E) Notwithstanding subparagraph (D), the federal and state share of payment made pursuant to this paragraph shall be available beyond 120 days of payments, and up to 365 days of payments, if all of the following conditions are met:

(5) For emergency or compelling reason placements made during the 2022–23 fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter:

(C) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B), if the child or nonminor dependent is determined to be ineligible for the Emergency Assistance Program included in the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant, 70 percent of the cost of the emergency payments made to the emergency caregiver shall be funded by the department and 30 percent shall be funded by the county.

(i) On a monthly basis, the county has documented good cause for delay in approving the resource family application that is outside the direct control of the county due to processing background check clearances or exemptions or medical examinations, delays in home or grounds improvements that are outside the control of the family or county, completion of specialized or individualized training required of the family that are beyond the basic resource family approval requirements, delays related to changes in the home environment resulting in the need for a new assessment, delays related to the time commitments required of the caregiver as a result of the child’s placement into foster care, delays as a result of the applicant exercising due process rights, or delays that are based on the needs of the family.

(iii) On a monthly basis, the county provides to the department a list of the resource family applications that have been pending for more than 120 days, the reasons for the delays, and documentation supporting the good cause determination.

(f) On and after the date required by paragraph (9) of subdivision (h) of Section 11461, and notwithstanding the rate described in subdivisions (b) and ( l ), the rate paid to an emergency caregiver on behalf of a child or nonminor dependent placed with the emergency caregiver shall be equivalent to, and paid in the same manner as, the rate developed pursuant to the Tiered Rate Structure, as established in paragraph (4) of subdivision (h) of Section 11461.

(g) (1) If the application for resource family approval is approved, the funding source for the placement shall be changed to AFDC-FC or the Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Program, as appropriate and consistent with existing eligibility requirements.

(2) If the application for resource family approval is denied, eligibility for funding pursuant to this section shall be terminated.

(h) A county shall not be liable for any federal disallowance or penalty imposed on the state as a result of a county’s action in reliance on the state’s instruction related to implementation of this section.

(i) (1) For the 2018–19 and 2019–20 fiscal years, the department shall determine, on a county-by-county basis, whether the timeframe for the resource family approval process resulted in net assistance costs or net assistance savings for assistance payments, pursuant to this section.

(2) For the 2018–19 and 2019–20 fiscal years, the department shall also consider, on a county-by-county basis, the impact to the receipt of federal Title IV-E funding that may result from implementation of this section.

(3) The department shall work with the California State Association of Counties to jointly determine the timeframe for subsequent reviews of county costs and savings beyond the 2019–20 fiscal year.

(j) (1) The department shall monitor the implementation of this section, including, but not limited to, tracking the usage and duration of Emergency Assistance Program payments made pursuant to this section and evaluating the duration of time a child or nonminor dependent is in a home pending resource family approval.

(2) The department may request information or data necessary to oversee the implementation of this section until data collection is available through automation. Pending the completion of automation, information or data collected manually shall be determined in consultation with the County Welfare Directors Association of California.

(k) An appropriation shall not be made pursuant to Section 15200 for purposes of implementing this section.

( l ) (1) On and after July 1, 2019, each county shall provide a payment equivalent to the resource family basic level rate of the home-based family care rate structure, pursuant to Section 11463, on behalf of an Indian child, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 224.1, placed in the home of the caregiver who is pending approval as a tribally approved home, as defined in subdivision (r) of Section 224.1, if all of the following criteria are met:

(A) The placement is made pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 309, Section 361.45, Section 727.05, or clause (i) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 319.

(B) The caregiver has been assessed pursuant to Section 361.4.

(C) The child is not otherwise eligible for AFDC-FC or the Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Program, pursuant to Section 11461.3, while placed in the home of the caregiver.

(D) The child resides in California.

(E) The tribe or tribal agency has initiated the process for the home to become tribally approved.

(F) An application for the Emergency Assistance Program has been completed by the placing agency.

(2) The beginning date of aid for payments made pursuant to this subdivision shall be the date of placement.

(3) The funding source for the placement shall be changed to AFDC-FC or the Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Program, as appropriate and consistent with existing eligibility requirements, when the caregiver is approved as a tribally approved home. If the approval is denied, payments made pursuant to this subdivision shall cease.

(4) Subdivision (e) and subdivisions (h) to (k), inclusive, shall apply to payments made pursuant to this subdivision.

(m) 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 this section through an all-county letter or similar instructions, which shall include instructions regarding the eligibility standards for emergency assistance until regulations are adopted.