16118. (Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 425, Sec. 24.)

(a) The department shall establish and administer the program to be carried out by the department or the county pursuant to this chapter. The department shall adopt any regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

(b) The department shall keep the records necessary to evaluate the program’s effectiveness in encouraging and promoting the adoption of children eligible for the Adoption Assistance Program.

(c) The department or the county responsible for providing financial aid in the amount determined in Section 16120 shall have responsibility for certifying that the child meets the eligibility criteria and for determining the amount of financial assistance needed by the child and the adopting family.

(d) The department shall actively seek and make maximum use of federal funds that may be available for the purposes of this chapter. In accordance with federal law, any savings realized from the change in federal funding for adoption assistance resulting from the enactment of the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-351) shall be spent for the provision of foster care and adoption services, and the counties shall annually report to the department how these savings are spent, including any expenditures for postadoption services. Not less than 30 percent of these savings shall be spent on postadoption services, postguardianship services, and services to support and sustain positive permanent outcomes for children who otherwise might enter into foster care. Of that 30-percent amount, at least two-thirds shall be spent on postadoption and postguardianship services. The process for submitting this information shall be developed by the department, in consultation with counties. All gifts or grants received from private sources for the purpose of this chapter shall be used to offset public costs incurred under the program established by this chapter.

(e) For purposes of this chapter, the county responsible for determining the child’s Adoption Assistance Program eligibility status and for providing financial aid in the amount determined in Sections 16120 and 16120.1 shall be the county that, at the time of the adoptive placement, would otherwise be responsible for making a payment pursuant to Section 11450 under the CalWORKs program or Section 11461 under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care program if the child were not adopted. When the child has been voluntarily relinquished for adoption prior to a determination of eligibility for this payment, the responsible county shall be the county in which the relinquishing parent resides. The responsible county for all other eligible children shall be the county where the child is physically residing prior to placement with the adoptive family. The responsible county shall certify eligibility on a form prescribed by the department.

(f) Beginning in the 2011–12 fiscal year, and for each fiscal year thereafter, funding and expenditures for programs and activities under this section shall be in accordance with the requirements provided in Sections 30025 and 30026.5 of the Government Code.