2023 California Code › Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC › DIVISION 9 - PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES › PART 5.5 - CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL HEALTH CARE NEEDS › CHAPTER 4 - Foster Care › Section 17731.

17731. (a) The county shall develop a plan to place children with special health care needs in foster care. This plan shall be submitted to the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Health Care Services, not later than April 1, 1990, before beginning placement of children with special health care needs in specialized foster care homes. This subdivision shall not invalidate any placement made before April 1, 1990. A county that has not submitted a plan by April 1, 1990, shall not continue to make placements of children with special health care needs until the plan has been submitted.
(b) Unless a local lead agency has been designated within the county, as described in Item 4260-113-890 of the Budget Act of 1989, the county department of social services shall be the lead agency with the responsibility of developing the plan to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a). The county plan shall be formalized in an interagency agreement between the county department of social services and the other county and private agencies that are the involved parties.
(c) The county plan shall meet all the requirements specified in this subdivision. The regional center shall not be required to submit a plan. However, all requirements specified in this subdivision shall be met prior to a regional center placement of a child who is not a court dependent and who has special health care needs.
(1) (A) Prior to the placement of a child with special health care needs, an individualized health care plan, which may be the hospital discharge plan, shall be prepared for the child and, if necessary, in-home health support services shall be arranged. The individualized health care plan team shall be convened by the county department of social services caseworker or the regional center caseworker, to discuss the specific responsibilities of the person or persons specified in subdivision (h) of Section 17710 for provision of in-home health care in accordance with the individualized health care plan developed by the child’s physician or their designee. The plan may also include the identification of any available and funded medical services that are to be provided to the child in the home, including, but not limited to, assistance from registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses, public health nurses, physical therapists, and respite care workers. The individualized health care plan team shall delineate in the individualized health care plan the coordination of health and related services for the child and the appropriate number of hours needed to be provided by any health care professional designated to monitor the child’s individualized health care plan pursuant to paragraph (8), including, if the child is in a certified home, the registered nurse employed by or on contract with the foster family agency to supervise and monitor the child.
(B) If the child’s placement is in a Group Home for Children with Special Health Care Needs, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 4684.50, the individualized health care plan shall include all of the requirements under subdivision (a) of Section 4684.68.
(2) A child welfare services case plan or regional center individual program plan shall be developed in accordance with applicable regulations, and arrangements made for nonmedical support services.
(3) Foster parents shall be trained by health care professionals pursuant to the discharge plan of the facility releasing the child being placed in, or currently in, foster care. Additional training shall be provided as needed during the placement of the child and to the child’s biological parent or parents if the child is being reunified with the child’s family.
(4) Children with special health care needs shall be placed in the home of the prospective foster parent subsequent to training by a health care professional pursuant to the discharge plan of the facility releasing the child being placed in foster care.
(5) Assistant caregivers, on-call assistants, respite care workers, and other personnel caring for children with special health care needs shall complete training or additional training by a health care professional in accordance with paragraph (3).
(6) A foster parent who is a health care professional or staff member who is a health care professional shall not be required to complete any training or additional training determined by the responsible individualized health care plan team to be unnecessary on the basis of their professional qualification and expertise.
(7) No health care professional shall provide in-home health care to any child with special health care needs placed in a group home after November 1, 1993, unless the individual health care plan team for the child:
(A) Documents that the health care professional has the necessary qualifications and expertise to meet the child’s in-home health care needs.
(B) Updates the documentation provided pursuant to subparagraph (A) each time the child’s special health care needs change.
(8) Specialized foster care homes, group homes, and short-term residential therapeutic programs caring for children with special health care needs shall be monitored by the county or regional center according to applicable regulations. The health care plan for each child with special health care needs shall designate which health care professional shall monitor the child’s ongoing health care, including in-home health care provided by persons specified in subdivision (h) of Section 17710. Where the child is placed in a certified home, the designated health care professional shall be the registered nurse employed by or on contract with the foster family agency to supervise and monitor the child.
(9) The workload of the health care professional supervising or monitoring a child’s ongoing health care in a certified home shall be based on the cumulative total hours specified in the individualized health care plans for children assigned to the health care professional. In no case shall the health care professional’s regular workload based on the cumulative total hours specified in the individualized health care plans for children assigned to the health care professional be more than 40 hours per week.
(10) The child’s individualized health care plan shall be reassessed at least every six months during the time the child is placed in the specialized foster care home, to ensure that specialized care payments are appropriate to meet the child’s health care needs.
(11) The placement agencies shall coordinate the sources of funding and services available to children with special health care needs in order to maximize the social services provided to these children and to avoid duplication of programs and funding.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 76, Sec. 61. (AB 136) Effective July 16, 2021.)