New Foster Care Rules a 'Sea Change' for Riverside County

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA - The Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a Riverside County Department of Public Social Services request to allocate $3.25 million over the next five years to broaden foster care training programs.

The allocation was needed to keep the county in compliance with changes in state law that stiffen the licensing process for caregivers.

"We're embracing this philosophically but with some caution," department Director Susan Von Zabern told the board before its 3-0 vote enabling the agency to contract with area colleges to expand training opportunities.

Von Zabern said all foster care providers will be impacted by the state's Resource Family Training requirements, which take effect Jan. 1.

The rules were ratified by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown last fall as part of Assembly Bill 403, authored by Assemblyman Mark Stone, D-Monterey.

AB 403 enacts across-the-board modifications to licensing foster caregivers, foster family agencies and short-term residential treatment centers for youth in response to California's Child Welfare Continuum of Care Reform Act implemented under prior legislation.

The California Department of Social Services is the enforcement agency and controls how foster care funds are distributed.

Von Zabern told the board the most consequential changes stemming from the new state mandate are "psycho-social assessments" and health screenings for would-be caregivers -- including grandparents seeking to take in their abandoned or abused grandchildren.

County residents seeking to be foster parents or adopt children they are related to will also be required to undergo classroom training.

"It's more of a top-down approach," Von Zabern said. "However, we're moving forward."

According to Von Zabern, the state's goal is to lessen use of group homes for children placed in the foster care system. In Riverside County, only about 4 percent of foster kids are stuck in such facilities, Von Zabern said.

Board Chairman John Benoit worried about the impact on seniors seeking to take in their grandchildren, soon to be faced with steeper regulatory hurdles.

"This is a huge sea change," Benoit said. "Can well-meaning grandparents be cleared under this process?"

Von Zabern said the new state mandate contains an "emergency" provision that allows for the immediate placement of a foster child with relatives, but the wards may be returned to the custody of county social workers if their relations don't receive the appropriate background checks and training within 120 days.

"There shouldn't be a financial hardship to family willing to step forward and provide care," she said. "We need to provide them more breathing room to complete the process."

The allocation approved by the board, is comprised entirely of state and federal funds, is slated for programs in development at the College of the Desert, Mount San Jacinto College, the Riverside Community College District and UC Riverside, according to Von Zabern.

Von Zabern said having more training options available in multiple locations throughout the county would hopefully make the licensing process less taxing.

DPSS estimated that up to 5,000 county residents will need to meet Resource Family Training standards each year.

–By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock