(a) In addition to the three programs authorized under Section 16500.5, Contra Costa County may implement a family preservation and reunification program. The program shall be administered in accordance with Section 16500.5, and shall be subject to all of the provisions of that section.
(b) The family preservation program authorized by this section may serve all of the following:
(1) Families receiving those services pursuant to Sections 300, 330, 361, and 364.
(2) Children who have been adjudged wards of the court pursuant to Sections 601 and 602.
(3) Families of children subject to Sections 726 and 727.
(c) The county probation department may, through an interagency agreement with the county welfare department, refer cases to the county welfare department for the direct provision of services under this subdivision.
(d) The county shall ensure that the proportion of funds used for family preservation services for families and children needing those services pursuant to Sections 300, 330, 361, and 364 shall be no less than the proportion of those children in the county’s foster care program.
(e) The project authorized by this subdivision shall be deemed successful if the following criteria have been met:
(1) At least 75 percent of the children who are not placed in out-of-home care and who receive project services remain in their home for at least six months after the termination of family preservation services.
(2) Two years after the termination of family preservation services, the average length of out-of-home stay of children selected to receive services under this section who, at the time of selection, are in out-of-home care, is 50 percent less than the average length of stay in out-of-home care for children in out-of-home care who do not receive demonstration project services pursuant to this section.
(3) Two years after project services are terminated, at least 60 percent of the children who were returned home with project services remain at home.
(f) (1) The participating county shall submit, to the department and to the appropriate committees of the Legislature, a preliminary report upon the conclusion of the demonstration project, and a final report six months after the conclusion of the project.
(2) The participating county shall, in the reports required by paragraph (1), demonstrate the extent the project met the criteria for determining the success of the project specified in subdivision (e).
(g) A dependent minor or ward of the court removed from the home pursuant to Section 726 may also be returned to his or her home with appropriate interagency family preservation services as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 16500.5.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 35, Sec. 124. (SB 1013) Effective June 27, 2012.)