Counties now have some guidance on the implementation of AB 1299
(Chapter 603, Statutes of 2016), which was developed to ensure
timely behavioral health services for foster children who are
placed in a county other than the one in which they lived.
AB 1299 was developed after a nearly two-year legislative process
with the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), the
Department of Social Services (DSS), the California Alliance for
Child and Family Services, county affiliates, and other
stakeholders. The measure requires the presumptive transfer of
behavioral health services from the county of jurisdiction to the
county of residence for any child placed out of the county of
jurisdiction. The aim is to ensure that all foster children
receive timely behavioral health services regardless of their
physical placement. By instituting presumptive transfer, counties
now have guidance on the time and manner of the critical transfer
of necessary behavioral health services.
AB 1299 required implementation as of July 1, but DHCS and DSS,
after extensive input from counties and other stakeholders,
released the first
All County Letter on AB 1299 implementation on July 14.
The letter provides guidance outlining the duties of the placing
agencies – either county Child Welfare Services or County
Probation Departments – as well as both the original and host
county mental health plans. It also includes guidance on how the
county, the plan, the child, or the child’s representative can
seek to waive the presumptive transfer.
There is still more work to be done on implementing AB 1299,
including further conversation and guidance on how an expedited
transfer would work, the duties of the placing agencies, and how
notification and communication between counties and other
professionals should occur.
We want to thank the California Alliance for their technical
assistance on the development of the letter, and DHCS and DSS for
their attention to county concerns surrounding earlier drafts of
the letter. California’s county supervisors are committed to
continue working with all stakeholders on AB 1299 implementation,
and ultimately, to ensure that all foster children who are placed
in a different county continue to receive critical behavioral
health services.
