2026 Legislative Session: New Laws in the Health, Human Services, and Homelessness Policy Area

Throughout the 2026 Legislative Session, CSAC has kept you informed about key legislative developments. With Governor Newsom’s final actions now complete, CSAC is publishing a series of articles highlighting new laws in each policy area. This week, our focus is on the Health and Human Services policy area. The new laws below are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027, unless specified differently.  

For additional information, please contact Justin Garrett, Brendan McCarthy, or Danielle Bradley. 

Aging and Adult Protective Services 

AB 871 (Stefani) (Chapter 360, Statutes of 2026)
Mandated reporters of suspected financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult. This measure, which was sponsored by the County Welfare Directors Association (CWDA), expands requirements for mandated reporters at financial institutions beginning January 1, 2028. Ultimately, this measure will improve elder and dependent adult financial abuse prevention efforts and aid cross-jurisdictional criminal investigations by requiring financial institutions to report suspected financial abuse to federal authorities, in addition to local authorities. CSAC supported this measure.  

SB 837 (Reyes) (Chapter 984, Statutes of 2026)
Disaster and emergency preparedness. Requires Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) programs to provide disaster and emergency preparedness community education.  

SB 971 (Choi) (Chapter 664, Statutes of 2026)
Healthy Aging Community Partnership Program. Authorizes a local health department, area agency on aging, public or private college and university, or a department determined by a county to establish a Healthy Aging Community Partnership Program designed to promote healthy aging, social engagement, and independent living for older adults.  

SB 1261 (Laird) (Chapter 426, Statutes of 2026)
Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) program. 
Prohibits the California Department of Aging from revoking the designation of an ADRC program solely due to the revocation or voluntary termination of a designation, suspension, or temporary inability of either the area agency on aging or the independent living center partner to serve in its operator role. This measure included an urgency statute and, therefore, took effect on September 20, 2026.  

Behavioral Health 

AB 96 (Jackson) (Chapter 497, Statutes of 2026)
Mental health services: peer support specialist certification. Removes the requirement of possessing a high school diploma or equivalent degree for an applicant to receive a peer support specialist certification.  

AB 2405 (Gipson) (Chapter 939, Statutes of 2026)
Mental health. Requires a peace officer who is transporting a person to a designated facility for assessment pursuant to Section 5150 (which allows people to be placed on an involuntary 72-hour hold under certain circumstances) to transport the person to the closest appropriate designated facility, geographically or by time, from where the person was taken into custody. If the emergency department is the most appropriate destination, a peace officer is required to transport the person to the closest emergency department. However, this requirement does not prevent a peace officer from following written local behavioral health diversion, transportation, and destination policies or agreements.  

AB 2562 (Dixon) (Chapter 2562, Statutes of 2026)
Alcohol or other drug recovery and treatment programs and facilities: suicide prevention. Requires licensed alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facilities to develop a suicide prevention plan and requires the Department of Health Care Services to develop, by July 1, 2031, regulations to implement this new requirement.  

SB 16 (Blakespear) (Chapter 314, Statutes of 2026)
Mental Health: involuntary commitment. Requires a county behavioral health director to establish and implement procedures governing the county’s designation and training of professionals who will be designated to authorize the placement or lifting of 72-hour involuntary holds (known as 5150 holds). CSAC joined a coalition of county voices, including the County Behavioral Health Directors Association, California State Association of Public Administrators, Public Guardians, and Public Conservators, Urban Counties of California, and Rural County Representatives of California, in opposition to this measure following amendments made to the bill in the last month of session that remove local control form county behavioral health directors and places new costs on counties to develop and oversee policies and procedures related to placing 5150 holds.  

SB 329 (Blakespear) (Chapter 646, Statutes of 2026)
Alcohol and drug recovery: licensed treatment facilities and certified programs: investigations. Requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to meet specified timeframes for assigning complaints against, and completing investigations for, licensed adult residential alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facilities and certified alcohol and other drug (AOD) programs. Additionally, this measure requires DHCS to post an annual report on its website of the investigations conducted in the previous year.  

SB 989 (Blakespear) (Chapter 667, Statutes of 2026)
Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program. Authorizes a first responder to request that a county behavioral health agency (BHA) file a petition to commence the CARE process, if encountering an individual believed eligible or likely eligible for CARE. The county BHA is required to file the petition as applicable within 30 days and provide review updates to the requesting first responder.  CSAC, along with County Behavioral Health Directors Association (CBHDA), the Urban Counties of California (UCC) and the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC), were opposed to a previous version of this measure.  However, following amendments made that retain county authority to decide whether an assessment is appropriate for an individual, the coalition removed its opposition to the measure.  

SB 1242 (Choi) (Chapter 687, Statutes of 2026)
Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program. 
Authorizes the original CARE petitioner to provide specified information regarding the respondent, including their condition, treatment history, and housing status. The measure requires the CARE team and court to consider that information in CARE proceedings.   

SB 1401 (Stern) (Chapter 1035, Statutes of 2026)
Criminal procedure: competence to stand trial. Revises existing statutory processes for individuals deemed incompetent to stand trial (IST) and who are deemed ineligible or unsuitable for diversion, by authorizing a county behavioral health agency to report confidential medical information to the court for purposes of determining eligibility for other programs and behavioral health services, including the CARE Act, assisted outpatient treatment, or county conservatorship. Clarifies the statutory definition of “gravely disabled” for purposes of determining an individual’s competency and timelines for dismissal of cases. Allows referrals for misdemeanor IST individuals to county conservatorship, if the court opines that the individual is gravely disabled.   

CalFresh and CalWORKs 

AB 1655 (Bryan) (Chapter 742, Statutes of 2026)
CalWORKs: temporary absence: immigration detention. Beginning July 1, 2027, or when CDSS notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS) can perform the necessary automations, whichever is later, this measure treats a CalWORKs assistance-unit member detained in a federal immigration detention facility as temporarily absent from the home, allowing the household to remain eligible for aid so long as other eligibility requirements are still met.  

AB 1755 (Sharp-Collins) (Chapter 375, Statutes of 2026)
CalWORKs. Beginning July 1, 2027, or when CDSS notifies the Legislature that SAWS can perform the necessary automations, whichever is later, this measure deletes the requirements that the parent or parents work less than 100 hours in the preceding month for purposes of determining a child’s deprivation. In effect, a parent may work any number of hours and still qualify for CalWORKs provided the family does not exceed the gross or net income limits and is otherwise eligible for assistance.  

AB 2765 (Ahrens) (Chapter 310, Statutes of 2026)
CalFresh and CalWORKs: childhood hunger and foster youth. Revises and expands the CalWORKs recurring special needs allowance by increasing the maximum monthly amount from $10 to $15 per eligible recipient. Specifies that able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs), for purposes of the state’s annual federal waiver request, include a parent or other household member responsible for a dependent child 14 years of age or older, as a result of H.R. 1 (a 2025 federal law that makes a number of changes to entitlement programs, including CalFresh). Requires the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to report semi-annually to the Legislature and counties on recipients subject to, exempted from, or discontinued under the ABAWD time-limit and on discontinuances resulting from the other provisions of H.R. 1, and to automate compliance for specified extended foster care participants. This measure included an urgency clause and took effect on September 18, 2026. 

SB 1030 (Smallwood-Cuevas) (Chapter 999, Statutes of 2026)
CalWORKs: unrelated adult male. Beginning July 1, 2027, or a specified later date, this measure repeals the requirement that an unrelated adult male living with a CalWORKs applicant or recipient make a financial contribution to the family.  

Child Support 

AB 2195 (Rodriguez, Celeste) (Chapter 291, Statutes of 2026)
Child support: license suspensions. Prohibits the suspension of any license for an obligor who owes child support from being suspended if their annual household income is at or below 70% of the median income for a household of one person in their county of residence. This measure shall become effective January 1, 2027, or on the date CDSS notifies the legislature that the California Child Support Enforcement System can perform the necessary automation to implement these changes, whichever is later.  

Child Welfare Services/Foster Youth  

AB 1201 (Jackson) (Chapter 514, Statutes of 2026)
Family reunification services. Prohibits a court from bypassing services to a parent or guardian in a dependency case for a violent felony conviction unless the victim was a child, or the victim was someone with whom the parent or guardian had a child in common at the time of the commission of the offense.  

AB 1628 (Rodriguez, Michelle) (Chapter 534, Statutes of 2026)
Child protection: safe surrender. Expands California safe-surrender laws to cover children 30 days old or younger. 

AB 1688 (Carrillo) (Chapter 888, Statutes of 2026)
Child abuse or neglect: reporting. Requires county welfare agencies to notify parents’ or guardians’ attorneys, tribal representatives for Indian children, and attorneys for children in open dependency cases when there are substantiated abuse or neglect cases in an out-of-home placement, or when a child is removed from a placement for abuse or neglect.  

AB 1824 (Ramos) (Chapter 454, Statutes of 2026)
Indian children: guardianship or conservatorship proceedings. Codifies provisions of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) into the Probate Code’s guardianship and conservatorship statutes and provides guidance for courts when a guardianship or conservatorship proceeding involves a child belonging to a tribe that is not federally recognized.  

AB 1846 (Stefani) (Chapter 276, Statutes of 2026)
Dependency: placement of child with relative. Requires a court, if the court does not initially place the child with a relative who has been considered for placement, to state for the record the reasons why the placement with that relative was denied or delayed. The measure also requires the county social workers to assess new relative requests for placements and adds factors for the courts and social workers to consider when reunification services have already ended, including the child’s relationship with the current caregiver.  

AB 2162 (Bryan) (Chapter 582, Statutes of 2026)
Housing: county funding allocations: nonminor dependents and young adults. Extends the age of eligibility for the Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program (HNMP) to young adults who are 18 to 28 years of age and requires counties that receive funding from HNMP to prioritize nonminor dependents in addition to youths formerly in the state’s foster care or probation system. For the Transitional Housing Program (THP), this measures replaces the term “former foster youth” with “young adult formerly in the state’s foster care or probation system” and conforms the definition of “homeless” with the federal definition.  

AB 2304 (Lackey) (Chapter 392, Statutes of 2026)
Social workers. Specifies that social workers employed by a county child welfare department who are guilty of crimes related to falsifying or altering public records or documents are punishable by felony imprisonment. Additionally, this measure requires a social worker to take reasonable steps to obtain emergency care for a child who has been taken into protective custody if it reasonably appears the child requires immediate emergency care.  

AB 2333 (Pellerin) (Chapter 96, Statutes of 2026)
Child welfare nongovernmental organizations. Extends the sunset date for existing liability protections for foster family agencies from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028.  

AB 2478 (Schultz) (Chapter 611, Statutes of 2026)
Kinship family approval. This measure, which was sponsored by CWDA, implements a streamlined Kinship Family Approval pathway and clarifies emergency placement rules so that children can be placed quickly and safely with people who already know their needs. CSAC supported this measure.  

AB 2684 (Nguyen) (Chapter 957, Statutes of 2026)
Juveniles: nonminor dependents: out-of-state placement: visitation. Establishes a process to allow nonminor dependents who are placed out of state the option to have their required monthly visits with their social worker or probation officer virtually, rather than in-person.  

AB 2764 (Ahrens) (Chapter 636, Statutes of 2026)
Extended foster care. Prohibits a nonminor dependent from being denied eligibility for, or have eligibility terminated from, extended foster care benefits for failure to meet education or employment participation requirements that exceed those program requirements.  

SB 534 (Padilla) (Chapter 415, Statutes of 2026)
Dependent children: information related to family. Requires a county welfare department to provide the minor or nonminor dependent the last known whereabouts of the youth’s parents and sibling and their last known contact information at the final review hearing or prior to the court terminating jurisdiction. The measure allows the youth the option to decline the information.  

SB 557 (Hurtado) (Chapter 125, Statutes of 2026)
Child abuse: family resource centers. Revises the definition of a “family resource center” as it relates to preventing child abuse and neglect to better align with the updated federal definition.  

SB 1051 (Menjivar) (Chapter 1002, Statutes of 2026)
Foster care: childcare. Allows child care navigators to submit referrals to county child welfare agencies for their approval of a voucher for an eligible foster child, ensuring there is no wrong door for eligible children and caregivers in accessing the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for foster children. CSAC supported this measure.  

SB 1143 (Caballero) (Chapter 55, Statutes of 2026)
Children’s advocacy centers: recordings. Authorizes members of a multidisciplinary team associated with a children’s advocacy center to share with child welfare agencies authorized to investigate child abuse and neglect any information or records, including video recordings of the forensic interview. 

SB 1345 (Wahab) (Chapter 432, Statutes of 2026)
Foster children: rights of foster youth. Extends foster youth the right to have their belongings transported during placement changes and other moves in a manner that preserves the youth’s property and dignity, including the use of suitcases and moving boxes rather than trash bags. The measure also includes the right to maintain reasonable access to and use of personal belongings, clothing, and personal items.  

SB 1421 (McGuire) (Chapter 712, Statutes of 2026)
California Child and Family Service Review System: nonminor dependents. Requires the California Child and Family Review System to include data measures related to utilization of programs for nonminor dependents that are designed to reduce poverty and requires CDSS to conduct a comprehensive review of county performance on those measures.  

Conservators/Public Guardians/Public Administrators

AB 1660 (Shiavo) (Chapter 369, Statutes of 2026)
Public guardians and public administrators. This measure, which was sponsored by the California State Association of Public Administrators (PAs), Public Guardians (PGs) and Public Conservators (PCs), compels financial intuitions and third parties to promptly comply with lawful requests for information from PAs, PGs, and PCs. The measure also authorizes courts to impose fines of no less than $1,000 when these institutions fail to comply within 30 days following receipt of service. CSAC supported this measure. 

AB 2598 (Krell) (Chapter 627, Statutes of 2026)
Health care facilities: notification of next of kin. Requires hospitals and skilled nursing facilities to reasonably attempt to contact next of kin within 72 hours of a person’s death and, if none can be located, notify the county’s public administrator within two business days. Among other provisions, imposes civil penalties on these facilities for failing to provide the required notifications. 

SB 561 (Blakespear) (Chapter 649, Statutes of 2026)
Appointment of public guardians. Requires a county public guardian to acknowledge referrals within two business days and complete investigations within a reasonable time. For conservatorship referrals, it requires a county public guardian to determine whether a temporary or general conservatorship is warranted and to inform the referring party of the investigation status upon request.  

Emergency Medical Services  

AB 1607 (González, Mark) (Chapter 882, Statutes of 2026)
Emergency medical services. This measure extends the sunset date on the Maddy Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fund, which is set to expire on January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2037. The Maddy EMS Fund authorizes counties to levy a $2 fee for every $10 of fines on all crimes, penalties, and forfeitures imposed by the court. These funds are used to reimburse uncompensated care in emergency departments. CSAC supported this measure.  

AB 2041 (Carrillo) (Chapter 285, Statutes of 2026)
Emergency medical services. Requires public safety agencies that do not provide prearrival instructions to 911 callers on or before January 1, 2027, to report the status of their compliance to their local emergency medical services agency by January 31, 2027.  

Homelessness  

AB 179 (Committee on Budget) (Chapter 68, Statutes of 2026)
Housing. Among other provisions, this budget trailer bill establishes the requirements for applicants to be eligible for Round 7 of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Program funding. CSAC successfully advocated for funding beyond the $500 million originally proposed for HHAP Round 7. The final budget agreement also reflected CSAC’s efforts to streamline implementation and accelerate the release of funds. Rather than submit a new application, recipients will receive HHAP Round 7 funding as additional Round 6 disbursements under approved Regionally Coordinated Homelessness Action Plans. A summary of HHAP Round 7 requirements, as well as a link to the Notice of Funding Availability, can be viewed here.  

AB 1556 (Haney) (Chapter 779, Statutes of 2026)
Recovery housing: funding. Requires applicants for state funding for recovery housing to show a range of recovery supports is available and sets specific conditions that recovery housing programs must meet in order to qualify for state funding. These conditions include following Housing First principles, restricting eviction for relapse alone, providing relapse support, and maintaining a written return-to-use policy.  

AB 1924 (Gabriel) (Chapter 794, Statutes of 2026)
Statewide homelessness prevention strategy. Requires the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, by July 1, 2028, to develop and publish a statewide homelessness prevention strategy. CSAC supported this measure.  

AB 2128 (Haney) (Chapter 922, Statutes of 2026)
Housing authorities: term limits and work requirements. Prohibits, unless required by federal law, a housing authority or other covered housing provider from establishing or implementing term limits or work requirements as a condition for housing assistance. The measure also permits housing providers to establish or implement voluntary employment or job training programs.  

AB 2146 (Stefani) (Chapter 923, Statutes of 2026)
Coordinated Entry System: study. Requires the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to complete and publish, by July 1, 2028, a comprehensive statewide study of the coordinated entry system and its role in connecting people experiencing homelessness to affordable housing.  

SB 479 (Arreguín) (Chapter 969, Statutes of 2026). 
Homeless adult and family multidisciplinary personnel teams. Authorizes a city that is designated as a local health jurisdiction to establish a homeless adult and family multidisciplinary personnel team (MDT). For all county homeless MDTs, this measure adds new privacy requirements and requires additional record retention for information shared telephonically by MDTs.  

SB 802 (Ashby) (Chapter 417, Statutes of 2026)
Housing finance and development: Sacramento Regional Housing and Homelessness Joint Powers Authority Act. Requires, by January 1, 2028, the County of Sacramento and the cities within to form a joint powers authority for purposes of providing regional housing and homelessness services. CSAC, along with the Urban Counties of California, called for the Governor’s veto of AB 802, as it strips the County of Sacramento of local decision-making authority and sets a concerning precedent for the state to mandate the formation of local joint powers authorities (JPAs). 

In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS)

AB 2278 (Ávila Farías) (Chapter 390, Statutes of 2026)
In-home supportive services: Community First Choice Option program: noncompliance penalties. Requires the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), by July 1, 2029, to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on the amount of payments made by counties for the Community First Choice Option program.  

Medi-Cal 

AB 113 (Gabriel) (Chapter 248, Statutes of 2026)
Budget Act of 2026. Among other provisions, requires the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) to partner with the University of California to evaluate changes to the insured and uninsured populations of California, utilization trends, including county indigent health programs, and asses the impacts of H.R. 1 on health care and nutrition programs. Requires CalHHS to submit written findings to the Legislature by March 31, 2027.  

AB 2161 (Bonta) (Chapter 209, Statutes of 2026)
Medi-Cal eligibility: work or community engagement. Makes technical changes to the state’s implementation of the new federal Medicaid work or community engagement requirements enacted through the federal H.R. 1. The measure clarifies in state code which individuals are subject to the requirements, what income counts when determining whether a person is working for purposes of the requirements, and specify the steps counties must take when they are unable to verify whether an individual meets the work or community engagement requirements.  

AB 2194 (Valencia) (Chapter 588, Statutes of 2026)
Medi-Cal: special commissions. Makes changes to the governance of the Orange County Health Authority (CalOptima Board) and requires an independent audit of the CalOptima Board, which governs the county organized health system health plan that serves Medi-Cal members in Orange County. CSAC, UCC, and RCRC were opposed to a prior version of this measure. However, the coalition removed our opposition following amendments that, among other things, restored county supervisor positions on the board and removed a proposed new nomination process.  

AB 2348 (Bonta) (Chapter 600, Statutes of 2026)
Medi-Cal: enhanced care management and community supports. Updates Medi-Cal’s enhanced care management and community support rules by revising program definitions, removing outdated implementation dates, and adding new reporting requirements. 

AB 2486 (Addis) (Chapter 304, Statutes of 2026)
Medi-Cal: Whole Child Model program. Extends the sunset on the existing California Children’s Services (CCS) Advisory Group to January 1, 2037, broadens its duties, adds specified stakeholders, and requires a biennial report. 

SB 177 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) (Chapter 64, Statutes of 2026)
Medi-Cal: Fair Share from Big Corporations Act. Requires the Department of Finance, on or before March 1, 2027, to present to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee one or more options for holding the state’s largest corporations accountable for the taxpayers’ costs of providing health care coverage for their employes who are enrolled in the Medi-Cal program.  

Public Health 

AB 1129 (Rodriguez, Celeste) (Chapter 874, Statutes of 2026)
Birth conditions monitoring. Authorizes a local health jurisdiction (LHJ) to initiate and maintain programs to monitor birth conditions that are present during the 12-month period after birth in their local health jurisdictions. The measure authorizes a local health officer to maintain a system to collect specified information.  

AB 1679 (González, Mark) (Chapter 825, Statutes of 2026)
Local pop-up small business program. Requires cities and counties to allow pop-up small businesses to operate on a temporary basis. The measure also requires local jurisdictions to provide written accessibility compliance guidance materials to an applicant, and authorizes local jurisdictions to establish fees not exceeding the reasonable costs of program administration and create enforcement mechanisms and penalties for noncompliance.  

SB 758 (Umberg) (Chapter 979, Statutes of 2026)
Public health: nitrous oxide. Prohibits a tobacco retailer from selling nitrous oxide at a retail location, which does not include a grocery store but does include a convenience store. Additionally, the measure specifies that a city or county may adopt an ordinance imposing greater restriction on the retail sale of nitrous oxide.  

SB 977 (Weber Pierson) (Chapter 724, Statutes of 2026)
Chain restaurants: children’s meals. Requires chain restaurants that sell a children’s meal to offer at least one children’s meal that meets specified minimum nutrition standards, including that the meal not contain more than 550 calories. The measure requires these restaurants, on or before July 1, 2027, to provide information to its employees on how to comply with those requirements.  

Miscellaneous 

AB 1996 (Bonta) (Chapter 568, Statutes of 2026)
California Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council. Establishes, within CDSS, the California Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council, with specified members tasked with, among other things, evaluating policy and budget proposals to consider if they increase or decrease child poverty.  

AB 1811 (Rogers) (Chapter 549, Statutes of 2026)
Health professionals. Preserves Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designations held as of January 1, 2025, through January 1, 2035, for purposes of state benefits, incentives, and resource prioritization. CSAC joined a large coalition, led by the Rural County Representatives of California, in support of this measure.  

SB 1099 (Reyes) (Chapter 1009, Statutes of 2026) State and local public benefits. Clarifies the ability of local governments to provide state or local public benefits at their discretion, for purposes of compliance with the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.