Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which is permitted to adjudge certain children to be dependents of the court under certain circumstances until the dependent child attains 21 years of age. Existing law also authorizes the juvenile court to resume jurisdiction over a nonminor who has attained 18 years of age, but not yet attained 21 years of age, and for whom the court has dismissed dependency, delinquency, or transition jurisdiction.
Existing law, the California Fostering Connections to Success Act, revises and expands the scope of various programs relating to the provision of cash assistance and other services to and for the benefit of certain foster and adopted children, and other children who have been placed in out-of-home care, including children who receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) , Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) , California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) , and Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) benefits. Among other provisions, the act extends specified foster care benefits to nonminor dependents up to 21 years of age, if specified conditions are met. Existing law defines a nonminor dependent for these purposes as a foster child who is a current dependent child or ward of the juvenile court, or who is a nonminor under the transition jurisdiction of the juvenile court pursuant to a voluntary reentry agreement, and in accordance with a transitional independent living case plan who has attained 18 years of age while under an order of foster care placement by the juvenile court and is not older than 21 years of age.
This bill would expand the dependency and transitional jurisdiction of the juvenile court to a nonminor who has not attained 22 years of age if the court makes a finding on the record by a preponderance of the evidence that the nonminor is experiencing homelessness or is at reasonable risk of homelessness if they are not under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, among other requirements. The bill would also expand the eligibility of foster care benefits by revising the definition of nonminor dependent to include a foster child who meets the above-described requirements and is not older than 22 years of age if the court makes that same finding. The bill would also make these nonminors eligible for benefits under AFDC-FC, CalWORKs, Kin-GAP, and AAP. The bill would also make related conforming changes. By expanding the application of county administered programs, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the AFDC-FC and CalWORKs programs.
This bill would provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Statutes affected:
SB 9: 303 WIC, 388 WIC, 388.1 WIC, 450 WIC, 10103.5 WIC, 11400 WIC, 11403 WIC
12/05/22 - Introduced: 303 WIC, 388 WIC, 388.1 WIC, 450 WIC, 10103.5 WIC, 11400 WIC, 11403 WIC
03/08/23 - Amended Senate: 303 WIC, 366.31 WIC, 388 WIC, 388.1 WIC, 391 WIC, 450 WIC, 452 WIC, 10103.5 WIC, 11363 WIC, 11386 WIC, 11400 WIC, 11403 WIC, 11403.1 WIC, 11405 WIC, 11464 WIC, 16120 WIC, 16501.1 WIC
SB9: 303 WIC, 388 WIC, 388.1 WIC, 450 WIC, 10103.5 WIC, 11400 WIC, 11403 WIC