The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Many children adjudicated dependents of the juvenile court pursuant to Section 300 and following are, because of abuse, neglect, or exploitation within the family environment, unable to remain safely in their own homes.
(b) Children requiring placement in foster care are, pursuant to Section 675(5)(a) of Title 42 of the United States Code, entitled to placement in the least restrictive, most family-like setting in close proximity to the parent’s home, consistent with the best interest and special needs of the child.
(c) A significant number of children adjudicated dependents of the juvenile court under Section 300 and following who require placement outside their own homes have special health care needs. Children with biological families who can provide health care services can be discharged from hospital care into home care when it has been determined that the child is medically stable.
(d) Children who have become dependents of the juvenile court may become, because of a lack of appropriate placement options, long-term boarders in hospitals or other health care institutions.
(e) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to support expansion of existing prevention and treatment programs designed to serve the parent and child with special health care needs which are administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, and the State Department of Social Services.
Further, it is the intent of the Legislature to establish a program to place children with special health care needs in specialized foster care homes, licensed, certified, or approved pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1500) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code or approved pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 16519.5) of Chapter 5 of Part 4, wherein foster parents are trained by health care professionals, pursuant to the discharge plan of the facility releasing the child being placed, or who is currently, in foster care.
It is further the intent of the Legislature to encourage, to the extent feasible, the placement of children with special health care needs with relatives trained by health care professionals.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 732, Sec. 113. (AB 404) Effective January 1, 2018.)