Article 8. Community Care Facilities For Wards Of The Juvenile Court of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 2. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 8.

It is the intent of the Legislature that each county be encouraged to provide, in the county, a number and variety of licensed community care facilities, as defined in Sections 1502 and 1503 of the Health and Safety Code, commensurate to the needs of minors adjudged wards of the juvenile court pursuant to Section 601 or 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, hereinafter in this article referred to as wards of the juvenile court, who are residents of the county.

It is further the intent of the Legislature that, where city or county zoning restrictions unreasonably impair the ability of a county to serve the needs of its residents who are wards of the juvenile court, the removal of these restrictions is hereby encouraged and is a matter of high state interest.

As used in this article, the term "wards of the juvenile court" shall include minors who have been found by the juvenile court to be described by Section 601 or 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as well as minors who are described by Section 601 or 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code who have been diverted from formal juvenile court proceedings. It is further the intent of the Legislature to encourage that wards of the juvenile court be placed in licensed community care facilities within their county of residence, unless an individual ward has identifiable needs requiring specialized care which cannot be provided in a local facility, or unless the needs of the individual ward dictate physical separation from his family.

(a) No licensed community care facility may receive a ward of the juvenile court as described in Section 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code until the probation officer of the county in which the community care facility is located has received notice, in writing, by fax, or electronically transmitted, of the placement, as prescribed in Section 740 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, including the name of the ward, the juvenile record of the ward, including any known prior offenses or gang affiliation, and the ward' s county of residence, from the probation officer of the county making the placement, or, in the case of a ward of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities, the parole officer in charge of the case. The licensed community care facility shall maintain a copy of this notice on file as evidence of compliance with this section.
  (b) (1) The probation officer of a county making an out-of-county placement of a ward of the juvenile court as described in Section 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code shall notify the probation officer of the county in which the community care facility is located at least 24 hours prior to receipt of the ward by the licensed community care facility. If the ward is received on a weekend or holiday, notification shall be made by the end of the next business day.
  (2) A probation officer of a county making an out-of-county placement of a ward of the juvenile court who makes a notification pursuant to paragraph (1) shall also send, at that time, a copy of the notification to the community care facility where the ward is being placed.

The State Department of Social Services shall provide, at cost, quarterly to each county and to each city, upon the request of the county or city, and to the chief probation officer of each county and city and county, a roster of all community care facilities licensed as small family homes, short-term residential treatment centers, or group homes located in the county, which provide services to wards of the juvenile court, including information as to whether each facility is licensed by the state or the county, the type of facility, and the licensed bed capacity of each such facility. Information concerning the facility shall be limited to that available through the computer system of the State Department of Social Services.

This article shall not apply to existing community care facilities for wards of the juvenile court which have received city or county zoning approval prior to the effective date of this article.

A community care facility for wards of the juvenile court, which serves six or fewer persons shall not be subject to any business taxes, local registration fees, use permit fees, or other fees to which other single family dwellings are not likewise subject. Nothing in this section shall be construed to forbid the imposition of local property taxes, fees for water service and garbage collection, fees for inspections not prohibited by Section 1567.9, local bond assessments, and other fees, charges, and assessments to which other single family dwellings are likewise subject. Neither the State Fire Marshal nor any local public entity shall charge any fee for enforcing fire inspection regulations pursuant to state law or regulation or local ordinance, with respect to community care facilities for wards of the juvenile court which serve six or fewer persons.