California Welfare And Institutions Code Section 4357.2

(a) New sites shall be chosen from areas of the state that are not currently served by a site. Two new sites shall be located in the southern portion of the state and two new sites shall be located in the northern portion of the state. Of these, at least one site shall be located in a rural area. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a site from serving multiple counties. Implementation of the new sites shall be contingent upon funds appropriated by the Legislature and funds becoming available for this purpose. (b) The department, in conjunction with the existing sites, shall develop guidelines and procedures for the coordinated continuum-of-care model and its component services. The existing sites shall assist the department in providing orientation, training, and technical assistance to the new sites. (c) Up to 10 percent of funds allocated to new sites during their first year of operation may be expended for training, technical assistance, and mentoring by existing sites and any other source of assistance appropriate to the needs of the new sites. A plan and budget for technical assistance and mentoring shall be included in the proposals submitted by potential sites. (d) Mentoring activities shall include, but not be limited to, assisting new sites in refining their continuum-of-care model and its component services, developing guidelines and procedures, and providing advice in meeting the needs of traumatic brain injury survivors and their caregivers, as well as carrying out community outreach and networking with community groups and service providers. Mentoring shall be carried out with the goal of responding to the needs identified by the new sites, transferring the knowledge and expertise of the existing sites, and helping each new site to be successful in developing an effective program that takes into account the needs, resources, and priorities of their local community. Mentoring shall be coordinated with and overseen by the department. (e) Department staff and site directors shall meet quarterly as a group for ongoing technical assistance, transfer of knowledge, and refinement of the models of continuum of care. (f) Existing and new sites may allocate up to 15 percent of annual program funds to any appropriate caregiver resource center to assist in caregiver services.