California Welfare And Institutions Code Section 11461

(a) For children placed in a licensed or approved family home with a capacity of six or less, or in an approved home of a relative or nonrelated legal guardian, or the approved home of a nonrelative extended family member as described in Section 362.7, the per child per month rates in the following schedule shall be in effect for the period July 1, 1989, through December 31, 1989: Age Basic rate 0-4................................ $ 294 5-8................................ 319 9-11............................... 340 12-14............................... 378 15-20............................... 412 (b) (1) Any county that, as of October 1, 1989, has in effect a basic rate that is at the levels set forth in the schedule in subdivision (a), shall continue to receive state participation, as specified in subdivision (c) of Section 15200, at these levels. (2) Any county that, as of October 1, 1989, has in effect a basic rate that exceeds a level set forth in the schedule in subdivision (a), shall continue to receive the same level of state participation as it received on October 1, 1989. (c) The amounts in the schedule of basic rates in subdivision (a) shall be adjusted as follows: (1) Effective January 1, 1990, the amounts in the schedule of basic rates in subdivision (a) shall be increased by 12 percent. (2) Effective May 1, 1990, any county that did not increase the basic rate by 12 percent on January 1, 1990, shall do both of the following: (A) Increase the basic rate in effect December 31, 1989, for which state participation is received by 12 percent. (B) Increase the basic rate, as adjusted pursuant to subparagraph (A) by an additional 5 percent. (3) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), effective July 1, 1990, for the 1990-91 fiscal year, the amounts in the schedule of basic rates in subdivision (a) shall be increased by an additional 5 percent. (B) The rate increase required by subparagraph (A) shall not be applied to rates increased May 1, 1990, pursuant to paragraph (2). (4) Effective July 1, 1998, the amounts in the schedule of basic rates in subdivision (a) shall be increased by 6 percent. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 6-percent increase provided for in this paragraph shall, retroactive to July 1, 1998, apply to every county, including any county to which paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) applies, and shall apply to foster care for every age group. (5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any increase that takes effect after July 1, 1998, shall apply to every county, including any county to which paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) applies, and shall apply to foster care for every age group. (6) The increase in the basic foster family home rate shall apply only to children placed in a licensed foster family home receiving the basic rate or in an approved home of a relative or nonrelative extended family member, as described in Section 362.7 or nonrelated legal guardian receiving the basic rate. The increased rate shall not be used to compute the monthly amount that may be paid to licensed foster family agencies for the placement of children in certified foster homes. (d) (1) (A) Beginning with the 1991-92 fiscal year, the schedule of basic rates in subdivision (a) shall be adjusted by the percentage changes in the California Necessities Index, computed pursuant to the methodology described in Section 11453, subject to the availability of funds. (B) In addition to the adjustment in subparagraph (A) effective January 1, 2000, the schedule of basic rates in subdivision (a) shall be increased by 2.36 percent rounded to the nearest dollar. (C) Effective January 1, 2008, the schedule of basic rates in subdivision (a), as adjusted pursuant to subparagraph (B), shall be increased by 5 percent, rounded to the nearest dollar. The increased rate shall not be used to compute the monthly amount that may be paid to licensed foster family agencies for the placement of children in certified foster family homes, and shall not be used to recompute the foster care maintenance payment that would have been paid based on the age-related, state-approved foster family home care rate and any applicable specialized care increment, for any adoption assistance agreement entered into prior to October 1, 1992, or in any subsequent reassessment for adoption assistance agreements executed before January 1, 2008. (2) (A) Any county that, as of the 1991-92 fiscal year, receives state participation for a basic rate that exceeds the amount set forth in the schedule of basic rates in subdivision (a) shall receive an increase each year in state participation for that basic rate of one-half of the percentage adjustments specified in paragraph (1) until the difference between the county`s adjusted state participation level for its basic rate and the adjusted schedule of basic rates is eliminated. (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), all counties for the 1999 -2000 fiscal year and the 2007-08 fiscal year shall receive an increase in state participation for the basic rate of the entire percentage adjustment described in paragraph (1). (3) If a county has, after receiving the adjustments specified in paragraph (2), a state participation level for a basic rate that is below the amount set forth in the adjusted schedule of basic rates for that fiscal year, the state participation level for that rate shall be further increased to the amount specified in the adjusted schedule of basic rates. (e) (1) As used in this section, specialized care increment means an approved amount paid with state participation on behalf of an AFDC-FC child requiring specialized care to a home listed in subdivision (a) in addition to the basic rate. On the effective date of this section, the department shall continue and maintain the current ratesetting system for specialized care. (2) Any county that, as of the effective date of this section, has in effect specialized care increments that have been approved by the department, shall continue to receive state participation for those payments. (3) Any county that, as of the effective date of this section, has in effect specialized care increments that exceed the amounts that have been approved by the department, shall continue to receive the same level of state participation as it received on the effective date of this section. (4) (A) Except for subparagraph (B), beginning January 1, 1990, specialized care increments shall be adjusted in accordance with the methodology for the schedule of basic rates described in subdivision (c) and (d). No county shall receive state participation for any increases in a specialized care increment which exceeds the adjustments made in accordance with this methodology. (B) Notwithstanding subdivision (e) of Section 11460, for the 1993 -94 fiscal year, an amount equal to 5 percent of the State Treasury appropriation for family homes shall be added to the total augmentation for the AFDC-FC program in order to provide incentives and assistance to counties in the area of specialized care. This appropriation shall be used, but not limited to, encouraging counties to implement or expand specialized care payment systems, to recruit and train foster parents for the placement of children with specialized care needs, and to develop county systems to encourage the placement of children in family homes. It is the intent of the Legislature that in the use of these funds, federal financial participation shall be claimed whenever possible. (f) (1) As used in this section, clothing allowance means the amount paid with state participation in addition to the basic rate for the provision of additional clothing for an AFDC-FC child, including, but not limited to, an initial supply of clothing and school or other uniforms. (2) Any county that, as of the effective date of this section, has in effect clothing allowances, shall continue to receive the same level as it received on the effective date of this section. (3) (A) Commencing in the 2007-08 fiscal year, for children whose foster care payment is the responsibility of Colusa, Plumas, and Tehama Counties, the amount of the clothing allowance may be up to two hundred seventy-four dollars ($274) per child per year. (B) Each county listed in subparagraph (A) that elects to receive the clothing allowance shall submit a Clothing Allowance Program Notification to the department within 60 days after the effective date of the act that adds this paragraph. (C) The Clothing Allowance Program Notification shall identify the specific amounts to be paid and the disbursement schedule for these clothing allowance payments. (4) Beginning January 1, 1990, except as provided in paragraph (5), clothing allowances shall be adjusted annually in accordance with the methodology for the schedule of basic rates described in subdivision (c) and (d). No county shall be reimbursed for any increases in clothing allowances which exceed the adjustments made in accordance with this methodology. (5) For the 2000-01 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, without a county share of cost, notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 15200, each child shall be entitled to receive a supplemental clothing allowance of one hundred dollars ($100) per year subject to the availability of funds. The clothing allowance shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, the clothing allowance specified in paragraph (1).