(a) (1) The Legislature hereby declares its intent to encourage the continuity of the family unit by all of the following: (A) Consistently providing family preservation services that have a track record of actually helping families. (B) Ensuring that contracts for family preservation services establish minimum standards for tracking and reporting the outcomes of those services. (C) Providing services that have their outcomes tracked and reported for those children within the meaning of Sections 360, 361, and 364 when they are returned to the family unit or when a minor will probably soon be within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court pursuant to Section 301. (D) Providing counseling and family support services designed to eradicate the situation that necessitated intervention and that have a track record of actually helping families. (2) The Legislature finds that maintaining abused and neglected children in foster care grows increasingly costly each year, and that adequate funding for family services that might enable these children to remain in their homes is not as readily available as funding for foster care placement. (3) The Legislature further finds that other state bodies have addressed this problem through various systems of flexible reimbursement in child welfare programs that provide for more intensive and appropriate services to prevent foster care placement or significantly reduce the length of stay in foster care. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that family preservation and support services in California conform to the federal definitions contained in Section 431 of the Social Security Act. The Legislature finds and declares that Californiaâs existing family preservation programs meet the intent of the federal Promoting Safe and Stable Families program. (c) (1) Services that may be provided under this program may include, but are not limited to, counseling, mental health treatment and substance abuse treatment services, including treatment at a residential substance abuse treatment facility that accepts families, parenting, respite, day treatment, transportation, homemaking, and family support services. Each county that chooses to provide mental health treatment and substance abuse treatment shall identify and develop these services in consultation with county mental health treatment and substance abuse treatment agencies. Additional services may include those enumerated in Sections 16506 and 16507. The services to be provided pursuant to this section may be determined by each participating county. Each county may contract with individuals and organizations for services to be provided pursuant to this section. Each county shall utilize available private nonprofit resources in the county prior to developing new county-operated resources when these private nonprofit resources are of at least equal quality and costs as county-operated resources and shall utilize available county resources of at least equal quality and cost prior to new private nonprofit resources. (2) Participating counties authorized by this subdivision shall provide specific programs of direct services based on individual family needs as reflected in the service plans to families of the following: (A) Children who are dependent children not taken from physical custody of their parents or guardians pursuant to Section 364. (B) Children who are dependent children removed from the physical custody of their parents or guardian pursuant to Section 361. (C) Children who it is determined will probably soon be within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court pursuant to Section 301. (D) Upon approval of the department, children who have been adjudged wards of the court pursuant to Sections 601 and 602. (E) Upon approval of the department, families of children subject to Sections 726 and 727. (F) Upon approval of the department, children who are determined to require out-of-home placement. (3) The services shall only be provided to families whose
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