California Welfare and Institutions Code § 16501

(a) (1) As used in this chapter, “child welfare services” means public social services that are directed toward the accomplishment of any or all of the following purposes: (A) Protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, including disabled, homeless, dependent, or neglected children. (B) Preventing or remedying, or assisting in the solution of problems that may result in, the neglect, abuse, exploitation, or delinquency of children. (C) Preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their families by identifying family problems, assisting families in resolving their problems, and preventing breakup of the family where the prevention of child removal is desirable and possible. (D) Restoring to their families children who have been removed, by the provision of services to the child and the families. (E) Identifying children to be placed in suitable adoptive homes, in cases where restoration to the biological family is not possible or appropriate. (F) Ensuring adequate care of children away from their homes, in cases where the child cannot be returned home or cannot be placed for adoption. (2) “Child welfare services” also means services provided on behalf of children alleged to be the victims of child abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The child welfare services provided on behalf of each child represent a continuum of services, including emergency response services, family preservation services, family maintenance services, family reunification services, and permanent placement services, including supportive transition services. The individual child’s case plan is the guiding principle in the provision of these services. The case plan shall be developed within a maximum of 60 days of the initial removal of the child or of the in-person response required under subdivision (f) if the child has not been removed from their home, or by the date of the dispositional hearing pursuant to Section 358, whichever comes first. (3) “Child welfare services” are best provided in a framework that integrates service planning and delivery among multiple service systems, including the mental health system, using a team-based approach, such as a child and family team. A child and family team brings together individuals that engage with the child or youth and family in assessing, planning, and delivering services consistent with paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 16501.1. Use of a team approach increases efficiency, and thus reduces cost, by increasing coordination of formal services and integrating the natural and informal supports available to the child or youth and family. (4) “Child and family team” means a group of individuals who are convened by the placing agency and who are engaged through a variety of team-based processes to identify the strengths and needs of the child or youth and their family, and to help achieve positive outcomes for safety, permanency, and well-being. The child and family team shall have the same meaning as the “family and permanency team,” as described in Section 675a(c)(1)(B)(ii) of Title 42 of the United States Code. (A) The activities of the team shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: (i) Providing input into the development of a child and family plan that is strengths-based, needs-driven, and culturally relevant. (ii) Providing input into the placement decision made by the placing agency and the services to be provided in order to support the child or youth. (iii) On and after October 1, 2021, for a child placed into a short-term residential therapeutic program, providing input into all of the following: (I) Required determinations by a qualified individual pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 4096. (II) Required components of the case plan, including those specified in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 16501.1. (III) Development of the plan for family-based aftercare services described in Section 4096.6. (iv) Provi

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