AB 388 Summary

• Requires group homes, transitional housing providers, community treatment facilities, and runaway/homeless youth shelters to report law enforcement contacts involving children to the Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division, with follow-up reports every six months detailing incident type, alleged crimes, demographics, and outcomes.

• Mandates the State Department of Social Services to publish annual lists of licensed facilities that include the number of licensing complaints and types/outcomes of law enforcement contacts for group homes and similar facilities.

• Authorizes county probation and child welfare services departments to consider whether alleged misconduct occurred within the scope of behaviors the facility is designed to manage when determining whether a dependent minor should have dependent or ward status.

• Prohibits courts from detaining dependent minors based solely on their dependent status or lack of available child welfare placements; requires courts to order child welfare services to place minors in licensed/approved placements if current placement is inappropriate.

• Requires the State Department of Health Care Services to develop performance standards and outcome measures by January 1, 2016, for group homes to minimize law enforcement contacts and delinquency petition filings through behavior management programs, emergency intervention plans, and conflict resolution processes.