• Budget and Fiscal News
• CWS Improvements
• Public Records Poster
• Public Records Policy
• Archived Items
• CDSS Websites

Right Column

Specialized Care

1. What is specialized care?

Specialized care is a system that allows a county to pay a rate greater than the family home basic rate, on behalf of children who receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC), who are placed in family homes and require additional care because of health and/or behavior problems.

2. What is the purpose of specialized care?

Specialized care provides a supplemental payment to the family home provider, in addition to the family home basic rate, for the cost of supervision (and the cost of providing that supervision) to meet the additional daily care needs of an AFDC-FC child who has a health and/or behavior problem. Placement of children who need specialized care in family homes complies with the intent of State and federal requirements that a child is entitled to placement in a family environment, in close proximity to the parent's home, and consistent with the best interest and special needs of the child. California's specialized care rate setting system promotes these concepts.

3. Can any AFDC-FC child with a health and/or behavior problem receive a specialized care increment?

Children who are placed under the authority of a court order, either as a dependent or ward of the Juvenile Court, relinquishment, voluntary placement agreement or guardianship may be eligible to receive a specialized care rate if the county has a specialized care system. Not all counties in California have a specialized care system.

4. Are there any restrictions on the type of facility in which the child must be placed to receive a specialized care rate?

Children placed in a licensed or approved family home, licensed small family home, the certified home of a Foster Family Agency nontreatment program or the home of a relative or nonrelated legal guardian may be eligible to receive a specialized care rate.

5. Who is responsible for the development, maintenance, and administration of the specialized care rate setting system in California?

California's county welfare departments are responsible for developing, maintaining, and administering county-specific specialized care systems. The State is responsible for approving all county proposals to modify or adopt a system. Currently 55 counties have specialized care systems:

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Child & Youth Permanency Branch
California Department of Social Services
744 P Street - M/S 14-78
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 651-7465

Contact the County Child Welfare Agency Representative for assistance in establishing proper payment of specialized care rates for foster children.