366.1.
Each supplemental report required to be filed pursuant to Section 366 shall include, but not be limited to, a factual discussion of each of the following subjects:(a) Whether the county welfare department social worker has considered either of the following:
(1) Child protective services, as defined in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 16500) of Part 4 of Division 9, as a possible solution to the problems at hand, and has offered those services to qualified parents, if appropriate under the circumstances.
(2) Whether the child can be returned to the custody of the child’s parent who is enrolled in a certified substance abuse treatment facility that allows a
dependent child to reside with the child’s parent.
(b) What plan, if any, for the return and maintenance of the child in a safe home is recommended to the court by the county welfare department social worker.
(c) Whether the subject child appears to be a person who is eligible to be considered for further court action to free the child from parental custody and control.
(d) What actions, if any, have been taken by the parent to correct the problems that caused the child to be made a dependent child of the court.
(e) If the parent or guardian is unwilling or unable to participate in making an educational decision for their child, or if other circumstances exist that compromise the ability of the parent or guardian to make educational decisions for the
child, the county welfare department or social worker shall consider whether the right of the parent or guardian to make educational decisions for the child should be limited. If the supplemental report makes that recommendation, the report shall identify whether there is a responsible adult available to make educational decisions for the child pursuant to Section 361.
(f) (1) The health and education of the minor, including a copy of the complete health and education summary, as required under Section 16010, including the name and contact information of the person or persons currently holding the right to make educational decisions for the child.
(2) In instances in which it is determined that disclosure pursuant to paragraph (1) of the contact information of the person or persons currently holding the right to make educational decisions for the child poses
a threat to the health and safety of that individual or those individuals, that contact information shall be redacted or withheld from the health and education summary within the supplemental report described in this section.
(g) (1) Whether the child has any siblings under the court’s jurisdiction, and, if any siblings exist, all of the following:
(A) The nature of the relationship between the child and the child’s siblings.
(B) The appropriateness of developing or maintaining the sibling relationships pursuant to Section 16002.
(C) If the siblings are not placed together in the same home, why the siblings are not placed together and what efforts are being made to place the siblings together, or why those efforts are not
appropriate.
(D) If the siblings are not placed together, all of the following:
(i) The frequency and nature of the visits between the siblings.
(ii) If there are visits between the siblings, whether the visits are supervised or unsupervised. If the visits are supervised, a discussion of the reasons why the visits are supervised, and what needs to be accomplished in order for the visits to be unsupervised.
(iii) If there are visits between the siblings, a description of the location and length of the visits.
(iv) Any plan to increase visitation between the siblings.
(E) The impact of the sibling relationships on the child’s
placement and planning for legal permanence.
(2) The factual discussion shall include a discussion of indicators of the nature of the child’s sibling relationships, including, but not limited to, whether the siblings were raised together in the same home, whether the siblings have shared significant common experiences or have existing close and strong bonds, whether either sibling expresses a desire to visit or live with their sibling, as applicable, and whether ongoing contact is in the child’s best emotional interests.
(h) (1) For a child who is 10 years of age or older and has been under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court for a year or longer, or a nonminor dependent, either of the following:
(A) For a child in junior high or middle school, either that the child has already received
comprehensive sexual health education that meets the requirements of Chapter 5.6 (commencing with Section 51930) of Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code through the school system while in junior high or middle school or how the county will ensure that the child receives that instruction at least once before completing junior high or middle school if the child remains under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court during that timeframe.
(B) For a child in high school or a nonminor dependent, either that the child has received comprehensive sexual health education that meets the requirements of Chapter 5.6 (commencing with Section 51930) of Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code through the school system while in high school, or how the county will ensure that the child or nonminor dependent receives that instruction at least once before completing high school if the child remains under the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court during that timeframe.
(2) For a child who is 10 years of age or older or a nonminor dependent, whether the social worker or probation officer has done all of the following:
(A) Informed the child or nonminor dependent that they may access age-appropriate, medically accurate information about reproductive and sexual health care, including, but not limited to, unplanned pregnancy prevention, abstinence, use of birth control, abortion, and the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
(B) Informed the child or nonminor dependent, in an age and developmentally appropriate manner, of the child’s right to consent to sexual and reproductive health services and the child’s confidentiality rights regarding those services.
(C) Informed the child or nonminor dependent how to access reproductive and sexual health care services and facilitated access to that care, including by assisting with any identified barriers to care, as needed.
(3) This subdivision does not affect any applicable confidentiality law.
(4) On or before January 1, 2023, the Judicial Council shall amend and adopt rules of court and develop appropriate forms for the implementation of this subdivision.
(i) (1) For a child who is 16 years of age or older or for a nonminor dependent, whether the social worker or probation officer has, pursuant to the requirements of paragraph (22) of subdivision (g) of Section 16501.1, identified the person or persons who shall be responsible for assisting the child or nonminor dependent with applications
for postsecondary education and related financial aid, or that the child or nonminor dependent stated that they do not want to pursue postsecondary education, including career or technical education.
(2) On or before January 1, 2023, the Judicial Council shall amend and adopt rules of court and develop appropriate forms for the implementation of this subdivision.
(j) Whether a child who is 10 years of age or older and who has been in an out-of-home placement for six months or longer has relationships with individuals other than the child’s siblings who are important to the child, consistent with the child’s best interests, and actions taken to maintain those relationships. The social worker shall ask every child who is 10 years of age or older and who has been in an out-of-home placement for six months or longer to identify any individuals other than the child’s siblings who are
important to the child, consistent with the child’s best interest. The social worker may ask any other child to provide that information, as appropriate.
(k) The implementation and operation of the amendments to subdivision (j) enacted at the 2005–06 Regular Session shall be subject to appropriation through the budget process and by phase, as provided in Section 366.35.
(l) On and after October 1, 2021, for a child whose placement in a short-term residential therapeutic program has been reviewed and approved, and, on and after July 1, 2022, for a child whose placement in a community treatment facility has been reviewed and approved, pursuant to Section 361.22, the supplemental report shall include evidence of all of the following:
(1) Ongoing assessment of the strengths and needs of the child that continues to
support the determination that the needs of the child cannot be met by family members or in another family-based setting, placement in a short-term residential therapeutic program or community treatment facility, as applicable, continues to provide the most effective and appropriate care setting in the least restrictive environment, and placement is consistent with the short- and long-term mental and behavioral health goals and permanency plan for the child.
(2) Documentation of the child’s specific treatment or service needs that will be met in the placement and the length of time the child is expected to need the treatment or services. For a Medi-Cal beneficiary, the determination of services and expected length of time for those services funded by Medi-Cal shall be based upon medical necessity and on all other state and federal Medi-Cal requirements, and shall be reflected in the documentation.
(3) Documentation of the intensive and ongoing efforts made by the child welfare department, consistent with the child’s permanency plan, to prepare the child to return home or to be placed with a fit and willing relative, a legal guardian, an adoptive parent, in a resource family home or tribally approved home, or in another appropriate family-based setting.
(m) (1) Documentation of the likely emotional and social benefits from one-to-one mentoring services for the child or nonminor dependent, including trauma-informed mentoring, the discussion with the child or nonminor dependent regarding working with a mentor, the child or nonminor dependent’s attitude toward engaging in one-to-one mentoring, efforts made to identify available nonprofit organizations with experience in working
with foster children in one-to-one mentoring, particularly trauma-informed mentoring, and actions taken to refer the child or nonminor dependent for one-to-one mentoring with a mentor.
(2) (A)The social worker shall advise the foster youth that if they participate in a mentoring program, the information described in subparagraph (B) will be shared with the nonprofit organization and mentor.
(B) Only with the explicit written and informed consent of the foster youth, a social worker may provide information regarding the foster youth’s placement and any updates on new placements to the nonprofit organization.
(C) A social worker shall provide updates on new placements to any mentor with whom a foster youth has an existing mentoring relationship prior to the foster youth entering or reentering foster care, even if the
foster youth was not referred to the mentor pursuant to this section.
(D) Notwithstanding a mentoring program being included in the foster youth’s case plan, the foster youth’s participation in the mentoring program shall be on a purely voluntary basis. The foster youth’s subsequent decision to discontinue participation in the mentoring program shall not be the basis for discipline, punishment, or any other adverse action by the social worker or the court.
(E) For purposes of this section, the following terms apply:
(i) “Mentor” means an individual who works for, or volunteers with, a nonprofit organization and provides mentoring services. A mentor providing mentoring services pursuant to this section shall
not be considered as a court-appointed special advocate (CASA), as described in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 100).
(ii) “Mentoring” means a meaningful and mutually desired one-to-one relationship between a mentor and mentee that is fully supported by a parent or guardian and includes outcomes such as positive behaviors and choices, educational and career success, and increased social, emotional, and mental health well-being.
(iii) “Trauma-informed mentoring” means an approach that involves an understanding and consideration of the nature of trauma and promotes environments of healing and recovery rather than practices that may inadvertently retraumatize an individual.