LA County Board

14. Moving Forward: Removal of Barriers to Family Reunification in Los\nAngeles County and Providing Family Reunification and Maintenance\nServices and Programs in the Los Angeles County Jails for Incarcerated\nParents\nRecommendation as submitted by Supervisor Solis: Instruct the Director of\nChildren and Family Services to move forward with the recommendations listed\nin the Director of Children and Family Services’ April 25, 2024 report entitled,\n“Report Back to the September 26, 2023 Board Motion (Item No. 63-G)\nRegarding Mitigating Financial Barriers to Family Reunification in Los Angeles\nCounty,” and report back to the Board in writing quarterly on the status of the\nbelow, until completed or further notice:\nIssue guidance to staff regarding implementation of Assembly Bill 954\nthat includes a process for submitting emergency funding requests for\nservices that are not funded through existing resources; and once that\nguidance is issued, the Department of Children and Family Services\n(DCFS) will analyze all emergency funding requests to identify service\naccess gaps so that those areas can be prioritized as ongoing funding is\nestablished for Family Reunification (FR) and Family Maintenance (FM)\nservices;\nConduct internal focus groups to identify services and resources that\nstaff are successfully accessing for families on their caseloads, as well\nas which services staff are having difficulty accessing;\nDetermine if collaboration with the Director of Justice, Care, and\nOpportunities will provide a solution to DCFS’ digital platform needs, or if\na solicitation will be required for access to a digital platform; and\nFinalize engagement of a consultant and begin work on improving\nMedi-Cal utilization; and\nInstruct the Director of Children and Family Services, in collaboration with the\nSheriff, to report back to the Board in writing in 90 days, containing the\nfollowing, at a minimum:\nData and information on how many incarcerated parents are in the\nCounty jails; how many incarcerated parents are pre-trial; what\nreunification, visitation, and FR legal aid programs and services are\navailable; how many incarcerated parents are supposed to receive\ncourt-ordered visitation, but are not able to, and why; how many\nincarcerated parents are not able to complete court mandated FR\nprograms due to the unavailability of programs in the County jails and the\nimpact; and what financial barriers supports are available for them to be\nable to participate in FR and FM programs and whether it is provided;\nAssessment of incarcerated parents’ need for FR and FM programs and\nservices, including those mandated by the Court;\nImplementation plan on providing the mandated and needed FR and FM\nservices, classes, and programs for incarcerated parents to reunify with\ntheir children, including a funding plan for those parents who are unable\nto pay for services; and\nIdentification of partnerships and working with community-based\nproviders to provide services, programs, and resources for incarcerated\nparents so that they are able to reunify with their children or maintain\nrelationships with and rights to their children. (24-2966)\nDepartment of Children and Family Services' Report April 25, 2024