(a)  The Kinship Support Services Program provides community-based family support services to relative caregivers and the children placed in their homes by the juvenile court or who are at risk of dependency or delinquency. Relatives with children in voluntary placements may access services, at the discretion of the county.

(b) The counties that elect to participate in the Kinship Support Services Program shall meet the following conditions and requirements:

(1) Have a demonstrated capacity for collaboration and interagency coordination.

(2) Have a viable plan for ongoing financial support of the local kinship support services program.

(3) Utilize relative caregivers as employees of the program.

(4) Have strong and viable public or private agencies to operate the program.

(5) Describe how the county will develop and maintain the necessary community supports.

(c) The Kinship Support Services Program shall demonstrate the use of supportive services provided to relative caregivers and children placed in their homes using a community-based kinship support services model. This model shall provide services to relative caregivers that are aimed at helping to ensure permanent family kinship placements for children who have been placed with them by the juvenile court, and to provide family support services that will eliminate the need for juvenile court jurisdiction and the provision of services by the county welfare department.

(d) The program shall provide family support services appropriate for the target populations. These services may include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Assessment and case management.

(2) Social services referral and intervention aimed at maintaining the kinship family unit, for example, housing, homemaker services, respite care, legal services, and day care.

(3) Transportation for medical care and educational and recreational activities.

(4) Information and referral services.

(5) Individual and group counseling in the area of parent-child relationships and group conflict.

(6) Counseling and referral services aimed at promoting permanency, including kinship adoption and guardianship.

(7) Tutoring and mentoring.

(e) The Edgewood Center for Children and Families in San Francisco or any other appropriate agency or individual approved by the department in consultation with participating counties shall provide technical assistance to the Kinship Support Services Program and shall facilitate the sharing of information and resources among the programs.

(f) Beginning in the 2011–12 fiscal year, and for each fiscal year thereafter, funding and expenditures for programs and activities under this section shall be in accordance with the requirements provided in Sections 30025 and 30026.5 of the Government Code.

(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 35, Sec. 143. (SB 1013) Effective June 27, 2012.)