(a) A foster family agency shall require the owner or operator of a family home applying for certification to sign an application that shall contain, but shall not be limited to, the following information:

(1) Whether the applicant has been certified, and by which foster family agency.

(2) Whether the applicant has been decertified, and by which foster family agency.

(3) Whether a placement hold has been placed on the applicant by a foster family agency, and by which foster family agency.

(4) Whether the applicant has been a foster home licensed by a county or by the state and, if so, by which county or state, or whether the applicant has been approved for relative placement by a county and, if so, by which county.

(b) (1) The application form signed by the owner or operator of the family home applying for certification shall contain notice to the applicant for certification that the foster family agency is required to check references of all foster family agencies that have previously certified the applicant and of all state or county licensing offices that have licensed the applicant as a foster parent, and that the signing of the application constitutes the authorization of the applicant for the foster family agency to conduct its check of references.

(2) The application form signed by the owner or operator of the family home applying for certification shall be signed with a declaration by the applicant that the information submitted is true, correct, and contains no material omissions of fact to the best knowledge and belief of the applicant. Any person who declares as true any material matter pursuant to this section that he or she knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor. The application shall include a statement that submitting false information is a violation of law punishable by incarceration, a fine, or both incarceration and a fine.

(c) This section shall apply only to certified family home applications received on or before December 31, 2016, in accordance with Section 1517.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 612, Sec. 22. (AB 1997) Effective January 1, 2017.)