(a) (1) The department shall adopt regulations for community care facilities licensed as group homes, and for temporary shelter care facilities, as defined in subdivision (c), that care for dependent children, children placed by a regional center, or voluntary placements, who are younger than six years of age. The department shall adopt regulations that apply to short-term residential therapeutic programs that care for children younger than six years of age. The regulations shall include the standards set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 11467.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(2) The department shall adopt regulations under this section that apply to minor parent programs serving children younger than six years of age who reside in a group home with a minor parent who is the primary caregiver of the child. The department shall adopt regulations under this section that apply to short-term residential therapeutic programs that provide minor parent programs serving children younger than six years of age.

(3) To the extent that the department determines they are necessary, the department shall adopt regulations under this section that apply to group homes or short-term residential therapeutic programs that care for dependent children who are 6 to 12 years of age, inclusive. In order to determine whether such regulations are necessary, and what any resulting standards should include, the department shall consult with interested parties that include, but are not limited to, representatives of current and former foster youth, advocates for children in foster care, county welfare and mental health directors, chief probation officers, representatives of care providers, experts in child development, and representatives of the Legislature. The standards may provide normative guidelines differentiated by the needs specific to children in varying age ranges that fall between 6 and 12 years of age, inclusive. Prior to adopting regulations, the department shall submit for public comment, by July 1, 2017, any proposed regulations.

(b) The regulations shall include physical environment standards, including staffing and health and safety requirements, that meet or exceed state childcare standards under Title 5 and Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.

(c) For purposes of this section, a “temporary shelter care facility” means any residential facility that meets all of the following requirements:

(1) It is owned and operated by the county or on behalf of a county by a private, nonprofit agency.

(2) It is a 24-hour facility that provides no more than 10 calendar days of residential care and supervision for children who have been removed from their homes as a result of abuse or neglect, as defined in Section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or both.

(d) (1) The department may license a temporary shelter care facility pursuant to this chapter on or after January 1, 2016. A temporary shelter care license may be issued only to a county operating a licensed group home, or to an agency on behalf of a county, as of January 1, 2016.

(2) The department shall consult with counties that operate these shelters as licensed group homes to develop a transition plan for the development of temporary shelter care facilities to address the unique circumstances and needs of the populations they serve, while remaining consistent with the principles of the act that added this subdivision.

(3) These transition plans shall describe circumstances under which children will be admitted for a period in excess of 24 hours and reflect necessary staffing levels or staffing transitions.

(e) (1) A group home license issued to a county will be forfeited by operation of law upon receipt of a license to operate a temporary shelter care facility, as described in Section 11462.022 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(2) This subdivision does not preclude a county from applying for and being licensed as a short-term residential therapeutic program pursuant to Section 1562.01 or a youth homelessness prevention center pursuant to Section 1502.35, or a foster family agency as authorized by subdivision (b) of Section 11462.02 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 341, Sec. 5. (AB 1235) Effective January 1, 2020.)