August 14, 2015
The Honorable Ricardo Lara
Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee
State Capitol, Room 5050
Sacramento, CA 95814
Re: AB 1299 (Ridley-Thomas)
– Medi-Cal: specialty mental health services: foster children
As Amended on July 16, 2015 – SUPPORT IF AMENDED
Set for Hearing on August 17, 2015 – Senate Appropriations Committee
Dear Senator Lara:
The California State Association of Counties (CSAC), the County Welfare Directors
Association (CWDA), and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association (CBHDA) have a SUPPORT IF AMENDED position on AB 1299 by Assembly Member Sebastian
Ridley-Thomas.
AB 1299 attempts to address how mental health services are provided in a timely manner to foster or probation youth who are placed out of the county of original jurisdiction. Counties share the goal of ensuring critical services for foster and probation youth regardless of their county of residence.
As the providers responsible for the safety and well-being of children – the child welfare social workers, the probation officers, and the behavioral health staff – we are tasked with finding appropriate placements for vulnerable foster youth that are in the best interests of the child.
To that end, we have worked closely with the author, the California Alliance of Child and
Family Services, and the Steinberg Institute to amend the bill to both ensure the timely provision of services for foster children placed outside of their original county and preserve the current authority and processes for child welfare services social workers and probation officers.
The sponsors have incorporated several of our suggested amendments into the July 16 version of the bill, including important criteria for exceptions to the transfer of jurisdiction

AB 1299 (Ridley-Thomas) – Support if Amended
August 14, 2015
Page 2 and some revisions to the original fiscal language, for which we are grateful. However, additional work is needed to address our concerns.
Some areas that still need significant refinement include recognizing the current authority for placement decisions bestowed on child welfare services social workers or probation officers by federal law, as outlined in each child’s treatment plan and informed by the county behavioral health department, the child’s parent or guardian or other medical rights holder, and the child and family team, if one exists.
We are also working toward a solution for the fiscal aspects of the bill and have suggested language without a timeline but with a recommendation that the Mental
Health Plan (MHP) contract be amended to allow transfer of authorization and beneficiary protection responsibilities which are linked to federal payment for the county of residence MHPs.
We understand the author and sponsors’ aim for AB 1299, and while we have worked together to attempt to create an implementable bill, the current text does not address our ongoing concerns and creates both state and county costs. We remain committed to providing mental health services to thousands of our most vulnerable foster and probation youth, regardless of the outcome of AB 1299. Thank you for the opportunity to address your committee.
Sincerely,
Farrah McDaid Ting, Legislative Representative
California State Association of Counties (CSAC)
Cathy Senderling-McDonald, Deputy Executive Director
County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA)
Patricia Ryan, Interim Executive Director
County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California (CBHDA)

AB 1299 (Ridley-Thomas) – Support if Amended
August 14, 2015
Page 3 cc: The Honorable Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, Member, California State Assembly
Honorable Members, Senate Appropriations Committee
Diana Dooley, Secretary, California Health and Human Services Agency
Donna Campbell, Deputy Legislative Secretary, Office of Governor Brown
Jennifer Kent, Director, California Department of Health Care Services
Kiyomi Burchill, Deputy Secretary for Legislative Affairs, Health and Human
Services Agency
Jennifer Troia, Consultant, Office of pro Tempore de León
Sara Rogers, Consultant, Senate Human Services Committee
Joe Parra, Consultant, Senate Republican Caucus
Rosie McCool, Deputy Executive Director, Chief Probation Officers of California