New California Laws 2026
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of care and supervision of a child of a foster youth to be adjusted by an amount equal to the California Necessities Index (CNI). An act to amend Section 11465 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to foster care. AB 373, Blanca Rubio. Dependency proceedings: counsel. This bill requires counsel appointed to rep- resent a nonminor dependent (NMD) in a dependen- cy proceeding to represent the wishes of the NMD, without exception. An act to amend Section 317 of the Welfare and In- stitutions Code, relating to dependent children. AB 416, Krell. Involuntary commitment. Requires counties to include emergency physicians (EP), as defined, as one of the practice disciplines who are eli- gible to be designated by the county to cause a person to be taken into custody for assessment, evaluation, and treatment for 72 hours if the person is a danger to themselves or others, or is gravely disabled, provided the EP completes the county’s training, application, and approval process that applies to all professionals who are eligible to be designated by the county. Adds a professional person designated by the county and responsible for the detainment of a person to existing civil and criminal liability protections for any action by a person released at or before the end of their de- tainment period. An act to amend Sections 5113 and 5121 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to behavioral health. AB 450, Carrillo. Public social services: support for older and aging immigrants. This bill requires the California Department of Aging (CDA), upon appropriation, to oversee a stakeholder process to support the development of findings and recommen- dations on how to best support older and aging immi- grants in California, regardless of their immigration status and to inform the stakeholder process, CDA shall establish a panel or modify an existing panel. An act to add and repeal Article 6 (commencing with Section 9170) of Chapter 2 of Division 8.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public so- cial services. AB 553, Caloza. CalFresh: food access. This bill requires the California Department of Social Ser- vices (CDSS) to maximize all available food choices for CalFresh recipients, including but not limited to hot foods. An act to amend Section 18919.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to CalFresh. AB 561, Quirk-Silva. Restraining orders. Makes various changes to the laws governing the issuance of protective orders preventing abuse and harass- ment in order to expedite and facilitate issuance of such orders, including by requiring, as of January 1, 2027, the electronic submission of documents at no charge to the petitioner and remote hearings at no charge to the parties; allows service of a protective order preventing elder or dependent adult abuse to be made by means other than personal service in limited circumstances; and clarifies that there shall be no fee for service by law enforcement of specific protective orders preventing abuse and harassment.
An act to amend Section 15657 of, and to add Sec- tion 15657.02 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to elders and dependent adults. AB 320, Bennett. Public social services: eligibility: income exclusions. Notwithstanding any other law, and to the extent permitted by federal law, exempts anycompensation awarded to a pupil member of a charter school governing board or a county board of education from being considered as income or assets when determining eligibility and benefit amount for any means-tested program, including, but not limited to: California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs), CalFresh, General Assistance, Medi-Cal, and Cash Assistance Program for Im- migrants (CAPI), and, any scholarships for public colleges and universities, including, but not limited to, Cal Grant awards, Chafee grant awards, Middle Class Scholarship Program awards, California Col- lege Promise Grants, California State University Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) grants, Community College Extended Opportunity Pro- grams and Services (EOPS) grants, and grants from the University of California or the California State University. An act to add Sections 1090.1 and 35120.1 to the Education Code, and to add Section 11157.3 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public so- cial services. AB 341, Arambula. Oral Health for People with Disabilities Technical Assistance Center Program. Requires, subject to an appropriation by the Legisla- ture, the Department of State Department of Devel- opmental Services (DDS) to contract with a public or private California dental school or college to ad- minister the Oral Health for People with Disabilities Technical Assistance Center Program to improve dental care services for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities by reducing or eliminat- ing the need for dental treatment using sedation and general anesthesia. An act to add Article 9 (commencing with Section 4698.50) to Chapter 6 of Division 4.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to developmental ser- vices. AB 348, Krell. Full-service partnerships. Estab- lishes specific criteria that would make a person with a serious mental illness (SMI) presumptively eligible for a full-service partnership (FSP), including the person is transitioning to the community after six months or more in a state prison or county jail, has been detained five or more times as a danger to them- selves or others, or gravely disabled, over the last five years, or is currently experiencing unsheltered homelessness. Specifies that a county is not required to enroll an individual if doing so would conflict with contractual Medi-Cal obligations or court orders, or would exceed county FSP capacity or funding. An act to amend, repeal, and add Section 5887 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to behav- ioral health. AB 349, Dixon. Foster care supplement. Requires, commencing July 1, 2026, the rate to cover the cost
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