In addition to the requirements of Sections 18358.10 and 18358.15, any foster family agency that serves children under this program shall have a contract or memorandum of understanding with the county prior to accepting referrals of children. The contract or memorandum of understanding shall identify how the foster family agency will provide or arrange for the following services and activities:

(a) An effective 24 hours a day, seven days a week social work emergency response service. The plan shall include the criteria for an in-person response and define the timeframe in which in-person response will be made.

(b) Mental health coverage available as needed for mental health emergencies.

(c) Development of a service plan approved by the placing county for each child within one month of placement that thoroughly assesses the unique needs and strengths of the child in the life domains specified in paragraph (1), and identifies the necessary services and supports to improve outcomes.

(1) For purposes of this section, “life domains” means the framework of important aspects of a child’s life to be assessed in the child’s service plan, including, but not limited to, the following:

(A) Safety.

(B) Emotional and psychological well-being.

(C) Behavioral.

(D) Family and living situation.

(E) Social and recreational.

(F) Cultural and spiritual.

(G) Educational and vocational.

(H) Health.

(I) Developmental.

(2) Applicable services and supports associated with each life domain, which may include, but are not limited to, the following:

(A) The child’s need for mental health service interventions.

(B) Individual or group mental health treatment services.

(C) Psychotropic medication and monitoring.

(D) Behavior analysis, positive behavioral interventions, and behavioral modification techniques.

(E) Interventions designed to prevent entry or reentry into the juvenile justice system.

(F) Family reunification services, parent training, or other support services needed to return the child home, or when that is not possible, to establish, reestablish, or reinforce a lifelong relationship with a caring adult.

(G) Family finding services to support and enhance access to lifelong permanent relationships with relative and nonrelative kin.

(H) Targeted life skills training and resources to ensure appropriate access to social and recreational resources and relationships, as needed to support the achievement of important developmental milestones.

(I) Mentoring or developing of positive adult relationships.

(J) Education supports, as needed to maintain and enhance the child’s educational success and stability.

(K) Education liaison services as needed to support the child’s education in the least restrictive environment.

(L) Respite care.

(M) Support counselors.

(N) Case management to ensure appropriate and effective coordination of activities and resources as identified in the needs and services plan.

(d) A system for recruiting, training, and supervising qualified in-home support counselors.

(e) A system of record keeping that documents the delivery of services and supports to each child. This documentation shall be summarized and submitted on an annual basis to the county. Each agency shall report the type and cost of the services delivered.

(f) Written policies and procedures on how the program will be structured to ensure the safety of the child, how suicide attempts, runaways, sexual acting out or, violent and assaultive behavior will be handled, and what will occur to reduce or eliminate future episodes.

(g) Written procedures on frequency of treatment plan review, modifications of treatment plans, and the role of the foster family and the child’s parents in development of the treatment plan.

(h) A process for recruitment, selection and training of foster parents, including respite foster parents. The training curriculum shall include the following areas, at a minimum:

(1) Alternative forms of discipline.

(2) Child growth and development.

(3) Behavior management techniques.

(4) Differential needs and treatment of children.

(5) Behavior deescalation techniques.

(i) Arranging for the provision of respite care services and frequency of respite care.

(j) Social work staffing. Social workers shall have a master’s degree consistent with subdivision (e) of § 1506 of the Health and Safety Code, and shall have at least one year of experience working with seriously emotionally disturbed children or children who have a serious behavioral problem.

(k) Other staff or contract services to be utilized in service delivery, the tasks and responsibilities of those individuals, and the training they will receive.

(l) An evaluation component that includes quarterly reporting to the department of the following data, by age group. The department shall publish the data annually.

(1) Number of children placed under this chapter.

(2) Number of prior foster care placements for each child prior to entering the ITFC program.

(3) Outcomes for children referred to the program, including:

(A) Percentage of children discharged to a more intensive program.

(B) Percentage of children discharged to a less restrictive program, short of permanency.

(C) Percentage of children who drop down an ITFC level.

(D) Percentage of children discharged to reunification with a parent or guardian.

(E) Percentage of children discharged to adoption.

(F) Percentage of children discharged to kin guardianship.

(G) Percentage of children discharged to other permanent outcome.

(H) Percentage of children hospitalized.

(I) Number of ITFC families in which a child was placed.

(J) Percentage of children continuing in placement.

(m) A plan for surveying placing counties annually to ascertain and report to the department on the following:

(1) Quality of services provided.

(2) Progress toward treatment goals.

(Amended by Stats. 2008, Ch. 486, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 2009.)