Section 1559.110.

(a) (1) The State Department of Social Services shall license transitional housing placement providers pursuant to this chapter. Prior to licensure, a provider shall obtain certification from the applicable county, in accordance with Section 16522.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(2) For purposes of the certification of a program that serves nonminor dependents in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 16522.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, "applicable county" means the county where the administrative office or subadministrative office of a transitional housing placement provider is located, or a primary placing county.

(b) Transitional housing placement providers shall provide supervised transitional housing services to foster children who are at least 16 years of age and not more than 18 years of age, or nonminor dependents, as defined in subdivision (v) of Section 11400 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or both.

(c) Transitional housing placement providers shall certify that housing units comply with the health and safety standards set forth in paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 1501. Transitional housing shall include any of the following:

(1) Programs in which a participant lives in an apartment, single-family dwelling, or condominium, with one or more adults approved by the provider.

(2) Programs in which a participant lives independently in an apartment, single-family dwelling, or condominium owned or leased by the provider either with an adult employee of the provider or in a building in which one or more adult employees of the provider reside and provide supervision.

(3) Programs in which a participant lives independently in an apartment, single-family dwelling, or condominium owned or leased by a provider under the supervision of the provider if the State Department of Social Services provides approval. The housing model described in this paragraph shall be available to minor foster children, if placed prior to October 1, 2012, and to nonminor dependents.

(d) (1) The department shall adopt regulations to govern transitional housing placement providers licensed pursuant to this section.

(2) The regulations shall be age-appropriate and recognize that nonminor dependents who are about to exit from the foster care system should be subject to fewer restrictions than those who are foster children. At a minimum, the regulations shall provide for both of the following:

(A) Require programs that serve both foster children and nonminor dependents to have separate rules and program design, as appropriate, for these two groups of youth.

(B) Allow nonminor dependents to have the greatest amount of freedom possible in order to prepare them for their transition to adulthood, in accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 1502.7.

(C) Maintain a program staffing ratio of case manager to client not to exceed 1 to 12.

(4) For purposes of the certification of a program that serves nonminor dependents in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 16522.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, "applicable county" means the county where the administrative office or subadministrative office of a transitional housing placement provider is located, or a primary placing county.

(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 846, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2013.)