Section 10609.5.

(a) The department shall contract with an appropriate and qualified entity to conduct an evaluation of the adequacy of the current child welfare services budgeting methodology and make recommendations for revising the budgeting methodology, including appropriate caseload levels, supportive services, and preventative services, in order to accurately and adequately fund the system. This evaluation shall, at a minimum, consider the impact of the following factors on the budgeting methodology:

(1) The current state and federal statutory and regulatory environment for child welfare services.

(2) The state of the art advancements and best child welfare practice, such as family conferencing and wraparound services.

(3) The impact of the child welfare services case management system on the workload of workers in the system.

(4) The nature and degree of the problems experienced by families in need of child welfare services, and the service needs of abused and neglected children and their families.

(5) The impact on workload of obtaining timely medical, mental health, educational, and developmental assessments of children in the child welfare system, and coordinating with other systems to meet the children's needs.

(b) The department shall convene an advisory group that shall include representatives of the County Welfare Directors Association, the California State Association of Counties, child welfare services consumers, children's advocacy organizations, and child welfare social worker organizations. The advisory group shall do both of the following:

(1) Provide oversight over the process of selecting an entity to conduct an evaluation under subdivision (a).

(2) Provide oversight over, and technical assistance to, the entity selected to conduct the evaluation under subdivision (a).

(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 745, Sec. 239. Effective October 12, 2001.)