(a)
Sections
80072 and
84072 are not applicable to
community treatment facilities.
(b)
The licensee shall ensure that every child admitted to a community treatment
facility is informed and afforded the personal rights as specified in Sections
5325,
5325.1,
5325.2,
5326,
and
16001.9
of the Welfare and Institutions Code; Section
1530.91
of the Health and Safety Code; Sections 862 through 865 and 867 of the
California Code of Regulations, Title 9,
Chapter 4; and Sections 1934, 1935,
1936, and 1937 of the California Code of Regulations, Title 9,
Chapter
11.
(c) Each facility licensed to
provide foster care for six or more children shall post a listing of a foster
child's rights. The rights posted in the facility shall be consistent with the
list of rights specified in Welfare and Institutions Code section
16001.9(a)
and as specified in subsection (f).
(1)
Pursuant to Section
1530.91(b)
of the Health and Safety Code, any facility licensed to provide foster care for
six or more children must use material developed by the Office of the Foster
Care Ombudsperson to satisfy the posting of the foster child's rights specified
above.
(d) The licensee
shall provide each child and their authorized representative, regardless of
whether the child is in foster care, with the information listed in subdivision
(e) at the following times:
(1) Upon
placement in a facility;
(2) At the
request of a child; and
(3) Each
time a new right has been added to subsection (c) or Welfare and Institutions
Code section
16001.9.
(e) Pursuant to subdivision (d),
the licensee shall provide each child with the following information:
(1) An age or developmentally appropriate
orientation that includes an explanation of the rights of the child, as
specified in subsection (f) below and in Welfare and Institutions Code section
16001.9,
and addresses the child's questions and concerns;
(2) A written copy of these rights;
and
(3) Contact information for the
agencies the child may contact concerning violations of these rights and other
complaints, including the address, email address, and telephone number of the
California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division and
Foster Care Ombudsperson.
(g) A licensee shall not subject a child to
harassment, punishment, or retribution for exercising the personal rights
specified in subsection (e) and Welfare and Institutions Code section
16001.9.
(h) This section does not require, and shall
not be interpreted to require, a licensee to take any action that would impair
the health and safety of children in out-of-home placement consistent with
Welfare & Institutions Code section 16001.9(c).
(i) Every child has a right to a hearing by
writ of habeas corpus. The licensee shall develop, maintain and implement
written procedures that shall meet the following requirements:
(1) Any member of the facility staff to whom
a request is made shall promptly do the following:
(A) Provide the child making the request with
a form for a request for release or mark a copy of the form for the child. The
form shall be substantially as follows:
(Name of the Facility) ____________________ day of
__________ 20 _____
I, ________________________________________ (member of
the community treatment facility staff) have today received a request for the
release of ______________________________ (name of patient) from the
undersigned patient on their own behalf or from the undersigned person on
behalf of the patient.
Signature or mark of patient making request for
release
Signature or mark of patient making request for release
on behalf of patient
Signature of staff person receiving request for
release
(B) Deliver the
completed request form to the Administrator and note the request in the child's
facility record.
(2)
Submit the request for release form to the superior court for the county in
which the facility is located by the next working day of the request for
release.
(3) Inform the person who
admitted the child of the request for release within 24 hours of the request
for release.
(4) Maintain a copy of
the child's request for release as specified in Section
84172(i)(1)(A)
along with notification documents to the superior court in the child's
record.
(5) The facility's
administrator shall ensure that the child is informed as soon as possible of
the date, time, and location of the hearing.
(6) The child shall be permitted to
communicate with counsel confidentially and to prepare for and attend the
judicial hearing demanding their release.
