ARTICLE 3. Waivers [18986.20. - 18986.24.]

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC 3.

in effect

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 18986.20. Section 18986.20.

(a) Any county that wishes to participate under this chapter and that develops a three-year program of coordinated children’s services pursuant to Section 18986.15, may, as a part of its plan, request a waiver of existing state regulations pertaining to requirements which hinder coordination of children’s services. The county may also request authorization to enter into a negotiated contract which enables the repositioning and reallocation of existing resources to facilitate integrated case management and coordination among participating agencies. (b) Requests for waivers or negotiated contracts shall be submitted in writing, with a detailed description of the county’s plan for coordinated children’s services and a detailed description of the need for the waiver or negotiated contract to the Secretary of the Health and Welfare Agency, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency. Requests for negotiated contracts shall also be submitted to the Department of Finance.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 18986.21. Section 18986.21.

(a) A waiver or waivers may be granted pursuant to this chapter when existing regulations hinder the coordination of children’s services and when waivers would facilitate the implementation of this chapter. (b) Any request for a waiver under this chapter shall contain, at a minimum, all of the following: (1) The regulation or regulations for which the county requests a waiver. (2) A statement regarding why the identified regulation or regulations should be waived. (3) A statement regarding why the identified regulation or regulations inhibit the efficient administration of the program. (4) A comparison of the following: (A) The services and the number of persons to be served under the requested waiver. (B) The services and the number of persons to be served without the requested waiver. (5) Projected costs or savings due to the requested waiver. (6) Any impact on state and federal funding. (c) When approving a county request for a waiver pursuant to this chapter, the entity granting the waiver shall ensure all of the following: (1) Services and eligible persons served under the affected program are maintained. (2) There is no increase in costs to the state or to clients. (3) There is no loss of federal financial participation.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 18986.22. Section 18986.22.

(a) A negotiated contract may be awarded pursuant to this chapter when existing regulations and categorical programs hinder the coordination of children’s services and prohibit integrated case management. (b) A negotiated contract means an agreement entered into between the state and the county pursuant to Section 18986.23 which authorizes the reallocation of existing resources from participating agencies for purposes specified in each contract. (c) Each negotiated contract shall specify all of the following: (1) The target population to be served. (2) The core services to be offered. (3) The net amount of resources to be reallocated and pooled. (4) Intake and eligibility criteria. (5) Provisions for sharing data between agencies while maintaining client confidentiality. (6) Evaluation measures, including specific outcomes and performance criteria to be achieved as a condition of the negotiated contract and appropriate sanctions if evaluation measures are not met. (7) The duration of the contract period, including provisions for contract renewal. (8) any other provisions which are deemed necessary to ensure program and fiscal accountability.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 18986.23. Section 18986.23.

Waivers and negotiated contracts shall be granted pursuant to this chapter by the Secretary of the Health and Welfare Agency, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Attorney General, or the Secretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, in consultation with the Department of Finance as follows: (a) The Secretary of the Health and Welfare Agency shall grant waivers or negotiated contracts for programs under his or her jurisdiction, in consultation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of the Youth and Correctional Agency. (b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall grant waivers or negotiated contracts for programs under his or her jurisdiction, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Health and Welfare Agency, and the Secretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency. (c) The Attorney General shall grant waivers or negotiate contracts for programs under his or her jurisdiction in consultation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Secretary of the Health and Welfare Agency, and the Secretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency. (d) The Secretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency shall grant waivers or negotiate contracts for programs under his or her jurisdiction in consultation with the Attorney General, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Secretary of the Health and Welfare Agency. (e) The entity to whom a request for a waiver or negotiated contract is submitted pursuant to this section shall issue written notice of the granting of the waiver, any delay in the consideration of the waiver request, or denial of the requested waiver within 60 days of the receipt of the request. Any county may appeal a negative decision regarding a requested waiver or negotiated contract. (f) In addition to approval required by subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, all requests for negotiated contracts shall be approved by the Department of Finance.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 18986.24. Section 18986.24.

The Secretary of the Health and Welfare Agency, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Attorney General, or the Secretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency shall notify the appropriate policy committees and fiscal committees of the Legislature no later than 30 days before any waiver or negotiated contract granted pursuant to this article take effect.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026