Our Policy Work

AB 1579 (Ramos)

Just Advocates, in partnership with the California Alliance of Children and Family Services, has co-sponsored California Assembly Bill (AB) 1579 (Ramos) to expand and strengthen the Children’s Crisis Continuum Pilot Program by allowing greater flexibility in the types of residential crisis programs eligible for Pilot funding.

Expanding the Children’s Crisis Continuum Pilot Program to include additional CDSS-approved crisis residential models is essential to meeting the urgent behavioral health needs of California’s youth. By increasing flexibility in program types, AB 1579 empowers counties and providers to build crisis care options that are responsive, sustainable, and aligned with the intent of AB 808—ensuring every child receives timely access to the right level of care in the least restrictive setting possible.

Background

AB 808 (Stone), established a five-year Children’s Crisis Continuum Pilot Program (2021-2026) to enhance California’s continuum of care for foster youth with complex, high-acuity needs. While AB 808 created an unprecedented opportunity for counties to build comprehensive, local, youth crisis services, its overly prescriptive program requirements have unintentionally hindered implementation. AB 1579 seeks to address these barriers by expanding the types of programs that would be permitted to offer these critical crisis services.

Problem

Under AB 808, residential crisis programs are limited exclusively to Children’s Crisis Residential Programs (CCRPs). CCRPs have highly specific programmatic and staffing requirements that—combined with funding limitations and the current behavioral health workforce shortage—have presented immense barriers to implementation. As a result, many counties have been unable to launch crisis programs despite clear and urgent demand. Foster youth have been unable to access timely, effective residential crisis services in their home counties, resulting in unnecessary placement disruptions, prolonged emergency department stays, and out-of-county placements that disconnect youth from family and community supports.

AB 1579 addresses these challenges by allowing counties to utilize a broader range of California Department of Social Services (CDSS)–approved crisis program models, while maintaining appropriate safety and oversight. Specifically, the bill would allow residential crisis treatment to be delivered in Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs), Crisis Stabilization Unit/Psychiatric Health Facility (CSU/PHF) combinations, Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs (STRTPs), or other CDSS-approved residential crisis models. The change would preserve safety and oversight standards while giving counties the flexibility needed to build sustainable, accessible crisis care options for youth statewide.