California Welfare and Institutions Code

§ 903

WIC § 903 Effective Jan 1, 2018Div. 2 · Part 1 · Ch. 2 · Art. 25

Statute text

(a)The father, mother, spouse, or other person liable for the support of a minor, the estate of that person, and the estate of the minor, shall be liable for the reasonable costs of support of the minor while the minor is placed, or detained in, or committed to, any institution or other place pursuant to Section 625 or pursuant to an order of the juvenile court. However, a county shall not levy charges for the costs of support of a minor detained pursuant to Section 625 unless, at the detention hearing, the juvenile court determines that detention of the minor should be continued. The liability of these persons and estates shall be a joint and several liability.

(b)The county shall limit the charges it seeks to impose to the reasonable costs of support of the minor and shall exclude any costs of treatment or supervision for the protection of society and the minor and the rehabilitation of the minor. In the event that court-ordered child support paid to the county pursuant to subdivision (a) exceeds the amount of the costs authorized by this subdivision and subdivision (a), the county shall either hold the excess in trust for the minor’s future needs pursuant to Section 302.52 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations or, with the approval of the minor’s caseworker, pay the excess directly to the minor.

(c)It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this subdivision to protect the fiscal integrity of the county, to protect persons against whom the county seeks to impose liability from excessive charges, to ensure reasonable uniformity throughout the state in the level of liability being imposed, and to ensure that liability is imposed only on persons with the ability to pay. In evaluating a family’s financial ability to pay under this section, the county shall take into consideration the family’s income, the necessary obligations of the family, and the number of persons dependent upon this income. Except as provided in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4), “costs of support” as used in this section means only actual costs incurred by the county for food and food preparation, clothing, personal supplies, and medical expenses, not to exceed a combined maximum cost of thirty dollars ($30) per day, except that:

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Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 678, Sec. 19. (SB 190) Effective January 1, 2018.