Assembly BillPassed first houseWelfare and Institutions
AB 1574: The Tribal Foster Care Prevention Program.
What AB 1574 does, verified August 15, 2026
This bill establishes a Tribal Foster Care Prevention Program to provide funding to federally recognized Indian tribes in California or with lands extending into California. The program aims to preserve families and prevent children from entering foster care. Indian tribes can submit an annual letter of interest to receive funding, which is allocated annually by the Department subject to a budget appropriation. The Department must also provide guidance to implement and interpret the program's provisions without taking regulatory action.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
4Second ChamberCurrent
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: In committee: Held under submission. (2026-08-13)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions15 total · showing 5
| Aug. 13, 2026 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| Jun. 29, 2026 | In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Jun. 16, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun. 03, 2026 | Referred to Com. on HUMAN S. |
| May. 21, 2026 | In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, January 12, 2026 · 1,169 words
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1574
| Introduced by Assembly Member Rogers |
January 12, 2026 |
An act to add Section 10553.16 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to foster youth.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1574, as introduced, Rogers. The Tribal Foster Care Prevention Program.
Existing federal law, the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA), governs the proceedings for determining the placement of an Indian child when that child is removed from the custody of the child’s parent or guardian. Existing law specifies that the state is committed to protecting the essential tribal relations and best interest of an Indian child by promoting practices in accordance with ICWA. Existing law also provides for the state and an Indian tribe to enter into an agreement regarding the care and custody of Indian children and jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings. Existing law establishes, in order to provide additional funds to eligible Indian tribes that have entered into an agreement with the state pursuant to those provisions, the Tribally Approved Homes Compensation Program to provide funds to recruit and approve homes for the purpose of foster or adoptive placement of an Indian child and the Tribal Dependency Representation Program to provide funds to pay for legal counsel to represent the Indian tribe in a California Indian child custody proceeding.
This bill would establish the Tribal Foster Care Prevention Program to provide funding to assist any federally recognized Indian tribe located in California, or with lands that extend into California, in funding the costs associated with services aimed at preserving families and preventing the entry of children into foster care. The bill would require an Indian tribe that seeks funding for this purpose to submit an annual letter of interest to the department. The bill would require the department, subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act for this purpose, to provide each Indian tribe that enters into a specified agreement and submits a letter of interest an annual allocation. The bill would require an Indian tribe that receives funds to submit a progress report regarding the number of Indian children and their families served to the department on or before September 30 following the close of the fiscal year in which funding was received.
This bill would authorize the department to issue written guidance to implement, interpret, or make specific these provisions without taking any regulatory action.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) Native American children continue to be overrepresented in the California foster care system.
(2) The historic policies of the state and federal governments have specifically targeted Native American children for removal from their families and tribal communities, the legacy of which continues to ripple through generations of Native American families in California.
(3) The historic policies of the state and federal governments specifically have not honored treaty obligations to tribal nations in California that would have provided for the health and welfare of tribal children and families.
(4) Tribal nations within California know best how to preserve tribal families but lack funding on par with counties to support culturally responsive family preservation programs.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to support tribal nations in California in developing and implementing prevention programs and to ensure equitable funding for California’s tribal families.
SEC. 2.
Section 10553.16 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:10553.16.
(a) The Tribal Foster Care Prevention Program is hereby established to provide the funding described in this section to assist any federally recognized Indian tribe located in California, or with lands that extend into California, in funding the costs associated with services, to be determined by the Indian tribe, aimed at preserving families and preventing the entry of children into foster care. An Indian tribe may designate another entity to administer the allocation of funds on a tribe’s behalf upon designation by the tribe for this purpose. There shall be no tribal share of cost for any agreement executed under this section.(b) To be eligible for an allocation of funds under this section, an Indian tribe shall enter into an agreement with the department pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 10553.1 or in accordance with Section 1919 of Title 25 of the United States Code.
(c) An Indian tribe that seeks funding pursuant to this section shall submit an annual letter of interest to the State Department of Social Services. The letter shall include both of the following:
(1) The name of the tribe and the identified contact person.
(2) The approximate number of Indian children, as defined by Section 224.1, who are members of the tribe that were in foster care in the previous fiscal year.
(d) Subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act for the express purpose described in this section, the State Department of Social Services shall provide each eligible Indian tribe, as described in subdivision (a), that enters into an agreement pursuant to subdivision (b) and submits a letter of interest pursuant to subdivision (c), an annual allocation. The allocation methodology and the implementation plan shall be established by the department in government-to-government consultation with tribes. The department shall provide an update to legislative staff and stakeholders on the progress of implementation of this section by February 1, 2028.
(e) An Indian tribe that receives funds pursuant to this section shall submit a progress report to the department. The progress report shall be submitted on or before September 30 following the close of the fiscal year in which funding was received. The report shall include both of the following:
(1) The total number of children and their families that were served with prevention services funded with moneys received pursuant to the Tribal Foster Care Prevention Program in the previous fiscal year.
(2) The approximate number of Indian children, as defined by Section 224.1, of the tribe that were in foster care in the previous fiscal year.
(f) The department may seek federal approvals or waivers necessary to claim federal reimbursement under Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 670 et seq.) in order to maximize funding for the purposes described in this section. The federal approvals the department may seek pursuant to this subdivision may include authorization for the department to make agreements with federally recognized tribes in California as described in Section 10553.1 for the sole purpose of administering prevention programs pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 16585) of Part 4.
(g) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department may implement, interpret, or make specific this section without taking any regulatory action.
(h) This section shall be implemented only to the extent that funding is expressly provided in the annual Budget Act for this purpose.
Text of AB 1574 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions