Internal prototype — noindexed, not linked from public navigation yet.

Cal. WIC § 5857

This is the official text of Cal. WIC § 5857, part of California’s Welfare and Institutions Code — governs public social services, juvenile justice, and mental health/developmental disability services.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Official statutory text

(a) The State Department of Mental Health shall issue a request for applications for funding for new children’s system of care programs to nonparticipating counties in each year that additional funds are provided for statewide expansion pursuant to this part.

(b) Applications shall be submitted to the department by a county mental health department with joint approval of collaborating local agencies including, but not limited to, special education, juvenile court, probation, child protective services agencies, the board of supervisors, and the mental health advisory board.

(c) Program staff from the department shall review all applications for funding for compliance with all requirements of law and the application guidelines established by the department.

(d) The department may accept letters of intent from a county in lieu of an application if moneys are not available to the county, to affirm commitment by the county to participate in the request for applications for funding process when moneys become available. Upon approval of an application by the director, a county shall be funded for an initial three-year contract period as described in Section 5854 and annually thereafter, consistent with the provisions of this part. If a county is complying with the provisions of this part, the department shall assure that the county receives an annual allocation consistent with departmental guidelines for full funding, as resources are made available.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

Need a lawyer in California?

Find a California lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.