(

a) The department shall develop an intensive services foster care program that provides specialized programs to serve children with specific needs, including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) Intensive services and behavioral needs, including those currently being served under intensive treatment foster care.

(2) Specialized health care needs, including those with special health care needs, as defined in subdivision (

a) of

Section 17710. (

b) The department shall develop a program that includes a private nonprofit delivery model and a public delivery model. (

c) The rate paid to an intensive services foster care resource family shall be the same whether it is paid through a licensed foster family agency model or public delivery model and shall be established pursuant to subparagraph (

C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (

c) of

Section 11463. (

d) The rate paid to the foster family agency shall be developed pursuant to subparagraph (

C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (

c) of

Section 11463. (

e) This

chapter does not waive the requirements set forth in

Section 16519.5 or

Chapter 3 (commencing with

Section 1500) of Division of the Health and Safety Code. (

f) A licensed foster family agency or county that operates a public delivery model intensive services foster care program is not prohibited from also operating as a therapeutic foster care service model program agency. (

g) A county that operates as a public delivery model shall submit to the department a program description that sets forth the manner in which it will substantially comply with the requirements of this

chapter and Sections 11467, 11469.2, and 11469.3. (

h) The department shall adopt regulations to implement this chapter. Until regulations are adopted, the department may administer the program through the issuance of written directives that shall have the same force and effect as regulations. Any directive affecting

Article 1 (commencing with

Section 700) of

Chapter of Division of Title of the California Code of Regulations shall be approved by the Department of Justice. The directives shall be exempt from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with

Section 11340) of Part of Division of Title of the Government Code).