Bill Text: CA AB2061 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Child welfare services: families experiencing homelessness.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-08-26 - Ordered to inactive file at the request of Senator Beall. [AB2061 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB2061-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 2061	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 23, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 28, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Chau

                        FEBRUARY 20, 2014

   An act to add Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 11420) to
Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to public social services  , and making an
appropriation therefor  .



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2061, as amended, Chau. Housing Program for Homeless Families
Receiving Child Welfare Services.
   Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program under which each county
provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income
families using a combination of state, county, and federal funds.
Under existing law, after a family has used all available liquid
resources in excess of $100, the family is entitled to receive a
CalWORKs allowance for nonrecurring special needs, including homeless
assistance.
   Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services and
county welfare departments maintain a system of child welfare
services to serve the needs of children who are alleged to be abused
or neglected, to reduce the necessity for removing these children
from their homes, to encourage speedy reunification of families when
it can be safely accomplished, and to locate permanent homes and
families for children who cannot return to their biological families,
among other things.
   This bill would establish the Housing Program for Homeless
Families Receiving Child Welfare Services, under which the State
Department of Social Services would provide a 4-year grant to a
participating county to enable the county to provide specified
housing services and related financial assistance to homeless, or
recently homeless, families that receive child welfare services and
meet other eligibility criteria. The bill would require, among other
things, a participating county to fund 50% of the cost of the
services delivered under the program, as provided.  The bill
would also appropriate $3,000,000 from the General Fund to the
department to fund grants to counties under the program. 
   Vote:  2/3   majority  . Appropriation:
 yes  no  . Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) A correlation exists between family homelessness and foster
care placement. Though homelessness alone is not a basis for removing
a child from a home, almost one-half of children in foster care have
birth parents with a history of homelessness. Foster children with
homeless birth parents are less likely to live with relative
caregivers than children of families with stable housing, and these
children remain separated from their families for longer than
children of families with stable housing.
   (b) Homelessness and housing instability interfere with the
reunification of children in foster care with birth families. As many
as 30 percent of children in foster care who cannot be reunited with
birth families could be reunited if the family were able to access a
safe place to live.
   (c) Like children of homeless families, children involved with a
child welfare system experience elevated school dropout rates,
learning difficulties, worsening mental health conditions, and high
levels of aggravation.
   (d) A study of child-welfare-involved families experiencing
long-term homelessness with at least one parent with a substance use
disorder showed supportive housing allowed the majority of families'
child welfare cases to be resolved by reuniting families within 10
months. The study showed supportive housing reduced actual and
potential use of foster care services by an average of 187 days.
   (e) Studies have shown that  the provision of 
 providing  low-cost short- and medium-term housing and
services interventions, known as "rapid rehousing services," to
families experiencing brief episodes of homelessness results in
housing stability, with families becoming 4.7 times less likely to
return to homelessness than shelter interventions.
   (f) A child's experience with foster care perpetuates a cycle of
homelessness. Data shows that 25 percent of children placed in foster
care become homeless within four years of aging out.
   (g) Jurisdictions are using evidence-based strategies to implement
federal demonstration waivers that grant states flexibility in the
use of federal foster care payment funds. These waivers allow child
welfare agencies to use alternative services and supports that
promote safety, permanency, and well-being for children.
   (h) It is the intent of the Legislature to promote the use of
innovative, evidence-based models to assess the housing needs of
families who are receiving child welfare services and who are
experiencing homelessness, and to fund rapid rehousing, supportive
housing, and services that promote housing stability, with the goals
of preventing foster care placement and reuniting children in foster
care with their birth parents. 
   (i) Three million dollars, as appropriated by this act, will
provide housing assistance to 800 homeless families. 
  SEC. 2.  Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 11420) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:

      Article 5.5.  Housing Program for Homeless Families Receiving
Child Welfare Services


   11420.  For purposes of this article, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:
   (a) (1) "Eligible family" means a family that meets all of the
following  criteria  :
   (A) Receives child welfare services, as defined in Section 16501,
which include, but are not limited to, child maltreatment
investigations, emergency response services, family preservation
services, family maintenance services, out-of-home placements, family
reunification services, and the identification of children to be
placed in suitable relative adoptive homes.
   (B) Is homeless or has been homeless within the past 12 months.
   (C) Voluntarily agrees to participate in the program.
   (D) Meets any additional criteria adopted by the county.
   (2) "Eligible family" does not include a family for whom family
reunification services have been denied or terminated.
   (b) "Department" means the State Department of Social Services.
   (c) "Homeless" has the same meaning as defined in Section 91.5 of
Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as it read on January 1,
2014.
   (d) "Permanent housing" means housing without a limit on length of
stay that meets the habitability requirements contained in Section
1941.1 of the Civil Code.
   (e) "Rapid rehousing" means assistance to allow individuals and
families experiencing homelessness to be quickly stabilized and
housed in permanent housing affordable to the individual or family,
and includes, but is not limited to, the services identified in
Section 11422.
   (f) "Supportive housing" has the same meaning as defined in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 50675.14 of the Health
and Safety Code, but is not restricted to projects with five or more
units.
   11421.  (a) The department shall design the Housing Program for
Homeless Families Receiving Child Welfare Services, which shall do
both of the following:
   (1)  Provide   Upon appropriation by the
Legislature, provide  a four-year grant to any county that meets
the requirements of Section 11424, to enable the county to provide
the services and financial assistance described in Section 11422.
   (2) Promote participation in, and educate county officers and
employees regarding, the program.
   (b) The department shall, using a third-party evaluator, collect
data and evaluate the effect of the program, including all of the
following:
   (1) How many families the program served.
   (2) The services provided to each family.
   (3) The median and mean costs per family expended by each county.
   (4) The status of each participating family's child welfare case
upon entering the program, after six months in the program, after one
year in the program, and, if applicable, after two years in the
program, as well as the length of time to resolve a participating
family's case as compared with other families' cases in each
participating county.
   (5) The incidence of recidivism into the child welfare system
among participating families, as compared to the incidence of
recidivism among other families involved in the child welfare system
in the participating county, over a specified period of time.
   (6) The current housing status of each participating family.
   (7) Other relevant outcomes, such as school performance and change
in income status.
   (c) The department shall provide opportunities for public comment
and input from the counties during the design process.
   (d) Subject to federal approval, the department shall include the
services identified in Section 11422 as part of a Title IV-E waiver
demonstration project.
   11422.  A county that opts to participate in the program shall
provide all of the following services to an eligible family:
   (a) An assessment of the family's housing needs and the
development of a plan to meet those needs.
   (b) The engagement of housing navigators to help families locate
safe, affordable housing with private or nonprofit landlords.
   (c) If appropriate based on the assessment of the family's housing
needs, the provision of rapid rehousing assistance, including, but
not limited to, all of the following:
   (1) Short-term or medium-term rental assistance.
   (2) Housing relocation services.
   (3) Housing mediation services, such as credit counseling.
   (4) Security deposits, utility deposits, or other move-in cost
assistance.
   (5) Utility payments.
   (6) Moving cost assistance.
   (7) Case management to promote housing stability.
   (d) If appropriate based on the assessment of the family's housing
needs, the provision of supportive housing assistance, including,
but not limited to, all of the following:
   (1) Long-term rental assistance.
   (2) Housing relocation services.
   (3) Security deposits, utility deposits, or other move-in cost
assistance.
   (4) Interim housing assistance, if the family and child welfare
agency are working toward permanent housing placement.
   (5) Case management and other services that promote housing
stability.
   11423.  Rental assistance provided under the program shall be used
only for housing that meets all of the following criteria:
   (a) Is permanent as defined in Section 11420, unless interim
housing assistance is provided while a family is awaiting placement
in permanent housing.
   (b) Offers all of the landlord-tenant protections included in the
Civil Code.
   (c) Provides rental agreements between landlords and tenants.
   11424.  A county shall be eligible for state funds under this
program, upon application to the department, if the county meets both
of the following criteria:
   (a) The county funds 50 percent of the costs of the services
identified in Section 11422 from one of the following sources:
   (1) Foster care payment funds, if the county is participating in
the federal Title IV-E waiver capped allocation demonstration project
pursuant to Section 18260.
   (2) A commitment of federal, state, or local housing subsidies
administered by a public housing authority to meet participating
families' rental assistance needs.
   (3) A commitment of rental assistance through partnership with a
community-based permanent housing provider that agrees to limit
participating families' rent to one-third of each family's income.
   (b) The county demonstrates need and the capacity to administer
the grants. 
  SEC. 3.    The sum of three million dollars
($3,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the
State Department of Social Services to fund grants to counties under
the Housing Program for Homeless Families Receiving Child Welfare
Services contained in Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 11420) of
Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code.