BILL NUMBER: AB 2061 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 26, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 10, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 23, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chau
FEBRUARY 20, 2014
An act to add Section 18262 to the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to public social services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2061, as amended, Chau. Child welfare services: families
experiencing homelessness.
Existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent
Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide
payments to foster care providers on behalf of qualified children in
foster care. The program is funded by a combination of federal,
state, and county funds, with moneys from the General Fund being
continuously appropriated to pay for the state's share of AFDC-FC
costs.
Existing law authorizes the State Department of Social Services to
conduct a demonstration project in up to 20 counties, to allow
flexible use of federal and state foster care funds by utilizing a
federal capped allocation model over a 5-year period, based on the
terms and conditions of the federal Title IV-E waiver.
Existing law provides for child welfare services, which are public
social services directed toward, among other purposes, protecting
and promoting the welfare of all children, including those in foster
care placement.
This bill would require the department, subject to
federal approval, to include department to encourage
counties participating in the demonstration project to consider use
of innovative, evidence-based strategies in the
with the optional portion of their federal Title
IV-E waiver capped allocation demonstration project to achieve
supportive housing, rapid rehousing, and permanent housing, as
described, for families that include a child placed in foster care,
who are receiving child welfare services, and who are experiencing
homelessness. The bill would also provide that the continuous
appropriation for the state's share of the AFDC-FC costs would not be
made for purposes of implementing the bill.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: 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 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 coordinate and access resources
available for 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.
SEC. 2. Section 18262 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
18262. The department, subject to federal approval,
shall include department shall encourage participating
counties to consider the use of innovative, evidence-based
strategies in the with the optional portion
of their federal Title IV-E waiver capped allocation
demonstration project pursuant to Section 18260 to assist families
that include a child placed in foster care, who are receiving child
welfare services, and who are experiencing homelessness to achieve
the following:
(a) Supportive housing, including housing with no limit on length
of stay, that is occupied by the target population, and that is
linked to onsite or offsite services that assist the supportive
housing resident in retaining the housing, improving his or her
health status, and maximizing his or her ability to live and, when
possible, work in the community.
(b) Rapid rehousing, including assistance that enables an
individual or family experiencing homelessness to be quickly
stabilized and housed in permanent housing affordable to the
individual or family.
(c) Permanent housing, including housing without a limit on the
length of stay that meets the affirmative standard characteristics of
Section 1941.1 of the Civil Code.
SEC. 3. No appropriation pursuant to Section 15200 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code shall be made for purposes of implementing this
act.