Bill Text: CA SCR160 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: California Runaway and Homeless Youth Month.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-08-26 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 148, Statutes of 2016. [SCR160 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SCR160-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SCR 160 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 148
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 26, 2016
ADOPTED IN SENATE AUGUST 11, 2016
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 22, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator McGuire
AUGUST 1, 2016
Relative to California Runaway and Homeless Youth Month.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 160, McGuire. California Runaway and Homeless Youth Month.
This measure would designate the month of November 2016 as
California Runaway and Homeless Youth Month and would recognize the
need for individuals, schools, communities, businesses, local
governments, and the state to take action on behalf of runaway and
homeless youth in California.
WHEREAS, Runaway and homeless youth are young people 12 to 24
years of age, inclusive, who have the least access to essential
opportunities and supports; and
WHEREAS, The prevalence of runaways and homelessness among youth
is staggering, with studies suggesting that nationally between 1.6
and 2.8 million youth up to 24 years of age experience homelessness
every year, of which an overrepresentation, compared to the general
youth population, are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender; and
WHEREAS, Based on national surveys and California's youth
population, an estimated 200,000 youth under 18 years of age, and
thousands more who are 18 to 24 years of age, are homeless for one or
more days each year; and
WHEREAS, Based on the latest McKinney-Vento report from the State
Department of Education, 297,617 youth, including unaccompanied youth
and youth with their families who lack stable housing, in
kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, experienced homelessness at least
one day out of the year during the 2013-14 school year, which is a 10
percent increase over the previous academic year and an 18 percent
increase over the 2011-12 academic year; and
WHEREAS, Runaway and homeless youth flee conflict, abuse, neglect,
and, increasingly, poverty in their homes. They have become
disconnected from educational systems and the workforce and do not
have the skills or financial resources to live on their own. The
factors impacting youth homelessness are complex and differ from
those impacting other homeless populations; and
WHEREAS, Runaway and homeless youth who live on the street are
victims of physical abuse, sexual exploitation, human trafficking,
and crime in untold numbers. Each year an estimated 300,000 youth are
either victims, or at risk of becoming victims, of commercial sexual
exploitation. Of these victimized children, approximately 60 percent
are homeless; and
WHEREAS, These youths are on the street because they feel there
are no other options open to them; and
WHEREAS, Of the unaccompanied homeless minors in California, 76.3
percent are unsheltered, which is the second highest percentage in
the country. Twenty-eight percent of homeless youth in the country
are located in California, and California has the largest number of
homeless youth in any state; and
WHEREAS, The number of emergency shelter beds available to
homeless youth has dropped from 587 beds in 1990 to, as of the last
comprehensive survey in 2010, 555 beds; and
WHEREAS, Youths who "age out" of the foster care system are at an
increased risk of homelessness and represent an estimated 20 percent
of the 20,000 youth who leave foster care and are currently homeless;
and
WHEREAS, Providing safe, stable, and permanent housing for runaway
and homeless youth is a family, community, state, and national
priority, and homeless youth are considered a unique population in
the homeless community by the United States Interagency Council on
Homelessness; and
WHEREAS, The future well-being of our state depends on the value
we place on our youth, and, in particular, on our actions to provide
the most vulnerable young people in the state with opportunities to
acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to find and
maintain stable housing and develop into healthy and productive
adults; and
WHEREAS, The number of effective programs providing services and
support to runaway and homeless youth in California is a fraction of
what is needed to fully address the needs of these young people, as
only 20 of California's 58 counties have programs for runaway and
homeless youth; and
WHEREAS, The California Coalition for Youth has operated the
California Youth Crisis Line (1-800-843-5200), 24 hours a day, seven
days a week for over 27 years as the state's only emergency response
system for youth in crisis and began offering chat-to-text counseling
services in 2016; and
WHEREAS, November is National Runaway and Homeless Youth Awareness
Month; and
WHEREAS, The California Coalition for Youth, along with other
community-based organizations, providers, and advocates, is
sponsoring the sixth annual California Runaway and Homeless Youth
Month to increase awareness and action on behalf of youth who are at
risk or currently living on the street; and
WHEREAS, Awareness of the tragedy of youth homelessness and its
causes must be heightened to ensure greater support for effective
programs aimed at preventing homelessness and helping youth remain
off the streets; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes the need for
individuals, schools, communities, businesses, local governments, and
the state to take action on behalf of runaway and homeless youth in
California; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature hereby designates the month of
November 2016 as California Runaway and Homeless Youth Month; and be
it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
