BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Leland Y. Yee, Chair
BILL NO: AB 346
A
AUTHOR: Stone
B
VERSION: April 1, 2013
HEARING DATE: June 11, 2013
3
FISCAL: Appropriations
4
6
CONSULTANT: Sara Rogers
SUBJECT
Community Care Facilities Act: Emergency Youth Shelter
Facilities
SUMMARY
This bill establishes "emergency youth shelter facility" as
a new subcategory of group home licensure under the
Community Care Facilities Act. This bill defines "group
home" to mean a residential facility providing 24-hour
nonmedical care and supervision to children in a structured
environment. Additionally, this bill provides that
facilities licensed as an emergency youth shelter facility
offer short-term, 24-hour nonmedical care and supervision
and personal services to no more than 25 homeless youth, as
defined, who are voluntarily present.
ABSTRACT
Existing law:
1. Establishes the Community Care Facilities Act,
which provides for the licensure and regulation by the
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Department of Social Services of nonmedical
residential and non-residential facilities for
mentally ill, developmentally and physically disabled,
and children and adults who require care or services.
(HSC Section 1500 et seq.)
2. Defines "residential facility" to mean a family
home, group care facility, or similar facility
providing 24-hour nonmedical care to persons in need
of personal services, supervision, or assistance that
is essential for sustaining the activities of daily
living, or for the protection of the individual. (HSC
1502 (a) (1))
3. Prohibits the operation of an "unlicensed community
care facility," defined as a facility providing, or
representing that it provides, care or supervision; or
which accepts residents demonstrating the need for
care and supervision; or which represents itself as a
licensed community care facility, that is not exempted
from licensure. (HSC 1503.5)
4. Defines "group home" to mean a non-detention,
privately operated residential home, organized and
operated on a nonprofit basis only, of any capacity.
(WIC 11400)
5. Through regulation, establishes numerous
requirements and standards for group homes pertaining
to administrator and personnel qualifications, intake
procedures, staff ratios, and physical environment
requirements, among others. (CCR Section 84000 of
Division 6 of Title 22)
6. Requires a group home to maintain a ratio of one
staff for every 10 children, except at night. (CCR
Section 84065.5 of Division 6 of Title 22)
7. Requires group homes to establish a Needs and
Services Plan, which includes a time-limited,
goal-oriented written plan, implemented by the
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licensee, to identify the specific needs of an
individual child and delineates the services necessary
to meet the child's identified needs. (CCR Section
84068.3 of Division 6 of Title 22)
8. Under federal law, establishes the Runaway and
Homeless Youth Act, which provides grant funding for
youth homeless shelters, transitional housing
programs, street based outreach services, counseling,
and other services to runaway and homeless minors, as
defined, subject to compliance with certain
requirements. (42 U.S.C. 5601)
9. Under federal law, establishes the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act which defines "homeless
children and youths" as individuals who lack a fixed,
regular, and adequate nighttime residence, as defined.
(42 U.S.C. 11434a)
10. Under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, defines
"homeless youth" for purposes of providing homeless
youth shelters with grant funding as an individual who
is less than 18 years of age for whom it is not
possible to live in a safe environment with a relative
and who has no other safe alternative living
arrangement. (42 U.S.C. 5601)
11. Under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, defines
"runaway" as an individual who is less than 18 years
of age and who absents himself or herself from home or
a place of legal residence without the permission of a
parent of legal guardian. (42 U.S.C. 5601)
This bill:
1. Defines "emergency youth shelter facility" to mean
a group home licensed by the Department of Social
Services (DSS) to operate a program providing
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voluntary, short-term, emergency shelter and personal
services to youth who are homeless or at risk of
homelessness, as defined.
2. Defines "group home" to mean a residential facility
that provides 24-hour nonmedical care and supervision
to children delivered at least in part by staff
employed by the licensee in a structured environment.
3. Requires a licensed Emergency Youth Shelter
Facility (EYSF) to meet the following requirements:
Offer short-term (a stay of no more than
21 consecutive days) 24-hr, nonmedical care and
supervision and personal services to youth who
voluntarily enter the facility.
Serve youth between the ages of 12-17, or
if attending high school, up to age 18, who are
homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, as
defined.
Limit capacity to 25 youth.
Maintain a ratio of one staff person to
every eight youth, including trained volunteers,
as specified.
Limit bunk beds to no more than two
tiers.
Be owned and operated on a nonprofit
basis by a private nonprofit corporation,
organization or a public agency.
1. Requires a licensed EYSF to do the following:
Determine, prior to admission, whether a
youth poses a threat to self or others in the
facility, and to deny admission to a youth who
poses such a threat.
Assess youth served in the facility
within 72 hours of admission.
Assist youth served in obtaining
emergency health-related services.
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Establish procedures to assist youth in
securing long term stability including
reconnecting youth with a parent or guardian, or
coordinating with appropriate individuals or
organizations to help youth secure a suitable
foster care placement.
Conduct criminal record review for all
staff and volunteers, as specified.
Collect, maintain and report specified
data to the department monthly, including number
of youth served, name of youth served, length of
stay, and number of times a youth accessed
services.
1. Provides that an EYSF shall not be required to
maintain a needs and services plan for youth.
2. Permits an EYSF to operate in two separate physical
locations if only one location provides overnight
residential care.
3. Provides that an EYSF is not an eligible placement
option for dependent youth.
4. Provides that an EYSF or program shall not be
eligible for a group home rate.
5. Requires DSS to adopt regulations in consultation
with interested parties, as specified, to be contained
in group home regulations.
6. Prior to the adoption of regulations, permits DSS
to implement these provisions though informational
releases or similar instructions from the department.
FISCAL IMPACT
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The Assembly Appropriations Committee states that costs for
DSS to create a subcategory for these facilities under the
existing group home licensing category would be minor and
absorbable within existing resources.
Additionally, the Assembly Appropriations Committee states
that emergency youth shelters in California receive between
$5 million to $7 million per year in funding in federal
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act funding. Funding under the
Act is conditional on the facilities compliance with state
licensing laws such that absent this legislation California
shelters risk federal citation and the loss of federal
funding.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
According to the author, emergency youth shelter facilities
(EYSFs) fall under conflicting regulatory requirements in
federal and state law, which has led to confusion regarding
whether the facilities are subject to licensure under the
Community Care Facilities Act (CCFA).
The author states that although homeless shelters serving
adults are exempted from licensure under the CCFA, shelters
serving youth are not. The author reports that the DSS
division of Community Care Licensing has inconsistently
interpreted and applied these rules, sometimes requiring a
facility to be licensed as a group home, while other times
instructing the facility that it is exempt from licensure.
Additionally, the Department of Social Services, a sponsor
of the bill, writes that federal funds available to
homeless youth shelters under the Runaway and Homeless
Youth Act are contingent on a facility complying with state
shelter licensing requirements, but that California does
not have any requirements in place currently. The
California Coalition for Youth, a co-sponsor of the bill
states that some facilities that have not sought licensure
as a group home have received citations from the federal
Administration of Children and Families and risk the loss
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of federal funding.
The author further states that existing regulations and
programmatic requirements governing foster care-eligible
group homes are not completely applicable or appropriate
for homeless youth shelters that are intended to provide
short-term shelter for youth in need and are not eligible
as a foster care placement. According to the author and
sponsors, this bill creates a new licensure subcategory of
group homes that will provide a more appropriate and
consistent regulatory structure for all homeless youth
shelters.
Homeless Youth in California
A point-in-time survey conducted in 2011 by the California
Research Bureau within the California State Library,
reports that:
Based on national survey estimates and California's
youth population, it is likely that 200,000 youth
under the age of 18 and thousands of 18 to 24 year
olds are homeless for one or more days a year.<1>
This figure is based on estimates that homeless youth
represent approximately 12 percent of the overall youth
population. Additionally, the survey reported there are 34
temporary and emergency shelters with 555 beds, and that
services for homeless youth are available in only 20 out of
58 counties. The report notes that most homeless youth are
not involved with the child welfare or juvenile justice
systems and therefore are not eligible for services under
those programs. Additionally, the survey reports that
homeless youth do not typically rely on services intended
-------------------------
<1> California Research Bureau, Homeless Youth Project.
"Programs Serving California's Homeless Youth: Results of a
Point-in-Time Survey." January 2011.
http://cahomelessyouth.library.ca.gov/docs/pdf/SUMMARY-Inven
tory.pdf
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for homeless adults or families in part because adult
facilities are frequently unable to accommodate minors.
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act
Based on findings that homeless youth are at greater risk
of developing serious health, behavioral and emotional
problems and are in urgent need of temporary shelter and
services, Congress passed the Runaway and Homeless Youth
Act in 1974, and last reauthorized it in 2008.
This legislation establishes a variety of grants at a 90
percent match to fund public and nonprofit programs serving
homeless youth. Funded services include temporary shelters,
counseling, street-based services, home-based services,
drug abuse education and prevention services, sexual abuse
and sexual exploitation prevention services.
California receives between $5 million - $7 million a year
in grants made directly to providers, each of which
receives a maximum of approximately $200,000. Not all
homeless youth shelters receive these funds, and all
supplement this funding with a mix of county and private
dollars.
Title 22 Group Home Regulations
California Code of Regulations, Title 22, Division 6,
Chapter 5 establish licensing standards for group homes,
most of which are eligible for Title I-V E or state foster
care payments, and which accept children for formal
placement by child welfare services. These regulations are
developed and enforced by DSS, Division of Community Care
Licensing (CCL).
Specific standards provided under these regulations include
administrator qualification and duties, staff-to-child
ratios, professional standards for staff, health and safety
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requirements, intake procedures, the creation of needs and
services plans for youth, discharge procedures, discipline
policies and procedures, restraint and seclusion
procedures, and others.
In some cases, homeless youth shelters have sought
licensure as group homes, however many of the rules and
requirements applicable for group homes accepting children
for formal placement are not applicable or consistent with
the purpose and scope of a temporary homeless shelter for
runaway youth. As a result, some facilities have been
successful at arranging for exemptions from some rules as
determined by CCL, while other facilities have been
instructed by CCL that no provisions for exemptions exist.
This bill provides DSS with authority to develop rules and
procedures to license these shelters as a subcategory
within existing group home regulations, and with
appropriate modifications to those existing licensing
standards where appropriate.
Specifically, this bill provides for a slightly stricter
staff ratio standard of 1:8 instead of 1:10, and provides
no provision for a reduction in nighttime staff as is the
case for group homes. DSS reports this stricter standard
reflects the nature of emergency homeless youth shelters
which may accept youth at all hours of the night, and which
may not be able to predict the level of need that a
particular youth residing in the shelter may have. Shelters
have reported they largely comply with this standard
currently.
Additionally, this bill limits capacity of the shelter to
25 youth and limits the maximum stay to 21 days, while
group homes generally have no such capacity or length of
stay limit. This standard reflects the requirement in the
federal Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to establish a
maximum capacity and length of stay for homeless youth
shelters as a condition of funding.
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This bill also provides that an emergency homeless youth
shelter is not required to establish a needs and services
plan for youth, which is developed to ensure that the
longer term needs of the youth are met, and which, given
the short term nature of the stay is not practically
feasible for these facilities, nor implementable. EYSFs are
still required to perform an intake assessment of the
child's needs upon admission into the shelter that includes
a mental health and medical assessment.
Other variations from standard group home licensing
requirements include the ability of EYSFs to use volunteers
as staff for purposes of the youth to staff ratio, provided
those volunteers meet the educational requirements of group
home staff. Additionally, this bill would explicitly
prohibit the formal placement of a child into an EYSF, but
would permit a foster child who voluntarily presented at
the shelter (after running away from placement) to remain
there until the county caseworker was able to locate an
alternative placement, but no longer than the maximum 21
days.
DSS, a sponsor of the bill, writes that this bill would
provide the department with the statutory authority to
license homeless youth shelters by creating a subcategory
of group homes under the Community Care Facilities Act. In
doing so, this measure would ensure that children who are
seeking respite from a potentially harmful environment
would be able to access safe, temporary shelter while
receiving food, clothing, and medical care, as well as
other services that the vulnerable youth need.
The other sponsor, the California Coalition for Youth,
representing the shelters that would be licensed pursuant
to this bill, writes that although some existing emergency
shelters are licensed under the existing group home
category, with exemptions or major programmatic
modifications that are challenging to implement, other
shelters have been told they do not need a license to
operate. The California Coalition for Youth states that
this bill attempts to find a balance and create consistency
across the state to license these shelters and ensure that
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federal funds are not jeopardized.
Comments:
1.Housing youth as young as 12 with older youth, up to age
18, may be detrimental to the safety of the younger
youth. Staff recommends the author consider amending the
bill to instruct the department to establish appropriate
standards and safeguards for facilities that accept
younger youth to appropriately separate those youth from
older youth.
2.DSS, the California Coalition for Youth and the author
have recently negotiated a series of amendments, which
staff recommends are accepted as committee amendments.
These include (see attached mock-up):
A minor technical change to the definition of
"group home."
Replaces the name "Emergency Youth Shelter
Facility" with the term "Runaway and Homeless Youth
Shelter" to avoid confusion with the existing facility
type "Emergency Shelter Facility" which may accept
formal foster care placements on an emergency basis.
The Department states that this term is also more
consistent with the federal Runaway and Homeless Youth
Act.
When referencing Runaway and Homeless Youth
Shelters (RHYSs), generally replaces references to
"facility" with "shelter."
In defining the term "homeless youth" removes the
reference to the McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance
Act and replaces with a new definition that is
intended to be consistent with the Runaway and
Homeless Youth Act. The new definition for "runaway
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youth" is as follows:
o "Homeless youth" means a youth 12 to 17,
inclusive, or 18 years of age if the youth is
completing high school or its equivalent, who is
in need of services and without a place of
shelter.
o "Runaway youth" means a youth 12 to 17,
inclusive, or 18 years of age if the youth is
completing high school or its equivalent, who
absents himself or herself from home or place of
legal residence without the permission of his or
her family, legal guardian, or foster caregiver.
Clarifies that, although a shelter shall be
required to assess a youth within 72 hours, it shall
not be required to perform an assessment prior to
admission of the youth into the facility. (The shelter
is still required to determine whether a youth poses a
threat to self or others, to deny admission if so, and
to assist youth in obtaining emergency health-related
services).
Pursuant to the federal grant program, adds a
requirement that RHYSs develop adequate procedures to
assist youth in securing long term stability that
include reconnecting the youth with family, legal
guardian, or nonrelative extended family members, when
possible, and coordinating with appropriate
individuals, local governmental agencies or
organizations to help foster youth secure a suitable
foster care placement.
Clarifies that an RHYS is not a placement option
for foster youth, and is not eligible for a foster
care rate.
Clarifies that, although an RHYS is not a placement
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option for foster youth, this does not preclude a
runaway and homeless youth shelter from receiving
reimbursement for providing services to a foster youth
as may be provided at the discretion of a County.
This amendment addresses the reality that foster youth
who run away from foster care placements often present
themselves voluntarily at an RHYS. Some counties have
established contracts to reimburse shelters for the
care provided to a foster youth, however no county is
required to do so. This amendment is intended to
clarify that the bill does not prohibit such
contracts.
Related Legislation:
SB 119 (Lowenthal, 2012) would have created a licensing
category for emergency youth shelter facilities and would
have directed CDSS to adopt regulations for them by January
1, 2013. It was held in Senate Appropriations Committee. At
the time, it was not clear whether DSS could implement
these provisions through regulation or whether statute was
needed.
PRIOR VOTES
Assembly Floor: 76-0
Assembly Appropriations Committee:17-0
Assembly Human Services Committee: 7-0
POSITIONS
Support: California Department of Social Services
(Sponsor)
California Coalition for Youth (Sponsor)
California State PTA
California Communities United Institute
California Welfare Directors Association
Home Start, Inc.
Housing California
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Mendocino County Youth Project and Mendocino
Family and Youth Services
National Association for the Education of
Homeless Children and Youth
San Diego Youth Services
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy in California
(if amended)
Oppose:None received
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