BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 347
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 13, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
                                  Mark Stone, Chair
                      SB 347 (Beall) - As Amended:  May 7, 2013

           SENATE VOTE  :  39-0
           
          SUBJECT  :  Youth Center and Youth Shelter Bond Act of 1988

           SUMMARY  :  Amends the Youth Center and Youth Shelter Bond Act of  
          1988 (Act) to allow counties awarded funds to re-purpose funds  
          for future youth shelters.  Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Revises the Act to permit a county to repurpose unexpended  
            bond funds initially awarded for the construction of shelters  
            for abused and neglected children and use those funds for  
            shelters for runaway or homeless youth.

          2)Exempts counties from repaying bond funds if the money was  
            initially allocated for shelters for abused and neglected  
            children and later used for shelters for runaway or homeless  
            youth.

          3)Permits counties to use funds awarded under the Act to provide  
            grant awards to private nonprofit entities for the  
            acquisition, renovation, construction, or purchase of  
            equipment for a youth shelter.

           EXISTING LAW   

          1)Establishes the Act funded by the 1988 County Correctional  
            Facility Capital Expenditure and Youth Facility Bond Fund  
            created pursuant to Proposition 86, as passed by voters in  
            November 1998.  (WIC 2010)

          2)Permits the Director of the Department of the Youth Authority,  
            now known as the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) within the  
            Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, to award funds  
            to public or private nonprofit agencies or joint ventures, or  
            both, for the purpose of acquiring, renovating, constructing,  
            and purchasing equipment for youth centers or youth shelters.   
            (WIC 2011)

          3)Requires recipients of funding to assure that the youth center  








                                                                  SB 347
                                                                  Page  2

            or youth shelter will be used for at least ten years, or  
            potentially more, from the date of acquisition, depending on  
            award amount, as specified.  (WIC 2012)

          4)Requires the state to recapture a portion of bond funds from  
            the recipient if, within 10 years after acquisition, 20 years  
            after completion of construction, or 3 to 10 years after  
            renovation, either of the following occur:  

             a)   The recipient of a contract ceases to be a public or  
               nonprofit agency; or

             b)   The facility is no longer used for youth center or youth  
               shelter activities.  (WIC 2013)

          5)Requires the amount to be recovered to be proportional to the  
            current value of the facility equal to the proportion of state  
            funds contributed to the original cost, upon determination and  
            agreement between the facility owner and the state or a court  
            of jurisdiction, as specified.  (WIC 2013)

          6)Requires youth shelters and youth centers to be funded as  
            separate programs with 70% of funding allocated for shelters  
            for runaway youths and 30% for shelters for abused and  
            neglected children.  (WIC 2020)

          7)Limits grants to no more than $1 million.  (WIC 2021)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee:

          1)Near-term loss of revenue of at least $1 million (General  
            Fund) from the recent sale proceeds of property in Santa Clara  
            County subject to repayment provisions under current law.  The  
            actual repayment amount, which has yet to be determined, would  
            be the proportion of the current value of the property equal  
            to the proportional share of state funds contributed to the  
            original cost of the project. 



          2)Potential future loss of revenue of at least $1 million  
            (General Fund) for funds awarded to San Diego County should  
            the county violate its contract obligations prior to September  
            2014. 








                                                                  SB 347
                                                                  Page  3



           COMMENTS  :  In the 1980s and into the 1990s, California voters  
          considered a number of state obligation bonds to fund the  
          construction or renovation of county and state operated  
          correctional facilities to address issues related to  
          overcrowding.  The number of bonds was fairly substantial,  
          totaling over $4 billion in general obligation bonds approved  
          over a nine year period.

          Of the bonds adopted, only Proposition 86 in 1988 provided  
          funding for the development or renovation of youth shelters and  
          centers.  Recognizing the need to provide alternative and  
          preventative services for youth who were at-risk of becoming  
          involved with the juvenile justice system, $25 million was  
          allocated for youth centers and shelters. 

           Repurposing of funds  :  Nearly 15 years has passed since the  
          adoption of Proposition 86 in 1988, and only a handful of  
          counties have been able to benefit from the limited amount of  
          funds made available through this bond act.  Recognizing that  
          many youth shelters and centers are operated by local nonprofit  
          agencies on minimal budgets that rely on philanthropic  
          donations, grants, and volunteers, removing a needed resource  
          for services to at-risk, homeless, or runaway youth could have a  
          detrimental effect.

           Understanding the supply and demand for homeless youth services  :  
           Established by the California Research Bureau (CRB) in 2006, in  
          collaboration with the Council on Youth Relations (CYR), the  
          Homeless Youth Project (HYP) is a multi-year research and policy  
          initiative tasked with highlighting and raising awareness about  
          the homeless youth population and its challenges, and presenting  
          solutions to help address California's homeless youth  
          population.  

          According to the HYP, based on national survey estimates and  
          California's youth population, it is estimated that there are  
          200,000 youth under the age of 18 and potentially thousands of  
          persons aged 18-24 who are homeless.  While this is an  
          approximation of the number of homeless youth in California, the  
          number is likely to be greater given the challenges involved in  
          the identification of homeless youth.  For purpose of this  
          population, "homeless youth" typically describes minors under  
          the age of 18, and 18 to 24-year-olds, who are economically or  








                                                                  SB 347
                                                                  Page  4

          emotionally detached from their families and have an unstable  
          and inadequate living environment, or are periodically or  
          chronically homeless.

          The causes of youth homelessness are varied and complex.  They  
          range from runaway youth to emancipated foster youth to  
          disengaged youth due to the lack of an adult figure in their  
          life or a lack of access to appropriate services.  Due to their  
          unique circumstances, research has shown that homeless youth are  
          at a greater risk of physical and sexual abuse, sexual  
          exploitation, alcohol and drug abuse, mental health  
          disabilities, and death.  Additionally, the social, emotional,  
          medical, economic and personal challenges homeless youth face,  
          when coupled with the lack of effective, coordinated services to  
          help them find and keep stable housing and reach  
          self-sufficiency, can lead to ongoing and chronic cycles of  
          homelessness throughout their lifetime. 

          In a 2010 survey of local, state and federal programs, the HYP  
          was able to identify 53 programs that offered just over 1,000  
          beds for homeless youth throughout the state.  Given that the  
          current estimate of homeless youth amounts to more than 200,000  
          individuals, this demonstrates a significant gap between the  
          size of California's homeless youth population and the number of  
          programs and services available to meet their needs. 
           
           Need for the bill  :  According to the author:  
           
               SB 347 would allow any county closing a children's shelter  
               funded through the County Correctional Facility Capital  
               Expenditure and Youth Facility Bond Act (Proposition 86 of  
               1988) to redirect that funding to local runaway and  
               homeless youth shelters.  This legislation is consistent  
               with current best practices that support replacing  
               children's shelters with family-focused, community-based  
               foster care.  

               Proposition 86 authorized a $500 million bond issue to  
               provide funds for the construction of county adult and  
               juvenile correctional facilities.  Additionally, the  
               measure allocated funds to youth centers and shelters. 

          Writing as sponsors of the measure, the County of Santa Clara  
          states:









                                                                  SB 347
                                                                  Page  5

               In 1990, the County of Santa Clara applied for, and  
               received, $1 million in funding from Proposition 86 to help  
               fund a new Children's Shelter.  More recently, the County  
               has decided to sell this property.  Under the terms of the  
               grant, the funding must be returned to the State upon the  
               sale of the property.  There is no known precedent for the  
               reuse of this funding.  

               SB 347 would instead allow the County of Santa Clara to put  
               this funding towards other local uses that would fulfill  
               the original purpose of the grant, which was to fund youth  
               shelters.  Specifically, the bill would allow qualified  
               non-profit agencies within the county to apply for funding  
               to acquire, renovate, construct or purchase equipment for  
               runaway youth or homeless youth shelters.  Under this  
               legislation, if the other county that received funding -  
               the County of San Diego - were to close its shelter, it  
               would also be able to redirect its funding.  

           Related Legislation

           AB 346 (Stone) - 2013
          This measure would provide the California Department of Social  
          Services the authority to license runaway and homeless youth  
          shelters.  It is currently on the Governor's desk.

          AB 1283 (Bonilla) - 2013 
          This measure would require the state advisory group established  
          pursuant to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act  
          of 1974 (42 U.S.C. §5601 et seq.) to study the feasibility of  
          the establishment a website to list and provide references to  
          homeless youth services.  It is currently in the Assembly Human  
          Services Committee and is a two-year bill.

          SB 177 (Liu) - 2013
          This measure would establish the Homeless Youth Education Act.   
          It is currently in the Senate Education Committee.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          Bill Wilson Center
          California Alliance of Child and Family Services
          California Attorneys for Criminal Justice








                                                                  SB 347
                                                                  Page  6

          California Coalition for Youth (CCY)
          EMQ Families First
          Housing California
          Mental Health America of California (MHAC)
          Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors (Sponsor)
          The Housing Trust of Santa Clara County
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089