SB 1023, as amended, Liu. Community colleges: foster youth.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state, and authorizes them to operate campuses and provide instruction.
This bill would authorize the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges, in cooperation with the State Department of Socialbegin delete Services andend deletebegin insert Services,end insert county child welfare agencies,begin insert and county probation
departments,end insert
to enter into agreements with community college districts to provide additional funds for services in support of postsecondary education for foster youth through a program to assemble and coordinate cooperating agency resources. The bill would provide that these support services include, but are not necessarily limited to, child care and transportation allowances, allowances for books and supplies, counseling, career counseling, matriculation and transfer counseling, monitoring of academic progress, tutoring and mentoring, independent living skills support, frequent in-person contact, outreach and recruitment, and other related services, as well as referrals to mental health services and housing assistance.
The bill would authorize community college districts to apply to the board of governors for funding under the program created by the bill, as specified. The bill would require that a participating student be a current or former foster youth in California whose dependency was established or continued by the court on or after the student’s 16th birthday, be no older than 25 years of age at the commencement of any academic year in which he or she participates in the program, and be enrolled for at least 9 units per semester.
The bill would express the intent of the Legislature that, consistent with specified requirements in the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012, and to the extent that a participating community college meets specified responsibilities set forth in that act, any student who participates in the program established by this bill also receive specified matriculation services under that act.
The bill would require the board of governors to submit a biennial report, commencing no later than January 31, 2017, and no later than January 31 of each odd-numbered year thereafter, providing prescribed information about this program.
The bill would be operative in a fiscal year only if sufficient funds have been appropriated for purposes of the bill for that fiscal year.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) There are 57,000 children and youth in California’s foster
4care system who have been removed from their biological families
5due to maltreatment and placed into the care and custody of the
6State of California.
7(b) The Legislature recognizes the historic underrepresentation
8of foster youth in postsecondary programs and the need for
9equitable efforts that enhance the enrollment and retention of foster
10youth in public colleges and universities in California.
P3 1(1) By 21 years of age, 45 percent of former foster youth will
2graduate from high school, as compared to 80 percent of
3Californians of the same age. By 26 years of age, 4.4 percent of
4foster youth will receive a two-year degree and 3.8 percent will
5earn a four-year degree, rates significantly below the same-age
6population in California.
7(2) Low educational attainment is a factor in the poor adult
8outcomes experienced by youth in foster care. Compared to their
9same-age counterparts, former foster youth at 26 years of age are
10400 percent more likely to have been incarcerated and 300 percent
11more likely to be living below the federal poverty level.
12(3) Current and former foster youth who attend community
13college experience a low rate of persistence, transfer, and degree
14completion.
Only 41 percent of current and former foster youth in
15community college persisted at least one year as compared to 62
16percent of the general student population.
17(c) The Legislature recognizes its responsibility to provide and
18adequately fund postsecondary programs and services for students
19who are current and former foster youth attending public
20postsecondary institutions.
21(d) Therefore, it is necessary and appropriate to take steps to
22encourage the enrollment, retention, and transfer of current and
23former foster youth in California’s community colleges by
24establishing an education program that provides services that
25promote their academic success. Providing academic support to
26current and former foster youth in California’s community colleges
27serves a significant governmental
and public interest, namely the
28reduction in poverty and criminal justice involvement among youth
29who have been in foster care in California.
Article 4.3 (commencing with Section 79156) is added
31to Chapter 9 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education
32Code, to read:
33
The Chancellor’s Office of the California Community
38Colleges, in cooperation with the State Department of Social
39begin delete Services andend deletebegin insert Services,end insert county child welfare agencies,begin insert and county
40probation departmentsend insert may enter into agreements with community
P4 1college districts to provide additional funds for services in support
2of postsecondary education for foster youth through a program to
3assemble and coordinate cooperating agency resources. This
4program shall be known as the cooperating agencies
foster youth
5educational support program, and shall expand the number of
6students participating in the Community College Extended
7Opportunity Programs and Services and shall not displace other
8students. The funding provided pursuant to this article shall be
9separate and apart from the funding provided under existing
10cooperative agencies resources for education programs pursuant
11to Section 79150. Support services shall include, but not necessarily
12be limited to, child care and transportation allowances, allowances
13for books and supplies, counseling, career counseling, matriculation
14and transfer counseling, monitoring of academic progress, tutoring
15and mentoring, independent living skills support, frequent in-person
16contact, outreach and recruitment, other related services, and
17referrals to mental health services and housing assistance.
A community college district may apply to the board
19of governors for funding pursuant to this article. The application
20of each participating community college district shall demonstrate
21that all existing district resources reasonably available have been
22exhausted, and shall provide the number of foster youth who will
23be served. The application shall also describe the extent of
24cooperation between the local county child welfare department,
25begin insert the county probation department,end insert the State Department of Social
26Services, the local educational opportunity programs and services
27program, and the district.
A student participant in this program shall meet both
29of the following requirements:
30(a) Be a current or former foster youth in California whose
31dependency was established or continued by the court on or after
32the youth’s 16th birthday.
33(b) Be no older than 25 years of age at the commencement of
34any academic year in which he or she participates in the program.
Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 56220 of
36Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, the director of the
37Community College Extended Opportunity Programs and Services
38at each community college may authorize students who are enrolled
39for at least nine units per semester to participate in this program.
It is the intent of the Legislature that, consistent with
2the requirements and intent outlined in subdivisions (b) and (c) of
3Section 78215, and to the extent that a participating community
4college meets the responsibilities outlined in paragraph (2) of
5subdivision (a) of Section 78212, any student who participates in
6the program pursuant to this article participate in the program of
7services outlined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
878212.
The board of governors, in conjunction with the State
10Department of Social Services, shall adopt guidelines for the
11program. The board of governors shall be responsible for the
12administration of the funds for the program.begin insert To the extent possible,
13the Department of Social Services, in consultation with the County
14Welfare Directors Association of California, the California
15Probation Officers Association, and other advocates, shall consult
16with the chancellor’s office to ensure that services provided under
17this article to eligible youths are coordinated with, and do not
18supplant, other services provided by the county and state, including
19medical and mental health care, services provided by a
20Transitional Housing Placement Plus Foster
Care provider or
21Transitional Housing Placement Plus provider, and any other
22services identified in a youth’s transitional independent living
23plan, if applicable.end insert
Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government
25Code, commencing January 31, 2017, and every two years
26thereafter, the board of governors shall submit a report to the
27Governor, the education policy committees of the Legislature, and
28the California Child Welfare Council describing its efforts to serve
29students who are current and former foster youth. These biennial
30reports shall also include a review on a campus-by-campus basis
31of the enrollment, retention, transfer, and completion rates of foster
32youth, including categorical funding of those programs.
This article shall be operative in a fiscal year only if
34funds have been appropriated for purposes of this article for that
35fiscal year.
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