BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                 UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 1252
          Author:   Torres (D)
          Amended:  6/11/14
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE  :  4-0, 4/22/14
          AYES:  Liu, Berryhill, DeSaulnier, Hancock
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Wyland

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 5/23/14
          AYES:  De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg

           SENATE FLOOR  :  37-0, 5/29/14
          AYES:  Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett,  
            Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani,  
            Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara,  
            Leno, Lieu, Liu, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nielsen, Padilla,  
            Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wolk, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Calderon, Wright, Yee

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 77-1, 8/27/14 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Former foster youth:  transitional housing program

           SOURCE  :     Foster Youth Investment Coalition (co-source)
                      John Burton Foundation


           DIGEST  :    This bill authorizes a county, at its option, to  
          extend the Transitional Housing Placement Program-Plus  
          (THP-Plus) to former foster youth not more than 25 years of age,  
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          and for a total of 36 cumulative months, if the former foster  
          youth is completing secondary education or is enrolled in an  
          institution that provides postsecondary education.

           Assembly Amendments  remove references to vocational education.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing Law:

          1.Provides that a current foster youth aged 16 to 18 is eligible  
            for placement in a program certified by the Department of  
            Social Services (DSS) as a Transitional Housing Placement  
            Program (THPP). 

          2.Provides that a nonminor dependent, as defined, ise eligible  
            for placement in a program certified by DSS as a Transitional  
            Housing Placement-Plus Foster Care Program (THP+FC). 

          3.Provides that a former foster youth ages 18 to 24 who has  
            exited from the foster care system on or after his/her 18th  
            birthday may elect to participate in THP-Plus for a total of  
            24 months. 

          4.Requires payments on behalf of an eligible person to be made  
            to licensed transitional housing placement providers. 

          5.Establishes the California Fostering Connections to Success  
            Act (AB 12, Beall and Bass, Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010),  
            which corresponds with the federal Fostering Connections to  
            Success Act that provides an option for states to receive  
            federal financial participation for federally eligible  
            nonminor dependents or former dependents of the juvenile court  
            who are between the ages of 18-21 and who satisfy certain  
            conditions, and provides for state-only extended benefits for  
            non-federally eligible youth. 

          6.Establishes multiple programs of support for dependent or  
            formerly dependent children and the families that care for  
            them.  Each of the federally reimbursed programs has a  
            corollary state-only funded program for children who are not  
            eligible under Aid to Families with Dependent Children income  
            eligibility criteria from 1996, as specified.


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          This bill permits a county, at its option, to extend the  
          services provided to former foster youth under the THP-Plus who  
          are not more than 25 years of age, and for a total of 36 months,  
          whether or not consecutive, if the former foster youth, as  
          specified, meets either of the following criteria:

           Is completing secondary education or a program leading to an  
            equivalent credential.

           Is enrolled in an institution that provides postsecondary  
            vocational education.

           Background
           
           Extended foster care (AB 12)  .  As of January 1, 2014, any youth  
          who turned 18 while under the order of foster care placement is  
          eligible to participate in extended foster care until the age of  
          21 if the youth meets one of the following requirements:

           Is completing high school or an equivalent program;

           Is enrolled in college, community college or a vocational  
            educational program at least half time;

           Is employed (paid) at least 80 hours a month;

           Is participating in a program or activity designed to remove  
            barriers to employment; or

           Is unable to meet the above requirements due to a medical  
            condition as verified by a health practitioner.

          Additionally, some youth who turn 18 in guardianship under the  
          Kinship Guardian Assistance Program or under the Adoption  
          Assistance Program are eligible for extended foster care (if the  
          youth was 16 or older at the time of guardianship or has a  
          disability).  Youth who are not eligible for extended foster  
          care may be eligible for CalWORKs.

           Post-secondary educational attainment for former foster youth  .   
          A 2013 report also published by the Stuart Foundation entitled  
          "At Greater Risk:  California Foster Youth and the Path from  
          High School to College," states that foster youth confront  
          multiple risk factors for low educational attainment including  

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          disabilities, language barriers, emotional trauma, lower  
          educational attainment in high school, and less of a support  
          system due to disrupted social connections.  The report states  
          that foster youth are among the most vulnerable young  
          Californians, are more likely to attend schools with low  
          performance rankings according to the Academic Performance  
          Index, and that about one quarter of foster youth had a  
          disability in contrast to one-tenth of the general population.   
          Additionally, the report states that relative to the general  
          student population, foster youth performed poorly on the  
          California Standards Test in English-Language arts, with nearly  
          a quarter scoring far below basic level on the test and another  
          27% scoring in the next lowest category, below basic.  The  
          report concludes that these and other findings point to the  
          "overarching importance of providing foster youth with the  
          support they need to complete high school as well as enroll and  
          succeed in college at the same rates as other students."

           Comments
           
          According to the author's office, foster youth encounter  
          multiple challenges to completing a college education.  One of  
          the ways that the state has been supportive of eliminating  
          barriers to succeeding in higher education is helping youth  
          transition in stable, independent, living situations, including  
          the Transitional Housing Program.  Additionally, the author's  
          office cites a recent analysis by the Institute for  
          Evidence-Based Change and the University of California Berkeley  
          Center for Social Services Research which found that foster  
          youth graduate from high school, enroll in community college,  
          and persist in community college for a second year at lower  
          rates than, not only students in the general population, but  
          also other disadvantaged students. 

          The author's office additionally cites reports published by the  
          Stuart Foundation that 70% of foster youth expressed interest in  
          attending college in some capacity, but that only 10% enrolled,  
          while it is projected that only 3% would graduate with a degree.  
            

           Prior Legislation
           
          AB 427 (Hertzberg, Chapter 125, Statutes of 2001) extends the  
          scope of the class of children who may be provided transitional  

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          housing.

          AB 2774 (Assembly Human Services Committee, Chapter 873,  
          Statutes of 1998) extends implementation of the transitional  
          housing placement program from a three county pilot to all  
          counties.

          AB 1198 (Bates, Chapter 799, Statues of 1993) creates the THPP  
          for foster youth 17 years of age or older and in their last year  
          of high school.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: 

          1.Minor and absorbable costs to DSS to update program  
            requirements. 

          2.Unknown, potentially significant costs to counties that choose  
            to provide this optional service.  It is unknown what  
            percentage of youth would be offered and utilize the extension  
            in THP-Plus services.  However, annual costs to provide  
            THP-Plus services to 10% of the 2,000 youth being served  
            annually would be in the range of $5.4 million assuming a  
            monthly THP-Plus provider rate of $2,258 (weighted average  
            cost across the three housing models). 

          3.Proposition 30, passed by the voters in November 2012,  
            provided that legislation enacted after September 30, 2012,  
            that increases the costs already borne by a local agency for  
            programs or levels of service mandated by the 2011 realignment  
            legislation only applies to local agencies if the state  
            provides annual funding for the cost increase.  This bill  
            contains no state funding for the extension of services.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/27/14)

          Foster Youth Investment Coalition (co-source)
          John Burton Foundation (co-source)
          Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance
          Aspiranet
          C.A.S.A. of San Bernardino County
          California Alliance of Child and Family Services

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          California Court Appointed Special Advocates Association
          California Police Chiefs Association
          California Youth Empowerment Network
          City of Fontana, Mayor Pro Tem, John Roberts 
          Family Care Network
          First Place for Youth
           Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program Project Accessing  
            Careers through Education
          National Association of Social Workers
          Outreach Nation
          Seeds of Hope Outreach Resource and Family Development
          Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy



           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 77-1, 08/27/14
          AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,  
            Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,  
            Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,  
            Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones,  
            Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,  
            Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,  
            Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. Pérez, V.  
            Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,  
            Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron,  
            Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
          NOES: Donnelly
          NO VOTE RECORDED: Harkey, Vacancy


          JL:k  8/27/14   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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