BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 891
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Kansen Chu, Chair
AB 891
(Campos) - As Amended April 20, 2015
SUBJECT: Low-income youth: educational attainment and success
SUMMARY: Provides for and expands a number of services and
supports for homeless and low-income students related to before-
and after-school programs, school transportation, high school
graduation, and subsidized employment.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Makes certain legislative findings and declarations regarding
the academic, health, and economic benefits of education and
related activities.
2)Prohibits an After School Education and Safety (ASES) program
from charging a family fee to a family with a child who is
identified as a homeless youth, as specified, or to a family
who is part of a CalWORKs assistance unit where aid is
provided only to the child, as specified.
3)Deletes a provision in current law that gives before-school
and after-school priority for enrollment for middle school or
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junior high school students to those who attend daily, and
establishes priority enrollment for students in a before- or
after-school program as follows:
a) First priority shall go to students who are defined as
homeless youth, as specified;
b) Second priority shall go to students who are members of
a CalWORKs assistance unit where aid is provided only to
the child, as specified;
c) For programs serving middle school or junior high school
students, third priority shall go to those who attend
daily.
1)Entitles a student eligible for free or reduced-price meals,
as specified, or who attends a school that participates in the
Community Eligibility Option, to free transportation to and
from school from the local educational agency (LEA), if the
student either lives more than one-half mile from school, or
the neighborhood through which the student must travel is
deemed unsafe, as specified.
2)Requires an LEA to designate a liaison responsible for
implementing a plan to ensure that students entitled to free
transportation, as specified, receive that transportation in a
timely manner.
3)Requires the LEA-designated liaison to be trained to identify
and accommodate the special rights of homeless youth and
students in a CalWORKs assistance unit where aid is provided
only to the child, as specified.
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4)Requires the transportation plan to be developed in
consultation with stakeholders, as specified, and to address
the ability of students in the LEA's jurisdiction to make
regular visits to the public library.
5)Requires the LEA to ensure free transportation is provided
using its existing funds, should free, dependable, and timely
transportation not be available to students entitled to it.
6)Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS), in
coordination with the California Department of Education
(CDE), to track high school completion rates of children in a
CalWORKs assistance unit, using a method identified by the
departments, and to report to the Legislature by July 1, 2016,
if a change in statute is required to carry out this task.
7)Requires DSS to make publicly available an aggregate report of
high school completion rates of children in CalWORKs
assistance units.
8)Requires that recipients of CalWORKs who are not older than 19
and who have obtained a high school diploma or equivalent
receive a $200 supplement to be paid directly to the recipient
and disregarded as income for purposes of determining CalWORKs
and CalFresh eligibility and benefits. Further provides that
Cal-Learn participants who are already eligible for a similar
incentive, as specified, are not eligible for this supplement.
9)Grants a child in a CalWORKs assistance unit a transportation
service supplement, as specified, to pay for transportation
services in order for a child to participate in an ASES
program.
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10)Requires DSS to coordinate with county human service agencies
and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to annually
inform assistance units of the need to have a child's vision
regularly examined and to offer information on how to schedule
an appointment with an optometrist for children receiving
Medi-Cal benefits.
11)Defines "needy youth" to mean individuals between the ages of
18 and 24 whose family income, which may include the youth
living alone, is less than 200% of the federal poverty level.
12)Requires DSS, in consultation with specified entities, to
design a subsidized employment program to provide paid
employment, occupational skills training, and other relevant
services for needy youth, as defined, and youth between the
ages of 15 and 19 who are eligible for CalWORKs.
13)Requires all employers and caseworkers involved in the
subsidized employment program to be trained in trauma-informed
care and restorative justice practices.
14)Requires income earned through the subsidized employment
program to be disregarded as income in determining eligibility
for CalWORKs aid.
15)Permits DSS, until January 1, 2018, to implement the
aforementioned subsidized employment program through
all-county letters or similar instructions and thereafter
requires DSS to adopt regulations to implement the provisions
of this program.
16)Stipulates that no continuous appropriation, as specified,
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shall be made from the General Fund to counties in order to
implement this act.
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes in federal law the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001 to ensure
educational rights and protections for youth experiencing
homelessness. (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.)
2)Defines in federal law "homeless children and youth" to mean
individuals who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime
residence, as specified, including children and youth who are:
a) Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of
housing, economic hardship, or similar reason;
b) Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping
grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate
accommodations;
c) Living in emergency or transitional shelters;
d) Abandoned in hospitals;
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e) Awaiting foster care placement;
f) Inhabiting a primary nighttime residence that is a
public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used
as a regular sleeping accommodation, as specified;
g) Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned
buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or
similar settings; and
h) Migratory, as defined, and who otherwise qualify as
homeless per this definition. (42 U.S.C. 11434(a)(2))
3)Establishes in federal law the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) program, which provides block grants to states
to develop and implement their own state welfare-to-work
programs designed to provide cash assistance and other
supports and services to low-income families. (42 USC § 601
et seq.)
4)Establishes the state's TANF program, the California Work
Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program,
which provides cash assistance and other supports and services
to low-income families and is administered by the counties.
(WIC 11200 et seq.)
5)Establishes the Cal-Learn program to provide services and
supports for pregnant and parenting teens aimed at assisting
them with graduating from high school, becoming independent,
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and forming healthy families. Requires eligible pregnant and
parenting teens who are receiving CalWORKs to participate in
the program, as specified. (WIC 11331 et seq.)
6)Establishes the ASES program per Proposition 49 (2002) to
provide for before- and after-school education and enrichment
programs for students in kindergarten through ninth grade, as
specified. (EDC 8482 et seq.)
7)Requires priority for enrollment in before- and after-school
middle school and junior high ASES programs to be given to
students who attend daily. (EDC 8483 and 8483.1)
8)Allows the governing board of any school district to provide
for the transportation of students to and from school, in
manners as specified, whenever, in the judgment of the board,
the transportation is advisable and good reasons exist to do
so. (EDC 39800 et seq.)
9)Defines "home-to-school" transportation to include, among
other things: the transportation of pupils between their homes
and the regular full-time day school they attend, as provided
by a school district or county superintendent of schools; the
payment of moneys by a school district or county
superintendent of school to parents or guardians of pupils
made in lieu of providing such transportation; and the payment
of moneys by a school district or county superintendent of
schools for the replacement or acquisition of school buses.
(EDC 41850(b))
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10)Provides for state funding for home-to-school transportation
and special education transportation, as specified. (EDC
41850)
11)Provides in federal law for universal meal services in high
poverty areas, as specified, whereby schools that
predominantly serve low-income children can offer school
lunches to all students in lieu of collecting individual
applications for free or reduced price meals. This is
commonly referred to as the "Community Eligibility Provision."
(42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1))
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
Homeless children and youth: One commonly used definition of
"homeless children and youths" comes from the federal
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 2001. It defines
homeless children and youths as individuals who "lack a fixed,
regular, and adequate nighttime residence," and it includes
children and youths who: have to share housing with others due
to loss of housing or economic hardship; are living in motels,
hotels, trailer parks, or camp grounds because they lack other
accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional
shelters; are awaiting foster placement; or have a primary
nighttime residence that is not designed as a regular sleeping
accommodation for human beings.
Over 520,000 children in the state were estimated to be homeless
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in 2012-13, prompting the National Center on Family Homelessness
at American Institutes for Research to rank California the 48th
worst in the nation with regards to the extent of child
homelessness (adjusted for state population). Nationally, it is
estimated that approximately 51% of all homeless children in the
United States are under the age of 6, 34% are between the ages
of 6 and 12, and 15% are between 13 and 17.
After School Education and Safety Program (ASES): In 2002,
voters approved Proposition 49, which established the ASES
program, expanding and renaming the former Before and After
School Learning and Safe Neighborhood Partnerships Program. The
ASES program funds the development of local after-school
programs created through partnerships between schools and local
community resources for students in kindergarten through the
ninth grade. These after-school programs are designed to
provide academic enrichment and literacy activities and a safe,
constructive after-school alternative for students.
According to CDE, "The ASES program involves collaboration among
parents, youth, representatives from schools and governmental
agencies, such as local law enforcement and local parks and
recreation departments, and individuals from community-based
organizations and the private sector. ?The ASES program must be
aligned with, and not be a repeat of, the content of regular
school day and other extended learning opportunities. A safe
physical and emotional environment, as well as opportunities for
relationship building, must be provided."
Transportation for students: While some states require school
districts to transport students who don't live within certain
proximity of their school, California does not. In general, the
state allows school districts discretion to determine which
students they will transport, and how many bus routes they will
operate. Various federal laws require transportation to be
provided to students with disabilities (per the Individuals with
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Disabilities Education Act), students attending
federally-sanctioned schools (per the No Child Left Behind Act
of 2001), and students who are homeless (per the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act).
According to a 2013 report on truancy in California released by
the state Office of Attorney General:
"Several parents reported that transportation issues made it
difficult for them to get their child to school, and many
district officials noted that transportation to and from
school was a significant obstacle for some families.
In some rural districts, students have to travel many miles by
bus to attend school. But some districts - like
Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified, which serves San Bernardino
and Riverside counties - have been forced to cut bus services
due to budgetary issues.
Transportation to and from school can be especially difficult
for families on a tight budget. One parent identified a
problem with gas and parking money. Several other parents
cited a lack of bus money or the fact that they did not have
their own car as a challenge to getting their children to
school. In Los Angeles County, for example, the cost of a
student bus/metro pass is $24 a month. For a low-income
parent or guardian with several children, this transportation
cost can be a formidable obstacle."
Need for this bill: Obtaining a college education can have
significant impacts on an individual's earnings and economic
wellbeing. U.S. Census Bureau data from 2013 on the poverty
status of Californians ages 25 and older indicate that over 25%
of individuals with less than a high school degree were living
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below the federal poverty level. Graduating from high school
can reduce the chances of poverty: for those with a high school
degree or equivalent, 15% were living below the poverty level.
This rate fell to about 10% for individuals who had attended
some college or obtained an associate's degree. Those with a
bachelor's degree or higher faced the lowest rate of poverty, at
just over 5%. For homeless youth, support in overcoming
barriers to high school graduation and higher education may be
particularly impactful on their futures, offering opportunities
to achieve economic mobility.
The author states that this bill "takes a multifaceted approach
to address the disturbing fact that roughly 70% of children born
into poverty will remain in poverty. It does this by:
Providing free public transportation to school for low income
students, by increasing availability and access to afterschool
activities, and increasing support programs for low-income
students."
According to the sponsors of this bill (the Western Center on
Law and Poverty, the Children's Defense Fund - California, the
Youth Justice Coalition, and 9to5, National Association of
Working Women, California):
"A robust body of research demonstrates that chronic
absenteeism is associated with lower academic performance at
the elementary, middle and high school levels, and greater
likelihood of dropping out. Research also suggests that going
to school regularly is especially critical for children from
families living in poverty who are less likely to have the
resources to help children make up for lost time in the
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classroom.
?There is strong evidence that access to afterschool and
summer programs increases the likelihood of success in school
and high school graduation. Research shows that students,
especially girls, benefit from improved health and academic
outcomes when they participate in afterschool programs.
Still, low income youth face many challenges in participating
in these programs. These barriers include lack of
transportation, long waiting lists and program enrollment
fees, but often have more to do with the child's precarious
economic situation. [This bill] would require these programs
to better accommodate children with high barriers to
participation: homeless children and children living below 50
percent of the federal poverty line?.Not only will very
vulnerable youth benefit from being enrolled in these
afterschool programs, but so will their parents and the
state's bottom line. Parents are more likely to secure
employment and to stay employed when they have a safe place
for their child to be while they are at work. This means that
California's investments in low-income families and their
parents' employment through the CalWORKs welfare-to-work
program are enhanced when children are enrolled in afterschool
programs.
[This bill] gives us several more tools to improve school
attendance and success and the promise of economic mobility
for our state's poorest children."
Staff comments: This bill seeks to adopt a number of changes in
order to remove barriers to school attendance - and, ultimately,
high school graduation, college, and employment - for low-income
and homeless youth. It also proposes to have DSS and CDE
collect and report data on the high school completion rates of
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children in a CalWORKs assistance unit. In order to obtain data
that are the most useful to state decision-makers, it may be
useful to broaden the scope of this research to include specific
variables such as length of time, and ages at which, students
were on aid, and whether or not any adults in a student's
assistance unit were ever on aid for any period of time.
Additionally, it may also be useful to collect data related to
other programs referenced by this bill, such as regular
attendance of ASES programs and access to school-provided
transportation. If the author is considering broadening the
report's scope, it may also be beneficial to request DSS and CDE
to consult stakeholders in the design of any data-collection
methods.
SECOND COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE . This bill was previously heard
in the Assembly Committee on Education, on April 8, 2015 and was
approved on a 7-0 vote.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Western Center on Law & Poverty, Sponsor
9to5, National Association of Working Women - CA - co-sponsor
Youth Justice Coalition - co-sponsor
Children's Defense Fund - CA -co-sponsor
Building Healthy Communities: Long Beach
California Catholic Conference
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California School-Based Health Alliance
California State PTA
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Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc.
Courage Campaign
Downtown Associated Youth Services
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
InnerCity Struggle
Khmer Girls in Action
Labor/Community Strategy Center's (LCSC) Community Rights
Campaign
Lynwood Unified School District
National Association of Social Workers
Our Family Coalition
PolicyLink
River City Food Bank
Success in Challenges
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Daphne Hunt / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089