BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES Senator McGuire, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: AB 982 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Eggman | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |----------+-----------------------+-----------+-----------------| |Version: |July 2, 2015 |Hearing | July 14, 2015 | | | |Date: | | |----------+-----------------------+-----------+-----------------| |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ---------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Mareva Brown | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Child care and development: eligibility: homeless children SUMMARY This bill expands the list of entities that can formally identify a child as being eligible for subsidized child care services to include a local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths, a Head Start program, or a transitional shelter. The bill also expands the list of conditions that make a family eligible for child care to include a homeless child. ABSTRACT Existing law: 1)Establishes the Child Care and Development Services Act in California law to provide a comprehensive, coordinated, and cost-effective system of child care and development services for children from infancy to 13 years of age and their parents, including a full range of supervision, health, and support services through full- and part-time programs and to provide an environment that is healthy and nurturing for all children in child care and development programs. (EDC 8201) 2)Requires the Superintendent to adopt rules and regulations for eligibility, enrollment and priority of services and require that in order to be eligible for federal- and state-subsidized AB 982 (Eggman) PageB of? child development services a family must meet a least one of the following, in each of the following areas: (EDC 8263) a. Is a current aid recipient, income eligible, homeless or the children are recipients of protective services, among others. b. A family needs child care services because the child is identified by a legal, medical or social services agency as a recipient of protective services or being neglected, abused, or exploited, as defined, or because the parents are engaged in vocational training leading, as specified, or employed or seeking employment, seeking permanent housing for family stability or incapacitated. 3)Requires the following priorities be set for services: a. First priority shall be given to abused or neglected children who are recipients of child protective services or children who are at risk of being neglected or abused, upon written referral from a legal, medical or social services agency, as specified. b. Second priority shall be given equally to income-eligible families, as specified. (EDC 8263 (b)) 4)Requires the Superintendent to set criteria for, and to grant specific waivers of, the priorities established in this subdivision for agencies that wish to serve specific populations, including children with exceptional needs or children of prisoners. These new waivers shall not include proposals to avoid appropriate fee schedules or admit ineligible families, but may include proposals to accept members of special populations in other than strict income order, as long as appropriate fees are paid. (EDC 8263 (b)(3)) 5)Establishes criteria for promoting continuity of services within child care and development programs for enrolled children. (EDC 8263 (c)) 6)Establishes, in federal law, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which provides federal funding for local homeless assistance projects. (42 USC § 11301, et seq.) AB 982 (Eggman) PageC of? 7)Includes in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, a definition of a homeless child or youth as one who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence including: a) Children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement; b) Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; c) Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and d) Migratory children living in the circumstances described above. (42 USC § 11434a) 1)States the intent of the Legislature that homeless youth are entitled to a meaningful opportunity to meet the challenging state pupil academic achievement standards to which all pupils are held. (EDC 48850(a)(1)) This bill: 1) Adds to the list of professionals who can identify a family as having eligibility for subsidized child care services a local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths, as specified, a Head Start program or a transitional shelter. These professionals can affirm that specific conditions exist to qualify a child for subsidized care. 2) Adds homelessness to the risk factors to be considered in assessing eligibility for subusidized child care services in addition to the existing criteria of neglect, abuse, and parental engagement in work or work-finding activities, among others. AB 982 (Eggman) PageD of? FISCAL IMPACT An Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis identified this bill as having negligible state fiscal impact. BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION Purpose of the bill: The author states that early childhood services are extremely valuable for homeless children. Research overwhelmingly shows high quality educational experiences in the preschool years can have a positive effect and long-term benefit throughout a child's education, according to the author. High-quality preschool education and early learning have been shown to increase high school graduation rates, reduce crime and delinquency, lead to greater employment and wages as adults, and contribute to more stable families, the author states. Yet, according to the author, research shows that parents experiencing homelessness are less able to access childcare subsidies than other low-income parents.<1> Mothers who have experienced homelessness receive government subsidies for childcare much less often than those at-risk of homelessness or those with stable housing. They are more likely to have unreliable childcare and are less likely to access center-based care, the author states. Mothers who have experienced homelessness are more likely to be forced to leave jobs or school due to lack of childcare, according to the author. This bill would allow professionals who work with homeless families to identify those families as meeting eligibility requirements for state or federally subsidized care. Homelessness among children Homeless families with children comprise 37 percent of the overall homeless population, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2013, more than --------------------------- <1> Institute for Children, Poverty & Homelessness (May 2012). Profiles of Risk: Child Care. New York: Author. ("This brief uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a national survey tracking nearly 5,000 families for five years after the birth of each family's focal child.") AB 982 (Eggman) PageE of? 1.2 million public school children were homeless, an increase of roughly 25 percent from the 2009-10 school, according to various U.S. Department of Education data sources. Overall, 2.5 million children experienced homelessness nationally in 2013 - or 1 in 30. State data indicates nearly a quarter of California's homeless children live in Los Angeles County and more than 80 percent, or 224,161 children, were living in doubled-up situations, which include cohabitating with other families, "couch surfing," or living in a garage. Another 17,844 were living in shelters, 10,073 lived in motels and hotels, and 7,578 were unsheltered. The National Center on Family Homelessness at the American Institutes for Research ranked California 48th overall on its report card of child homelessness, just above Mississippi and Alabama, respectively. It ranked 48th in the extent of child homelessness, just above New York and Kentucky, based on HUD data showing that nearly 530,000 children were homeless in California in 2012-13, an increase of 20,000 children from one year prior and of nearly 90,000 from two years earlier. California also ranked second-to-last in policy and planning efforts, above only Wyoming. Despite positive marks for having a state housing trust fund, California continues to have poor access to housing for children and their families: Just 1,650 emergency shelter beds for families, 4,602 transitional housing units and 5,064 permanent supportive housing units exist statewide. McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act provides funding for shelters and addresses educational needs of homeless youth, among other identified responsibilities. The Act requires homeless children to be able to enroll in school even without all required paperwork and establishes other rights. It requires school districts to appoint local educational liaisons for homeless children. The Act also provides a definition of homelessness that is broader than the previously-used HUD definition: It includes individuals and families who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including those who live in shelters, transitional housing, cars, campgrounds, motels, or who share the housing of others temporarily due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or AB 982 (Eggman) PageF of? similar reasons. Child care Approximately 350,000 children receive subsidized child care in California through a variety of home-based and center-based programs which are intended to both support child development and the parents' participation in work. To be eligible for subsidized child care, a family's income must be below 70 percent of the state median income, or $42,000 for a family of three; parents must be working or participating in an education or training program; and children must be under the age of 13. Space in child care and early childhood education programs is limited, and shrunk considerably during the Great Recession. The Legislature has made significant effort in the past several years to recoup some of the lost slots; however there is not enough subsidized child care to meet the need. Child care among homeless families Access to child care provides two important benefits, according to research published in 2014 by the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness in Washington, DC. Not only does stable child care provide parents an opportunity to work, search for work or find housing, but it provides a critical safe setting for children to grow and learn. "High-quality child care can, especially for young children, bolster the early learning skills necessary for success in school and beyond. By modeling nurturing interactions and behaviors, child care providers help shape young children's development." <2> Yet a 2012 report by the same organization found that homeless mothers are less likely to receive child care subsidies than either mothers at risk of becoming homeless or mothers who have housing stability. Related legislation: SB 177 (Liu, Chapter 491, Statutes of 2013) reduced barriers to school enrollment for homeless youth. --------------------------- <2> http://www.icphusa.org/PDF/reports/ICPH_policyreport_MeetingtheCh ildCareNeedsofHomelessFamilies.pdf AB 982 (Eggman) PageG of? AB 905 (Arambula, Chapter 110, Statutes of 2007) allowed the Superintendent of Public Instruction to extend the period of eligibility an additional 60 days for families whose basis of need for child care is that they are seeking employment. COMMENTS While California's statute has included homelessness as a criteria for subsidized child care, and has permitted prioritizing children for care within the category of families "at risk," this bill would allow homeless liaisons and Head Start organizations, which often deal directly with homeless families, to be included in the list of professionals who can identify a family as needing child care. PRIOR VOTES ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Assembly Floor: |78 - | | |0 | |-----------------------------------------------------------+-----| |Assembly Appropriations Committee: |17 - | | |0 | |-----------------------------------------------------------+-----| |Assembly Human Services Committee: |7 - | | |0 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- POSITIONS Support: Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault/Bakersfield Homeless Center California Equity Leaders Network California State PTA Citrus Heights HART Ed Ladder Housing California Los Angeles Unified School District LUNIA Locals 777 & 792 National Association for the Education of Homeless Children AB 982 (Eggman) PageH of? and Youth National Center for Youth Law Public Counsel's Children's Rights Project Santa Cruz County Homeless Action Partnership Santa Cruz County Office of Education Western Center on Law and Poverty 1 individual Oppose: None received. -- END --