BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1699
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Date of Hearing: April 20, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1699 (Kim) - As Amended April 6, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY: This bill expands homeless youth emergency service
projects to additional counties and requires these projects to
provide transitional living services. Specifically, this bill:
1)Adds transitional living services for homeless youth ages 18
to 24, as specified, and for a period of up to 36 months, to
the list of required services to be provided by homeless youth
emergency service projects.
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2)Requires the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to establish
additional homeless youth emergency service projects in other
counties, with a priority given to counties that lack existing
services for runaway and homeless youth.
3)Requires OES to develop criteria for the selection of grantees
and the determination of grant amounts, with input from
stakeholders including former homeless youth and
representatives from advocacy groups serving homeless youth.
4)Requires OES to prepare and disseminate requests for proposals
for these new projects, as specified, by March 31, 2017.
5)Appropriates $25 million from the General Fund to OES to
provide additional funding for homeless youth emergency
service projects, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Appropriates $25 million (GF) to OES for homeless youth
emergency service projects.
2)Unknown, but potentially significant, costs to OES to develop
selection criteria with stakeholder input and to prepare and
disseminate requests for proposals.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill, "would provide a
comprehensive services plan and funding to help address
California's growing homeless youth crisis. Current services
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specific for homeless youth are woefully inadequate and more
needs to be done to address homelessness at a young age. By
providing the tools and addressing their needs while young, we
can correct some of the factors that lead to being a
chronically homeless adult."
2)Background. The Homeless Youth Act of 1985 (AB 1596, Chapter
1445, Statutes of 1985) established pilot projects to develop
a network of youth services in San Francisco and Los Angeles,
and required the state to collect data on runaway youths in
Santa Clara and San Diego counties. That bill appropriated
state General Fund monies to the former Office of Criminal
Justice Planning to administer the program. SB 508, Chapter
288, Statutes of 1988, extended the Homeless Youth Act,
deleting references to pilot projects and making provisions
permanent.
Today, the Homeless Youth and Exploitation Program provides
food, shelter, counseling, outreach services, referrals,
screening for basic health needs and long-term stabilization
planning. It is administered by OES and operates in four
agencies, each representing a separate county: San Diego Youth
Services, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Larkin Street
Youth Services (San Francisco), and the Bill Wilson Center
(Santa Clara County). Total 2015-16 funding for the projects
is almost $1.1 million, $356,000 of which is General Fund (the
remaining funds are State Victim Witness Assistance Funds). A
youth is considered homeless if he/she is under the age of 24
and only of the following, or combination, apply: 1) does not
have a permanent residence; 2) has run away from home; 3)
has been pushed out of his/her home by parents or guardians;
4) has aged out of the foster care system and is now homeless;
5) is living in a shelter; 6) and/or is living on the streets.
OES has reported that, for the 2013-14 fiscal year, the
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Homeless Youth and Exploitation Program (across all four
county projects), among other things: provided 8,877 youth
with outreach services; provided 667 youth with shelter;
assisted 223 youth with family reunification; and provided
training on independent living and survival skills to 1,041
youth.
In 2011, the California Homeless Youth Project conducted a
point-in-time study to try to assess how many programs in the
state provided services and support specifically to
unaccompanied homeless youth, ultimately identifying 53
programs, from street outreach to transitional living, aimed
at reaching unaccompanied homeless youth. Thirty counties
were found to have no services of any kind specifically for
homeless youth.
3)Budget Consideration. This bill makes a $25 million General
Fund appropriation to fund a significant expansion of the
homeless youth emergency service projects. This represents a
major increase in funding from just over $1 million ($356,000
GF) to $25 million (GF). The Committee may wish to consider
whether this proposal is more appropriately considered in the
context of the budget discussion.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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