BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2256
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Date of Hearing: May 18, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2256 (Maienschein) - As Amended April 28, 2016
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|Policy |Human Services |Vote:|7 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY: This bill requires a homeless service provider to
submit an annual report to the California Health and Human
Services Agency (CHHSA) containing specified data regarding
persons experiencing homelessness. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires a homeless services provider to submit a report to
CHHSA before January 1, 2018, and on or before January 1 each
year, that contains the following data regarding homeless
children, youth, and adults for the previous calendar year:
a) The number of ambulance rides;
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b) The number of hospital stays and length of each stay;
c) The number of emergency room visits;
d) The number of arrests and length of each incarceration;
e) The number of homeless children or youth and homeless
persons using services provided by the homeless services
provider; and
f) The latest estimate by a local agency in the area in
which services are provided on the total number of homeless
persons in that area, if available.
1)Requires the report to be submitted in an open format that
meets certain requirements, as specified.
2)Requires the data provided to CHHSA be published on the
California Health and Human Services Open Data Portal.
3)Provides that these requirements only apply to homeless
service providers that have access to the required data listed
in (1) above.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Unknown costs beginning in 2017-18 and ongoing, likely in the
hundreds of thousands of dollars (GF), to CHHSA to review and
de-identify the reports to ensure privacy and confidentiality,
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and to standardize and aggregate the data. Actual costs will
depend on the number of reports received from providers by
CHHSA.
2)Costs to CHHSA to post the reports are minor and absorbable.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author's office, "The purpose of
asking homeless services providers to submit the information
required by this act is to develop a statewide database of
information regarding homeless children or youth and homeless
persons and the public services being used. The data will
enable state and local governments to develop better programs
to target the needs of these individuals and utilize funding
and other resources in the most efficient manner. The
formatting called for in the report is consistent with the
passage of AB 169 (Maienschein), Chapter 737, Statutes of
2015, and will ensure broad public access to the information."
2)Background. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
data indicate that California accounted for 21% of the
nation's homeless population in 2015, with 115,738 people
identified as homeless. Between 2014 and 2015, California saw
an increase in homelessness cases with an additional 1,786
identified as homeless; however between the years of 2007 and
2015, homelessness rates in California actually declined with
23,248 fewer people experiencing homelessness in 2015 than in
2007. California also has the largest number of veterans
experiencing homelessness at 11,311 cases, representing 24% of
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the national homeless veteran population.
3)Project 25: In April 2015, the Fermanian Business & Economic
Institute at Point Loma Nazarene University released a study
entitled "Project 25: Housing the Most Frequent Users of
Public Services among the Homeless." Project 25 consisted of
28 individuals and was designed to determine if the provision
of permanent housing with intensive individualized support,
coupled with an identified "Medical Home" could significantly
reduce the use and cost of various public programs by their
most frequent homeless users in the San Diego metropolitan
area.
The report concluded that in the base year of 2010, the
expenses of all public services used by the 28 individuals
totaled approximately $3.5 million. Hospitalization accounted
for over three-fifths of the total at $2.2 million. In the
first full year of participation in the program, (2012) these
costs were reduced to $1.5 million. In 2013, there was a
further reduction of 25% to $1.1 million. Overall, the
program showed a 67% reduction in total costs comparing the
base year of 2010 to 2013. The average expense per person
fell from over $124,000 in 2010 to about $41,000 in 2013.
4)Prior Legislation.
a) AB 1403 (Maienschein), Chapter 188, Statutes of 2015,
allows one or more private, non-profit 501(c) (3)
corporations that provide services to homeless persons for
the prevention of homelessness to form a joint powers
agency, or enter into a joint powers agreement, with one or
more public agencies.
b) AB 169 (Maienschein), Chapter 737, Statutes of 2015,
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requires local agencies to use specified open data
standards if they choose to post public records online that
are prescribed as "open."
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081