BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          AB 2285 (McCarty) - State employment:  former foster youth
          
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          |Version: May 27, 2016           |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0          |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: Yes                    |
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          |Hearing Date: August 8, 2016    |Consultant: Jillian Kissee      |
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          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.




          


          Bill  
          Summary:  This bill requires, contingent upon an appropriation,  
          the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) to develop and  
          administer the Former Foster Youth Job Readiness Training Pilot  
          Program until January 1, 2020.  This bill provides a $1.1  
          million appropriation to the SCOE to implement the pilot by  
          awarding grants to nonprofit organizations that have related  
          expertise to provide job readiness training to prepare former  
          foster youth for entry-level employment in state service.


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  
           This bill appropriates $1.1 million from the Consolidated Work  
            Program Fund, to the extent permitted by federal law, to the  







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            SCOE to implement this program.  Since this funding source  
            cannot be used in the way that this bill prescribes, it  
            creates a General Fund cost pressure in a like amount to  
            support the program.  The SCOE cites annual administrative  
            costs of $353,000.  To the extent this exceeds the allowable  
            percentage that can be used for administrative costs this  
            could create a General Fund cost pressure to fund the balance.  
             See staff comments.

           CalHR estimates ongoing costs of $226,000 General Fund for two  
            positions related to the requirement of promoting the training  
            of program participants in specified entry-level unclassified  
            positions for their eventual hiring in classified positions in  
            state service.


          Background:  San Mateo County and Santa Clara County have implemented  
          similar programs as proposed by this bill that assist foster  
          youth with entry-level work opportunities using local funds.

          Existing law establishes the Consolidated Work Program Fund for  
          the receipt of moneys deposited pursuant to the federal  
          Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.  Moneys in the  
          Consolidated Work Program Fund are required to be expended  
          consistent with the purposes of the federal Workforce Innovation  
          and Opportunity Act and the State Plan required by the federal  
          Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.   This fund is  
          administered by the Employment Development Department (EDD) and  
          consists of a blend of federal and state funds.  The EDD awards  
          funds from Consolidated Work Program Fund to eligible training  
          providers offering a variety of training opportunities. 


          Proposed Law:  
            This bill requires, contingent upon an appropriation, the SCOE  
          to develop and administer the Former Foster Youth Job Readiness  
          Training Pilot Program until January 1, 2020.  The purpose of  
          this pilot program is to prepare former foster youth for  
          entry-level employment in state service and to provide job  
          readiness training to eligible participants.  This bill provides  
          a $1.1 million appropriation, to the extent permitted by federal  
          law, from the Workforce Investment Act to the SCOE to implement  
          the pilot.









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          The SCOE is required to develop an application and award grants  
          to selected eligible organizations to be used to: (1) pay for  
          trainers to provide job readiness training to eligible  
          participants; and (2) provide a stipend to a participant, as  
          specified.  The SCOE is also required to collect specified data,  
          including program participation and the number of participants  
          receiving state employment after completing a placement.

          This bill provides that eligible organizations are nonprofits  
          with expertise in providing job readiness training.  An eligible  
          participant is one who is 18 to 25 years old and who has been  
          certified by a county as being, or having been in foster care,  
          as specified.

          This bill also requires the CalHR, in consultation with the  
          State Department of Social Services and the SCOE to promote the  
          training of foster youth participating in this program in  
          specified entry-level unclassified positions for their eventual  
          hiring in classified positions in state service located in  
          Sacramento County, as determined by CalHR.

          This bill provides that after a participant in the pilot program  
          has been trained in an unclassified position for three months,  
          but before being trained for nine months, he or she is required  
          to take a written examination, if required.  If the participant  
          does not pass the examination or does not receive a favorable  
          promotional rating, he or she must be released from the training  
          program.


          Staff  
          Comments:  According to the EDD, the use of Consolidated Work  
          Program Fund in this bill is not an appropriate funding source  
          since it would award federal Workforce Investment and  
          Opportunity funds to an external entity through a noncompetitive  
          process.  According to federal Uniform Guidance, states are not  
          permitted to award these federal monies to another entity  
          through a noncompetitive process, except under limited  
          circumstances for which this bill does not apply.  To access  
          these funds, generally an entity must instead submit an  
          application to either the state or local workforce investment  
          boards.










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