BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 636 (Liu) - Homeless youth: basic material needs assistance
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|Version: April 23, 2015 |Policy Vote: HUMAN S. 5 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: May 4, 2015 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 636 would create the Homeless Youth Basic Material Needs
Assistance Program, which would require the Department of Social
Services (DSS) to allocate moneys appropriated by the
Legislature to counties electing to establish a program for the
purposes of the statewide program. This bill would require the
DSS to administer a program for a county declining to establish
a program or requesting DSS to administer the program. This bill
would also require the DSS to issue a report, as specified,
three years after implementation of the program.
Fiscal
Impact:
Major future cost pressure (General Fund) in the tens of
millions of dollars annually to establish and administer
programs in all counties. While the extent of potential
costs would be at the discretion of the Legislature to
appropriate, in order to provide even 25 percent of the
297,470 homeless K-12 youth (74,367) with less than $20 per
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month over the school year to assist with basic material
needs would cost $17.8 million (General Fund).
Potentially significant ongoing administrative costs
(General Fund) to DSS as the "administering entity" for
counties declining to establish a program or requesting DSS
administration. Costs would be dependent on the number of
counties declining participation or requesting
administration, which is unknown at this time, and the
population of homeless youth in those specified counties.
One-time and ongoing costs potentially in excess of
$100,000 (General Fund) to the DSS to review proposals and
allocate funds to participating counties, to the extent
monies are appropriated for this program, and generate the
report.
Background: Existing federal law under the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act, defines a homeless child or youth as one who
lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence
including:
o 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.
o 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.
o Children and youths who are living in cars, parks,
public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing,
bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
o Migratory children living in the circumstances
described above.
(42 U.S.C. § 11434a.)
According to online data from kidsdata.org, there were 297,470
homeless school children in the 2013-14 educational year, with
nearly a quarter of the youth living in Los Angeles County.
Under existing law pursuant to SB 761 (DeSaulnier) Chapter
365/2014, the Personal Income Tax Law authorizes an individual
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to contribute amounts in excess of his or her tax liability for
the support of specified funds, including the School Supplies
for Homeless Children (SSHC) Fund. Existing law requires the
moneys deposited in the SSHC Fund to be allocated, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, to the DSS for the sole
purpose of assisting pupils in California pursuant to the
federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act by providing
school supplies and health-related products to homeless children
through competitive grant programs. The SSHC Fund was originally
authorized by SB 1571 (DeSaulnier), Chapter 459/2012 to help
provide essential school supplies to homeless children. In 2013,
the SSHC Fund received $367,868 in valid contributions, and has
received $276,891 in contributions this year.
This bill seeks to provide similar services to homeless youth
through a direct appropriation rather than through voluntary tax
contributions.
Proposed Law:
This bill would create the Homeless Youth Basic Material Needs
Assistance Program, which would require the DSS to allocate
moneys appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes of the
statewide program. Specifically, this bill:
Includes uncodified legislative intent language
describing the maximum level of funds to be appropriated
for the program, as specified.
Defines "additional material needs assistance" as
clothes, blankets, and access to shelter.
Defines "administering entity" as a county that elects
to establish a program, counties that elect to establish a
program jointly, or the DSS if a county declines to
establish a program or requests DSS to administer the
program.
Defines "homeless youth" as having the same meaning as
the term defined in federal law under the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act.
Defines "basic material needs assistance" as school
supplies, dental supplies, and other hygienic products,
shoes, socks, and underwear.
From moneys appropriated by the Legislature for the
program, requires DSS to allocate a proportional amount to
each county program based on the county's respective number
of homeless youth.
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Provides that moneys allocated to the county shall be
used to establish and operate a Homeless Youth Basic
Material Needs Assistance Program for the county.
Provides if a county declines to establish a program or
requests DSS to administer the program, the DSS is to
retain the county's share of funds and is directly
administer a program for homeless youth in that county,
including contracting with a nonprofit and performing all
duties specified in the bill.
Requires each administering entity to do all of the
following:
o Solicit proposals from nonprofit organizations
for the purpose of providing basic material needs
assistance to homeless youth in the manner directed by
the administering entity, as specified.
o Select and contract with one or more nonprofit
organizations to participate in the program based on
the proposals solicited. Selection to be based on
various factors, including the nonprofit
organization's demonstrated ability to form
partnerships with LEAs, demonstrated ability to
generate additional matching funds or in-kind
resources for similar programs.
o Requires each nonprofit organization
contracted to do all of the following:
§ Assist homeless youth through LEA
partnerships.
§ Notify the homeless liaison of a
county office of education each time a program
commences or is renewed.
§ Provide basic material needs
assistance to homeless youth, giving first
priority to hygiene, dental, and school supply
needs.
§ Authorizes a nonprofit to use other
resources or demonstrated savings to provide
additional material needs assistance.
§ Provide at least a 25 percent match
for all moneys received from the administering
entity. Specifies in-kind materials count toward
the match, and any amounts provided by a
nonprofit that exceed the 25-percent match
constitute demonstrated savings that may be used
to provide clothes, blankets, and access to
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shelter.
§ Consult with the children and
families commission of the county, as specified.
§ Prepare a report for the
administering entity, as specified.
o Requires the DSS to issue a report after three
years of operation of the program, to include the
number of homeless youth assisted each year, a
description of the assistance provided, the total
match leveraged and the match leveraged by each
county, copies of the original letters from each LEA,
as specified, and any significant achievements in
absenteeism reduction, improved academic outcomes,
improved living or social outcomes, and any other
significant improvements.
Prior
Legislation: AB 2591 (Weber) 2014 was substantially similar to
this measure. This bill was held on the Suspense File of this
Committee.
SB 761 (DeSaulnier) Chapter 365/2014 requires funds appropriated
by the Legislature from the School Supplies for Homeless
Children Fund to be allocated to the DSS instead of CDE for
distribution to a tax-exempt nonprofit organization to provide
school supplies and health-related products to partnering LEAs
for distribution to homeless children. This bill requires a
minimum 100 percent match for all funds received.
Staff
Comments: To the extent monies are appropriated by the Legislature for
the statewide program, the DSS would incur one-time and ongoing
costs (General Fund) of an unknown but potentially significant
amount in excess of several hundred thousand dollars to review
proposals, allocate funds to counties, administer the program
for counties declining to establish a program or requesting DSS
to administer the program, and to prepare and issue the required
report.
This bill does not mandate an appropriation by the Legislature,
but to the extent the Legislature appropriates funds for the
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purposes of this program in any one year, costs could
potentially be in the millions of dollars to establish and
administer programs in all counties. While the extent of
potential costs would be at the discretion of the Legislature to
appropriate, in order to provide even 25 percent of the 297,470
homeless K-12 youth (74,367) with less than $20 per month over
the school year to assist with "basic material needs" would cost
$17.8 million (General Fund).
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