BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2489
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 18, 2006
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
AB 2489 (Leno) - As Amended: April 17, 2006
SUBJECT : Foster youth: educational and financial aid support
services
SUMMARY : Enacts the "Foster Youth Higher Education Preparation
and Support Act of 2006," which includes matching funds for
federal grants, enhanced education services in K-12 districts,
student aid initiatives to close fee grant gaps in public higher
education, a new program for college-based foster youth
services, and student housing priority at public colleges and
universities. Specifically, this bill :
1)Enacts the "Foster Youth Higher Education Preparation and
Support Act of 2006."
2)States the intent of the Legislature to accomplish the
following:
a) To create opportunities for local education-based Foster
Youth Services Programs;
b) To close gaps in the mixture of California student aid
programs to ensure foster youth receive sufficient
financial aid to pay their systemwide and campus fees at
California public colleges and universities;
c) To provide matching funds in the State Budget for the
federally funded California Chafee Higher Education Grants
(Chafee) and to fulfill the commitment to support the cost
of attendance for foster youth; and
d) To ensure timely payments in Chafee by accomplishing
both of the following:
i) Providing funding for Chafee in anticipation of
federal funding to be received after adoption of the
federal budget in October; and
ii) Encouraging the Department of Social Services (DSS)
and the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) to
AB 2489
Page 2
review their joint and separate responsibilities for the
Chafee and to make all necessary improvements to ensure
the unacceptable delays in 2005-06 are not repeated.
3)Specifies a range of local entities that may apply for grant
funding from the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to
operate an education-based foster youth services program for
children who reside in foster homes and requires that:
a) Each foster youth services program thus established
shall have at least one person identified as a foster youth
educational services advocate with duties that include, but
are not limited to:
i) Working with the child welfare agency to minimize
changes in school placement;
ii) Facilitating prompt transfer of education records
when changes are necessary;
iii) Providing information to the child welfare agency;
iv) Responding to requests from the juvenile court;
v) Working to identify and obtain services to enhance
the educational prospects of the children (e.g.,
tutoring, mentoring);
vi) Facilitating communication between the foster care
provider, the teacher and other providers;
vii) Sharing information with the foster care provider
about training programs; and
viii) Referring foster youth with special needs to special
education advocates;
b) Each program may prescribe the method for determining
which children may be served and suggest allowable
methodologies; and
c) Each program shall have guiding principles that
establish a hierarchy of services, in accordance with the
following order:
AB 2489
Page 3
i) Provide tutoring services;
ii) Provide or arrange referral to mentoring,
counseling, transitioning services, emancipation
services;
iii) Facilitation of timely individualized education
programs and all special education services;
iv) Establishing collaborative relationships and local
advisory groups; and
v) Establishing mechanisms for efficient and
expeditious transfer of records; and
d) For the purposes of this section, defining a "licensed
or approved foster home" as a licensed or approved relative
(kin) foster home, licensed foster family home, certified
foster family agency home, court-specified home, or
licensed care institution (group home).
4)Authorizes CSAC to make tuition and fee payments to a
recipient of Cal Grant B in his or her first academic year of
attendance if the recipient is or was a foster youth.
5)Establishes the "California Guardian Scholars Program" (CGSP),
to be jointly administered by the Regents of the University of
California (UC), the Trustees of the California State
University (CSU), the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges (CCC) and the SPI, which includes the
following features:
a) The purpose of the program is to provide comprehensive
support for foster youth on UC, CSU and CCC campuses and to
support matriculation, graduation, academic success and
transfer;
b) Campuses receiving grants shall receive an annual grant
for five years that shall be utilized for the costs of
years one to three, and shall be $40,000 in years four and
five;
c) The State Department of Education (SDE) shall also
receive grant funding for the purpose of contracting with
community-based organizations to provide technical
AB 2489
Page 4
assistance to campus programs receiving grants under CGSP;
d) The administrator of the CGSP shall establish an
advisory committee to assist in the selection of proposals
to be funded and the development of project evaluation
criteria, with members that include, but are not limited
to, representatives from UC, CSU, CCC, the California
Postsecondary Education Commission, California Department
of Education Foster Youth Services Program, DSS, and
current or former foster youth;
e) The advisory committee shall make recommendations
regarding criteria for: awarding grants, determining
priority ranking of schools to receive assistance,
identifying effective projects, and for awarding grants to
community-based programs to provide technical assistance to
campus projects, and the advisory committee shall also make
recommendations regarding additional resources to promote
the program;
f) A public postsecondary educational institution may
submit an application to the administrator of the CGSP to
fund a project intended to improve foster youth services
and graduation rates;
g) The advisory committee shall give consideration to the
following elements in a campus plan: dedicated support
staff, one-stop shopping, housing, full financial aid
packages, academic guidance counseling, planned transition
to college, personal guidance and counseling, career
counseling, supplemental supports, social activities,
student leadership, partnerships, data collection and
internal/external campus support;
h) The administrator of the CGSP is authorized to award 50%
matching grants to applicants for the purpose of funding
the proposed project;
i) Each project that receives a grant in the CGSP must
provide matching funds from existing funds received from a
federal, state, local, or private source or a budget
increase in those funds, with preference given to projects
that have the strongest demonstrated institutional
commitment; and
AB 2489
Page 5
j) UC, CSU, CCC and the SPI are directed to adopt rules and
regulations to implement this new program.
6)States the intent of the Legislature that all current and
former foster youth who are current residents of California
shall have their systemwide and campus fees covered by grant
funds, and enacts the following provisions to meet this
intent:
a) Requires CSU to provide State University Grant (SUG) to
current and former foster youth to the extent that the
student does not receive sufficient funds from Cal Grant to
cover systemwide and campus fees;
b) Requires CSU to provide annual estimates to the
Department of Finance (DOF) and the Legislative Analyst's
Office (LAO) of the amount of budget augmentation necessary
to provide SUG to foster youth;
c) Requests UC to provide University of California Grant
(UCG) to current and former foster youth to the extent
that the student does not receive sufficient funds from Cal
Grant to cover systemwide and campus fees; and
d) Requests UC to provide annual estimates to the DOF and
the LAO of the amount of budget augmentation necessary to
provide UCG to foster youth.
7)Requires UC and CSU to give student housing priority to
current and former foster youth in order to ensure stable
housing for these students, and further requires CSU to give
first priority to foster youth for residence in housing
facilities that are open for uninterrupted year-round
occupation and secondarily, for housing that is open for
occupation during most days throughout the calendar year.
8)Requires DSS annually to notify, in writing, all foster youth
aged 13 and older of the educational supports available to
them pursuant to this bill.
The remainder of this analysis primarily addresses aspects of
this bill related to higher education.
EXISTING LAW provides authority to UC, CSU and CCC to charge
California residents systemwide and campus fees and provides
AB 2489
Page 6
financial aid in the form of Cal Grants, UCG, SUG and Board of
Governors Enrollment Fee Waivers (BOG Fee Waivers) to assist
needy students in paying such fees.
Existing federal law establishes the Chafee Education and
Training Vouchers Program, administered by the Administration
for Children and Families in the US Department of Health and
Human Services, which provides resources to states to assist
youths who have aged out of foster care or have been adopted
from the public foster care system after age 16.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown, including, but not limited to,
augmentation necessary to provide an unknown amount of
additional matching funds for Chafee grants, funding necessary
to administer the CGSP, including grant funds for SDE as
authorized and funding of institutional grants of an unknown
amount and number, augmentation to the Cal Grant B program
sufficient to cover first-year tuition and fees in the Cal Grant
B program for foster youth, augmentation to the UCG and SUG
programs in UC and CSU, and additional funding for
education-based foster youth services.
COMMENTS :
What is the purpose of this bill ? According to the author, all
California foster youth should receive the academic preparation,
financial assistance and campus-based support services they need
to gain access to higher education and to be successful in their
education. While California protects foster youth from abuse
and neglect, it needs to do more to support a successful
transition into adulthood. Only half of all foster youth
complete high school and only 15% take the necessary courses to
gain college admission; fewer than 10% who graduate from high
school go on to college, and those that do encounter significant
obstacles (including insufficient financial aid, insufficient
coordination of campus support services, and a lack of a stable
place of residence). Fewer than 2% of foster youth who go on to
college ever graduate. Foster youth are more likely than the
general population to face homelessness, incarceration and lower
lifetime earning potential. This bill contains a package of
initiatives to meet the higher education needs of foster youth.
Funding tuition and fees for foster youth in Cal Grant B : Cal
Grant B serves the lowest income students. Cal Grant B (unlike
Cal Grant A that serves higher income students) does not pay for
AB 2489
Page 7
tuition and fees in a student's first year of college. When Cal
Grant B was enacted more than 40 years ago (as the "College
Opportunity Grant Program"), policy makers assumed low-income
students would go the CCC, which at that time charged no fees.
Later, when fee charges began in the CCC, the BOG Fee Waiver was
created and all Cal Grant B students had their fees waived. In
reality, many low-income students begin their education in UC,
CSU or private colleges. AB 2813 (De La Torre), pending in the
Assembly, seeks to provide tuition and fee payments to all Cal
Grant B students in their first year of attendance. This bill
seeks to provide tuition and fee assistance to foster youth in
their first year of attendance.
Funding systemwide and campus fees at UC and CSU : Some foster
youth receive Cal Grant funding for systemwide fees at UC and
CSU. Foster youth are typically among the lowest income
students, so most receive Cal Grant B and therefore, as noted
above, do not receive this assistance until their sophomore and
subsequent years. Cal Grant does not pay for campus fees for
any UC or CSU student and thus, these local fees, which are
hundreds (and even, in some cases, thousands) of dollars, are
not automatically covered for foster youth. This bill seeks to
eliminate the fee payment barrier for foster youth by ensuring
their receipt of grant funding for systemwide and campus fees at
UC and CSU by directing these segments to cover such fees with
their campus-based student aid grant funds (UCG and SUG), and
providing a process by which appropriate budget augmentations
could be made for this purpose.
Chafee grants in California : CSAC administers the Chafee grants
in California, including responsibility for the application
process, need analysis, awarding and payments. DSS must verify
a student's foster youth status. Awards were first made in
2003-04; 1,174 students received a total of $7,778,491. In
2004-05, 862 students received renewal awards and 1300 received
new awards for a total of $7,938,337. Final numbers are not
available for the current year.
What is the concern about late payments in Chafee ? Foster youth
do not typically have families upon which to rely while they
await financial aid grants. Their needs are considerable and
immediate. Actual payments in this program have been seriously
delayed for a combination of reasons, including the October
availability of federal funding, delays in DSS certification of
eligible foster youth and CSAC delays in making awards and
AB 2489
Page 8
processing payments. In the current year, renewal students were
paid sometime between mid-September and mid-October 2005. New
recipients, however, were not even selected by CSAC until March
17, 2006 and payments were not actually started until early
April 2006. Campuses report that foster youth, who had applied
for this assistance many months ago, have experienced serious
difficulties, including eviction from residences and dropping
out of college. Ironically, some of those chosen for new awards
are now having their awards cancelled because they dropped out
because funds did not arrive. According to the author, the
provision of matching grant funds, and the availability of state
funding in anticipation of federal funding to be received in
October would assist in the effort to make more timely payments
in future years, but these actions will not, in and of
themselves, cure the problems that led to payments being made
six months after the adoption of the federal budget. In light
of these concerns, the author has decided to add language to
this bill to be more forceful in his encouragement that DSS and
CSAC serve these students more promptly.
Author's amendment : SEC. 9. It is the intent of the
Legislature that new and renewal payments shall be made to
eligible foster youth in the California Higher Education
Chafee Grants program on or before October 15, 2006. If
payments are not made by that date, the California Student
Aid Commission and the Department of Social Services shall
report to the Legislature and the Governor by March 1, 2007
on the reasons for failure to make timely payments and
shall include in that report the corrective actions being
undertaken to prevent further delays in future years.
Matching fund requirements for the Chafee Program : Federal law
currently requires a 20% match by states receiving allotments in
the Chafee Program. This bill states the intent of the
Legislature to provide additional matching funds in the State
Budget, but does not specify the amount of such a match or how
this intent relates to the currently required funding match.
The Chafee Education and Training Grants (the federal funds that
California has named "The California Higher Education Chafee
Grants") are a subset of the larger Chafee Foster Care
Independence (CFCI) program. The CFCI has a 20 % State match.
The state match is budgeted in an Independent Living Program
(ILP) called the "extended ILP". There is about $15 million
General Fund budgeted for extended ILP, much more than the
required match (of about $6 million) for the entire CFCI. When
AB 2489
Page 9
California received the new Chafee funding, it did not have to
add any more General Fund, because it was already overmatching
the federal program. DSS transfers to CSAC the entire amount of
the Chafee grants portion of the CFCI.
What is the need for the California Guardian Scholars Program ?
This proposal, according to the author, is based upon successful
campus-based foster youth service programs. It is his intent to
encourage and build institutional structures to ensure
coordinated campus services for foster youth.
How will the California Guardian Scholars Program be
administered ? This bill provides for CGSP to be jointly
administered by UC, CSU, CCC and the SPI but does not provide a
specific structure to implement this intent. Similarly, the
bill requires UC, CSU, CCC and the SPI to adopt rules and
regulations for CGSP, a process that each entity typically does
on its own. Staff recommends the author pursue clarification of
the administrative structure of CGSP as this bill moves forward.
The structure and grant process for the California Guardian
Scholars Program as set forth in this bill needs additional
work : This bill creates an advisory committee to the
administrator of the CGSP to "assist in selecting proposals" but
grants the administrator the sole authority to make awards. It
might be prudent to clarify the relationship between the
administrator and the advisory committee and the role of the
latter in selecting recipients. Additionally, the appointment
authority is specified for some advisory committee members and
not for others. This bill is silent on the number and amount of
awards to campuses, yet specifies a somewhat confusing grant
structure. The language in the bill states the campus "shall
receive a grant annually for five years, to be utilized for the
costs of years 1 to 3, inclusive, and $40,000 in years 4 and 5."
The payments for five years cover three years of costs? Why
exactly $40,000 in the fourth and fifth years? How does the 50%
matching requirement work? The details of the proposed grant
structure should be clarified as the bill moves forward.
Do foster youth need priority for student housing ? Foster youth
would be well served by more stable residences during their
college years. Most students who reside in college dorms
typically go home for holiday and vacation breaks. The lack of
a home to which a foster youth might go has caused problems for
this population for many years. Priority for housing, including
AB 2489
Page 10
year-round and vacation-break housing, where available, is a
positive step toward providing this population with critically
needed stability.
Related legislation now pending :
AB 1532 (Bass), pending in the Senate, removes
procedural barriers that limit foster youth participation
in the Cal Grant programs.
AB 2216 (Bass), pending in the Assembly, establishes a
Child Welfare Council, which may advise various branches of
government regarding the needs of foster youth.
AB 2813 (De La Torre), pending in the Assembly, provides
tuition and fee benefits for first-year Cal Grant B
recipients, among other provisions.
SB 1289 (Cedillo), pending in the Senate, extends
welfare benefits provided to foster care providers on
behalf of a foster youth over the age of 18 if that foster
youth is enrolled in a college, university or vocational
school.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
California State Association of Counties
California Youth Connection (Sponsor)
Children's Advocacy Institute
Children's Law Center of Los Angeles (Sponsor)
CME (Connect, Motivate Educate) Society of San Jose State
University
County Welfare Directors Association of California
John Halcon, PhD, College of Education, California State
University, San Marcos
Lambda Letters Project
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
National Center for Youth Law
Service Employees International Union
Youth Law Center (Sponsor)
Opposition
None on file.
AB 2489
Page 11
Analysis Prepared by : Mary Gill / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960