BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1393
Author: Skinner (D), et al
Amended: 6/24/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/17/09
AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Simitian,
Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Maldonado, Padilla
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 80-0, 5/11/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Foster youth: higher education housing
SOURCE : California Youth Connection
DIGEST : This bill requests the California Community
Colleges and the University of California (UC), and
requires the California State University, in order to
ensure stable housing for current and former foster youth,
to give priority for campus housing to current and former
foster youth with first priority for housing open for
uninterrupted year-round occupation and next priority for
housing open for occupation most days during the calendar
year. The housing priority for foster youth as it concerns
the UC, would only apply for residence in housing
facilities for which the foster youth are eligible.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS :
Existing law establishes the child welfare services and
foster care programs, which are overseen and regulated by
the state, administered by the counties, and funded by
federal, state, and county governments, to provide services
to abused and neglected children and their families.
Existing law establishes the Cal Grant Programs and various
programs at the UC, California State University (CSU), and
California Community Colleges (CCC) to assist needy
students with the payment of fees and other costs
associated with attending college. Existing law also
establishes, in federal law, the Chafee Education and
Training Vouchers Program, administered by the
Administration for Children and Families in the United
States Department of Health and Human Services, to provide
resources to states to assist youths who have aged out of
the foster care system or have been adopted from the public
foster care system after age 16.
Background
It is estimated that more than 20,000 youth, aged 16 and
older, transition from the foster care system each year.
According to a 2007 report by the Children's Advocacy
Institute, 65 percent of foster youth emancipate from the
system without a place to live, 51 percent are unemployed,
and 46 percent have not completed high school.
Purpose of this bill . California protects foster youth
from abuse and neglect but needs to do more to help support
foster youth transition to successful adulthood. The
author's office notes that a college degree is one of the
best roads to self-sufficiency; however, few foster youth
continue education after high school and those that do
often encounter significant barriers that hinder their
ability to succeed. Fewer than 10 percent of foster youth
who graduate from high school go on to college, and fewer
than 3 percent of foster youth who go on to college ever
graduate. The author's office argues that a significant
obstacle facing foster youth is stability in housing,
particularly when on-campus housing closes during holiday
and campus breaks. Without families to go home to, former
foster youth are often left homeless during these gaps in
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postsecondary campus housing.
Prior Legislation
AB 1578 (Leno), 2007-08 Session, which was held in the
Senate Appropriations Committee, would have enacted the
Foster Youth Higher Education Preparation and Support Act
of 2007.
AB 1532 (Bass), 2005-06 Session, which was held in the
Senate Appropriations Committee, would have exempted foster
youth from all deadlines pertaining to the Cal Grant
Entitlement Programs.
AB 2489 (Leno), 2005-06 Session, which was held in the
Senate Appropriations Committee, would have provided
first-year tuition and fee assistance to all Cal Grant B
students who are current or were former foster youth,
assistance with campus-based fees in UC and CSU, and campus
housing priority for current and former foster youth in UC
and CSU.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/6/09)
California Youth Connection (source)
Aspira Net
California Community Colleges
California State Association of Counties
California State PTA
Children's Advocacy Institute
Children's Law Center of Los Angeles
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Everychild Foundation
John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes
Junior League of Orange County
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
Southern California Foster Family and Adoption Agency
University of California
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
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4
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A.
Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, Bass
DLW:mw 7/6/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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