BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 683
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 683 (Ammiano)
As Amended April 12, 2011
Majority vote
HOUSING 7-0 BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS
7-2
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|Ayes:|Torres, Atkins, Bradford, |Ayes:|Hayashi, Allen, Butler, |
| |Cedillo, Hueso, Jeffries, | |Eng, Hill, Ma, Smyth |
| |Miller | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Bill Berryhill, Hagman |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, | | |
| |Bradford, Charles | | |
| |Calderon, Campos, Davis, | | |
| |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, | | |
| |Mitchell, Solorio | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, | | |
| |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD) to create a statewide data warehouse on
homelessness, contingent on receiving sufficient federal and
private funds. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires HCD to create a state deidentified homeless integrated
data warehouse, in accordance with Strategy 1.2 of California's
Ten Year Chronic Homelessness Action Plan, to compile data from
collaborative agencies' Homeless Management Information Systems.
2)Specifies that the data warehouse shall serve the purpose of
developing a composite portrayal of the homeless population in
the state, as well as the services currently provided to people
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who are homeless.
3)Requires HCD to cooperate and collaborate as necessary with of
the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Department
of Education, the Department of Health Care Services, the
Department of Mental Health, the Department of Social Services,
the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of
Alcohol and Drug Programs, to draft and carry out a strategy to
create the data warehouse comprised of information to provide
longitudinal, cost-based studies to determine all of the
following information:
a) The number of people imprisoned each year who were
homeless upon arrest and the costs of their imprisonment;
b) The number of parolees experiencing homelessness each year
and the costs of their parole;
c) The number of children in California schools experiencing
homelessness;
d) Claims for Medi-Cal emergency department, hospital, and
nursing home services among people experiencing homelessness,
and the costs of those claims each year;
e) The number of children receiving foster care services
whose family members are homeless and the costs of the foster
care provided to those children each year;
f) Relevant information regarding the number of people who
are homeless receiving services, the costs of those services,
and outcomes of those services through the Department of
Mental Health, the Department of Social Services, the
Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Alcohol
and Drug Programs; and,
g) The number of people living in housing funded through
programs administered by HCD who were homeless upon
admission.
4)Encourages local agencies providing services to homeless persons
that use a Homeless Management Information System to collaborate
with HCD in developing the data warehouse.
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5)Specifies that these new duties shall be implemented only when
sufficient federal and private sector funds have been received
to create the homeless integrated data warehouse.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, HCD estimates that it would take approximately $100,000
in grants and donations before they would have sufficient funds to
undertake and complete the project.
COMMENTS : California has the highest number of people
experiencing homelessness in the country. Innovative approaches
across the nation and within California show promise for reducing
homelessness and the resulting impact on public services. These
approaches rely on accurate data on the homeless population and
how the homeless interact with various state programs, data that
California does not collect. Collecting and analyzing data
regarding homelessness would assist the state in using state
resources more effectively and help guide future state policy
regarding homelessness, as recognized in Strategy 1.2 of
California's Ten Year Chronic Homelessness Action Plan, adopted by
the state in February 2010.
This bill would require HCD to create a statewide data warehouse
on homelessness to compile data from collaborative agencies
throughout California, as well as from the many state agencies
that interact with the homeless, for the purpose of developing a
composite portrayal of the homeless population in the state, as
well as services currently provided to people who are homeless.
Collaborative agencies, also known as continuums of care, are
local homeless assistance program planning networks that
coordinate efforts to address homelessness, including deciding how
to spend federal grant monies. Some are governmental entities,
others are non-governmental, and some are joint powers
authorities. Collaborative agencies produce annual plans that
identify the needs of local homeless populations, the resources
that are currently available to address those needs, and
additional resources that are needed to fill the gaps.
By gathering data from local collaborative agencies and
integrating it with data from state agencies, the state would have
a valuable tool to assist with structuring programs and services
that assist the homeless to improve outcomes and decrease
administrative and program costs. A state data warehouse on
homelessness would improve collaboration among state agencies,
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help assess the costs of homelessness to the state, provide
greater transparency in state agency and grantees' operations,
determine what interventions work to prevent or end homelessness,
identify gaps in services, discover how patterns of service use
relate to patterns of homelessness, analyze trends in
homelessness, assess use of mainstream systems among people
experiencing homelessness, and enhance planning and policy efforts
to reduce homelessness. Federal funds are available to create
this type of data warehouse, and the bill states that HCD does not
have to begin the process until federal and private funds have
been secured.
Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085
FN: 0000496