BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 2186
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 16, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                     AB 2186 (Grove) - As Amended:  May 1, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              Human 
          ServicesVote:6 - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill recasts and codifies the Youth Emergency Telephone 
          Referral (YETR) Project and requires the California Emergency 
          Management Agency (CalEMA) to either administer the YETR Project 
          directly or as a grant program issued through a competitive 
          bidding process.  Specifically, this bill:  

          1)Allows the CalEMA to administer the YETR Project as a program 
            within the agency or competitively award it to a non-profit 
            organization through a competitive bidding process.

          2)Requires the YETR Project to:

             a)   Operate a statewide 24-hour youth emergency telephone 
               hotline for homeless or runaway youth.

             b)   Provide access to trained volunteer or paid counselors 
               for youth who call into the emergency telephone hotline.

             c)   Provide referrals for youth who call the emergency 
               telephone hotline to appropriate services that provide 
               shelter, meals, clothing, counseling or other related or 
               necessary services.

             d)   Serve as a message center for homeless or runaway youth 
               who wish to communicate with their parent or guardian.

          3)Requires CalEMA or its grantee to publicize the emergency 
            telephone hotline via print and electronic media.

           FISCAL EFFECT  








                                                                  AB 2186
                                                                  Page  2


          There are no new direct costs associated with this legislation. 
          CalEMA has been operating the YETR hot-line for over 12 years. 
          This bill would codify the activities of the hot-line, though 
          the appropriation language is already in statute.  For 2011-12 
          the program received $214,000 ($114,000 GF) in funding. For 
          2012-13, the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding 
          component will be reduced from $100,000 to $87,640. 

           

          COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  .  The intent of this legislation is to codify the 
            existing YETR Project run by CalEMA. According to the author, 
            this bill is necessary to codify these provisions to enhance 
            greater public awareness and accountability over the program 
            and remove the obsolete requirement that the YETR Project be 
            located in Sacramento due to the evolution of communications 
            technology. 

           2)Related Legislation  . AB 3075 (Chacon) Chapter 1614, Statutes 
            of 1984 established the YETR Project to provide a free 
            telephone hotline for runaway or homeless youth to connect 
            with local services, such as a shelter, counseling, access to 
            a warm meal, or a way to communicate with their parent or 
            guardian.  AB 3075 required the appropriation of $200,000 from 
            the GF to provide for the administration and operation of the 
            program. 



           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916) 
          319-2081