BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair S
2011-2012 Regular Session B
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SB 123 (Liu)
As Amended April 4, 2011
Hearing date: April 12, 2011
Welfare and Institutions Code
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JUVENILE JUSTICE:
RUNAWAY AND HOMELESS YOUTH
HISTORY
Source: California Coalition for Youth
Prior Legislation: None
Support: John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes;
Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance; Fresno County
Economic Opportunities Commission; Public Counsel Law
Center; Youth Services Network; SafeHouse; YWCA, Santa
Monica Westside; Home Start, Inc.; Aspiranet; Teens
Happy Homes; Inc.; San Bernardino's Community Safety
and Violence Prevention; California Public Defenders
Association; Mendocino County Youth Project; Youth
Services Network; Larkin Street Youth Services; San
Diego Youth Services; Crittenton Services for Children
and Families; several individuals
Opposition:None known
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KEY ISSUE
SHOULD A STATEWIDE PLAN FOR RUNAWAY, HOMELESS AND EXPLOITED YOUTH BE
DEVELOPED, AS SPECIFIED?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to provide for the development of a
statewide plan for runaway, homeless and exploited youth, as
specified.
Current law provides that any person under the age of 18 years
who persistently or habitually refuses to obey the reasonable
and proper orders or directions of his or her parents, guardian,
or custodian, or who is beyond the control of that person, or
who is under the age of 18 years when he or she violated any
ordinance of any city or county of this state establishing a
curfew based solely on age is within the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court which may adjudge the minor to be
a ward of the court. (Welfare and Institutions Code ("WIC") �
601(a).)
Current law sets forth the "Runaway Youth and Families in Crisis
Project," which states codified legislative findings and
declarations concerning runaway youth and the inadequacy of
resources to meet their needs, and establishes a statutory
framework for providing shelter, food, counseling, health care
and related services to runaway youth, as specified. (WIC �
1788 et seq.)
This bill would enact the "California Runaway, Homeless, and
Exploited Youth Act," with the following features:
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This bill provides that the stated purpose of the Act would be
"to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive solution to youth
homelessness."
This bill would provide that, subject to the availability of
adequate resources, the California Emergency Management Agency
(CalEMA) shall develop a statewide plan reflecting a range of
cost-effective, evidence-based practices for runaway, homeless,
and exploited youth. CalEMA would be required to develop this
plan in collaboration with the Senate Office of Research and a
broad spectrum of stakeholders responsible for addressing the
needs of this population, including, but not limited to,
government agencies, youth advocates, and others with expertise
in the areas of social services, mental health, housing,
education, and public safety, as well as homeless youth service
providers and individuals who are runaway, homeless, or
exploited youth. The plan would be required to include all of
the following:
(1) A determination of the statewide demand for shelter,
housing, and supportive services for runaway, homeless, and
exploited youth.
(2) An identification of data and outcome measures from which to
evaluate public investment in runaway, homeless, and exploited
youth services.
(3) A proposal for a consistent revenue stream to meet the
demand for shelter, housing, and services for these youth.
(4) An examination of the federal definition of "status
offender" and make legislative recommendations regarding the
relevant sections of state law.
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(5) A description of the role of the child welfare system in
preventing and addressing homelessness for minors experiencing
abuse and neglect.
(6) A description of the role of law enforcement in responding
to runaway youth."
This bill would provide that, when "the plan is created,
(CalEMA) shall be the entity responsible for the coordination of
information, support services, and other resources for public
and private entities serving runaway, homeless, and exploited
youth in California."
This bill includes the following definitions:
"Exploited youth" means an individual under 18 years of
age who is trafficked or prostituted, involved in
pornography or stripping, a victim of rape or incest, or
engaged in survival sex, which is the exchange of sex for
money or other consideration, such as food or shelter, in
order to ensure his or her survival.
"Homeless youth" means an individual under 18 years of
age who is unable to live in a safe environment with a
relative and lacks safe alternative living arrangements, or
an individual under 24 years of age who is without shelter.
"Runaway youth" means an unemancipated individual under
18 years of age who leaves his or her home or a place of
legal residence without the permission of a parent or legal
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guardian.
This bill contains specified non-codified legislative findings
concerning runaway, homeless and exploited youth, as specified.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
For the last several years, severe overcrowding in California's
prisons has been the focus of evolving and expensive litigation.
As these cases have progressed, prison conditions have
continued to be assailed, and the scrutiny of the federal courts
over California's prisons has intensified.
On June 30, 2005, in a class action lawsuit filed four years
earlier, the United States District Court for the Northern
District of California established a Receivership to take
control of the delivery of medical services to all California
state prisoners confined by the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation ("CDCR"). In December of 2006,
plaintiffs in two federal lawsuits against CDCR sought a
court-ordered limit on the prison population pursuant to the
federal Prison Litigation Reform Act. On January 12, 2010, a
three-judge federal panel issued an order requiring California
to reduce its inmate population to 137.5 percent of design
capacity -- a reduction at that time of roughly 40,000 inmates
-- within two years. The court stayed implementation of its
ruling pending the state's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
On Monday, June 14, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear
the state's appeal of this order and, on Tuesday, November 30,
2010, the Court heard oral arguments. A decision is expected as
early as this spring.
In response to the unresolved prison capacity crisis, in early
2007 the Senate Committee on Public Safety began holding
legislative proposals which could further exacerbate prison
overcrowding through new or expanded felony prosecutions.
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This bill does not aggravate the prison overcrowding crisis
described above.
COMMENTS
1. Stated Need for This Bill
The author states:
Despite the fact that more than 200,000 unaccompanied
children (age 12 to 17) experience homelessness each
year in California, the State has no clear and
coordinated policy to reduce youth homelessness.
Research has shown that homeless youth and young
adults are at great risk for physical abuse, sexual
exploitation, mental health disabilities, chemical or
alcohol dependency, and death.
The cost of youth homelessness to the State of
California is also considerable. Youth and young
adults who experience homelessness are
disproportionately likely to be arrested and
incarcerated as adults, costing California taxpayers
over $50,000 per inmate annually.
Worsening matters is the current economic recession,
which has expanded youth homelessness by limiting
employment opportunities for youth. As of July 2010,
unemployment among transition-age youth reached 49%,
the highest level since the Bureau of Labor Statistics
began collecting data in 1948.
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While the California Emergency Management Agency is
the state agency that administers programming related
to youth homelessness, it does so without a strong
mandate or clear vision as to how its activities and
funding will significantly impact youth homelessness
in California. It is also limited by a budget of just
$365,000 per year to serve all of California's
homeless youth.
To address this serious issue, the State of California
must make an explicit commitment to end youth
homeless. It must first designate a specific entity
responsible for the caring of these youth and then
ascertain the extent of the problem, our capacity to
solve it, the cost of ending youth homeless, and
potential sources of necessary revenue.
The California Runaway and Homeless Youth Act will lay
the groundwork for a comprehensive solution to youth
homeless. It will assist California in leveraging
existing federal funds; declare homeless youth a
priority, special needs population deserving of state
policy attention and intervention; clearly define
youth homelessness, and determine the population of
homeless youth; determine the statewide demand for
shelter, housing, and supportive services; identify
data and outcome measures from which to evaluate
public investment in homeless youth services; specify
the role of the child welfare system in preventing and
addressing homelessness for minors experiencing abuse
and neglect; specify the role of law enforcement in
responding to youth who have run away; name the
California Emergency Management Agency as the
responsible state agency which will administratively
interpret and lead efforts under the Act; and ensure
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an open planning process that will engage stakeholders
statewide, including homeless youth, parents, homeless
youth providers, advocates, researchers and
representatives of relevant State agencies.
2. Background: Homeless Youth
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As noted by the author, the problem of youth homelessness in
California is significant. In an October 2010 report, the
California Homeless Youth Project stated in part:
The total number of young people who are staying in
shelters, sleeping on their friends' couches and
floors, staying in abandoned buildings, camping in
parks or woods, and living on the streets in
California is not known. In addition, there is not a
reliable estimate based on state-level data. While
limited data on homeless youth is reported to one
department, the state has not collected information on
this population through periodic surveys and does not
have a comprehensive reporting system.
The John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes
and the California Coalition for Youth extrapolated
the following state estimate from national data:
200,000 homeless youth ages 12 to17, along with
numerous 18 to 24 year-olds, are likely to be homeless
over the course of a year. In the absence of an
established and reliable statewide estimate of
homeless youth, this number has been widely
adopted.<1>
3. What This Bill Would Do
As described in detail above, this bill would require CalEMA,
subject to the availability of adequate resources, to develop a
statewide plan reflecting a range of cost-effective,
evidence-based practices for runaway, homeless, and exploited
youth. The bill would require CalEMA to develop this plan in
collaboration with the Senate Office of Research and
stakeholders, as specified. The bill's recent amendments
included specified types of stakeholders to be involved.
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<1> Estimating California's Homeless Youth Population,
California Homeless Youth Project (Oct. 2010)(Lisa K. Foster,
MSW, MPA), p. 4 (footnotes omitted).
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4. State Agency
This bill would encourage SOR to collaborate with CalEMA in the
development of a statewide plan to address the needs of homeless
youth. CalEMA currently administers some funding that supports
programs for homeless youth. The Corrections Standards
Authority ("CSA") also administers funding, both state and
federal, relating to juvenile justice, and provides support for
the State Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention ("SACJJDP"). The author and members of the
Committee may wish to discuss whether CSA should be incorporated
into this bill.
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