Amended in Assembly May 23, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2061

Introduced by Assembly Member Chau

February 20, 2014

An act to add Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 11420) to Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services begin delete , and making an appropriation therefor end delete .

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2061, as amended, Chau. Housing Program for Homeless Families Receiving Child Welfare Services.

Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families using a combination of state, county, and federal funds. Under existing law, after a family has used all available liquid resources in excess of $100, the family is entitled to receive a CalWORKs allowance for nonrecurring special needs, including homeless assistance.

Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services and county welfare departments maintain a system of child welfare services to serve the needs of children who are alleged to be abused or neglected, to reduce the necessity for removing these children from their homes, to encourage speedy reunification of families when it can be safely accomplished, and to locate permanent homes and families for children who cannot return to their biological families, among other things.

This bill would establish the Housing Program for Homeless Families Receiving Child Welfare Services, under which the State Department of Social Services would provide a 4-year grant to a participating county to enable the county to provide specified housing services and related financial assistance to homeless, or recently homeless, families that receive child welfare services and meet other eligibility criteria. The bill would require, among other things, a participating county to fund 50% of the cost of the services delivered under the program, as provided. begin delete The bill would also appropriate $3,000,000 from the General Fund to the department to fund grants to counties under the program. end delete

Vote:  begin delete ²⁄₃ end delete begin insert majority end insert . Appropriation:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert . Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) A correlation exists between family homelessness and foster
care placement. Though homelessness alone is not a basis for
removing a child from a home, almost one-half of children in foster
care have birth parents with a history of homelessness. Foster
children with homeless birth parents are less likely to live with
relative caregivers than children of families with stable housing,
and these children remain separated from their families for longer
than children of families with stable housing.

(b) Homelessness and housing instability interfere with the
reunification of children in foster care with birth families. As many
as 30 percent of children in foster care who cannot be reunited
with birth families could be reunited if the family were able to
access a safe place to live.

(c) Like children of homeless families, children involved with
a child welfare system experience elevated school dropout rates,
learning difficulties, worsening mental health conditions, and high
levels of aggravation.

(d) A study of child-welfare-involved families experiencing
long-term homelessness with at least one parent with a substance
use disorder showed supportive housing allowed the majority of
families’ child welfare cases to be resolved by reuniting families
within 10 months. The study showed supportive housing reduced
actual and potential use of foster care services by an average of
187 days.

(e) Studies have shown that begin delete the provision of end delete begin insert providing end insert low-cost
short- and medium-term housing and services interventions, known
as “rapid rehousing services,” to families experiencing brief
episodes of homelessness results in housing stability, with families
becoming 4.7 times less likely to return to homelessness than
shelter interventions.

(f) A child’s experience with foster care perpetuates a cycle of
homelessness. Data shows that 25 percent of children placed in
foster care become homeless within four years of aging out.

(g) Jurisdictions are using evidence-based strategies to
implement federal demonstration waivers that grant states
flexibility in the use of federal foster care payment funds. These
waivers allow child welfare agencies to use alternative services
and supports that promote safety, permanency, and well-being for
children.

(h) It is the intent of the Legislature to promote the use of
innovative, evidence-based models to assess the housing needs of
families who are receiving child welfare services and who are
experiencing homelessness, and to fund rapid rehousing, supportive
housing, and services that promote housing stability, with the goals
of preventing foster care placement and reuniting children in foster
care with their birth parents.

begin delete

(i) Three million dollars, as appropriated by this act, will provide
housing assistance to 800 homeless families.

end delete

SEC. 2.  

Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 11420) is added
to Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:

 

Article 5.5.  Housing Program for Homeless Families Receiving
Child Welfare Services

 

11420.  

For purposes of this article, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:

(a) (1) “Eligible family” means a family that meets all of the
following begin insert criteria end insert :

(A) Receives child welfare services, as defined in Section 16501,
which include, but are not limited to, child maltreatment
investigations, emergency response services, family preservation
services, family maintenance services, out-of-home placements,
family reunification services, and the identification of children to
be placed in suitable relative adoptive homes.

(B) Is homeless or has been homeless within the past 12 months.

(C) Voluntarily agrees to participate in the program.

(D) Meets any additional criteria adopted by the county.

(2) “Eligible family” does not include a family for whom family
reunification services have been denied or terminated.

(b) “Department” means the State Department of Social
Services.

(c) “Homeless” has the same meaning as defined in Section
91.5 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as it read on
January 1, 2014.

(d) “Permanent housing” means housing without a limit on
length of stay that meets the habitability requirements contained
in Section 1941.1 of the Civil Code.

(e) “Rapid rehousing” means assistance to allow individuals
and families experiencing homelessness to be quickly stabilized
and housed in permanent housing affordable to the individual or
family, and includes, but is not limited to, the services identified
in Section 11422.

(f) “Supportive housing” has the same meaning as defined in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 50675.14 of the Health
and Safety Code, but is not restricted to projects with five or more
units.

11421.  

(a) The department shall design the Housing Program
for Homeless Families Receiving Child Welfare Services, which
shall do both of the following:

(1)  begin delete Provide end delete begin insert Upon appropriation by the Legislature, provide end insert a
four-year grant to any county that meets the requirements of
Section 11424, to enable the county to provide the services and
financial assistance described in Section 11422.

(2) Promote participation in, and educate county officers and
employees regarding, the program.

(b) The department shall, using a third-party evaluator, collect
data and evaluate the effect of the program, including all of the
following:

(1) How many families the program served.

(2) The services provided to each family.

(3) The median and mean costs per family expended by each
county.

(4) The status of each participating family’s child welfare case
upon entering the program, after six months in the program, after
one year in the program, and, if applicable, after two years in the
program, as well as the length of time to resolve a participating
family’s case as compared with other families’ cases in each
participating county.

(5) The incidence of recidivism into the child welfare system
among participating families, as compared to the incidence of
recidivism among other families involved in the child welfare
system in the participating county, over a specified period of time.

(6) The current housing status of each participating family.

(7) Other relevant outcomes, such as school performance and
change in income status.

(c) The department shall provide opportunities for public
comment and input from the counties during the design process.

(d) Subject to federal approval, the department shall include the
services identified in Section 11422 as part of a Title IV-E waiver
demonstration project.

11422.  

A county that opts to participate in the program shall
provide all of the following services to an eligible family:

(a) An assessment of the family’s housing needs and the
development of a plan to meet those needs.

(b) The engagement of housing navigators to help families locate
safe, affordable housing with private or nonprofit landlords.

(c) If appropriate based on the assessment of the family’s
housing needs, the provision of rapid rehousing assistance,
including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Short-term or medium-term rental assistance.

(2) Housing relocation services.

(3) Housing mediation services, such as credit counseling.

(4) Security deposits, utility deposits, or other move-in cost
assistance.

(5) Utility payments.

(6) Moving cost assistance.

(7) Case management to promote housing stability.

(d) If appropriate based on the assessment of the family’s
housing needs, the provision of supportive housing assistance,
including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Long-term rental assistance.

(2) Housing relocation services.

(3) Security deposits, utility deposits, or other move-in cost
assistance.

(4) Interim housing assistance, if the family and child welfare
agency are working toward permanent housing placement.

(5) Case management and other services that promote housing
stability.

11423.  

Rental assistance provided under the program shall be
used only for housing that meets all of the following criteria:

(a) Is permanent as defined in Section 11420, unless interim
housing assistance is provided while a family is awaiting placement
in permanent housing.

(b) Offers all of the landlord-tenant protections included in the
Civil Code.

(c) Provides rental agreements between landlords and tenants.

11424.  

A county shall be eligible for state funds under this
program, upon application to the department, if the county meets
both of the following criteria:

(a) The county funds 50 percent of the costs of the services
identified in Section 11422 from one of the following sources:

(1) Foster care payment funds, if the county is participating in
the federal Title IV-E waiver capped allocation demonstration
project pursuant to Section 18260.

(2) A commitment of federal, state, or local housing subsidies
administered by a public housing authority to meet participating
families’ rental assistance needs.

(3) A commitment of rental assistance through partnership with
a community-based permanent housing provider that agrees to
limit participating families’ rent to one-third of each family’s
income.

(b) The county demonstrates need and the capacity to administer
the grants.

begin delete

SEC. 3.  

The sum of three million dollars ($3,000,000) is hereby
appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department of
Social Services to fund grants to counties under the Housing
Program for Homeless Families Receiving Child Welfare Services
contained in Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 11420) of
Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code.

end delete