Amended in Senate June 10, 2014

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 begin delete Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 11420) to Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9 of end delete begin insert Section 18262 to end insert the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2061, as amended, Chau. begin delete Housing Program for Homeless Families Receiving Child Welfare Services. end delete begin insert Child welfare services: families experiencing homelessness end insert begin insert . end insert

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Existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide payments to foster care providers on behalf of qualified children in foster care. The program is funded by a combination of federal, state, and county funds, with moneys from the General Fund being continuously appropriated to pay for the state’s share of AFDC-FC costs.

end insert begin insert

Existing law authorizes the State Department of Social Services to conduct a demonstration project in up to 20 counties, to allow flexible use of federal and state foster care funds by utilizing a federal capped allocation model over a 5-year period, based on the terms and conditions of the federal Title IV-E waiver.

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Existing law provides for child welfare services, which are public social services directed toward, among other purposes, protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, including those in foster care placement.

end insert begin insert

This bill would require the department, subject to federal approval, to include innovative, evidence-based strategies in the federal Title IV-E waiver capped allocation demonstration project to achieve supportive housing, rapid rehousing, and permanent housing, as described, for families that include a child placed in foster care, who are receiving child welfare services, and who are experiencing homelessness. The bill would also provide that the continuous appropriation for the state’s share of the AFDC-FC costs would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill.

end insert begin delete

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.

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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.

end delete begin delete

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.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. 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 providing 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 begin delete fund end delete begin insert coordinate and access
resources available for end insert 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

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 criteria:

(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) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, provide 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.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SEC. end insert begin insert 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 18262 is added to the end insert begin insert Welfare and Institutions
Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 18262. end insert   

The department, subject to federal approval, shall
include innovative, evidence-based strategies in the federal Title
IV-E waiver capped allocation demonstration project pursuant to
Section 18260 to assist families that include a child placed in foster
care, who are receiving child welfare services, and who are
experiencing homelessness to achieve the following:

(a) Supportive housing, including housing with no limit on
length of stay, that is occupied by the target population, and that
is linked to onsite or offsite services that assist the supportive
housing resident in retaining the housing, improving his or her
health status, and maximizing his or her ability to live and, when
possible, work in the community.

(b) Rapid rehousing, including assistance that enables an
individual or family experiencing homelessness to be quickly
stabilized and housed in permanent housing affordable to the
individual or family.

(c) Permanent housing, including housing without a limit on
the length of stay that meets the affirmative standard
characteristics of Section 1941.1 of the Civil Code.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert No appropriation pursuant to Section 15200 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code shall be made for purposes of
implementing this act. end insert