AB 2061, as amended, Chau. Child welfare services: families experiencing homelessness.
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.
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.
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.
This bill would require thebegin delete department, subject to federal approval, to includeend deletebegin insert department to encourage counties participating in the demonstration project to consider use ofend insert innovative, evidence-based strategiesbegin delete in theend deletebegin insert with the optional portion of theirend insert 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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) A correlation exists between family homelessness and foster
4care placement. Though homelessness alone is not a basis for
5removing a child from a home, almost one-half of children in foster
6care have birth parents with a history of homelessness. Foster
7children with homeless birth parents are less likely to live with
8relative caregivers than children of families with stable housing,
9and these children remain separated from their families for longer
10than children of families with stable housing.
11(b) Homelessness and housing
instability interfere with the
12reunification of children in foster care with birth families. As many
13as 30 percent of children in foster care who cannot be reunited
14with birth families could be reunited if the family were able to
15access a safe place to live.
16(c) Like children of homeless families, children involved with
17a child welfare system experience elevated school dropout rates,
18learning difficulties, worsening mental health conditions, and high
19levels of aggravation.
P3 1(d) A study of child-welfare-involved families experiencing
2long-term homelessness with at least one parent with a substance
3use disorder showed supportive housing allowed the majority of
4families’ child welfare cases to be resolved by reuniting families
5within 10 months. The study showed supportive housing
reduced
6actual and potential use of foster care services by an average of
7187 days.
8(e) Studies have shown that providing low-cost short- and
9medium-term housing and services interventions, known as “rapid
10rehousing services,” to families experiencing brief episodes of
11homelessness results in housing stability, with families becoming
124.7 times less likely to return to homelessness than shelter
13interventions.
14(f) A child’s experience with foster care perpetuates a cycle of
15homelessness. Data shows that 25 percent of children placed in
16foster care become homeless within four years of aging out.
17(g) Jurisdictions are using evidence-based strategies to
18implement federal demonstration waivers that grant states
19flexibility
in the use of federal foster care payment funds. These
20waivers allow child welfare agencies to use alternative services
21and supports that promote safety, permanency, and well-being for
22children.
23(h) It is the intent of the Legislature to promote the use of
24innovative, evidence-based models to assess the housing needs of
25families who are receiving child welfare services and who are
26experiencing homelessness, and to coordinate and access resources
27available for rapid rehousing, supportive housing, and services
28that promote housing stability, with the goals of preventing foster
29care placement and reuniting children in foster care with their birth
30parents.
Section 18262 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
32Code, to read:
Thebegin delete department, subject to federal approval, shall begin insert department shall encourage participating counties to
34includeend delete
35consider the use ofend insert innovative, evidence-based strategiesbegin delete in theend delete
36begin insert with the optional portion of theirend insert federal Title IV-E waiver capped
37allocation demonstration project pursuant to Section 18260 to
38assist families that include a child placed in foster care, who are
39receiving child welfare services, and who are experiencing
40
homelessness to achieve the following:
P4 1(a) Supportive housing, including housing with no limit on
2length of stay, that is occupied by the target population, and that
3is linked to onsite or offsite services that assist the supportive
4housing resident in retaining the housing, improving his or her
5health status, and maximizing his or her ability to live and, when
6possible, work in the community.
7(b) Rapid rehousing, including assistance that enables an
8individual or family experiencing homelessness to be quickly
9stabilized and housed in permanent housing affordable to the
10individual or family.
11(c) Permanent housing, including housing without a limit on
12the length of stay that meets the affirmative standard characteristics
13
of Section 1941.1 of the Civil Code.
No appropriation pursuant to Section 15200 of the
15Welfare and Institutions Code shall be made for purposes of
16implementing this act.
O
95