BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2061
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Mark Stone, Chair
AB 2061 (Chau) - As Amended: March 28, 2014
SUBJECT : Housing Program for Homeless Families Receiving Child
Welfare Services
SUMMARY : Establishes the Housing Program for Homeless Families
Receiving Child Welfare Services (Housing Program).
Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes Legislative findings and declarations relating to the
correlations between homelessness and a family's interaction
with child welfare services (CWS), including statements
correlating how homelessness and housing instability places
negative impacts upon family reunification, educational
success, mental health, and the ability of the family to
escape long-term poverty.
2)States the intent of the Legislature to promote the use of
innovative, evidence-based models to assess the housing needs
of children and families engaged with CWS 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 biological
parents.
3)Establishes the Housing Program to provide four-year grants to
counties to serve families who are homeless or have been
homeless in the last year, who voluntarily agree to
participate in the program, and are receiving CWS and family
reunification services, as specified.
4)Appropriates $3 million for to the Department of Social
Services (DSS) to fund grants to counties under the Housing
Program.
5)In order to be eligible for the Housing Program, requires
counties to fund 50% of program services costs from one of the
following sources:
a) Foster care payment funds, if the county is
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participating in the federal Title IV-E waiver capped
allocation demonstration project, as specified;
b) A commitment of federal, state, or local housing
subsidies administered by a public housing authority to
meet participating families' rental assistance needs; or
c) 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.
6)Requires counties that participate in the Housing Program to
do all of the following:
a) Promote participation in, and educate county officers
and employees regarding, the program;
b) Conduct an assessment of the family's housing needs and
the development of a plan to meet those needs;
c) Engage housing navigators to help families locate safe,
affordable housing with private or nonprofit landlords; and
d) If appropriate based on the assessment of the family's
housing needs, the provision of rapid rehousing assistance,
as specified.
7)Requires DSS to do all of the following:
a) Use a third-party evaluator to collect data and evaluate
the program's effectiveness, as specified; and
b) Subject to federal approval, include services identified
as part of a Title IV-E waiver demonstration project.
EXISTING LAW
1)States that the purpose of foster care law is to provide
maximum safety and protection for children who are currently
being physically, sexually, emotionally abused, neglected, or
exploited, and to ensure the safety, protection, and physical
and emotional well-being of children who are at risk of harm.
(WIC 300.2)
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2)States the intent of the Legislature to preserve and
strengthen a child's family ties whenever possible and to
reunify a foster youth with his or her biological family
whenever possible, or to provide a permanent placement
alternative, such as adoption or guardianship. (WIC 16000)
3)Authorizes county child welfare agencies (CWA) to provide
individualized or "wraparound" services to a child in foster
care as an alternative to group home care. (WIC 18250)
4)Defines "wraparound services" as community-based intervention
services that emphasize the strengths of the child and family
and includes the delivery of coordinated, highly
individualized unconditional services to address needs and
achieve positive outcomes in their lives. (WIC 18251)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Maintaining the Family : Historically, it has been the stated
policy of California that when a child is removed from the home,
first preference should be given to placing the child with
another parent, or with his or her relatives whenever possible
and appropriate. This has helped to preserve and strengthen the
social bedrock of our society, by keeping families together and
reducing society's reliance on its social welfare system.
Child Welfare Services : The purpose of California's Child
Welfare Services (CWS) system is to provide for the protection
and the health and safety of children. Within this purpose, the
desired outcome is to reunite children with their biological
parents, when appropriate, to help preserve and strengthen
families. However, if reunification with the biological family
is not appropriate, children are placed in the best environment
possible, whether that is with a relative, through adoption, or
with a guardian, such as a nonrelated extended family member, as
specified. In the case of children who are at risk of abuse,
neglect or abandonment, county juvenile courts hold legal
jurisdiction and children are served by the CWS system through
the appointment of a social worker. Through this system, there
are multiple stages where the custody of the child or his or her
placement are evaluated, reviewed and determined by the judicial
system, in consultation with the child's social worker to help
provide the best possible services to the child.
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At the time a child is identified as needing child welfare
services and is in the temporary custody of a social worker, the
social worker is required to identify whether there is a
relative or guardian to whom a child may be released, unless the
social worker believes that the child would be at risk of abuse,
neglect or abandonment if placed with that relative or guardian.
The W&I Code also lays out the conditions under which a court
may deem a child a dependent or ward of the court, including
when the parent has been incarcerated or institutionalized and
is unable to arrange for care for the child, such as placement
with a known relative or nonrelative extended family member
(NREFM). If the child is deemed a dependent or ward of the
court, the court may maintain the child in his or her home,
remove the child from the home but with the goal of reunifying
the child with his or her family, or identify another form of
permanent placement. Unless the child is unable to be placed
with the parent, the court is required to give preference to a
relative of the child in order to preserve the child's
association with his or her family. Associated with the
placement, the assigned social worker shall develop a case plan
for the child, which outlines the placement for the child, sets
forth services necessary for the child, and outlines the
provision of reunification services, if necessary and
appropriate.
Custody and out-home-placement of children in foster care : When
it is suspected that a child is a victim of physical, sexual, or
emotional abuse, or neglect or exploitation, any person may
report that abuse or neglect to child protective services.
Additionally certain individuals, such as physicians and
teachers, are mandated under state and federal law to
immediately report any suspicion or identification of child
abuse or neglect to child protective services. After the report
of abuse or neglect is made, a county welfare agency's (CWA)
child protective services social worker is required to
immediately investigate the complaint to determine its validity.
If the complaint is found to be valid, the social worker may
remove the child from the family and place the child into
temporary custody.
This allows for the immediate removal of the child from harm,
while the CWA and the court investigate whether the child should
remain in temporary custody or be ruled a dependent of the
state. Temporary custody does not eliminate all rights of the
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parent; rather removal of parental rights depends on what "care,
custody and control" rights the parent(s) may retain, as
determined by the court on a case by case basis. Typically, the
parent retains educational and health rights over the child,
which, again, depends on the ruling of the court.
Reunification Services : When children are removed from the
home, but the court determines, in consultation with a child's
social worker, that the child would ultimately benefit from
being returned to the family, the court may order reunification
services for the parents. Reunification services are generally
developed on a case-by-case basis to accommodate and respond to
the needs of the child and the parents to better facilitate the
child's reunification with his or her parent(s).
Reunifications services can include family therapy, parenting
classes, drug and alcohol abuse treatment, respite care, parent
support groups, home visiting programs, and other coordinated
and tailored services necessary to assist the child and the
family with reunification. Under current law, for children under
the age of three, reunification services are offered for six
months and offered for 12 months for children over the age of
three. A six-month extension may be made if the court finds
there is substantial probability that the child will be returned
to the physical custody of his or her parent(s) within the
extended time period or that reasonable services have not been
provided to the parent(s).
Homeless Youth : Established by the California Research Bureau
(CRB) in 2006 in collaboration with the Council on Youth
Relations (CYR), the Homeless Youth Project (HYP) is a
multi-year research and policy initiative tasked with
highlighting and raising awareness about the homeless youth
population and its challenges, and presenting solutions to help
address California's homeless youth population.
According to the HYP, based upon national survey estimates and
California's youth population, it is estimated that there are
200,000 youth under the age of 18 and potentially thousands of
persons aged 18 - 24 who are homeless. While this is an
approximation of the number of homeless youth in California, the
number is likely to be greater given the challenges involved in
the identification of homeless youth. For purpose of this
population, "homeless youth" typically describes minors under
the age of 18, and 18 - 24-year-olds who are economically and/or
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emotionally detached from their families and have an unstable
and inadequate living environment, or are periodically homeless
or homeless.
The causes of youth homelessness are varied and complex. They
range from runaway youth to emancipated foster youth to
disengaged youth due to the lack of an adult figure in their
life or a lack of access to appropriate services. Due to their
unique circumstances, research has shown that homeless youth are
at a greater risk of physical and sexual abuse, sexual
exploitation, alcohol and drug abuse, mental health
disabilities, and death. Additionally, the social, emotional,
medical, economic and personal challenges homeless youth face,
when coupled with the lack of effective, coordinated services to
help them find and keep stable housing and reach
self-sufficiency, can lead to ongoing and chronic cycles of
homelessness throughout their lifetime.
In a 2010 survey of local, state and federal programs, the HYP
was able to identify 53 programs that offered just over 1,000
beds for homeless youth throughout the state. Given that the
current estimate of homeless youth amounts to more than 200,000
individuals, this demonstrates a significant gap between the
size of California's homeless youth population and the number of
programs and services available to meet their needs.
Federal Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RYHA) : In response to
concerns emerging during the early 1970s that little if any
federal and state services were available to youth who were
either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, Congress
established the RHYA in 1974. The Family Youth Services Bureau
(FYSB), under the United States Department of Health and Human
Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families,
oversees the issuance of Basic Center Program grants. The
purpose of these grants, according to the FYSB, is to "establish
or strengthen community-based programs that meet the immediate
needs of runaway and homeless youth and their families." Under
these grants, recipient organizations and agencies provide youth
up to age 18 with emergency shelter, food, clothing, counseling
and referrals to youth services. Although the intent is to help
reunite youth with their families through counseling and
supportive services whenever possible, they also help to locate
appropriate alternative placements that can help keep youth off
the streets and avoid becoming chronically homeless.
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Funding for these programs is extremely limited due to the
nation's ongoing budget deficit. In federal fiscal year 2012,
321 programs received a total of $48.2 million.
Need for the bill : Stating the need for the bill, the author
writes:
Homelessness and housing instability interferes with the
reunification of children in foster care with their birth
families. As many as 30% of children in foster care who
are not eligible for reunification with their families
could be reunited if their family was able to access a safe
place to live. AB 2061 would promote county programs that
offer housing solutions to homeless families involved in
the child welfare system. Counties who used their state
Title IV-E Waiver or other local housing resources to help
families access housing, provide rapid re-housing
solutions, or other resources toward supportive housing,
would receive matching grants. A $3 million appropriation
could assist 700 to 800 families with housing.
Writing in support of the bill, the California Welfare Directors
Association states:
County human services agencies administer the Child Welfare
Services and Foster Care systems on behalf of the state.
When we intervene in the lives of abused and neglected
children, we have an absolute legal obligation to provide
all reasonable services so that children can be safely
reunified with their families without ongoing system
supervision. For many families working hard to reunify
with their children, housing instability and homelessness
are very significant barriers to reunification - often the
final barrier to a successful reunification. Some families
who dutifully comply with all elements of their case plans
and are otherwise ready for reunification still have
difficult reunifying due to the high cost of housing in
California. Some have estimated that more than 30% of
children in foster care could reunite if their families
were able to access a safe place to live.
Unfortunately, Child Welfare Services funding to assist our
families with housing support is extremely limited. Our
workers most often attempt to broker services from existing
programs that provide housing assistance, which are often
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over-extended.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Children Now
Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH)
County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA)
Housing California
Western Center on Law and Poverty
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089