Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2591

Introduced by Assembly Member Weber

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Skinner)

February 21, 2014

An act begin delete relating to public social services. end delete begin insert to add Chapter 6.1 (commencing with Section 13710) to Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social services. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2591, as amended, Weber. Homeless youth: basic material needs assistance.

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Existing law establishes various public social services programs to provide for protection, care, and assistance to the people of the state in need of those services, by providing appropriate aid and services to the needy and distressed, including CalWORKs and CalFresh. Existing law establishes homeless youth emergency service pilot projects in the Counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Clara, and San Francisco.

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This bill would create the Homeless Youth Basic Materials Needs Assistance Program and would require that moneys appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes of the program be allocated proportionally to counties by the State Department of Social Services based on the number of homeless youth in the county. The bill would require a county that elects to establish a program to solicit proposals from and contract with nonprofit organizations for the purpose of providing basic materials needs assistance to homeless youth in the county as directed by the county and would require contracted nonprofit organizations to consult with the county’s children and family commission, as specified, if the county elects to include homeless youth from birth to 5 years of age, inclusive, in its program. The bill would require the department to retain the moneys allocated to a county and act in the place of a county if a county elects not to establish a program or requests the department to administer its program. The bill would enact other related provisions.

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Existing law establishes various public social services programs to provide for protection, care, and assistance to the people of the state in need of those services, by providing appropriate aid and services to the needy and distressed, including CalWORKs and CalFresh. Existing law establishes homeless youth emergency service pilot projects in the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Clara, and San Francisco.

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This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would provide basic materials needs assistance for homeless youth identified in public schools.

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

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

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Chapter 6.1 (commencing with Section 13710)
is added to Part 3 of Division 9 of the end insert begin insert Welfare and Institutions
Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

 

Chapter   begin insert 6.1. end insert Homeless Youth Basic Material Needs
Assistance Program

 

begin insert 13710. end insert   

This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Homeless Youth Basic Material Needs Assistance Program.

begin insert 13712. end insert   

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
apply:

(a) “Basic material needs assistance” means school supplies,
dental supplies and other hygienic products, shoes, clothes,
blankets, and other basic material needs.

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

(c) “Homeless” has the same meaning as that term is defined
in Section 11302 of Title 42 of the United States Code.

(d) “Nonprofit organization” means a nonprofit corporation
qualified to do business in California and qualified under Section
501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code.

(e) “Program” means the Homeless Youth Basic Material Needs
Assistance Program.

begin insert 13714. end insert   

From moneys appropriated by the Legislature for the
purpose of this chapter, the department shall allocate a
proportional amount to each county based on that county’s
respective number of homeless youth. The moneys allocated to the
county shall be used to establish a Homeless Youth Basic Material
Needs Assistance Program for the county.

begin insert 13716. end insert   

(a) Each county that elects to establish a program shall
solicit proposals from nonprofit organizations for the purpose of
providing basic material needs assistance to homeless youth in
the manner directed by the county, subject to any requirements
imposed by this chapter.

(b) The county shall contract with one or more nonprofit
organizations to participate in the program based on the proposals
solicited under subdivision (a). Selection shall be based on the
nonprofit organization’s demonstrated ability to meet the goals
of the program, including, but not limited to an ability to form
partnerships with local education agencies (LEAs).

(c) The county shall require each contracted nonprofit
organization to do all of the following:

(1) Assist homeless youth through partnerships with LEAs,
which shall be formed to provide basic material needs assistance
to homeless youth.

(2) Give priority to providing school supplies and dental
supplies and other hygienic products to homeless youth.

(3) Consult with the county’s children and family commission
to determine how to best provide basic material needs assistance
to homeless youth from birth to 5 years of age, inclusive, if the
county elects to include homeless youth of that age in its program.

(d) The county shall encourage each contracted nonprofit
organization to do both of the following:

(1) Provide at least a 20-percent match for all moneys received
from the county.

(2) Work with the homeless liaison or liaisons of each LEA
pursuant to the federal Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.), or his, her, or their
LEA-employed designee.

(e) If a county elects not to establish a program or a county
requests the department to administer its program, the department
shall retain the moneys allocated to the county pursuant to Section
13714 and shall directly administer a program for homeless youth
in that county and perform the tasks assigned to the county under
this section.

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SECTION 1.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would create the Basic Materials Needs for
Homeless Youth Act and would do all of the following:

(a) Enable the state to provide basic materials needs assistance
for homeless youth identified in public schools.

(b) Define the term “homeless” to have the same meaning
provided in the federal Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.).

(c) Define the term “basic materials needs assistance” to mean
school supplies, dental supplies and other hygienic products, shoes,
clothes, blankets, and other basic needs materials.

(d) Give priority to providing school supplies, dental supplies,
and other hygienic products to homeless youth.

end delete