Amended in Assembly May 23, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 21, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2591

Introduced by Assembly Member Weber

( begin delete Coauthor: end delete begin insert Coauthors: end insert Assembly begin delete Member end delete begin insert Members Buchanan, Maienschein, and end insert Skinner)

begin insert

(Coauthor: Senator Hancock)

end insert

February 21, 2014

An act 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.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

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

Existing law establishes various public social services programs to provide 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. Existing law establishes homeless youth emergency service pilot projects in the Counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Clara, and San Francisco.

This bill would create the Homeless Youth Basic Material Needs Assistance begin delete Program and would end delete begin insert Program. This bill would end insert require that moneys appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes of the program be allocated proportionally begin delete to counties end delete by the State Department of Social Services begin insert to each county that elects to establish a program end insert based on the number of homeless youth in the county begin insert , which is end insert to be used to establish begin delete a end delete begin insert and operate the end insert program in the county. The bill would authorize a county to join with one or more other counties for the purpose of pooling their respective allocations and establishing a program for those begin delete counties and would also require the department to retain the moneys allocated to a county and establish a program for that county if a county elects not to establish a program or requests the department to administer its program. end delete begin insert counties. end insert The bill would require each program to solicit proposals from and contract with nonprofit organizations for the purpose of providing basic material needs assistance to homeless youth in the county or counties as directed by the entity administering the program and would require contracted nonprofit organizations to consult with the children and family commission of the county or counties, as specified, if the entity administering the program elects to include homeless youth from birth to 5 years of age, inclusive, in its program. The bill would enact other related provisions.

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.  

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

 

Chapter  6.1. Homeless Youth Basic Material Needs
Assistance Program

 

13710.  

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

13712.  

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
apply:

(a) “Administering entity” means one of the following:

(1) A county that elects to establish a program and does not join
with another county as described in subdivision begin delete (c) end delete begin insert (b) end insert of Section
13714.

begin delete

(2) The department, in the case of a county that elects not to
establish a program or requests the department to administer its
program.

end delete begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  The counties that elect to establish a program jointly under
subdivision begin delete (c) end delete begin insert (b) end insert of Section 13714.

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

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

(d) “Homeless begin insert youth end insert ” has the same meaning as that term is
defined in Section begin delete 11302 end delete begin insert 11434a end insert of Title 42 of the United States
Code.

(e) “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.

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

13714.  

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

begin delete

(b) If a county elects not to establish a program or requests the
department to administer its program, the department shall retain
the moneys allocated to the county pursuant to subdivision (a) and
shall directly administer a program for homeless youth in that
county.

(c)

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert  A county may join with one or more other counties for the
purpose of pooling the allocations made to the counties under this
section and establishing a Homeless Youth Basic Material Needs
Assistance Program for those counties.

13716.  

Each program established under this chapter shall do
all of the following:

(a) Solicit proposals from nonprofit organizations for the purpose
of providing basic material needs assistance to homeless youth in
the manner directed by the administering entity, subject to any
requirements imposed by this chapter.

(b) 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) Require each nonprofit organization contracted under
subdivision (b) 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 children and family commission of the
county or counties served by the program to determine how to best
provide basic material needs assistance to homeless youth from
birth to 5 years of age, inclusive, if the administering entity elects
to include homeless youth of that age in its program.

(d) Encourage each nonprofit organization contracted under
subdivision (b) to do both of the following:

(1) Provide at least a 20-percent match for all moneys received
from the administering entity under this chapter.

(2) Work with the homeless liaison or liaisons of each LEA
pursuant to begin delete the federal Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.), end delete begin insert Section 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) of
Title 42 of the United States Code, end insert or his, her, or their
LEA-employed designee.