California Assembly Bill AB2591 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2591AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2014 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Weber (Coauthor: Assembly Member Skinner) FEBRUARY 21, 2014 An act  relating to public social services.   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 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.   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.   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.   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.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no   yes  . State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Chapter 6.1 (commen   cing 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) "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. 13714. 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. 13716. (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.   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.