AB 2162: Housing: county funding allocations: nonminor dependents and young adults.

50807.

(a) Subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, the Department of Housing and Community Development shall allocate funding to county child welfare agencies to help young adults who are 18 to 24 years of age, inclusive, secure and maintain housing, with priority given to young adults formerly in the state’s foster care or probation systems.

(b) The department shall consult with the State Department of Social Services, the Department of Finance, and the County Welfare Directors Association of California to develop an allocation schedule for purposes of distributing funds allocated to counties pursuant to subdivision (a).

(c) If a child welfare agency accepts any distribution of money, it shall report the following data to the Department of Housing and Community Development on an annual basis:

(1) The number of young adults served and how many are young adults formerly in the state’s foster care or probation system.

(2) The number of young adults who were homeless when they began receiving assistance funded pursuant to subdivision (a).

(3) The number of young adults who received assistance funded pursuant to subdivision (a) and obtained temporary housing.

(4) The number of young adults who received assistance funded pursuant to subdivision (a) and obtained permanent housing.

(d) For a child welfare agency that accepts any distribution of money for the Transitional Housing Program pursuant to this chapter and the Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program pursuant to Chapter 11.8 (commencing with Section 50811), the department shall accept one county board resolution and one allocation acceptance form, and execute one standard agreement, for both programs.

(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Homeless” has the same meaning as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(2) “Young adult formerly in the state’s foster care or probation system” means a young adult who previously met the definition of a child or nonminor dependent under Section 475 of Title IV-E of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 675(8)) or subdivision (v) of Section 11400 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, who had been removed by the juvenile court from the custody of their parent, legal guardian, or Indian custodian pursuant to Section 361 or 726 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, ordered into a placement described in paragraphs (2) to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (e) of Section 361.2 of, or paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 727 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, and for whom juvenile court jurisdiction was terminated while the young adult remained in placement.

50811.

(a) Subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act to the Department of Housing and Community Development to continue the housing navigator program established as a result of the allocation in Provision (3) of Item 2240-103-0001 of the Budget Act of 2019, which is hereby renamed the Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program, the department shall allocate funding to county child welfare agencies to provide housing navigators to help young adults who are 18 to 28 years of age, inclusive, secure and maintain housing. A county that receives an allocation pursuant to this subdivision shall give priority to the following two populations:

(1) Nonminor dependents.

(2) Young adults formerly in the state’s foster care or probation system.

(b) The department shall consult with the State Department of Social Services, the Department of Finance, and the County Welfare Directors Association of California to develop an allocation schedule for purposes of distributing funds allocated to counties pursuant to subdivision (a).

(c) Eligible uses of the funding allocated to a county child welfare agency pursuant to subdivision (a) include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Assisting young adults with identifying and applying for housing, including housing that qualifies as a supervised independent living placement pursuant to subdivision (w) of Section 11400 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(2) Assisting young adults with applying for a federal housing choice voucher and identifying housing with the housing choice voucher.

(3) Providing young adults with financial assistance to help cover the cost of housing application fees, security deposit, first month’s rent, utility set-up, and other move-in costs.

(4) Providing landlord incentives.

(5) Providing young adults with supportive services that help them maintain stable housing, including education and employment support, financial literacy and planning, case management, and counseling.

(d) The housing navigation and maintenance program for a county that accepts an allocation of money pursuant to this section shall provide training to its child welfare agency social workers and probation officers who serve nonminor dependents. The training shall address an overview of the housing resources available through the local coordinated entry system, homeless continuum of care, and county public agencies, including, but not limited to, housing navigation, permanent affordable housing, THP-Plus, and housing choice vouchers. The training shall also address how to access and receive a referral to existing housing resources, the social worker’s and probation officer’s role in identifying unstable housing situations for young adults, and referring young adults to housing assistance programs.

(e) If a child welfare agency accepts any distribution of money, it shall report the following data to the Department of Housing and Community Development on an annual basis:

(1) The number of young adults served and how many are the following:

(A) Nonminor dependents.

(B) Young adults formerly in the state’s foster care or probation system.

(2) The number of young adults who were homeless when they began receiving assistance funded pursuant to subdivision (a).

(3) The number of young adults who received assistance funded pursuant to subdivision (a) and obtained temporary housing.

(4) The number of young adults who received assistance funded pursuant to subdivision (a) and obtained permanent housing.

(5) The housing authority with which the county child welfare agency has a memorandum of understanding or letter of intent to provide housing vouchers funded by the federal Family Unification Program or the federal Foster Youth to Independence Initiative pursuant to the Housing Choice Voucher program established under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1437f). If the county child welfare agency does not partner with a housing authority to provide the housing vouchers described in this paragraph, the child welfare agency shall state the reason why it does not partner with a housing authority to provide those housing vouchers.

(6) The number of housing vouchers that have been issued to young adults in the county that are funded by the federal Family Unification Program or the federal Foster Youth to Independence Initiative pursuant to the Housing Choice Voucher program established under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1437f). For the purposes of this paragraph, “issued” means the voucher has been assigned to a specific person, whether that person is searching for housing or has entered into a lease, and whether the voucher is new or recycled.

(f) On an annual basis, the department shall make publicly available the information provided by county child welfare agencies pursuant to paragraphs (5) and (6) of subdivision (e).

(g) For a child welfare agency that accepts any distribution of money for the Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program pursuant to this chapter and the Transitional Housing Program pursuant to Chapter 11.7 (commencing with Section 50807), the department shall accept one county board resolution and one allocation acceptance form, and execute one standard agreement, for both programs.

(h) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Homeless” has the same meaning as defined in Part 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(2) “Housing authority” means a housing authority created pursuant to the Housing Authorities Law (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 34200) of Part 2 of Division 24).

(3) “Nonminor dependent” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (v) of Section 11400 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(4) “Young adult formerly in the state’s foster care or probation system” has the same meaning as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 50807.