Bill Text: CA AB67 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 67 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Homeless integrated data warehouse.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-08-30 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB67 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB67-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly April 11, 2019

Amended IN Assembly February 26, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 67

Introduced by Assembly Member Luz Rivas

December 03, 2018

An act to add ~~and repeal Section 8258 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to homelessness.~~ Chapter 5.9 (commencing with Section 13605) to Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to housing.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 67, as amended, Luz Rivas. ~~Individuals or families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness: definition.~~ Housing: homeless integrated data warehouse.

Existing law establishes various programs, including, among others, the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program, to provide assistance to homeless persons. Existing law also establishes the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council to, among other things, create a statewide data system or warehouse that collects local data through homeless management information systems, with the ultimate goal of matching data on homelessness programs to programs impacting homeless recipients of state programs, as specified.
This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to create a state homeless integrated data warehouse, in coordination with the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council, to develop a composite portrayal of the homeless population in the state and the services provided to this population or to those at risk of becoming homeless. The bill would require that the information compiled for the database include the data necessary to make certain findings, including, among other things, the number of individuals and families experiencing homelessness, their access to benefits, and the stated reasons for their homelessness. The bill would require the department to coordinate with other state agencies to draft and carry out a strategy to integrate information to provide longitudinal, cost-based studies with relevant data, as specified. The bill would require the database to comply with all relevant state and federal laws regarding privacy and personally identifying information and encourage local agencies that provide services to homeless persons and use homeless management information systems to collaborate with the department, as specified.
Existing law provides various housing and supportive services for individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and defines the terms “homeless” and “at risk of homelessness” for those purposes, as specified. Existing law requires the Governor to create the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council to, among other things, identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California.
Existing federal law, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, establishes various programs and grants to provide a range of services to homeless individuals and families, and defines the terms “homeless,” “homeless individual,” and “homeless person” to mean, among other things, an individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence or an individual who resided in a shelter or place not meant for human habitation and who is exiting an institution where the individual temporarily resided.
This bill would require the coordinating council to compile a list of federal, state, and local funding sources, programs, and services for addressing homelessness, and the definitions of “homeless” and “at risk of homelessness” used for those purposes, and would require state and local governmental entities that provide programs and services to individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, or funding for those programs and services, to provide the coordinating council with the existing definitions of those terms. The bill would require the coordinating council, in consultation with those state and local governmental entities, to develop and recommend in a report to the Legislature the funding sources, programs, and services for which the definitions of “homeless” and “at risk of homelessness” that are used for those purposes may be aligned to ensure a continuum of care for individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The bill would require the coordinating council to post the report on its internet website. By imposing new duties on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: ~~YES~~NO

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

SECTION 1.

Chapter 5.9 (commencing with Section 13605) is added to Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

CHAPTER 5.9. Homeless Integrated Data Warehouse
13605.
(a) The Department of Housing and Community Development shall do all of the following:
(1) Create a state homeless integrated data warehouse, in coordination with the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council established by Section 8257, to compile data from collaborative agencies’ Homeless Management Information Systems. This data warehouse shall serve the purpose of developing a composite portrayal of the homeless population in the state, as well as the services currently provided to individuals who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless and who are receiving prevention services. Information compiled for the warehouse shall include, but not be limited to, the data necessary to determine all of the following:
(A) Basic demographic information regarding individuals experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness. If available, demographic information should include ethnic and racial identity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
(B) The number of individuals with disabilities and the number of families with a head of household experiencing a disability who have been homeless for at least one year or at least four times in the last three years.
(C) Homeless individuals’ access to benefits.
(D) The number of individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
(E) The number and entry and exit dates of individuals and families living in emergency housing.
(F) The number and entry and exit dates of homeless individuals and families living in transitional housing.
(G) The number and entry and exit dates of homeless individuals and families living in permanent housing.
(H) Last known location or ZIP Code of homeless individuals or families when housed.
(I) Stated reasons for homelessness.
(J) Disability status of people experiencing homelessness.
(K) Veteran status of people experiencing homelessness.
(L) If available, the number of unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness.
(2) Cooperate and collaborate with each of the following state agencies, as necessary, to draft and carry out a strategy to integrate information from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the State Department of Education, the State Department of Health Care Services, the State Department of State Hospitals, the State Department of Social Services, and the Department of Veterans Affairs into the warehouse, to provide longitudinal, cost-based studies to determine all of the following information:
(A) The number of people imprisoned each year who were homeless upon arrest and the cost of their imprisonment.
(B) The number of parolees experiencing homelessness each year and the cost of their parole.
(C) The number of children in California schools experiencing homelessness.
(D) Claims for Medi-Cal emergency department, hospital, and nursing home services among people experiencing homelessness, and the costs of those claims each year.
(E) The number of children receiving foster care services whose family members are homeless and the cost of the foster care provided to those children each year.
(F) Relevant information regarding the number of people who are homeless receiving services through the State Department of State Hospitals, the State Department of Social Services, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the cost and outcomes of those services.
(G) The number of people living in housing funded through programs administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development who were homeless upon admission.
(3) Facilitate the creation of a users’ group to ensure quality, relevance, and appropriate access to the integrated data. This group should include, but not be limited to, a minimum of five and a maximum of 15 select members of contributing federal Continuum of Care Program Collaborative Applicants.
(b) The data warehouse shall comply with all relevant state and federal laws regarding privacy and personally identifying information.
(c) Upon completion of a data warehouse that includes the data specified in subdivision (a), participating agencies shall input and update its data, at a minimum, each quarter.
(d) Local agencies providing services to homeless persons that use a homeless management information system are encouraged to collaborate with the Department of Housing and Community Development in developing the data warehouse pursuant to this chapter.

SECTION 1.Section 8258 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
8258.
(a)The coordinating council shall compile a list of federal, state, and local funding sources, programs, and services for addressing homelessness, and the definitions of “homeless” and “at risk of homelessness” used for those purposes.
(b)State and local governmental entities that provide programs and services to individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, or funding for those programs and services, shall provide the coordinating council with the existing definitions of “homeless” and “at risk of homelessness,” used for those purposes.
(c)The coordinating council, in consultation with state and local governmental entities specified in subdivision (b), shall develop and recommend in a report to the Legislature the funding sources, programs, and services for which the definitions of “homeless” and “at risk of homelessness” that are used for those purposes may be aligned to ensure a continuum of care for individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The coordinating council shall review and consider the existing definitions of those terms, as provided by the state and local governmental entities pursuant to subdivision (b) and in state laws and regulations and the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11302), in making its recommendation to the Legislature. The report shall include the list specified in subdivision (a). The coordinating council shall post the report on its internet website.
~~(d)The report required to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.~~
~~(e)Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on January 1, 2024.~~
SEC. 2.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.