Bill Text: CA SB657 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 657

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

Bill Title: Homelessness services staff training.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2024-01-25 - Veto sustained. [SB657 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB657-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly July 05, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 657

Introduced by Senator Caballero
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Gabriel)

February 16, 2023

An act to add Section 8257.25 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to homelessness.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 657, as amended, Caballero. Homelessness services staff training.

Existing law establishes the California Department of Aging in the California Health and Human Services Agency. Existing law requires the department to designate various private nonprofit or public agencies as area agencies on aging to work for the interests of older Californians within a planning and service area and provide a broad array of social and nutritional services. Existing law requires the area agencies on aging to develop systems of home- and community-based services that maintain individuals in their own homes or least restrictive homelike environments and to function as the community link at the local level for the development of those services. Existing law requires each area agency on aging to maintain a professional staff that is supplemented by volunteers, governed by a board of directors or elected officials, and whose activities are reviewed by an advisory council consisting primarily of older individuals from the community.

Existing federal law defines continuums of care as the groups organized to carry out specified responsibilities, including responsibilities related to homelessness, including certain nonprofit entities, victim service providers, faith-based organizations, governments, businesses, and advocates. Existing state law establishes specified grants and programs available to continuums of care.

Existing law requires the Governor to create the Interagency Council on Homelessness for specified purposes, including to create partnerships among various entities, like participants in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care program, and to identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California.

This bill would require the council to coordinate with the California continuums of care and the area agencies on aging to partner in their shared regions to provide gerontological training for homelessness services staff, to ensure that homelessness service providers are well trained and well equipped to assist vulnerable older adults with accessing resources to gain a permanent housing solution. The bill would be implemented contingent on an appropriation for those purposes in the budget act. California Department of Aging, the California continuums of care, and the area agencies on aging to convene a working group no later than March 1, 2024, to develop recommendations on best practices for assisting older adults to prevent and overcome homelessness and for training those who assist older adults to prevent and overcome homelessness. The bill would require the working group to develop a training for those who assist older adults with housing needs to help those individuals access resources to prevent and overcome homelessness, as specified, no later than November 1, 2024. The bill would require the working group, on or before December 1, 2024, to report to specified committees of the Legislature on their recommendations.

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

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

SECTION 1.

Section 8257.25 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

8257.25.
(a)The council shall coordinate with the California continuums of care, as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and the area agencies on aging, as defined in Section 9006, to partner in their shared regions to provide gerontological training for homelessness services staff, for the purpose of ensuring that homelessness service providers are well trained and well equipped to assist vulnerable older adults with accessing resources to gain a permanent housing solution.
~~(b) This section shall be implemented contingent upon an appropriation for its purposes in the budget act.~~

8257.25.
(a) The council shall coordinate with the California Department of Aging, the California continuums of care, as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and the area agencies on aging, as defined in Section 9006, to convene a working group to do all of the following:
(1) Develop recommendations for both of the following:
(A) Best practices for assisting older adults to prevent and overcome homelessness.
(B) Best practices for training those who assist older adults to prevent and overcome homelessness.
(2) Develop a training for those who assist older adults with housing needs to help those individuals access resources to prevent becoming homeless, and to help older adults who are homeless in obtaining a permanent housing solution.
(3) Ensure the training is culturally and geographically appropriate.
(4) Determine who should take the training.
(5) Determine whether the training should be mandatory or voluntary.
(6) If the training is mandatory, determine who will enforce the training requirement.
(b) The working group shall convene no later than March 1, 2024, and develop training materials and prescriptive guidelines no later than November 1, 2024.
(c) On or before December 1, 2024, the council shall submit a report on the recommendations in subdivision (a) to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Human Services, the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development, the Senate Committee on Housing, and the Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care.