SECTIONS 13700-13704 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 13700-13704

13700. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) There are homeless minors living on the streets of major urban
centers in this state without adequate food, shelter, health care,
or financial support.
(b) Many of these homeless youth in these urban centers come from
out-of-city or out-of-county locations.
(c) The homeless child, in many instances, has a history of
physical or sexual abuse at home, and of having been rejected or
forced out of the parental home.
(d) While living on the streets, these youth fall prey to drug
abuse, prostitution, and other illegal activities.
(e) Local public agencies are unable to provide these youth with
an adequate level or range of remedial services.
(f) These homeless minors are urgently in need of specialized
services to locate them, to assist them with their immediate survival
needs, and to address their long-term need to reunite with their
parents or find a suitable home.
(g) Two homeless youth emergency service pilot programs, one in
the City of Los Angeles, and one in the City and County of San
Francisco, have demonstrated the need for ongoing programs to meet
the needs of homeless minors and the effectiveness of these programs
in meeting these needs.
The purpose of this chapter is therefore to maintain one homeless
youth emergency project in the County of Los Angeles and one in the
City and County of San Francisco, where the problem is most acute,
and to the extent funds are appropriated in the Budget Act of 1991,
to establish additional homeless youth emergency service pilot
projects pursuant to this chapter. It is the further purpose of this
chapter to examine the condition of homeless youth in major urban
areas of this state with populations of 500,000 or more, as well as
other urban, suburban, and rural areas, and develop a profile of
homeless youth in terms of background and available services, in
order to locate these youth, to provide for their emergency survival
needs, and to assist them in reunification with their parents or in
finding a suitable home.

13700.5. For purposes of this chapter, "office" means the Office of
Criminal Justice Planning.

13701. Each homeless youth project established under this chapter
shall provide services which shall include, but are not limited to,
all of the following:
(a) Food and access to an overnight shelter.
(b) Counseling to address immediate emotional crises or problems.
(c) Outreach services to locate homeless youth and link them with
services, and drop-in facilities to make the services accessible to
the street population.
(d) Screening for basic health needs and referral to public and
private agencies for health care.
(e) Linkage to other services offered by public and private
agencies.
(f) Long-term stabilization planning so that the youth may be
returned to the parental home under circumstances favoring long-term
reunification with the family, or so that the youth can be suitably
placed in a situation outside the family when family reunification is
not possible.
(g) Followup services to ensure that the return to the family or
the placement outside the family is stable.

13703. (a) One homeless youth emergency service project shall be
established in the County of Los Angeles and one shall be established
in the City and County of San Francisco. One homeless youth
emergency service project shall also be established in the County of
San Diego and one shall be established in the County of Santa Clara.
Each project may have one central location or may have more than one
location in the service area in order to serve effectively the area
population of homeless youth. Each project shall be operated by an
agency in accordance with the grant award agreement with the office.
(b) The office shall prepare and disseminate a request for
proposals for grantees under this chapter by February 15, 1986. The
office shall enter into grant award agreements, and the operation of
pilot projects shall begin, not later than June 1, 1986. With respect
to projects to be established in the County of San Diego and the
County of Santa Clara, the office shall prepare and disseminate a
request for proposals for grantees under this chapter by March 31,
1992. The office shall enter into grant award agreements and the
operation of these projects shall begin not later than July 1, 1992.
(c) An agency eligible to apply for funds under this chapter and
to operate a homeless youth emergency service project shall be a
private, nonprofit agency with a demonstrated record of success in
the delivery of services to homeless youth. The agency selected for
each project shall demonstrate the ability to provide each of the
services described in Section 13701, either directly or under
subcontract with a competent provider. Preference shall be given to
agencies that demonstrate a history of coordination with other public
and private agencies in the service region that provide services to
homeless youth. Preference shall also be given to agencies that will
involve a network of youth-serving agencies in the delivery of
services to homeless youth under this chapter.

13704. (a) The office shall monitor the projects established under
this chapter. In monitoring and evaluating the projects, the office
shall coordinate its efforts with the activities relating to homeless
youth of the state advisory group on juvenile justice, as described
in Sections 1785 and 1786.
(b) Based upon data collected from the California Runaway Hotline
and other reliable sources, the office shall include in its reports
an evaluation of the status of runaway homeless youth in the state.
The evaluation shall include information on the extent of the
homeless youth problem in major urban areas of 500,000 or more and
the need for services for homeless youth. The evaluation shall also
include data on other urban, suburban, and rural areas in California.