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AB-2256 Homelessness: report.(2015-2016)

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Amended  IN  Assembly  April 28, 2016
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 28, 2016

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2015–2016 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2256

Introduced by Assembly Member Maienschein
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Brough and Chávez)
(Coauthor: Senator Bates)

February 18, 2016

An act to add Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8260) to Division 8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to homelessness.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2256, as amended, Maienschein. Homelessness: report.
Existing law provides for various programs to provide services for people who are homeless within the California Health and Human Services Agency.
This bill would require a homeless services provider provider, as defined, to submit a report, as provided, an annual report to the California Health and Human Services Agency that contains specified data regarding homeless children or youth and homeless persons. The bill would define, among other things, a “homeless services provider” to mean a governmental or nonprofit provider that receives federal, state, or county or municipal funding to provide services to homeless children or youth and homeless persons or that is under contract to provide those services by a local homeless continuum of care organization. The bill would require the data reported to the California Health and Human Services Agency to be published on the California Health and Human Services Open Data Portal.
By imposing new duties upon certain local governments, entities to report this data, this 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 these statutory provisions.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares both of the following:
(a) The purpose of asking homeless services providers to submit the information required by this act is to develop a statewide database of information regarding homeless children or youth and homeless persons and the public services being used.
(b) The data will enable state and local governments to develop better programs to target the needs of these individuals and utilize funding and other resources in the most efficient manner.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8260) is added to Division 8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
CHAPTER  7. Homelessness Report

8260.
 (a) On or before January 1, 2018, and on or before January 1 each year thereafter, a homeless services provider shall submit a report to the California Health and Human Services Agency that contains all of the following data for the previous calendar year regarding homeless children or youth and homeless persons:
(1) The number of ambulance rides.
(2) The number of hospital stays and length of each stay.
(3) The number of emergency room visits.
(4) The number of arrests and length of each incarceration.
(5) The number of homeless children or youth and homeless persons using services provided by the homeless services provider.
(6) Latest estimate by a local agency in the area in which services are provided on the total number of homeless persons in that area, if available.
(b) The report shall be submitted in an open format that meets all of the following requirements:
(1) Retrievable, downloadable, indexable, and electronically searchable by commonly used Internet search applications.
(2) Platform independent and machine readable.
(3) Available to the public free of charge and without any restriction that would impede the reuse or distribution of the data, if applicable.
(4) Retains the data definitions and structure present when the data was compiled, if applicable.
(c) The data reported to the California Health and Human Services Agency shall be published on the California Health and Human Services Open Data Portal.
(d) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(e) This section shall only apply to homeless services providers that have access to the data listed in subdivision (a).
(f) A homeless services provider that reports data pursuant to subdivision (a) shall ensure that the data submitted is as accurate as practicable.

(e)

(g) For purposes of this section, all of the following definitions shall apply:
(1) “Homeless children or youth” has the same definition as that term is defined in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.).
(2) “Homeless persons” has the same definition as that term is defined in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.).
(3) “Homeless services provider” means a governmental or nonprofit provider that receives federal, state, or county or municipal funding to provide services to homeless children or youth and homeless persons or that is under contract to provide those services by a local homeless continuum of care organization. has the same meaning as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.

SEC. 3.

 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.