SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) California students are struggling to meet their basic needs and are facing housing insecurity, including homelessness, and food insecurity at alarming rates.
(b) A report released in March 2019 by the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice found that 19 percent of the survey’s respondents experienced homelessness in the previous year, 60 percent of respondents were housing insecure in the previous year, and 50 percent of respondents were food insecure
in the prior 30 days.
(c) Some groups of students are disproportionately impacted by basic needs insecurity. Students of color, first-generation college students, financial aid recipients, former foster youth, and student parents are at much higher risk.
(d) Basic needs insecurity has a direct impact on student academic success. Students experiencing basic needs insecurity are much more likely to not buy textbooks, to miss, drop, or fail classes, and to withdraw from school entirely. In addition, these students consistently report high levels of stress and other mental health issues, which negatively impact academic performance and health in general.
(e) Addressing Homelessness and Housing Insecurity in Higher Education,
a book that provides research-based information and tools for educators and higher education professionals to build
effective institutional supports for college students facing housing insecurity, found the following:
“Understanding how basic needs insecurity exists on and around your campus is an important first step. In order to develop a more fully informed understanding of students’ unmet basic needs on your campus, we recommend that you use a mix of survey data collection to learn about the size and scope of the issues as well as using interviews and focus groups to illustrate the experiences from the viewpoints of students. Additionally, you can include institutional data you previously gathered about student demographics, financial aid use, and the cost of living that may be helpful for expanding the findings of your institution’s evaluation.”
“Students who need support often have a difficult time finding and
accessing supports on campus. Campuses can have complex interlocking or disconnected systems that can be difficult to
negotiate while managing the stress of homelessness. Students must traverse through complicated financial aid processes and seek appropriate campus support services, while managing courses and other responsibilities.”
“A centralized and coordinated effort can more easily be publicized in a way that all students can benefit. Developing a coordinated strategy increases the likelihood that students, faculty, and staff can more easily access the various forms of support.”
“Research and anecdotal feedback indicate that students who have a single point of contact experienced feelings of campus connection, care, and success in their university communities. Additionally, single point of contact staff can destigmatize students’ use of on-campus supportive services.”
“We recommend
creating an integrated approach that includes housing and food insecurity programming working collaboratively.
Both services should be in a centrally located space on campus. Students applying to one service should be given information about the other services.”
“Having a web presence with information about services available is important. Students may resist disclosing their circumstances to another person, but they may feel more confident in doing so if they have had the opportunity to explore available resources electronically. Creating a webpage with available resources as well as short stories normalizing students’ circumstances can be a helpful tool in identifying students who need support.”
(f) Community colleges have begun taking steps to meet the basic needs of their students through food pantries, housing-related efforts, and other services and resources, however,
resources. However, students have expressed that the current system is often fragmented with no single point of contact tasked with overseeing existing basic needs services and resources.
(g) Some community colleges are already moving in the direction of a more coordinated and integrated approach. In fact, 53 community colleges have reported that they have some form of basic needs center.