Starting in January 2020, any youth discharged from a public system of care has an enforceable right (through judicial proceedings) to be discharged into safe and stable housing.
The Office Of Homeless Youth Prevention And Protection programs must develop a plan to ensure that, by December 31, 2019, no youth is discharged from a public system of care into homelessness.
The plan must specify actions that state agencies will need to take, any necessary statutory and funding legislative action, and the assignment of those specific state agency actions to implement all parts of the plan. The plan is due to the appropriate committees of the legislature and the governor by Dec. 31, 2018, with a response due by March 31, 2019.
The amendment modifies the declaration of intent so that it is the goal of the legislature that any youth discharged from a public system of care will be discharged into safe and stable housing with such policy applying to relevant proceedings involving the youth as opposed to the legislature creating any potential enforceable right of the youth in those proceedings.
Floor amendments adopted on 2/27 make the following changes:
-Extends the deadlines by one year for the submission of a plan to ensure no youth is discharged from a publicly funded system of care into homelessness and the stated goal of discharging youth from publicly funded systems of care into safe and stable housing. Specifies the plan and associated policy goal apply to unaccompanied youth.
-Replaces “public system of care” with “publicly funded system of care” and defines “publicly funded system of care.”
-Requires DCYF to jointly develop the plan with the Office of Homeless Youth Prevention and Protection Programs. Directs DCYF rather than OHYPPP to submit the plan to the Governor and the legislature to respond to the plan.
-Requires the Dept. of Licensing to issue an identicard at the cost of production to individuals scheduled for release from a juvenile rehabilitation institution or facility within 30 days and individuals released from those facilities within the last 30 days.
