State Policy on Child and Youth Homelessness: 2024 Q3 Update

SHC joined the National Network for Youth, the Homeless Children’s Education Fund, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Homelessness and Poverty, and Western PA Continuum of Care, to help push HB 127 across the finish line before the end of the year. HB 127 would waive driver’s license fees for youth experiencing homelessness. SHC has supported coalition partners with advocacy training and by engaging sponsors and other legislators to gain their support. The bill passed in the House this summer and now awaits a vote in the Senate.

SHC helped pass HB 385 in 2022 in response to results from our statewide survey of youth providers showing that lack of transportation was the biggest barrier to employment and postsecondary education. This law allows youth experiencing homelessness to get a learner’s permit and driver’s license at no cost. Now we are working to ensure that youth experiencing homelessness benefit from the law as intended. We are reaching out to stakeholders connected to youth experiencing homelessness to spread the word using this toolkit, and encouraging them to share it through their networks.

The Michigan Network for Youth and Families (MNYF) and Michigan’s Children launched a campaign to advocate for a Senate vote on two bills, already passed by the House, that aim to support youth experiencing homelessness..

HB 4085 would increase the time that shelter providers can serve youth experiencing homelessness with or without parental consent from 24 to 72 hours to give providers the appropriate time to act in the best interest of these young people. HB 4086 will offer additional protection of children through the licensing and regulation of childcare organizations, establish standards of care for child care organizations, and allow certain licensed organizations to serve homeless youth.

Advocates are urging supporters to contact Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (and/or their respective senator) and ask for the bills to move to a vote. The bills have bipartisan support. 

The advocacy this fall to improve access to health care will continue in earnest. SHC is partnering with MNYF, Michigan’s Children and other advocates on HB 4087, which allows youth experiencing homelessness to get the care they need by allowing unaccompanied minors to consent to their own medical care and treatment. The bill remains under review of the House Committee on Families, Children and Seniors.

In California, SHC supported an effort led by John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY), uAspire and other groups on AB 2165 which passed in September. The bill enshrines FAFSA completion guidelines into state law. It  requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to ensure that a guidance counselor meets with students, and that LEAs post data on the number of student exemptions.

SHC also supported AB 2137, led by JBAY and the National Center for Youth Law. This new act takes effect in January and aims to improve educational outcomes for foster youth by authorizing county offices of education to use their existing state funding to provide direct services to those students through the Foster Youth Services Coordinating Programs (FYSCPs). Current law prohibits that use unless school districts certify in writing that they cannot provide direct services to students in foster care. Allowing FYSCPs this access gives program staff the ability to provide tailored interventions and support to ensure youth are aware of financial aid and postsecondary options. 

While AB 2137 will help many foster youth, we were disappointed that homelessness provisions were stripped from the bill before passage. Those provisions would have required LEAs to consider the needs of students experiencing homelessness by requiring consultation with the homeless student liaison during the development of the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). LEAs that identified less than 10 percent of their low-income students as homeless would have been required to describe the actions they have taken, or will take, to implement California’s required protocol for identifying homeless students. California has the highest number of K12 students experiencing homelessness, yet no dedicated funding to support them. We will support the efforts of our CA advocacy partners to improve resources for students experiencing homelessness in the next session.

SHC joined advocates like the Michigan College Access Network, the Detroit College Access Network, and others in supporting SB 463, which has passed in the state Senate and is currently before the House Education Committee. The bill is the only one in the U.S. this session that includes an amendment SHC recommended to require school districts to certify compliance with the McKinney-Vento Act provisions directing homeless liaisons to inform unaccompanied youth of their status as independent students for the FAFSA, and provide information to schools on the ability of unaccompanied youth and former foster care youth on to complete the FAFSA as independent students. 

Legislators in New Jersey continue their efforts to adequately fund the transportation of students experiencing homelessness. A 4545 and its companion, S 3537, were introduced this summer. The legislation would require the state to reimburse school districts for expenses that exceed the average in-district per pupil cost for transporting students. These bills represent the second attempt this session by the New Jersey legislature (A 3658, also providing reimbursement to districts, was introduced earlier this year) to address the transportation costs of students experiencing homelessness.

The California legislature moved to expand support and navigation services for families experiencing homelessness participating in state programming. Lawmakers passed AB 2343, which allows certain CalWORKs child care programs to offer services to child care recipients experiencing homelessness, escaping domestic abuse, or both – in partnership with homeless services, domestic violence agencies, or supportive housing initiatives.