Assembly Standing Committee on Human Services

Good afternoon. I call this hearing of the Assembly Committee on Human Services to order. I'd like to take a moment to welcome Members of this Committee back to the first Bill hearing of the 2026 legislative year and to acknowledge the remarkable times we find ourselves in. We are certainly not short of any remarkable times.

As a result of recent actions from the Federal Government, we are witnessing an unprecedented attempt to dismantle and defund core safety net programs due to allegations presented without any evidence and intended to punish perceived political enemies. But that will only end up jeopardizing the well being of our most vulnerable.

As chair of this Committee, I'll continue to fight to protect all safety net programs and to look for solutions to maintain our commitment to serve all Californians in need. I look forward to working with each of you as we navigate these extraordinary circumstances today.

Once we have established a quorum, we have two measures on the agenda, none of which are in consent. Please note that we limit testimony to two witnesses in support and two witnesses in opposition. Each witness has two minutes to testify.

All additional witnesses will be limited to saying their name, organization, if they represent one, and their position on the Bill. I also want to note that we are accepting written testimony through the position letter portal on the committee's website. Lastly, I would like to address disruptions during the hearing.

Conduct that disrupts or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of this hearing is prohibited. If disruptive behavior occurs today, you will be removed from the hearing room by Assembly Sergeants. Madam Secretary, let's establish quorum. Please call the roll to establish quorum.

[Roll Call]

Quorum established. Since I only see one Bill author here, would Assembly Cory Jackson. Dr. Jackson, like to present file item number two, AB673? Whenever you're ready.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. This is AB673 which establishes the Unaccompanied Youth Support Grant Program. This program will provide assistance to 16 and 17 year old students experiencing homelessness and who are not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian as they continue their education.

Specifically, this bill would provide five year competitive grants administered by the Department of Education to local education agencies. These grants would Fund referrals to housing, basic needs, educational support and employment readiness for these students. With me today is Eric Dunk on behalf of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to speak on the impact of this bill.

Thank you. Good afternoon, Chair and Members. My name is Eric Dunk and I'm a legislative representative at the California Department of Education speaking on behalf of Superintendent Tony Thurman, who is sponsoring AB673, I'd also like to thank Assembly Member Jackson for authoring this important legislation.

California is facing a growing crisis of student homelessness, and for thousands of young people, that crisis exists at the intersection of education, housing and child welfare systems. Of the approximately 286,000 homeless K12 students, 8,800 of them are unaccompanied youth.

Unaccompanied homeless youth, particularly 16 and 17 year olds, has significantly lower attendance and graduation rates, often 20 percentage points lower than their housed peers. At the same time, they are among the most vulnerable young people in our state, too young to access adult housing systems, yet often outside formal child welfare placements.

While federal law requires schools to identify and support these students, only about 10% of school districts receive dedicated McKinney Vento funding, and those grants are relatively modest. AB 673 helps close that gap by strengthening coordination between schools and the human services systems that already exist.

This bill would establish the Unaccompanied Youth Support Grant Program, a five year pilot program that allows educational agencies to support unaccompanied youth ages 16 and 17 by connecting them to existing housing, basic needs, tutoring, employment readiness, and health and social services.

Importantly, this bill would also require CDE to consult with the California Department of Social Services and coordinate with a variety of housing and social service partners. The bill would also require annual reporting on outcomes so the Legislature can evaluate the success of the pilot.

AB673 is a targeted solution to support schools and stabilizing students lives so they can focus on learning and graduating. Thank you for your consideration and we respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

All right, thank you very much. Now, do we have any Members of the public who should testify in support of the bill? Please come into the microphone at this time.

McLean Rozanski with the Alameda County Office of Education in support.

All right, thank you. Do we have any witnesses in opposition? Do we have any Members of the public wish to testify in opposition to this bill? Seeing none, we'll bring it back to the Committee. Any questions or comments on this bill? Assembly Member Tangipa?

You know, I just, I do want to thank the author for how much you consider, especially the unaccompanied youth. This again, for me is an area that I'm fairly familiar with. At 14 years old, I ran away from home and I was bouncing around quite a bit for some of the issues that was happening.

And so the only issue that I have is as I've been Looking at. And it has nothing to do with the Bill. It has everything to do with the budget and more grant programs and things in the future.

I really do worry that it almost sometimes creates a false sense of hope when we have reports that are really showing that we're in a monumental deficit in the future.

And so I'd love to work with the author in the future to see what we can do specifically for unsheltered, unaccompanied youth that are bouncing around friends homes, anybody that will take them in. I think when we get California back on track from a budget area is really where we can create more programs and grants.

And for those reasons, I'm just laying off for it. But I really do appreciate how much you pay attention and really focus on the people who do need it the most.

No, absolutely. And I know we share leadership on the budget Subcommitee together. You know, I'm a firm believer that we need to, even with the limited funds that we do have, is really about setting priorities. And I don't see this as a either or where if we Fund this, we have to expand the budget.

Just like all of us, when we have to live within our means, we say what are the priorities? And I think that we can all agree our constituents continue to put homelessness and, and housing issues at the top. And so I think that.

And what I intend to do is advocate on making this a priority over what in many cases we might deem less of a priority given the limited resources we have.

But I totally understand what you're saying and looking forward to finding ways to determine on whether this should be a higher priority than something else that might be in the budget.

All right, any other questions or comments? Would you like to additionally close?

Sure. I mean, obviously the good news is we've kind of established some cookie cutter housing projects and homelessness projects that will try to benefit the most people. The low hanging fruit is over now. Now we're talking about specific groups of populations.

They may actually need customized program to help them not fall into homelessness or get them out of homelessness. Certainly this is one that the state population that the state superintendent has identified as none of the programs that currently exist is helping with this particular population.

This is really about making sure that we uphold our sacred responsibility of taking care of our seniors and taking care of our young people. And if a state can't do that, I don't know what the hell we're here for. Right. And simply put, if there's no stabilities, there is no progress.

We cannot expect young people to thrive if we are not giving them the support they need to maintain stability. So with that, I respectfully ask for an Aye vote.

Thank you, Dr. Jackson. Thank you for bringing this Bill forward. I agree it is in the grand scheme of the budget is about priority setting. And I see this as one of our monumental things we need to prioritize is homelessness. Especially comes our children.

This is a Bill that is working in that gap where so much of our social safety net is about adults and families, but when they're individualized children, they kind of fall through the cracks. Our system wasn't quite designed with them in mind. So I appreciate this Bill.

I am recommending an aye vote, but can I get a motion in a second for this one? It's moved by Calderon and I will second. I will second. So, Madam Secretary, please call the roll on AB673.

Final item 2, AB673. The motion is due pass to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. [Roll Call]

All right, we'll leave that roll open for absent member. Thank you, Dr. Jackson. Thank you. All right, I think I see our second author of the day Assembly Member Alanis. So whenever you're ready, you can come up present file number one, AB 277.

Thank you so much. Appreciate it. All right, well, first off, thank you, chair and Committee, for your work on AB277. This Bill would require employees who provide behavioral health treatment to undergo a background check prior to being hired. Current law requires background checks for school employees, volunteers of youth service organizations, and licensed healthcare professionals, but not with this issue here.

So that's a little odd. However, there is currently no background checks requirements in state law for employees of behavioral health companies such as registered behavioral technicians. RBTs. Data shows that children with disabilities are more likely to be abused and neglected than their neurotypical peers.

Furthermore, many children with disabilities or with developmental disabilities are nonverbal and less likely to report abuse when it occurs. My team worked alongside this Committee to find a compromise that codifies a criminal background check requirement.

While allowing employers to maintain discretion over hiring, AB277 marks a step in the right direction by increasing transparency in the hiring process of these often unlicensed professionals. This Bill will also make parents and guardians feel more comfortable trusting their children in the hands of behavioral health care workers. AB 277 passed this morning.

The Assembly Public Safety this morning on consent. And I respectfully ask for an aye vote on AB277. Thank you guys for your time.

Thank you. Do you have a witness with you?

Technical. If you guys have any.

Okay, great. Are there any Members of the public who wish to testify in support of this Bill? Any Members of the public wish to cite in opposition to the Bill? Seeing none. We'll bring it back to the Committee. Any questions? Comments? Motions move the bell. All right, I'll invite the author to close. If you want to close.

Respectfully, ask for an aye vote.

All right. Thank you so much, Alanis, for working with the Committee on this Bill. I am recommending an aye vote on this Bill, and I appreciate you bringing the Bill. All right, Madam Secretary, when you're ready, please call the roll on. File item number one, AB 277.

[Roll Call]

Five votes. That Bill is out.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, everybody.

All right. That concludes the file items we have. I will leave the roll open for the absent members. Thank you, Members, for being here today.

Congratulations.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

All right, Madam Secretary, please call the roll for the absent member.

[Roll Call]

Thank you. Y'all are amazing. Who won the—who won it this time?

We haven't dabbled yet.

All right. Business before the Assembly Human Service Committee is complete. The hearing is now adjourned.