Office of Homeless Youth Prevention and Protection Programs.

The Office of Homeless Youth Prevention and Protection Programs (OHY) within the Department of Commerce (Commerce) leads the statewide efforts to coordinate funding, policy, and practice efforts related to homeless youth and improving the safety, health, and welfare of homeless youth.  The OHY contracts with service providers that help prevent youth homelessness and serve youth and young adults who are experiencing homelessness. 

Licensed Overnight Youth Shelters.

Any entity that provides 24-hour care to a child that is not a relative must be licensed by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF).  The OHY contracts with DCYF-licensed youth shelter providers that provide temporary residence and services for youth, including crisis residential centers (CRCs) and HOPE Centers, and transitional living programs. 

The CRCs are short-term facilities for runaway youth and adolescents in conflict with their families that operate on a secure or semisecure basis.  Youth can remain in a CRC for no more than 15 consecutive days.  A semisecure CRC is not locked, but operates in a way that reasonably assures that youth placed there will not run away.  Secure CRCs are designed and operated to prevent a youth from leaving without permission.

HOPE Centers provide temporary residential placements of up to 90 days for youth under age 18 who are living on the street or other unsafe locations.  Youth may self-refer to a HOPE Center for services, and entering a HOPE Center is voluntary.  While residing in a HOPE Center, each youth undergoes a comprehensive assessment to develop a plan for the youth focused on finding a permanent and stable home.

Transitional living programs provide longer-term residence and adult transition planning for nondependent youth ages 16 and 17.

Provisions governing overnight shelters, in general, provide that when a shelter learns that a youth staying in its facility does not have parental permission, the facility must, among other things:

• notify the parent by telephone or other reasonable means unless compelling reasons exist within 72 hours, preferably within 24 hours; and
• notify the DCYF if compelling reasons exist not to notify a parent, including concerns of abuse or neglect.

"Compelling reasons" include, but are not limited to, circumstances that indicate that notifying the parent or legal guardian will subject the minor to abuse or neglect, and circumstances in which a minor is seeking or receiving protected health care services, defined as gender-affirming treatment and reproductive health care services.

Provisions specific to CRCs require the CRC's administrator to immediately notify the parents of a child in its care of the child's whereabouts, physical and emotional condition, and the circumstances surrounding the child's placement, as well as when the child leaves without authorization, and do not contain an exception to parental notification when a compelling reason exists.

Housing Stability for Youth in Crisis Program.

Beginning in 2023, the OHY was tasked with selecting, monitoring, and providing funding and assistance for a minimum of six total counties to implement Housing Stability for Youth in Crisis Programs (HSYCPs) for a period of three years.  The program expires July 1, 2026.

The HSYCPs include the following components:

• regular training for all appropriate juvenile court staff regarding risk factors and identifiers for youth homelessness;
• an identification and referral system used throughout the juvenile court system related to youth homelessness;
• a dedicated housing stability coordinator that receives referrals, conducts housing stability assessments with youth and caregivers, connects youth and caregivers with relevant community providers based on assessments, and follows up on referrals;
• a model of homelessness prevention services that provides the appropriate amount of intervention based on the youth or family needs; and
• coordinated housing services for youth experiencing homelessness.

Community Support Teams.

The OHY provides funding and assistance to contracted youth service providers or other entities who convene a community support team (Team).  The purpose of a Team is to help identify supports for a youth and the youth's family, focused on resolving family conflict and on obtaining or maintaining long-term and stable housing.  The Team must prioritize reunification between the youth and the youth's family to the extent possible without endangering the health, safety, or welfare of the child.

The Teams must include the youth and supportive adults identified by the youth, but may not engage with a family member other than the youth if the youth's parent, guardian, or legal custodian objects to the support or assistance that is offered or provided.

The Team must develop a process that allows youth who enter a licensed overnight youth shelter or other licensed organization with a stated mission to provide services to homeless or runaway youth and their families to request assistance from the Team.

Independent Youth Housing Program.

The Independent Youth Housing Program (IYHP) provides rental assistance and case management through OHY-contracted agencies for eligible youth, at least age 18 but younger than age 25, who have aged out of the state foster care system.  Funds awarded to contracted organizations may be used for housing stipends, security deposits, first and last month's rent stipends, case management program costs, and administrative costs, and in some circumstances, for professional mental health services and tuition costs for court-ordered classes and programs.  All housing stipends, security deposits, and first and last month's rent stipends must be payable only to a landlord or housing manager of any type of independent housing.  Administrative costs for each subcontracted organization may not exceed 12 percent of the estimated total annual grant amount to the organization.

Licensed Overnight Youth Shelters.

The provisions for parental notification when a child arrives at a CRC are modified to include an exception to the parental notification requirement when a compelling reason exists, in alignment with the generally applicable provisions for licensed overnight youth shelters.

Housing Stability for Youth in Crisis Program.

The Housing Stability for Youth in Crisis Program is renamed the "Housing Stability for Youth in Courts Program" and its required minimum of six total participating counties is removed.  The expiration date for the program is also removed.

Community Support Teams.

The prohibition on a Team engaging with a family member other than the youth if the parent, guardian, or legal custodian objects to the support or assistance that is offered or provided is removed.  Youth are eligible for Team assistance if they seek services from an overnight youth shelter, or another organization.  The requirement that the youth "enters" services of the organization in order to be eligible for assistance is removed.

Independent Youth Housing Program.

Provisions related to the IYHP are modified to:

• remove the subcontractor organization administrative cost cap of 12 percent of the total estimated grant amount;
• add costs associated with providing transitional housing to the list of uses for grant funding by subcontractor organizations; and
• remove the requirement that all housing stipends, security deposits, and first and last month's rent stipends must be payable only to a landlord or housing manager of any type of independent housing.

Other Changes.

The statutory definition of "child," "juvenile," "youth," or "minor" for purposes of OHY programs is modified to specify that homeless young adults under age 21 who are residing in a transitional living program for unaccompanied homeless youth at the time they reach age 18 may be considered children for the purpose of continued placement in group care facilities.  Emancipated minors may be considered young adults for purposes of eligibility for OHY-administered programs.

The grant funds issued by the OHY that are used to provide flexible financial assistance may be provided directly to eligible youth and young adults or a third party vendor such as a landlord in order to promote housing stability of the program participant.

The term "street youth" is replaced with "unaccompanied homeless youth," and statutory definitions of "homeless" are aligned throughout statutes governing OHY-administered programs.

References to the Department of Social and Health Services are amended to properly refer to the Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

Definitions of "HOPE Center" are aligned across statutes.