SANTA CRUZ COUNTY — The County of Santa Cruz should do more to support its homeless young people, as well as those in foster care and who are about to age out of the foster care system, according to a report released Tuesday by the county’s Grand Jury.
The report focused in particular on homelessness among foster youth.
According to the report, the services available are inadequate to help the 165 homeless children under the age of 18 who are unaccompanied by a parent, and an additional 423 young adults, aged 18–24, who are living homeless in the county.
According to a 2017 report by the National Foster Youth Institute, 20 percent of foster youth in foster care will become “instantly homeless” after reaching the age of 18.
The 2017 County Homeless Census and Survey showed that 98 percent of the 588 unaccompanied minor children are living “without shelter.”
Worse, less than 40 percent receives any type of government assistance, the report shows.
In addition, 40 percent of the homeless unaccompanied children and young adults had a history of foster care.
The news in the report was not all bad.
A $2.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is expected to help Santa Cruz County officials design and implement programs to help homeless young people. The Youth Advisory Board and the Homeless Action Partnership are working together on how best to use that money.
The report touched on Assembly Bill 12, a 2010 law that allows most foster youth to remain in foster care until they are 21.
But young people must opt in to the program, which normally requires the assistance of a social worker.
Another problem pointed out in the grand jury report is that high turnover of social workers – and heavy caseloads – often means that they are unavailable to provide help with AB 12 and other services.
“A change in social workers is particularly detrimental to children on the verge of leaving foster care,” the report stated.
Assembly Bill 403, a 2015 law, ended group homes for foster youth, and instead turned into short-term residential treatment centers.
The goal of this law was to end the “institutionalization of youth.”
But the lack of group homes means that some foster youth are shipped out of the county to find a place to live. The group homes also served as temporary emergency shelter.
“The lack of a group home or shelter dedicated to housing homeless youth is a serious problem requiring an immediate response,” the report stated.
In addition, the Independent Living Resource Center in Santa Cruz is open just three days per week with limited hours. It is the only such drop-in center in the county for young adults.
“At the present time, county services are almost nonexistent for homeless young adults who are not AB 12-eligible,” the report stated. “There are no shelters in the county, emergency or longer term, dedicated to housing 18- to 24-year-old homeless youths.
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Grand jury recommendations
• The Santa Cruz County Human Services Department should work to make sure foster youth know about the requirements of AB 12.
• The HSD should create an outreach program for homeless minors and young adults.
• The HSD should investigate the reasons behind high turnover rates among social workers.
• The county should create a mid-county drop-in center for homeless young people, in addition to the ones proposed for North and South counties.
• The county should create an emergency shelter for homeless children and young adults.
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After a grand jury report is released, the agencies in question typically have up to 90 days to respond. The responses usually contain several agreements and disagreements with the allegations. The agencies are not bound by law to follow the recommendations.
To see the report, visit tinyurl.com/y7mkq7kd.
