Public social services: higher education.

Arambula’s measure ties the welfare system more closely to higher education by directing counties to engage campus staff in coordinating basic needs supports for students, addressing housing and food insecurity and related public-service eligibility. The bill’s findings note that roughly half of California students experience housing insecurity and about two-thirds face food insecurity, with disproportionate effects on low-income students, students of color, and adult learners. It frames basic needs supports as central to students’ dignity and academic progress and seeks to reduce inconsistencies in public social services decisions that hinge on student income and work status, while encouraging cross-system data sharing and the exchange of best practices.

Key mechanisms establish a structured, multi-entity collaboration. Counties would designate at least one staff liaison to act as a contact for campus counselors and relevant staff and to share information about agency programs available to campus students. Counties must develop engagement protocols with input from basic needs directors, coordinators, or designated campus staff, incorporating representatives from each campus, campus counselors, and organizations representing students, faculty, and staff. Counties would disseminate information about the location and hours of public offices and application access to campuses, which in turn would relay information to campus administrators about eligibility for public programs. The governance framework requires the Department of Social Services to develop a targeted training for basic needs directors, campus staff, and eligibility workers, with topics including Local Programs that Increase Employability, policy updates (including CalFresh student eligibility), and other student-focused topics. A quarterly workgroup would be convened with defined participation from county liaisons across regions, campus basic needs personnel, each higher education segment, the Center for Healthy Communities at California State University, Chico, and other stakeholders. The act also mandates a triannual report to the Legislature on enrollment success trends, best practices, and services available to students, and it places confidentiality requirements on information sharing, with implementation authority provided through all-county letters rather than formal rulemaking.

In policy context, the measure embeds a cross-system coordination model within existing public social services and higher education governance. It treats the new county duties as a state-mandated local program, with reimbursement possible if the state mandates costs, while noting that no explicit state appropriation is provided in the text. Implementation hinges on Department of Social Services guidance and interagency collaboration, with initial steps including the development of training and the formation of the workgroup, and a first comprehensive report due by 2027 and every three years thereafter. The proposal aligns with Education Code definitions for basic needs staff and public higher education and contemplates ongoing information-sharing practices, potential UC participation, and the use of centralized guidance to accelerate rollout.