Transitional housing placement providers.

In a measure by Assembly Member Ahrens, the proposal centers participant-led decisions in transitional housing placements for foster youth and nonminor dependents, signaling a shift in how living-space sharing is arranged and who facilitates those choices. Alongside this change, the measure expands state oversight of transitional housing placement providers, tightens county contracts to avoid admission barriers, and broadens the certification framework for both minor and nonminor dependent populations.

Key mechanisms require counties and program contracts to ensure that decisions about sharing bedrooms, bathrooms, and units are driven by the participant and made in collaboration with the provider. It allows sharing regardless of gender identity under a framework that emphasizes best matching and participant-led decisions, and it specifies who may share spaces with whom—prioritizing participants and permitting arrangements with other participants, nonparticipants with provider approval, and family or coparent configurations. The measure also requires criminal background clearances for any adult nonparticipants living with a participant and expands housing configurations to host-family models, staffed sites, and remote sites with department approval. Nonminor dependents may have a lease cosigned by the provider, while participants themselves may not sign leases alone.

Operationally, the measure creates separate certification tracks for minors and nonminor dependents, detailing admission criteria, staff training, monitoring plans, participant contracts, allowances, utilities and rent processing, and a comprehensive set of policies covering education, work, safety, curfews, emergencies, medical issues, parenting, and other areas. It requires progress reporting to the independent living program and to the department and establishes a linkage to federal workforce training programs. For nonminor dependents, the measure sets a staffing ratio of one case manager per twelve participants with a designated lead and requires program managers to hold a master’s degree or higher in specified fields, with an exception process for equivalent education or experience and protections for pre-2018 hires. Case managers must meet degree or experience requirements, with an analogous exception process.

Regulatory and fiscal context centers on implementation and oversight. The department would adopt regulations governing transitional housing placement providers, with interim guidance permitted through all-county letters until regulations are adopted. The measure contemplates a state-mandated local program, aligning local costs with annual state funding for cost increases and noting that reimbursement is not required for a specified reason. It also engages with AFDC-FC eligibility and Realignment provisions, emphasizing reporting and accountability to monitor how changes affect program operations, certification, and the balance between participant autonomy and safety in placement decisions.