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August 30, 2022

Weekly Policy Newsletter

Nearly 500 New Housing Units Established for Youth Through Round Two of Homekey


A total of 499 (7.5%) of the 6,578 new housing units created with funding from round two of the Homekey program will serve youth and young adults experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Final round two Homekey awards were announced by Governor Newsom on August 24th, totaling $1.89 billion. Of the total round two awards, 24 of the 108 projects awarded will serve youth, including both mixed population projects and youth-only projects.


Round two of Homekey included a “youth set-aside,” requiring the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to reserve at least 8% of total funding for projects establishing housing for youth. HCD developed a number of strategies to encourage and promote submission of applications for youth-serving projects, resulting in a significant increase in youth-serving projects from round one, which resulted in less than 1% of its units being created for youth.


The youth set-aside will continue into round three which will launch this fall. Of the $2.90 billion appropriated for Homekey over 2021-22 and 2022-23, a total of approximately $1 billion remains. JBAY is offering planning grants and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations located in Northern California and the Central Valley that are interested in partnering with a public entity—the eligible Homekey applicants—to apply for round three Homekey funding to establish housing for youth.


To assist projects serving youth, JBAY has also established this list of youth-specific funding sources for operating, rental subsidies, and services to pair with Homekey’s capital development funding. For more information, contact Andy Lomeli at andy@jbay.org.

New Data Shows Foster Youth Least Likely to Complete A-G Requirements for College


A new analysis from the California Budget and Policy Center focuses attention on completion rates of certain courses, known as A-G courses, that the California State University and University of California systems require high school students to complete to be eligible for admission. While the rate of noncompletion of A-G courses for all students was 48%, several subpopulations had significantly higher rates of non-completion. Students in foster care topped the list with 82% not completing these courses and among students who had experienced homelessness, 70% did not meet the A-G requirements. Students of color and male students were also less likely to be on track for university admission than white and female students. The Center recommends that policymakers improve CSU and UC access by reforming course requirements.

Rapid Re-Housing for Youth is More Cost Effective Than Traditional Homelessness Approaches, According to New Handbook


Point Source Youth this month released an updated Rapid Re-Housing Handbook, providing a thorough guide on how to effectively operate rapid re-housing programs for youth across the country.


Rapid re-housing (RRH) is an intervention designed to help individuals and families quickly exit homelessness and return to permanent housing, often without preconditions. According to Point Source Youth, 85% of youth on average are still stably housed one year after exiting RRH programs.


Point Source Youth provides three arguments in favor of RRH for youth: RRH is evidence-based and more cost-effective than traditional approaches to homelessness; RRH’s Housing-First approach makes it youth-centered, low-barrier, and effective at quickly housing youth; and RRH benefits a community’s entire homeless service system, resulting in more individuals being able to access shelter.


The handbook provides lists of available resources and best practices for program leadership and staff to troubleshoot common issues that may arise during RRH implementation. 

Pre-Order Available for New Guide Helping Youth Navigate Taxes, Fraud & Finances 


Fostering Families Today is set to release a 64-page full-color guide entitled Dollars & Sense: Helping Youth Navigate Taxes, Fraud and Finances. The single-issue resource will cover several topics transition-age youth and their families need to know to prepare a young person to navigate their financial life.


JBAY contributed to the guide by providing background information from the California Foster Youth Tax Project and reports from two years of work providing Volunteer Income Taxpayer Assistance to current and former foster youth in partnership with six counties. The October 2022 volume costs $5.95 per copy. Contact Fostering Media Connections Business Development Manager, Deborah Denzel, for more information or for bulk rate orders at ddenzel@fosteringmediaconnections.org.

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