Governor Newsom Pauses State Homelessness Funding, Asks for Greater Reduction in Homelessness

Governor Gavin Newsom announced on November 3^rd that California would postpone payment on round three of Homelessness Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program grants until the state can convene local jurisdictions to develop more ambitious plans for tackling homelessness. HHAP is the main source of funding for addressing youth homelessness in California, resulting from a policy requiring that jurisdictions spend at least 10% of their HHAP grant for this purpose.

Unlike previous rounds, the third round of HHAP requires recipient jurisdictions to submit a local Homelessness Action Plan, which details how the community will prevent and reduce homelessness. Plans must include a landscape analysis that includes the number of people experiencing homelessness as well as available resources and funding. Plans must also include outcome-driven results and strategies for reducing homelessness.

According to the Governor’s office, these plans resulted in just a 2% statewide decrease in street homelessness over the next four years. Calling this approach “unacceptable,” Newsom will convene all local jurisdictions in mid-November to coordinate an approach with larger results.

HHAP is a grant program designed to support regional coordination and the expansion or development of local capacity to address immediate homelessness challenges across the state. Recipients include California’s 44 local Continuums of Care, 58 counties, and 13 largest cities. Round three was budgeted for $1 billion, including a $100 million (10%) youth set-aside. Earlier this year, JBAY released a report on the impact of the first two rounds of the HHAP youth set-aside, which show more than 11,000 youth served.

ACL Clarifies the Foster Youth, Young Child, and Middle Class Tax Credits Are Not Counted as Income

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) issued a new All County Letter No. 22-91 clarifying the Better for Families Tax Refund, Young Child Tax Credit, and Foster Youth Tax Credit are not counted as income in eligibility and public benefit determination.

Senate Bill 201 established the Foster Youth Tax Credit, a refundable credit up to $1,083 for a taxpayer who was in foster care on or after age 13 and is between ages 18 through 25 by December 31, 2022. SB 201 also expanded the eligibility of the Young Child Tax Credit to include parents of children under the age of 6 who had earned zero income. Payments are issued when a Californian files their taxes and are issued a refund.

The Better for Families Tax Refund (AB 192), is a one-time payment better known as the Middle Class Tax Refund by the Franchise Tax Board Payments are up to $350 for single filers without a dependent and $700 for single filers with a dependent and up to $1,050 for married filers with dependents. Payments are expected to be issued between October 2022 and January 2023 for eligible recipients.

ACL 22-91 specifically states that the tax refunds and credits issued do not count as income and do not count against the resource limit for 12 months from receipt of a payment under the following programs: the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWorks); CalFresh; California Food Assistance Program (CFAP); Medi-Cal; Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA); Entrant Cash Assistance (ECA); Trafficking and Crimes Victims Assistance Program (TCVAP); and, the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI).

California Becomes Second in the Nation to Bar Scholarship Displacement at Public and Private Colleges and Universities

Assembly Bill 288, prohibits the practice of award displacement which occurs when the receipt of one form of financial aid, such as a private scholarship, leads to the reduction in another form of student need-based gift aid (e.g., Pell Grant, Cal Grant).  Starting in the 2023-2024 academic year, students who earn private scholarships will be able to maintain their need-based gift aid, without exceeding their cost of attendance, effectively reducing the overall financial burden of attending university.

Advocates for low-income students have argued that the practice of award displacement creates a significant barrier to college affordability. Low-income, first generation students often use private scholarships to help pay bills and living expenses associated with institutional attendance that are not addressed by other sources of financial aid. The Public Policy Institute of California noted that due to the skyrocketing cost of housing in California, the combined cost of housing, books, and transportation often exceed the cost of tuition, making award displacement a critical issue for low income students and their families.

More information on the impact of scholarship displacement on students and families can be found in the report issued by the National Scholarship Provider Association.

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