The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Appropriations
BILL: SB 1708
INTRODUCER: Senator Garcia and others
SUBJECT: Child Welfare
DATE: February 25, 2022 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Preston Cox CF Favorable
2. Sneed Sadberry AP Favorable
I. Summary:
SB 1708 addresses the needs of certain homeless youth, also referred to as unaccompanied
youth. The bill amends provisions for current and former foster youth and certain youth who are
experiencing homelessness, including:
Waiving fees for copies of a birth certificate for certain unaccompanied homeless youth and
for youth who aged out of foster care;
Expanding the requirement for all postsecondary institutions to have campus liaisons to assist
students who are current or former foster youth, or who are experiencing homelessness, to
succeed in postsecondary education;
Removing the provision that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) has sole
discretion to determine which state colleges and universities offer campus liaisons;
Expanding the Keys to Independence Program to unaccompanied homeless youth who meet
specified requirements;
Clarifying provisions related to unaccompanied homeless youth who are certified under s.
743.067, F.S., and updating the definition and criteria for certification as an “unaccompanied
homeless youth”;
Requiring the district school boards to provide certified unaccompanied homeless youth with
a card that contains information on the rights and benefits for these youth, and allows health
care providers to accept the card as proof of the youth’s status as a certified unaccompanied
homeless youth; and
Directs the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA)
to evaluate the effectiveness of campus liaisons and of local school districts’ delivery of
benefits and services available under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
The bill has an indeterminate, yet likely insignificant fiscal impact on state government revenues
and expenditures. See Section V. Fiscal Impact Statement.
The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2022.
BILL: SB 1708 Page 2
II. Present Situation:
Homeless Children and Youth
Although the causes for homelessness among children vary, the underlying themes among these
causes reveal a strong link between homelessness and broader social issues including family
conflict and breakdown and other contributing factors including economic circumstances such as
poverty and housing insecurity, racial disparities, and mental health and substance use disorders.
Additionally, young people who have had involvement with the child welfare and juvenile
justice systems are more likely to become homeless.1
Familial conflict, abuse, and disruption, play a large role in children becoming homeless.
Children typically enter a state of homelessness as a result of:
Running away from home;
Being locked out or abandoned by their parents or guardians; or
Running from or being emancipated or discharged from institutional or other state care.2
Although family conflict also plays a part in adult homelessness, the nexus is more critical for
youth since they are, by virtue of their developmental stage in life, still largely financially,
emotionally, and, depending on their age, legally dependent upon their families.3 Rational
decision-making, inhibition, planning, and reasoning are still developing in youth and young
adults, increasing the likelihood that young people may engage in high-risk behaviors, such as
unsafe sexual activity and substance use. Without safe and permanent homes and caring adults,
runaway and homeless youth are at even greater risk of engaging in high-risk behaviors or
putting themselves in unsafe or risky situations.4
The consequences faced by youth experiencing homelessness are enormous and require
coordination across the education, child welfare, juvenile justice, and health and human services
systems. Runaway and homeless youth are vulnerable to, in part, not having their basic food and
shelter needs met, untreated mental health disorders, substance use, sexually transmitted diseases
and HIV infection, sexual exploitation and human trafficking, physical victimization, and
suicide.5 According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in three teens on the
street will be lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home.6 Further, the American
Academy of Pediatrics finds youth experiencing homelessness are twice as likely to attempt
suicide as their peers who are not homeless.7 Also, youth who are homeless often experience a
1
National Network for Youth, Youth Homelessness, available at https://nn4youth.org/learn/youth-homelessness/ (last visited
January 28, 2022)(hereinafter cited as “National Network for Youth”).
2
Id.
3
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Youth Homelessness Overview, Causes and Consequences of Youth
Homelessness, available at https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/homeless-and-runaway-youth.aspx (last visited
January 28, 2022).
4
Id.
5
Id.
6
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center, Homeless Youth and Sexual Violence, available at
https://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/publications/2019-02/HomelessYouth_Final%20508.pdf (last visited January 28,
2022).
7
See American Academy of Pediatrics, Studies: Homelessness, self-harm risk factors for suicide, available at
https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/13664 (last visited January 28, 2022).
BILL: SB 1708 Page 3
significant disruption in their education due to the transient nature of homelessness. Students
experiencing homelessness in Florida have reportedly had increased rates of absenteeism and
school discipline and are less likely to demonstrate proficiency in academic subjects.8
The Voices of Youth Count from Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago found, in part, that:
One in 10 young adults ages 18 to 25, and at least one in 30 adolescents ages 13 to 17,
experience some form of homelessness unaccompanied by a parent or guardian over the
course of a year.
29 percent of homeless youth report having substance abuse problems.
69 percent of homeless youth report mental health problems.
33 percent of homeless youth report having once been a part of the foster care system.
50 percent of homeless youth have been in the juvenile justice system, in jail, or detention.
Black youth face an 83 percent increased risk, and Hispanic youth 33 percent increased risk,
than their white peers.
LGBTQ youth were more than twice as likely to have experienced homelessness.
The lack of a high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma is the number one
correlate for elevated risk of youth homelessness.9
As of January 2020, Florida had an estimated 27,487 experiencing homelessness on any given
day, as reported by Continuums of Care10 to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). Of that total, 2,294 were family households, 2,436 were Veterans, 1,331
were unaccompanied young adults,11 and 5,182 were individuals experiencing chronic
homelessness.12
Public school data reported to the U.S. Department of Education during the 2019-2020 school
year shows that an estimated 79,781 public school students experienced homelessness over the
course of the year. Of that total, 6,926 students were unaccompanied homeless students.13
Definition of Homeless Children and Youth
Federal law provides a definition for the term “homeless children and youths”, which means
individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes children
and youths who are:
Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar
reason;
8
See Shimberg Center for Housing Student, University of Florida and Miami Homes for All, Homelessness and Education in
Florida: Impact on Children and Youth, pp. 2 and 5, available at
http://www.shimberg.ufl.edu/publications/homeless_education_fla171205RGB.pdf (last visited January 28, 2022).
9
Id. See also National Network for Youth.
10
See Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), Continuums of Care and Local Providers of Service, available at
https://myflfamilies.com/service-programs/homelessness/local-providers.shtml (last visited February 24, 2022).
11
This includes ages 18 to 24.
12
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, Florida Homelessness Statistics, available at
https://www.usich.gov/homelessness-statistics/fl (last visited January 28, 2022).
13
The Florida Department of Education (FDOE), District Homeless Record Counts, Final Data as of November 18, 2020, p.
2, available at https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/19996/urlt/2019-2020-Homeless-Student-Counts-ADA-
COMPLIANT.pdf (last visited January 28, 2022).
BILL: SB 1708 Page 4
Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative
adequate accommodations;
Living in emergency or transitional shelters or are abandoned in hospitals;
Utilizing for a primary nighttime residence a place that is a public or private but not designed
for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train
stations, or similar settings; and
Migratory children living in circumstances described above.14
The term “unaccompanied youth” includes a youth not in the physical custody of a parent or
guardian.15
Florida law defines the term “children and youths who are experiencing homelessness” to have
the same meaning as “homeless children and youths” under federal law and described above.16
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (Act) was the first significant federal legislative
response to homelessness, and was passed and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in
1987.17 The Act originally consisted of 15 programs providing a range of services to the
homeless, including emergency shelter, transitional housing, job training, primary health care,
education, and some permanent housing. Title VII of the Act authorizes the Adult Education for
the Homeless and the Education of Homeless Children and Youth programs administered by the
U.S. Department of Education.18
The Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program is designed to address the problems
that homeless children and youth have faced in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school.
Under this program, state educational agencies must ensure that each homeless child and youth
has equal access to the same free, appropriate public K-12 education as other children and youth.
In addition, homeless students may not be separated from the mainstream school environment.19
Under the Act, children have the right to:
Continue to attend the school they last attended before they lost their housing (school of
origin), if that is the parent or guardian’s choice and is in the child’s best interest, or the
school which is zoned for their temporary residence.
14
42 U.S.C. s. 11434a. See also NCSL, Homeless Youth Policy Scan, November 21, 2019, available at
https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/homeless-youth-policy-scan.aspx (last visited January 28, 2022).
15
Id.
16
Section 1003.01(12), F.S.
17
Pub. L. 100-77, Jul. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 482; 42 U.S.C. s. 11301 et seq. See also U.S. Department of Education, Supporting
the Success of Homeless Children and Youths, available at
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/essa/160315ehcyfactsheet072716.pdf; National Center for Homeless Education, The
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, available at https://nche.ed.gov/legislation/mckinney-vento/ (all sites last visited
January 28, 2022).
18
Id.
19
See Florida Department of Education (DOE), Title IX, Part A: Florida McKinney-Vento Program, available at
https://www.fldoe.org/policy/federal-edu-programs/title-x-homeless-edu-program-hep.stml (last visited January 28, 2022).
BILL: SB 1708 Page 5
Enroll and attend classes immediately while the school arranges for the transfer of school and
immunization records and other required enrollment documents.
If necessary, enroll and attend classes in the school of origin or zoned school selected by the
parent or guardian, while the school and the parent or guardian seek to resolve a dispute over
which school is in the best interest of the child.20
Receive transportation to the school of origin, if requested.
Participate in any school programs and receive any school services for which the student
qualifies.21
School District Homeless Liaison
The reauthorization of the Act requires school districts to designate a liaison for homeless
children and youth. The Florida Department of Education (DOE) has established at least one
school district homeless liaison for each of the 67 counties.22 The liaison must ensure:
Homeless children and youth, including unaccompanied youth, are identified by school
personnel and through coordinated activities with other entities and agencies;
Homeless children and youth enroll in, and have a full and equal opportunity to succeed in,
schools of that local education agency (LEA);
Homeless families, children, and youth receive educational services for which such families,
children, and youth are eligible, including Head Start, Even Start, and other preschool
programs administered by the LEA, and referrals to health care services, dental services,
mental health services, and other appropriate services;
The parents or guardians of homeless students are informed of the educational and related
opportunities available to their children and are provided with meaningful opportunities to
participate in the education of their children;
Public notice of the educational rights of homeless children and youth is disseminated where
such children and youth receive services under this Act, such as schools, family shelters, and
soup kitchens;
Enrollment disputes are mediated;
The parents or guardians of homeless students, or any unaccompanied youth, are fully
informed of all transportation services, including transportation to the school of origin, and
are assisted in accessing transportation to the school of origin or the school which serves the
location where the students currently reside.23
20
This does not mean any school in the district, only the school of origin or zoned school. See St. Johns County School
District, Homeless Students Policy, Dispute Process, available at https://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/homeless/ (last visited
January 28, 2022).
21
Schoolhouse Connection, The McKinney-Vento Act Quick Reference, available at https://schoolhouseconnection.org/wp-
content/uploads/2020/09/The-McKinney-Vento-Act-Quick-Reference.pdf (last visited January 8, 2022).
22
The FDOE, District Liaison List, available at https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/19996/urlt/Title-IX-District-
Contact-List-11-05-21-ADA-COMPLIANT.pdf (last visited January 29, 2022)
23
See the FDOE, Florida State Plan for Funding under the American Rescue Plan Act Education for Homeless Children and
Youth (ARP-HCY), pp. 9 and 11; available at https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/12/Florida-ARP-HCY-State-Plan-Final.pdf; see
also the FDOE, Technical Assistance Paper 2007-2008 Title X, Part C Education for Homeless Children and Youth,
available at https://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-4702/TAP-2007-150.pdf (all sites last visited January 29,
2022).
BILL: SB 1708 Page 6
The local homeless liaison is also required to coordinate and collaborate with the state Homeless
Education Coordinator and community and school personnel responsible for providing education
and related services to homeless students.
Certified Unaccompanied Homeless Youth
Certification
Section 743.067, F.S., provides that a youth wh