Welfare and Institutions Code section 1787

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a)

A tremendous percentage of juveniles who commit status offenses including, but not limited to, running away, school truancy and incorrigibility, ultimately enter the juvenile justice system for subsequently engaging in delinquent, otherwise criminal behavior.

(b)

In 1990, it was estimated that 48,629 youths ran away from their homes in California.

(c)

In 1989, 776 runaway youths served by 33 nonprofit youth-runaway shelters in California, surveyed during a one-month period, identified one or more of the following as a problem:

(1)

Family crisis

73%

(2)

School problems

63%

(3)

Victims of crime/abuse

57%

(4)

Homeless/runaway

55%

(5)

Substance abuse

43%

(6)

Delinquent behavior

26%

(7)

Other

9%

(d)

It is estimated that 43 emergency shelters presently serve runaway youths as well as homeless youths and adults in California.

(e)

It is estimated that 10 transitional living facilities are operated presently in California to provide youths with independent living skills, employment skills, and home responsibilities.

(f)

It is conservatively projected that by the year 2000 there will be a deficit of 1,222 emergency shelter beds and 930 long-term beds statewide.

(g)

Resources for runaway, homeless, and at-risk youth and their families are severely inadequate to meet their needs.

(h)

The Counties of Fresno, Sacramento, San Bernardino, and Solano either (1) do not provide temporary or long-term shelter services or family crises services to runaway, homeless, and nonrunaway youth, or (2) do provide such services but at levels which substantially fail to meet the need.

The purpose of this chapter, therefore, is to establish three-year pilot projects in San Joaquin Central Valley, in the northern region of California, and in the southern region of California, whereby each project will provide temporary shelter services, transitional living shelter services, and low-cost family crisis resolution services based on a sliding fee scale to runaway youth, nonrunaway youth, and their working families. It is the intent of this chapter that services will be provided to prevent at-risk youth from engaging in delinquent and criminal behavior and to reduce the numbers of at-risk families from engaging in neglectful, abusive, and criminal behavior.