Score: +14
(16/1/2)
Sonoma County Grand Jury
• 2019-2020
Homeless Youth Sonoma County In Dubious First Place
⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 13 findings
F1
The critical shortage of emergency shelter beds for the homeless youth population limits the County’s ability to serve this population adequately.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Sonoma County Community Development Commission increase the number of shelter beds for homeless youth, keeping in mind the needs for safe space for young people, by February 28, 2021. (F1)
F2
Shelter beds for homeless youth are currently concentrated in Santa Rosa, leaving inadequate services in other parts of the County.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Sonoma County Community Development Commission ensure that shelter beds for young people are available in all areas of the County with a homeless youth population, by February 28, 2021. (F2)
F3
Because the County lacks a Medi-Cal residential rehabilitation facility for young people with substance abuse disorders, homeless young people who need such treatment are at particular disadvantage.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Sonoma County Department of Health Services contract with an existing in-County residential addiction treatment facility to set aside a small number of beds for youth, by February 28, 2021. (F3)
F4
The same substance abuse treatment protocols are being used for youth and adults even though research shows that young people need treatments designed for their particular age and needs.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
Sonoma County Department of Health Services establish a drug and alcohol program specifically designed to treat youth with substance abuse disorders, by February 28, 2021. (F4)
F5
The availability of outpatient mental health service provider appointments that accept Medi-Cal payments is inadequate to serve the number of youths requiring such services; more options are needed for therapeutic resources for children and young adults.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
Sonoma County Department of Health Services staff a department with a sufficient number of Behavioral Therapists to meet the demand for Medi-Cal mental health services in the homeless youth population, by February 28, 2021. (F5)
F6
The County needs a short-term mental health facility that accepts Medi-Cal payments and serves young people.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
If it is safe to do so, Sonoma County Department of Health Services set aside a small number of beds for unaccompanied youth in the new short-term mental health facility in Sebastopol, by December 31, 2020. (F6)
F7
Additional programs in schools are needed to provide marketable skills and financial literacy to young people.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
Sonoma County Office of Education form a partnership with a local financial institution to implement a financial literacy program for middle and high school students, by February 28, 2021. (F7)
F8
The share of funding for youth homeless programs is disproportionally smaller than the relative size of the homeless youth subpopulation.
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
Sonoma County Community Development Commission allocate funds to homeless youth programs and services proportionate to the size of the subpopulation in the most recent census data, when not otherwise constrained by restrictions on state and federal funds, for the FY 2021-22 budget cycle. (F8)
F9
The majority of the County’s efforts related to the homeless youth population focus on providing programs and services to young people already living on the streets, rather than programs to prevent homelessness in the first place.
Related Recommendations (3)
R1
The Board of Supervisors commit to reducing the number of homeless young people in Sonoma County to functional zero within three years. (F9)
R10
Sonoma County Department of Health Services conduct outreach to the local medical community to encourage the use of the PEARLS assessment tool and provide them information about County programs available to assist children who have experienced serious trauma, by February 28, 2021. (F9)
R11
Sonoma County Office of Education, by February 28, 2021, begin monitoring the implementation and progress of the Upstream Project, in Hopkins, MN, and the Geelong model pilot project in Tukwila, WA, and consider implementing a pilot program on this model in Sonoma County. (F9)
F10
The County’s failure to fund a Youth Action Board has likely contributed to its lack of success in obtaining HUD’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program funding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R12
Sonoma County Community Development Commission establish and budget for a Youth Action Board to improve the chances of federal funding through HUD’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program, by February 28, 2021. (F10)
F11
The County does not currently track housing status in a way that permits a determination of how many homeless people it serves and the cost of those services.
Related Recommendations (2)
R13
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and Sonoma County Administrator’s Office identify, by December 31, 2020, a stable funding source to support sustainable programs that will reduce youth homelessness to functional zero. (F11, F12)
R14
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and Sonoma County Administrator’s Office develop and implement, by June 30, 2021, a procedure for County departments to consistently identify and track the cost of services provided to the homeless population. (F11)
F12
Due to state and federal funding cuts, the Leadership Council has announced a 34% reduction for 2020-2021 that will severely affect the County’s homeless programs and services across the board.
Related Recommendations (1)
R13
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and Sonoma County Administrator’s Office identify, by December 31, 2020, a stable funding source to support sustainable programs that will reduce youth homelessness to functional zero. (F11, F12)
F13
The lack of a stable funding source prevents the County from developing and implementing sustainable programs and services for homeless young people.
No recommendations for this finding
Commendations 1
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CM1 Page 12To understand the needs of homeless youth and the programs that serve them, the Grand Jury met with representatives of NGO service providers and County employees from departments that provide direct services or engage third-party service providers. The passion and compassion shown by these people was remarkable. Without exception, they are extremely dedicated to their jobs and work tirelessly and creatively to provide appropriate services to this vulnerable population. This is so even though they face the challenges of inadequate resources, unstable funding sources and the considerable administrative demands associated with state and federally funded programs.
Agency Responses 3
Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.
No Responses Found 2
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Elected County Office