(a)
A county human services agency shall designate at least one employee as a staff liaison, as provided in this section. The staff liaison shall serve as a point of contact for academic counselors and other relevant professional staff at a campus of an institution of public higher education located within the county and provide information on programs and services offered by the agency that may be available to students attending a campus of an institution of public higher education within the county. This requirement is not intended to supersede or otherwise alter existing relationships between counties and campuses of an institution of public higher education, including, but not limited to, coordination related to CalWORKs welfare-to-work
participants who are attending a campus of an institution of public higher education.
(b)
A county human services agency subject to this section, with input from the public institutions of higher education located within the county, including basic needs directors, basic needs coordinators, or designated staff from each campus of a public institution of higher education, shall develop protocols for engagement between the agency and a campus of an institution of public higher education located within the county. The agency and the public institutions of higher education located within the county are encouraged to consult stakeholders while developing the protocol, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1)
A representative from each campus of an institution of public higher
education within the county. The representative shall be a staff member tasked with addressing students’ basic needs on the campus.
(2)
A counselor or other relevant professional staff from each campus of an institution of public higher education within the county.
(3)
Relevant organizations representing the interests of students, faculty, and staff from each campus of an institution of public higher education within the county.
(c)
Counties are encouraged to provide information to the campuses of an institution of public higher education located within their borders regarding the location and hours of county human services agency public offices, as well as information regarding online and telephone access to
program applications. Each campus of an institution of public higher education is encouraged to disseminate information regarding applying for human services programs and benefits to the campus administrator associated with student services or their designee.
(d)
The State Department of Social Services shall do all of the following:
(1)
In consultation with staff liaisons and basic needs directors, basic needs coordinators, or other designated professional staff from institutions of public higher education within the county, develop a training to be available for basic needs directors, staff of a campus basic needs center, other designated professional staff from each campus of an institution of higher education, and eligibility workers. The training shall focus on public social
services topics, including all of the following:
(A)
Local Programs that Increase Employability (LPIE) familiarity.
(B)
State Department of Health Care Services and State Department of Social Services policy updates, including review of the CalFresh Student Eligibility Handbook.
(C)
Other college student related training, including information related to financial aid, scholarships, dependent status, eligibility criteria for public social services programs, and other information related to the needs specific to college students.
(2)
Convene a workgroup that meets
quarterly to share best practices, address challenges, and identify statewide issues, comprised of all of the following:
(A)
At least 12 county staff liaisons, comprised of at least 2 county staff liaisons from each of the six regions of the California Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS) consortium.
(B)
At least four college campus basic needs directors, basic needs coordinators, or other designated campus staff from multiple regions and campuses.
(C)
At least one staff member from each higher education segment, including, but not limited to:
(i)
The office of the Chancellor of the California State University.
(ii)
The office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges.
(iii)
The office of the President of the University of California if a representative is provided. The office of the President of the University of California is requested to provide a representative for purposes of this workgroup.
(D)
The Center for Healthy Communities at California State
University, Chico.
(E)
Relevant stakeholders as needed to share best practices, updates, challenges, or other topics related to programs and services offered by the department that may be available to students attending the campus of an institution of public higher education.
(3)
(A)
On or before May 1, 2027, and every three years thereafter, in collaboration with stakeholders identified pursuant to this section, submit a report to the Legislature with findings and recommendations relating to enrollment success trends, best practices, and services offered by the department
that may be available to students attending a campus of an institution of public higher education.
(B)
A report to be submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(e)
Any disclosure or sharing of personal information under this section shall be made in compliance with applicable state and federal confidentiality laws.
(f)
For purposes of this section, “basic needs coordinator” means a coordinator, as defined in Section 66023.4 or 66023.5 of the Education Code.
(g)
For purposes of this section, “public higher education” has the same meaning as in Section 66010 of the Education Code.
(h)
Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the State Department of Social Services may implement this section by all-county letters or similar instructions.
