State employment: homeless and foster youth: pilot program.

Existing law creates the Department of Human Resources, which succeeds to and is vested with all of the powers and duties exercised and performed by the Department of Personnel Administration. Existing law specifically grants the department the powers, duties, and authority necessary to operate the state civil service system in accordance with Article VII of the California Constitution, the Government Code, the merit principle, and applicable rules duly adopted by the State Personnel Board. Existing law creates the Limited Examination and Appointment Program (LEAP) , which the Department of Human Resources administers, to provide an alternative to the traditional civil service examination and appointment process to facilitate the hiring of persons with disabilities, including a LEAP internship program. Existing law will repeal the LEAP internship on January 1, 2021. This bill, until January 1, 2026, would require the Department of Human Resources to establish and administer a LEAP internship pilot program for homeless youth and former foster youth. The bill would require the department to work with the Department of Social Services in implementing the program. The bill would define former foster youth and homeless youth for these purposes. The bill would require the department to conduct competitive examinations to determine the qualifications and readiness of a homeless youth or former and former foster youth for state employment, which would be permitted to include on-the-job-performance evaluation and any other selection techniques deemed appropriate. The bill would also require the department to permit an applicant youth to complete a written examination or readiness evaluation, or to complete an internship, as specified, in order to qualify for service in a position under the program. The use of an internship as a competitive examination would be subject to specified requirements. The bill would require the department to refer the names of homeless youth or former foster youth who meet eligibility criteria for participation and the minimum qualifications of the job classification, and any other requirements deemed appropriate, to appointing powers for examination appointments, and would require that candidates meeting referral requirements are eligible for examination appointment. The bill would authorize a state agency providing an internship, or appoints a youth to a position, under the program to finance the internship or position with personnel or any other funds available for this purpose and assigned to a vacant or unfilled position. A state agency that transfers funds from a vacant or unfilled position pursuant to this section would not eliminate the vacant or unfilled position. The bill would require successful completion for a program internship, and to be in the same job classification, in order to meet the minimum qualifications of a desired position. The bill would authorize and appointing authority apply some or all of a program participant's internship hours performed to a period that may be required prior to a permanent hiring of a qualified person.