Sec. 8-359b. (Formerly Sec. 17b-800a). Shelters and services for homeless children and families. Relief from income garnishment orders. Duties of Department of Education.

(a) The Department of Housing, in consultation with appropriate state agencies and within available appropriations, shall (1) allocate existing funding and resources to ensure the availability of homeless shelters that accept intact families or that assist families to find adequate alternative arrangements that allow the family to remain together; and (2) review program eligibility requirements and other policies to ensure that unaccompanied homeless children have access, to the fullest extent practicable, to critical services that such children might otherwise have been prevented from receiving due to age or guardianship requirements.

(b) The Department of Social Services, in consultation with appropriate state agencies and within available appropriations, shall work, in accordance with state and federal law, to seek relief from income garnishment orders through the appropriate judicial authority if it is deemed appropriate to be in the best interests of children and families.

(c) The Department of Education, in consultation with appropriate departments, shall seek full utilization of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to protect children falling into homelessness from school failure and dropping out of school and to improve access to higher education.

(P.A. 10-133, S. 4; P.A. 13-234, S. 48.)

History: P.A. 10-133 effective June 8, 2010; P.A. 13-234 amended Subsec. (a) by substituting reference to Department of Housing for reference to Department of Social Services and deleting former Subdiv. (3) re relief from income garnishment orders, added new Subsec. (b) re relief from income garnishment orders and redesignated existing Subsec. (b) as Subsec. (c), effective July 1, 2013; Sec. 17b-800a transferred to Sec. 8-359b in 2015.

Notation

See Sec. 4-165c re immunity of the state and its officials, employees and agents.