(a) State agencies, when hiring for internships and student assistant positions, shall give preference to a qualified applicant who is, or has been, a dependent child in foster care, a homeless youth, or a formerly incarcerated youth. The preference shall be granted to applicants who are up to 26 years of age.

(b) Any application for an internship and student assistant position with a state agency shall allow the applicant to identify that the applicant is eligible for a preference under this section, but the application shall not require the applicant to identify the specific category that entitles him or her for eligibility.

(c) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) “Preference” means priority over similarly qualified applicants for placement in the position.

(2) “Homeless youth” means an applicant up to 26 years of age, who has been verified as a homeless child or youth, as defined in subsection (2) of Section 725 of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434a(2)), by at least one of the following:

(A) A homeless services provider, as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.

(B) The director, or his or her designee, of a federal TRIO program or a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program.

(C) A financial aid administrator.

(3) “Formerly incarcerated youth” means an individual who has been sentenced to incarceration in, or the custody of, the Division of Adult Operations in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or county jail and released from that incarceration or custody before the individual attained 21 years of age.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 404, Sec. 1. (AB 1840) Effective January 1, 2017.)