Gov. Evers signs bipartisan bill helping homeless teens find housing

Gov. Tony Evers signed a bipartisan bill Tuesday allowing homeless 17-year-olds to sign themselves up to live at a shelter or transition home.

Assembly Bill 51, now called 2019 Wisconsin Act 22, provides a mechanization for the teens to find housing, as long as they are not already under the supervision of a social service agency or parent or guardian.

• Requires the minor not be under the supervision of a county department, a child welfare agency, the Department of Children and Families, or the Department of Corrections

• Requires a school's homeless liaison to confirm, with the minor's consent, that the minor is unaccompanied

• Allows an employee of a shelter facility or transitional living program to confirm a minor is an unaccompanied youth, if a school's homeless liaison is unavailable.

Gov. Evers said in a release Tuesday: