Existing law establishes various programs to address homelessness, including requiring the Governor to create an Interagency Council on Homelessness. Existing law requires the council to, among other things, identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California and promote systems integration to increase efficiency and effectiveness to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness.

This bill would require the Governor to appoint a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator, within the Governors Office, to serve as the lead person for ending homelessness in California. The bill would require the coordinator to identify perform prescribed duties, including, among others, identifying a local leader in each relevant city, county, city and county, or other jurisdiction to serve as a liaison between the coordinator and that jurisdiction, oversee overseeing homelessness programs, services, data, and policies between federal, state, and local agencies, coordinate coordinating the timing of release of funds and applications for funding for housing and housing-based services impacting Californians experiencing homelessness, and, in collaboration with local leaders, provide providing annual recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor, as specified. The bill would authorize the coordinator to adjust local state goals to the extent allowed by state and local law.

Existing law establishes various programs to address homelessness, including requiring the Governor to create an Interagency Council on Homelessness. Existing law requires the council to, among other things, identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California and promote systems integration to increase efficiency and effectiveness to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness.

Existing law establishes various programs to address homelessness, including requiring the Governor to create an Interagency Council on Homelessness. Existing law requires the council to, among other things, identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California and promote systems integration to increase efficiency and effectiveness to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to establish a single entity to serve as the lead for ending homelessness, who would perform specified duties.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular Session

AB 86 (Jones-Sawyer) - Homelessness: Statewide Homelessness Coordinator

Bill Summary:

AB 86 would require the Governor to appoint a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator, within the Governor’s office, to serve as the lead person for ending homelessness in California.

Fiscal Impact:

Unknown ongoing General Fund costs, likely hundreds of thousands, for the establishment of the Coordinator position.

Background:

Current law establishes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH), formerly the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council. The goals for the Cal ICH include, but are not limited to, identification of benefits, resources and services to prevent and end homelessness; creating partnerships among local, state, federal entities to arrive at strategies to end homelessness; coordinating existing homelessness funding; making policy and procedural recommendations to the Legislature; and, creating a Homeless Data Integration System. The Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency serve as co-chairs of the council. In March 2021, the Cal ICH adopted an “Action Plan for Preventing and Ending Homelessness,” with the expectation that the plan would be updated every year to reflect current priorities.

Historically, local jurisdictions have provided most of the homelessness assistance in their communities. More recently, the state has taken a larger role in funding and supporting local governments’ efforts to address homelessness. The state has increased its role in addressing homelessness by providing significant funding to local entities.

A February 2021 report by the California State Auditor, Homelessness in California: The State’s Uncoordinated Approach to Addressing Homelessness Has Hampered the Effectiveness of Its Efforts, indicated the following:

“At least nine state agencies administer and oversee 41 different programs that provide funding to mitigate homelessness, yet no single entity oversees the State’s efforts or is responsible for developing a statewide strategic plan. Although the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (homeless council) was created, in part, to coordinate existing funding and establish partnerships with stakeholders to develop strategies to end homelessness, it has not done so. As a result, the State continues to lack a comprehensive understanding of its spending to address homelessness, the specific services the programs provide, or the individuals who receive those services.”

Proposed Law:

Specific provisions of the bill would:

• Require the Governor to appoint a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator, within the Governor’s office, to serve as the lead person for ending homelessness in California.
• Require the Coordinator to do all of the following:
• Set state goals to end homelessness in California.
• Identify a local leader in each relevant city, county, city and county, or other jurisdiction to serve as a liaison between the Coordinator and that jurisdiction.
• Oversee homelessness programs, services, data, and policies between federal, state, and local agencies.
• Coordinate the timing of release of state funds and applications for funding for housing and housing-based services impacting Californians experiencing homelessness.
• In collaboration with local leaders, provide annual recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor.
• Allow the Coordinator to adjust state goals to the extent allowed by state law.

Related Legislation:

AB 799 (L. Rivas) would, among other provisions, require the Cal ICH to develop a financing plan to solve homelessness by the year 2035. This bill is scheduled to be heard August 14, 2023 in this committee.

AB 2325 (L. Rivas, 2022) would have established the Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness within the Governor’s office as the lead entity for ending homelessness in California and would have placed the Cal ICH under the new Office. This bill was held on the suspense file in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HOUSING

Senator Scott Wiener, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: AB 86 Hearing Date: 7/10/2023

SUBJECT: Homelessness: Statewide Homelessness Coordinator

DIGEST: This bill requires the Governor to appoint a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator (Coordinator) within the Governor's Office to serve as the lead person for ending homelessness in the state.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (CA-ICH), chaired by the Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing (BCSH) Agency and the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services (HHS) Agency, made up of various state departments and agencies.
2. Sets the following goals for the CA-ICH:
3. To identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California;
4. To create partnerships among state and federal agencies and departments, local government agencies, and nonprofit entities working to end homelessness, homeless services providers, and the private sector, for the purpose of arriving at specific strategies to end homelessness;
5. To promote systems integration to increase efficiency and effectiveness while focusing on designing systems to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness, including unaccompanied youth under 25 years of age;
6. To coordinate existing funding and applications for competitive funding, without restructuring or changing any existing allocations or allocation formulas;
7. To make policy and procedural recommendations to legislators and other governmental entities;
8. To identify and seek funding opportunities for state entities that have programs to end homelessness and to facilitate and coordinate those state entities’ efforts to obtain that funding;
9. To broker agreements between state agencies and departments and between state agencies and departments and local jurisdictions to align and coordinate resources, reduce administrative burdens of accessing existing resources, and foster common applications for services, operating, and capital funding;
10. To serve as a statewide facilitator, coordinator, and policy development resource on ending homelessness in California;
11. To report to the Governor, federal Cabinet members, and the Legislature on homelessness and work to reduce homelessness; and
12. To ensure accountability and results in meeting the strategies and goals of the council.
13. Requires, after July 1, 2017, agencies and departments that implement funds, or administer a program that provides housing or housing-based services to people experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness, with the exception of federally funded programs not consistent with housing first or programs that fund emergency shelters, to work with the CA-ICH to adopt guidelines and regulations to incorporate core components of Housing First.
14. Requires an eligible city, county, or Continuum of Care (CoC) to submit a local homelessness action plan that includes all of the following to access Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP) funds:
15. A local landscape analysis that assesses the current number of people experiencing homelessness and existing programs and funding which address homelessness within the jurisdiction, utilizing any relevant and available data from the Homeless Data Integration System (HDIS), the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) homeless point-in-time count, CoC housing inventory count, longitudinal systems analysis, and Stella tools, as well as any recently conducted local needs assessments;
16. Identification of the number of individuals and families served, including demographic information and intervention types provided, and demographic subpopulations that are underserved relative to their proportion of individuals experiencing homelessness in the jurisdiction;
17. Identification of all funds, including state, federal and local funds, currently being used, and budgeted to be used, to provide housing and homelessness-related services to persons experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of homelessness, how this funding serves subpopulations, and what intervention types are funded through these resources;
18. An outline of proposed uses of funds requested and an explanation of how the proposed use of funds will complement existing local, state, and federal funds and equitably close the gaps identified;
19. Evidence of connection with the local homeless Coordinated Entry System;
20. An agreement to participate in a statewide HDIS, and to enter individuals served by this funding into the local Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), in accordance with local protocols;
21. A demonstration of how the jurisdiction has coordinated, and will continue to coordinate, with other jurisdictions, including the specific role of each applicant in relation to other applicants in the region;
22. A demonstration of the applicant’s partnership with, or plans to use funding to increase partnership with, local health, behavioral health, social services, and justice entities and with people with lived experiences of homelessness;
23. A description of specific actions the applicant will take to ensure racial and gender equity in service delivery, housing placements, and housing retention and changes to procurement or other means of affirming racial and ethnic groups that are overrepresented among residents experiencing homelessness have equitable access to housing and services; and
24. A description of how the applicant will make progress in preventing exits to homelessness from institutional settings, including plans to leverage funding from mainstream systems for evidence-based housing and housing-based solutions to homelessness.
25. Requires HHAP applicants to establish goals that prevent and reduce homelessness from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024, informed by the findings from the local landscape analysis and the jurisdiction’s base system performance measure from the 2020 calendar year data in the HDIS. The outcome goals shall set definitive metrics, based on HUD’s system performance measures, for achieving the following
26. Reducing the number of persons experiencing homelessness;
27. Reducing the number of persons who become homeless for the first time;
28. Increasing the number of people exiting homelessness into permanent housing;
29. Reducing the length of time people remain homeless;
30. Reducing the number of persons who return to homelessness after exiting homelessness to permanent housing; and
31. Increasing successful placements from street outreach.
32. Requires each HHAP applicant to determine its outcome goals in consultation with CA-ICH, and prohibits them from submitting final outcome goals before consulting with CA-ICH.
33. Requires CA-ICH to assess outcome goals in the application based on the information provided in the local homeless action plan and the applicant’s baseline data on the performance metrics and determine whether the outcome goals adequately further the objectives of reducing and preventing homelessness.

This bill:

1. Requires the coordinator to do all of the following:
   
2. Set state goals to end homelessness;
3. Identify a local leader in each relevant city, county, city and county, or other jurisdiction to serve as a liaison between the coordinator and that jurisdiction;
4. Oversee homelessness programs, services, data, and policies between federal, state, and local agencies;
5. Coordinate the timing of release of state funds and applications for funding for housing and housing-based services impacting Californians experiencing homelessness; and
6. In collaboration with local leaders, provide annual recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor.
7. Allows the coordinator to adjust state goals to the extent allowed by state law.
8. Requires the coordinator to submit annual recommendations to the Legislature.

COMMENTS:

1. Author’s statement. "Over 170,000 Californians experience homelessness on any given night, making the Golden State home to the nation's largest homeless population. This in part due to the state's disjointed approach to ending homelessness. At least nine state agencies currently administer and oversee 41 different homelessness programs statewide. Considering the magnitude of the homelessness crisis in California and the amount of funding the state and federal governments have invested, there is a real need to ensure that our system for addressing problems at both the state and local levels is consistent and effective. AB 86 establishes a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator to serve as the much-needed lead entity for ending homelessness."

1. CA-ICH. In 2016, SB 1380 (Mitchell), Chapter 847, Statutes of 2016 created the Homelessness Coordinating and Financing Council which in 2021 was renamed the CA-ICH (AB 1220 (Luz Rivas, Chapter 398, Statutes of 2021) to coordinate the state's response to homelessness. SB 1380 (Mitchell) set out a list of list of "goals" for CA-ICH to focus on but no clear authority to make changes to state policy or programs that address homelessness. CA-ICH is also responsible for ensuring that all state housing and homeless programs are Housing First.
   
   As the state's homelessness crisis has worsened, the role of the CA-ICH has significantly increased. The council is now responsible for administering two large programs dedicated to addressing homelessness, HEAP and Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP). To access this funding, eligible applicants (CoCs, counties, and eligible cities) are required to submit a Local Homelessness Action Plan that demonstrates how HHAP funds and all local dollars for homelessness can reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness. CA-ICH is tasked with working with eligible applicants to develop measurable outcome goals to reduce homelessness.
   
   The governance structure of CA-ICH has also evolved since its creation. In addition to changing the name of council, AB 1220 (L. Rivas) appointed the Secretary of the California HHS Agency as co-chair of CA-ICH with the Secretary of the BCSH Agency. In addition, AB 1220 (L. Rivas) removed people with lived experience of homelessness from the council membership and placed them on an advisory board, and required staff of agencies and departments of the CA-ICH to participate in council work groups or task forces at the request of the council.
   
   In addition to administering funding, the CA-ICH developed two major work products in the past few years: an Action Plan and HDIS.
2. Action Plan for Preventing and Ending Homelessness in California (Action Plan). In March 2021, the CA-ICH adopted an Action Plan with specified goals that member agencies approved and agreed to work collaboratively on. The Action Plan required the creation of five work groups to address to address the following priorities:
3. Maximizing the Impact of State Funding and Programs Addressing Homelessness;
4. Racial Equity in Responses to Homelessness and Housing Instability;
5. Tailoring Strategies for Preventing and Ending Homelessness for Youth and Young Adults;
6. Strengthening Employment Opportunities and Outcomes for People with Experiences of Homelessness; and
7. Preventing Homelessness Among People Transitioning Back into Communities from Corrections Settings.
8. State HDIS. CA-ICH also launched a state HDIS system that captures the information collected and tracked in local HMIS databases. CoCs manage HMIS, local information technology systems used to collect client-level data and data on the provision of housing and services to homeless individuals and families and persons at risk of homelessness. Each CoC is responsible for selecting an HMIS software solution that complies with HUD's data collection, management, and reporting standards.

All 44 CoCs in the state have entered into contracts to provide their HMIS data to CA-ICH. HDIS is intended to give the state a more accurate picture of the local homelessness response system and inform the state's response to homelessness. Using data from HDIS, the state recently developed a Statewide Landscape Assessment. AB 140 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 111, Statutes of 2021, required BCSH to conduct or contract with an entity to develop a state homelessness landscape assessment. The purpose of the landscape assessment was to evaluate the existing funding allocated within the various state departments to prevent and end homelessness and link the funds to the actual services and resources state agencies utilize them to provide. The assessment, the first of its kind done in California, will allow for more accurate data collection for targeting future investments more effectively.

The next step for HDIS is to use the data to determine if people experiencing homelessness are receiving the state and federal benefits they are eligible for and that could help increase their income to reduce their housing insecurity. AB 977 (Gabriel, Chapter 397, Statutes of 2021), required all state agencies and departments administering programs that serve people that may be experiencing homelessness to enter their data into HDIS so that locals can determine if people in the local HMIS are eligible or receiving all of the safety net programs they may be eligible for. Although this requirement is in statute, there are not outcome requirements for the Legislature to determine if this coordination is occurring and its effectiveness in resolving individual homelessness, nor did the landscape assessment contain any specific outcome evaluations.

1. Statewide Homelessness Coordinator. This bill would create a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator in the Governor's office to coordinate the state's response to homelessness. The Coordinator would be responsible for identifying a leader in each city or county to serve as a liaison between the coordinator and the jurisdiction. The Coordinator would also be responsible for coordinating the timing of release of state funds and applications for housing and housing based services impacting people experiencing homelessness.
2. Here, there, and everywhere. This bill was heard in the Senate Human Services Committee on July 3 and received a vote of 4-0.

RELATED LEGISLATION

AB 2345 (L. Rivas, 2022) — would have established the Office of Interagency Council on Homelessness as the lead entity for ending homelessness in California, subsumes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness into the Office, and creates a funding workgroup (workgroup) with various duties. This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 1845 (L. Rivas, 2020) — would have created the Governor’s Office to End Homelessness under the direction of the Secretary on Homelessness, and would have moved the CA-ICH from BCSH into the Governor’s Office to End Homelessness. This bill was vetoed by the Governor. Veto message:

I sincerely appreciate the author's leadership on this issue and the intent of this bill, but I do not support this particular vision of organizational restructuring at this time.

Homelessness has been and remains one of my top priorities, commanding the dedicated attention of a Senior Counselor on Homelessness and Housing in the Governor's office and the dedication of senior members of my Administration including multiple Agency Secretaries. Since taking office in January 2019, we have invested over $2 billion in new, direct aid for homelessness. I am also proud of our work to implement Project Roomkey and Homekey, which help to protect homeless Californians from COVID-19 during this pandemic.

These initiatives and investments demonstrate our commitment to prioritizing this vulnerable population, no matter what other challenges we confront. And they serve as a proof point of the interagency coordination we have led to develop and implement them successfully.

Homelessness must not be considered in a vacuum.

Our Administration has taken a demonstrably integrated approach to preventing and ending homelessness by empowering leaders in the health care and housing space to work together on coordinated solutions.

Separating policy development on homelessness from that on health care or housing will lead to more fragmentation, not less. Looking at homeless spending through a separate lens, divorced from our health care and housing budgets, will lead to more duplication and inefficiency.

There are certainly ways in which we can improve upon state government's collective work in this area. However, I am not convinced that the approach outlined in this bill is the best path forward.

I am committed to partnering with the author and the Legislature next year to continue making progress on this critical issue.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday,

July 5, 2023.)

SUPPORT:

City of Redwood City

OPPOSITION:

None received.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES

Senator Alvarado-Gil, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Subject: Homelessness: Statewide Homelessness Coordinator

SUMMARY

This bill requires the Governor to appoint a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator, within the Governor’s office, to serve as the lead person for ending homelessness in California.

ABSTRACT

Existing Law:

1. Establishes the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to coordinate a federal response to homelessness and create a national partnership at every level of government and with the private sector to end homelessness. (42 USC 11311)
2. Establishes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) to oversee and coordinate the implementation of Housing First guidelines and regulations in California, and to identify resources and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. (WIC 8255 et. seq.)
3. Sets the goals for the Cal ICH including, but not limited to, identification of resources and services to prevent and end homelessness; creating partnerships among local, state, federal entities to arrive at strategies to end homelessness; coordinating existing homelessness funding; making policy and procedural recommendations to the Legislature; and, creating a Homeless Data Integration System, as provided. (WIC 8257(b))

This Bill:

1. Requires the Governor to appoint a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator, within the Governor’s office, to serve as the lead person for ending homelessness in California.
2. Requires the Coordinator to do all of the following:
3. Set state goals to end homelessness in California.
4. Identify a local leader in each relevant city, county, city and county, or other jurisdiction to serve as a liaison between the Coordinator and that jurisdiction.
5. Oversee homelessness programs, services, data, and policies between federal, state, and local agencies.
6. Coordinate the timing of release of state funds and applications for funding for housing and housing-based services impacting Californians experiencing homelessness.
7. In collaboration with local leaders, provide annual recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor.
8. Allows the Coordinator to adjust state goals to the extent allowed by state law.
9. Requires the Coordinator to submit annual recommendations to the Legislature and Governor.

FISCAL IMPACT

The Assembly Appropriations Committee estimated ongoing General Fund (GF) costs in the low-hundreds of thousands of dollars for salary and administrative costs to support the new Coordinator.

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION

Purpose of the Bill:

According to the author, “Over 170,000 Californians experience homelessness on any given night, making the Golden State home to the nation's largest homeless population. This is in part due to the state’s disjointed approach to ending homelessness. At least nine state agencies currently administer and oversee 41 different homelessness programs statewide. Considering the magnitude of the homelessness crisis in California and the amount of funding the state and federal governments have invested, there is a real need to ensure that our system for addressing problems at both the state and local levels is consistent and effective. AB 86 establishes a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator to serve as the much-needed lead entity for ending homelessness.”

California Homelessness Data

Since 2016, homelessness in America, and particularly in California, has been growing at an increasing rate. Homelessness has been correlated with a number of negative effects, including high rates of chronic disease and acute illness, a broad range of mental health and substance use issues, greater exposure to violence, malnutrition, extreme weather, and criminal charges. The health, personal, and economic challenges that chronically homeless individuals and families face and the lack of effective, coordinated services to address these problems often lead to a cycle of housing instability and health deterioration. Persistent homelessness impedes access to needed health and employment services. Additionally, the conditions of homelessness often make it more difficult to exit homelessness, by creating barriers to the resources necessary to obtain income through training, education, and employment.

Each January, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has local community Continuums of Care (CoCs) conduct a Point in Time (PIT) count of people experiencing homelessness. HUD defines homelessness as either “sheltered” or “unsheltered”. Sheltered homelessness is when a person is living in a temporary place, such as a temporary shelter and unsheltered homelessness is living out in the open or in places not designated for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for people (i.e. the streets, vehicles, or parks). The PIT count is required by HUD as a condition of receiving federal funding. According to the 2022 PIT count, 171,521 people experienced homelessness in California, representing 30 percent of the nation’s homelessness population. Additionally, California accounted for 50 percent of all people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the nation (115,491 people), more than nine times the number of unsheltered people in the state with the next highest number, Washington (12,668).

California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH)

The Cal ICH is tasked to continue the work it began as the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC), which was created by SB 1380 (Mitchell, Chapter 847, Statutes of 2016), to coordinate the state’s response to homelessness and to create partnerships among state agencies and departments, local government agencies, nonprofits, and federal agencies, among others.

SB 1220 (L. Rivas, Chapter 398, Statutes of 2021) renamed the HCFC to Cal ICH, named the secretaries of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and the California Health and Human Services Agency as co-chairs of the council, and changed the membership composition from one that included a mix of state and local agencies, persons who previously experienced homelessness, and homeless advocacy groups to one composed of state departments’ and offices’ directorate, including the Departments of Rehabilitation, Aging, Social Services, State Hospitals, and the state’s Medicaid Director.

SB 1220 also added an advisory committee that meets twice a year with the Cal ICH, and is composed of the following members: a survivor of gender-based violence who formerly experienced homelessness; a person with a disability who formerly experienced homelessness; representatives of local agencies or organizations that participate in HUD’s Continuum of Care Program; stakeholders with expertise in solutions to homelessness and best practices from other states; representatives of committees on African Americans, youth, and survivors of gender-based violence; a current or formerly homeless person who lives in California; and a current or formerly homeless youth who lives in California. Additionally, SB 1421 (Jones, Chapter 671, Statutes of 2022) required Cal ICH to appoint an individual with a developmental disability who is currently or has formerly experienced homelessness to the council’s advisory committee.

In March 2021, the Cal ICH adopted an “Action Plan for Preventing and Ending Homelessness,” with the expectation that the plan would be updated every year to reflect current priorities. In September 2022, the council released an updated Action Plan. Through the Action Plan, the Cal ICH states the following vision:

• Increased leadership from the State for identifying and supporting both short-term interventions and long-term solutions.
• Purposeful, action-oriented coordination and alignment across State agencies and programs.
• Stronger, collaborative partnerships with public and private partners in communities.

State Programs to Address Homelessness

Historically, local jurisdictions have provided most of the homelessness assistance in their communities. More recently, the state has taken a larger role in funding and supporting local governments’ efforts to address homelessness. The state has increased its role in addressing homelessness by providing significant funding to local entities. Some programs include, but are not limited to:

• The Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program, administered by the Cal ICH, provides jurisdictions with one-time grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges informed by a best-practices framework focused on moving homeless individuals and families into permanent housing and supporting the efforts of those individuals and families to maintain their permanent housing.
  
• The Encampment Resolution Program is a competitive program administered by the Cal ICH that provides funds to CoCs, cities, and counties to fund actionable, person-centered local proposals that resolve the experience of unsheltered homelessness for people residing in encampments.
  
• The Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program, administered by the Cal ICH, provides one-time grants and technical assistance to local jurisdictions in order to address and end family homelessness.
  
• The Homekey Program, administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development, provides for the acquisition of hotels, motels, residential care facilities, and other facilities that can be converted and rehabilitated to provide permanent housing for persons experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, and who also are impacted by COVID‑19. Homekey provides grants to local entities to acquire these properties, which are owned and operated at the local level.
  
• The Bridge Funding Program for behavioral health housing, administered by the Department of Health Care Services, aims to address the immediate housing and treatment needs of people with complex behavioral health conditions. 
  
• The Community Care Expansion Program, administered by the California Department of Social Services, aims to expand and preserve residential facilities serving vulnerable adults and seniors, including adults and seniors at risk of or experiencing homelessness. 
  

In addition, the Homeless Data Integration System (HDIS), administered by the Cal ICH, allows the state to access and compile standardized data collected by CoCs about the people they serve. 

Coordination of State Homelessness Programs

A February 2021 report by the California State Auditor, Homelessness in California: The State’s Uncoordinated Approach to Addressing Homelessness Has Hampered the Effectiveness of Its Efforts, indicated the following:

“At least nine state agencies administer and oversee 41 different programs that provide funding to mitigate homelessness, yet no single entity oversees the State’s efforts or is responsible for developing a statewide strategic plan. Although the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (homeless council) was created, in part, to coordinate existing funding and establish partnerships with stakeholders to develop strategies to end homelessness, it has not done so. As a result, the State continues to lack a comprehensive understanding of its spending to address homelessness, the specific services the programs provide, or the individuals who receive those services.”

This bill seeks to establish a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator, within the Governor’s office, to serve as the lead person for ending homelessness in California.

Related/Prior Legislation:

AB 1413 (Ting, 2023) would transfer several grant programs from the Cal ICH to the Department of Housing and Community Development. The bill states, “It is also the intent of the Legislature to move all housing homeless grant programs to the Department of Housing and Community Development to utilize their expertise in administering grant programs, thereby allowing the Interagency Council on Homelessness to focus on statewide leadership and coordination around the state’s response to the homelessness crisis.” The bill is currently in the Senate Housing Committee.

AB 2325 (L. Rivas, 2022) would have established the Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness within the Governor’s office as the lead entity for ending homelessness in California and would have placed the Cal ICH under the new Office. This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 1845 (L. Rivas, 2020) would have created the Governor’s Office to End Homelessness as the lead entity for ending homelessness in California under the direction of a new Secretary of Homelessness and would have moved the HCFC under the supervision of the new Secretary. This bill was vetoed by the Governor.

COMMENTS

As proposed in the bill, several of the required activities of the Coordinator would overlap with the statutory goals of the Cal ICH. This could result in a need to clarify the role and responsibilities of the Cal ICH, in relation to the activities of the Coordinator.

This bill is doubled-referred to the Senate Housing Committee.

PRIOR VOTES

POSITIONS

Support:

City of Redwood City

Oppose:

None received

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 86

Author:(Jones-Sawyer)

As Amended Ver:April 20, 2023

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Requires the Governor to appoint a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator (Coordinator) within the Governor's Office to serve as the lead person for ending homelessness in the state.

Major Provisions

1. Requires the coordinator to do all of the following:
2. Set state goals to end homelessness;
3. Identify a local leader in each relevant city, county, city and county, or other jurisdiction to serve as a liaison between the coordinator and that jurisdiction;
4. Oversee homelessness programs, services, data, and policies between federal, state, and local agencies;
5. Coordinate the timing of release of state funds and applications for funding for housing and housing-based services impacting Californians experiencing homelessness; and
6. In collaboration with local leaders, provide annual recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor.
7. Allows the coordinator to adjust state goals to the extent allowed by state law.
8. Requires the coordinator to submit annual recommendations to the Legislature.

COMMENTS

CA-ICH: In 2016, SB 1380 (Mitchell), Chapter 847, Statutes of 2016 created the Homelessness Coordinating and Financing Council which in 2021 was renamed the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (CA-ICH) (AB 1220 (Luz Rivas), Chapter 398, Statutes of 2021) to coordinate the state's response to homelessness. SB 1380 (Mitchell) set out a list of list of "goals" for CA-ICH to focus on but no clear authority to make changes to state policy or programs that address homelessness. CA-ICH is also responsible for ensuring that all state housing and homeless programs are Housing First.

As the state's homelessness crisis has worsened, the role of the CA-ICH has significantly increased. The council is now responsible for administering two large programs dedicated to addressing homelessness, HEAP and Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP). Recent budgets have included multi-year funding for HHAP. To access this funding, eligible applicants (CoCs, counties, and eligible cities) are required to submit a Local Homelessness Action Plan that demonstrates how HHAP funds and all local dollars for homelessness can reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness. CA-ICH is tasked with working with eligible applicants to develop measurable outcome goals to reduce homelessness.

The governance structure of CA-ICH has also evolved since its creation. In addition to changing the name of council, AB 1220 (L. Rivas) appointed the Secretary of the California HHS Agency as co-chair of CA-ICH with the Secretary of the BCSH Agency. In addition, AB 1220 (L. Rivas) removed people with lived experience of homelessness from the council membership and placed them on an advisory board, and required staff of agencies and departments of the CA-ICH to participate in council work groups or task forces at the request of the council.

In addition to administering funding, the CA-ICH developed two major work products in the past few years: an Action Plan and a state the Homeless Data Integration System (HDIS).

Action Plan for Preventing and Ending Homelessness in California (Action Plan): In March 2021, the CA-ICH adopted an Action Plan with specified goals that member agencies approved and agreed to work collaboratively on. The Action Plan required the creation of five work groups to address to address the following priorities:

1. Maximizing the Impact of State Funding and Programs Addressing Homelessness;
2. Racial Equity in Responses to Homelessness and Housing Instability;
3. Tailoring Strategies for Preventing and Ending Homelessness for Youth and Young Adults;
4. Strengthening Employment Opportunities and Outcomes for People with Experiences of Homelessness; and
5. Preventing Homelessness Among People Transitioning Back into Communities from Corrections Settings.

State Homelessness Data Integration System (HDIS): CA-ICH also launched a state HDIS system that captures the information collected and tracked in local HMIS databases. CoCs manage HMIS, local information technology systems used to collect client-level data and data on the provision of housing and services to homeless individuals and families and persons at risk of homelessness. Each CoC is responsible for selecting an HMIS software solution that complies with HUD's data collection, management, and reporting standards.

All 44 CoCs in the state have entered into contracts to provide their HMIS data to CA-ICH. HDIS is intended to give the state a more accurate picture of the local homelessness response system and inform the state's response to homelessness. Using data from HDIS, the state recently developed a Statewide Landscape Assessment. AB 140 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 111, Statutes of 2021, required BCSH to conduct or contract with an entity to develop a state homelessness landscape assessment. The purpose of the landscape assessment was to evaluate the existing funding allocated within the various state departments to prevent and end homelessness and link the funds to the actual services and resources state agencies utilize them to provide. The assessment, the first of its kind done in California, will allow for more accurate data collection for targeting future investments more effectively.

The next step for HDIS is to use the data to determine if people experiencing homelessness are receiving the state and federal benefits they are eligible for and that could help increase their income to reduce their housing insecurity. AB 977 (Gabriel), Chapter 397, Statutes of 2021, required all state agencies and departments administering programs that serve people that may be experiencing homelessness to enter their data into HDIS so that locals can determine if people in the local HMIS are eligible or receiving all of the safety net programs they may be eligible for. Although this requirement is in statute, there are not outcome requirements for the Legislature to determine if this coordination is occurring and its effectiveness in resolving individual homelessness, nor did the landscape assessment contain any specific outcome evaluations.

Statewide Homelessness Coordinator: This bill would create a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator in the Governor's office to coordinate the state's response to homelessness. The Coordinator would be responsible for identifying a leader in each city or county to serve as a liaison between the coordinator and the jurisdiction. The coordinator would adjust local and state goals to the extent allowed by state and local law. It's unclear what goals this refers to. Large cities, counties and Continuum of Care (CoCs) are required to set goals as part of HHAP as a condition of receiving funding. The state has not set any goals to reduce homelessness either statewide or for local governments. It may make sense to require the Coordinator to work with state agencies and departments to set statewide goals for reducing homelessness. The Coordinator would also be responsible for coordinating the timing of release of state funds and applications for housing and housing based services impacting people experiencing homelessness. However, there is no specificity on what programs are included in this requirement or how coordinating the timing of funding would improve the state's efforts to end homelessness.

According to the Author

According to the author, "Over 170,000 Californians experience homelessness on any given night, making the Golden State home to the nation's largest homeless population. This in part due to the state's disjointed approach to ending homelessness. At least nine state agencies currently administer and oversee 41 different homelessness programs statewide. Considering the magnitude of the homelessness crisis in California and the amount of funding the state and federal governments have invested, there is a real need to ensure that our system for addressing problems at both the state and local levels is consistent and effective. AB 86 establishes a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator to serve as the much-needed lead entity for ending homelessness."

Arguments in Support

Redwood City is supportive of efforts to ensure that the State's system for addressing these issues at both the state and local level is efficient and effective. "AB 86 will address this lack of intergovernmental coordination to better address and improve outcomes for homelessness in our communities."

Arguments in Opposition

Not on file.

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: Estimated ongoing General Fund (GF) costs in the low-hundreds of thousands of dollars for salary and administrative costs to support the new Coordinator.

VOTES

ASM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 8-0-0

YES: Wicks, Joe Patterson, Wendy Carrillo, Zbur, Kalra, Quirk-Silva, Sanchez, Ward

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 14-0-2

YES: Holden, Megan Dahle, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Hart, Lowenthal, Mathis, Papan, Pellerin, Sanchez, Weber, Ortega

ABS, ABST OR NV: Dixon, Robert Rivas

UPDATED

VERSION: April 20, 2023

CONSULTANT: Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085 FN: 0000563

Date of Hearing: May 3, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Chris Holden, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 86

Author:(Jones-Sawyer) – As Amended Ver:April 20, 2023

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the Governor to appoint a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator (Coordinator) within the Governor’s Office to serve as the lead person for ending homelessness in the state.

Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires the Coordinator to do all of the following:
2. Set state goals to end homelessness in California.
3. Identify a local leader in each relevant city, county, city and county, or other jurisdiction to serve as a liaison between the coordinator and that jurisdiction.
4. Oversee homelessness programs, services, data, and policies between federal, state, and local agencies.
5. Coordinate the timing of release of state funds and applications for funding for housing and housing-based services impacting Californians experiencing homelessness.
6. In collaboration with local leaders, provide annual recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor.
7. Allows the Coordinator to adjust state goals to the extent allowed by state law.
8. Requires the Coordinator to submit annual recommendations to the Legislature and Governor.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Estimated ongoing General Fund (GF) costs in the low-hundreds of thousands of dollars for salary and administrative costs to support the new Coordinator.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. This author of this bill seeks to improve intergovernmental coordination to better address homelessness in the state. According to the author:

Over 170,000 Californians experience homelessness on any given night, making the Golden State home to the nation's largest homeless population. This in part due to the state’s disjointed approach to ending homelessness. At least nine state agencies currently administer and oversee 41 different homelessness programs statewide. Considering the magnitude of the homelessness crisis in California and the amount of funding the state and federal governments have invested, there is a real need to ensure that our system for addressing problems at both the state and local levels is consistent and effective. [This bill] establishes a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator to serve as the much-needed lead entity for ending homelessness.

1. Background. In 2016, SB 1380 (Mitchell), Chapter 847, created the Homelessness Coordinating and Financing Council, which was renamed the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) in 2021, to coordinate the state's response to homelessness. SB 1380 set out a list of list of goals for CA-ICH, but gave no clear authority to Cal ICH to make changes to state policy or programs that address homelessness. Cal ICH is chaired by the Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing (BCSH) Agency and the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services (HHS) Agency, and is made up of various state departments and agencies. Staff of member agencies are required to participate in council work groups or task forces at the request of the council.

Cal ICH is responsible for ensuring all state housing and homeless programs follow the state’s Housing First policy, and for administering two large programs dedicated to addressing homelessness, the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) and the Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP).

In addition, Cal ICH has developed an Action Plan for Preventing and Ending Homelessness in California (Action Plan) and a state Homelessness Data Integration System (HDIS). The Action Plan, adopted in 2021, contains specified goals to prevent and end homelessness that member agencies have approved and agreed to work collaboratively to achieve. The HDIS system captures information collected and tracked in local Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) databases, which provides the state a more accurate picture of the local homelessness response system and informs the state’s response to homelessness. Using data from HDIS, the state recently developed a Statewide Landscape Assessment to evaluate the existing funding allocated within various state departments to prevent and end homelessness.

This bill requires the Governor to appoint a homelessness coordinator to oversee and coordinate the state’s efforts to end homelessness. The bill lacks sufficient specificity to determine whether and to what extent the duties of the new coordinator will overlap or conflict with the mission, goals and duties of Cal ICH and other state and local efforts to address homelessness.

1. Prior Legislation. AB 2325 (L. Rivas), of the 2021-2022 Legislative Session, would have established the Office of Interagency Council on Homelessness as the lead entity for ending homelessness in California, subsumed Cal ICH into the office, and created a workgroup with various duties. AB 2325 was held on this committee’s suspense file.

AB 1845 (L. Rivas), of the 2019-2020 Legislative Session, would have created the Governor’s Office to End Homelessness under the direction of the Secretary on Homelessness and would have moved Cal ICH from BCSH into the Governor’s Office to End Homelessness. AB 1845 was vetoed by the Governor.

Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 19, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Buffy Wicks, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 86 (

Author:Jones-Sawyer) – As Amended Ver:March 23, 2023

SUBJECT: Homelessness: Statewide Homelessness Coordinator

SUMMARY: Requires the Governor to appoint a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator (Coordinator) within the Governor’s Office to serve as the lead person for ending homelessness in the state. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires the coordinator to do all of the following:
2. Identify a local leader in each relevant city, county, city and county, or other jurisdiction to serve as a liaison between the coordinator and that jurisdiction;
3. Oversee homelessness programs, services, data, and policies between federal, state, and local agencies;
4. Coordinate the timing of release of state funds and applications for funding for housing and housing-based services impacting Californians experiencing homelessness; and
5. In collaboration with local leaders, provide annual recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor.
6. Allows the coordinator to adjust local goals to the extent allowed by state and local law.
7. Requires the coordinator to submit annual recommendations to the Legislature.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the CA-ICH, chaired by the Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing (BCSH) Agency and the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services (HHS) Agency, made up of various state departments and agencies. (Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 8257)
2. Sets the following goals for the CA-ICH:
3. To identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California;
4. To create partnerships among state and federal agencies and departments, local government agencies, and nonprofit entities working to end homelessness, homeless services providers, and the private sector, for the purpose of arriving at specific strategies to end homelessness;
5. To promote systems integration to increase efficiency and effectiveness while focusing on designing systems to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness, including unaccompanied youth under 25 years of age;
6. To coordinate existing funding and applications for competitive funding, without restructuring or changing any existing allocations or allocation formulas;
7. To make policy and procedural recommendations to legislators and other governmental entities;
8. To identify and seek funding opportunities for state entities that have programs to end homelessness and to facilitate and coordinate those state entities’ efforts to obtain that funding;
9. To broker agreements between state agencies and departments and between state agencies and departments and local jurisdictions to align and coordinate resources, reduce administrative burdens of accessing existing resources, and foster common applications for services, operating, and capital funding;
10. To serve as a statewide facilitator, coordinator, and policy development resource on ending homelessness in California;
11. To report to the Governor, federal Cabinet members, and the Legislature on homelessness and work to reduce homelessness; and
12. To ensure accountability and results in meeting the strategies and goals of the council. (WIC 8257)
13. Requires, after July 1, 2017, agencies and departments that implement funds, or administer a program that provides housing or housing-based services to people experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness, with the exception of federally funded programs not consistent with housing first or programs that fund emergency shelters, to work with the CA-ICH to adopt guidelines and regulations to incorporate core components of Housing First. (WIC 8256)
14. Requires an eligible city, county, or Continuum of Care (CoC) to submit a local homelessness action plan that includes all of the following to access Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP) funds:
15. A local landscape analysis that assesses the current number of people experiencing homelessness and existing programs and funding which address homelessness within the jurisdiction, utilizing any relevant and available data from the Homeless Data Integration System (HDIS), the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) homeless point-in-time count, CoC housing inventory count, longitudinal systems analysis, and Stella tools, as well as any recently conducted local needs assessments;
16. Identification of the number of individuals and families served, including demographic information and intervention types provided, and demographic subpopulations that are underserved relative to their proportion of individuals experiencing homelessness in the jurisdiction;
17. Identification of all funds, including state, federal and local funds, currently being used, and budgeted to be used, to provide housing and homelessness-related services to persons experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of homelessness, how this funding serves subpopulations, and what intervention types are funded through these resources;
18. An outline of proposed uses of funds requested and an explanation of how the proposed use of funds will complement existing local, state, and federal funds and equitably close the gaps identified;
19. Evidence of connection with the local homeless Coordinated Entry System;
20. An agreement to participate in a statewide HDIS, and to enter individuals served by this funding into the local Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), in accordance with local protocols;
21. A demonstration of how the jurisdiction has coordinated, and will continue to coordinate, with other jurisdictions, including the specific role of each applicant in relation to other applicants in the region;
22. A demonstration of the applicant’s partnership with, or plans to use funding to increase partnership with, local health, behavioral health, social services, and justice entities and with people with lived experiences of homelessness;
23. A description of specific actions the applicant will take to ensure racial and gender equity in service delivery, housing placements, and housing retention and changes to procurement or other means of affirming racial and ethnic groups that are overrepresented among residents experiencing homelessness have equitable access to housing and services; and
24. A description of how the applicant will make progress in preventing exits to homelessness from institutional settings, including plans to leverage funding from mainstream systems for evidence-based housing and housing-based solutions to homelessness. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) Section 502207.5)
25. Requires HHAP applicants to establish goals that prevent and reduce homelessness from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024, informed by the findings from the local landscape analysis and the jurisdiction’s base system performance measure from the 2020 calendar year data in the HDIS. The outcome goals shall set definitive metrics, based on HUD’s system performance measures, for achieving the following
26. Reducing the number of persons experiencing homelessness;
27. Reducing the number of persons who become homeless for the first time;
28. Increasing the number of people exiting homelessness into permanent housing;
29. Reducing the length of time people remain homeless;
30. Reducing the number of persons who return to homelessness after exiting homelessness to permanent housing; and
31. Increasing successful placements from street outreach. (HSC 502207.5)
32. Requires each HHAP applicant to determine its outcome goals in consultation with CA-ICH, and prohibits them from submitting final outcome goals before consulting with CA-ICH. (HSC 502207.5)
33. Requires CA-ICH to assess outcome goals in the application based on the information provided in the local homeless action plan and the applicant’s baseline data on the performance metrics and determine whether the outcome goals adequately further the objectives of reducing and preventing homelessness. (HSC 502207.5)

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.

COMMENTS:

Author’s Statement: According to the author, “Over 170,000 Californians experience homelessness on any given night, making the Golden State home to the nation's largest homeless population. This in part due to the state’s disjointed approach to ending homelessness. At least nine state agencies currently administer and oversee 41 different homelessness programs statewide. Considering the magnitude of the homelessness crisis in California and the amount of funding the state and federal governments have invested, there is a real need to ensure that our system for addressing problems at both the state and local levels is consistent and effective. AB 86 establishes a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator to serve as the much-needed lead entity for ending homelessness.”

CA-ICH: In 2016, SB 1380 (Mitchell), Chapter 847, created the Homelessness Coordinating and Financing Council which in 2021 was renamed the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (CA-ICH) (AB 1220 (L. Rivas), Chapter 398) to coordinate the state's response to homelessness. SB 1380 (Mitchell) set out a list of list of “goals” for CA-ICH to focus on but no clear authority to make changes to state policy or programs that address homelessness. CA-ICH is also responsible for ensuring that all state housing and homeless programs are Housing First.

As the state’s homelessness crisis has worsened, the role of the CA-ICH has significantly increased. The council is now responsible for administering two large programs dedicated to addressing homelessness, HEAP and HHAP. Recent budgets have included multi-year funding for HHAP. To access this funding, eligible applicants (CoCs, counties, and eligible cities) are required to submit a Local Homelessness Action Plan that demonstrates how HHAP funds and all local dollars for homelessness can reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness. CA-ICH is tasked with working with eligible applicants to develop measurable outcome goals to reduce homelessness. Goals will measure the following and progress will be based on data collected through the local HMIS:

• Reduction in the number of persons experiencing homelessness;
• Reduction in the number of persons who become homeless for the first time;
• Increases in the number of people exiting homelessness into permanent housing;
• Reduction in the length of time persons remain homeless
• Reduction in the number of persons who return to homelessness after exiting homelessness to permanent housing; and
• Increases in successful placements from street outreach.

The governance structure of CA-ICH has also evolved since its creation. In addition to changing the name of council, AB 1220 (L. Rivas) appointed the Secretary of the California HHS Agency as co-chair of CA-ICH with the Secretary of the BCSH Agency. In addition, AB 1220 (L. Rivas) removed people with lived experience of homelessness from the council membership and placed them on an advisory board, and required staff of agencies and departments of the CA-ICH to participate in council work groups or task forces at the request of the council.

In addition to administering funding, the CA-ICH developed two major work products in the past few years: an Action Plan and a state HDIS.

Action Plan for Preventing and Ending Homelessness in California (Action Plan): In March 2021, the CA-ICH adopted an Action Plan with specified goals that member agencies approved and agreed to work collaboratively on. The Action Plan required the creation of five work groups to address to address the following priorities:

• Maximizing the Impact of State Funding and Programs Addressing Homelessness;
• Racial Equity in Responses to Homelessness and Housing Instability;
• Tailoring Strategies for Preventing and Ending Homelessness for Youth and Young Adults;
• Strengthening Employment Opportunities and Outcomes for People with Experiences of Homelessness; and
• Preventing Homelessness Among People Transitioning Back into Communities from Corrections Settings.

State Homelessness Data Integration System (HDIS): CA-ICH also launched a state HDIS system that captures the information collected and tracked in local HMIS databases. CoCs manage HMIS, local information technology systems used to collect client-level data and data on the provision of housing and services to homeless individuals and families and persons at risk of homelessness. Each CoC is responsible for selecting an HMIS software solution that complies with HUD's data collection, management, and reporting standards.

All 44 CoCs in the state have entered into contracts to provide their HMIS data to CA-ICH. HDIS is intended to give the state a more accurate picture of the local homelessness response system and inform the state’s response to homelessness. Using data from HDIS, the state recently developed a Statewide Landscape Assessment. AB 140 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 111, Statutes of 2021, required BCSH to conduct or contract with an entity to develop a state homelessness landscape assessment. The purpose of the landscape assessment was to evaluate the existing funding allocated within the various state departments to prevent and end homelessness and link the funds to the actual services and resources state agencies utilize them to provide. The assessment, the first of its kind done in California, will allow for more accurate data collection for targeting future investments more effectively.

The next step for HDIS is to use the data to determine if people experiencing homelessness are receiving the state and federal benefits they are eligible for and that could help increase their income to reduce their housing insecurity. AB 977 (Gabriel), Chapter 397, Statutes of 2021, required all state agencies and departments administering programs that serve people that may be experiencing homelessness to enter their data into HDIS so that locals can determine if people in the local HMIS are eligible or receiving all of the safety net programs they may be eligible for. Although this requirement is in statute, there are not outcome requirements for the Legislature to determine if this coordination is occurring and its effectiveness in resolving individual homelessness, nor did the landscape assessment contain any specific outcome evaluations.

Statewide Homelessness Coordinator: This bill would create a Statewide Homelessness Coordinator in the Governor’s office to coordinate the state’s response to homelessness. The Coordinator would be responsible for identifying a leader in each city or county to serve as a liaison between the coordinator and the jurisdiction. The coordinator would adjust local and state goals to the extent allowed by state and local law. It’s unclear what goals this refers to. Large cities, counties and Continuum of Care (CoCs) are required to set goals as part of HHAP as a condition of receiving funding. The state has not set any goals to reduce homelessness either statewide or for local governments. It may make sense to require the Coordinator to work with state agencies and departments to set statewide goals for reducing homelessness. The Coordinator would also be responsible for coordinating the timing of release of state funds and applications for housing and housing based services impacting people experiencing homelessness. However, there is no specificity on what programs are included in this requirement or how coordinating the timing of funding would improve the state’s efforts to end homelessness.

Arguments in Support: Redwood City is supportive of efforts to ensure that the State’s system for addressing these issues at both the state and local level is efficient and effective. “AB 86 will address this lack of intergovernmental coordination to better address and improve outcomes for homelessness in our communities.”

Arguments in Opposition: None on file.

Committee Amendments: The committee may wish to consider the following amendments:

1. Require the Coordinator to develop state goals to reduce homelessness. Large cities, counties, and CoCs are required to set performance goals to receive funding from HHAP but the state does not have a set of similar goals. State goals will help to direct the state’s investments to better support local goals.
2. Delete the ability of the Coordinator to adjust local goals. Through the HHAP program the state has required cities, counties, and CoCs to set goals and begun to incentivize more collaboration between these entities which all share a role in addressing homelessness, giving the state the authority to unilaterally adjust local goals undermines this collaboration.

Related Legislation:

AB 2345 (L. Rivas) of 2022 would have established the Office of Interagency Council on Homelessness as the lead entity for ending homelessness in California, subsumes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness into the Office, and creates a funding workgroup (workgroup) with various duties. This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 1845 (L. Rivas) of 2020 would have created the Governor’s Office to End Homelessness under the direction of the Secretary on Homelessness, and would have moved the CA-ICH from BCSH into the Governor’s Office to End Homelessness. This bill was vetoed by the Governor. Veto message:

I am returning Assembly Bill 1845 without my signature.

This bill would establish the Office to End Homelessness within the Office of the Governor and realign several of the state's ongoing efforts related to homelessness.

I sincerely appreciate the author's leadership on this issue and the intent of this bill, but I do not support this particular vision of organizational restructuring at this time.

Homelessness has been and remains one of my top priorities, commanding the dedicated attention of a Senior Counselor on Homelessness and Housing in the Governor's office and the dedication of senior members of my Administration including multiple Agency Secretaries. Since taking office in January 2019, we have invested over $2 billion in new, direct aid for homelessness. I am also proud of our work to implement Project Roomkey and Homekey, which help to protect homeless Californians from COVID-19 during this pandemic.

These initiatives and investments demonstrate our commitment to prioritizing this vulnerable population, no matter what other challenges we confront. And they serve as a proof point of the interagency coordination we have led to develop and implement them successfully.

Homelessness must not be considered in a vacuum.

Our Administration has taken a demonstrably integrated approach to preventing and ending homelessness by empowering leaders in the health care and housing space to work together on coordinated solutions.

Separating policy development on homelessness from that on health care or housing will lead to more fragmentation, not less. Looking at homeless spending through a separate lens, divorced from our health care and housing budgets, will lead to more duplication and inefficiency.

There are certainly ways in which we can improve upon state government's collective work in this area. However, I am not convinced that the approach outlined in this bill is the best path forward.

I am committed to partnering with the author and the Legislature next year to continue making progress on this critical issue.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

City of Redwood City

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085