Bill Text: CA SB1380 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-09-29 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 847, Statutes of 2016. [SB1380 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB1380-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1380 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 847
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 29, 2016
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 29, 2016
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 31, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 30, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 20, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 14, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Mitchell
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Santiago)
(Coauthors: Senators Allen, Hertzberg, Liu, and Wieckowski)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo, Burke, Campos, Chiu, Lopez,
Mullin, and Thurmond)
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to add Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 8255) to
Division 8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to
homelessness.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1380, Mitchell. Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council.
Existing law establishes various programs, including, among
others, the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program, to provide
assistance to homeless persons.
This bill would require a state agency or department that funds,
implements, or administers a state program that provides housing or
housing-related services to people experiencing homelessness or at
risk of homelessness, except as specified, to revise or adopt
guidelines and regulations to include enumerated Housing First
policies. The bill would also establish the Homeless Coordinating and
Financing Council to oversee the implementation of the Housing First
guidelines and regulations and, among other things, to identify
resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and
end homelessness in California.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) California leads the nation in the number of homeless
residents with 115,738 people experiencing homelessness at some
point, which is 21 percent of the nation's total. California also
leads the nation in the number and ratio of chronically homeless
residents with 29,178 chronically homeless residents at any point in
time, which is 31 percent of the nation's total. California also has
10,416 homeless youth, which is 28 percent of the nation's total.
(b) Homelessness is expensive to the state and local governments.
A homeless person receiving general assistance in Los Angeles County,
for example, incurs $2,897 per month in crisis response services.
(c) A chronically homeless Californian moving into "supportive
housing" is able to reduce costs he or she incurs by almost 80
percent. Moving an individual or family experiencing chronic
homelessness to housing stability costs less than the resulting
savings in public expenditures.
(d) Following the example of other states, as well as
jurisdictions within California, it is the intent of the Legislature
to adopt a "Housing First" model for all state programs funding
housing for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of
homelessness. These housing models should address the distinct needs
of homeless populations, including unaccompanied youth under 25 years
of age.
(e) Housing First is an evidence-based model of ending all types
of homelessness and is the most effective approach to ending chronic
homelessness. The federal government recognizes that Housing First
yields high-housing retention rates, low returns to homelessness, and
significant reductions in crisis or institutional care. The federal
government also recognizes the value of time-limited housing to
address the needs of unaccompanied homeless youth and persons fleeing
domestic violence.
(f) Homelessness affects multiple systems in California. Though
almost every state with significant homeless populations has
established a council to coordinate a Housing First-oriented response
to homelessness, California does not have any entity to manage the
state's response to homelessness.
(g) California participated in a federally funded policy academy
to reduce chronic homelessness. That policy academy succeeded in
revising programs that the Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD) administers, and in attracting federal funding
opportunities requiring collaboration between the HCD and the State
Department of Health Care Services. To implement additional
successes, it is essential that California have a coordinating
council on homelessness.
SEC. 2. Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 8255) is added to
Division 8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
CHAPTER 6.5. HOUSING FIRST AND COORDINATING COUNCIL
8255. For purposes of this chapter:
(a) "Coordinating council" means the Homeless Coordinating and
Financing Council established pursuant to Section 8257.
(b) "Core components of Housing First" means all of the following:
(1) Tenant screening and selection practices that promote
accepting applicants regardless of their sobriety or use of
substances, completion of treatment, or participation in services.
(2) Applicants are not rejected on the basis of poor credit or
financial history, poor or lack of rental history, criminal
convictions unrelated to tenancy, or behaviors that indicate a lack
of "housing readiness."
(3) Acceptance of referrals directly from shelters, street
outreach, drop-in centers, and other parts of crisis response systems
frequented by vulnerable people experiencing homelessness.
(4) Supportive services that emphasize engagement and problem
solving over therapeutic goals and service plans that are highly
tenant-driven without predetermined goals.
(5) Participation in services or program compliance is not a
condition of permanent housing tenancy.
(6) Tenants have a lease and all the rights and responsibilities
of tenancy, as outlined in California's Civil, Health and Safety, and
Government codes.
(7) The use of alcohol or drugs in and of itself, without other
lease violations, is not a reason for eviction.
(8) In communities with coordinated assessment and entry systems,
incentives for funding promote tenant selection plans for supportive
housing that prioritize eligible tenants based on criteria other than
"first-come-first-serve," including, but not limited to, the
duration or chronicity of homelessness, vulnerability to early
mortality, or high utilization of crisis services. Prioritization may
include triage tools, developed through local data, to identify
high-cost, high-need homeless residents.
(9) Case managers and service coordinators who are trained in and
actively employ evidence-based practices for client engagement,
including, but not limited to, motivational interviewing and
client-centered counseling.
(10) Services are informed by a harm-reduction philosophy that
recognizes drug and alcohol use and addiction as a part of tenants'
lives, where tenants are engaged in nonjudgmental communication
regarding drug and alcohol use, and where tenants are offered
education regarding how to avoid risky behaviors and engage in safer
practices, as well as connected to evidence-based treatment if the
tenant so chooses.
(11) The project and specific apartment may include special
physical features that accommodate disabilities, reduce harm, and
promote health and community and independence among tenants.
(c) "Homeless" has the same definition as that term is defined in
Section 91.5 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(d) (1) "Housing First" means the evidence-based model that uses
housing as a tool, rather than a reward, for recovery and that
centers on providing or connecting homeless people to permanent
housing as quickly as possible. Housing First providers offer
services as needed and requested on a voluntary basis and that do not
make housing contingent on participation in services.
(2) (A) "Housing First" includes time-limited rental or services
assistance, so long as the housing and service provider assists the
recipient in accessing permanent housing and in securing longer-term
rental assistance, income assistance, or employment.
(B) For time-limited, supportive services programs serving
homeless youth, programs should use a positive youth development
model and be culturally competent to serve unaccompanied youth under
25 years of age. Providers should work with the youth to engage in
family reunification efforts, where appropriate and when in the best
interest of the youth. In the event of an eviction, programs shall
make every effort, which shall be documented, to link tenants to
other stable, safe, decent housing options. Exit to homelessness
should be extremely rare, and only after a tenant refuses assistance
with housing search, location, and move-in assistance.
(e) "State programs" means any programs a California state agency
or department funds, implements, or administers for the purpose of
providing housing or housing-based services to people experiencing
homelessness or at risk of homelessness, with the exception of
federally funded programs with requirements inconsistent with this
chapter or programs that fund emergency shelters.
8256. (a) Agencies and departments administering state programs
created on or after July 1, 2017, shall collaborate with the
coordinating council to adopt guidelines and regulations to
incorporate core components of Housing First.
(b) By July 1, 2019, agencies and departments administering state
programs in existence prior to July 1, 2017, shall collaborate with
the coordinating council to revise or adopt guidelines and
regulations that incorporate the core components of Housing First, if
the existing guidelines and regulations do not already incorporate
the core components of Housing First.
8257. (a) Within 180 days of the effective date of the measure
adding this chapter, the Governor shall create a Homeless
Coordinating and Financing Council.
(b) The council shall have the following goals:
(1) To oversee implementation of this chapter.
(2) To identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that
can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California.
(3) To create partnerships among state agencies and departments,
local government agencies, participants in the United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development's Continuum of Care
Program, federal agencies, the United States Interagency Council on
Homelessness, nonprofit entities working to end homelessness,
homeless services providers, and the private sector, for the purpose
of arriving at specific strategies to end homelessness.
(4) 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.
(5) To coordinate existing funding and applications for
competitive funding. Any action taken pursuant to this paragraph
shall not restructure or change any existing allocations or
allocation formulas.
(6) To make policy and procedural recommendations to legislators
and other governmental entities.
(7) To identify and seek funding opportunities for state entities
that have programs to end homelessness, including, but not limited
to, federal and philanthropic funding opportunities, and to
facilitate and coordinate those state entities' efforts to obtain
that funding.
(8) 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.
(9) To serve as a statewide facilitator, coordinator, and policy
development resource on ending homelessness in California.
(10) To report to the Governor, federal Cabinet members, and the
Legislature on homelessness and work to reduce homelessness.
(11) To ensure accountability and results in meeting the
strategies and goals of the council.
(12) To identify and implement strategies to fight homelessness in
small communities and rural areas.
(13) To create a statewide data system or warehouse that collects
local data through Homeless Management Information Systems, with the
ultimate goal of matching data on homelessness to programs impacting
homeless recipients of state programs, such as Medi-Cal (Chapter 7
(commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code) and CalWORKS (Chapter 2 (commencing
with Section 11200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code).
(c) (1) The Governor shall appoint up to 15 members of the council
as follows:
(A) A representative from the Department of Housing and Community
Development.
(B) A representative of the State Department of Social Services.
(C) A representative of the California Housing Finance Agency.
(D) A representative of the State Department of Health Care
Services.
(E) A representative of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(F) A representative of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation.
(G) A representative from the California Tax Credit Allocation
Committee in the Treasurer's office.
(H) A representative of the Victim Services Program within the
Division of Grants Management within the Office of Emergency
Services.
(I) A formerly homeless person who lives in California.
(J) Two representatives of local agencies or organizations that
participate in the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development's Continuum of Care Program.
(K) State advocates or other members of the public or state
agencies, according to the Governor's discretion.
(2) The Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly
shall each appoint one representative of the council from two
different stakeholder organizations.
(3) The council may, at its discretion, invite stakeholders,
individuals who have experienced homelessness, members of
philanthropic communities, and experts to participate in meetings or
provide information to the council.
(d) The council shall hold public meetings at least once every
quarter.
(e) The members of the council shall serve at the pleasure of the
Governor.
(f) Within existing funding, the council may establish working
groups, task forces, or other structures from within its membership
or with outside members to assist it in its work. Working groups,
task forces, or other structures established by the council shall
determine their own meeting schedules.
(g) The members of the council shall serve without compensation,
except that members of the council who are, or have been, homeless
may receive reimbursement for travel, per diem, or other expenses.
(h) The Department of Housing and Community Development shall
provide staff for the council.
(i) The members of the council may enter into memoranda of
understanding with other members of the council to achieve the goals
set forth in this chapter, as necessary, in order to facilitate
communication and cooperation between the entities the members of the
council represent.
