Bill Text: FL S1218 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Homelessness
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Failed) 2019-05-03 - Died in Appropriations [S1218 Detail]
Download: Florida-2019-S1218-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Homelessness
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Failed) 2019-05-03 - Died in Appropriations [S1218 Detail]
Download: Florida-2019-S1218-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2019 SB 1218 By Senator Book 32-00548A-19 20191218__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to homelessness; amending s. 201.15, 3 F.S.; requiring that certain taxes of a specified 4 amount be transferred annually to the Grants and 5 Donations Trust Fund within the Department of Children 6 and Families for the purpose of funding challenge 7 grants; amending s. 420.621, F.S.; revising, adding, 8 and deleting defined terms; amending s. 420.622, F.S.; 9 increasing the number of members on the Council on 10 Homelessness to include a representative of the 11 Florida Housing Coalition and the Secretary of the 12 Department of Elder Affairs or his or her designee; 13 providing that appointed council members are 14 encouraged to have certain experience; revising the 15 duties of the State Office on Homelessness; revising 16 requirements for the state’s system of homeless 17 programs; requiring entities that receive state 18 funding to provide summary aggregated data to assist 19 the council in providing certain information; removing 20 the requirement that the office have the concurrence 21 of the council to accept and administer moneys 22 appropriated to it to provide certain annual challenge 23 grants to continuums of care lead agencies; clarifying 24 the source of such appropriation; increasing the 25 maximum amount of grant awards per continuum of care 26 lead agency; conforming provisions to changes made by 27 the act; revising requirements for use of grant funds 28 by continuum of care lead agencies; revising 29 preference criteria for certain grants; increasing the 30 maximum percentage of its funding which a continuum of 31 care lead agency may spend on administrative costs; 32 requiring such agencies to submit a final report to 33 the Department of Children and Families documenting 34 certain outcomes achieved by grant-funded programs; 35 removing the requirement that the office have the 36 concurrence of the council to administer moneys given 37 to it to provide homeless housing assistance grants 38 annually to certain continuum of care lead agencies to 39 acquire, construct, or rehabilitate permanent housing 40 units for homeless persons; conforming a provision to 41 changes made by the act; requiring grant applicants to 42 be ranked competitively based on criteria determined 43 by the office; deleting preference requirements; 44 increasing the minimum number of years for which 45 projects must reserve certain units acquired, 46 constructed, or rehabilitated; increasing the maximum 47 percentage of funds the office and each applicant may 48 spend on administrative costs; revising certain 49 performance measure requirements; authorizing, instead 50 of requiring, the Department of Children and Families, 51 with input from the council, to adopt rules relating 52 to certain grants and related issues; revising 53 requirements for an annual report the council must 54 submit to the Governor, Legislature, and Secretary of 55 Children and Families; authorizing the office to 56 administer moneys appropriated to it for distribution 57 among certain designated continuum of care lead 58 agencies and entities; creating s. 420.6225, F.S.; 59 specifying the purpose of a continuum of care; 60 requiring each continuum of care, pursuant to federal 61 law, to designate a collaborative applicant that is 62 responsible for submitting the continuum of care 63 funding application for the designated catchment area 64 to the United States Department of Housing and Urban 65 Development; providing requirements for such 66 designated collaborative applicants; authorizing the 67 applicant to be referred to as the continuum of care 68 lead agency; providing requirements for continuum of 69 care catchment areas and lead agencies; requiring that 70 each continuum of care create a continuum of care plan 71 for specified purposes; specifying requirements for 72 such plans; requiring continuums of care to promote 73 participation by all interested individuals and 74 organizations, subject to certain requirements; 75 creating s. 420.6227, F.S.; providing legislative 76 findings and program purpose; establishing a grant-in 77 aid program to help continuums of care prevent and end 78 homelessness, which may include any aspect of the 79 local continuum of care plan; requiring continuums of 80 care to submit an application for grant-in-aid funds 81 to the office for review; requiring the office to 82 develop guidelines for the development, evaluation, 83 and approval of spending plans; requiring grant-in-aid 84 funds for continuums of care to be administered by the 85 office and awarded on a competitive basis; requiring 86 the office to distribute such funds to local agencies 87 to fund programs that are required by the local 88 continuum of care plan, based on certain 89 recommendations; limiting the percentage of the total 90 state funds awarded under a spending plan which may be 91 used by the continuum of care lead agency for staffing 92 and administrative expenditures; requiring entities 93 contracting with local agencies to provide services 94 through certain financial assistance programs to 95 provide a specified minimum percentage of the funding 96 necessary for the support of project operations; 97 authorizing in-kind contributions to be evaluated and 98 counted as part or all of the required local funding, 99 at the discretion of the office; repealing s. 420.623, 100 F.S., relating to local coalitions for the homeless; 101 repealing s. 420.624, F.S., relating to local homeless 102 assistance continuums of care; repealing s. 420.625, 103 F.S., relating to a grant-in-aid program; amending s. 104 420.626, F.S.; revising procedures that certain 105 facilities and institutions are encouraged to develop 106 and implement to reduce the discharge of persons into 107 homelessness when such persons are admitted or housed 108 for a specified period at such facilities or 109 institutions; amending s. 420.6265, F.S.; revising 110 legislative findings and intent for Rapid ReHousing; 111 revising the Rapid ReHousing methodology; amending s. 112 420.6275, F.S.; revising legislative findings relating 113 to Housing First; revising the Housing First 114 methodology to reflect current practice; amending s. 115 420.507, F.S.; conforming cross-references; providing 116 an effective date. 117 118 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 119 120 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of section 121 201.15, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (5) of that 122 section is republished, to read: 123 201.15 Distribution of taxes collected.—All taxes collected 124 under this chapter are hereby pledged and shall be first made 125 available to make payments when due on bonds issued pursuant to 126 s. 215.618 or s. 215.619, or any other bonds authorized to be 127 issued on a parity basis with such bonds. Such pledge and 128 availability for the payment of these bonds shall have priority 129 over any requirement for the payment of service charges or costs 130 of collection and enforcement under this section. All taxes 131 collected under this chapter, except taxes distributed to the 132 Land Acquisition Trust Fund pursuant to subsections (1) and (2), 133 are subject to the service charge imposed in s. 215.20(1). 134 Before distribution pursuant to this section, the Department of 135 Revenue shall deduct amounts necessary to pay the costs of the 136 collection and enforcement of the tax levied by this chapter. 137 The costs and service charge may not be levied against any 138 portion of taxes pledged to debt service on bonds to the extent 139 that the costs and service charge are required to pay any 140 amounts relating to the bonds. All of the costs of the 141 collection and enforcement of the tax levied by this chapter and 142 the service charge shall be available and transferred to the 143 extent necessary to pay debt service and any other amounts 144 payable with respect to bonds authorized before January 1, 2017, 145 secured by revenues distributed pursuant to this section. All 146 taxes remaining after deduction of costs shall be distributed as 147 follows: 148 (4) After the required distributions to the Land 149 Acquisition Trust Fund pursuant to subsections (1) and (2) and 150 deduction of the service charge imposed pursuant to s. 151 215.20(1), the remainder shall be distributed as follows: 152 (c) Eleven and twenty-four hundredths percent of the 153 remainder in each fiscal year shall be paid into the State 154 Treasury to the credit of the State Housing Trust Fund. Of such 155 funds, the first $35 million shall be transferred annually, 156 subject to any distribution required under subsection (5), to 157 the State Economic Enhancement and Development Trust Fund within 158 the Department of Economic Opportunity. The next $10 million 159 shall be transferred annually, subject to any distribution 160 required under subsection (5), to the Grants and Donations Trust 161 Fund within the Department of Children and Families for the 162 purpose of funding the challenge grants established in s. 163 420.622(4). The remainder shall be used as follows: 164 1. Half of that amount shall be used for the purposes for 165 which the State Housing Trust Fund was created and exists by 166 law. 167 2. Half of that amount shall be paid into the State 168 Treasury to the credit of the Local Government Housing Trust 169 Fund and used for the purposes for which the Local Government 170 Housing Trust Fund was created and exists by law. 171 (5) Distributions to the State Housing Trust Fund pursuant 172 to paragraphs (4)(c) and (d) must be sufficient to cover amounts 173 required to be transferred to the Florida Affordable Housing 174 Guarantee Program’s annual debt service reserve and guarantee 175 fund pursuant to s. 420.5092(6)(a) and (b) up to the amount 176 required to be transferred to such reserve and fund based on the 177 percentage distribution of documentary stamp tax revenues to the 178 State Housing Trust Fund which is in effect in the 2004-2005 179 fiscal year. 180 Section 2. Section 420.621, Florida Statutes, is amended to 181 read: 182 420.621 Definitions.—As used in ss. 420.621-420.628, the 183 term: 184 (1) “Continuum of care” means the group organized to carry 185 out the responsibilities imposed under ss. 420.621-420.628 to 186 coordinate, plan, and pursue ending homelessness in a designated 187 catchment area. The group is composed of representatives from 188 certain organizations, including, but not limited to, nonprofit 189 homeless providers, victim service providers, faith-based 190 organizations, governments, businesses, advocates, public 191 housing agencies, school districts, social service providers, 192 mental health agencies, hospitals, universities, affordable 193 housing developers, law enforcement, organizations that serve 194 homeless and formerly homeless veterans, and organizations that 195 serve homeless and formerly homeless persons, to the extent that 196 these organizations are represented within the designated 197 catchment area and are available to participatethe community198components needed to organize and deliver housing and services199to meet the specific needs of people who are homeless as they200move to stable housing and maximum self-sufficiency. It includes201action steps to end homelessness and prevent a return to202homelessness. 203 (2) “Continuum of care lead agency” or “continuum of care 204 collaborative applicant” means the organization designated by a 205 continuum of care pursuant to s. 420.6225. 206 (3)(2)“Council on Homelessness” means the council created 207 in s. 420.622. 208 (4)(3)“Department” means the Department of Children and 209 Families. 210(4) “District” means a service district of the department,211as set forth in s. 20.19.212 (5) “Homeless,” means any of the following: 213 (a) An individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and 214 adequate nighttime residence as defined under “homeless” in 24 215 C.F.R. 578.3. 216 (b) An individual or family who will imminently lose their 217 primary nighttime residence as defined under “homeless” in 24 218 C.F.R. 578.3. 219 (c) Additional populations as may be defined in rules 220 developed by the Florida Housing Finance Corporationapplied to221an individual, or “individual experiencing homelessness” means222an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime223residence and includes an individual who:224(a) Is sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of225housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;226(b) Is living in a motel, hotel, travel trailer park, or227camping ground due to a lack of alternative adequate228accommodations;229(c) Is living in an emergency or transitional shelter;230(d) Has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or231private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular232sleeping accommodation for human beings;233(e) Is living in a car, park, public space, abandoned234building, bus or train station, or similar setting; or235(f) Is a migratory individual who qualifies as homeless236because he or she is living in circumstances described in237paragraphs (a)-(e).238 239The terms do not refer to an individual imprisoned pursuant to240state or federal law or to individuals or families who are241sharing housing due to cultural preferences, voluntary242arrangements, or traditional networks of support. The terms243include an individual who has been released from jail, prison,244the juvenile justice system, the child welfare system, a mental245health and developmental disability facility, a residential246addiction treatment program, or a hospital, for whom no247subsequent residence has been identified, and who lacks the248resources and support network to obtain housing. 249(6) “Local coalition for the homeless” means a coalition250established pursuant to s. 420.623.251(7) “New and temporary homeless” means individuals or252families who are homeless due to societal factors.253 (6)(8)“State Office on Homelessness” means the state 254 office created in s. 420.622. 255 Section 3. Section 420.622, Florida Statutes, is amended to 256 read: 257 420.622 State Office on Homelessness; Council on 258 Homelessness.— 259 (1) The State Office on Homelessness is created within the 260 Department of Children and Families to provide interagency, 261 council, and other related coordination on issues relating to 262 homelessness. 263 (2) The Council on Homelessness is created to consist of 19 26417representatives of public and private agencies who shall 265 develop policy and advise the State Office on Homelessness. The 266 council members shall be: the Secretary of Children and 267 Families, or his or her designee; the executive director of the 268 Department of Economic Opportunity, or his or her designee, who 269 shall advise the council on issues related to rural development; 270 the State Surgeon General, or his or her designee; the Executive 271 Director of Veterans’ Affairs, or his or her designee; the 272 Secretary of Corrections, or his or her designee; the Secretary 273 of Health Care Administration, or his or her designee; the 274 Commissioner of Education, or his or her designee; the Director 275 of CareerSource Florida, Inc., or his or her designee; one 276 representative of the Florida Association of Counties; one 277 representative of the Florida League of Cities; one 278 representative of the Florida Supportive Housing Coalition; one 279 representative of the Florida Housing Coalition; the Executive 280 Director of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, or his or 281 her designee; one representative of the Florida Coalition for 282 the Homeless; the Secretary of the Department of Elder Affairs, 283 or his or her designee; and four members appointed by the 284 Governor. The council members shall be nonpaid volunteers and 285 shall be reimbursed only for travel expenses. The appointed 286 members of the council shall be appointed to staggered 2-year 287 terms,and are encouraged to have experience in the 288 administration or provision of resources, services, or housing 289 that addresses the needs of persons experiencing homelessness. 290 The council shall meet at least four times per year. The 291 importance of minority, gender, and geographic representation 292 shall be considered in appointing members to the council. 293 (3) The State Office on Homelessness, pursuant to the 294 policies set by the council and subject to the availability of 295 funding, shall: 296 (a) Coordinate among state, local, and private agencies and 297 providers to produce a statewide consolidated inventory for the 298 state’s entire system of homeless programs which incorporates 299 local continuum of care plansregionally developed plans. Such 300 programs include, but are not limited to: 301 1. Programs authorized under the McKinney-Vento Homeless 302 AssistanceStewart B. McKinney Homeless AssistanceAct of 1987, 303 as amended by the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid 304 Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009, 42 U.S.C. ss. 11302 305ss. 11371et seq., and carried out under funds awarded to this 306 state; and 307 2. Programs, components thereof, or activities that assist 308 persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness. 309 (b) Collect, maintain, and make available information 310 concerning persons who are homelessor at risk for homelessness, 311 including summary demographics information drawn from the local 312 continuum of care Homeless Management Information System or the 313 annual Point-in-Time Count,currentservices and resources314availableand the local continuum of care Housing Inventory 315 Chart required by the Department of Housing and Urban 316 Development, thecost and availability of services and programs,317and the met and unmet needs of this population. All entities 318 that receive state funding must provide summary aggregated 319access to alldatathey maintain in summary form, with no 320 individual identifying information, to assist the council in 321 providing this information. The State Office on Homelessness, in 322 consultation with the designated lead agencies for alocal323homelesscontinuum of care and with the Council on Homelessness, 324 shall develop a process by which summary data is collectedthe325system and process of data collectionfrom all lead agencies for 326 the purpose of analyzing trends and assessing impacts in the 327statewide homeless deliverysystem for delivering services to 328 the homeless.Any statewide homelessness survey and database329system must comply with all state and federal statutory and330regulatory confidentiality requirements.331 (c) Annually evaluate state and continuum of care system 332 programslocal services and resourcesand develop a consolidated 333 plan for addressing the needs of the homeless or those at risk 334 for homelessness. 335 (d) Explore, compile, and disseminate information regarding 336 public and private funding sources for state and local programs 337 serving the homeless and provide technical assistance in 338 applying for such funding. 339 (e) Monitor and provide recommendations for coordinating 340 the activities and programs oflocalcontinuums of care 341coalitions for the homelessand promote the effectiveness of 342 programs to prevent and end homelessness in the stateaddressing343the needs of the homeless. 344 (f) Provide technical assistance to facilitate efforts to 345 support and strengthenestablish, maintain, and expand local346homeless assistancecontinuums of care. 347 (g) Develop and assist in the coordination of policies and 348 procedures relating to the discharge or transfer from the care 349 or custody of state-supported or state-regulated entities 350 persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness. 351 (h) Spearhead outreach efforts for maximizing access by 352 people who are homeless or at risk for homelessness to state and 353 federal programs and resources. 354 (i) Promote a federal policy agenda that is responsive to 355 the needs of those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness 356the homeless populationin this state. 357 (j) Review reports on continuum of care system performance 358 measures andDevelop outcome and accountability measures and359promote anduse such measures to evaluate program effectiveness 360 and make recommendations for improving current practices to work 361 toward ending homelessness in this statein order to best meet362the needs of the homeless. 363 (k) Formulate policies and legislative proposals aimed at 364 preventing and ending homelessness in this stateto address more365effectively the needs of the homelessand coordinate the 366 implementation of state and federal legislative policies. 367 (l) Convene meetings and workshops of state and local 368 agencies, continuums of carelocal coalitionsand programs, and 369 other stakeholders for the purpose of developing and reviewing 370 policies, services, activities, coordination, and funding of 371 efforts to end homelessnessmeet the needs of the homeless. 372 (m) With the input of the continuums of care, conduct or 373 promote research on the effectiveness of current programs and 374 propose pilot projects aimed at ending homelessnessimproving375services. 376 (n) Serve as an advocate for issues relating to 377 homelessness. 378 (o) Investigate ways to improve access to participation in 379 state funding and other programs for prevention and reduction 380alleviationof homelessness to faith-based organizations and 381 collaborate and coordinate with faith-based organizations. 382 (4) The State Office on Homelessness, with the concurrence383of the Council on Homelessness,shall accept and administer 384 moneys appropriated to it pursuant to s. 201.15(4)(c) to provide 385 annual“challenge grants”to lead agencies ofhomeless386assistancecontinuums of care designated by the State Office on 387 Homelessness pursuant to s. 420.6225s. 420.624. The department 388 shall establish varying levels of grant awards up to $750,000 389$500,000per continuum of care lead agency. The department, in 390 consultation with the Council on Homelessness, shall specify a 391 grant award level in the notice of the solicitation of grant 392 applications. 393 (a) To qualify for the grant, a continuum of care lead 394 agency must develop and implement a localhomeless assistance395 continuum of care plan for its designated catchment area. The 396 services and housing funded through the grant must be 397 implemented through the continuum of care’scontinuum of care398plan must implement acoordinatedassessment or central intake399 entry system as provided in s. 420.6225(5)(b) and must be 400 designed toscreen,assess,and refer persons seeking assistance 401 to the appropriate housing intervention and service provider. 402 The continuum of care lead agency shall also document the 403 commitment of local government or private organizations to 404 provide matching funds or in-kind support in an amount equal to 405 25 percent of the grant requested. Expenditures of leveraged 406 funds or resources, including third-party cash or in-kind 407 contributions, are authorized only for eligible activities 408 carried out in connection with acommitted on oneproject in 409 which such funds or resources have not been used as leverage or 410 match for any other project or program.andThe expenditures 411 must be certified through a written commitment. 412 (b) Preference must be given to those continuum of care 413 lead agencies that have demonstrated the ability of their 414 continuum of care to help households move out of homelessness 415provide quality services to homelesspersons and the ability to416leverage federal homeless-assistance fundingunder the Stewart417B. McKinney Act with local government funding or private funding418for the provision of services to homeless persons. 419(c) Preference must be given to lead agencies in catchment420areas with the greatest need for the provision of housing and421services to the homeless, relative to the population of the422catchment area.423 (c)(d)The grant may be used to fund any of the housing, 424 program, or service needs included in the localhomeless425assistancecontinuum of care plan. The continuum of care lead 426 agency may allocate the grant to programs, services, or housing 427 providers that implement the localhomeless assistancecontinuum 428 of care plan. The lead agency may provide subgrants to a local 429 agency to implement programs or services or provide housing 430 identified for funding in the lead agency’s application to the 431 department. A lead agency may spend a maximum of 108percent of 432 its funding on administrative costs. 433 (d)(e)The continuum of care lead agency shall submit a 434 final report to the department documenting the outcomes achieved 435 by the grant-funded programsgrantin enabling persons who are 436 homeless to return to permanent housing, thereby ending such 437 person’s episode of homelessness. 438 (5) The State Office on Homelessness, with the concurrence439of the Council on Homelessness,may administer moneys given 440appropriatedto it to provide homeless housing assistance grants 441 annually to continuum of care lead agenciesfor local homeless442assistance continuum of care, asrecognized by the State Office 443 on Homelessness,to acquire, construct, or rehabilitate 444transitional orpermanent housing units for homeless persons. 445 These moneys shall consist of any sums that the state may 446 appropriate, as well as money received from donations, gifts, 447 bequests, or otherwise from any public or private source, which 448 are intended to acquire, construct, or rehabilitatetransitional449orpermanent housing units for homeless persons. 450 (a) Grant applicants shall be ranked competitively based on 451 criteria determined by the State Office on Homelessness. 452Preference must be given to applicants who leverage additional453private funds and public funds, particularly federal funds454designated for the acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation455of transitional or permanent housing for homeless persons; who456acquire, build, or rehabilitate the greatest number of units; or457who acquire, build, or rehabilitate in catchment areas having458the greatest need for housing for the homeless relative to the459population of thecatchment area.460 (b) Funding for any particular project may not exceed 461 $750,000. 462 (c) Projects must reserve, for a minimum of 2010years, 463 the number of units acquired, constructed, or rehabilitated 464 through homeless housing assistance grant funding to serve 465 persons who are homeless at the time they assume tenancy. 466 (d) No more than two grants may be awarded annually in any 467 givenlocal homeless assistancecontinuum of care catchment 468 area. 469 (e) A project may not be funded which is not included in 470 the localhomeless assistancecontinuum of care plan, as 471 recognized by the State Office on Homelessness, for the 472 catchment area in which the project is located. 473 (f) The maximum percentage of funds that the State Office 474 on Homelessness and each applicant may spend on administrative 475 costs is 105percent. 476 (6) The State Office on Homelessness, in conjunction with 477 the Council on Homelessness, shall establish performance 478 measures related to state funding provided through the State 479 Office on Homelessness and utilize those grant-related measures 480 toand specific objectives by which it mayevaluate the 481 performance and outcomes of continuum of care lead agencies that 482 receive state grant funds.Challenge Grants made through the483State Office on Homelessness shall be distributed to lead484agencies based on their overall performance and their485achievement of specified objectives. Each lead agency for which486grants are made under this section shall provide the State487Office on Homelessness a thorough evaluation of the488effectiveness of the program in achieving its stated purpose. In489evaluating the performance of the lead agencies, the State490Office on Homelessness shall base its criteria upon the program491objectives, goals, and priorities that were set forth by the492lead agencies in their proposals for funding. Such criteria may493include, but are not limited to, the number of persons or494households that are no longer homeless, the rate of recidivism495to homelessness, and the number of persons who obtain gainful496employment.497 (7) The State Office on Homelessness must monitor the 498 challenge grants and homeless housing assistance grants to 499 ensure proper expenditure of funds and compliance with the 500 conditions of the applicant’s contract. 501 (8) The Department of Children and Families, with input 502 from the Council on Homelessness, maymustadopt rules relating 503 to the challenge grants and the homeless housing assistance 504 grants and related issues consistent with the purposes of this 505 section. 506 (9) The council shall, by June 30 of each year, provide to 507 the Governor, the Legislature, and the Secretary of Children and 508 Families a report summarizing the extent of homelessness in the 509 state and the council’s recommendations for endingreducing510 homelessness in this state. 511 (10) The State Office on Homelessness may administer moneys 512 appropriated to it for distribution among the28 local homeless513continuums of carecontinuum of care lead agencies and entities 514 funded in the 2017-2018 state fiscal year which are designated 515 by the office as local coalitions for the homelessdesignated by516the Department of Children and Families. 517 Section 4. Section 420.6225, Florida Statutes, is created 518 to read: 519 420.6225 Continuum of care.— 520 (1) The purpose of a continuum of care, as defined in s. 521 420.621, is to coordinate community efforts to prevent and end 522 homelessness in its catchment area designated as provided in 523 subsection (3) and to fulfill the responsibilities set forth in 524 this chapter. 525 (2) Pursuant to the federal HEARTH Act of 2009, each 526 continuum of care is required to designate a collaborative 527 applicant that is responsible for submitting the continuum of 528 care funding application for the designated catchment area to 529 the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. 530 The continuum of care designated collaborative applicant shall 531 serve as the point of contact to the State Office on 532 Homelessness, is accountable for representations made in the 533 application, and, in carrying out responsibilities under this 534 chapter, may be referred to as the continuum of care lead 535 agency. 536 (3) Continuum of care catchment areas must be designated 537 and revised as necessary by the State Office on Homelessness and 538 must be consistent with the continuum of care catchment areas 539 recognized by the United States Department of Housing and Urban 540 Development for the purposes of awarding federal homeless 541 assistance funding for continuum of care programs. 542 (4) The State Office on Homelessness shall recognize only 543 one continuum of care lead agency for each designated catchment 544 area. Such continuum of care lead agency must be consistent with 545 the continuum of care collaborative applicant designation 546 recognized by the United States Department of Housing and Urban 547 Development in the awarding of federal funds to continuums of 548 care. 549 (5) Each continuum of care shall create a continuum of care 550 plan, the purpose of which is to implement an effective and 551 efficient housing crisis response system to prevent and end 552 homelessness in the continuum of care catchment area. A 553 continuum of care plan must include all of the following 554 components: 555 (a) Outreach to unsheltered individuals and families to 556 link them with appropriate housing interventions. 557 (b) A coordinated entry system, compliant with the 558 requirements of the federal HEARTH Act of 2009, which is 559 designed to coordinate intake, utilize common assessment tools, 560 prioritize households for housing interventions, and refer 561 households to the appropriate housing intervention. 562 (c) Emergency shelter, designed to provide safe temporary 563 shelter while the household is in the process of obtaining 564 permanent housing. 565 (d) Supportive services, designed to maximize housing 566 stability once the household is in permanent housing. 567 (e) Permanent supportive housing, designed to provide long 568 term affordable housing and support services to persons with 569 disabilities who are moving out of homelessness. 570 (f) Rapid ReHousing, as specified in s. 420.6265. 571 (g) Permanent housing, including linkages to affordable 572 housing, subsidized housing, long-term rent assistance, housing 573 vouchers, and mainstream private sector housing. 574 (h) An ongoing planning mechanism to end homelessness for 575 all subpopulations of persons experiencing homelessness. 576 (6) Continuums of care must promote participation by all 577 interested individuals and organizations and may not exclude 578 individuals and organizations on the basis of race, color, 579 national origin, sex, handicap, familial status, or religion. 580 Faith-based organizations, local governments, and persons who 581 have experienced homelessness are encouraged to participate. To 582 the extent possible, these individuals and organizations must be 583 coordinated and integrated with other mainstream health, social 584 services, and employment programs for which homeless populations 585 may be eligible, including, but not limited to, Medicaid, the 586 State Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Temporary 587 Assistance for Needy Families Program, the Food Assistance 588 Program, and services funded through the Mental Health and 589 Substance Abuse Block Grant, the Workforce Innovation and 590 Opportunity Act, and the welfare-to-work grant program. 591 Section 5. Section 420.6227, Florida Statutes, is created 592 to read: 593 420.6227 Grant-in-aid program.— 594 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.—The Legislature hereby finds and 595 declares that many services for households experiencing 596 homelessness have been provided by local communities through 597 voluntary private agencies and religious organizations and that 598 those resources have not been sufficient to prevent and end 599 homelessness in Florida. The Legislature recognizes that the 600 level of need and types of problems associated with homelessness 601 may vary from community to community, due to the diversity and 602 geographic distribution of the homeless population and the 603 resulting differing needs of particular communities. 604 (2) PURPOSE.—The principal purpose of the grant-in-aid 605 program is to provide needed assistance to continuums of care to 606 enable them to do all of the following: 607 (a) Assist persons in their communities who have become, or 608 may likely become, homeless. 609 (b) Help homeless households move to permanent housing as 610 quickly as possible. 611 (3) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a state 612 grant-in-aid program to help continuums of care prevent and end 613 homelessness, which may include any aspect of the local 614 continuum of care plan, as described in s. 420.6225. 615 (4) APPLICATION PROCEDURE.—Continuums of care that intend 616 to apply for the grant-in-aid program must submit an application 617 for grant-in-aid funds to the State Office on Homelessness for 618 review. 619 (5) SPENDING PLANS.—The State Office on Homelessness shall 620 develop guidelines for the development, evaluation, and approval 621 of spending plans that are created by local continuum of care 622 lead agencies. 623 (6) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDS.—The State Office on 624 Homelessness shall administer state grant-in-aid funds for 625 continuums of care, which must be awarded on a competitive 626 basis. 627 (7) DISTRIBUTION TO LOCAL AGENCIES.—The State Office on 628 Homelessness shall distribute funds awarded under subsection (6) 629 to local agencies to fund programs that are required by the 630 local continuum of care plan, as described in s. 420.6225 and 631 provided in subsection (3), based upon the recommendations of 632 the local continuum of care lead agencies, in accordance with 633 spending plans that are developed by the lead agencies and 634 approved by the office. Not more than 10 percent of the total 635 state funds awarded under a spending plan may be used by the 636 continuum of care lead agency for staffing and administrative 637 expenditures. 638 (8) LOCAL MATCHING FUNDS.—If an entity contracts with local 639 agencies to provide services and receives financial assistance 640 obtained under this section, the entity must provide a minimum 641 of 25 percent of the funding necessary for the support of 642 project operations. In-kind contributions, including, but not 643 limited to, materials, commodities, transportation, office 644 space, other types of facilities, or personal services may be 645 evaluated and counted as part or all of the required local 646 funding, at the discretion of the State Office on Homelessness. 647 Section 6. Section 420.623, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 648 Section 7. Section 420.624, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 649 Section 8. Section 420.625, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 650 Section 9. Subsection (3) of section 420.626, Florida 651 Statutes, is amended, and subsection (2) of that section is 652 republished, to read: 653 420.626 Homelessness; discharge guidelines.— 654 (2) The following facilities and institutions are 655 encouraged to develop and implement procedures designed to 656 reduce the discharge of persons into homelessness when such 657 persons are admitted or housed for more than 24 hours at such 658 facilities or institutions: hospitals and inpatient medical 659 facilities; crisis stabilization units; residential treatment 660 facilities; assisted living facilities; and detoxification 661 centers. 662 (3) The procedures should include all of the following: 663 (a) Development and implementation of a screening process 664 or other mechanism for identifying persons to be discharged from 665 the facility or institution who are at considerable risk for 666 homelessness or face some imminent threat to health and safety 667 upon discharge.;668 (b) Development and implementation of a discharge plan 669 addressing how identified persons will secure housing and other 670 needed care and support upon discharge.;671 (c) Communication withAssessment of the capabilities of672 the entities to whom identified persons may potentially be 673 discharged to determine their capability to serve such persons 674 and their acceptance of such discharge into their programs, and 675 selection of the entity determined to be best equipped to 676 provide or facilitate the provision of suitable care and 677 support.;678 (d) Coordination of effort and sharing of information with 679 entities that are expected to bear the responsibility for 680 providing care or support to identified persons upon discharge.;681and682 (e) Provision of sufficient medication, medical equipment 683 and supplies, clothing, transportation, and other basic 684 resources necessary to assure that the health and well-being of 685 identified persons are not jeopardized upon their discharge. 686 Section 10. Section 420.6265, Florida Statutes, is amended 687 to read: 688 420.6265 Rapid ReHousing.— 689 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.— 690 (a) The Legislature finds that Rapid ReHousing is a 691 strategy of using temporary financial assistanceand case692managementto quickly move an individual or family out of 693 homelessness and into permanent housing, and using housing 694 stabilization support services to help them remain stably 695 housed. 696 (b) The Legislature also finds that public and private 697 solutions to homelessness in the past have focused on providing 698 individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness with 699 emergency shelter, transitional housing, or a combination of 700 both. While emergency shelter and transitional housing programs 701 may provide critical access to services for individuals and 702 families in crisis, the programs often fail to address permanent 703 housingtheir long-termneeds and may unnecessarily extend their 704 episodes of homelessness. 705 (c) The Legislature further finds that most households 706 become homeless as a result of a financial crisis that prevents 707 individuals and families from paying rent or a domestic conflict 708 that results in one member being ejected or leaving without 709 resources or a plan for housing. 710 (d) The Legislature further finds that Rapid ReHousing has 711 proven to be a cost-effectiveis an alternativeapproach to 712 ending homelessness which reducesto the current system of713emergency shelter or transitional housing whichtends to reduce714 the length of time that a person is homeless and is demonstrably 715has proven to bemore cost effective than alternative 716 approaches. 717 (e) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to 718 encouragehomelesscontinuums of care to adopt the Rapid 719 ReHousing approach to endingpreventinghomelessness for 720 individuals and families who do not require the intensive 721intenselevel of supports provided in the permanent supportive 722 housing model. 723 (2) RAPID REHOUSING METHODOLOGY.— 724 (a) The Rapid ReHousing response to homelessness differs 725 from traditional approaches to addressing homelessness by 726 focusing on each individual’s or family’s barriers to housing. 727 By using this approach, communities can significantly reduce the 728 amount of time that individuals and families are homeless and 729 prevent further episodes of homelessness. 730 (b) In Rapid ReHousing, when an individual or a family is 731 identified as being homeless, the individual or family is 732 assessed and prioritized for housing through the continuum of 733 care’s coordinated entry system, temporary assistance is 734 provided to allow the individual or family to obtain permanent 735 housing as quickly as possible, and necessary, if needed,736 assistance is provided to allow the individual or family to 737 retain housing. 738 (c) The objective of Rapid ReHousing is to provide 739 assistance for as short a term as possible so that the 740 individual or family receiving assistance attains stability and 741 integration into the community as quickly as possibledoes not742develop a dependency on the assistance. 743 Section 11. Section 420.6275, Florida Statutes, is amended 744 to read: 745 420.6275 Housing First.— 746 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.— 747 (a) The Legislature finds that many communities plan to 748 manage homelessness rather thanplanto end it. 749 (b) The Legislature also finds that for nearlymost of the750pasttwo decades, public and private solutions to homelessness 751havefocused on providing individuals and families who wereare752 experiencing homelessness with emergency shelter, transitional 753 housing, or a combination of both. This strategy failed to 754 recognize that, while emergency shelter programs may provide 755 critical access to services for individuals and families in 756 crisis, they often fail to address their long-term needs. 757 (c) The Legislature further finds that Housing First is a 758 cost-effectivean alternativeapproachto the current system of759emergency shelter or transitional housing which tendsto ending 760 homelessness and reducingreducethe length of time of 761 homelessness for many individuals and familiesand has proven to762be cost-effective. 763 (d) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to 764 encouragehomelesscontinuums of care to adopt the Housing First 765 approach to ending homelessness for individuals and families. 766 (2) HOUSING FIRST METHODOLOGY.— 767 (a) The Housing First approach to homelessness provides 768 permanentdiffers from traditionalapproaches by providing769 housing assistance, followed bycase management, andsupport 770 services responsive to individual or family needs onceafter771 housing is obtained. By using this approachwhen appropriate, 772 communities can significantly reduce the amount of time that 773 individuals and families are homeless and prevent further 774 episodes of homelessness. Housing First emphasizes that social 775 services provided to enhance individual and family well-being 776 can be more effective when people are in their own home, and: 777 1. The housing is not time-limited. 778 2. The housing is not contingent on compliance with 779 services. Instead, participants must comply with a standard 780 lease agreement. 781 3. Individuals and familiesandare provided with 782 individualizedtheservices and supportthat arenecessary to 783 help them maintain stable housingdo so successfully. 7843. Abackground check and any rehabilitation necessary to785combat an addiction related to alcoholism or substance abuse has786been completed by the individual for whom assistance or support787services areprovided.788 (b) The Housing First approach addresses the societal 789 causes of homelessness and advocates for the immediate return of 790 individuals and families into housing and communities. Housing 791 First links affordable housing with community-based social 792 service and health care organizationsHousing First provides a793critical link between the emergency and transitional housing794system and community-based social service, educational, and795health care organizationsand consists of four components: 796 1. Crisis intervention and short-term stabilization. 797 2. Screening, intake, and needs assessment. 798 3. Provision of housing resources. 799 4. Provision of case management. 800 Section 12. Paragraph (d) of subsection (22) of section 801 420.507, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 802 420.507 Powers of the corporation.—The corporation shall 803 have all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and 804 effectuate the purposes and provisions of this part, including 805 the following powers which are in addition to all other powers 806 granted by other provisions of this part: 807 (22) To develop and administer the State Apartment 808 Incentive Loan Program. In developing and administering that 809 program, the corporation may: 810 (d) In counties or rural areas of counties that do not have 811 existing units set aside for homeless persons, forgive 812 indebtedness for loans provided to create permanent rental 813 housing units for persons who are homeless, as defined in s. 814 420.621s. 420.621(5), or for persons residing in time-limited 815 transitional housing or institutions as a result of a lack of 816 permanent, affordable housing. Such developments must be 817 supported by alocal homeless assistancecontinuum of care 818 developed under s. 420.6225s. 420.624, be developed by 819 nonprofit applicants, be small properties as defined by 820 corporation rule, and be a project in the local housing 821 assistance continuum of care plan recognized by the State Office 822 on Homelessness. 823 Section 13. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.