Florida Senate - 2019 CS for SB 1218
By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and
Senator Book
586-03487-19 20191218c1
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 participate the community
198 components needed to organize and deliver housing and services
199 to meet the specific needs of people who are homeless as they
200 move to stable housing and maximum self-sufficiency. It includes
201 action steps to end homelessness and prevent a return to
202 homelessness.
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,
211 as 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 applied to an individual, or “individual
219 experiencing homelessness” means an individual who lacks a
220 fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes an
221 individual who:
222 (a) Is sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of
223 housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
224 (b) Is living in a motel, hotel, travel trailer park, or
225 camping ground due to a lack of alternative adequate
226 accommodations;
227 (c) Is living in an emergency or transitional shelter;
228 (d) Has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or
229 private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular
230 sleeping accommodation for human beings;
231 (e) Is living in a car, park, public space, abandoned
232 building, bus or train station, or similar setting; or
233 (f) Is a migratory individual who qualifies as homeless
234 because he or she is living in circumstances described in
235 paragraphs (a)-(e).
236
237 The terms do not refer to an individual imprisoned pursuant to
238 state or federal law or to individuals or families who are
239 sharing housing due to cultural preferences, voluntary
240 arrangements, or traditional networks of support. The terms
241 include an individual who has been released from jail, prison,
242 the juvenile justice system, the child welfare system, a mental
243 health and developmental disability facility, a residential
244 addiction treatment program, or a hospital, for whom no
245 subsequent residence has been identified, and who lacks the
246 resources and support network to obtain housing.
247 (6) “Local coalition for the homeless” means a coalition
248 established pursuant to s. 420.623.
249 (7) “New and temporary homeless” means individuals or
250 families who are homeless due to societal factors.
251 (6)(8) “State Office on Homelessness” means the state
252 office created in s. 420.622.
253 Section 3. Section 420.622, Florida Statutes, is amended to
254 read:
255 420.622 State Office on Homelessness; Council on
256 Homelessness.—
257 (1) The State Office on Homelessness is created within the
258 Department of Children and Families to provide interagency,
259 council, and other related coordination on issues relating to
260 homelessness.
261 (2) The Council on Homelessness is created to consist of 19
262 17 representatives of public and private agencies who shall
263 develop policy and advise the State Office on Homelessness. The
264 council members shall be: the Secretary of Children and
265 Families, or his or her designee; the executive director of the
266 Department of Economic Opportunity, or his or her designee, who
267 shall advise the council on issues related to rural development;
268 the State Surgeon General, or his or her designee; the Executive
269 Director of Veterans’ Affairs, or his or her designee; the
270 Secretary of Corrections, or his or her designee; the Secretary
271 of Health Care Administration, or his or her designee; the
272 Commissioner of Education, or his or her designee; the Director
273 of CareerSource Florida, Inc., or his or her designee; one
274 representative of the Florida Association of Counties; one
275 representative of the Florida League of Cities; one
276 representative of the Florida Supportive Housing Coalition; one
277 representative of the Florida Housing Coalition; the Executive
278 Director of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, or his or
279 her designee; one representative of the Florida Coalition for
280 the Homeless; the Secretary of the Department of Elder Affairs,
281 or his or her designee; and four members appointed by the
282 Governor. The council members shall be nonpaid volunteers and
283 shall be reimbursed only for travel expenses. The appointed
284 members of the council shall be appointed to staggered 2-year
285 terms, and are encouraged to have experience in the
286 administration or provision of resources, services, or housing
287 that addresses the needs of persons experiencing homelessness.
288 The council shall meet at least four times per year. The
289 importance of minority, gender, and geographic representation
290 shall be considered in appointing members to the council.
291 (3) The State Office on Homelessness, pursuant to the
292 policies set by the council and subject to the availability of
293 funding, shall:
294 (a) Coordinate among state, local, and private agencies and
295 providers to produce a statewide consolidated inventory for the
296 state’s entire system of homeless programs which incorporates
297 local continuum of care plans regionally developed plans. Such
298 programs include, but are not limited to:
299 1. Programs authorized under the McKinney-Vento Homeless
300 Assistance Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987,
301 as amended by the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid
302 Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009, 42 U.S.C. ss. 11302
303 ss. 11371 et seq., and carried out under funds awarded to this
304 state; and
305 2. Programs, components thereof, or activities that assist
306 persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness.
307 (b) Collect, maintain, and make available information
308 concerning persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness,
309 including summary demographics information drawn from the local
310 continuum of care Homeless Management Information System or the
311 annual Point-in-Time Count, current services and resources
312 available and the local continuum of care Housing Inventory
313 Chart required by the Department of Housing and Urban
314 Development, the cost and availability of services and programs,
315 and the met and unmet needs of this population. All entities
316 that receive state funding must provide summary aggregated
317 access to all data they maintain in summary form, with no
318 individual identifying information, to assist the council in
319 providing this information. The State Office on Homelessness, in
320 consultation with the designated lead agencies for a local
321 homeless continuum of care and with the Council on Homelessness,
322 shall develop a process by which summary data is collected the
323 system and process of data collection from all lead agencies for
324 the purpose of analyzing trends and assessing impacts in the
325 statewide homeless delivery system for delivering services to
326 the homeless. Any statewide homelessness survey and database
327 system must comply with all state and federal statutory and
328 regulatory confidentiality requirements.
329 (c) Annually evaluate state and continuum of care system
330 programs local services and resources and develop a consolidated
331 plan for addressing the needs of the homeless or those at risk
332 for homelessness.
333 (d) Explore, compile, and disseminate information regarding
334 public and private funding sources for state and local programs
335 serving the homeless and provide technical assistance in
336 applying for such funding.
337 (e) Monitor and provide recommendations for coordinating
338 the activities and programs of local continuums of care
339 coalitions for the homeless and promote the effectiveness of
340 programs to prevent and end homelessness in the state addressing
341 the needs of the homeless.
342 (f) Provide technical assistance to facilitate efforts to
343 support and strengthen establish, maintain, and expand local
344 homeless assistance continuums of care.
345 (g) Develop and assist in the coordination of policies and
346 procedures relating to the discharge or transfer from the care
347 or custody of state-supported or state-regulated entities
348 persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness.
349 (h) Spearhead outreach efforts for maximizing access by
350 people who are homeless or at risk for homelessness to state and
351 federal programs and resources.
352 (i) Promote a federal policy agenda that is responsive to
353 the needs of those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness
354 the homeless population in this state.
355 (j) Review reports on continuum of care system performance
356 measures and Develop outcome and accountability measures and
357 promote and use such measures to evaluate program effectiveness
358 and make recommendations for improving current practices to work
359 toward ending homelessness in this state in order to best meet
360 the needs of the homeless.
361 (k) Formulate policies and legislative proposals aimed at
362 preventing and ending homelessness in this state to address more
363 effectively the needs of the homeless and coordinate the
364 implementation of state and federal legislative policies.
365 (l) Convene meetings and workshops of state and local
366 agencies, continuums of care local coalitions and programs, and
367 other stakeholders for the purpose of developing and reviewing
368 policies, services, activities, coordination, and funding of
369 efforts to end homelessness meet the needs of the homeless.
370 (m) With the input of the continuums of care, conduct or
371 promote research on the effectiveness of current programs and
372 propose pilot projects aimed at ending homelessness improving
373 services.
374 (n) Serve as an advocate for issues relating to
375 homelessness.
376 (o) Investigate ways to improve access to participation in
377 state funding and other programs for prevention and reduction
378 alleviation of homelessness to faith-based organizations and
379 collaborate and coordinate with faith-based organizations.
380 (4) The State Office on Homelessness, with the concurrence
381 of the Council on Homelessness, shall accept and administer
382 moneys appropriated to it pursuant to s. 201.15(4)(c) to provide
383 annual “challenge grants” to lead agencies of homeless
384 assistance continuums of care designated by the State Office on
385 Homelessness pursuant to s. 420.6225 s. 420.624. The department
386 shall establish varying levels of grant awards up to $750,000
387 $500,000 per continuum of care lead agency. The department, in
388 consultation with the Council on Homelessness, shall specify a
389 grant award level in the notice of the solicitation of grant
390 applications.
391 (a) To qualify for the grant, a continuum of care lead
392 agency must develop and implement a local homeless assistance
393 continuum of care plan for its designated catchment area. The
394 services and housing funded through the grant must be
395 implemented through the continuum of care’s continuum of care
396 plan must implement a coordinated assessment or central intake
397 entry system as provided in s. 420.6225(5)(b) and must be
398 designed to screen, assess, and refer persons seeking assistance
399 to the appropriate housing intervention and service provider.
400 The continuum of care lead agency shall also document the
401 commitment of local government or private organizations to
402 provide matching funds or in-kind support in an amount equal to
403 25 percent of the grant requested. Expenditures of leveraged
404 funds or resources, including third-party cash or in-kind
405 contributions, are authorized only for eligible activities
406 carried out in connection with a committed on one project in
407 which such funds or resources have not been used as leverage or
408 match for any other project or program. and The expenditures
409 must be certified through a written commitment.
410 (b) Preference must be given to those continuum of care
411 lead agencies that have demonstrated the ability of their
412 continuum of care to help households move out of homelessness
413 provide quality services to homeless persons and the ability to
414 leverage federal homeless-assistance funding under the Stewart
415 B. McKinney Act with local government funding or private funding
416 for the provision of services to homeless persons.
417 (c) Preference must be given to lead agencies in catchment
418 areas with the greatest need for the provision of housing and
419 services to the homeless, relative to the population of the
420 catchment area.
421 (c)(d) The grant may be used to fund any of the housing,
422 program, or service needs included in the local homeless
423 assistance continuum of care plan. The continuum of care lead
424 agency may allocate the grant to programs, services, or housing
425 providers that implement the local homeless assistance continuum
426 of care plan. The lead agency may provide subgrants to a local
427 agency to implement programs or services or provide housing
428 identified for funding in the lead agency’s application to the
429 department. A lead agency may spend a maximum of 10 8 percent of
430 its funding on administrative costs.
431 (d)(e) The continuum of care lead agency shall submit a
432 final report to the department documenting the outcomes achieved
433 by the grant-funded programs grant in enabling persons who are
434 homeless to return to permanent housing, thereby ending such
435 person’s episode of homelessness.
436 (5) The State Office on Homelessness, with the concurrence
437 of the Council on Homelessness, may administer moneys given
438 appropriated to it to provide homeless housing assistance grants
439 annually to continuum of care lead agencies for local homeless
440 assistance continuum of care, as recognized by the State Office
441 on Homelessness, to acquire, construct, or rehabilitate
442 transitional or permanent housing units for homeless persons.
443 These moneys shall consist of any sums that the state may
444 appropriate, as well as money received from donations, gifts,
445 bequests, or otherwise from any public or private source, which
446 are intended to acquire, construct, or rehabilitate transitional
447 or permanent housing units for homeless persons.
448 (a) Grant applicants shall be ranked competitively based on
449 criteria determined by the State Office on Homelessness.
450 Preference must be given to applicants who leverage additional
451 private funds and public funds, particularly federal funds
452 designated for the acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation
453 of transitional or permanent housing for homeless persons; who
454 acquire, build, or rehabilitate the greatest number of units; or
455 who acquire, build, or rehabilitate in catchment areas having
456 the greatest need for housing for the homeless relative to the
457 population of the catchment area.
458 (b) Funding for any particular project may not exceed
459 $750,000.
460 (c) Projects must reserve, for a minimum of 20 10 years,
461 the number of units acquired, constructed, or rehabilitated
462 through homeless housing assistance grant funding to serve
463 persons who are homeless at the time they assume tenancy.
464 (d) No more than two grants may be awarded annually in any
465 given local homeless assistance continuum of care catchment
466 area.
467 (e) A project may not be funded which is not included in
468 the local homeless assistance continuum of care plan, as
469 recognized by the State Office on Homelessness, for the
470 catchment area in which the project is located.
471 (f) The maximum percentage of funds that the State Office
472 on Homelessness and each applicant may spend on administrative
473 costs is 10 5 percent.
474 (6) The State Office on Homelessness, in conjunction with
475 the Council on Homelessness, shall establish performance
476 measures related to state funding provided through the State
477 Office on Homelessness and utilize those grant-related measures
478 to and specific objectives by which it may evaluate the
479 performance and outcomes of continuum of care lead agencies that
480 receive state grant funds. Challenge Grants made through the
481 State Office on Homelessness shall be distributed to lead
482 agencies based on their overall performance and their
483 achievement of specified objectives. Each lead agency for which
484 grants are made under this section shall provide the State
485 Office on Homelessness a thorough evaluation of the
486 effectiveness of the program in achieving its stated purpose. In
487 evaluating the performance of the lead agencies, the State
488 Office on Homelessness shall base its criteria upon the program
489 objectives, goals, and priorities that were set forth by the
490 lead agencies in their proposals for funding. Such criteria may
491 include, but are not limited to, the number of persons or
492 households that are no longer homeless, the rate of recidivism
493 to homelessness, and the number of persons who obtain gainful
494 employment.
495 (7) The State Office on Homelessness must monitor the
496 challenge grants and homeless housing assistance grants to
497 ensure proper expenditure of funds and compliance with the
498 conditions of the applicant’s contract.
499 (8) The Department of Children and Families, with input
500 from the Council on Homelessness, may must adopt rules relating
501 to the challenge grants and the homeless housing assistance
502 grants and related issues consistent with the purposes of this
503 section.
504 (9) The council shall, by June 30 of each year, provide to
505 the Governor, the Legislature, and the Secretary of Children and
506 Families a report summarizing the extent of homelessness in the
507 state and the council’s recommendations for ending reducing
508 homelessness in this state.
509 (10) The State Office on Homelessness may administer moneys
510 appropriated to it for distribution among the 28 local homeless
511 continuums of care continuum of care lead agencies and entities
512 funded in the 2017-2018 state fiscal year which are designated
513 by the office as local coalitions for the homeless designated by
514 the Department of Children and Families.
515 Section 4. Section 420.6225, Florida Statutes, is created
516 to read:
517 420.6225 Continuum of care.—
518 (1) The purpose of a continuum of care, as defined in s.
519 420.621, is to coordinate community efforts to prevent and end
520 homelessness in its catchment area designated as provided in
521 subsection (3) and to fulfill the responsibilities set forth in
522 this chapter.
523 (2) Pursuant to the federal HEARTH Act of 2009, each
524 continuum of care is required to designate a collaborative
525 applicant that is responsible for submitting the continuum of
526 care funding application for the designated catchment area to
527 the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
528 The continuum of care designated collaborative applicant shall
529 serve as the point of contact to the State Office on
530 Homelessness, is accountable for representations made in the
531 application, and, in carrying out responsibilities under this
532 chapter, may be referred to as the continuum of care lead
533 agency.
534 (3) Continuum of care catchment areas must be designated
535 and revised as necessary by the State Office on Homelessness and
536 must be consistent with the continuum of care catchment areas
537 recognized by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
538 Development for the purposes of awarding federal homeless
539 assistance funding for continuum of care programs.
540 (4) The State Office on Homelessness shall recognize only
541 one continuum of care lead agency for each designated catchment
542 area. Such continuum of care lead agency must be consistent with
543 the continuum of care collaborative applicant designation
544 recognized by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
545 Development in the awarding of federal funds to continuums of
546 care.
547 (5) Each continuum of care shall create a continuum of care
548 plan, the purpose of which is to implement an effective and
549 efficient housing crisis response system to prevent and end
550 homelessness in the continuum of care catchment area. A
551 continuum of care plan must include all of the following
552 components:
553 (a) Outreach to unsheltered individuals and families to
554 link them with appropriate housing interventions.
555 (b) A coordinated entry system, compliant with the
556 requirements of the federal HEARTH Act of 2009, which is
557 designed to coordinate intake, utilize common assessment tools,
558 prioritize households for housing interventions, and refer
559 households to the appropriate housing intervention.
560 (c) Emergency shelter, designed to provide safe temporary
561 shelter while the household is in the process of obtaining
562 permanent housing.
563 (d) Supportive services, designed to maximize housing
564 stability once the household is in permanent housing.
565 (e) Permanent supportive housing, designed to provide long
566 term affordable housing and support services to persons with
567 disabilities who are moving out of homelessness.
568 (f) Rapid ReHousing, as specified in s. 420.6265.
569 (g) Permanent housing, including linkages to affordable
570 housing, subsidized housing, long-term rent assistance, housing
571 vouchers, and mainstream private sector housing.
572 (h) An ongoing planning mechanism to end homelessness for
573 all subpopulations of persons experiencing homelessness.
574 (6) Continuums of care must promote participation by all
575 interested individuals and organizations and may not exclude
576 individuals and organizations on the basis of race, color,
577 national origin, sex, handicap, familial status, or religion.
578 Faith-based organizations, local governments, and persons who
579 have experienced homelessness are encouraged to participate. To
580 the extent possible, these individuals and organizations must be
581 coordinated and integrated with other mainstream health, social
582 services, and employment programs for which homeless populations
583 may be eligible, including, but not limited to, Medicaid, the
584 State Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Temporary
585 Assistance for Needy Families Program, the Food Assistance
586 Program, and services funded through the Mental Health and
587 Substance Abuse Block Grant, the Workforce Innovation and
588 Opportunity Act, and the welfare-to-work grant program.
589 Section 5. Section 420.6227, Florida Statutes, is created
590 to read:
591 420.6227 Grant-in-aid program.—
592 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.—The Legislature hereby finds and
593 declares that many services for households experiencing
594 homelessness have been provided by local communities through
595 voluntary private agencies and religious organizations and that
596 those resources have not been sufficient to prevent and end
597 homelessness in Florida. The Legislature recognizes that the
598 level of need and types of problems associated with homelessness
599 may vary from community to community, due to the diversity and
600 geographic distribution of the homeless population and the
601 resulting differing needs of particular communities.
602 (2) PURPOSE.—The principal purpose of the grant-in-aid
603 program is to provide needed assistance to continuums of care to
604 enable them to do all of the following:
605 (a) Assist persons in their communities who have become, or
606 may likely become, homeless.
607 (b) Help homeless households move to permanent housing as
608 quickly as possible.
609 (3) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a state
610 grant-in-aid program to help continuums of care prevent and end
611 homelessness, which may include any aspect of the local
612 continuum of care plan, as described in s. 420.6225.
613 (4) APPLICATION PROCEDURE.—Continuums of care that intend
614 to apply for the grant-in-aid program must submit an application
615 for grant-in-aid funds to the State Office on Homelessness for
616 review.
617 (5) SPENDING PLANS.—The State Office on Homelessness shall
618 develop guidelines for the development, evaluation, and approval
619 of spending plans that are created by local continuum of care
620 lead agencies.
621 (6) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDS.—The State Office on
622 Homelessness shall administer state grant-in-aid funds for
623 continuums of care, which must be awarded on a competitive
624 basis.
625 (7) DISTRIBUTION TO LOCAL AGENCIES.—The State Office on
626 Homelessness shall distribute funds awarded under subsection (6)
627 to local agencies to fund programs that are required by the
628 local continuum of care plan, as described in s. 420.6225 and
629 provided in subsection (3), based upon the recommendations of
630 the local continuum of care lead agencies, in accordance with
631 spending plans that are developed by the lead agencies and
632 approved by the office. Not more than 10 percent of the total
633 state funds awarded under a spending plan may be used by the
634 continuum of care lead agency for staffing and administrative
635 expenditures.
636 (8) LOCAL MATCHING FUNDS.—If an entity contracts with local
637 agencies to provide services and receives financial assistance
638 obtained under this section, the entity must provide a minimum
639 of 25 percent of the funding necessary for the support of
640 project operations. In-kind contributions, including, but not
641 limited to, materials, commodities, transportation, office
642 space, other types of facilities, or personal services may be
643 evaluated and counted as part or all of the required local
644 funding, at the discretion of the State Office on Homelessness.
645 Section 6. Section 420.623, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
646 Section 7. Section 420.624, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
647 Section 8. Section 420.625, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
648 Section 9. Subsection (3) of section 420.626, Florida
649 Statutes, is amended, and subsection (2) of that section is
650 republished, to read:
651 420.626 Homelessness; discharge guidelines.—
652 (2) The following facilities and institutions are
653 encouraged to develop and implement procedures designed to
654 reduce the discharge of persons into homelessness when such
655 persons are admitted or housed for more than 24 hours at such
656 facilities or institutions: hospitals and inpatient medical
657 facilities; crisis stabilization units; residential treatment
658 facilities; assisted living facilities; and detoxification
659 centers.
660 (3) The procedures should include all of the following:
661 (a) Development and implementation of a screening process
662 or other mechanism for identifying persons to be discharged from
663 the facility or institution who are at considerable risk for
664 homelessness or face some imminent threat to health and safety
665 upon discharge.;
666 (b) Development and implementation of a discharge plan
667 addressing how identified persons will secure housing and other
668 needed care and support upon discharge.;
669 (c) Communication with Assessment of the capabilities of
670 the entities to whom identified persons may potentially be
671 discharged to determine their capability to serve such persons
672 and their acceptance of such discharge into their programs, and
673 selection of the entity determined to be best equipped to
674 provide or facilitate the provision of suitable care and
675 support.;
676 (d) Coordination of effort and sharing of information with
677 entities that are expected to bear the responsibility for
678 providing care or support to identified persons upon discharge.;
679 and
680 (e) Provision of sufficient medication, medical equipment
681 and supplies, clothing, transportation, and other basic
682 resources necessary to assure that the health and well-being of
683 identified persons are not jeopardized upon their discharge.
684 Section 10. Section 420.6265, Florida Statutes, is amended
685 to read:
686 420.6265 Rapid ReHousing.—
687 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—
688 (a) The Legislature finds that Rapid ReHousing is a
689 strategy of using temporary financial assistance and case
690 management to quickly move an individual or family out of
691 homelessness and into permanent housing, and using housing
692 stabilization support services to help them remain stably
693 housed.
694 (b) The Legislature also finds that public and private
695 solutions to homelessness in the past have focused on providing
696 individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness with
697 emergency shelter, transitional housing, or a combination of
698 both. While emergency shelter and transitional housing programs
699 may provide critical access to services for individuals and
700 families in crisis, the programs often fail to address permanent
701 housing their long-term needs and may unnecessarily extend their
702 episodes of homelessness.
703 (c) The Legislature further finds that most households
704 become homeless as a result of a financial crisis that prevents
705 individuals and families from paying rent or a domestic conflict
706 that results in one member being ejected or leaving without
707 resources or a plan for housing.
708 (d) The Legislature further finds that Rapid ReHousing has
709 proven to be a cost-effective is an alternative approach to
710 ending homelessness which reduces to the current system of
711 emergency shelter or transitional housing which tends to reduce
712 the length of time that a person is homeless and is demonstrably
713 has proven to be more cost effective than alternative
714 approaches.
715 (e) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
716 encourage homeless continuums of care to adopt the Rapid
717 ReHousing approach to ending preventing homelessness for
718 individuals and families who do not require the intensive
719 intense level of supports provided in the permanent supportive
720 housing model.
721 (2) RAPID REHOUSING METHODOLOGY.—
722 (a) The Rapid ReHousing response to homelessness differs
723 from traditional approaches to addressing homelessness by
724 focusing on each individual’s or family’s barriers to housing.
725 By using this approach, communities can significantly reduce the
726 amount of time that individuals and families are homeless and
727 prevent further episodes of homelessness.
728 (b) In Rapid ReHousing, when an individual or a family is
729 identified as being homeless, the individual or family is
730 assessed and prioritized for housing through the continuum of
731 care’s coordinated entry system, temporary assistance is
732 provided to allow the individual or family to obtain permanent
733 housing as quickly as possible, and necessary, if needed,
734 assistance is provided to allow the individual or family to
735 retain housing.
736 (c) The objective of Rapid ReHousing is to provide
737 assistance for as short a term as possible so that the
738 individual or family receiving assistance attains stability and
739 integration into the community as quickly as possible does not
740 develop a dependency on the assistance.
741 Section 11. Section 420.6275, Florida Statutes, is amended
742 to read:
743 420.6275 Housing First.—
744 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—
745 (a) The Legislature finds that many communities plan to
746 manage homelessness rather than plan to end it.
747 (b) The Legislature also finds that for nearly most of the
748 past two decades, public and private solutions to homelessness
749 have focused on providing individuals and families who were are
750 experiencing homelessness with emergency shelter, transitional
751 housing, or a combination of both. This strategy failed to
752 recognize that, while emergency shelter programs may provide
753 critical access to services for individuals and families in
754 crisis, they often fail to address their long-term needs.
755 (c) The Legislature further finds that Housing First is a
756 cost-effective an alternative approach to the current system of
757 emergency shelter or transitional housing which tends to ending
758 homelessness and reducing reduce the length of time of
759 homelessness for many individuals and families and has proven to
760 be cost-effective.
761 (d) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
762 encourage homeless continuums of care to adopt the Housing First
763 approach to ending homelessness for individuals and families.
764 (2) HOUSING FIRST METHODOLOGY.—
765 (a) The Housing First approach to homelessness provides
766 permanent differs from traditional approaches by providing
767 housing assistance, followed by case management, and support
768 services responsive to individual or family needs once after
769 housing is obtained. By using this approach when appropriate,
770 communities can significantly reduce the amount of time that
771 individuals and families are homeless and prevent further
772 episodes of homelessness. Housing First emphasizes that social
773 services provided to enhance individual and family well-being
774 can be more effective when people are in their own home, and:
775 1. The housing is not time-limited.
776 2. The housing is not contingent on compliance with
777 services. Instead, participants must comply with a standard
778 lease agreement.
779 3. Individuals and families and are provided with
780 individualized the services and support that are necessary to
781 help them maintain stable housing do so successfully.
782 3. A background check and any rehabilitation necessary to
783 combat an addiction related to alcoholism or substance abuse has
784 been completed by the individual for whom assistance or support
785 services are provided.
786 (b) The Housing First approach addresses the societal
787 causes of homelessness and advocates for the immediate return of
788 individuals and families into housing and communities. Housing
789 First links affordable housing with community-based social
790 service and health care organizations Housing First provides a
791 critical link between the emergency and transitional housing
792 system and community-based social service, educational, and
793 health care organizations and consists of four components:
794 1. Crisis intervention and short-term stabilization.
795 2. Screening, intake, and needs assessment.
796 3. Provision of housing resources.
797 4. Provision of case management.
798 Section 12. Paragraph (d) of subsection (22) of section
799 420.507, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
800 420.507 Powers of the corporation.—The corporation shall
801 have all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and
802 effectuate the purposes and provisions of this part, including
803 the following powers which are in addition to all other powers
804 granted by other provisions of this part:
805 (22) To develop and administer the State Apartment
806 Incentive Loan Program. In developing and administering that
807 program, the corporation may:
808 (d) In counties or rural areas of counties that do not have
809 existing units set aside for homeless persons, forgive
810 indebtedness for loans provided to create permanent rental
811 housing units for persons who are homeless, as defined in s.
812 420.621 s. 420.621(5), or for persons residing in time-limited
813 transitional housing or institutions as a result of a lack of
814 permanent, affordable housing. Such developments must be
815 supported by a local homeless assistance continuum of care
816 developed under s. 420.6225 s. 420.624, be developed by
817 nonprofit applicants, be small properties as defined by
818 corporation rule, and be a project in the local housing
819 assistance continuum of care plan recognized by the State Office
820 on Homelessness.
821 Section 13. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.