CONTRA COSTA COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS MEETING 1 COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS MINUTES Date: Thursday, April 1, 2021 from 1pm -3 pm Recording Link: https://contracosta.webex.com/contracosta/ldr.php?RCID=e9b54190a7deeba3f76d5361df5f8cfe Password: 9eEPmUMX Council Member Attendance: Alejandra Chamberlain; Doug Leich; Gabriel Lemus; Iman Novin; Jo Bruno; Leslie Gleason; Linae Young; Lindy Lavender; Shawn Ray; Lynn Peralta; Margaret Schiltz; Manjit Sappal Patrice Guillory; Renee Juno Hedrick; Teri House; Tony Ucciferri Absent: Deanne Pearn; Masaki Hirayama; Maureen Nelson Staff Attendance: Cassie Hourlland, H3; Dana Ewing, H3; Jaime Jenett, H3; Jamie Klinger, H3; Jenny Robbins, H3; Lakisha Langston, H3 Lavonna Martin, H3; Michael Fischer, H3; Shelby Ferguson, H3; Tamara Diaz, H3 Public Attendance: Margaret Watts, Anthem; Jonathan Russell, BACS;; Maya Iyani, Bay Area Legal Aid; De'Shavon Hicks, CCHS; Gerald T Richards, CCHS: Behavioral Health; Stephanie Stovall, CCHS: Behavioral Health; Jazmin Ridley, City of Antioch; Lea Murray, Collaborising; Anderson Ko, Community Member; Peter Nijessen, Community Member; Jan Warren, Community Member; Kate Long, Community Member; Sarah McKinney, Community Violence Solutions; Lesley Garcia- 211/Contra Costa Crisis Center, Contra Costa Crisis Center; Katrinka Ruk, Council of Business and Industries; Ronnie Boyd, EBHO; Jacqueline Lopez, EHSD; Lamar Turner, Elder Focus Housing; LaLisha Norton, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Robert Gama, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano; Kathleen Sullivan, GRIP; Sundiata Rashid, GRIP Lauren Larin, Homebase; Sara Marsh, Hope Solutions; Bertha Lopez, Hume Center; Elizabeth Verdin, Hume Center; Samantha Quinn, Hume Center; Claude Battaglia, ILRC; Edith Rico, MHS; Jill Ray, Office of Supervisor Candace Andersen, Office of Supervisor Anderson; Dawn Morrow, Office of Supervisor Burgis; Taylor Kimber, Representative DeSaulniers Office; Janel Fletcher, SHELTER, Inc; John Eckstrom (SHELTER, Inc.), SHELTER, Inc; Karri Eggers, SHELTER, Inc.; Kim Ritchie, SHELTER, Inc.; Lynna Magnuson, SHELTER, Inc.; Madelyn Mitchell, SHELTER, Inc.; Magen Jack, SHELTER, Inc.; Monica Shepard, SHELTER, Inc.; Sunne Roller, SHELTER, Inc.; Alisha Brasley, SHELTER, Inc. ; Andrea Foti, SHELTER, Inc. ; Bill Scheinman, SHELTER, Inc. ; James Worley, SHELTER, Inc. ; Theresa Karr, State Senator Dodd; Carey Gregg, The Bay Church; Leonard Ramirez, Veteran Accession House; Steve Harrell, White Pony Express Time Agenda Item Presenter 1:00 pm 1. Call to Order Lindy Lavender, Chair Lindy Lavender called the meeting to order. 2. Introductions Lindy Lavender, Chair Lindy started the meeting with roll call. Members of the public were asked to introduce themselves in the chat.
Transcript
CONTRA COSTA COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS MEETING
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COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS MINUTES
Date: Thursday, April 1, 2021 from 1pm -3 pm Recording Link: https://contracosta.webex.com/contracosta/ldr.php?RCID=e9b54190a7deeba3f76d5361df5f8cfe Password: 9eEPmUMX Council Member Attendance: Alejandra Chamberlain; Doug Leich; Gabriel Lemus; Iman Novin; Jo Bruno; Leslie Gleason; Linae Young; Lindy Lavender; Shawn Ray; Lynn Peralta; Margaret Schiltz; Manjit Sappal Patrice Guillory; Renee Juno Hedrick; Teri House; Tony Ucciferri Absent: Deanne Pearn; Masaki Hirayama; Maureen Nelson Staff Attendance: Cassie Hourlland, H3; Dana Ewing, H3; Jaime Jenett, H3; Jamie Klinger, H3; Jenny Robbins, H3; Lakisha Langston, H3 Lavonna Martin, H3; Michael Fischer, H3; Shelby Ferguson, H3; Tamara Diaz, H3 Public Attendance: Margaret Watts, Anthem; Jonathan Russell, BACS;; Maya Iyani, Bay Area Legal Aid; De'Shavon Hicks, CCHS; Gerald T Richards, CCHS: Behavioral Health; Stephanie Stovall, CCHS: Behavioral Health; Jazmin Ridley, City of Antioch; Lea Murray, Collaborising; Anderson Ko, Community Member; Peter Nijessen, Community Member; Jan Warren, Community Member; Kate Long, Community Member; Sarah McKinney, Community Violence Solutions; Lesley Garcia- 211/Contra Costa Crisis Center, Contra Costa Crisis Center; Katrinka Ruk, Council of Business and Industries; Ronnie Boyd, EBHO; Jacqueline Lopez, EHSD; Lamar Turner, Elder Focus Housing; LaLisha Norton, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Robert Gama, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano; Kathleen Sullivan, GRIP; Sundiata Rashid, GRIP Lauren Larin, Homebase; Sara Marsh, Hope Solutions; Bertha Lopez, Hume Center; Elizabeth Verdin, Hume Center; Samantha Quinn, Hume Center; Claude Battaglia, ILRC; Edith Rico, MHS; Jill Ray, Office of Supervisor Candace Andersen, Office of Supervisor Anderson; Dawn Morrow, Office of Supervisor Burgis; Taylor Kimber, Representative DeSaulniers Office; Janel Fletcher, SHELTER, Inc; John Eckstrom (SHELTER, Inc.), SHELTER, Inc; Karri Eggers, SHELTER, Inc.; Kim Ritchie, SHELTER, Inc.; Lynna Magnuson, SHELTER, Inc.; Madelyn Mitchell, SHELTER, Inc.; Magen Jack, SHELTER, Inc.; Monica Shepard, SHELTER, Inc.; Sunne Roller, SHELTER, Inc.; Alisha Brasley, SHELTER, Inc. ; Andrea Foti, SHELTER, Inc. ; Bill Scheinman, SHELTER, Inc. ; James Worley, SHELTER, Inc. ; Theresa Karr, State Senator Dodd; Carey Gregg, The Bay Church; Leonard Ramirez, Veteran Accession House; Steve Harrell, White Pony Express
Time Agenda Item Presenter 1:00 pm 1. Call to Order Lindy Lavender, Chair Lindy Lavender called the meeting to order. 2. Introductions Lindy Lavender, Chair Lindy started the meeting with roll call. Members of the public were asked to introduce themselves in the chat.
3. Public Comment- Open Period for members of the public to
comment on items not listed on the agenda.
All
• None 4. Action Items
a. REVIEW and APPROVE minutes from the March 4, 2021 Council meeting.
Lindy Lavender, Chair
Minutes Motion
• State of Motion: o To approve the minutes from the March 4, 2021 Council meeting.
• Discussion o No discussion.
• Procedural Record o Motion made by: Teri House o Seconded by: Tony Ucciferri o AYES: Alejandra Chamberlain; Doug Leich; Gabriel Lemus; Iman Novin; Jo Bruno; Leslie Gleason;; Lindy
Lavender; Shawn Ray; Lynn Peralta; Margaret Schiltz; Manjit Sappal Patrice Guillory; Renee Juno Hedrick; Teri House; Tony Ucciferri
o NOES: None o ABSTAINS: None o ABSENT: Deanne Pearn; Linae Altman, Masaki Hirayama; Maureen Nelson
Motion approved. 5. Funding Update
a. 2021 HUD CoC NOFA b. (ACTION ITEM) Identify non-conflicting COH members to
participate in 2021 CoC NOFA Scoring Tools Meetings.
- Homebase
2021 HUD CoC NOFA Lauren Larin provided an update on the process to prepare for the HUD CoC NOFA.
• Still anticipating a NOFA. Typically get the full NOFA in early July but work can happen now to prepare. • NOFA 101 session for agencies interested in applying for first time or for staff new to agency that already
applies happened on 3/31. • Highlighted timeline of upcoming activities (slide 8)
o Homebase has requested Annual Performance Report (APR) reports from agencies that are applying for renewals.
o Recommendations from Scoring Tool Meetings will come back to COH for final approval. • Homebase can provide Technical Assistance to agencies considering applying for HUD CoC funds for the first
time. • Leslie Gleason: Hopes COH can provide high level guidance to providers to help inform whether or not to
voluntarily reallocate existing projects or decide what type of projects to pursue new funding for. Can we review changes in scoring tools over time? Might be helpful for system to know up front if anyone is thinking of
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voluntarily reallocating so we’d know how much money we might have to play with. Concerned about doing a lot of work on scoring tools in case there are big changes to the NOFA with the new federal administration.
• Lauren: can give some of the history of changes to the tool in Scoring Tool meetings. Will definitely be an opportunity to revise tool after approval of the tool and before the application process begins to modify in accordance with actual NOFA.
• Cassie: Will hear more later about need based on data presented by Jamie Klinger. (ACTION ITEM) Identify non-conflicting COH members to participate in 2021 CoC NOFA Scoring Tools Meetings.
• Looking for COH members to join process as non-conflicted participant. • Iman: How much of the CoC funding goes to PSH? Lauren: it’s housing focused funding and majority goes to PSH
and RRH. Can support services as long as they’re tied to housing. • Doug: 2-3 years ago, NOFA included DV bonus and remembered not having any providers apply for the bonus
funding because not enough information shared among providers re who was applying for what. • Lauren: Will know more about bonus funding, etc when NOFA comes out and Homebase will hold information
session. Explained APR report. • Jo: asked for clarification about what “non-conflicted” means. Lauren: means people from organizations that
will not be applying for this funding. • Edith Rico from MHS interested in attending Scoring Tools meeting. Lauren: meeting is open to the public.
Cassie: meeting information is on Google calendar on H3 website and shared times, dates and links in chat. • Leslie: Is she supposed to be at the meetings, given her seat on the Council? Cassie: Yes. • Jonathan Russell: Will 2020 Housing Intervention Modelling report influence this process? Cassie: Yes, will be
presented as part of slide deck later. Motion
• State of Motion:
o To approve Doug Leich, Iman Novin, Jo Bruno and Teri House as representatives of the Council on Homelessness to attend CoC NOFA Scoring Tool meetings.
• Discussion o No discussion.
• Procedural Record o Motion made by: Teri House o Seconded by: Leslie Gleason o AYES: Alejandra Chamberlain; Doug Leich; Gabriel Lemus; Iman Novin; Jo Bruno; Leslie Gleason;; Lindy
Lavender; Shawn Ray; Linae Altman; Lynn Peralta; Margaret Schiltz; Manjit Sappal Patrice Guillory; Renee Juno Hedrick; Teri House; Tony Ucciferri
o NOES: None o ABSTAINS: None o ABSENT: Deanne Pearn; Masaki Hirayama; Maureen Nelson
6. Committee Report Outs
a. HMIS Policy b. Oversight c. YAC
Tony Ucciferri, Public Housing Authority Representative Iman Novin, Affordable Housing Representative
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Juno Hedrick, Youth Representative
HMIS policy Tony Ucciferri provided an update on the March HMIS Policy Committee meeting. (slide 12)
• Changes to HMIS MOU (background, spelling out acronyms, roles and responsibilities) • RED Team working on HMIS Policies and Procedures and will be brought to Committee in April. Last updated
2014. • RED Team reviewed new HUD data standards and received input on intake form • VI-SPDAT data entry process and annual assessment reminders • Next meeting will review HMIS Policies and Procedures
Oversight Committee Iman Novin recapped the last Oversight meeting (Slide 14)
• Received staff report with meeting summaries • Discussed updates to policies and procedures and complain process • Decided to form working group for CoC Written Standards and Complaint Language • Recommendations for COH report to Board of Supervisors • Received presentation on System Performance Measures • Next meeting June 17th from 1-3 pm
Youth Action Council Juno Hedrick reported that YAC participated in CCHS Rapid Improvement Event. YAC shared lived experiences. YAC members reported finding participation very helpful for their own understanding of system. Will provide feedback on experience at next COH meeting. 7. Old Business
a. COVID-19 Homeless Updates b. Equity c. Staff Report d. Quarterly Report e. Regionalism
Lavonna Martin, H3 Jenny Robbins, H3 REAL Cohort member Cassie Hourlland, H3
COVID-19 Homeless Updates Lavonna Martin announced that Contra Costa is the first county in California to open up criteria to 16+ for COVID-19 vaccinations.
• Jenny Robbins announced that Congregate Care guidance changes as tiers change and that the change from Purple to Red Tier means indoor dining is allowed up to 20% capacity at homeless service sites. When we switch to Orange, we will update guidance. Working with Health Officers to update guidance on transportation and other aspects of care.
• Data on vaccination of homeless population in Contra Costa (using HUD definition of homeless) o 1116 received at least one dose o 733 fully vaccinated o At hotels, 221 have had at least one dose, 166 fully vaccinated. Will be at other hotels this week
• Seeing vaccine hesitancy. Asking people working with people experiencing homelessness to think of themselves as ambassadors re: getting the word out about the vaccine. Materials available to help with education. Vaccine is key to reopening.
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• Healthcare for the Homeless has been lining up events and has a calendar available. If have low interest at a site, are providing information and education instead of the vaccine.
• Training for providers on vaccines for people experiencing homelessness offered 3/15. Training link: https://cchealth.org/h3/coc/pdf/COVID-19-Vaccine-for-People-Experiencing-Homelessness-Training-0312-2021.pdf
• Shared proposed vaccine dissemination plan. Contingent on supply of vaccine. • Leslie shared that there were 30 people vaccinated at the Trinity Center site and was very happy with how
Healthcare for the Homeless interacted with clients. Equity Doug Leich reported that the Racial Equity Action lab met on 3/25 and reviewed best practices in Consumer Engagement and also received a presentation from the Behavioral Health Office for Consumer Empowerment. The group will meet again in April to start to build a strategy.
• Leslie highlighted the learning about the importance of having more than one consumer participating in events/activities to prevent tokenization of consumers. May be ways to incorporate more consumer representation and engagement with the Council on Homelessness.
• Jo encouraged Contra Costa to utilize a peer model in the homeless system of care, modelled on POCC from Alameda County. Highlighted SPIRIT program through Office of Consumer Empowerment as an existing network of consumers.
Staff Report Cassie solicited feedback on staff report provided. No feedback provided. Quarterly Report Cassie solicited feedback on proposed quarterly report from COH to Board of Supervisors. Highlighted four bucket (funding, policy, data and system initiatives). Oversight suggested looking at Healthcare for the Homeless data and overall improved health of people experiencing homelessness. Not sure if have capacity with data team to include in upcoming report.
- No feedback Regionalism Lavonna Martin provided an update on regionalism work through the Regional Impact Council.
• Supervisor Anderson is the Contra Costa representative on the Regional Impact Council • Presented goals developed by RIC in finalized Regional Action Plan (slide 27). • Supervisor Burgis and Anderson will bring this plan to the Board of Supervisors for approval at the end of April • This plan will guide our system of care. • Our goal is to decrease unsheltered homelessness by 30% year 1 and 30% in year 2. Do this by enhancing
prioritization strategies for housing and services, increasing turnover in temporary shelter and increasing shelter and housing inventory.
• Showed Contra Costa County Housing Intervention Modeling to demonstrate capacity and outstanding need and cost of closing gaps.
• Additional funding needed to reach optimal capacity is $70.2-95.9m/year to take care of need identified pre-pandemic.
• Bringing this information to Council on Homelessness and Board of Supervisors to prepare for call to action. • Asked for Continuous Quality Improvement Committee to help us find a System Improvement Advisor. Put out
an RFP. The committee will help review RFPs submitted.
• Leslie: unmet mental health and substance abuse needs is a driving factor. How do we connect those systems to this work? Lavonna: haven’t had official conversations but invite us to have this conversation at the local level. We need to think about other resources that need to come to the table to help us be successful. System improvement advisor will likely help us bring this together.
• Margaret: seconded Leslie’s point re behavioral health and highlighted that people with these conditions may need specific supports to success in housing. Saw successes with Project Roomkey.
• Lavonna: much of our population has co-occurring disorders. This isn’t just about housing. Opportunity to think about how to better partner with behavioral health.
• Jo: Introduce idea of Peer Respite sites. Warming centers were ok but need more resources. • Iman: does PSH cost include capital cost? Lavonna: no, is just rent and services. Iman: achieving 30% goal
needs to include fast approaches to creating more units- buying more hotels/motels, distressed assets and do preservation as well as production of new units. That costs $150,000 per unit for new units.
8. New Business
a. State of the System i. CoC funding overview
ii. Demographics iii. System Utilization
Homebase Dana Ewing, H3 Jamie Klinger, H3 Cassie Hourlland, H3
State of the System Cassie Hourlland reminded the group that this presentation is being provided in support of the NOFA process. CoC funding overview Lauren Larin provided an overview of HUD CoC Program funding including program types and eligible uses. (slides 35-44) Demographics Jamie Klinger provided information on the system utilization, consumer demographics, trends and current need.
• Stella data set (HUD tool to look at households by only 4 project types) • Homeless HMIS data set (individual level data and includes more variety of project types).
o CORE sees 1/3 of all clients that come through our system o RRH clients included in this data until they have a move in date.
Stella • Showed map of pathways that shows system flow and exits • Showed summary of flow into/out of system • Leslie: is this just Contra Costa data or can we see other communities data? Jamie: This is just CC, but there is a
regional/state initiative to share data HMIS
• Presented 2019 data (slides 54-60) o from 2017-2019:
35% increase in seniors 62+ 40% increase in # of chronically homeless 23% increase in # of adult-only households (90% are adult only) Largest increase in Hispanic/Latino and Multiple Races No change in % of households experiencing domestic violence 6% increase in veterans
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Approved 5.6.21
System Utilization Housing Prioritization tool critical because need outweighs resources
• 1230 on housing queue • 19% score in RRH • 79% score in PSH range
Priorities emerging from data • Seniors • Adult only households • Chronic households • PSH
Questions: • Shawn Ray: do we know why people reenter system? Jamie: we haven’t looked closely at this population but
could do a deeper data dive and bring that information back. • Jonathan Russell: Can we get this information/report? Jaime: Yes, we’ll post all this information. • Cassie: we can create space at next COH meeting to further discuss this information • Jonathan: Can we look at recidivism by race/ethnicity b/c see disparities in other communities. PSH data shows
really high need compared to availability. How does “Move On” program impact this? Are there plans to think about PSH/Move On? Jamie: Annual Report from 2019 shows 89% of people in PSH remain active in that program. Only 4% exit to other permanent housing types. Need to look at how to move people on to other permanent housing types.
• Lindy: Will talk with Cassie re creating more time at next meeting to talk more about this. Announcements All
• 211 event for Contra Costa Crisis Center: Registration is open for free virtual trainings this Spring by the Contra Costa Crisis Center: Suicide Prevention Trainings: http://bit.ly/SPTraining2021. 211 Online Database Training: https://www.crisis-center.org/211-training/.
• Cassie highlighted slide with information about state-run COVID-19 Rent Relief Program (see slide 65). • Cassie thanked CoC Providers for being so responsive to recent data requests. • LaLisha Norton- Cal Fresh Outreach Program for Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. Want to do more
outreach with our population. Connect with her re how they can help people enroll in Cal Fresh and provide other resources like filing taxes. Contact her at [email protected].
Pin It All • COH Meeting- May 6, 2021 from 1:00-3:00pm
3:00 pm Adjournment Lindy Lavender, Chair • Meeting was adjourned
Date: Thursday, April 1, 2021, 1 pm – 3 pm Location: Join the meeting via WebEx at the following link:
https://contracosta.webex.com/contracosta/j.php?MTID=m77579552d11a6c321e8f149032825667 Call in information: +1-408-826-0365 US Toll Access Code: 146 246 8230
Time Agenda Item Presenter 1:00 1. Call to Order- Chair starts the meeting Lindy Lavender, Chair 1:00 2. Introductions- Roll call of Councilmembers and introduction of guests. Lindy Lavender, Chair 1:10 3. Public Comment- Open Period for members of the public to comment on
items not listed on the agenda. Members of the public
1:15 1. Minutes A. (ACTION ITEM) REVIEW and APPROVE minutes from the March 4,
2020 Council meeting.
Lindy Lavender, Chair
1:20 2. Funding Update A. 2021 HUD CoC NOFA B. (ACTION ITEM) Identify non-conflicting COH members to
participate in 2021 CoC NOFA Scoring Tools Meetings.
Homebase
1:25 3. Committee Report Outs A. HMIS Policy B. Oversight C. YAC
Tony Ucciferri, Public Housing Authority Representative Iman Novin, Affordable Housing Representative Juno Hedrick, Youth Representative
1:40 4. Old Business A. COVID-19 Homeless Updates B. Equity C. Staff Report D. Quarterly Report E. Regionalism
Lavonna Martin, H3 Jenny Robbins, H3 REAL Cohort member Cassie Hourlland, H3
2:00 5. New Business A. State of the System
i. CoC funding overview ii. Demographics
iii. System Utilization
Homebase Dana Ewing, H3 Jamie Klinger, H3 Cassie Hourlland, H3
CONTRA COSTA COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS MEETING Commonly Used Acronyms
Acronym Definition APR Annual Performance Report (for HUD homeless programs) CARE Coordinated Assessment and Resource CCYCS Contra Costa Youth Continuum of Services CDBG, CDBG-CV
Community Development Block Grant (federal and state programs) and the federal Community Development Block Grant CARES Act coronavirus allocation.
CESH California Emergency Solutions and Housing program (state funding) Continuum of Care (CoC)
Continuum of Care approach to assistance to the homeless. Federal grant program promoting and funding permanent solutions to homelessness.
Con Plan Consolidated Plan, a locally developed plan for housing assistance and urban development under CDBG. CORE Coordinated Outreach Referral, Engagement program COVID-19 Coronavirus DOC Department Operations Center EHSD (Contra Costa County) Employment and Human Services Division EOC Emergency Operations Center ESG and ESG-CV Emergency Solutions Grant (federal and state program) and the federal Emergency Solutions Grant CARES Act
coronavirus allocation. ESG-CV Emergency Solutions Grant CARES FMR Fair Market Rent (maximum rent for Section 8 rental assistance/CoC grants) HCD Housing and Community Development (State office) HEAP Homeless Emergency Aid Program (State funding) HEARTH Homeless Emergency and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009 HHAP Homeless Housing and Assistance Program HMIS Homeless Management Information System HOME Home Investment Partnerships (CPD program) HUD U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (federal)
MHSA Mental Health Services Act NOFA Notice of Funding Availability PHA Public Housing Authority PUI Persons Under Investigation SAMHSA Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration SRO Single-Room Occupancy housing units SSDI Social Security Disability Income SSI Supplemental Security Income TA Technical Assistance TAY Transition Age Youth (usually ages 16-24) VA Veterans Affairs (U.S. Department of) VASH Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing VI-SPDAT Vulnerability Index – Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool
CONTRA COSTA COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS MEETING
Contra Costa County COVID-19 Resources: Please see below for additional resources on COVID-19. Health Services COVID Data Dashboard- https://www.coronavirus.cchealth.org/dashboard Health Services Homeless Specific Data Dashboard- https://www.coronavirus.cchealth.org/homeless-dashboard Health Services COVID Updates- https://www.coronavirus.cchealth.org/health-services-updates Health Services Homeless-Specific COVID Resources -https://www.coronavirus.cchealth.org/for-the-homeless
Purpose of the Meeting: These are monthly meetings for the Council on Homelessness (COH) to conduct the business of the Council. The Council is the planning body that coordinates the community’s policies, strategies, and activities toward preventing and ending homelessness in Contra Costa County.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Lindy Lavender, Chair
MINUTESLindy Lavender, Chair
ACTION ITEM
Review and approve minutes from the March 4th, 2021 Council Meeting.
1. Member makes a motion
2. Second (every motion requires
a second) 3. Discussion
4. Vote: Motion passes
FUNDING UPDATE
2021 HUD CoC NOFA- Homebase
2021 HUD COC NOFA
Pre-NOFA prep work underway
NOFA 101 Session
• Scoring Tool Meeting #1 (renewal project scoring tool)- April 8th from 3-5:00pm
• Scoring Tool Meeting #2 (new project scoring tool)- April 21st from 3-5:00pm
• APR requests
• Discussion and possible adoption of scoring tools- May COH meeting
• New project technical assistance- TBD
• NOFA usually released late June/early July
Upcoming Activities
COH MEMBER PARTICIPATION IN 2021 COC NOFASCORING TOOLS MEETINGS (ACTION ITEM)
1-3 non-provider COH members (does not have to be potential/future R&R panelists)
2-3 scoring tools meetings between April and May
Ensure transparency, COH oversight of NOFA process, and COC and system needs are adequately considered
1. Member makes a motion
2. Second (every motion requires
a second) 3. Discussion
4. Vote: Motion passes
COMMITTEE REPORT OUTS
HMIS Policy- Tony Ucciferri, Public Housing Authority Representative
Oversight- Iman Novin, Affordable Housing Developer Representative
YAC- Juno Hedrick, Youth Representative
HMIS POLICY Tony Ucciferri, Public Housing Authority Representative
HMIS POLICY COMMITTEE
Past Meeting (March 16th from 3:00-4:00pm)
• MOU
• 2022 HUD Data Standards
• Proposed changes to the intake form
• VISPDAT Data Entry and Annual Assessment Reminders
Next Meeting (April 20th from 3:00-4:00pm)
• Review HMIS Policies and Procedures
OVERSIGHT Iman Novin, Affordable Housing Developer Representative
Contra Costa cohort met 3/25 Best practices in homeless services
Presentation from Contra Costa Behavior Health Office for Consumer Empowerment
Will meet in April to start to build strategy
Final BARHII session May 27th
STAFF REPORT Cassie Hourlland, H3
STAFF REPORT
Monitoring
DV Data Migration
Policy
QUARTERLY REPORT
Cassie Hourlland, H3
QUARTERLY REPORT
Funding Policy Data System
Initiatives
REGIONALISM Lavonna Martin, H3
REGIONALISM
75% reduction in unsheltered homelessness• 30% in Yr 1• 30% in Yr 2• 15% in Yr 3
Contra Costa County Housing Intervention ModelingPopulation Baseline: 6,9005800 households were sheltered and unsheltered in Contra Costa.
Approximately 47% (3,250) consumers are at risk of COVID-19.
Current Capacity vs. Immediate Need
Total COVID Funds: ~$40M
• Federal ESG $403k• Federal ESG-CV $10.3M• State ESG-CV $1.3M• Project Roomkey $1.7M• Project Homekey* $21.4M• CRF HCFC COVID $858k
RRH
PSH
Vouchers
Emergency Shelter
Interim Shelter (Hotel)
Transitional Housing
Prevention/Rapid Resolution
172 869
Current Gap/Need
Total
Exits
Entry(Temporary Beds)
Homelessness Prevention & Rapid
Resolution
541 1209
35 822
630
617183
1,430
194
1,243
1,041
Optimal
1,750
194
1,829 586
857
2,998 6,561 4,103
Estimated Cost to Reach Optimal Capacity
INTERVENTIONCOST PERUNIT/HHPER YEAR
NUMBER NEEDED
TOTAL (PER YEAR)
RRH $19,980 869 $17.4 M
PSH $24,000 1209 $29.0 M
Vouchers $17,858 822 $14.7 M
Emergency and Interim Shelter $10,950-$52,560 617 $6.7 M – $32.4 M
Transitional Housing $43,070 0 $0
Homelessness Prevention/Rapid Resolution
$4,480 537 $2.4 M
Total 4,054 $70.2 M – $95.9 M
NEW BUSINESS
State of the System Presentation
Homebase
Dana Ewing, H3
Jamie Klinger, H3
CONTRA COSTA COC2021 STATE OF THE SYSTEM
AGENDA
HUD CoC Funding Overview
State of the System Data
• System Utilization
• Consumer Demographics & Trends
• Current Need
HUD COCPROGRAM OVERVIEW
Homebase
Introduction to the Players
• HUD – United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Federal Government agency that releases money and sets program rules
• CoC - Continuum of Care. Funding stream for permanent housing with services for people experiencing homelessness. Sometimes also use this to broadly mean the group of stakeholders in the community.
• NOFA – Notice of Funding Availability. Term used for many different funding programs, but today we mean specifically the notice for HUD CoC funding.
Nationally, HUD funds about $2 billion through the CoC NOFA each year
CoC funding distributed through CoCs
(Note dual use of the term CoC)
HUD
Contra Costa CoC
Project 1 Project 2 Etc…
Alameda CoC
Alameda Projects
San Mateo CoC
San Mateo Projects
Contra Costa CoC Funding $16.3M
ACCESS
Garden Park Apartments Community
(GPAC)
Idaho Apartments
Permanent Connections
Permanent Turningpoint
Shelter Plus Care - Lakeside
Contra Costa HMIS
Destination Home
Villa Vasconcellos
Contra Costa Tenant-Based
Rental Assistance
Contra Costa Project-Based
Rental Assistance
Reach Plus RRH
Contra Costa Coordinated
Entry
Families in Supportive
Housing (FISH)
Tabora Gardens Senior
ApartmentsProject Thrive
Contra Costa Coordinated
Entry Expansion
High Utilizers of Multiple Systems
Esperanza RRHCA-505 CoC
Planning Project Application 2020
Permanent
Supportive
Housing
(PSH)
Rapid
Rehousing
(RRH)
System
Support
2020 Awardees – Contra Costa
Organization Name Project or Award Name
FY2020
Amount
Contra Costa Interfaith Transitional Housing, Inc ACCESS $1,059,055
Garden Park Apartments Community (GPAC) Garden Park Apartments Community (GPAC) $352,150
Resources for Community Development Idaho Apartments $194,836
Contra Costa Health Services Permanent Connections $284,206
SHELTER, Inc. Permanent Turningpoint $660,119
Housing Authority of Contra Costa County Shelter Plus Care - Lakeside $96,468
Contra Costa Health Services Contra Costa HMIS $175,596
Contra Costa Health Services Destination Home $429,457
Housing Authority of Contra Costa County Villa Vasconcellos $120,471
Housing Authority of Contra Costa County Contra Costa Tenant-Based Rental Assistance $7,136,511
Housing Authority of Contra Costa County Contra Costa Project-Based Rental Assistance $165,824
SHELTER, Inc. Reach Plus RRH $491,755
Contra Costa Health Services Contra Costa Coordinated Entry $550,344
Contra Costa Interfaith Transitional Housing, Inc Families in Supportive Housing (FISH) $1,087,325
• Client choice of crisis housing & supportive services or RRH
Eligible Uses
• Serve those who meet HUD’s definition of “Literally Homeless” (ie living in a place not meant for human habitation, not couchsurfing, doubling up, etc) or Actively Fleeing domestic violence or escaping an abuser (and a couple other exceptions)
• You can specialize in a subpopulation, but need to be willing to serve everyone if you have space and can’t discriminate
• Provide housing through master leasing or rental assistance
• Pay for staff (case managers, supervisors, some admin funds)
• Pay for services ALONG side housing (Medicaid enrollment, child care, transportation, food, job training/education, legal services)
Non-Eligible Uses
• Emergency Shelter
• Support Services Only without Housing (except Coordinated Entry)
• New Transitional Housing (except combined with RRH)
• Homelessness Prevention
Eligible Housing Types and Costs
• Master Leasing
• You sign a lease on apartments (all in one building or scattered around the city) and HUD reimburses you for the costs of the lease
• Clients sign sub-leases of at least 12 months with you
• Rental Assistance
• You help clients find third-party landlords, and clients sign leases directly with them for at least 12 months
• You give clients a monthly stipend to help with rent
• Other housing costs you can cover include: security deposits, one-time utility deposits, minor property damage, property management costs
1 out of 4 households had a history of domestic violence;36% of them were currently fleeing
2019 HMIS DATA: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
2019 HMIS Data: Veterans
2019 Literally Homeless
8% of adults were veterans
6% increase in Veterans since 2017
2017-2019 CoC Trend
2019 HMIS DATA: VETERANS
HOUSING PRIORITIZATION TOOL
Need far outweighs availability
Prioritization allows most vulnerable to access limited housing
Used to prioritize people for limited housing resources
• Currently, most vulnerable prioritized for both RRH and PSH based on availability
• Scoring categories (range of 0 to 21):
• 0-3: no housing intervention
• 4-7: recommend RRH
• 8+: recommend PSH
CURRENT HOUSING QUEUE (MARCH 25, 2021)
1,230 people on the Queue:
24 people scored 0-3 (no intervention)
236 people scored 4-7 (recommend RRH)
970 people scored 8+ (recommend PSH)
2%
19%
79%
0 to 3
4 to 7
8+
PRIORITY GROUPS FOR RRH AND PSH
• Seniors
• Adult-only households
• Chronic households
• Highest need for PSH programs
Priorities based on 2019 CoC Data of Literally Homeless & queue:
ANNOUNCEMENTS Lindy Lavender, Chair
COVID-19 RENT RELIEF PROGRAM
• The program assists income-qualified renters impacted by COVID-19 who need help to pay for rent or utilities. Eligible household income may not exceed 80% of the local median income. Eligible renters whose landlords do not participate in the program can still receive 25% of unpaid rent accrued between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021. Eligible renters can also receive future rent assistance equal to 25% of their monthly rent. The program also provides up to 80% rent reimbursement to landlords for unpaid rent accrued between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021.
In Contra Costa, the following providers will be able to support landlords and tenant access these funds:
Community Housing Development Corporation of North Richmond
(510) 215-2515
Northern California Land Trust (510) 548-7878
Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. dba Neighborhood Housing Services of the East Bay
(510) 334-7750
SHELTER, Inc. (925) 349-0571
Please note, this is a state-run program and is not administered
by the CoC.
PIN IT Lindy Lavender, Chair
UPCOMING MEETINGS
COH Meeting- May 6, 2021 from 1:00-3:00pm
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COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS MINUTES
Date: Thursday, March 4, 2021 from 1pm -3 pm Recording Link: https://contracosta.webex.com/contracosta/ldr.php?RCID=eab99cbc3c024ad9b9ab10c4641e014d Password: JeJ26RM3
Council Member Attendance: Alejandra Chamberlain; Deanne Pearn; Doug Leich; Gabriel Lemus; Iman Novin; Jo Bruno; Leslie Gleason; Linae Young; Lindy Lavender; Shawn Ray; Lynn Peralta; Margaret Schiltz; Masaki Hirayama; Maureen Nelson; Manjit Sappal Patrice Guillory; Renee Juno Hedrick; Teri House; Tony Ucciferri Absent: None Staff Attendance: Cassie Hourlland, H3; Jaime Jenett, H3; Jamie Klinger, H3; Jenny Robbins, H3; Lakisha Langston, H3 Lavonna Martin, H3; Michael Fischer, H3 Public Attendance:
Jonathan Russell, BACS; Maya Iyani, Bay Area Legal Aid Carlyn Obringer, Blue Shield of California; Stephanie Stovall, CCHS- Behavioral Health; Jazmin Ridley, City of Antioch; Jean Walker, Community member; Khalia Parish, guest, Community member; Linda Del Matto, Community Member; Kate, Community member; Peter Meyer, Community member; Jacqueline Lopez, EHSD; Kathleen Sullivan, GRIP; Contesa Tate, GRIP; Sundiata Rashid, GRIP; Josie - Health Advocates, Health Advocates; Lauren Larin, Homebase; William Goodwin, Hope Solutions REP Program; Bertha Lopez, Hume Center; Samantha Quinn, Hume Center; Elizabeth Verdin, Hume Center; Claude Battaglia, Independent Living Resource Center; Cassie Blazer, Life Learning Academy; Emily Claassen, Lifelong Medical; Joleen Lafayette, Loaves and Fishes; Edith Rico, MHS, Inc.; Ivette Kwan, MHS, Inc.; Adelaide Nzeusseu, Mt. Diablo Unified School District; Jazmin Caliman, Northern California Family Center; Theresa Karr, Office of Senator Bill Dodd; Veronica Bethel-Parker, Office of State Senator Bill Dodd; George Escutia, Office of State Senator Steve Glazer; Jill Ray, Office of Supervisor Candace Andersen, Office of Supervisor Candace Andersen; Dawn Morrow, Office of Supervisor Diane Burgis; John Eckstrom (SHELTER, Inc.), SHELTER, Inc. ; Andrea Foti, SHELTER, Inc. ; Tara Segura, SHELTER, Inc. ; Kim Ritchie, SHELTER, Inc.; [email protected], SHELTER, Inc.; Janel Fletcher, SHELTER, Inc. ; Nicole Green, SHELTER, Inc.; Brandon Wirth, SHELTER, Inc. ; Madeline Mitchell, SHELTER, Inc. ; Colleen Awad, Supervisor Karen Mitchoff's Office; Mark Walker, Swords to Plowshares; Carey Gregg, The Bay Church; Leonard Ramirez, Veteran Accession House; Lois Courchaine, White Pony Express
Time Agenda Item Presenter
1:00 pm 1. Call to Order Lindy Lavender, Chair
Lindy Lavender called the meeting to order.
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2. Introductions Lindy Lavender, Chair
Lindy started the meeting with roll call. Members of the public were asked to introduce themselves in the chat. 3. Public Comment- Open Period for members of the public to
comment on items not listed on the agenda.
All
• George Escutia from the Office of State Senator Steve Glazer announced that the Senator named Lavonna Martin, Director of Contra Costa Health, Housing and Homeless Services as the Woman of the Year. There will be a series of events to mark this honor, including a virtual ceremony to be announced at a later date.
• Joleen Lafayette from Loaves and Fishes announced that the new Walnut Creek Loaves and Fishes dining room will have a soft opening to the public on March 9th and will have a ribbon cutting ceremony March 23rd.
4. Action Items a. REVIEW and APPROVE minutes from the February 4, 2021
Council meeting.
Lindy Lavender, Chair
Minutes Motion
• State of Motion: o To approve the minutes from the February 4, 2021 Council meeting.
• Discussion o No discussion.
• Procedural Record o Motion made by: Leslie Gleason o Seconded by: Lynn Peralta o AYES: Alejandra Chamberlain; Deanne Pearn; Doug Leich; Jo Bruno; Leslie Gleason; Lindy Lavender;
Shawn Ray; Lynn Peralta; Margaret Schiltz; Masaki Hirayama; Maureen Nelson; Manjit Sappal; Patrice Guillory; Renee Juno Hedrick; Teri House; Tony Ucciferri; Gabriel Lemus; Linae Young,
o NOES: None o ABSTAINS: None o ABSENT: Iman Novin
Motion approved.
1. Old Business A. COVID-19 Homeless Updates B. Workforce Development Collaboration C. Equity
COVID-19 Homeless Updates Jenny Robbins provided information on COVID-19 Homeless Updates. Highlights included:
• Will have a standing agenda item for “Vaccine Updates” at future COH meetings.
• Did training with Healthcare for the Homeless staff to Project Roomkey, shelter and CARE center staff in early February to educate providers on basics about COVID-19 vaccine to prepare them to provide information to consumers. Will provide a similar training to other CoC providers soon. Will include training on Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
• Incorporating vaccine updates in monthly Provider meetings. Last meeting had providers share experience getting vaccine.
• Johnson & Johnson vaccine: we will be offering this through mobile health vaccination clinic sites. Prioritize unsheltered, people in congregate settings and Project Roomkey sites. Should have the vaccine rolling out though those sites in the next few weeks.
Cassie Hourlland recapped the discussion at the last COH meeting about concerns about impact of reopening and vaccinations on homeless service providers and whether or not CoC guidelines should be developed to address some of these concerns.
• H3 researched guidance from HUD and CDC.
• HUD states that ESG funded programs cannot require participants to be vaccinated and is strongly suggesting CoCs use Housing First approach by reducing barriers to housing ie: don’t require vaccination for program participation. No guidance re: requiring staff to be vaccinated.
• CDC guidance states Homeless Service providers should continue to use all existing COVID-19 precautions and guidance even as vaccines roll out.
• Identified forums for more conversations about this topic including Executive Director meetings, Provider meetings and CoC/ESG Committee meetings.
• Will bring this issue to Oversight Committee in March, which will include CoC/ESG written standards and will likely form working group to further develop guidelines related to disaster planning and specific needs related to COVID-19.
• Next steps: o Continue to monitor HUD/CDC guidance o Conduct provider survey to better understand needs/challenges related to COVID-19. Can bring
results back to COH in April and also to Oversight Committee. o Update written standards to address COVID-19 related guidance
• Presented COVID-19 Resources (slide 10-11)
• Identified where conversations about COVID-19 are already happening, including CCHS COVID-19 Focus groups (slide 9)
Lavonna Martin provided an update on Emergency Rental Assistance Program (Slide12).
• $71m allocated to Contra Costa in emergency rental assistance.
• Contra Costa has asked state to distribute the funds on our behalf.
• H3 working with County Administrators office and state to help set this up.
• State has partnered with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to help distribute the funds. LISC will be working closely with local community partners in Contra Costa. Want to make sure residents know how to access funds and get help doing that.
• Partner agencies apply to state to be a partner. We will get full list of partners from LISC next week.
• State expects applications to be available in mid-March
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• Can always go to state website www.housingiskey.com for more information Workforce Development Collaboration Maureen Nelson and Cassie Hourlland provided information on Workforce Development Collaboration (slides 13-17)
• Innovating with Human Centered Design for Homeless and Workforce System Redesign. Designed to help link homeless consumers to workforce/employment resources.
• Highlighted partners on design team (slide 14). Includes people with lived experience as consultants.
• Explained Human Centered design
• Described accomplishments to date, including cross training.
• Developing Asset Map to identify all homeless services and other systems that homeless services interact with
• Highlighted Housing and Work peer learning convenings.
• Framework for solutions will be responsive to COVID-19 environment and race/equity.
• Future: research, prototyping solutions, refining prototypes, testing/implementation and develop a white paper and share out results.
Equity Alejandra Chamberlain provided an update on the Racial Equity Action Lab (REAL) progress. Cohort selected Consumer Engagement as the topic their project (see slide 18) Jaime Jenett reported out on progress with contracting with an Equity Consultant. Hope to finalize contracting process next month.
- Scope of work for the consultant will include: o qualitative/quantitative assessment of equity in system o building a roadmap to equity o CoC-wide training o dedicated provider training/support o support with consumer engagement
2. Funding Update A. 2021 HUD CoC NOFA B. ESG-CV2 Update
Homebase Cassie Hourlland, H3
2021 HUD CoC NOFA Lauren Larin from Homebase provided an update on the 2021 HUD CoC NOFA. Full NOFA release expected this summer. Pre-NOFA prep work is underway. Upcoming activities include Community meetings and APR requests for providers. ESG-CV2 Update Cassie Hourlland provided an update on ESG-CV2 funding.
- Bay Area Community Services (BACS) was awarded full allocation of $3m for Rapid Rehousing (RRH) in hotel program. Program will run from March 1, 2021- July 1, 2022 and anticipate program start April 1, 2021.
- CoC participating project that will use CES for placements and priority is rapid exits from hotel program to avoid returns to homelessness when hotel programs sunset, so no eligibility for placement from people who are not in the current hotel program.
- More info will be provided once contracting is finished.
Staff Report Cassie Hourlland presented the concept of H3 providing a staff report to Council as part of COH meeting packets to streamline sharing of information with Council. Tested this concept with Monitoring and Policy information for this meeting. Council wants this report and prefers 2nd format option. Request for page numbers and date of the report. Stakeholder Meeting Jo Bruno and Juno Hedrick reported on the February 8, 2021 Stakeholder Meeting on Consumer Engagement.
- Jo found meeting rewarding. Trust building is very important. Felt heard, respected, supported and as a consumer still using services, being given the opportunity to be heard, showed that system is ready to listen to consumers.
- Juno felt like it was good opportunity for trust building. Have to focus on making sure this kind of discussion is not a one-time event. In Stakeholder meeting, people highlighted where things are working well.
100 Day Challenge
- Cassie Hourlland reported that Contra Costa will not participate in 100-day challenge. - Jenny Robbins explained that timing isn’t good right now given all the other work going on. In communication
with Rapid Results Institute about possible future participation. - Leslie Gleason asked if there was anything to learn about the financial resources to support the 100-Day
Challenge? Were cash resources part of some of the results that they’re seeing in 100-Day challenge? Jenny: a lot of communities tend to step up for participation when they have new resources coming online. We were interested b/c we have mainstream vouchers and new RRH project, but investment in time to participate in this program would be too much. Providers are excited about the idea but just don’t have capacity in our system right now.
Quarterly Report Cassie Hourlland provided an update on the framework for a quarterly report to the Board of Supervisors from the Council.
- Discussed content and process. First report (2-3 pages) will go in May. - Sections will include data, funding, policy, and system initiatives - Jo: Can Council members write individual letters in this report? Cassie: Idea for letter was a welcome letter to
come from Chair as voice of the Council.
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- Deanne: Don’t know what content has been provided before. Suggested identifying gaps, what decisions or challenges are we bringing forward that want them to be thinking about. Jaime: Data section is an area to highlight the gaps. Cassie: we haven’t sent a report yet. Discussed making sure that what’s being lifted and recommendations are things BOS can actually act on.
Announcements All
• Jo Bruno announced that Delta Peers, a network of peer specialists, having meeting Tuesday at 1 pm re consumer engagement. Put information in chat.
• Leslie Gleason noted that the March 5th was California Family Justice Center day and offered appreciation for the Contra Costa Family Justice Centers.
• Tony Ucciferri from Contra Costa Housing Authority announced that the Housing Authority opened up a Project Based Voucher list for Terraces, a senior development in Richmond in November. They will be opening up the list again on March 22nd and noted that they have 3-4 bedrooms to fill and that the definition of “family” can be fairly flexible for this voucher. He posted the link to the website in the chat. Also gave kudos to mobile strike team that has been doing COVID-19 vaccinations for seniors at Housing Authority senior developments
• Cassie Balzer from Life Learning Academy provided information on the school which is a charter school in SF with a student dorm that is available for high school students anywhere in the Bay Area that enroll and don’t have stable or safe housing. The website is www.llasf.org.
The COH staff report is to inform the Contra Costa Council on Homelessness of the status of projects happening within the CoC. The report was created to create space on COH meeting agendas for discussion on important issues, to share more information in a digestible format, to make it easier for COH members to review and track ongoing content, and to increase transparency about the work happening within the CoC. The COH guides the content included in the staff report.
Project Name: Monitoring
Project Summary: As the Collaborative Applicant, H3 is required to monitor compliance and performance of all CoC- funded projects, as well as assess program performance and effectiveness. Monitoring is an ongoing process and is intended to improve program effectiveness and management efficiency. H3 has designated Homebase as a third party to design and implement a monitoring process for Contra Costa’s CoC-funded projects. A Monitoring pilot program was kicked off in the Fall of 2020 and is currently underway.
Update: Homebase is currently holding discussions with the three volunteer programs to discuss the findings of the monitoring. Once the providers have had a chance to review and ask questions or make corrections as necessary, Homebase will complete a final report of findings and will offer TA based on any additional steps the providers may need to take to be in compliance. Homebase will share final recommendations on the monitoring process and will work with the CoC Lead and Oversight members to roll out the monitoring process to the other CoC funded providers starting at the end of 2021.
Project Name: DV Migration
Summary: H3 as the HMIS and CoC Lead has been working to identify providers who may need to participate in a process to move all historical and active program data for DV and/or trafficking victims from HMIS to a comparable database. The goal is to ensure compliance with the confidentiality provisions of the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) and HUD, which require added safeguards for the personal identifying information of clients fleeing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Introduction
Projects
CONTRA COSTA COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS STAFF REPORT
Report for the April 1, 2021 COH Meeting 2
Homebase sent out a survey on behalf of H3 to help identify agencies who need to take these next steps. The agencies identified were STAND!, Hope Solutions, H3 and SHELTER Inc. H3 met with all of the agencies on March 25th to go over the requirement and identify next steps. H3 will work with the identified agencies to discuss comparable databases and export data. All DV data will be removed from HMIS by October 2021.
Project Name: Policy
Summary: To provide regular policy updates to COH members.
Local-
State- (The bill introduction deadline was last month so bills will now be heard in committees.)
• AB 413 (Ting)- This bill would provide counties funding to help young adults age 18-24 secure and maintain housing, with priority to young adults formerly in foster care and probation. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB413
• AB 71(Rivas)- This bill aims to get a dedicated revenue source to raise $2.4 billion a year for housing and services. There will be a hearing on this bill on April 5th. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB71
• AB 816 (Chiu)- Among other things, this bill would create a Homeless Inspector General and require state and local gaps and needs analysis and a plan to address homelessness that would include benchmarks to reduce homelessness. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB816
• AB 1220 (Rivas)- This bill was AB 1845 in the last legislative session. It would create the Office to End Homelessness which would be administered by a Secretary on Homelessness. This bill aims to coordinate and streamline efforts to end homelessness. The bill was vetoed by the Governor last year with a commitment to work with the Assembly woman on the bill this year. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1220
• AB 328 (Chiu)- This bill establishes the Reentry Housing Program to provide grants to counties and CoCs for evidence-based housing and housing-based services interventions to allow people with recent histories of incarceration to exit homelessness and remain stably housed. On March 15th, there was a hearing on this bill in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB328 Fact Sheet- Reentry-Program-Fact-Sheet.pdf (endhomelessness.org)
Federal-
• VAWA Reauthorization- On March 17th the U.S House of Representatives passed a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (WAVA). The bill will need to pass in the Senate and be signed by the President to be in effect. The bill contains a housing title that makes
changes to current law and contains new vouchers dedicated to moving survivors into safe housing. vawa_2021_section-by-section.pdf (house.gov)
• HUD Secretary- On March 10, 2021, Marcia Fudge was officially sworn in as the 18th Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The link below is the press release from HUD which includes a link to a video remark delivered by Secretary Fudge. https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_21_038
• American Rescue Plan Act- On March 10th the American Rescue Plan was signed into law. The Act includes provisions that will bring more housing for individuals. NAEH provided a summary of the provisions here- Help Is On The Way! The American Rescue Plan Act Becomes Law - National Alliance to End Homelessness
• Public Charge Rule- On March 9th the Biden Administration formally rescinded the public charge rule the Trump Administration put into place. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will return to using policies in place before the 2019 Public Charge Final Rule.
a. https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/public-charge/inadmissibility-on-public-charge-grounds-final-rule-litigation#:~:text=History%20of%20Court%20Decisions,Public%20Charge%20Final%20Rule%20nationwide.&text=2%2C%202020%2C%20decision%20that%20vacated%20the%20Public%20Charge%20Final%20Rule.
b. The California Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Social Services, Department of Public Health, and Department of Health Care Services issued a joint statement on the announcement.
i. ACL Public Charge Guide March 15, 2021 ACL 21-32 (ca.gov) ii. https://www.chhs.ca.gov/blog/2021/03/15/alert-important-change-to-public-
