SB 1380, as introduced, Mitchell. Homelessness: coordinating council.
Existing law establishes various programs, including, among others, the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program, to provide assistance to homeless persons.
This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to establish a coordinating council on homelessness.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) California leads the nation in the number of homeless
4residents with 115,738 people experiencing homelessness at some
5point, which is 21 percent of the nation’s total. California also
6leads the nation in the number and ratio of chronically homeless
7residents with 29,178 chronically homeless residents at any point
8in time, which is 31 percent of the nation’s total.
9(b) Homelessness is expensive to the state and local
10governments. A homeless person receiving general assistance in
P2 1Los Angeles County, for example, incurs $2,897 per month in
2crisis response services.
3(c) Following the example of other states, as well as jurisdictions
4within California, it is the intent of the Legislature to adopt a
5housing first model for all state programs funding housing for
6people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
7(d) Housing first is an evidence-based model of ending all types
8of homelessness and is the most effective approach to ending
9chronic homelessness. Housing first offers individuals and families
10experiencing homelessness access to permanent affordable or
11supportive housing with a low-threshold for entry, as it does not
12impose clinical prerequisites like completion of a course of
13treatment or evidence of sobriety. The federal government
14recognizes that housing first yields high-housing retention rates,
15low returns to homelessness, and significant reductions in crisis
16or institutional care.
17(e) Homelessness affects
multiple systems in California. Though
18almost every state with significant homeless populations has
19established a council to coordinate a housing first oriented response
20to homelessness, California does not have an entity to manage the
21state’s response.
22(f) California participated in a federally funded policy academy
23to reduce chronic homelessness. That policy academy succeeded
24in revising programs administered by the Department of Housing
25and Community Development, and in attracting federal funding
26opportunities requiring collaboration between the Department of
27Housing and Community Development and the State Department
28of Health Care Services. To implement additional successes, it is
29essential that California has a coordinating council on
30homelessness.
31(g) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation
32to establish a coordinating council on
homelessness.
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