BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          1380 (Mitchell)


          As Amended  August 18, 2016


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  29-7


           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                   |Noes                 |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Housing         |5-2  |Chiu, Burke, Chau,     |Steinorth, Beth      |
          |                |     |Lopez, Mullin          |Gaines               |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Appropriations  |14-5 |Gonzalez, Bloom,       |Bigelow, Gallagher,  |
          |                |     |Bonilla, Bonta,        |Jones, Obernolte,    |
          |                |     |Calderon, Daly,        |Wagner               |
          |                |     |Eggman, Eduardo        |                     |
          |                |     |Garcia, Holden, Quirk, |                     |
          |                |     |Santiago, Weber, Wood, |                     |
          |                |     |McCarty                |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 


          SUMMARY:  Requires a state agency or department that funds,  








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          implements, or administers a state program that provides housing  
          or housing-related services to people experiencing homelessness  
          or at risk of homelessness, except as specified, to adopt  
          guidelines and regulations to include Housing First policies and  
          establishes the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council  
          (Coordinating Council) to oversee implementation of the Housing  
          First regulations and, among other things, identify resources,  
          benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end  
          homelessness in California.  Specifically, this bill: 
          1)Defines "Housing First" as the evidence-based model that uses  
            housing as a tool, rather than a reward for recovery.  It  
            connects homeless people to housing as quickly as possible and  
            does not make housing contingent on participation in services.  
             Housing First includes time-limited rental or services  
            assistance, so long as the housing and service provider  
            assists the recipient in accessing permanent housing and in  
            securing longer-term rental assistance, income assistance, or  
            employment.


          2)Defines "Core Components of Housing First" to mean all of the  
            following:


             a)   Tenant screening and selection practices that promote  
               accepting applicants regardless of their sobriety or use of  
               substances, completion of treatment, or participation in  
               services; 
             b)   Applicants are not rejected on the basis of poor credit  
               or financial history, poor or lack of rental history,  
               criminal convictions unrelated to tenancy, or behaviors  
               that indicate a lack of "housing readiness;" 


             c)   Acceptance of referrals directly from shelters, street  
               outreach, drop-in centers, and other parts of crisis  
               response systems frequented by vulnerable people  
               experiencing homelessness; 









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             d)   Supportive services that emphasize engagement and  
               problem-solving over therapeutic goals and service plans  
               that are highly tenant-driven without predetermined goals; 


             e)   Participation in services or program compliance is not a  
               condition of permanent housing tenancy; 


             f)   Tenants have a lease and all the rights and  
               responsibilities of tenancy, as outlined in the  Civil  
               Code, Health and Safety Code, and Government codes; 


             g)   The use of alcohol or drugs in and of itself, without  
               other lease violations, is not grounds for eviction; 


             h)   In communities with coordinated assessment with entry  
               systems, incentives for funding promote tenant selection  
               plans for supportive housing that prioritize eligible  
               tenants based on criteria other than  
               "first-come-first-serve," including, but not limited to,  
               the duration or frequency of homelessness, vulnerability to  
               early mortality, or high utilization of crisis services.   
               Prioritization may include triage tools, developed through  
               local data, to identify high-cost, high-need homeless  
               residents; 


             i)   Case managers and service coordinators who are trained  
               in and actively employ evidence-based practices; 


             j)   Services are informed by a harm-reduction philosophy  
               that recognizes drug and alcohol use and addiction as part  
               of tenants' lives, where tenants are engaged in  
               non-judgmental communication regarding drug and alcohol  








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               use, and where tenants are offered education regarding how  
               to avoid risky behaviors and engage in safer practices, as  
               well as participating in evidence-based treatment if the  
               tenant so chooses; and  


             aa)  The project and specific apartment may include special  
               features that accommodate disabilities, reduce harm, and  
               promote health and community and independence among  
               tenants. 


          1)Creates the Coordinating Council, which shall have the  
            following goals:


             a)   Identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services  
               that can be assessed to prevent and end homelessness in  
               California;
             b)   Create partnerships among state agencies and  
               departments, local government agencies, participants in the  
               U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)  
               Continuum of Care Program, federal agencies, the United  
               States Interagency Council on Homelessness (US ICH),  
               nonprofit entities working to end homelessness, and the  
               private sector, for purposes of arriving at specific  
               strategies to end homelessness;


             c)   Promote systems integration to increase efficiency and  
               effectiveness;


             d)   Coordinate existing funding and applications for  
               competitive funding.  Any action taken shall not  
               restructure or change any existing allocations or  
               allocation formula;










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             e)   Make policy and procedural recommendations to  
               legislators and other government entities; 


             f)   Identify and seek funding opportunities for state  
               entities that have programs to end homelessness and  
               facilitate and coordinate those state entities' efforts to  
               obtain funding; 


             g)   Broker agreements between state agencies, departments  
               and local jurisdictions to align and coordinate resources,  
               reduce administrative burdens of accessing existing  
               resources, and foster common applications to services,  
               operating, and capital funding;


             h)   Serve as a statewide homelessness planning and policy  
               development resource; 


             i)   Report to the Governor, federal Cabinet members, and the  
               Legislature on homelessness and work to reduce  
               homelessness; and


             j)   Ensure accountability and results in meeting the  
               strategies and goals of the council.


             aa)  Create a statewide data system or warehouse that  
               collects local data through Homeless Management Information  
               Systems, with the ultimate goal of matching data on  
               homelessness to programs impacting homeless recipients of  
               state programs, such as Medi-Cal and CalWORKS.


          1)Requires the Governor, within 180 days of enacting this bill,  
            to appoint up to 15 members to the Coordinating Council as  








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            follows:


               a)     A representative from the Department of Housing and  
                 Community Development (HCD); 
               b)     A representative of the Department of Social  
                 Services;


               c)     A representative of the California Housing Finance  
                 Agency;


               d)     A representative of the Department of Health Care  
                 Services;


               e)     A representative of the Department of Veterans  
                 Affairs;


               f)     A representative of the Department of Corrections  
                 and Rehabilitation;


               g)     A representative of the Tax Credit Allocation  
                 Committee in the State Treasurer's office;


               h)     A formerly homeless person who lives in California  
                 to the extent funding is available to pay for travel;


               i)     Two representatives of local agencies or  
                 organizations that participate in the HUD Continuum of  
                 Care Program;


               j)     State advocates or other members of the public or  








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                 state agencies, according to the Governor's discretion. 


               aa)    Two representatives from different stakeholder  
                 groups.  One selected by the Senate Committee on Rules  
                 and the other by the Speaker of the Assembly; and 


               bb)    The council may, at its discretion, invite  
                 stakeholders, individuals who have experienced  
                 homelessness, members of philanthropic communities, and  
                 experts to participate in meetings or provide information  
                 to the council. 


          1)Requires HCD to provide staff for the council.  


          2)Requires agencies and departments administering state programs  
            created on or after July 1, 2017, to collaborate with the  
            Coordinating Council to adopt guidelines and regulations to  
            incorporate core components of Housing First.  Additionally,  
            agencies and departments administering state programs in  
            existence prior to July 1, 2017, shall collaborate with the  
            Coordinating Council to adopt guidelines and regulations to  
            incorporate core components of Housing First by July 1, 2019,  
            if the existing guidelines and regulations do not already  
            incorporate the core components of Housing First. 


          3)Defines "state programs" as any programs a California state  
            agency or department funds, implements, or administers for the  
            purpose of providing housing or housing-based services to  
            people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness,  
            with the exception of federally funded programs with  
            requirements inconsistent with this chapter or programs that  
            fund emergency shelters. 










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          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Committee on  
          Appropriations:


          1)Coordinating Council:  One-time and ongoing costs potentially  
            in excess of $200,000 (General Fund (GF)) to the HCD to staff  
            and facilitate meetings, as well as collaborate with agencies  
            on activities as outlined under the listed goals of the  
            council.  The costs for a representative of HCD to participate  
            in council meetings are estimated to be minor.   


          2)Department of Social Services (DSS):  Minor costs to  
            participate on the council.  Potentially significant workload  
            (GF) to review existing housing assistance programs to ensure  
            compliance with the core components of the Housing First  
            model.


          3)Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet):  Minor costs to  
            participate on the council.  No significant impact to existing  
            housing programs, as they currently adhere to the core  
            components of the Housing First model.


          4)Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR):   
            Potentially significant impacts (GF) to the Division of Adult  
            Parole Operations to the extent specific components of the  
            Housing First model are inconsistent with current policy and  
            practices utilized for parolee services.


          5)State Treasurer's Office (STO):  Minor costs of less than  
            $10,000 (GF) to have a representative participate on the  
            council.


          6)Compliance with Housing First components:  Unknown,  
            potentially significant costs to DSS and CDCR to bring  








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            existing housing and housing-related assistance programs into  
            compliance with the Housing First core components including  
            but not limited to the component specifying case managers and  
            service coordinators who are trained in and actively employ  
            evidence-based practices.


          COMMENTS:  


          California is home to 21% of the nation's homeless population.   
          On average on any given night, 115,738 people experience  
          homelessness.  California leads the nation in the number of  
          chronic homeless with 29,178 chronically homeless residents at  
          any given point in time which is 31% of the nation's total.   
          California also has 28% of the nation's homeless youth  
          population.  The state has a variety of programs to address  
          homelessness operated by multiple agencies and departments,  
          including the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Program,  
          the CalWorks Housing Program, the Mental Health Services Act,  
          the and Multi-family Housing Program with Supportive Services. 


          In 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger launched his Chronic  
          Homeless Initiative which included the creation of an  
          Interagency Council comprised of the leaders of eleven agencies  
          and departments with responsibility for housing and services for  
          citizens who are at risk of or already chronically homeless.   
          The Interagency Council initiated the process of a  
          collaboratively developed Ten Year Chronic Homelessness Action  
          Plan and created a Vision Statement and Guiding Principles.  The  
          plan was not formally adopted until 2010 and has not been the  
          guiding policy document envisioned at the time.  The interagency  
          council was not created by statute leaving no formal process for  
          state agencies and departments to coordinate efforts to address  
          homelessness.  In 2013, HCD participated in a federally funded  
          Policy Academy to reduce the rate of chronic homelessness in  
          participating states through a cross-agency federal effort to  
          provide intensive, targeted technical assistance to state teams.  








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           The Policy Academy succeeded in revising HCD's programs and in  
          developing greater collaboration with the State Department of  
          Health Care Services.   


          According to the Corporation for Supportive Housing, over 20  
          other states have interagency councils on homelessness.  This  
          bill proposes to create an interagency council to coordinate  
          state resources to address homelessness.  HCD would provide  
          staff to the interagency council.  


          Coordination of local, state and federal resources:  HUD and  
          other planners and policymakers use aggregate Homelessness  
          Management Information Systems (HMIS) data to better inform  
          homeless policy and decision making at the federal, state, and  
          local levels.  HMIS enables HUD to collect national-level data  
          on the extent and nature of homelessness over time.   
          Specifically, an HMIS can be used to produce an unduplicated  
          count of homeless persons, understand patterns of service use,  
          and measure the effectiveness of homeless programs.  Data on  
          homeless persons is collected and maintained at the local level.  
           This data would be useful at the state level to coordinate  
          programs across agencies that serve homeless clients including  
          CalWORKS and Medi- Cal.  The committee may wish to consider  
          setting as a goal of the Interagency Council the creation of a  
          statewide data system or warehouse that collects local data  
          through HMIS, with the ultimate goal of matching data on  
          homelessness to programs impacting homeless recipients of state  
          programs, such as Medi-Cal and CalWORKS.


          Housing First Approach:  Housing First is an evidence-based  
          housing model that centers on providing people experiencing  
          homelessness with housing as quickly as possible and then  
          providing services as needed.  A core component of Housing First  
          includes a tenant screening process that promotes accepting  
          applicants regardless of their sobriety or use of substances,  
          completion of treatment, or participation in services.  This  








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          model recognizes that an individual experiencing homelessness  
          should be provided shelter and stability before underlying  
          issues can be successfully tackled.  The housing first model is  
          contrasted with a model known as "housing readiness," which is  
          exhibited in some transitional housing models.  This model  
          requires homeless people to earn their way into transitional  
          housing and make progress on certain goals; when they are deemed  
          well enough; they earn their spot in permanent housing.  The  
          Federal government through the leadership of the US Interagency  
          Council of Homelessness has successfully integrated the housing  
          first approach into programs at the federal level. 


           Purpose of this bill:  According to the author, "Homelessness  
          affects multiple systems in California, and a state as large,  
          diverse, and complex as California requires a coordinating body  
          that would allow our State agencies to maximize federal funding,  
          leverage local dollars, and ensure programs touching homeless  
          Californians are as effective as possible.  California has  
          several programs designed to fund housing for our homeless  
          residents, but has no coordinated plan or program to address  
          homelessness systematically.  In fact, our programs promote  
          policies at odds with each other, some funding evidence-based  
          housing programs while others fund programs not effectively  
          addressing homelessness.  While almost every state with a large  
          homeless population has an interagency council on homelessness,  
          California does not have any coordinating body that fosters  
          collaboration among the state agencies homelessness impacts, or  
          with local governments dealing with homelessness on the ground.   
          SB 1380 would require programs funding housing for homeless  
          residents to use evidence-based practices recognized and adopted  
          throughout all federal agencies by July 1, 2019.  "Housing  
          First" is the only evidence-based model proven to reduce  
          homelessness, prevent returns to homelessness, and decrease  
          public expenditures.  While allowing for transitional housing  
          for populations for whom transitional housing makes sense, the  
          Housing First provisions of SB 1380 promote practices that  
          work."









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          Related legislation:


          AB 2821 (Chiu) of the current legislative session would create  
          the Medi-Cal Housing Program to fund rental assistance for  
          homeless Medi-Cal recipients receiving services through the  
          Whole Person Care Pilot program authorized by the 2016 1115  
          Medi-Cal Waiver.  This bill is pending in Senate Transportation  
          and Housing Committee.  


          AB 998 (Fong) of 2013 - would have created the California  
          Interagency Council on Homelessness and required various state  
          agencies to meet quarterly to coordinate efforts on  
          homelessness.  This bill died on suspense in the Assembly  
          Appropriations Committee. 


          AB 1167 (Fong) of 2011 - would have created a state Interagency  
          Council on Homelessness, with specified membership and duties.   
          This bill died in the Senate Appropriations Committee. 


          AB 1875 (Fong) of 2010 - would have created a state Interagency  
          Council on Homelessness, with specified membership and duties.   
          This bill died in the Assembly Business, Professions and  
          Consumer Protections Committee. 




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085  FN:  
          0004490












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