BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 683 (Ammiano)
Hearing Date: 08/15/2011 Amended: 06/13/2011
Consultant: Mark McKenzie Policy Vote: T&H 5-2
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 683 would require the Department of Housing and
Community Development (HCD), to the extent federal or private
funds are available, to create a statewide homeless integrated
data warehouse comprised of specified information that local
entities compile in homeless management information systems
(HMIS). HCD would be required to collaborate with specified
state agencies to develop a strategy to include additional
information in the statewide data warehouse on various services
provided to homeless populations and the costs of those
services. The bill would also require HCD to create a users'
group of local entities that contribute information to the
statewide data warehouse to ensure quality, relevance, and
access to integrated data.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
HCD implementation $125 Federal/
Private
HCD: ongoing administration $100
$100General
Future data collection Unknown future cost pressures for
specified General
state agencies to collect data on
services for
the homeless
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
administers the Continuum of Care Program as part of the
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McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. This competitive grant
program is designed to encourage cities and counties to address
the problems of housing and homelessness in a coordinated and
strategic fashion. The fundamental components of a continuum of
care include prevention, outreach, emergency shelter,
transitional housing, permanent housing, permanent supportive
housing, and supportive services. Among other requirements, a
continuum of care must collect anonymous data on the homeless
clients served within the continuum and maintain the data in a
homeless management information system (HMIS). Currently, there
are 42 continua of care in California, covering all of the state
except for a few small, rural counties. Each one has an HMIS,
though the systems are not uniform. HUD collects HMIS data
nationwide and compiles it in the Annual Homeless Assessment
Report to Congress, but the report contains very little
state-specific data.
In February 2010, the Schwarzenegger administration adopted the
California Ten Year Chronic Homelessness Action Plan. The plan
includes a strategy to collect and analyze data on chronic
homelessness and client outcomes in order to monitor
implementation of the plan and guide ongoing policy and program
development.
AB 683 responds to the Action Plan's recommendation by requiring
HCD to create a state homeless integrated data warehouse to
compile detailed information on the homeless population from
collaborative agencies' HMISs. The bill specifies that federal
and private funds sufficient to create the data warehouse must
be received prior to implementing the bill. HCD projects the
one-time costs for implementation would be at least $125,000,
including staff time, software purchases, and contracting with a
consultant to develop an interface and data transfer mechanism
between the local HMIS programs and the state data warehouse.
The bill does not provide for ongoing funds from non-state
sources. Staff estimates HCD would incur ongoing General Fund
costs of approximately $100,000 to coordinate data collection,
maintain the state database, and create data tabulations for
studies that the data warehouse would support.
AB 683 also requires HCD to collaborate and coordinate with the
following state agencies to develop a strategy to include
additional information in the statewide data warehouse on
various services provided to homeless populations and the costs
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of those services: Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, Department of Health Care Services, Department
of Mental Health, Department of Social Services, Department of
Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs. Staff notes that the specified information that the
bill seeks to include in the integrated data warehouse is not
readily available, resulting in significant cost pressures on
the state agencies to collect and report more information on
homeless populations they serve.
Costs to facilitate the creation of a users' group would be
absorbable.
The ultimate goal of the state homeless integrated data
warehouse is to provide comprehensive information on the
homelessness population, the services they receive, and the
costs of those services. To the extent that this data is used
to guide planning and policy efforts that result in the
provision of more effective services that reduce homelessness,
there could be significant future state and local savings.