13056.
(a) In allocating moneys under the program, the council shall comply with the following:(1) No later than September 1, 2022, the council shall develop guidelines and draft notices of funding availability or requests for proposal in accordance with the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(2) No later than January 1, 2023, and no later than March 1 of each year thereafter, the council shall issue award notices.
(3) No later than March 31, 2023, and no later than April 1 of every other year thereafter, the council shall allocate all available funding for each two-year cycle.
(4) The council shall issue a notice of funding availability or request for proposal, as applicable, on a consistent basis every two years.
(b) (1) The council shall develop a simple application that an entity eligible to receive an allocation under this chapter may use to apply for that allocation and, consistent with the requirements of this chapter, common standards for recipients to monitor, report, and ensure accountability, provide services, and subsidize housing. The council shall, to the extent feasible and consistent with the requirements of this chapter, ensure that the common standards are the same or similar for each applicant.
(2) To the extent feasible, the council shall work with the agency to connect services available under other programs, including, but not limited to, services provided under the Medi-Cal Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000)), to housing opportunities through the fund.
(c) The council shall issue applications for allocations to counties and continuums of care, pursuant to Section 13058, and to large cities, pursuant to Section 13059, on the same date and subject to the same deadlines. The council shall require that recipients under Sections 13058 and 13059, as applicable, provide the following information in their applications:
(1) The expected outcomes, numeric goals, and performance measures established through consultation between the applicant and council staff pursuant to subdivision (g), as well as a description of policy changes the applicant will take to ensure racial and gender equity in service delivery, housing placements, and housing retention and changes to procurement or other means of affirming racial and ethnic groups that are overrepresented among residents experiencing homelessness have equitable access to housing and services.
(2) A description of the specific actions, including funding allocations, that will be taken to affirmatively eliminate gender disparities in accessing homeless systems.
(3) Evidence that the applicant will adhere to Housing First in housing and housing-based services programs.
(4) Specific roles and responsibilities for each local agency, continuum of care, and providers, including roles and responsibilities in implementing systems improvements.
(5) A description of how the applicant will prevent returns to homelessness among the eligible population.
(6) Goals for cross-agency collaboration, including demonstration of collaboration between large cities, counties, and continuums of care, to foster evidence-based solutions to homelessness.
(7) An identification of the agency or agencies that will administer the funding, ensuring agencies have relevant experience.
(8) In the case of a joint application by a county and a continuum of care pursuant to Section 13058, a description of how the recipient will align and leverage state funding with existing resources to create a flexible pool of funds.
(9) In the case of a joint application by a county and a continuum of care pursuant to Section 13058, a description of how the applicant will prevent exits to homelessness from institutional settings, including plans to scale funding from mainstream systems for evidence-based housing and housing-based solutions to homelessness.
(10) Ways in which the applicant will include people with lived expertise of homelessness in planning and decisionmaking.
(11) Processes to include youth and adults with lived expertise of homelessness in decisionmaking, which may include, but is not be limited to, planning and program delivery, advisory boards, and technical assistance.
(d) (1) Based on the statewide needs and gaps analysis conducted pursuant to Section 8257.1, the council shall establish performance outcomes to make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring, and develop guidelines, with stakeholder input, to include criteria in setting state and recipient performance outcome goals, informed by United States Department of Housing and Urban Development system performance measures.
(2) The council shall consult with applicants to identify ambitious and achievable performance outcomes that are measurable and consistent with United States Department of Housing and Urban Development performance standards. The council shall work with applicants to achieve more challenging outcomes for each progressive grant cycle.
(3) Applicants shall demonstrate an intent to apply before engaging in consultation with the council pursuant to paragraph (2), and may submit an application once the council approves the applicant’s performance outcomes.
(4) Based on criteria in guidelines and data of needs in the recipient’s jurisdiction, the council and each recipient shall establish the performance outcomes for the initial cycle within the first year of award. These performance outcomes may include systems changes to help the recipient meet subsequent performance outcomes and reductions in the number of people living in unsheltered settings.
(5) The council and each recipient shall establish outcome goals before each subsequent grant cycle, as follows:
(A) Performance outcomes in subsequent cycles shall include, at minimum, the following:
(i) A specified reduction in the number of people experiencing homelessness.
(ii) Specific outcomes for more equitably serving populations overrepresented among the eligible population.
(iii) Specified reductions in racial and gender disparities among people experiencing homelessness in subsequent grant cycles.
(B) Other performance outcomes may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(i) A minimum number of people experiencing homelessness who are diverted from a homeless shelter or who have successfully accessed permanent housing during the relevant period.
(ii) Minimum reductions in people becoming homeless, including targeted homelessness prevention and reductions in returns to homelessness.
(iii) A minimum number of people exiting homelessness during the relevant period.
(iv) Commitments of funding to solve homelessness from existing resources used to address mental illness, substance use, medical care, the justice system, and child welfare involvement within the jurisdiction.
(v) Meaningful commitments of local housing and homeless services funding toward solving homelessness.
(vi) Memoranda of understanding for interjurisdictional collaboration, with specific agreements to meet performance standards.
(e) The council shall establish a process and guidelines for awarding bonus funding to recipients under Sections 13058 and 13059, from the moneys described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 13055, in accordance with the following:
(1) (A) The council shall award bonus funding to each recipient in the first two-year cycle of the recipient’s award.
(B) A recipient shall use bonus funding awarded pursuant to this paragraph for the following purposes:
(i) Conducting or working with a technical assistance provider to conduct or update a countywide homeless gaps and needs analysis.
(ii) Capacity building and workforce development for the jurisdiction’s administering staff and providers.
(iii) Funding gaps in existing evidence-based programs serving people experiencing homelessness.
(iv) Investing in data systems to meet reporting requirements or strengthen the recipient’s HMIS.
(v) Creating a mechanism for pooling and aligning housing and services funding from existing, mainstream, and new funding.
(vi) Strengthening existing interim interventions to ensure those systems operate safely in the wake of COVID-19 and other public health crises.
(vii) Improving homeless point-in-time counts.
(viii) Improving coordinated entry systems or creating a youth-specific coordinated entry system.
(ix) Funding operating subsidy reserves in capital projects, if the jurisdiction does not require the above systems improvements.
(2) (A) If, after the first or a subsequent grant cycle, as applicable, a recipient has achieved the performance outcomes approved by the council pursuant to subdivision (d) for that cycle, the council shall award bonus funding in the next award cycle.
(B) A recipient may use bonus funding awarded pursuant to this paragraph for any purpose, consistent with the following requirements:
(i) The recipient shall use the bonus funding awarded pursuant to this paragraph to serve the eligible population or people at imminent risk of homelessness, as defined in this chapter.
(ii) The recipient shall report to the council on the use of bonus funding awarded pursuant to this paragraph and request approval from the council for that use.
(iii) The recipient may only use bonus funding for the purpose reported pursuant to clause (ii) if the council approves that use of funding. The council shall approve a requested use of funding if, in the council’s judgment, the recipient’s proposed use would further the purposes of this chapter.
(3) If, by a date determined by the council at the end of the first or a subsequent grant cycle, as applicable, a recipient has failed to achieve the outcomes approved by the council pursuant to subdivision (d) for that cycle, the council shall reduce or deny bonus funding to that recipient in the next award cycle. Any moneys dedicated for bonus funding pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 13055 that is not awarded to a recipient in any award cycle for failure to achieve outcomes, as provided in this paragraph, shall revert to the fund and the council shall allocate those moneys as bonus funds to other recipients that have met their approved outcomes in accordance with this subdivision.
(f) The council shall work closely with recipients under Sections 13058 and 13059 to provide technical assistance to those recipients and their subrecipients in complying with the requirements of this chapter and achieving the performance standards approved by the council pursuant to subdivision (d). Technical assistance under this subdivision shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Using data to develop a systems model that identifies investments needed for evidence-based interventions to impact system flow and exits to permanent housing, based on a gaps and needs analysis.
(2) Working regionally to scale up housing and services interventions.
(3) Adopting Housing First core components.
(4) Reducing racial disparities in homelessness and racial and gender disparities in access to housing and services.
(5) Creating a flexible subsidy pool or other mechanism that aligns housing and services funding, including funding under this chapter, as well as existing funding under mainstream programs.
(6) Meeting United States Department of Housing and Urban Development performance metrics and standards for reductions in homelessness.
(g) The council shall develop quality standards with which each recipient shall comply. These quality standards shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) (A) (i) Except as otherwise provided in clause (ii), each housing unit shall include a bathroom and an easily accessible kitchen or kitchenette.
(ii) If the tenant resides in a single-room occupancy setting, each housing unit shall be equipped with either a bathroom within the unit or a shared bathroom and a shared kitchen that is easily accessible to tenants. Jurisdictions shall give preference to units with bathrooms and sinks within the unit.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the council shall develop standards for a kitchen or kitchenette to be deemed easily accessible consistent with the requirements of this chapter.
(2) Shared housing units funded under the program shall be subject to the following restrictions:
(A) Before referring a tenant to shared housing, the referring entity shall consider the following:
(i) Any functional limitations of the tenant.
(ii) Whether the proposed housing configuration may put the tenant at risk of gender-based violence, consistent with training on gender-based violence.
(B) Referrals to shared housing shall be consistent with tenant choice in whether to participate in shared housing and with whom the tenant will reside in that shared housing.
(C) A provider of shared housing shall offer services appropriate to meet the needs of tenants living in that shared housing, including services in mitigating conflicts between tenants and services helping tenants move to other housing options, according to tenant choice.
(D) For all shared housing units, each participant, other than a participant who is a minor accompanied by an adult or two adult participants who constitute a single household, shall be offered their own bedroom with a door that has a functioning lock and be required to sign a separate lease agreement.
(3) Supportive housing funded under the program shall comply with the following requirements:
(A) A majority of the services shall be provided onsite, and any offsite services shall be easily accessible to tenants through transportation.
(B) Each tenant shall have a tenancy support specialist that the tenant knows, with a specialist-to-tenant ratio that is consistent with best practices for the population served.
(h) (1) (A) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (B), each recipient shall expend moneys allocated to it under the program according to the following schedule:
(i) For the first award cycle, the recipient shall contractually obligate 100 percent of the amount allocated to it pursuant to this chapter within three years, and expend the entirety of that amount within four years, of entering into the initial grant agreement.
(ii) For each award cycle after the first award cycle, each recipient shall contractually obligate 100 percent of the amount allocated to it pursuant to this chapter within one year, and expend the entirety of that amount within two years.
(B) Notwithstanding the time periods specified in subparagraph (A), moneys used to provide an operating subsidy reserve for permanent housing shall be expended over a period of at least 17 years.
(2) (A) If a recipient fails to obligate or expend moneys allocated to it, uses grant moneys allocated to it under this chapter for a purpose not authorized under the program, or fails to apply for an allocation of grant funds within the initial award cycle under the program, the council shall do either of the following:
(i) Select an alternative entity to administer that recipient’s allocation through a competitive application process, in accordance with the requirements of subparagraph (C).
(ii) Solely establish the performance outcomes and program priorities for the recipient jurisdiction, consistent with the requirements and purposes of this chapter, and work with local, regional, or statewide public entities to administer the recipient’s allocation on behalf of the recipient.
(B) If the council determines that there is no alternative entity that can effectively administer a recipient’s allocation, any moneys previously allocated to that recipient and not expended shall revert to the fund for further allocation to other recipients in accordance with this chapter.
(C) An alternative entity selected pursuant to clause (i) of subparagraph (A) shall be a public entity or a nonprofit entity with relevant experience.
(D) (i) An alternative entity selected pursuant to clause (i) of subparagraph (A) shall administer a recipient’s allocation pursuant to this paragraph for a minimum of two grant cycles after entering into a grant agreement.
(ii) After the second grant cycle administered by an alternative entity, the council may reinstate the original recipient to administer moneys allocated in subsequent grant cycles if, in the council’s judgment, the recipient has demonstrated the capability to effectively administer those moneys consistent with the purposes of this chapter. The council shall develop a process by which a recipient may seek reinstatement pursuant to this clause.
(i) The council shall establish a process for awarding recipients under Sections 13058 and 13059 grants in subsequent years in accordance with the following:
(1) To the extent feasible, each recipient under Sections 13058 and 13059 shall continue to receive annual allocations on a consistent date selected by the council that aligns favorably with other, similar allocations of state moneys, including, but not limited to, allocations of tax credits by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.
(2) If a city that is not a large city at the time of the initial allocation subsequently becomes a large city and meets the threshold criteria under the program after the first year of allocations pursuant to this chapter, the council shall revise the amount of annual allocations to recipients under Section 13059 at least 180 days, but no more than one year, after the date on which the city establishes eligibility under this chapter. Consistent with the requirements of this chapter, the council may establish a revised formula that minimizes the impact on existing recipients.
(j) If deemed appropriate or necessary, the council shall request the repayment of funds from a recipient or pursue any other remedies available by law for failure to comply with the requirements of this chapter.
(k) The council shall establish an advisory committee to inform state and local policies, practices, and programs, which shall include individuals with relevant lived experiences, with respect to the following:
(1) The experiences of African Americans and other overrepresented racial and ethnic groups experiencing homelessness.
(2) The experiences of women and female-identified persons experiencing homelessness.
(3) The experiences of youth experiencing homelessness, including a youth advisory board.
(l) A county and continuum of care applying jointly pursuant to Section 13058 may elect in the grant agreement to request that the State Department of Social Services contract with local agencies or nonprofit organizations providing the housing and housing-based services described in this chapter in exchange for a percentage of the allocation to the county and continuum of care for administrative costs under Section 13058, as determined by the State Department of Social Services.
(m) Any housing or interim intervention receiving a subsidy under this chapter shall comply with all applicable state laws governing building safety and habitability.
(n) Each recipient and subrecipient shall comply with the core components of Housing First described in subdivision (b) of Section 8255.
(o) The council shall not require recipients to submit invoices for payment, and shall fund the entire grant awarded under Sections 13058 or 13059, as applicable, within 60 days of notice of award.