Existing law establishes various programs, including, among others, the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program, to provide assistance to homeless persons. Existing law requires a state agency or department that funds, implements, or administers a state program that provides housing or housing-related services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations to include enumerated Housing First policies. Existing law establishes the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council to oversee the implementation of the Housing First guidelines and regulations, to create partnerships with specified entities, including the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care Program, and, among other things, to identify resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California.

This bill would require the council to report to the Legislature recommendations for statutory changes to streamline the delivery of services and enhance the effectiveness of homelessness programs in the state, by January 1, 2022.