The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)
unveiled a plan last week for distributing the first year of
homelessness funding available pursuant to SB 2 (Chapter 364,
Statutes of 2017) by modifying their existing Emergency Solutions
Grant (ESG) program.
Department staff presented the proposal verbally last Tuesday to
the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4. The proposal would
allocate first year SB 2 homelessness funds to local governments
on a formula basis through each county or region’s Continuum of
Care (CoC).
A proposed funding formula was included in
trailer bill language released by the Department of Finance
earlier this year. Eligible uses for the funding would be based
on a modified version of the existing ESG program. According to
the HCD staff presentation, the modified program would allow
locals to use the funding for:
Rental assistance
15-year capitalized operating reserves for supportive housing
Local programs that establish flexible housing subsidy pools
Operating support for short-term emergency solutions (e.g.
navigation centers)
Landlord incentives (e.g. providing funding to property
owners willing to accept Housing Choice Vouchers while a renter
is waiting for approval of their voucher)
Homelessness planning
Data systems
The first two quarters of funding for SB 2 are expected to be
available in July and are estimated at $129 million. The
Department would modify the ESG program through a public process
in advance of the funding, with a goal of putting out guidelines
for a 30-day comment period on June 1. HCD testified that they
would plan to issue a Notice of Funding Availability for these
one-time funds by July, with funding being distributed by August.
Members of the Budget Subcommittee No. 4 seemed open to HCD’s
proposal and asked that accountability and outcome measures
also be included. CSAC, along with the Urban Counties Caucus and
the County Behavioral Health Directors Association, testified
that flexibility for the funding is key and that disbursing the
funding to counties as soon as possible is a priority. We will
continue to evaluate the HCD proposal, including any written
information, once it becomes available.
