COMMITMENT • INTEGRITY • LEADERSHIP	View PDF report View Fact Sheet View Selected Abbreviations
Homelessness in California The State’s Uncoordinated Approach to Addressing Homelessness Has Hampered the Effectiveness of Its Efforts Report Number: 2020-112

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• Appendix A—State Programs That Provided Funding to Address Homelessness, Fiscal Years 2018–19 Through 2020–21
• Appendix B—CoCs’ Primary Responsibilities Under Federal Law
• Appendix C—Scope and Methodology

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Appendix A

State-adminstered Programs That Provided Funding to Address Homelessness, Fiscal Years 2018–19 Through 2020–21

As we discuss in Chapter 1, the State lacks a single oversight entity that coordinates the funds that it allocates to local governments and service providers to combat homelessness. According to homeless council staff, the council does not currently have the statutory authority to collect expenditure data from other state agencies and has not been able to track program spending to date. We found that at least nine state agencies have provided funding during fiscal years 2018–19 through 2020–21 through 41 programs to address homelessness in the State. For example, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services administers nine programs that provide homelessness funding, while the California Department of Social Services administers six such programs. Table A presents the state agencies that administered the various programs, the purposes of the programs, and the funding amounts available under each program from fiscal years 2018–19 through 2020–21. In each of the three fiscal years, the 41 programs provided $4 billion or more in total funding.

Table A

State Agencies That Administer Programs Related to Homelessness

Administering Agency	Program Name*	Purpose of Program	Fiscal year 2018–19	Fiscal year 2019–20	Fiscal year 2020–21
Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency	COVID‑19 Pandemic Emergency Grant Funding Program	To provide assistance related to the impacts of COVID‑19. Specifically, to safely get individuals into shelter, to provide immediate housing options, and to help protect the health and safety of people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic.	$–	$100,000,000	$–
	Homeless Emergency Aid Program†	To provide homelessness prevention activities, criminal justice diversion programs for homeless individuals with mental health needs, establishing or expanding services meeting the needs of homeless youth or youth at risk of homelessness, and emergency aid.	500,000,000	–	–
	Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program	To provide local jurisdictions with funds to support regional coordination and to expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges.	–	650,000,000	330,000,000
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation	Transitional Housing Program†	To provide housing and support services upon release for those who have been incarcerated for long terms.	15,930,000	16,705,000	18,585,000
California Department of Education	Education for Homeless Children and Youth Grant Program	To facilitate the identification, enrollment, attendance, and success in school of children and youth who are experiencing homelessness.	10,564,000	11,328,000	12,204,000
	Homeless Youth Assessment Fee Waiver Program	To fund state costs to implement and report on legislative requirements that a test registration fee not be charged to youth or foster youth experiencing homelessness who are taking either the California High School Proficiency Examination or an approved high school equivalency test.	21,000	21,000	–
Department of Health Care Services	Health Homes Program†	To provide intensive care coordination, as well as housing navigation and tenancy‑sustaining case management services for members who are homeless or recently housed as part of the program.	3,638,000	94,637,000	203,895,000
	Homeless Mentally Ill Outreach and Treatment One‑Time Funding†	To fund multidisciplinary teams engaged in intensive outreach, treatment, and related services for people who are homeless and have mental illnesses.	50,000,000	–	–
	Mental Health Services Act, Community Services and Support Component†	To acquire, rehabilitate, or construct supportive housing; provide rental assistance, security deposits, utility payments, moving cost assistance; and for project‑based housing, including master leasing units; and outreach.	1,664,900,000	1,758,500,000	1,318,500,000
	Whole Person Care Pilot Program	To serve Medi‑Cal members with complex medical conditions who are frequent users of multiple health systems, including members who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.	600,000,000	600,000,000	600,000,000
	Whole Person Care Pilots One‑Time Housing Funds†	To support housing and housing supportive services for Medi‑Cal enrollees who are mentally ill and are experiencing homelessness, or who are at risk of homelessness.	–	100,000,000	–
Department of Housing and Community Development	California Emergency Solutions and Housing Program†	To provide funds for a variety of activities to assist people experiencing or at risk of homelessness through five primary activities: housing relocation and stabilization services, operating subsidies for permanent housing, flexible housing subsidy funds, operating support for emergency housing interventions, and system supports for homeless services and housing delivery systems.	53,000,000	29,000,000	–
	Community Development Block Grant Program	To partner with rural cities and counties to improve the lives of their low‑ and moderate‑income residents through the creation and expansion of community and economic development opportunities in support of livable communities. Eligible activities include public services such as health, nutrition, and homeless services.	–	60,000,000	30,000,000
	Community Development Block Grant Program ‑ Coronavirus Response	To perform activities related to the pandemic response and recovery. The CARES Act provides extra funds specifically targeted to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the pandemic. This includes facility improvements related to COVID‑19 health care and housing needs for homeless individuals.	–	–	139,500,000
	Emergency Solutions Grants Program†	To provide funds to engage individuals and families living on the street, rapidly rehouse individuals and families who are homeless, help operate and provide essential services in emergency shelters, and prevent individuals and families from becoming homeless.	11,000,000	11,000,000	11,000,000
	Emergency Solutions Grants Program ‑ Coronavirus	To prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID‑19 among individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or are receiving homeless assistance and to support additional homeless assistance and homelessness prevention activities to mitigate the impacts created by the pandemic.	–	–	295,000,000
	Homekey	To provide grants to local public entities to acquire and rehabilitate a variety of housing types to provide housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness who are affected by the pandemic.	–	–	800,000,000
	Housing for a Healthy California Program†	To provide permanent supportive housing for individuals who are chronically homeless or are homeless and have high medical costs.	–	82,400,000	27,300,000
	Local Housing Trust Fund Program	To provide loans to pay for construction or rehabilitation of affordable rental housing projects, emergency shelters, permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, and affordable homebuyer and homeowner projects.	–	–	57,000,000
	No Place Like Home Program ‑ Competitive†	To finance permanent supportive housing for individuals or families with a serious mental illness who are homeless, chronically homeless, or at risk of chronic homelessness.	400,000,000	622,029,000	202,040,000
	No Place Like Home Program ‑ Noncompetitive†	To finance permanent supportive housing for individuals or families with a serious mental illness who are homeless, chronically homeless, or at risk of chronic homelessness.	190,000,000	–	48,070,000
	Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program ‑ Competitive Component	Prioritizes assistance to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and investments that increase the supply of housing to households with incomes of 60 percent or less of area median income.	–	15,000,000	–
	Supportive Housing Multifamily Housing Program†	To provide low‑interest, deferred‑payment loans to developers of permanent, affordable rental housing that contain supportive housing units for the target population, which are individuals and families that are homeless.	77,000,000	–	–
	Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Program†§	To provide for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable multifamily housing for veterans and their families to allow veterans to access and maintain housing stability.	75,000,000	75,000,000	75,000,000
California Department of Social Services	Bringing Families Home Program†	To reduce the number of families in the child welfare system experiencing or at risk of homelessness, to increase family reunification, and to prevent foster care placement.	–	25,000,000	–
	CalWORKs Homeless Assistance†	To provide payments for temporary shelter and payments to secure or maintain housing for eligible CalWORKs recipients who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.	64,467,000	68,088,000	41,603,000
	CalWORKs Housing Support Program†	To provide housing support, including financial assistance, housing stabilization, and relocation services, to CalWORKs recipients who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability.	70,838,000	95,000,000	95,000,000
	Home Safe Program†	To support the safety and housing stability of individuals involved in Adult Protective Services by providing housing‑related assistance using evidence‑based practices for homeless assistance and prevention.	15,000,000	–	–
	Housing and Disability Advocacy Program†	To assist disabled individuals who are experiencing homelessness in applying for disability benefit programs while also providing housing assistance.	–	25,000,000	25,000,000
	School Supplies for Homeless Children Fund	To collect contributions that will be used to provide school supplies and health‑related products to children experiencing homelessness.	380,000	676,000	590,000
California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services	Domestic Violence Assistance Program†	To provide shelter, transitional housing, and supportive services for domestic violence victims and their children.	64,000,000	55,000,000	55,000,000
	Domestic Violence Housing First Program†	To assist victims of domestic violence in obtaining and retaining safe, permanent housing as modeled after an evidence‑based form of rapid rehousing adapted to move and rehouse domestic violence victims, who are homeless, into permanent housing quickly and provide ongoing tailored services.	9,600,000	22,089,000	22,752,000
	Equality in Prevention and Services for Domestic Violence Program†	To maintain and expand domestic violence services for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) communities that will increase access to culturally appropriate domestic violence, education, prevention, outreach, and services for these unserved or underserved communities.	423,000	423,000	423,000
	Homeless Youth and Exploitation Program†	To help homeless youth exit street life by providing outreach services, food, temporary safe shelter, in‑person counseling, group counseling, basic health care, long‑term stabilization planning, independent living and survival skills, access to or referrals to other services as appropriate, and follow‑up services.	1,077,000	1,077,000	1,088,000
	Homeless Youth Emergency Services and Housing Program†	To establish or expand access to a range of housing options and provide crisis intervention and stabilization services to homeless youth.	–	6,337,000	–
	Human Trafficking Victim Assistance Program†	To provide safety and supportive services to help human‑trafficking victims recover from the trauma they have experienced and assist with their reintegration into society. These services include a 24‑hour hotline, emergency shelter, temporary housing, emergency food and clothing, counseling, referrals, transportation, and legal services.	10,000,000	10,000,000	10,000,000
	Native American Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Program†	To provide cultural competency trainings to agencies and other regional service providers on issues related to Native American women victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.	813,000	813,000	813,000
	Specialized Emergency Housing†	To maintain and expand emergency shelter and emergency housing assistance resources in California and to provide specialized services for victims of crime, with priority given to funding applicants that propose to serve homeless youth, elderly, disabled, and LGBTQ victims of crime.	4,888,000	9,500,000	9,680,000
	Transitional Housing Program†	To provide transitional housing, short‑term housing assistance, and supportive services that move crime victims into permanent housing.	9,600,000	18,000,000	17,514,000
California Housing Finance Agency	Special Needs Housing Program†	To allow local governments to use Mental Health Services Act and other local funds to provide financing for the development of permanent supportive rental housing that includes units dedicated for individuals with serious mental illness and their families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.	20,467,800	32,860,000	36,764,000
California Tax Credit Allocation Committee	Low‑Income Housing Tax Credit Program†	To allocate tax credits to encourage private investments in the development of affordable rental housing.	107,000,000	109,000,000	110,600,000
Totals
9	41		$4,029,606,000	$4,704,482,000	$4,594,922,000

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Appendix B

CoCs’ PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER FEDERAL LAW

As we describe in the Introduction, federal law gives CoCs responsibility over four primary functions. CoCs are responsible for conducting a periodic PIT count of the total number and demographics of all sheltered and unsheltered people who reside within their geographic area and are experiencing homelessness. CoCs must also use a single database—known as an HMIS—to record and analyze information, services, and housing data for individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness within the CoC. In addition, a CoC is required to help its network of service providers assess and prioritize people who are in most need of homelessness assistance through a coordinated entry process. Finally, CoCs must design and operate a process for developing, evaluating, and submitting service providers’ applications for CoC Program funds to HUD. Figure B describes the requirements, methodology, and benefits associated with each of these responsibilities.

Figure B

CoCs’ Primary Responsibilities Under Federal Law

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Appendix C

Scope and Methodology

The Joint Legislative Audit Committee (Audit Committee) directed the California State Auditor to perform an audit of selected CoCs to assess best practices related to the services they provide to those experiencing homelessness. Table C lists the audit objectives and the methods we used to address them.

Table C

Audit Objectives and the Methods Used to Address Them

Audit Objective		Method
1	Review and evaluate the laws, rules, and regulations significant to the audit objectives.	Reviewed relevant federal and state laws, rules, and regulations related to CoCs and their responsibilities.
2	Review the selected CoCs’ planning and strategies for administering services to those experiencing homelessness and determine best practices of, and resources necessary for, service coordination with local nonprofits and other homeless service agencies.	Obtained from HUD’s website data related to individuals experiencing homelessness and the CoC Program grants provided within each CoC. We also obtained total population data from the California Department of Finance website. Using these data, we judgmentally selected five CoCs covering a large county in Southern California, a county on the Central Coast, a county in the Bay Area, a county in the San Joaquin Valley, and a county in the Northern Coast area. Interviewed staff and reviewed pertinent documentation at each selected CoC regarding their planning efforts and strategies. Reviewed information regarding effective planning from national organizations, HUD, and other states to identify best practices.
3	Identify effective strategies for CoCs to conduct accurate annual counts of those experiencing homelessness in coordination with other homeless service agencies.	Interviewed staff and reviewed documentation to understand how and how often each CoC conducts PIT counts of those experiencing homelessness. Determined whether each CoC’s PIT count methodology conforms with HUD’s guidance. Assessed each CoC’s coordination with other service providers in planning and conducting PIT counts and identified best practices. Reviewed available best practices, including best practices identified or employed by HUD and other states for effective strategies to plan and conduct PIT counts.
4	Determine the necessary resources and internal protocols for CoCs to measure the effectiveness of their programs, including collecting, retaining, and analyzing complete and accurate data. Identify any barriers the CoCs have experienced in collecting, retaining, and analyzing such data and best practices or tools the CoCs use to overcome these barriers.	Reviewed each CoC’s policies and procedures for completing the annual CoC performance reports and assessing project performance. Reviewed CoC documentation and procedures, and determined that each CoC has processes in place to assess the accuracy and completeness of data in its HMIS. Interviewed CoC staff to understand the process for and barriers to collecting and analyzing data from service providers. Interviewed staff from the homeless council to understand what actions the State is taking to help CoCs gather consistent data from all service providers. Interviewed staff from the states of Washington, Maryland, and Virginia to determine whether these states have a statewide data‑collection system and to identify best practices for ensuring complete data.
5	Verify the extent to which each CoC collaborates with nonprofit organizations to increase its outreach and service provided to those experiencing homelessness.	Interviewed staff to determine how and for what purposes the CoCs collaborate with service providers. Determined the adequacy of any analyses the CoCs have conducted to identify and address lack of services in any geographic areas within their areas. Reviewed the CoCs’ efforts to collaborate to assess the needs of and provide services to those experiencing homelessness. Interviewed staff and reviewed documentation of the outreach efforts each CoC’s coordinated entry system lead has conducted in the past three years to reach, assess, and provide services to those facing homelessness. Compared and assessed the adequacy and effectiveness of each CoC’s coordinated entry system lead’s outreach methods to the homeless population to identify any best practices.
6	Identify opportunities or incentives the State could provide CoCs to work collaboratively with nonprofit and other service organizations to secure additional federal funding to assist those experiencing homelessness.	Reviewed federal regulations and interviewed key staff from HUD and the CoCs and determined that little opportunity exists for CoCs to receive additional federal funding. In light of the increased state funding for homelessness, interviewed the homeless council and reviewed available documents to determine how the State provides funds to CoCs and whether opportunities exist to increase the level of coordination among CoCs and service providers.
7	To the extent possible, determine whether structural changes or resources are needed to ensure the CoCs obtain complete and accurate data at each point of the funding process, including during the evaluation of applications from service providers.	Interviewed staff and reviewed documentation to determine the process and structure each CoC has in place to evaluate and rank service provider applications for CoC Program funding. Assessed each CoC’s policies, procedures, and structure to determine whether they are adequate to ensure appropriate or fair awarding of CoC Program funds. Compared the policies, procedures, and structure of the five CoCs to identify any best practices. Interviewed staff and reviewed documentation for a random selection of up to three applications for funding at each CoC to determine whether the CoCs followed their review‑and‑rank process.
8	Determine methods for CoCs to increase the quality and number of service providers, including methods to do the following:
	a. Collect and report the number of eligible service providers within the CoC area.	Interviewed CoC staff and reviewed relevant documentation to determine the extent to which CoCs identify and track eligible service providers within the area.
	b. Isolate reasons that providers do not apply for certain requests for proposals.	Interviewed staff to determine, to the extent possible, why service providers do not apply for certain requests for proposals.
	c. Identify the qualities of service providers to which CoCs award funds.	Objective 7 explains our methods related to reviewing and documenting how CoCs evaluate and rank projects for CoC Program awards.
	d. Measure the effect that service providers have on homelessness.	Reviewed the performance reports that each CoC developed and submitted to HUD in the last four years. Objective 4 describes our methods related to reviewing and documenting whether each CoC has policies and procedures in place to ensure data quality.
	e. Identify geographic areas within the CoC that have insufficient or no services for those experiencing homelessness and the reasons why these areas have inadequate resources.	Interviewed CoC staff to determine whether each CoC’s coordinated entry process is accessible in all parts of its area. To the extent possible, reviewed any analyses the CoCs conducted to identify geographic areas that lacked services or service providers and the actions the CoCs took to address these inadequacies.
9	Identify any best practices at the CoCs for improving accountability and the efficiency and effectiveness of services to those experiencing homelessness that other CoCs could use to improve their efforts.	Interviewed HUD staff and conducted research to select states that were likely to have best practices. We interviewed staff in a selection of these states, including the ones listed for Objective 4, to identify best practices that California could implement. Using results from the work of objectives 2 through 8, identified best practices for improving accountability and the efficiency and effectiveness of services to those experiencing homelessness.
10	Review and assess any other issues that are significant to the audit.	Interviewed homeless council staff to determine the extent to which it provides guidance and best practices to CoCs and coordinates state funding and data.

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