Florida Senate - 2019 SB 1218
By Senator Book
32-00548A-19 20191218__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to homelessness; amending s. 201.15,
3 F.S.; requiring that certain taxes of a specified
4 amount be transferred annually to the Grants and
5 Donations Trust Fund within the Department of Children
6 and Families for the purpose of funding challenge
7 grants; amending s. 420.621, F.S.; revising, adding,
8 and deleting defined terms; amending s. 420.622, F.S.;
9 increasing the number of members on the Council on
10 Homelessness to include a representative of the
11 Florida Housing Coalition and the Secretary of the
12 Department of Elder Affairs or his or her designee;
13 providing that appointed council members are
14 encouraged to have certain experience; revising the
15 duties of the State Office on Homelessness; revising
16 requirements for the state’s system of homeless
17 programs; requiring entities that receive state
18 funding to provide summary aggregated data to assist
19 the council in providing certain information; removing
20 the requirement that the office have the concurrence
21 of the council to accept and administer moneys
22 appropriated to it to provide certain annual challenge
23 grants to continuums of care lead agencies; clarifying
24 the source of such appropriation; increasing the
25 maximum amount of grant awards per continuum of care
26 lead agency; conforming provisions to changes made by
27 the act; revising requirements for use of grant funds
28 by continuum of care lead agencies; revising
29 preference criteria for certain grants; increasing the
30 maximum percentage of its funding which a continuum of
31 care lead agency may spend on administrative costs;
32 requiring such agencies to submit a final report to
33 the Department of Children and Families documenting
34 certain outcomes achieved by grant-funded programs;
35 removing the requirement that the office have the
36 concurrence of the council to administer moneys given
37 to it to provide homeless housing assistance grants
38 annually to certain continuum of care lead agencies to
39 acquire, construct, or rehabilitate permanent housing
40 units for homeless persons; conforming a provision to
41 changes made by the act; requiring grant applicants to
42 be ranked competitively based on criteria determined
43 by the office; deleting preference requirements;
44 increasing the minimum number of years for which
45 projects must reserve certain units acquired,
46 constructed, or rehabilitated; increasing the maximum
47 percentage of funds the office and each applicant may
48 spend on administrative costs; revising certain
49 performance measure requirements; authorizing, instead
50 of requiring, the Department of Children and Families,
51 with input from the council, to adopt rules relating
52 to certain grants and related issues; revising
53 requirements for an annual report the council must
54 submit to the Governor, Legislature, and Secretary of
55 Children and Families; authorizing the office to
56 administer moneys appropriated to it for distribution
57 among certain designated continuum of care lead
58 agencies and entities; creating s. 420.6225, F.S.;
59 specifying the purpose of a continuum of care;
60 requiring each continuum of care, pursuant to federal
61 law, to designate a collaborative applicant that is
62 responsible for submitting the continuum of care
63 funding application for the designated catchment area
64 to the United States Department of Housing and Urban
65 Development; providing requirements for such
66 designated collaborative applicants; authorizing the
67 applicant to be referred to as the continuum of care
68 lead agency; providing requirements for continuum of
69 care catchment areas and lead agencies; requiring that
70 each continuum of care create a continuum of care plan
71 for specified purposes; specifying requirements for
72 such plans; requiring continuums of care to promote
73 participation by all interested individuals and
74 organizations, subject to certain requirements;
75 creating s. 420.6227, F.S.; providing legislative
76 findings and program purpose; establishing a grant-in
77 aid program to help continuums of care prevent and end
78 homelessness, which may include any aspect of the
79 local continuum of care plan; requiring continuums of
80 care to submit an application for grant-in-aid funds
81 to the office for review; requiring the office to
82 develop guidelines for the development, evaluation,
83 and approval of spending plans; requiring grant-in-aid
84 funds for continuums of care to be administered by the
85 office and awarded on a competitive basis; requiring
86 the office to distribute such funds to local agencies
87 to fund programs that are required by the local
88 continuum of care plan, based on certain
89 recommendations; limiting the percentage of the total
90 state funds awarded under a spending plan which may be
91 used by the continuum of care lead agency for staffing
92 and administrative expenditures; requiring entities
93 contracting with local agencies to provide services
94 through certain financial assistance programs to
95 provide a specified minimum percentage of the funding
96 necessary for the support of project operations;
97 authorizing in-kind contributions to be evaluated and
98 counted as part or all of the required local funding,
99 at the discretion of the office; repealing s. 420.623,
100 F.S., relating to local coalitions for the homeless;
101 repealing s. 420.624, F.S., relating to local homeless
102 assistance continuums of care; repealing s. 420.625,
103 F.S., relating to a grant-in-aid program; amending s.
104 420.626, F.S.; revising procedures that certain
105 facilities and institutions are encouraged to develop
106 and implement to reduce the discharge of persons into
107 homelessness when such persons are admitted or housed
108 for a specified period at such facilities or
109 institutions; amending s. 420.6265, F.S.; revising
110 legislative findings and intent for Rapid ReHousing;
111 revising the Rapid ReHousing methodology; amending s.
112 420.6275, F.S.; revising legislative findings relating
113 to Housing First; revising the Housing First
114 methodology to reflect current practice; amending s.
115 420.507, F.S.; conforming cross-references; providing
116 an effective date.
117
118 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
119
120 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of section
121 201.15, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (5) of that
122 section is republished, to read:
123 201.15 Distribution of taxes collected.—All taxes collected
124 under this chapter are hereby pledged and shall be first made
125 available to make payments when due on bonds issued pursuant to
126 s. 215.618 or s. 215.619, or any other bonds authorized to be
127 issued on a parity basis with such bonds. Such pledge and
128 availability for the payment of these bonds shall have priority
129 over any requirement for the payment of service charges or costs
130 of collection and enforcement under this section. All taxes
131 collected under this chapter, except taxes distributed to the
132 Land Acquisition Trust Fund pursuant to subsections (1) and (2),
133 are subject to the service charge imposed in s. 215.20(1).
134 Before distribution pursuant to this section, the Department of
135 Revenue shall deduct amounts necessary to pay the costs of the
136 collection and enforcement of the tax levied by this chapter.
137 The costs and service charge may not be levied against any
138 portion of taxes pledged to debt service on bonds to the extent
139 that the costs and service charge are required to pay any
140 amounts relating to the bonds. All of the costs of the
141 collection and enforcement of the tax levied by this chapter and
142 the service charge shall be available and transferred to the
143 extent necessary to pay debt service and any other amounts
144 payable with respect to bonds authorized before January 1, 2017,
145 secured by revenues distributed pursuant to this section. All
146 taxes remaining after deduction of costs shall be distributed as
147 follows:
148 (4) After the required distributions to the Land
149 Acquisition Trust Fund pursuant to subsections (1) and (2) and
150 deduction of the service charge imposed pursuant to s.
151 215.20(1), the remainder shall be distributed as follows:
152 (c) Eleven and twenty-four hundredths percent of the
153 remainder in each fiscal year shall be paid into the State
154 Treasury to the credit of the State Housing Trust Fund. Of such
155 funds, the first $35 million shall be transferred annually,
156 subject to any distribution required under subsection (5), to
157 the State Economic Enhancement and Development Trust Fund within
158 the Department of Economic Opportunity. The next $10 million
159 shall be transferred annually, subject to any distribution
160 required under subsection (5), to the Grants and Donations Trust
161 Fund within the Department of Children and Families for the
162 purpose of funding the challenge grants established in s.
163 420.622(4). The remainder shall be used as follows:
164 1. Half of that amount shall be used for the purposes for
165 which the State Housing Trust Fund was created and exists by
166 law.
167 2. Half of that amount shall be paid into the State
168 Treasury to the credit of the Local Government Housing Trust
169 Fund and used for the purposes for which the Local Government
170 Housing Trust Fund was created and exists by law.
171 (5) Distributions to the State Housing Trust Fund pursuant
172 to paragraphs (4)(c) and (d) must be sufficient to cover amounts
173 required to be transferred to the Florida Affordable Housing
174 Guarantee Program’s annual debt service reserve and guarantee
175 fund pursuant to s. 420.5092(6)(a) and (b) up to the amount
176 required to be transferred to such reserve and fund based on the
177 percentage distribution of documentary stamp tax revenues to the
178 State Housing Trust Fund which is in effect in the 2004-2005
179 fiscal year.
180 Section 2. Section 420.621, Florida Statutes, is amended to
181 read:
182 420.621 Definitions.—As used in ss. 420.621-420.628, the
183 term:
184 (1) “Continuum of care” means the group organized to carry
185 out the responsibilities imposed under ss. 420.621-420.628 to
186 coordinate, plan, and pursue ending homelessness in a designated
187 catchment area. The group is composed of representatives from
188 certain organizations, including, but not limited to, nonprofit
189 homeless providers, victim service providers, faith-based
190 organizations, governments, businesses, advocates, public
191 housing agencies, school districts, social service providers,
192 mental health agencies, hospitals, universities, affordable
193 housing developers, law enforcement, organizations that serve
194 homeless and formerly homeless veterans, and organizations that
195 serve homeless and formerly homeless persons, to the extent that
196 these organizations are represented within the designated
197 catchment area and are available to participate the community
198 components needed to organize and deliver housing and services
199 to meet the specific needs of people who are homeless as they
200 move to stable housing and maximum self-sufficiency. It includes
201 action steps to end homelessness and prevent a return to
202 homelessness.
203 (2) “Continuum of care lead agency” or “continuum of care
204 collaborative applicant” means the organization designated by a
205 continuum of care pursuant to s. 420.6225.
206 (3)(2) “Council on Homelessness” means the council created
207 in s. 420.622.
208 (4)(3) “Department” means the Department of Children and
209 Families.
210 (4) “District” means a service district of the department,
211 as set forth in s. 20.19.
212 (5) “Homeless,” means any of the following:
213 (a) An individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and
214 adequate nighttime residence as defined under “homeless” in 24
215 C.F.R. 578.3.
216 (b) An individual or family who will imminently lose their
217 primary nighttime residence as defined under “homeless” in 24
218 C.F.R. 578.3.
219 (c) Additional populations as may be defined in rules
220 developed by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation applied to
221 an individual, or “individual experiencing homelessness” means
222 an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime
223 residence and includes an individual who:
224 (a) Is sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of
225 housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
226 (b) Is living in a motel, hotel, travel trailer park, or
227 camping ground due to a lack of alternative adequate
228 accommodations;
229 (c) Is living in an emergency or transitional shelter;
230 (d) Has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or
231 private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular
232 sleeping accommodation for human beings;
233 (e) Is living in a car, park, public space, abandoned
234 building, bus or train station, or similar setting; or
235 (f) Is a migratory individual who qualifies as homeless
236 because he or she is living in circumstances described in
237 paragraphs (a)-(e).
238
239 The terms do not refer to an individual imprisoned pursuant to
240 state or federal law or to individuals or families who are
241 sharing housing due to cultural preferences, voluntary
242 arrangements, or traditional networks of support. The terms
243 include an individual who has been released from jail, prison,
244 the juvenile justice system, the child welfare system, a mental
245 health and developmental disability facility, a residential
246 addiction treatment program, or a hospital, for whom no
247 subsequent residence has been identified, and who lacks the
248 resources and support network to obtain housing.
249 (6) “Local coalition for the homeless” means a coalition
250 established pursuant to s. 420.623.
251 (7) “New and temporary homeless” means individuals or
252 families who are homeless due to societal factors.
253 (6)(8) “State Office on Homelessness” means the state
254 office created in s. 420.622.
255 Section 3. Section 420.622, Florida Statutes, is amended to
256 read:
257 420.622 State Office on Homelessness; Council on
258 Homelessness.—
259 (1) The State Office on Homelessness is created within the
260 Department of Children and Families to provide interagency,
261 council, and other related coordination on issues relating to
262 homelessness.
263 (2) The Council on Homelessness is created to consist of 19
264 17 representatives of public and private agencies who shall
265 develop policy and advise the State Office on Homelessness. The
266 council members shall be: the Secretary of Children and
267 Families, or his or her designee; the executive director of the
268 Department of Economic Opportunity, or his or her designee, who
269 shall advise the council on issues related to rural development;
270 the State Surgeon General, or his or her designee; the Executive
271 Director of Veterans’ Affairs, or his or her designee; the
272 Secretary of Corrections, or his or her designee; the Secretary
273 of Health Care Administration, or his or her designee; the
274 Commissioner of Education, or his or her designee; the Director
275 of CareerSource Florida, Inc., or his or her designee; one
276 representative of the Florida Association of Counties; one
277 representative of the Florida League of Cities; one
278 representative of the Florida Supportive Housing Coalition; one
279 representative of the Florida Housing Coalition; the Executive
280 Director of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, or his or
281 her designee; one representative of the Florida Coalition for
282 the Homeless; the Secretary of the Department of Elder Affairs,
283 or his or her designee; and four members appointed by the
284 Governor. The council members shall be nonpaid volunteers and
285 shall be reimbursed only for travel expenses. The appointed
286 members of the council shall be appointed to staggered 2-year
287 terms, and are encouraged to have experience in the
288 administration or provision of resources, services, or housing
289 that addresses the needs of persons experiencing homelessness.
290 The council shall meet at least four times per year. The
291 importance of minority, gender, and geographic representation
292 shall be considered in appointing members to the council.
293 (3) The State Office on Homelessness, pursuant to the
294 policies set by the council and subject to the availability of
295 funding, shall:
296 (a) Coordinate among state, local, and private agencies and
297 providers to produce a statewide consolidated inventory for the
298 state’s entire system of homeless programs which incorporates
299 local continuum of care plans regionally developed plans. Such
300 programs include, but are not limited to:
301 1. Programs authorized under the McKinney-Vento Homeless
302 Assistance Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987,
303 as amended by the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid
304 Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009, 42 U.S.C. ss. 11302
305 ss. 11371 et seq., and carried out under funds awarded to this
306 state; and
307 2. Programs, components thereof, or activities that assist
308 persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness.
309 (b) Collect, maintain, and make available information
310 concerning persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness,
311 including summary demographics information drawn from the local
312 continuum of care Homeless Management Information System or the
313 annual Point-in-Time Count, current services and resources
314 available and the local continuum of care Housing Inventory
315 Chart required by the Department of Housing and Urban
316 Development, the cost and availability of services and programs,
317 and the met and unmet needs of this population. All entities
318 that receive state funding must provide summary aggregated
319 access to all data they maintain in summary form, with no
320 individual identifying information, to assist the council in
321 providing this information. The State Office on Homelessness, in
322 consultation with the designated lead agencies for a local
323 homeless continuum of care and with the Council on Homelessness,
324 shall develop a process by which summary data is collected the
325 system and process of data collection from all lead agencies for
326 the purpose of analyzing trends and assessing impacts in the
327 statewide homeless delivery system for delivering services to
328 the homeless. Any statewide homelessness survey and database
329 system must comply with all state and federal statutory and
330 regulatory confidentiality requirements.
331 (c) Annually evaluate state and continuum of care system
332 programs local services and resources and develop a consolidated
333 plan for addressing the needs of the homeless or those at risk
334 for homelessness.
335 (d) Explore, compile, and disseminate information regarding
336 public and private funding sources for state and local programs
337 serving the homeless and provide technical assistance in
338 applying for such funding.
339 (e) Monitor and provide recommendations for coordinating
340 the activities and programs of local continuums of care
341 coalitions for the homeless and promote the effectiveness of
342 programs to prevent and end homelessness in the state addressing
343 the needs of the homeless.
344 (f) Provide technical assistance to facilitate efforts to
345 support and strengthen establish, maintain, and expand local
346 homeless assistance continuums of care.
347 (g) Develop and assist in the coordination of policies and
348 procedures relating to the discharge or transfer from the care
349 or custody of state-supported or state-regulated entities
350 persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness.
351 (h) Spearhead outreach efforts for maximizing access by
352 people who are homeless or at risk for homelessness to state and
353 federal programs and resources.
354 (i) Promote a federal policy agenda that is responsive to
355 the needs of those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness
356 the homeless population in this state.
357 (j) Review reports on continuum of care system performance
358 measures and Develop outcome and accountability measures and
359 promote and use such measures to evaluate program effectiveness
360 and make recommendations for improving current practices to work
361 toward ending homelessness in this state in order to best meet
362 the needs of the homeless.
363 (k) Formulate policies and legislative proposals aimed at
364 preventing and ending homelessness in this state to address more
365 effectively the needs of the homeless and coordinate the
366 implementation of state and federal legislative policies.
367 (l) Convene meetings and workshops of state and local
368 agencies, continuums of care local coalitions and programs, and
369 other stakeholders for the purpose of developing and reviewing
370 policies, services, activities, coordination, and funding of
371 efforts to end homelessness meet the needs of the homeless.
372 (m) With the input of the continuums of care, conduct or
373 promote research on the effectiveness of current programs and
374 propose pilot projects aimed at ending homelessness improving
375 services.
376 (n) Serve as an advocate for issues relating to
377 homelessness.
378 (o) Investigate ways to improve access to participation in
379 state funding and other programs for prevention and reduction
380 alleviation of homelessness to faith-based organizations and
381 collaborate and coordinate with faith-based organizations.
382 (4) The State Office on Homelessness, with the concurrence
383 of the Council on Homelessness, shall accept and administer
384 moneys appropriated to it pursuant to s. 201.15(4)(c) to provide
385 annual “challenge grants” to lead agencies of homeless
386 assistance continuums of care designated by the State Office on
387 Homelessness pursuant to s. 420.6225 s. 420.624. The department
388 shall establish varying levels of grant awards up to $750,000
389 $500,000 per continuum of care lead agency. The department, in
390 consultation with the Council on Homelessness, shall specify a
391 grant award level in the notice of the solicitation of grant
392 applications.
393 (a) To qualify for the grant, a continuum of care lead
394 agency must develop and implement a local homeless assistance
395 continuum of care plan for its designated catchment area. The
396 services and housing funded through the grant must be
397 implemented through the continuum of care’s continuum of care
398 plan must implement a coordinated assessment or central intake
399 entry system as provided in s. 420.6225(5)(b) and must be
400 designed to screen, assess, and refer persons seeking assistance
401 to the appropriate housing intervention and service provider.
402 The continuum of care lead agency shall also document the
403 commitment of local government or private organizations to
404 provide matching funds or in-kind support in an amount equal to
405 25 percent of the grant requested. Expenditures of leveraged
406 funds or resources, including third-party cash or in-kind
407 contributions, are authorized only for eligible activities
408 carried out in connection with a committed on one project in
409 which such funds or resources have not been used as leverage or
410 match for any other project or program. and The expenditures
411 must be certified through a written commitment.
412 (b) Preference must be given to those continuum of care
413 lead agencies that have demonstrated the ability of their
414 continuum of care to help households move out of homelessness
415 provide quality services to homeless persons and the ability to
416 leverage federal homeless-assistance funding under the Stewart
417 B. McKinney Act with local government funding or private funding
418 for the provision of services to homeless persons.
419 (c) Preference must be given to lead agencies in catchment
420 areas with the greatest need for the provision of housing and
421 services to the homeless, relative to the population of the
422 catchment area.
423 (c)(d) The grant may be used to fund any of the housing,
424 program, or service needs included in the local homeless
425 assistance continuum of care plan. The continuum of care lead
426 agency may allocate the grant to programs, services, or housing
427 providers that implement the local homeless assistance continuum
428 of care plan. The lead agency may provide subgrants to a local
429 agency to implement programs or services or provide housing
430 identified for funding in the lead agency’s application to the
431 department. A lead agency may spend a maximum of 10 8 percent of
432 its funding on administrative costs.
433 (d)(e) The continuum of care lead agency shall submit a
434 final report to the department documenting the outcomes achieved
435 by the grant-funded programs grant in enabling persons who are
436 homeless to return to permanent housing, thereby ending such
437 person’s episode of homelessness.
438 (5) The State Office on Homelessness, with the concurrence
439 of the Council on Homelessness, may administer moneys given
440 appropriated to it to provide homeless housing assistance grants
441 annually to continuum of care lead agencies for local homeless
442 assistance continuum of care, as recognized by the State Office
443 on Homelessness, to acquire, construct, or rehabilitate
444 transitional or permanent housing units for homeless persons.
445 These moneys shall consist of any sums that the state may
446 appropriate, as well as money received from donations, gifts,
447 bequests, or otherwise from any public or private source, which
448 are intended to acquire, construct, or rehabilitate transitional
449 or permanent housing units for homeless persons.
450 (a) Grant applicants shall be ranked competitively based on
451 criteria determined by the State Office on Homelessness.
452 Preference must be given to applicants who leverage additional
453 private funds and public funds, particularly federal funds
454 designated for the acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation
455 of transitional or permanent housing for homeless persons; who
456 acquire, build, or rehabilitate the greatest number of units; or
457 who acquire, build, or rehabilitate in catchment areas having
458 the greatest need for housing for the homeless relative to the
459 population of the catchment area.
460 (b) Funding for any particular project may not exceed
461 $750,000.
462 (c) Projects must reserve, for a minimum of 20 10 years,
463 the number of units acquired, constructed, or rehabilitated
464 through homeless housing assistance grant funding to serve
465 persons who are homeless at the time they assume tenancy.
466 (d) No more than two grants may be awarded annually in any
467 given local homeless assistance continuum of care catchment
468 area.
469 (e) A project may not be funded which is not included in
470 the local homeless assistance continuum of care plan, as
471 recognized by the State Office on Homelessness, for the
472 catchment area in which the project is located.
473 (f) The maximum percentage of funds that the State Office
474 on Homelessness and each applicant may spend on administrative
475 costs is 10 5 percent.
476 (6) The State Office on Homelessness, in conjunction with
477 the Council on Homelessness, shall establish performance
478 measures related to state funding provided through the State
479 Office on Homelessness and utilize those grant-related measures
480 to and specific objectives by which it may evaluate the
481 performance and outcomes of continuum of care lead agencies that
482 receive state grant funds. Challenge Grants made through the
483 State Office on Homelessness shall be distributed to lead
484 agencies based on their overall performance and their
485 achievement of specified objectives. Each lead agency for which
486 grants are made under this section shall provide the State
487 Office on Homelessness a thorough evaluation of the
488 effectiveness of the program in achieving its stated purpose. In
489 evaluating the performance of the lead agencies, the State
490 Office on Homelessness shall base its criteria upon the program
491 objectives, goals, and priorities that were set forth by the
492 lead agencies in their proposals for funding. Such criteria may
493 include, but are not limited to, the number of persons or
494 households that are no longer homeless, the rate of recidivism
495 to homelessness, and the number of persons who obtain gainful
496 employment.
497 (7) The State Office on Homelessness must monitor the
498 challenge grants and homeless housing assistance grants to
499 ensure proper expenditure of funds and compliance with the
500 conditions of the applicant’s contract.
501 (8) The Department of Children and Families, with input
502 from the Council on Homelessness, may must adopt rules relating
503 to the challenge grants and the homeless housing assistance
504 grants and related issues consistent with the purposes of this
505 section.
506 (9) The council shall, by June 30 of each year, provide to
507 the Governor, the Legislature, and the Secretary of Children and
508 Families a report summarizing the extent of homelessness in the
509 state and the council’s recommendations for ending reducing
510 homelessness in this state.
511 (10) The State Office on Homelessness may administer moneys
512 appropriated to it for distribution among the 28 local homeless
513 continuums of care continuum of care lead agencies and entities
514 funded in the 2017-2018 state fiscal year which are designated
515 by the office as local coalitions for the homeless designated by
516 the Department of Children and Families.
517 Section 4. Section 420.6225, Florida Statutes, is created
518 to read:
519 420.6225 Continuum of care.—
520 (1) The purpose of a continuum of care, as defined in s.
521 420.621, is to coordinate community efforts to prevent and end
522 homelessness in its catchment area designated as provided in
523 subsection (3) and to fulfill the responsibilities set forth in
524 this chapter.
525 (2) Pursuant to the federal HEARTH Act of 2009, each
526 continuum of care is required to designate a collaborative
527 applicant that is responsible for submitting the continuum of
528 care funding application for the designated catchment area to
529 the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
530 The continuum of care designated collaborative applicant shall
531 serve as the point of contact to the State Office on
532 Homelessness, is accountable for representations made in the
533 application, and, in carrying out responsibilities under this
534 chapter, may be referred to as the continuum of care lead
535 agency.
536 (3) Continuum of care catchment areas must be designated
537 and revised as necessary by the State Office on Homelessness and
538 must be consistent with the continuum of care catchment areas
539 recognized by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
540 Development for the purposes of awarding federal homeless
541 assistance funding for continuum of care programs.
542 (4) The State Office on Homelessness shall recognize only
543 one continuum of care lead agency for each designated catchment
544 area. Such continuum of care lead agency must be consistent with
545 the continuum of care collaborative applicant designation
546 recognized by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
547 Development in the awarding of federal funds to continuums of
548 care.
549 (5) Each continuum of care shall create a continuum of care
550 plan, the purpose of which is to implement an effective and
551 efficient housing crisis response system to prevent and end
552 homelessness in the continuum of care catchment area. A
553 continuum of care plan must include all of the following
554 components:
555 (a) Outreach to unsheltered individuals and families to
556 link them with appropriate housing interventions.
557 (b) A coordinated entry system, compliant with the
558 requirements of the federal HEARTH Act of 2009, which is
559 designed to coordinate intake, utilize common assessment tools,
560 prioritize households for housing interventions, and refer
561 households to the appropriate housing intervention.
562 (c) Emergency shelter, designed to provide safe temporary
563 shelter while the household is in the process of obtaining
564 permanent housing.
565 (d) Supportive services, designed to maximize housing
566 stability once the household is in permanent housing.
567 (e) Permanent supportive housing, designed to provide long
568 term affordable housing and support services to persons with
569 disabilities who are moving out of homelessness.
570 (f) Rapid ReHousing, as specified in s. 420.6265.
571 (g) Permanent housing, including linkages to affordable
572 housing, subsidized housing, long-term rent assistance, housing
573 vouchers, and mainstream private sector housing.
574 (h) An ongoing planning mechanism to end homelessness for
575 all subpopulations of persons experiencing homelessness.
576 (6) Continuums of care must promote participation by all
577 interested individuals and organizations and may not exclude
578 individuals and organizations on the basis of race, color,
579 national origin, sex, handicap, familial status, or religion.
580 Faith-based organizations, local governments, and persons who
581 have experienced homelessness are encouraged to participate. To
582 the extent possible, these individuals and organizations must be
583 coordinated and integrated with other mainstream health, social
584 services, and employment programs for which homeless populations
585 may be eligible, including, but not limited to, Medicaid, the
586 State Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Temporary
587 Assistance for Needy Families Program, the Food Assistance
588 Program, and services funded through the Mental Health and
589 Substance Abuse Block Grant, the Workforce Innovation and
590 Opportunity Act, and the welfare-to-work grant program.
591 Section 5. Section 420.6227, Florida Statutes, is created
592 to read:
593 420.6227 Grant-in-aid program.—
594 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.—The Legislature hereby finds and
595 declares that many services for households experiencing
596 homelessness have been provided by local communities through
597 voluntary private agencies and religious organizations and that
598 those resources have not been sufficient to prevent and end
599 homelessness in Florida. The Legislature recognizes that the
600 level of need and types of problems associated with homelessness
601 may vary from community to community, due to the diversity and
602 geographic distribution of the homeless population and the
603 resulting differing needs of particular communities.
604 (2) PURPOSE.—The principal purpose of the grant-in-aid
605 program is to provide needed assistance to continuums of care to
606 enable them to do all of the following:
607 (a) Assist persons in their communities who have become, or
608 may likely become, homeless.
609 (b) Help homeless households move to permanent housing as
610 quickly as possible.
611 (3) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a state
612 grant-in-aid program to help continuums of care prevent and end
613 homelessness, which may include any aspect of the local
614 continuum of care plan, as described in s. 420.6225.
615 (4) APPLICATION PROCEDURE.—Continuums of care that intend
616 to apply for the grant-in-aid program must submit an application
617 for grant-in-aid funds to the State Office on Homelessness for
618 review.
619 (5) SPENDING PLANS.—The State Office on Homelessness shall
620 develop guidelines for the development, evaluation, and approval
621 of spending plans that are created by local continuum of care
622 lead agencies.
623 (6) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDS.—The State Office on
624 Homelessness shall administer state grant-in-aid funds for
625 continuums of care, which must be awarded on a competitive
626 basis.
627 (7) DISTRIBUTION TO LOCAL AGENCIES.—The State Office on
628 Homelessness shall distribute funds awarded under subsection (6)
629 to local agencies to fund programs that are required by the
630 local continuum of care plan, as described in s. 420.6225 and
631 provided in subsection (3), based upon the recommendations of
632 the local continuum of care lead agencies, in accordance with
633 spending plans that are developed by the lead agencies and
634 approved by the office. Not more than 10 percent of the total
635 state funds awarded under a spending plan may be used by the
636 continuum of care lead agency for staffing and administrative
637 expenditures.
638 (8) LOCAL MATCHING FUNDS.—If an entity contracts with local
639 agencies to provide services and receives financial assistance
640 obtained under this section, the entity must provide a minimum
641 of 25 percent of the funding necessary for the support of
642 project operations. In-kind contributions, including, but not
643 limited to, materials, commodities, transportation, office
644 space, other types of facilities, or personal services may be
645 evaluated and counted as part or all of the required local
646 funding, at the discretion of the State Office on Homelessness.
647 Section 6. Section 420.623, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
648 Section 7. Section 420.624, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
649 Section 8. Section 420.625, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
650 Section 9. Subsection (3) of section 420.626, Florida
651 Statutes, is amended, and subsection (2) of that section is
652 republished, to read:
653 420.626 Homelessness; discharge guidelines.—
654 (2) The following facilities and institutions are
655 encouraged to develop and implement procedures designed to
656 reduce the discharge of persons into homelessness when such
657 persons are admitted or housed for more than 24 hours at such
658 facilities or institutions: hospitals and inpatient medical
659 facilities; crisis stabilization units; residential treatment
660 facilities; assisted living facilities; and detoxification
661 centers.
662 (3) The procedures should include all of the following:
663 (a) Development and implementation of a screening process
664 or other mechanism for identifying persons to be discharged from
665 the facility or institution who are at considerable risk for
666 homelessness or face some imminent threat to health and safety
667 upon discharge.;
668 (b) Development and implementation of a discharge plan
669 addressing how identified persons will secure housing and other
670 needed care and support upon discharge.;
671 (c) Communication with Assessment of the capabilities of
672 the entities to whom identified persons may potentially be
673 discharged to determine their capability to serve such persons
674 and their acceptance of such discharge into their programs, and
675 selection of the entity determined to be best equipped to
676 provide or facilitate the provision of suitable care and
677 support.;
678 (d) Coordination of effort and sharing of information with
679 entities that are expected to bear the responsibility for
680 providing care or support to identified persons upon discharge.;
681 and
682 (e) Provision of sufficient medication, medical equipment
683 and supplies, clothing, transportation, and other basic
684 resources necessary to assure that the health and well-being of
685 identified persons are not jeopardized upon their discharge.
686 Section 10. Section 420.6265, Florida Statutes, is amended
687 to read:
688 420.6265 Rapid ReHousing.—
689 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—
690 (a) The Legislature finds that Rapid ReHousing is a
691 strategy of using temporary financial assistance and case
692 management to quickly move an individual or family out of
693 homelessness and into permanent housing, and using housing
694 stabilization support services to help them remain stably
695 housed.
696 (b) The Legislature also finds that public and private
697 solutions to homelessness in the past have focused on providing
698 individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness with
699 emergency shelter, transitional housing, or a combination of
700 both. While emergency shelter and transitional housing programs
701 may provide critical access to services for individuals and
702 families in crisis, the programs often fail to address permanent
703 housing their long-term needs and may unnecessarily extend their
704 episodes of homelessness.
705 (c) The Legislature further finds that most households
706 become homeless as a result of a financial crisis that prevents
707 individuals and families from paying rent or a domestic conflict
708 that results in one member being ejected or leaving without
709 resources or a plan for housing.
710 (d) The Legislature further finds that Rapid ReHousing has
711 proven to be a cost-effective is an alternative approach to
712 ending homelessness which reduces to the current system of
713 emergency shelter or transitional housing which tends to reduce
714 the length of time that a person is homeless and is demonstrably
715 has proven to be more cost effective than alternative
716 approaches.
717 (e) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
718 encourage homeless continuums of care to adopt the Rapid
719 ReHousing approach to ending preventing homelessness for
720 individuals and families who do not require the intensive
721 intense level of supports provided in the permanent supportive
722 housing model.
723 (2) RAPID REHOUSING METHODOLOGY.—
724 (a) The Rapid ReHousing response to homelessness differs
725 from traditional approaches to addressing homelessness by
726 focusing on each individual’s or family’s barriers to housing.
727 By using this approach, communities can significantly reduce the
728 amount of time that individuals and families are homeless and
729 prevent further episodes of homelessness.
730 (b) In Rapid ReHousing, when an individual or a family is
731 identified as being homeless, the individual or family is
732 assessed and prioritized for housing through the continuum of
733 care’s coordinated entry system, temporary assistance is
734 provided to allow the individual or family to obtain permanent
735 housing as quickly as possible, and necessary, if needed,
736 assistance is provided to allow the individual or family to
737 retain housing.
738 (c) The objective of Rapid ReHousing is to provide
739 assistance for as short a term as possible so that the
740 individual or family receiving assistance attains stability and
741 integration into the community as quickly as possible does not
742 develop a dependency on the assistance.
743 Section 11. Section 420.6275, Florida Statutes, is amended
744 to read:
745 420.6275 Housing First.—
746 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—
747 (a) The Legislature finds that many communities plan to
748 manage homelessness rather than plan to end it.
749 (b) The Legislature also finds that for nearly most of the
750 past two decades, public and private solutions to homelessness
751 have focused on providing individuals and families who were are
752 experiencing homelessness with emergency shelter, transitional
753 housing, or a combination of both. This strategy failed to
754 recognize that, while emergency shelter programs may provide
755 critical access to services for individuals and families in
756 crisis, they often fail to address their long-term needs.
757 (c) The Legislature further finds that Housing First is a
758 cost-effective an alternative approach to the current system of
759 emergency shelter or transitional housing which tends to ending
760 homelessness and reducing reduce the length of time of
761 homelessness for many individuals and families and has proven to
762 be cost-effective.
763 (d) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
764 encourage homeless continuums of care to adopt the Housing First
765 approach to ending homelessness for individuals and families.
766 (2) HOUSING FIRST METHODOLOGY.—
767 (a) The Housing First approach to homelessness provides
768 permanent differs from traditional approaches by providing
769 housing assistance, followed by case management, and support
770 services responsive to individual or family needs once after
771 housing is obtained. By using this approach when appropriate,
772 communities can significantly reduce the amount of time that
773 individuals and families are homeless and prevent further
774 episodes of homelessness. Housing First emphasizes that social
775 services provided to enhance individual and family well-being
776 can be more effective when people are in their own home, and:
777 1. The housing is not time-limited.
778 2. The housing is not contingent on compliance with
779 services. Instead, participants must comply with a standard
780 lease agreement.
781 3. Individuals and families and are provided with
782 individualized the services and support that are necessary to
783 help them maintain stable housing do so successfully.
784 3. A background check and any rehabilitation necessary to
785 combat an addiction related to alcoholism or substance abuse has
786 been completed by the individual for whom assistance or support
787 services are provided.
788 (b) The Housing First approach addresses the societal
789 causes of homelessness and advocates for the immediate return of
790 individuals and families into housing and communities. Housing
791 First links affordable housing with community-based social
792 service and health care organizations Housing First provides a
793 critical link between the emergency and transitional housing
794 system and community-based social service, educational, and
795 health care organizations and consists of four components:
796 1. Crisis intervention and short-term stabilization.
797 2. Screening, intake, and needs assessment.
798 3. Provision of housing resources.
799 4. Provision of case management.
800 Section 12. Paragraph (d) of subsection (22) of section
801 420.507, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
802 420.507 Powers of the corporation.—The corporation shall
803 have all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and
804 effectuate the purposes and provisions of this part, including
805 the following powers which are in addition to all other powers
806 granted by other provisions of this part:
807 (22) To develop and administer the State Apartment
808 Incentive Loan Program. In developing and administering that
809 program, the corporation may:
810 (d) In counties or rural areas of counties that do not have
811 existing units set aside for homeless persons, forgive
812 indebtedness for loans provided to create permanent rental
813 housing units for persons who are homeless, as defined in s.
814 420.621 s. 420.621(5), or for persons residing in time-limited
815 transitional housing or institutions as a result of a lack of
816 permanent, affordable housing. Such developments must be
817 supported by a local homeless assistance continuum of care
818 developed under s. 420.6225 s. 420.624, be developed by
819 nonprofit applicants, be small properties as defined by
820 corporation rule, and be a project in the local housing
821 assistance continuum of care plan recognized by the State Office
822 on Homelessness.
823 Section 13. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.