CA Welf & Inst Code § 8257 (2021)
2021 California Code|Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC|DIVISION 8 - MISCELLANEOUS|CHAPTER 6.5 - Housing First and Coordinating Council|Section 8257.

8257.  (a) The Governor shall create an Interagency Council on Homelessness.(b) The council shall have all of the following goals:(1) To oversee implementation of this chapter.(2) To identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California.(3) To create partnerships among state agencies and departments, local government agencies, participants in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care Program, federal agencies, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, nonprofit entities working to end homelessness, homeless services providers, and the private sector, for the purpose of arriving at specific strategies to end homelessness.(4) To promote systems integration to increase efficiency and effectiveness while focusing on designing systems to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness, including unaccompanied youth under 25 years of age.(5) To coordinate existing funding and applications for competitive funding. Any action taken pursuant to this paragraph shall not restructure or change any existing allocations or allocation formulas.(6) To make policy and procedural recommendations to legislators and other governmental entities.(7) To identify and seek funding opportunities for state entities that have programs to end homelessness, including, but not limited to, federal and philanthropic funding opportunities, and to facilitate and coordinate those state entities’ efforts to obtain that funding.(8) To broker agreements between state agencies and departments and between state agencies and departments and local jurisdictions to align and coordinate resources, reduce administrative burdens of accessing existing resources, and foster common applications for services, operating, and capital funding.(9) To serve as a statewide facilitator, coordinator, and policy development resource on ending homelessness in California.(10) To report to the Governor, federal Cabinet members, and the Legislature on homelessness and work to reduce homelessness.(11) To ensure accountability and results in meeting the strategies and goals of the council.(12) To identify and implement strategies to fight homelessness in small communities and rural areas.(13) To create a statewide data system or warehouse, which shall be known as the Homeless Data Integration System, that collects local data through Homeless Management Information Systems, with the ultimate goal of matching data on homelessness to programs impacting homeless recipients of state programs, such as the Medi-Cal program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9) and CalWORKs (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 of Division 9). Upon creation of the Homeless Data Integration System, all continuums of care, as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, that are operating in California shall provide collected data elements, including, but not limited to, health information, in a manner consistent with federal law, to the Homeless Data Integration System. (A) Council staff shall specify the form and substance of the required data elements.(B) Council staff may, as required by operational necessity, and in accordance with paragraph (8) of subdivision (d) of Section 8256, amend or modify data elements, disclosure formats, or disclosure frequency.(C) To further the efforts to improve the public health, safety, and welfare of people experiencing homelessness in the state, council staff may collect data from the continuums of care as provided in this paragraph.(D) Any health information or personal identifying information provided to, or maintained within, the Homeless Data Integration System shall not be subject to public inspection or disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code).(E) For purposes of this paragraph, “health information” includes “protected health information,” as defined in Part 160.103 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and “medical information,” as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 56.05 of the Civil Code. (14) To set goals to prevent and end homelessness among California’s youth.(15) To improve the safety, health, and welfare of young people experiencing homelessness in the state.(16) To increase system integration and coordinating efforts to prevent homelessness among youth who are currently or formerly involved in the child welfare system or the juvenile justice system.(17) To lead efforts to coordinate a spectrum of funding, policy, and practice efforts related to young people experiencing homelessness.(18) To identify best practices to ensure homeless minors who may have experienced maltreatment, as described in Section 300, are appropriately referred to, or have the ability to self-refer to, the child welfare system.(19) To collect, compile, and make available to the public financial data provided to the council from all state-funded homelessness programs. (c) (1) The council shall consist of the following members:(A) The Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency and the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, who both shall serve as cochairs of the council.(B) The Director of Transportation.(C) The Director of Housing and Community Development.(D) The Director of Social Services.(E) The Director of the California Housing Finance Agency.(F) The Director or the State Medicaid Director of Health Care Services.(G) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.(H) The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.(I) The Executive Director of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee in the Treasurer’s office.(J) The State Public Health Officer.(K) The Director of the California Department of Aging.(L) The Director of Rehabilitation.(M) The Director of State Hospitals.(N) The executive director of the California Workforce Development Board. (O) The Director of the Office of Emergency Services.(P) A representative from the State Department of Education, who shall be appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.(Q) A representative of the state public higher education system who shall be from one of the following:(i) The California Community Colleges.(ii) The University of California.(iii) The California State University.(2) The Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each appoint one member to the council from two different stakeholder organizations.(3) The council may, at its discretion, invite stakeholders, individuals who have experienced homelessness, members of philanthropic communities, and experts to participate in meetings or provide information to the council.(4) The council shall hold public meetings at least once every quarter.(d) The council shall regularly seek guidance from and, at least twice a year, meet with an advisory committee. The cochairs of the council shall appoint members to this advisory committee that reflects racial and gender diversity, and shall include the following: (1) A survivor of gender-based violence who formerly experienced homelessness.(2) Representatives of local agencies or organizations that participate in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care Program.(3) Stakeholders with expertise in solutions to homelessness and best practices from other states.(4) Representatives of committees on African Americans, youth, and survivors of gender-based violence. (5) A current or formerly homeless person who lives in California.(6) A current or formerly homeless youth who lives in California.(7) This advisory committee shall designate one of the above-described members to participate in every quarterly council meeting to provide a report to the council on advisory committee activities.(e) Within existing funding, the council may establish working groups, task forces, or other structures from within its membership or with outside members to assist it in its work. Working groups, task forces, or other structures established by the council shall determine their own meeting schedules.(f) Upon request of the council, a state agency or department that administers one or more state homelessness programs, including, but not limited to, an agency or department represented on the council pursuant to subdivision (c), the agency or department shall be required to do both of the following: (1) Participate in council workgroups, task forces, or other similar administrative structures.(2) Provide to the council any relevant information regarding those state homelessness programs. (g) The members of the council shall serve without compensation, except that members of the council who are, or have been, homeless may receive reimbursement for travel, per diem, or other expenses.(h) The appointed members of the council or committees, as described in this section, shall serve at the pleasure of their appointing authority. (i) The Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency shall provide staff for the council.(j) The members of the council may enter into memoranda of understanding with other members of the council to achieve the goals set forth in this chapter, as necessary, in order to facilitate communication and cooperation between the entities the members of the council represent.(k) There shall be an executive officer of the council under the direction of the Secretary of Business, Consumer Services and Housing.(l) The council shall be under the direction of the executive officer and staffed by employees of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency.(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 398, Sec. 5.5. (AB 1220) Effective January 1, 2022.)