2023 California Code › Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC › DIVISION 8 - MISCELLANEOUS › CHAPTER 6.5 - Housing First and Coordinating Council › Section 8256.

8256. (a)  Except as provided in subdivision (c), agencies and departments administering state programs created on or after July 1, 2017, shall collaborate with the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to adopt guidelines and regulations to incorporate core components of Housing First.
(b) By July 1, 2019, except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c), agencies and departments administering state programs in existence prior to July 1, 2017, shall collaborate with the council to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations that incorporate the core components of Housing First, if the existing guidelines and regulations do not already incorporate the core components of Housing First.
(c) (1)  For the Returning Home Well Program, the Specialized Treatment for Optimized Programming Program, and the Long-Term Offender Reentry Recovery Program, all of which are administered by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which fund recovery housing, as defined in paragraph (3), for parolees, as defined by Section 3000 of Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall do all of the following:
(A) In coordination with the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, consult with the Legislature, the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, the California Health and Human Services Agency, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other stakeholders to identify ways to improve the provision of housing to individuals who receive funding from that agency or department, consistent with the applicable requirements of state law.
(B) Comply with the core components of Housing First, other than those components described in paragraphs (5) to (7), inclusive, of subdivision (b) of Section 8255.
(C) Ensure that recovery housing programs meet the following requirements:
(i) A recovery housing program participant shall sign an agreement upon entry that outlines the roles and responsibilities of both the participant and the program administrator to ensure individuals are aware of actions that could result in removal from the recovery housing program. Violations of the agreement shall not automatically result in discharge from the recovery housing program.
(ii)  Efforts to link program participants to alternative housing options, including interim sheltering, permanent housing, or transitional housing, shall be documented. If a recovery housing program participant chooses to stop living in a housing setting with a recovery focus, is discharged from the program, or is removed from housing, the program administrator shall offer assistance in accessing other housing and services options, including options operated with harm-reduction principles, and identifying an alternative housing placement. This clause does not apply to an individual who leaves the program without notifying the program administrator.
(iii) The program administrator shall offer program participants who inform the program administrator that they are leaving the program one or more of the following:
(I) Tenant housing navigation services to permanent housing.
(II) Connections to alternative housing providers.
(III) Access to supportive services.
(IV) Intake into a locally-coordinated entry system.
(V) Warm handoff to a partner homeless services provider offering housing navigation.
(iv) The recovery housing program administrator shall track and report annually, to the program’s state funding source, the housing outcome for each program participant who is discharged, including, but not limited to, the following information:
(I) The number of homeless individuals with a housing need served by the program funds that year, as well as the demographics of the population served.
(II) Outcome data for all individuals served through program funds, including the type of housing that the individuals were connected to, the type of housing the individuals were exited to, the percent of housing exits that were successful, and exit types of unsuccessful housing exits.
(v) The department shall make every effort to ensure that exits to homelessness are extremely rare.
(2) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall make efforts to reduce recidivism by offering participation to formerly incarcerated persons in recovery housing programs. Connections to safe and supportive housing is a critical priority for successful community reintegration.
(3) For purposes of this subdivision, “recovery housing” means sober living facilities and programs that provide housing in a recovery-focused and peer-supported community for people recovering from substance use issues. Participation is voluntary, unless that participation is pursuant to a court order or is a condition of release for individuals under the jurisdiction of a county probation department or the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
(d) (1) Beginning on January 1, 2023, a grantee or entity operating any of the following state homelessness programs, as a condition of receiving state funds, shall enter the required data elements described in paragraph (8) on the individuals and families it serves into its local Homeless Management Information System, as required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development guidance described in paragraph (8), unless otherwise exempted by state or federal law:
(A) The program referred to as Homekey, as described in Section 50675.1.1 of the Health and Safety Code.
(B) The Housing for a Healthy California Program established pursuant to Part 14.2 (commencing with Section 53590) of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code.
(C) The No Place Like Home Program established pursuant to Part 3.9 (commencing with Section 5849.1) of Division 5.
(D) The Multifamily Housing Program (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 50675) of Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code).
(E) The Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Act of 2014, as established by Article 3.2 (commencing with Section 987.001) of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(F) The Bringing Families Home Program, as established by Article 6 (commencing with Section 16523) of Chapter 5 of Part 4 of Division 9.
(G) The CalWORKs Housing Support Program, as established by Article 3.3 (commencing with Section 11330) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9.
(H) The Housing and Disability Income Advocacy Program, as established by Chapter 17 (commencing with Section 18999) of Part 6 of Division 9.
(I) The Community Colleges Homeless and Housing Insecure Pilot Project, as established by funds appropriated by the Budget Act of 2019.
(J) The Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program established in Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50216) of Part 1 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) Council staff, in consultation with respective administering state agencies or departments, shall specify the entry format and disclosure frequency for the programs subject to this subdivision to submit the data elements as specified in paragraph (1) to inform and meet the council’s statewide objectives and goals described in Section 8257.
(3) (A)   The requirements of paragraph (1) shall additionally apply to all new state homelessness programs that commence on or after July 1, 2021.
(B) New state homelessness programs and new grantees of the existing state programs described in paragraph (1) may be granted an extension of up to one year from program launch to meet the requirements of this subdivision.
(4) For purposes of this subdivision, state homelessness programs are defined as those programs that are funded, in whole or in part, by the state with the express purpose of addressing or preventing homelessness or providing services to people experiencing homelessness. This definition shall be broadly construed for the purpose of carrying out the requirements of this subdivision.
(5) The requirements of paragraphs (1) and (3) do not supplant any existing requirements imposed on a grantee or entity operating a state program described in this subdivision that require the program to report data into their local Homeless Management Information Systems before January 1, 2023.
(6) (A)   Any grantee or entity operating a program described in paragraph (1) or (3) that does not already collect and enter into the local Homeless Management Information System the data elements required under this subdivision shall, upon request, receive technical assistance and guidance from council staff and, as available, from federal partners, including, but not limited to, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(B) When a grantee or entity operating a program requests technical assistance, the council shall inform the respective administering state agency or department and offer the opportunity to partner or coordinate the provision of technical assistance.
(7) Any grantee or entity operating a program described in paragraph (1) shall, upon request, be granted an extension to meet the requirements in this subdivision, provided noncompliant grantees are making good faith progress towards meeting the requirements. An extension granted under this paragraph shall not extend beyond July 1, 2023. For purposes of this paragraph, “making good faith progress” includes, but is not limited to, engaging in technical assistance offered under paragraph (6) and establishing a plan to comply with this subdivision.
(8) For purposes of this subdivision, required data elements are the Universal Data Elements (Items 3.01–3.917) and the Common Data Elements (Items 4.02–4.20 and Item W5 of the Individual Federal Partner Program Elements) drawn from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Homeless Management Information System Data Standards. When necessary, due to federal changes to the items indicated in this paragraph, the required data elements may be amended to maintain alignment with federal standards.
(9) Beginning January 1, 2022, council staff shall provide aggregate data summaries collected in full pursuant to this subdivision to the respective administering state agencies or departments that oversee relevant programs within 45 days of receipt. Where feasible, council staff shall notify the respective administering state agencies or departments at least 14 days before sharing, publicly using, or referencing the data, including, but not limited to, using the data for any substantive analysis, summary statistics, or other findings.
(e) The Board of State and Community Corrections Adult Reentry Grant programs that fund recovery housing subject to this chapter shall apply the requirements of this chapter prospectively beginning July 1, 2022, through any new contracts or agreements.
(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 70, Sec. 48. (SB 197) Effective June 30, 2022.)