| Summary |
The bill creates the Colorado interagency council on homelessness
(council) within the governor's office. The council's powers and duties
include:
•
Facilitating and coordinating homelessness response,
resources, and best practices between state and local
partners;
•
Setting statewide strategy for homelessness resolution and
prevention;
•
Developing an outreach and education campaign to
understand and respond to issues related to homelessness;
•
Increasing access to supportive resources for homeless
individuals, including income benefits, food benefits,
healthcare coverage, and support related to mental health
and substance use;
•
Identifying and maximizing housing resources provided by
state agencies;
•
Improving cross-system policies and procedures for state
agencies and homelessness service providers; and
•
Organizing other homelessness response measures as the
council sees fit.
The council is required to meet at least once a month and submit and
present an annual report providing a summary of the council's activities
and recommendations for legislative action to the general assembly no
later than January 26 of each year.
The council's membership consists of the directors, or the
directors' designees, of the following state agencies:
•
The department of local affairs;
•
The department of education;
•
The department of corrections;
•
The department of health care policy and financing;
•
The behavioral health administration;
•
The department of human services;
•
The department of public health and environment; and
•
The department of public safety.
The governor may appoint to the council the directors, or the directors'
designees, of other state agencies or individuals to represent political
subdivisions as the governor sees fit.
The bill creates an advisory council to the council consisting of
members who have experience working on the resolution and prevention
of homelessness and with homeless individuals, including the following
11 members appointed by the governor:
•
The director, or the director's designee, of a nonprofit
organization with a mission related to homelessness;
•
The leader of a faith-based organization that is primarily
focused on homelessness resolution and prevention;
•
A homelessness service provider primarily focused on
specialized populations;
•
The director, or the director's designee, of a philanthropic
organization that supports homelessness service providers;
•
A representative from a continuum of care organization
that provides services in an urban area;
•
A representative from a continuum of care organization
that provides services in a rural area;
•
An elected local government representative;
•
An individual with lived experience of homelessness;
•
An individual with lived experience navigating affordable
housing and housing resources;
•
An owner or operator of permanent supportive housing;
and
•
A housing navigator or representative from an organization
that administers housing vouchers.
The advisory council shall meet at least once a month, shall develop and
implement a plan to receive public feedback on statewide strategy related
to homelessness prevention and resolution, and shall recommend funding
and policies to support homelessness prevention and resolution to the
council.
The bill requires the office of homeless initiatives within the
division of housing in the department of local affairs to, at least once
every 4 months, convene the state continuum of care organizations for the
purposes of implementing state strategies and identifying best practices
to prevent and reduce homelessness in Colorado. The continuum of care
organizations shall consider methods and practices to:
•
Improve the implementation of the Homeless Management
Information System and data reporting;
•
Improve the implementation of the OneHome coordinated
entry system;
•
Coordinate with regional navigation campuses to determine
best practices, identify gaps, and make referrals; and
•
Improve data reporting within the regional navigation
campuses.
The continuum of care organizations are required to submit and present
a report to the general assembly providing a summary of the council's
activities from the prior year and recommendations for implementing the
methods and practices the organizations considered.
The bill creates a new type of special district, a regional
homelessness response district (district), which is formed by counties and
municipalities to reduce and prevent homelessness. The bill details
specifics of organizing and dissolving a district, submitting a district
service plan, voting in district elections, and the financial and taxing
powers of a district.
The bill allows a county clerk and recorder to designate money
collected from documentary filing fees for granting or conveying real
property to be transferred to a housing agency for the purpose of
developing, preserving, or acquiring affordable housing aligned with
demonstrated community needs and for homeless individuals.
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