BILL REQ. #:  H-4164.1 

Read first time 01/15/10.   Referred to Committee on Local Government & Housing.

     AN ACT Relating to the annual revision of performance measures pertaining to homeless housing programs; and amending RCW 43.185C.040.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 43.185C.040 and 2009 c 518 s 17 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Six months after the first Washington homeless census, the department shall, in consultation with the interagency council on homelessness and the affordable housing advisory board, prepare and publish a ten-year homeless housing strategic plan which shall outline statewide goals and performance measures and shall be coordinated with the plan for homeless families with children required under RCW 43.63A.650. To guide local governments in preparation of their first local homeless housing plans due December 31, 2005, the department shall issue by October 15, 2005, temporary guidelines consistent with this chapter and including the best available data on each community's homeless population. Local governments' ten-year homeless housing plans shall not be substantially inconsistent with the goals and program recommendations of the temporary guidelines and, when amended after 2005, the state strategic plan.
     (2) Program outcomes and performance measures and goals shall be created by the department and reflected in the department's homeless housing strategic plan as well as interim goals against which state and local governments' performance may be measured, including:
     (a) By the end of year one, completion of the first census as described in RCW 43.185C.030;
     (b) By the end of each subsequent year, goals common to all local programs which are measurable and the achievement of which would move that community toward housing its homeless population; and
     (c) By July 1, 2015, reduction of the homeless population statewide and in each county by fifty percent.
     (3) The department shall develop a consistent statewide data gathering instrument to monitor the performance of cities and counties receiving grants in order to determine compliance with the terms and conditions set forth in the grant application or required by the department.
     The department shall, in consultation with the interagency council on homelessness and the affordable housing advisory board, report biennially to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature an assessment of the state's performance in furthering the goals of the state ten-year homeless housing strategic plan and the performance of each participating local government in creating and executing a local homeless housing plan which meets the requirements of this chapter. The annual report may include performance measures such as:
     (a) The reduction in the number of homeless individuals and families from the initial count of homeless persons;
     (b) The number of new units available and affordable for homeless families by housing type;
     (c) The number of homeless individuals identified who are not offered suitable housing within thirty days of their request or identification as homeless;
     (d) The number of households at risk of losing housing who maintain it due to a preventive intervention;
     (e) The transition time from homelessness to permanent housing;
     (f) The cost per person housed at each level of the housing continuum;
     (g) The ability to successfully collect data and report performance;
     (h) The extent of collaboration and coordination among public bodies, as well as community stakeholders, and the level of community support and participation;
     (i) The quality and safety of housing provided; and
     (j) The effectiveness of outreach to homeless persons, and their satisfaction with the program.
     (4) Annually, based on the performance of local homeless housing programs in meeting their interim goals, on general population changes and on changes in the homeless population recorded in the annual census, the department ((may)) must revise the performance measures and goals of the state homeless housing strategic plan, set or adjust goals for years following the initial ten-year period, and recommend changes in local governments' plans.