READ FIRST TIME 01/17/08.   

     AN ACT Relating to expanding availability of housing for individuals and families at risk of homelessness; creating new sections; and repealing RCW 59.18.600.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The transitional housing operating and rent program is created in the department to assist individuals and families who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless to secure and retain safe, decent, and affordable housing. The department shall provide grants to eligible organizations, as described in RCW 43.185.060, to provide assistance to program participants. The eligible organizations must use grant moneys for:
     (a) Rental assistance, which includes security or utility deposits, first and last month's rent assistance, and eligible moving expenses to be determined by the department;
     (b) Case management services designed to assist program participants to secure and retain immediate housing and to transition into permanent housing and greater levels of self-sufficiency;
     (c) Operating expenses of transitional housing facilities that serve homeless families with children; and
     (d) Administrative costs of the eligible organization, which must not exceed limits prescribed by the department.
     (2) Eligible to receive assistance through the transitional housing operating and rent program are:
     (a) Families with children who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless and who have household incomes at or below fifty percent of the median household income for their county;
     (b) Families with children who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless and who are receiving services under chapter 13.34 RCW;
     (c) Individuals or families without children who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and who have household incomes at or below thirty percent of the median household income for their county;
     (d) Individuals or families who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless and who have a household with an adult member who has a mental health or chemical dependency disorder; and
     (e) Individuals or families who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless and who have a household with an adult member who is an offender released from confinement within the past eighteen months.
     (3) All program participants must be willing to create and actively participate in a housing stability plan for achieving permanent housing and greater levels of self-sufficiency.
     (4) Data on all program participants must be entered into and tracked through the Washington homeless client management information system as described in RCW 43.185C.180. For eligible organizations serving victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, compliance with this subsection must be accomplished in accordance with 42 U.S.C. Sec. 11383(a)(8).
     (5) Beginning in 2011, each eligible organization receiving over five hundred thousand dollars during the previous calendar year from the transitional housing operating and rent program and from sources including: (a) State housing-related funding sources; (b) the affordable housing for all surcharge in RCW 36.22.178; (c) the home security fund surcharges in RCW 36.22.179 and 36.22.1791; and (d) any other surcharge imposed under chapter 36.22 or 43.185C RCW to fund homelessness programs or other housing programs, shall apply to the Washington state quality award program for an independent assessment of its quality management, accountability, and performance system, once every three years.
     (6) The department may develop rules, requirements, procedures, and guidelines as necessary to implement and operate the transitional housing operating and rent program.
     (7) The department shall produce an annual transitional housing operating and rent program report that must be included in the department's homeless housing strategic plan as described in RCW 43.185C.040. The report must include performance measures to be determined by the department that address, at a minimum, the following issue areas:
     (a) The success of the program in helping program participants transition into permanent affordable housing and achieve self-sufficiency or increase their levels of self-sufficiency, which shall be defined by the department based upon the costs of living, including housing costs, needed to support: (i) One adult individual; and (ii) two adult individuals and one preschool-aged child and one school-aged child;
     (b) The financial performance of the program related to efficient program administration by the department and program operation by selected eligible organizations, including an analysis of the costs per program participant served;
     (c) The quality, completeness, and timeliness of the information on program participants provided to the Washington homeless client management information system database; and
     (d) The satisfaction of program participants in the assistance provided through the program.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The transitional housing operating and rent account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from sources directed to the transitional housing operating and rent program must be deposited into the account. Expenditures from the account may be used solely for the purpose of the transitional housing operating and rent program as described in section 1 of this act. Only the director of the department or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   RCW 59.18.600 (Rental to offenders -- Limitation on liability) and 2007 c 483 s 602 are each repealed.