8257.
(a) The Governor shall create a Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council.(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 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 Medi-Cal (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).
(14) Setting goals to prevent and end homelessness among California’s youth.
(15) Working to improve the safety, health, and welfare of young people experiencing homelessness in the state.
(16) Increasing 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) Leading efforts to coordinate a spectrum of funding, policy, and practice efforts related to young people experiencing homelessness.
(18) Identifying 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.
(c) (1) The Governor shall appoint up to
19 members of the council as follows:
(A) The Secretary of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing, or
the secretary’s designee, who shall serve as chair of the council.
(B) A representative from the Department of Transportation.
(C) A representative from the Department of Housing and Community Development.
(D) A representative of the State Department of Social Services.
(E) A representative of the California Housing Finance Agency.
(F) A representative of the State Department of Health Care Services.
(G) A representative of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(H) A representative of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
(I) A representative from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee in the Treasurer’s office.
(J) A representative of the Victim Services Program within the Division of Grants Management within the Office of Emergency Services.
(K) A representative from the State Department of Education.
(L) 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.
(M) A formerly homeless person who lives in California.
(N) A formerly homeless youth who lives in California.
(O) Two representatives of local agencies or organizations that participate in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care Program.
(P) State advocates or other members of the public or state agencies, at the Governor’s discretion.
(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.
(d) The council shall hold public meetings at least once every quarter.
(e) The members of the council shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority.
(f) 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.
(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 Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency shall provide staff for the council.
(i) 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.
(j) There shall be an executive director of the council under the direction of the Secretary of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing.
(k) The council shall be under the direction of the executive director and staffed by employees of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency.