COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING
AND WORKFORCE
SOLUTIONS AND
CONTINUUM OF CARE
HON LESS ACTION PLAN
HOUSING AND Prepared by
HWS VOUTIONEE LESAR
DEVELOPMENT
CONSULTANTS
SOLUTIONS
Continuum of Cars January 2022
ENGAGE. ENCOURAGE. EQUIP.
2 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments Current Response 27
Executive Summary 4 Proposed Strategies 27
Letter From the Housing and Workforce Solutions Director 5 Strategy 19: Increase the Number of Crisis Housing Beds Regionally 27 Letter From the CoC and Board of Goverance Chairs and Vice Chairs 5 Strategy 20: Refine Crisis Housing Policies and Procedures 28 Introduction 6 Performance Metrics 29
Guiding Principles Five Year Goals 30
System Level Funding Principles 30
Uplifting Lived Experience Action Area 4: Expand and Ensure Equitable Access to Permanent Housing in Equity Centered Our Communities 30
Housing First Current Response 30
Housing as a Human Right 8 Proposed Strategies 31
Person-Centered 8 Strategy 21: Advocate for the Increased Production of Affordable Housing 31 Outcomes Focused 8 Strategy 22: Increase Permanent Supportive Housing Units and Capacity 31 Moving Towards Functional Zero 8 Strategy 23: Increase Rapid Rehousing Housing Units and Capacity 32 Homelessness in County of Riverside 8 Strategy 24: Develop Centralized Landlord Outreach, Engagement, and Findings from Gaps Analysis 10 Retention Strategies
System Strengths 10 Strategy 25: Innovate Approaches to Expand Existing Housing Stock System Challenges 10 Strategy 26: Increase Flexible Housing Funds 33 Alignment with Existing Frameworks and Plans 11 Strategy 27: Address Housing Needs of Unique Subpopulations 33 Overview of Action Areas, Strategies, and Goals 12 Strategy 28: Develop Strategies to Reduce Barriers for People Experiencing Action Areas and Strategies 12 Homelessness in Obtaining Housing and to Increase the Speed of Five Year Regional Goals 13 Lease-Up Process 33
Future State 13 Strategy 29: Expand Housing Access to High Opportunity Neighborhoods, Action Area 1: Strengthen System to Better Prevent and End Homelessness 14 With a Focus on Those with High Social Determinants Of Health (SDOH) 34 Current Response 14 Strategy 30: Strengthen Approaches to Case Management 34 Proposed Strategies 14 Strategy 31: Leverage Housing Authority Division Resources for People Strategy 1: Strengthen Leadership and Departmental Capacity 14 Experiencing Homelessness 34 Strategy 2: Improve County's Ability to Track, Leverage, and Manage Data 15 Strategy 32: Continue to Advocate for Legislation Protecting Against Strategy 3: Implement Prioritization Framework to Address System Flow 15 Housing Discrimination in Housing Search 34 Strategy 4: Utilize Funding Principles Informed by the Prioritization Framework, Performance Metrics 35 Provider, City, and Regional Government Performance, and Regional Deficiencies Five Year Goals 36 and Needs 16 Funding Principles 37
Strategy 5: Strengthen Coordinated Access 16 Action Area 5: Prevent People from Experiencing the Crisis of Homelessness 37 Strategy 6: Enhance Provider, City and Regional Government's Capacity Current Response 37 and System Infrastructure 16 Proposed Strategies 38
Strategy 7: Support Regional, Cross-Sector Alignment and Partnership 17 Strategy 33: Increase Homelessness Prevention, Diversion, Strategy 8: Refine Communications Efforts Around Homelessness in and Mediation Services Riverside County 18 Strategy 34: Address Inflows of Homelessness Through Cross-Sector Strategy 9: Expand Accountability to Clients 18 Collaboration, Discharge Planning, and Early Identification 38 Strategy 10: Develop Lived Experience Knowledge, Leadership, Strategy 35: Expand Opportunities to Achieve Financial Stability/Economic and Decision-Making 19 Mobility Through Employment, Educational, Income Supports, and Strategy 11: Center Race Equity in Homeless Response 19 Wealth Generation Programs and Services. 40 Performance Metrics 20 Strategy 36: Reduce Reentries into Homeless Response System 40 Five Year Goals 21 Strategy 37: Preserve Vulnerable Housing and Prevent Community Displacement 40 Funding Principles 22 Strategy 38: Expand Protections for Renter/Tenants 40 Action Area 2: Equitably Address the Health, Safety, and Services Needs of Strategy 39: Advocate for the Expansion of a Social Safety Net 41 People Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness 22 Performance Metrics 41 Current Response 22 Five Year Goals 42
Proposed Strategies 23 Funding Principles 43
Strategy 12: Increase Regional Capacity of Homeless Street Outreach 23 Funding Sources 44 Strategy 13: Support the Health of People Experiencing Unsheltered Collaborating Agencies/Departments 51 Homelessness through Cross-Departmental/Cross-Sector Supports 23 Partner Cities in County of Riverside Continuum of Care 52 Strategy 14: Improve Access for People Experiencing Homelessness 24 Glossary 53 Strategy 15: Develop Countywide Encampment Management Protocols 24 Exhibit A: Tabulated Riverside County Homeless Action Plan 54 Strategy 16: Support the Decriminalization of Homelessness 25 Exhibit B: Transitional Aged Youth (TAY) Homeless Action Summary 73 Strategy 17: Develop Training for First Responders 25 Exhibit C: Family Homeless Action Summary 73 Strategy 18: Establish Key Resources for Special Populations Exhibit D: Encampment Homeless Action Summary 74 Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness 25 Exhibit E: Veteran Homeless Action Summary 74 Performance Metrics 26 Exhibit F: Domestic Violence Homeless Action Summary 74 Five Year Goals 27 Exhibit G: Racial Equity Homeless Action Summary 74 Funding Principles 27 Exhibit H: LGBTQIA+ Homeless Action Summary 75 Action Area 3: Expand Communities Capacity to Provide Safe and Exhibit I: Older Adults/Seniors Homeless Action Summary 75 Effective Shelter and Interim Housing 27 Exhibit J: Other Special Populations Homeless Action Summary 76 3 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This Homeless Action Plan represents County of Riverside Board of Woven throughout this Homeless the road map for the County of Supervisors: Action Plan is the concept that ending Riverside, our partner cities, and homelessness - a mission that can Kevin Jeffries, District 1
provider agencies to use as we move only be carried out when all levels of to address the crisis of homelessness Karen Spiegel, District 2 government, businesses, non-profit in Riverside County. The development Chuck Washington, District 3 organizations, faith-based community, of this plan, like the work being done and the community at large in every V. Manuel Perez, District 4
and that will be done to address part of the County join together behind homelessness, has been an effort by Jeff Hewitt, District 5 a common vision. We hope that as we people and organizations across the read this Action Plan, we will all be county. This plan could not have been inspired to renew our commitment to developed without the wholehearted County of Riverside: help in this important effort. commitment of the those who Jeffrey Van Wagenen, CEO
provided information for this plan, who
met with our consulting team, and who
provided the support for the plan. County of Riverside Continuum of Care (CoC):
We would like to take this opportunity
to thank all the people and Greg Rodriguez, Chair
organizations that have helped to Karen Roper, Vice Chair create this Action plan. First and
foremost, I would like to thank the
leadership of the County of Riverside, County of Riverside CoC Board of the leadership of the Continuum of Governance:
Care and the Board of Governance, Tammy Marine, Chair
the incredible non-profit partners,
and the dedicated hardworking staff Leticia De Lara, Vice Chair of Housing Workforce Solutions
Department. Department of Housing and
Workforce Solutions:
Heidi Marshall, Director
Carrie Harmon, Assistant Director
Michael Walsh, Deputy Director
Tanya Torno, Deputy Director
All Staff Members of the Department
of Housing and Workforce Solutions
All Cities and Local Governments in
the County of Riverside
All County of Riverside Continuum of
Care Members and Partners
4 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
The second phase of the work for The plan is an ambitious one. It is
EXECUTIVE
LDC in the new engagement was to deliberately designed to address produce a Homeless Action Plan that one of the main themes that came
SUMMARY
enumerates actionable steps that up in the performance assessment The County of Riverside Continuum the CoC, the County, and its partners - that the system reflects degrees of Care (CoC) has, over the past can take to end homelessness of disunity in the approach to few years, worked very hard to in Riverside County. The Plan is ending homelessness across the recognize, quantify, and address based on the following five action region. This was characterized by system needs and gaps. This work areas that are the basis for the differing approaches to addressing is best highlighted by the creation California Homeless Coordinating homelessness and disconnected of the Housing and Workforce and Financing Council's Action services, most notably in the Solutions Department (HWS). This Plan for Preventing and Ending differing responses to outreach and new department was formed with Homelessness in California. engagement. As the performance the recognition that addressing assessment notes, this results in
1. Strengthen System to
homelessness requires a systems a system that could be difficult to Better Prevent and End navigate for people experiencing level approach, one that addresses
Homelessness homelessness and that may not be
the myriad of factors that contribute
to homelessness. as effective as it could be.
2. Equitably Address the
The department continued its work In order to impact this system Health, Safety, and
to recognize, quantify, and address fragmentation, the CoC and Service Needs of People Riverside County will need
system needs and gaps by engaging
Experiencing Unsheltered to address each action area
LeSar Development Consultants
(LDC) to add to the work they Homelessness simultaneously. Changes in one had done in helping the Board of part of the system, like addressing
3. Expand Communities
Governance to develop a strategic the availability of services in under Capacity to Provide Safe resourced areas, will require
plan. As the first stage in the new
engagement, LDC produced a and Effective Shelter and changes in another part of the Performance Assessment and Gaps Interim Housing system, such as the approach to Analysis. That document looked at funding. Although the CoC could
4. Expand and Ensure decide to implement the plan in a
the performance of the CoC through
both a qualitative and a quantitative Equitable Access to linear fashion, efforts will be much lens. The Performance Assessment Permanent Housing in Our more effective if they are done in identified a number of system Communities parallel across the five action areas. challenges and strengths. LDC staff has had the opportunity
5. Prevent People from
over the past two years to work
Experiencing the Crisis of closely with the BoG, the leadership Homelessness of the CoC, and the staff of the newly
Each action area has strategies formed Department Housing and that, when implemented, will help Workforce Solutions. In that time, to achieve the goal of the action we have seen the capacity of the area. In turn, each of the strategies system grow enormously. Although has goals and performance metrics the Action Plan is ambitious, it is the against which progress will be opinion of LDC that the Riverside measured. Taken together, the County Continuum of Care and its' plan has the pieces needed to help partners have the ability, the will, and shape, over the next five years, the capacity to implement it. the homelessness and supportive
housing response system in
Riverside County to make it possible
to end homelessness, by reaching
functional zero in Riverside County.
5 / HOMELESS ACTION PLANI
LETTER FROM THE HOUSING AND
WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS DIRECTOR
Homelessness is one of the most As the Director of the Housing and In this Homeless Action Plan, we challenging and complex social issues Workforce Solutions Department of commit our energies to five action that we face today. To meet this the County of Riverside, I am pleased areas which will define our focus challenge, we must move forward to share our most recent Homeless and programming. We believe that collectively, with a strong private-public Action Plan which will guide our work these action areas will enhance the partnership committed to a shared onward. This plan is the culmination homeless system of care, increase mission and vision. We must also of two years of comprehensive shelter capacity and permanent move forward with clear strategies and planning led by LeSar Development supportive housing units and will goals that deliver the result we are all Consultants, the Board of Governance significantly improve outcomes. I look looking for - an end to homelessness and the Continuum of Care. forward to working with all of you to within Riverside County. achieve these goals and to provide a home for all of our homeless residents
in Riverside County.
Nil. lashall
HOUSING AND
Heidi Marshall
SOLUTIONS
Director ENGAGE ENCOURAGE TOUIP
Housing and Workforce Solutions
LETTER FROM THE CONTINUUM OF CARE &
BOARD OF GOVERNANCE CHAIRS & VICE CHAIRS
We are very pleased to be able to We too would like to thank everyone Writing the Action Plan is just the present this Homeless Action Plan who has helped to create this Action beginning. The real work comes with to you. This Plan represents the Plan, with a special acknowledgment the implementation of the goals and culmination of two years of work to the County of Riverside Board strategies in the plan. This is a living with our dedicated homeless service of Supervisors for their support in document, and we will only accomplish providers, county agencies, cities, creating overarching systems to the goals and objectives within this and regional governments. The address the crisis of homelessness plan through a collaborative approach work to develop this plan has helped in the county. Additionally, this plan amongst public, private, and non-profit the Board of Governance and the would not have been possible without organizations.
Continuum of Care to continue their the work of our incredible Housing and We are excited to start this work and evolution to become more guided by Workforce Solutions management and hope that you will join us in our efforts
data and focused on best practices staff as well as the team from LeSar to make this Action Plan a reality as,
and outcomes. Development Consultants. without your help, we would never be able to solve the homeless and
housing crisis we face. Together we
will make a difference and meaningful
impact on people's lives in Riverside
County.
Appine Kan Rope Elli Letica Detara
Greg Rodriguez Karen Roper Tammy Marine Leticia De Lara Chair Vice Chair Chair Vice Chair
Continuum of Care Continuum of Care Board of Governance Board of Governance 6 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
The Riverside County CoC Homeless Action Plan
is designed to provide an actionable strategy
to preventing and ending homelessness within
Riverside County. This plan lays out the guiding
principles, action areas, performance metrics,
goals, funding sources, and collaborating
agencies necessary to achieving this goal. This
plan promotes evidence-based, person-centered
approaches to tailor and right-size the homeless
response to address the inflow, service delivery, and
outflow relevant to ending homelessness. The plan's
regional approach will require ongoing partnership
with service providers, cities, regional governments,
and Riverside County.
7 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
EQUITY CENTERED
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The County of Riverside's homeless responses system is
driven by the following guiding principles. These guiding principles inform our understanding of, and guide our
response to, all aspects of our work. They are the foundation of our efforts to preventing and ending homelessness.
SYSTEM LEVEL Centering a homeless response system on the needs of those most vulnerable and overrepresented within the
homeless population builds the capacity of the system to better respond to the needs of all people experiencing
homelessness. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
(BIPOC) are significantly overrepresented in the homeless population, a legacy of historical and contemporary
structural racism. We will continue to center race
equity in our homeless response, disaggregate data
Ending homelessness in the County requires coordinated
efforts from multiple systems and sectors. We recognize to better develop solutions, and look upstream at the inflows and structural roots of homelessness. Alongside that an effective homeless response prioritizes multi-
these strategies, we will apply a targeted universalism system, cross-sector regional collaboration to address
approach, which will set universal goals pursued by
the inflows, service delivery, and outflows relevant to targeted processes for specific groups to achieve those ending homelessness. Doing this requires key community
leaders to develop capacity and infrastructure around goals. Through these strategies, we will rebuild our homeless response system to be anti-racist, ensuring
county-level governance, strategic planning, and systems that our outcomes begin to dismantle these historical and change to support the work toward the articulated goals. contemporary legacies.
UPLIFTING LIVED EXPERIENCE
HOUSING FIRST
The experiences of clients and people with lived
experience are legitimate and important primary data Housing ends homelessness. The Housing First Model sources, and their voices need to be included in the is an evidenced-based practice that prioritizes rapid planning and system design. We strive to move away placement and stabilization in permanent housing without from a paternalistic system that assumes we know what service participation requirements or preconditions for is best for individuals, families, and communities but entry (such as sobriety, minimum income requirements, instead opens the dialogue for regular feedback and criminal record, completion of treatment, participation partnership in planning and decision-making. Through in services or other conditions that create barriers to the development of systematized feedback mechanisms entry). Supportive services are offered to maximize that integrate the daily lived experiences of clients and housing stability and prevent returns to homelessness. their perspectives, we will begin to shift the normative Participation in these services is voluntary and based on culture to one that priorities clients' perspectives as key the needs and desires of each person. We adhere to and
data points on which to measure the quality and success promote the Housing First philosophy in our work to end of systems. By designing with the end-user in mind,
homelessness. We believe that housing should never be
centering client experiences as important primary data
preconditioned, and that, ultimately, a person is no longer sources, including those most overrepresented in the
homeless when they have a home.
system, and increasing client agency in decisions, we can build a more effective, person-centered response. We, as a system, must be accountable for this input because it is a key to our success.
8 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
HOUSING AS A HUMAN RIGHT MOVING TOWARDS FUNCTIONAL ZERO We will continue to push for the goal that every person Functional Zero recognizes that as long as there is has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home. poverty, there will always be people who experience Our approach to housing is one that merges with a homelessness or who are at risk of experiencing human-rights based approach, which strives for equal homelessness. The functional zero approach describes opportunity of all residents to adequate housing and the situation in a community where homelessness to healthy and sustainable communities. We support has become manageable - where the availability of proposals that move toward a rights-based approach services and resources match or exceed the demand to housing, such as housing as an entitlement, and the for them from the target population. In a system that expansion of universal housing vouchers, both of which has achieved functional zero, the inflow, the number of could significantly move the needle towards addressing persons experiencing homelessness for the first time, housing instability and homelessness. does not exceed the outflow, the number of persons who gain access to permanent housing. When this
PERSON-CENTERED balance is achieved, the rate of persons experiencing homelessness will be effectively or functionally zero.
HOMELESSNESS IN
COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE
According to the 2020 Point-in-Time (PIT) count, there
We believe that all people deserve to be treated with were 2,884 individuals experiencing homelessness respect regardless of their housed status. Throughout in Riverside County, a 3% increase from 2019 and this document, we refer to "people experiencing 16.8% increase from 2015. About 75% of the individuals homelessness" and "clients" interchangeably. Demeaning counted in 2020 were unsheltered - sleeping in cars, language like "the homeless" or "homeless people", outdoors, or in other places not intended for human attaches an individual, family, or community to their habitation. From 2019 to 2020, there was a 5% increase situational housed status without acknowledging in unsheltered homelessness and a 5% decrease their ability to change. We hope to position people in sheltered homelessness. There was also a 19,4% experiencing homelessness as individuals with agency, decrease in chronic homelessness. Within the chronically decision-making, and dignity within a system that homeless population, there was a 29% decrease provides services to them. We believe in the strengths in the unsheltered population and a 68% increase of people experiencing homelessness and will adopt in the sheltered population. The overall increase in person-centered approaches that account for past homelessness from 2019 to 2020 may be due to the 13% trauma, personal strengths, client confidentiality, and increase in the number of volunteers for the PIT count, individual choice. in addition to increased engagement from leadership in Riverside County.
OUTCOMES FOCUSED Some residents of Riverside County are precariously housed, doubled-up or living with friends or family, and are therefore vulnerable to falling into homelessness.
Although estimating the number of persons who are
precariously housed is difficult given current data, some signals are available. In Riverside County, 3.9% of the households are made up of non-relatives, and 12.1% are
made up of non-spouse, non-child family members. In
We embrace the value of creatively looking for solutions addition, 8.3% of occupied housing units in Riverside that expand on current best practices and person- County are occupied by more than one person. These centered approaches. We will measure our success not are indicators of households that are doubled up and are on our intentions, but on our outcomes to preventing and potentially precariously housed. ending homelessness and creating healthy and equitable
communities for all.
9 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
The population of persons experiencing homelessness The Riverside-San Bernardino- in Riverside County includes families with children
and school-aged children, some of whom are going Ontario metropolitan area has one unsheltered. 22,002 total public-school students, or
5.1% of the public-school system's student population, of the most severe shortages of experienced homelessness in 2020. School districts affordable homes in the country, count children as experiencing homelessness when
they doubled up. There were 256 youth experiencing with only 18 affordable and unsheltered homelessness, a 41% increase from 2019.
This shift was accompanied by a 65% decrease in the available homes per 100 renter count of sheltered youth experiencing homelessness. households. 58.6% of Riverside The population of persons experiencing homelessness
County renters are considered
in Riverside County is disproportionately male, Hispanic, Black, and Native American. Males are overrepresented rent burdened by HUD, paying in the population of persons experiencing homelessness
at 63%. 55% of the population of persons experiencing more than 30% of household homelessness in the PIT Count was classified as
income on rent.
Hispanic, compared to 48.9% in 2019 Riverside
County's overall population. 18% were classified as
Black, compared to 7.8% in Riverside County's overall
population. 2.5% of the homeless population was Homelessness in Riverside County should also be viewed classified as Native American, compared to 1.8% of in relation to poverty, economic inequality, and overall Riverside County's overall population. 58% of the social vulnerability. The median household income in homeless population were classified as White, compared Riverside County was $67,005, lower than the state- to 59.9% in Riverside County's overall population. level median household income of $75,235. 13.7% of all Homelessness in Riverside County must be understood people in Riverside County had an income below the in context of Riverside County's overall lack of federal poverty level. This percentage had been steadily affordable housing. The Riverside-San Bernardino- decreasing for at least the past five years, falling from Ontario metropolitan area has one of the most severe 2015's 16.8%. Despite decreases in poverty, Riverside shortages of affordable homes in the country, with County also had a 7.5% unemployment rate, higher than only 18 affordable and available homes per 100 renter the national's 5.3% and the state's 6.1%. In addition, the households. 58.6% of Riverside County renters are Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry ranks considered rent burdened by HUD, paying more than Riverside County as an area of high social vulnerability. 30% of household income on rent. This is higher than Calculating based off risk factors such as poverty, state and national averages as, in the same year, 49.6% income, minority status, language, age, and crowding, of American renters and 54.8% of Californian renters the agency concluded Riverside County had a social were considered rent burdened. vulnerability index (SVI) score of .7939, with a score of 1 representing the highest possible social vulnerability.
Riverside County's housing stock is mostly composed
of single family detached homes, which make up 68.3% The Southern California Association of Governments of the housing stock. Only 17.4% of the county's housing allocated 167,351 total units to Riverside County in the stock is in a complex with 2 or more units, compared 6th cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). to 31.4% at the state level and 26.3% at the national Of these units, 41,995 were for very low-income, 26,473 level. Riverside County also has a rental vacancy rate of were for low income, 29,167 were for moderate income,
4.8% and a homeowner vacancy rate of 1.9% compared and 69,716 were for above moderate income. to state vacancy rates of 3.6% for rentals and 1.1% for homeowners.
10 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
FINDINGS FROM GAPS ANALYSIS
In preparation for the Homeless Plan, LDC conducted a Needs Assessment and Gaps Analysis of the County of Riverside (see appendix). The findings reflected below informed the County of Riverside's Homeless Action Plan.
SYSTEM STRENGTHS
• Creation of the Housing and Workforce Solutions
Department
• A Prevention Program that targets the right
populations and has strong positive outcomes
• Implementation of a new Homeless Management
Information System (HMIS)
• Starting the integration of the Coordinated Entry
System (CES) with the new HMIS
• Strong response to the COVID-19 pandemic
SYSTEM CHALLENGES
• A regionalized and fragmented system with
underdeveloped services and infrastructure in
various parts of the county
• Differing approaches to providing services to
persons experiencing homelessness that make the
system difficult to access
• Insufficient housing affordable to the extremely low- income population
• Insufficient Permanent Supportive and Rapid
Rehousing opportunities
• A need to provide more services to key sub-
populations, like Chronically Homeless, Individuals
with Mental Illness, Individuals with Substance Use
Disorders, Older Adults/Seniors, and Transitional
Aged Youth (TAY)
• Significant barriers to entry for people experiencing homelessness to obtain housing in the private
rental market
• Fragmented approach to landlord outreach,
engagement, and retention
• The lack of flex funds and funding for move-in
assistance
• Ineffective cross-sector integration and alignment
to address the inflows into homelessness
• System flow where entries into the system outpace
successful exits, leading to a net gain of persons in
the homeless response system
11 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
In the development of the Riverside 5. Preventing Californians from
ALIGNMENT
County CoC Homeless Action Experiencing the Crisis of
Plan, we have ensured that core Homelessness The Action Plan
WITH EXISTING
strategies and objectives outlined will focus on reducing entries into FRAMEWORKS in the Home Together plan were homelessness through institutional included in our plan. alignment and providing targeted
AND PLANS At the state level, the California homelessness prevention and diversion services.
Homeless Coordinating and
In developing the Homeless Action Financing Council's Action In developing the Riverside County Plan, the Riverside County CoC Plan for Preventing and Ending Homeless Action Plan, we oriented ensured alignment with existing Homelessness in California the structure to directly align with the frameworks and plans at the guides the State's response to California Homeless Coordinating national, state, and regional level. and Financing Council to ensure homelessness to ensure it is rare,
The Riverside County CoC Homeless brief, and one-time. The Action that, as new initiatives come down Action plan builds upon and expands Plan outlines key principles and from the state, the County of on these strategies and efforts. practices that include race equity, Riverside is well-positioned and The national framework set forth by lived experience, Housing First, aligned in focus and strategies. Many the United States Interagency Council and balancing crisis response and of the sub-strategies outlined in the on Homelessness (USICH)- Home permanent housing solutions. State's Action Plan are expanded on Together: The Federal Strategic Plan The Action Plan is divided into five and made more relevant to the local to Prevent and End Homelessness key action areas. context within Riverside County. is focused on strategies that will To ensure effective alignment support communities to make 1. Strengthening Our System to Better Prevent and End regionally, the Riverside County homelessness a rare, brief, and CoC has also incorporated existing one-time experience. The Home Homelessness in California The Action Plan focuses on racial frameworks and plans from the Together plan outlines key objectives, Riverside County CoC Board of like strengthening system capacity, equity, including people with Governance (BoG) Strategic Plan,
improving access to low barrier lived experience, strengthening plans from neighboring Counties
shelter, streamlining coordinated interjurisdictional coordination, and leveraging cross-sector (San Diego and Los Angeles), and entry, rapidly moving people into local city plans.
partnerships.
permanent housing, and preventing
returns to homelessness through The goals outlined in the Board of
2. Equitably Addressing the Health,
homelessness prevention and Safety, and Services Needs Governance Strategic Plan have targeting systems. been merged and incorporated
of Californians Experiencing
into the strategies of the Riverside
To achieve success, the Home Unsheltered Homelessness To address the needs of people County Homeless Action Plan. The Together plan outlines that every BoG strategic goals include:
community must be able to: experiencing unsheltered
homelessness, the Action Plan • Increase CoC participation • Quickly identify and engage focuses on addressing health • Improve regional coordination and people at risk of and and safety needs and increasing collaborative efforts experiencing homelessness access to State supported
• Streamline CoC structure and
• Intervene to prevent people services and supports. committees from losing their housing and • Create a CoC Action Plan
3. Expanding Communities'
divert people from entering the Capacity to Provide Safe and • Create a Core Leadership Working
homelessness services system Effective Shelter and Interim Body focused on Action Orientation
• Provide people with immediate Housing The Action Plan looks • Plan for the future access to shelter and crisis to expand the availability of • Build capacity among providers,
services without barriers to entry housing-placement focused cities, and regional governments
if homelessness does occur shelter and interim housing. • Launch PR efforts around
• Quickly connect people 4. Expanding and Ensuring homelessness, housing, and the CoC experiencing homelessness to Equitable Access to Permanent • Use data more effectively
housing assistance and services Housing in Our Communities Using Housing First approaches, • Evaluate performance consistently tailored to their unique needs and
strengths to help them achieve development strategies, and Many of these strategic goals are and maintain stable housing rental assistance programs, the directly included in Action Area 1:
State will expand permanent Strengthen System to Better Prevent housing opportunities. and End Homelessness.
12 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
1. Strengthen System to Better Prevent and End
OVERVIEW OF ACTION
Homelessness
AREAS, STRATEGIES, • Strategy 1: Strengthen Leadership and Departmental Capacity
AND GOALS
• Strategy 2: Improve County's Ability to Track,
The vision of homelessness of the Riverside County CoC Leverage, and Manage Data Homeless Action Plan is to build toward a functional • Strategy 3: Imp/ement Prioritization Framework to zero system where homelessness is rare, brief, and non- Address System Flow recurring. • Strategy 4: Utilize Funding Principles Informed by the Prioritization Framework, Provider, City, and
Regional Government Performance, and Regional
Deficiencies and Needs
Rare: Homelessness will be rare
• Strategy 5: Strengthen Coordinated Access
when individuals, families, and
• Strategy 6: Enhance Provider, City, and Regional
communities have protections, Government's Capacity and System Infrastructure services, and supports in place to • Strategy 7: Support Regional, Cross-Sector Alignment and Partnership
prevent homelessness.
• Strategy 8: Refine Communications Efforts Around
Homelessness in Riverside County
Brief: Homelessness will be brief • Strategy 9: Expand Accountability to Clients when individuals, families, and • Strategy 10: Develop Lived Experience Knowledge, Leadership, and Decision-Making
communities have access to shelter,
• Strategy 11: Center Race Equity in Homeless
services, supports, and housing Response
available to help people experiencing 2. Equitably Address the Health, Safety, and Service Needs of People Experiencing Unsheltered
homelessness quickly return to
Homelessness
permanent housing. • Strategy 12: Increase Regional Capacity of Homeless Street Outreach
Non-Recurring: Homelessness will • Strategy 13: Support the Health of People Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness through
be non-recurring when individuals, Cross-Departmental/Cross-Sector Supports families, and communities have the • Strategy 14: Improve Access for People Experiencing Homelessness
protections, services, and supports
• Strategy 15: Develop Countywide Encampment
they need to successfully maintain Management Protoco/s their housing. • Strategy 16: Support the Decriminalization of Homelessness
• Strategy 17: Develop Training for First Responders
ACTION AREAS AND STRATEGIES • Strategy 18: Establish Key Resources for As described above, the Riverside County Homeless Special Populations Experiencing Unsheltered Action Plan is aligned with the framework of the California Homelessness Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council's Action 3. Expand Communities Capacity to Provide Safe and Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. The Homeless Effective Shelter and Interim Housing Action Plan also incorporates the strategies of the County • Strategy 19: Increase the Number of Crisis Housing
of Riverside CoC Board of Governance Strategic Plan
Beds Regionally
adopted in March 2020. The five action areas below
comprise the actions necessary to prevent and end • Strategy 20: Refine Crisis Housing Policies and homelessness in Riverside County and move towards a Procedures functional zero system.
13 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
4. Expand and Ensure Equitable Access to Permanent FIVE YEAR REGIONAL GOALS Housing in Our Communities
The following goals are some of the key goals
• Strategy 21: Advocate for the Increased Production highlighted throughout the remainder of the plan. of Affordable Housing
Total number of people
• Strategy 22: Increase Permanent Supportive successfully exiting to housing Housing Units and Capacity ACTION AREA
each month/year exceeds the
1 • Strategy 23: Increase Rapid Rehousing Housing people entering homelessness Units and Capacity each month/year.
• Strategy 24: Develop Centralized Landlord 50% reduction in the length of Outreach, Engagement, and Retention Strategies stay for people experiencing • Strategy 25: Innovate Approaches to Expand ACTION AREA homelessness on the streets and in shelters, such as Street
Existing Housing Stock 1&2
Outreach (SO), Emergency
• Strategy 26: Increase Flexible Housing Funds Shelter (ES), Safe Haven (SH), and • Strategy 27: Address Housing Needs of Unique Transitional Housing (TH).
Subpopulations 75% reduction in the number of
• Strategy 28: Develop Strategies to Reduce people experiencing unsheltered Barriers for People Experiencing Homelessness in ACTION AREA and sheltered homelessness Obtaining Housing and to Increase the Speed of 2,3, & 5 discharged from institutions or Lease-Up Process re-entering from the homeless
response system.
• Strategy 29: Expand Housing Access to High
Opportunity Neighborhoods, With a Focus on 25% increase in the number of ACTION AREA crisis housing beds (ES, SH, TH)
Those with High Social Determinants Of Health
3 in the system, geographically
• Strategy 30: Strengthen Approaches to Case distributed.
Management
Increase the number (unit count)
• Strategy 31: Leverage Housing Authority Division of Permanent Housing Units by Resources for People Experiencing Homelessness ACTION AREA 75% from baseline year (including • Strategy 32: Continue to Advocate for Legislation 4 Permanent Supportive Housing Protecting Against Housing Discrimination in [PSH] and Rapid Rehousing Housing Search [RRH]).
5. Prevent People from Experiencing the Crisis of ACTION AREA 75% reduction in the number Homelessness of people experiencing
5 homelessness for first time.
• Strategy 33: Increase Homelessness Prevention,
Diversion, and Mediation Services
• Strategy 34: Address Inflows of Homelessness FUTURE STATE Through Cross-Sector Collaboration, Discharge
Planning, and Early Identification As the Riverside County CoC continues to move toward the goals outlined in this plan, it aims to right-size the • Strategy 35: Expand Opportunities to Achieve
homeless response system to ensure that homelessness
Financial Stability/Economic Mobility Through in Riverside County truly is rare, brief, and nonrecurring.
Employment, Education, Income Supports, and
By consolidating leadership, supporting coordination,
Wealth Generation Programs and Services.
and addressing regional gaps in services and
• Strategy 36: Reduce Reentries into Homeless infrastructure, it will strengthen the system as a whole Response System and build the capacity to better serve the population.
Services, resources, and infrastructure will be uniformly • Strategy 37: Preserve Vulnerable Housing and
Prevent Community Displacement administered and distributed equitably across the region so that each subregion has the capacity to address
• Strategy 38: Expand Protections for Renter/Tenants homelessness within their community to help meet larger • Strategy 39: Advocate for the Expansion of a regional goals.
Social Safety Net A robust system of cross-sector alignment will open new opportunities for collaboration and integration that will significantly increase the impact of the homeless
response system. Cross-sector initiatives will curb the inflows into homelessness, with targeted measures for
14 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
early identification, effective discharge planning, and consistent services and supports across the county. rapid supports when someone faces housing instability. Feedback from stakeholders often characterized access With advances in data integration and management, a to resources as being geographically siloed, with certain new cross-sector data system, anchored around a unique regions having critically underdeveloped resources in identifier, could unlock new opportunities for equity outreach, shelter, and housing supports. analysis, client choice, service utilization, automated The inequitable development of services and connections, and preventative supports. infrastructure across the system can be attributed in part With new funding frameworks, Riverside County CoC to certain localities not funding homeless services or will right-size the homeless response to address the housing solutions in their cities. Paired with the increases system flow gap by decreasing inflows and increasing in people experiencing homelessness, this has led to successful outflows. By focusing on these strategies in underdeveloped provider networks and system capacity, tandem, it will also serve to strengthen the capacity of placing an inequitable burden on those cities who had the system to respond to the housing and shelter needs invested in such programs or provider networks. The of the people experiencing homelessness. Increases plan's regional approach will require ongoing partnership in prevention strategies, like preservation of vulnerable with service providers, cities, regional governments, and housing, tenant protections, economic stability supports, the County of Riverside. and the expansion of social safety net programs, will
Stakeholders highlighted that data integration and
effectively reduce the number of individuals, families, and management is underdeveloped and inconsistently communities from falling into homelessness. applied across the County of Riverside, creating system By strengthening system capacity, it will significantly challenges for administrators to leverage data and reduce the number of people experiencing unsheltered difficulties for clients navigating the system. homelessness. As crisis housing options become The creation of the Housing and Workforce Solutions radically accessible, it will eventually reduce some of the Department (HWS) has started the process to provide
needs for homeless street outreach. Outreach services,
the necessary leadership and structure to coalesce these when necessary, will be focused on person-centered
fragmented approaches into a more unified framework
engagement strategies focused on rapidly ending a and to develop and uphold community-wide standards. person's housing crisis. If an individual does experience The consolidated department is now better positioned
homelessness, there will be effective housing supports
to address other system challenges, like cross-sector
in rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, and alignment, data integration and management, service other housing interventions to ensure that they can provider, city, regional government capacity, and regional quickly move into safe, decent, and affordable housing
advocacy.
in neighborhoods of their choosing. Through leadership, targeted strategies, and vital advocacy, the system can PROPOSED STRATEGIES develop enough affordable units to both prevent and end Strategy 1: Strengthen Leadership and Departmental homelessness. Capacity
Leadership by the Housing and Workforce Solutions
Department (HWS) around the five focus areas, and
corresponding strategies will be important in achieving many of the goals outlined in this plan. To respond to the massive influxes of new funding from state and federal
programs, the CoC will continue to develop service
ACTION AREA 1: provider, city, and regional government capacity. HWS STRENGTHEN SYSTEM TO will further develop its own administrative capacity to support initiatives of the CoC. As leaders of the
system, HWS will be responsible for addressing system
BETTER PREVENT AND
capacity, evaluation, accountability, and advocacy. A key END HOMELESSNESS component of this leadership lies within the alignment of the goals and strategies of the CoC and BoG.
CURRENT RESPONSE • Instill shared values into CoC culture and work to During the analysis of the system structure, stakeholders increase CoC participation highlighted challenges in the regionalized and • Gain deeper insight into CoC performance and adopt fragmented nature of the system. This was characterized a continuous improvement framework through the use by contradicting approaches to homelessness, of data
geographic challenges, and the inconsistent
administration of direct services across each sub-region. • Develop system for monitoring progress of Homeless Action Plan and other actions of the CoC
This fragmented approach produces challenges for
navigating people experiencing homelessness to access
15 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
• Continue to streamline the CoC structure & • Create public-facing dashboards based on the goals committees in alignment with goals outlined in this outlined in the Homeless Action Plan and System Homeless Action Plan Performance Measures
• Leverage political will of regional stakeholders over • Use data to assess the intersectionality of race, the adoption of priorities and goals outlined in this ethnicity, disability, gender, and age within the Homeless Action Plan homeless response system across program types to ensure equitable access and delivery of services for
• Develop internal operational capacity to support the
influx of new spending related activities like RFP overrepresented groups responses, HUD technical assistance, etc. • Refine mechanisms for improving HMIS data entry and • Lead cross-sector initiatives around data-sharing and data quality, especially for front-line staff at shelters, day centers, and access centers where client turnover
discharge planning
creates challenges for data quality
• Lead system mapping and regional coordination
• Develop mechanisms to track real-time availability of • Spearhead the initiative to transform the county's data shelter and housing units within the system capacity
• Develop reporting structure to report on key data
• Lead in the development of new funding opportunities indicators at sub-regional and city specific level with private, philanthropic, and public sources,
Strategy 3: Implement Prioritization Framework to
including cross-sector braiding of funding with
Address System Flow
housing/homeless system resources
Implementing the strategies of the Homeless Action Plan • Develop Riverside County CoC Policy Agenda
to address items like tenant protections, will involve developing and adopting funding principles decriminalization, etc. and a countywide prioritization framework that are rooted in the five action areas of the plan. Future funded projects • Refine and develop program specific guidance, will look to be aligned with a best practice model, such policies, procedures, and trainings to develop capacity as the All Home California's 1-2-4 Framework'. In order regionally to address system flow, the homeless response system • Support the enhancement/development of sub- needs to place an emphasis on reducing the inflows into regional infrastructure, specifically in subregions homelessness and increasing the outflows, or exits, from without developed infrastructure, to implement homelessness. Currently, the County of Riverside has a Homeless Action Plan strategies net gain, as inflows are outpacing outflows. • Engage cities and tribal lands to implement goals To correct for this system flow gap, the County of outlined in the Homeless Action Plan Riverside and its partners will reorient the system's resources and investments to prioritize interventions
Strategy 2: Improve County's Ability to Track, Leverage, focused on reducing inflows through prevention activities and Manage Data
and increasing outflows to permanent housing, with less Building a complete picture of a client's movement within prioritization on interventions intended to support interim the homeless response system will require eliminating solutions like emergency shelter. This prioritization data silos. This necessitates greater usage of HMIS/CES framework centers the need to invest in multiple across the region and cross-department data sharing with strategies simultaneously while recognizing that there will the HWS division. Riverside County CoC will continue to be regional variation in applying this framework. Some establish processes that allow the CoC to govern and cities or sub-regions that currently have underdeveloped improve data collection practices and evaluation system capacity might need to frontload investments in interim wide. Data-driven decision-making and strategic use of solutions, like purchasing motels, while others will resources will be essential for transforming our homeless orientate their investments in reducing inflows and services system. increasing outflows.
• Increase the use of HMIS data for evaluating and This document does not present specific percentages, reporting on program and system outcomes proportions, or funding allocations to be assigned to • Expand system and program level reporting to inform each category, as they are not intended to be fixed, but funding and policy decisions instead, this framework represents a strategic shift in orientation and investments for all resources that address • Ensure that all contracts that fund services to address homelessness and its root causes that prioritize reducing homelessness require participation in HMIS protocol,
inflows and outflows to end homelessness. The goal of
trainings, monitoring, and procedures this prioritization framework is to right-size the system • Expand services and programs in HMIS so that HMIS flow by decreasing the rate at which people become is the main repository for all programs addressing homeless while reaching equilibrium of interim and homelessness permanent housing resources.
www.allhomeca.org/regionalactionplan
16 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
• Reducing Inflow: Root Causes and Homelessness • Provide technical assistance and training opportunities Prevention and adapt program guidelines and guidance
- Curtailing the inflows into the homeless response • Expand partnerships with corporations, philanthropic system will require addressing the root causes of institutions, and individual donors to secure private homelessness and preventing new individuals, funding to reduce and prevent homelessness families, or communities from falling into
Strategy 5: Strengthen Coordinated Access
homelessness.
The Riverside County CoC will need to continue to
- Upstreaming solutions by developing equity- strengthen the Coordinated Entry System (CES) across centered, regional, and cross-sector collaboration
Riverside County to ensure the system is equipped to
that focuses on preventing people from becoming correctly identify and prioritize clients for housing and homeless through homelessness prevention
service interventions through a progressive engagement
programs, preservation of vulnerable housing approach.
and communities, tenant protections, and the
production of affordable housing, all of which will • Evaluate and refine current system functionality, begin to address the system flow. including access, assessment, prioritization, and matching/referrals to ensure that the system is
• Increasing Outflow: Housing Solutions and Supportive
connecting the highest need, most vulnerable persons
Services
in the community to available housing and supportive
- Housing solutions with corresponding supportive services equitably services rooted in Housing First, like supportive
• Conduct an analysis of the VI-SPDAT, highlighting
housing, rapid rehousing, and other flexible areas of concern around equity, such as racial identity, housing subsidies and supports are necessary gender identity, sexual orientation, etc., and identify tools to end homelessness. whether it is the correct assessment tool for Riverside • Supporting Interim Solutions: Interim and Emergency County CoC Options
• Evaluate, refine, and implement standardized
- Supporting the needs of unsheltered people Riverside County CoC CES Policies and Procedures experiencing homelessness will be a critical
• Increase housing and program resources connected to
component to humanely addressing homelessness.
CES by targeting and bringing onboard programs and
Strategy 4: Utilize Funding Principles Informed by the services currently operating outside of CES and HMIS Prioritization Framework, Provider, City, and Regional • Systematize CES reporting, accountability, and Government Performance, and Regional Deficiencies
evaluation, and align with the Homeless Management
and Needs
Information System (HMIS)
When allocating new awards, the Riverside County • Integrate cross-departmental referrals into intake CoC's Funding Principles will consider the prioritization processes, like standardized employment readiness
framework, provider's performance, and the gaps in
assessments that leads to appropriate linkages with
regional deficiencies. The Funding Principles, adopted by employment services or departments
the CoC, are attached to each Action Area.
• Integrate case conferencing component within CES
Aligning Funding
Strategy 6: Enhance Provider, City and Regional
Additionally, the Riverside County CoC will work to align Government's Capacity and System Infrastructure funding and strategies across all public sector entities.
The system will ensure that public funding aligns with To address gaps in service provider, city, and regional goals and strategies of this plan, will leverage the government's capacity and system infrastructure, the commitments of private and philanthropic funders, and Riverside County CoC will invest in increasing service will align investments to fill gaps and create greater provider, city, and regional government's capacity and impact. The Riverside County CoC will develop the system infrastructure in under-resourced regions of the infrastructure for public and private sectors to come county, addressing the current regionalized response. together regularly to discuss funding needs, strategies, The County of Riverside will support homeless services and partnerships. providers, cities, and regional governments in building capacity through training, technical assistance, and
• Map out the number of units/interventions needed for
learning collaboratives. The Riverside County CoC
each component of prioritization will support cities and regional governments that are • Establish how to quantify and evaluate provider investing in the CoC infrastructure by incentivizing city performance matching funds and city in-kind donations, thereby • Identify gaps in regional deficiencies across the system maximizing Continuum of Care grant investments.
Providing this type of support and incentive to cities and regional governments will not only reward those entities 17 / HOMELESS ACTION PLANI
who are investing in addressing homelessness, but it will - Explicit emphasis on racial equity and cultural also encourage other cities to take steps to address the humility homeless issue.
- Workshops to identify common errors and mistakes
Improving the service delivery of the region will also on CoC Grant Applications require investments in the staff, working to improve the - Workshops to identify common errors and mistakes client experience and the health of the system. Staff
in performance reports and payment requests
need to be appropriately compensated, work reasonable
hours, and receive regular training. The strains on - Presentations before City Councils on best frontline service provider staff are compounded by the practices, good neighbor strategies, and leveraging fact that organizations tend to be resource constrained city resources with CoC resources which limits their ability to hire multidisciplinary teams that - Developing provider, city, and regional government could meet the dynamic needs of clients with targeted partnerships to fill gaps, enhance services, and services. Given these factors, staff turnover is incredibly collaborate on grant opportunities high, which has a significant impact on the system to
• Increase the capacity of providers to implement
deliver services. System and resource knowledge is
tailored services, utilizing progressive engagement
difficult to develop without consistent staffing, which and Housing First practices that are flexible and
results in organizations that struggle to maintain
responsive to the needs and priorities of individuals.
consistent procedures, practices, and partnerships, and Ensure support for culture shift for providers
which do not have the capacity to innovate and improve.
An investment in frontline staff, especially staff who • Strengthen provider tables/forums and create learning have lived experience, is simultaneously an investment collaboratives for more frequent capacity building in client experience and system performance. Lastly, opportunities there needs to be an increase in opportunities to hire Promote hiring and retention practices to further individuals with lived experience to bolster relationships diversify system staff at all levels to better reflect and improve service offerings. Career pathways will be populations served. Track results of hiring practices developed to provide individuals with lived experience to ensure diversity and inclusion are expanded. the ability to join the workforce on a provider and Encourage organizations to ensure that diverse staff administrative level. Recognizing the essential role that are not limited to entry-level positions but can access frontline staff have in clients' lives, Riverside County must the full range of organizational leadership positions develop mechanisms to staff up, train, and evaluate to
support the needs of clients. Improve investments in workforce development for positions who provide direct homeless services by
partnering with universities and community colleges
to increase the scale and quality of homeless service
workers
Strategy 7: Support Regional, Cross-Sector Alignment
and Partnership
As inflows into the homeless response system increase,
so does the need for cross-sector components and
regional alignment necessary to ending homelessness.
When communities reach the limits of their ability
to optimize the homeless-service sector, there will
still be challenges that stand in the way of ending
homelessness. This cross-sector alignment initiative is necessary to curb the inflows of people entering the
homeless response system. Cross-sector initiatives with healthcare, behavioral/mental health, substance use
Support service provider expansion to strengthen disorder, criminal justice, child welfare, juvenile justice, regional deficiencies education, immigration, employment, land use, and • Develop/Refine CoC community standards/program code enforcement will be developed with the goal of guidelines for all program types seeking to end a person's housing crisis before it begins.
These will be based on targeted measures for early
• Enhance reporting and monitoring procedures to track
identification, effective discharge planning, and rapid and support provider performance
supports when someone faces housing instability.
• Develop training strategies to improve provider, city, Riverside County will push to align procurement priorities, and regional government's capacity. Identify training
goals, deliverables, and timelines according to cross-
requirements and required competencies. Training system or multi-jurisdictional policy priorities and to strategies include but are not limited to:
18 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN |
develop and institutionalize mechanisms to inform and • Strengthen partnerships with the state to increase shape cross-system, multi-jurisdictional policies, and access to healthcare and supportive services. priorities. The Riverside County CoC will work to align Improve data sharing across providers, cities, regional funding across sectors. governments, and systems to facilitate continuity of The Riverside County CoC will look to support shared care and integrated service delivery frameworks and data sharing agreements to align metrics Strategy 8: Refine Communications Efforts Around that are centered on customer experience, outcomes, Homelessness in Riverside County and cross-system policy priorities. Riverside County CoC An important part of the homeless response will be
will work to transform the homeless response system, by obtaining the necessary buy-in from the public around
integrating data with cross-sector partners with the goal the efforts that Riverside County CoC is taking to of building a client facing data collection infrastructure prevent and end homelessness. Due to the visibility of
anchored by a unique identifier. Riverside County
unsheltered street homelessness and encampments, it
CoC will facilitate working groups that aim to develop is important to proactively engage the public around the the technology to interface with cross-departmental
challenges, activities, and implementations of homeless agencies. programs and resources.
• Facilitate working groups around cross-sector/
• Provide regular, coordinated public communication
departmental/multi-jurisdictional collaboration
to inform the public about actions underway, results
• Ensure that each sub-region in Riverside County has achieved, and ways to support those efforts an effective regular meeting structure around issues • Prepare public-facing educational materials and related to homelessness aligned with the Riverside articles based on data and information to educate the County CoC
public on challenges and activities, and to provide
• Implement unified approach for tracking updates on the implementation of programs and homelessness across mainstream, cross-sector resources
systems that touch or serve a large proportion • Create public facing dashboards around performance of homeless residents and identify ways to "flag"
toward achieving adopted goals
homelessness and respond to "flags" in departmental
data systems by rapidly connecting clients to housing • Designate a CoC spokesperson/PR representative to and supportive services manage CoC communications
• Identify the feasibility, costs, and legality of integrating Expand public and private sector support for ending and sharing data across disparate systems like and preventing homelessness through increased healthcare, behavioral/mental health, substance use community engagement. Create a business leaders disorder, criminal justice, child welfare, juvenile justice, task force to establish goals and strategies for the education, immigration, employment, land use, and business community to support the strategic plan. code enforcement Areas of focus for the task force could include fundraising, advocacy, job creation, and housing
• Develop plans to address the feasibility, costs,
access
and legality of integrating and sharing data across
systems towards a central data lake that could spur • Create a countywide education/PR campaign/ new opportunities in machine learning and client communication strategy that increases awareness ownership of data about the causes and impacts of homelessness, the ongoing efforts to end homelessness, and addressing
• Develop standardized screening tools and related NIMBYism concerns protocols for identifying needs across systems and
connecting individuals to the right community-based • As a part of a communications strategy, invest services in a client facing component that targets those experiencing or at-risk of homelessness through
• Align strategic planning efforts, task force initiatives robust multi-media strategies to make access to
and planning committees across all system partners, services intuitive and radically accessible including all counties, cities, faith communities,
philanthropic and business sectors • Develop opportunities to include the voices of those with lived experience
• Identify internal staff responsible for cross-sector data sharing • Provide opportunities for action and compassion among all residents, housed and homeless, through
• Investigate ways to improve client care coordination
advocacy, volunteerism, donations, and other
through multidisciplinary teams that include the initiatives healthcare, mental, and behavioral health sectors
• Increase community engagement and support for
affordable and supportive housing development
throughout Riverside County
19 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
• Increase the visibility and expand the efforts of • Develop peer certification trainings to prepare successful initiatives that engage faith institutions individuals for peer support positions in the homeless and individual congregants; initiatives could include service system advocacy, recruitment of landlords, and hosting of day • Encourage service providers to modify requirements centers, meals, shelter, and encampments for specific positions to allow the substitution of lived Strategy 9: Expand Accountability to Clients experience in place of education or work experience True accountability to clients will be rooted in increasing • Explore the benefit and feasibility of creating a Lived client autonomy in decision-making. Currently, clients Experience Advisory Board do not have a role in determining their own service
Strategy 11: Center Race Equity in Homeless Response
paths or in shaping the system. System transformation
requires that clients have power throughout the system The Riverside County CoC will continue to strengthen to ensure the services, approaches, and outcomes meet a race equity focused response. As the data suggests, their stated needs. To become accountable to clients, Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) are the Riverside County CoC must establish system-wide significantly overrepresented in the homeless population, structures and processes to prioritize client feedback as a legacy of historical and contemporary structural racism. primary data points in the system. That process should be The homeless response system also plays a role in facilitated by a digital transformation process that makes perpetuating inequities in service provision, access, and it easier to integrate client data across services and mobility. We will continue to center race equity in the systems to improve experience, coordination, and the homeless response, disaggregate data to better develop ability of system administrators to identify and respond solutions, and look upstream at the inflows and structural to strengths and weaknesses. This shift to client-centric roots of homelessness. To achieve goals, we will apply a metrics will represent an important change in how targeted universalism approach, which will set universal quality and success are measured in this system and goals pursued by targeted processes for specific groups bring it closer to representing the realities that clients to achieve those goals. Through these strategies we will experience. rebuild the homeless response system to be anti-racist, to ensure all people, especially people of color, have
• Develop processes and technology for clients to
equitable access and opportunity.
provide feedback on services, with mechanisms to
apply feedback data toward service delivery and • Embed a racial equity lens into all homelessness and process improvement housing decisions
• Continue to develop a system where client choice is • Develop a racial equity impact assessment that will forecast and assess the impacts of new programs and
paramount
funding decisions
• Ensure that new and existing programs develop within
this new framework • Incorporate a focus on racial equity data, analysis, and planned activities when submitting and reviewing
• When developing cross-sector data sharing, center
applications for funding
the efforts on the benefits to the client experience for people experiencing homelessness • Utilize HMIS to analyze data and create public-facing dashboards around racial inequities in experiences of
• Work with data team to continue to adopt client-
homelessness, provision of services, and outcomes
centric metrics
• Analyze whether housing outcomes and placements
• Provide technical assistance and training perpetuate residential segregation opportunities, and adapt program guidelines and
guidance • Adapt program guidelines, policies, procedures focused on racial equity
Strategy 10: Develop Lived Experience Knowledge,
Leadership, and Decision-Making • Incorporate a focus on racial equity data, analysis, and planned activities within applications for CoC
Riverside recognizes that integrating the voices of those funded projects and analyze the data and information
with lived experience in decision making processes is
gathered in response
necessary to developing an effective, person-centered
system. • Create a plan to move forward on racial equity work that will include system and programmatic actions
• Actively develop opportunities for persons with lived experience to participate in the development and • Institute standardized cultural humility, trauma implementation of regional and sub-regional plans informed care, and anti-racist trainings for CoC programs and system partners
• Expand the hiring of people with lived experience in
regular staff positions (not just peer support roles), and Align racial equity work in the homelessness sector promote leadership development for people with lived with other racial equity initiatives in Riverside County experience
20 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
PERFORMANCE METRICS
STRATEGY PERFORMANCE METRICS MECHANISMS
SYSTEM PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Strategy 5: Strengthen Coordinated Access Number days between referral and contact Strategy 5: Strengthen Coordinated Access Length of stay in shelter or street trategy 2: Improve County's Ability to Trac
everage, and Manage Dat dashboards
trategy 2: Improve County's Ability to Track
Leverage, and Manage Data Number of programs with demographic data Strategy 11: Center Race Equity in Homeless disaggregated in public facing dashboards Response others
Strategy 9: Expand Accountability to Clients Client program satisfaction results Riverside County CoC Public Data Dashboards
trategy 3: Implement Prioritization Framewo Total number of people entering homeless each Address System Flo month
So Address System no Prioritzation Framework Total number of people exiting to housing each month
Strategy 3: Implement Prioritization Framework Total active people experiencing homelessness to Address System Flow each month
HOUSING INVENTORY MEASURES
Annual Housing Inventory Count Report,
Strategy 2: Improve County's Ability to Track, Real time shelter and housing unit inventory Regional Housing Need Assessment, and Leverage, and Manage Data reflected in public facing dashboards other real-time housing inventory tracking mechanisms
PROCESS MEASURES
Strategy 5: Strengthen Coordinated Access Functionality of Coordinated Entry System Strategy 5: Strengthen Coordinated Access Electivers of aces, agesment, Strategy 5: Strengthen Coordinated Access lumber of programs/services adhering t Strategy 6: Enhance Provider, City, and Regional iverside County CoC CES Policies an Government Capacity and System Infrastructure Procedures Strategy 2: Improve County's Ability to Track,
Leverage, and Manage Data Percentage of programs/services integrated Strategy 6: Enhance Provider, City, and Regional within CES and HMIS Government Capacity and System Infrastructure
Number of mainstream/cross-sector systems with
Strategy 7: Support Regional, Cross-Sector
Alignment and Partnership data sharing agreements or integrations with homeless response system Various Riverside County and Riverside trategy 7: Support Regional, Cross-Secto Jumber of mainstream/cross-sector system:
lignment and Partnershi tilizing developed homeless tracking metric Strategy 6: Enhance Provider, City, and Regional reporting mechanisms Government Capacity and System Infrastructure Culaborates, prote traums preen Program staffing/Caseload ratio per program,
Capease provider, city, and regional government
rategy 10: Develop Lived Experien Percentage of CoC and service provider staff howledge, Leadership, and Decision-Makir
with Black, Indigenous and People of Color and
Respons n: Center Race Equity in Homeless people with Lived Experience Strategy 1: Strengthen Leadership and
Departmental Capacity Number of new positions created in response to Homeless Action Plan, especially around cross-
Strategy 7: Support Regional, Cross-Sector sector alignment, and partnership Alignment and Partnership
21 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
PROCESS MEASURES CONTINUED
Strategy 1: Strengthen Leadership and
Departmental Capacity
Riverside County CoC Policy Agenda
Strategy 8: Refine Communications Efforts
Around Homelessness in Riverside County
Strategy 3: Implement A Prioritization
Framework to Address System Flow
Allocation of Riverside County CoC Awards
Strategy 4: Utilize Funding Principles Informed reflecting units of "Reducing Inflow", "Increasing by the Prioritization Framework, Provider, City, Outflow", and "Supporting Interim Solutions" and Regional Government Performance, and
Regional Deficiencies and Needs
Strategy 1: Strengthen Leadership and Various Riverside County and Riverside Departmental Capacity
Strategy 4: Utilize Funding Principles Informed umber of new opportunities generated through by the Prioritization Framework, Provider, City, rivate and philanthropic funding and Regional Government Performance, and
Regional Deficiencies and Needs
Strategy 7: Support Regional, Cross-Sector umber of active cross-sector or regiona Alignment and Partnership orking groups/partnerships
Strategy 11: Center Race Equity in Homeless Number of awarded programs/projects that Response address racial equity
Strategy 11: Center Race Equity in Homeless Number of Riverside County CoC Policy and Response Procedures that address racial equity
Strategy 8: Refine Communications Efforts
Effectiveness of PR/Communication Campaign
Around Homelessness in Riverside County
FIVE YEAR GOALS
The following Five-Year Goals will be tracked utilizing various existing and new reporting tools. These tools may include but are not limited to: HUD Reporting Tools, Point in Time Count, System Performance Measures, Longitudinal Systems Analysis, Stella, Riverside County CoC Public Data Dashboards, Annual Housing Inventory Count, Regional Housing Need Assessment, other real-time housing inventory tracking mechanisms, and County and Riverside County CoC process reporting tools.
• Total number of people successfully exiting to housing each month/year exceeds the people entering homelessness each month/year
• 100% of the programs/services adhere to CES Policies and Procedures • 100% of programs/services are integrated within CES and HMIS • 50% reduction in the length of stay (SO, ES, SH, TH)
• System Performance Measures are reflected in public facing dashboards • 100% of data reports, dashboards, etc. have data disaggregated demographically • Disparities of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) experiencing homelessness are reduced across all program types
• Riverside County CoC has increased the number of active partnerships with cross-sector/mainstream systems • 100% of identified cross-sector/mainstream systems utilize developed homeless tracking metrics and processes • Riverside County CoC has an effective provider training, learning collaborative, provider forum schedule in place to develop service provider capacity regionally
• Riverside County CoC has adopted Policy Agenda
• Riverside County CoC tracks client program satisfaction results and uses them to inform decision making • Increases in Riverside County CoC staff that have lived experience and/or are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC)
• 100% of awarded projects address racial equity disparities • 100% of CoC staff and service providers are trained in cultural humility, trauma-informed care, and anti-racist trainings
• Riverside County CoC Framework implemented to right-size system flow 22 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
FUNDING PRINCIPLES
• Invest in strategies and programs that support the
Homeless Strategic Action Plan, emphasizing the
expansion of system coordination, housing resources,
outreach, navigation, and supportive services and
ACTION AREA 2:
provider, city, regional government, and system
capacity
EQUITABLY ADDRESS
• Invest in programs that demonstrate ongoing, long-
term, or sustainable data-informed results that are THE HEALTH, SAFETY, consistent with benchmarks established in the
Homeless Strategic Action Plan AND SERVICES NEEDS OF
• Utilizing a data-driven approach (HMIS, annual Point-
PEOPLE EXPERIENCING
In-Time Count, System Performance Measures, and
CES By-Name List), invest in programs addressing UNSHELTERED significant service gaps and priority needs by
targeting high-need communities, under-served HOMELESSNESS or hard to-serve geographic areas, or special
subpopulations, such as the chronically homeless, CURRENT RESPONSE individuals with mental illness and substance use
Stakeholder feedback from the Needs Assessment
disorders, older adults/seniors, and Transitional Age
and Gaps Analysis of the County of Riverside
Youth (TAY) highlighted differing regional approaches to outreach • Strengthen equity-focused strategies, programs, and and engagement, with some regions utilizing more partnerships that reduce racial disparities, support enforcement approaches and others implementing more equitable access to services and resources, and engagement approaches. Enforcement approaches produce equitable outcomes and communities often highlighted a shortage of homeless street outreach • Advance client-centered strategies, programs, and services and/or mental and behavioral health services, partnerships that are informed by people with lived which results in law enforcement needing to respond to homeless related crises. People experiencing
experience of homelessness and provide legitimate
feedback mechanisms for clients experiencing homelessness have far more positive outcomes when homelessness engaging with homeless street outreach teams and mental health crisis intervention teams than with law
• Support strategies to address regional inequities in enforcement. This emphasizes the need to further homeless response infrastructure, approaches, and invest these resources and increase the shift to the service delivery capacity. These include adopting decriminalization of the homeless response. and implementing regional planning, coordination,
decision-making, data-sharing, and accountability Stakeholders highlighted various challenges for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. The most
measures
common challenge reported was the lack of sufficient
low-barrier shelter options across the county. In certain regions of the county, there are underdeveloped shelter response systems often resulting in the misalignment
of core homeless outreach duties, like shelter service
connection to law enforcement. This dynamic places
an inequitable burden on communities who already
have shelters in their communities. Second, outreach
service capacity needs to be expanded across the
county to cities that are currently under resourced. While services need to be expanded, this also calls for the
need to develop more uniform standards and operating
procedures for outreach and engagement across the
county, which shifts the responsibilities currently held by law enforcement in certain cities to homeless street outreach teams and mental health response teams.
Shifting the entity responding to homeless related
issues would be a continued step in decriminalizing the response to homelessness. The complexities of outreach
and engagement often come to a point when responding
23 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
to encampments, which vary significantly from region to entries into chronic homelessness and increasing street region, encampment to encampment. There currently is to housing placements. not a unified approach to encampment management. • Create CoC Homeless Street Outreach Protocol with Additionally, accessing services can be difficult for people regional stakeholder that include the standardization experiencing unsheltered homelessness, as shelter of outreach practices, schedules, and engagement programs in various parts of the county often require a strategies and corresponding training across all referral from an organization. The HMIS Administrators outreach efforts Council and CES Oversight Committee have adopted • Establish outreach coordination infrastructure in each a hybrid "No Wrong Door Approach". Based on the
sub-region
stated procedures of the current system, a homeless
individual or family can present at any homeless, • Leverage person-centered, housing-focused case housing, and service provider in the geographic area or management with enhanced training in evidence by accessing a mobile hotline. The CES Lead Agency based best practices (e.g., trauma-informed care, also highlighted that they have trained Navigators to critical time intervention, motivational interviewing, assist those presenting at any access point within the and housing first strategies) for service delivery geographic area. Despite these systems and processes • Develop encampment management and resolution in place, however, stakeholders repeatedly highlighted policies in interviews the challenges in accessing shelter beds. • Increase access and safety for all to basic hygiene
Keeping staff informed and trained on access to various resources, such as bathrooms, showers, and laundry,
programs can be difficult given the regionalization,
that accommodate their self-identified race, gender
high turnover among frontline staff, and changes in the processes. This lack of consistent and clear flow on how identity, gender expression, etc. to access the services of the system puts the burden of • Increase the number of free public transportation navigating shelter and housing programs on individuals options for people who are unhoused to access experiencing homelessness. services
There is a need to streamline connection to other vital • Expand the number of outreach teams and staff services, including but not limited to: nutrition assistance, to ensure appropriate coverage to all sub-regions hygiene assistance, substance abuse care, transportation throughout the county, with specific emphasis on assistance, identification support, income, and benefits under-resourced communities support. • Further develop data initiatives to better track, PROPOSED STRATEGIES target, and ensure comprehensive, efficient, and effective delivery of outreach and permanent
Strategy 12: Increase Regional Capacity of Homeless
housing assistance for people experiencing chronic
Street Outreach
homelessness
As highlighted above, there are certain regions with
• Connect unsheltered individuals directly with rental
underdeveloped homeless street outreach networks.
assistance with the understanding that shelter
This has led to fragmented outreach responses that are
or transitional housing is not a requirement for
more enforcement focused in some areas and more
unsheltered individuals working with outreach teams
engagement focused in other areas. The Riverside
to qualify for rental assistance
County CoC will further enhance countywide street
outreach services by addressing the gaps in regional • Develop programs that support frequent users of variation to create a unified approach centered around public systems, including hospitals, jails or prisons, engagement, connection to services, harm reduction and shelters, and provide them with supportive strategies, and addressing the health, safety, and housing, significantly reducing returns to the streets service needs for people experiencing unsheltered • Develop systems for mental health professionals to homelessness. intervene in place of law enforcement
We know that the longer people remain unhoused, the • Identify technological strategies to enhance street more it negatively effects their physical and mental outreach coordination health, employability, and connection with support
networks. One of the key system components for Strategy 13: Support the Health of People Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness through Cross-
outreach services is to diminish the inflows into chronic Departmental/Cross-Sector Supports
homelessness and long-term homelessness. Establishing
consistent outreach across the county will reduce Meeting the health needs of people experiencing the need for more intense housing interventions. The unsheltered homelessness will require increased behavioral Riverside County CoC will establish a proactive, non- health, mental health, and substance use disorder services punitive, engagement focused, countywide response and housing supports from Riverside County and its to homeless street outreach that focuses on reducing partners. The Riverside County CoC will need to leverage 24 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
cross-departmental/cross-sector collaboration to address homelessness and makes administering prevention regionalized service gaps for individuals with conditions assistance challenging. The number of locations, the related to physical health, Serious Mental Illness (SMI), and varied regional capacities, and the different agencies Substance Use Disorder (SUD). conducting intakes and providing orientation to the system often results in discrepancies, compromised data, • Identify strategies to improve ongoing connectivity
for clients referred for mental health services and/or and a wide range of client experiences. The Riverside County CoC will need to continue to refine its hybridized substance use services
"No Wrong Door Approach," establishing access centers
• Support communities in implementing multi-agency, across the region to serve as key nodes, or front doors, multi-jurisdictional outreach and protective measures within the system. The Riverside County CoC will work to addressing the health and safety needs of people establish system access that is radically accessible to all. experiencing unsheltered homelessness
• Refine hybridized "No Wrong Door Approach" by
• Increase the number of mobile crisis teams with
establishing Access Centers/Navigation Centers in
clinical staff and expand their hours to support key subregions that are focused on providing access individuals experiencing severe mental health and to services with a focus on connecting to housing substance use crises
• Enhance training, standard orientation messaging, and • Increase the number of beds available for substance client facing materials to help people experiencing or use treatment and provide the follow-up supportive at-risk of homelessness understand what services and services needed to prevent relapses resources are available to them and what the process • Increase access to mental health treatment for people looks like to access services/housing across the CoC who are unhoused and struggling with mental illness • Develop a culture of housing-focused problem-solving • Develop a plan to eliminate service access and across all programs that serve as access points treatment gaps for unsheltered people struggling with (outreach, drop-in centers, access centers, navigation chronic and severe mental illness centers, etc.)
• Improve health access for people experiencing • Streamline intake processes for individuals and unsheltered homelessness, including through CalAIM families experiencing homelessness, including a services like Enhanced Care Management and In Lieu review of the desirability of the VI-SPDAT through the of Services lens of equity
Develop new, and enhance existing, partnerships Improve protocols for prioritization into emergency between behavioral health and social service shelter, interim housing, medical respite, etc. to ensure providers, neighborhood associations, cities, and that bed availability is real-time regional governments, including law enforcement and • Improve roles and responsibilities for assisting other first responders. Engage partners in proactive clients in obtaining housing-related documentation, strategies that link individuals who are homeless like IDs, social security cards, proof of income, birth with housing and services with the additional goal of certificates, etc. reducing criminal justice system involvement
• Implement diversion/problem-solving conversations at
• Ensure adequate resources are available for proactive all points of entry and consistent outreach efforts
Strategy 15: Develop Countywide Encampment
• Develop multi-disciplinary teams that include Management Protocols homeless street outreach, mental health services, etc.
As part of the development of Homeless Street Outreach
• Ensure people living outside have adequate access to Protocols, the Riverside County CoC will need to develop basic needs a Countywide Encampment Management Protocol. This • Engage regional stakeholders to ensure appropriate will include best practices in encampment management responses to persons living in vehicles and to ensure and person-centered approaches. adequate safe zones for people to park and receive • Enhance coordination between agencies engaging services while working towards housing people living in encampments to ensure consistent Strategy 14: Improve Access for People Experiencing and humane approaches to encampment resolution Homelessness across the county
The Riverside County CoC currently utilizes a hybridized • Coordinate between department and agencies to "No Wrong Door Approach," meaning that a homeless create a coordinated encampment management individual or family can present at any homeless housing strategy and service provider in the geographic area or by • As part of CoC Homeless Street Outreach Protocol, accessing a mobile hotline. A decentralized system is often establish guidance on Encampment Management and difficult to navigate for individuals newly experiencing Resolution Protocols 25 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
• Engage cities and other local government entities to targeted trainings and protocols for first responders utilize encampment guidance of CoC Homeless Street when engaging people experiencing unsheltered Outreach Protocol homelessness on streets or encampments.
Strategy 16: Support the Decriminalization of • Co-develop protocol for first responders when Homelessness engaging people on the streets and encampments with key considerations when engaging with key
As part of the Riverside County CoC's commitment
subpopulations (survivors of domestic violence,
to racial equity and a person-centered approach, the
individuals with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) or
Riverside County CoC will also support policies that
move towards the decriminalization of homelessness. Substance Use Disorder (SUD), Transitional Aged Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) are Youth (TAY), older adults/seniors, and dependent disproportionately affected by homelessness and are adults) disproportionately represented in the criminal justice • Ensure that the first responder training and protocol system. Moving towards a decriminalized system will is in alignment with CoC initiated Homeless Outreach decrease the likelihood of further trauma, decrease Strategy and Encampment Protocols time spent outdoors, and reduce criminal charges that • Co-design and implement outreach training for first are often barriers to housing, employment, and other
responders that focuses on evidence based best
resources. Not prosecuting chronically or unsheltered practices in homeless street outreach and service homeless people for minor offenses reduces the
coordination
likelihood that police officers and other system
officials will attempt to arrest or institutionalize people Strategy 18: Establish Key Resources for Special experiencing unsheltered homelessness and may reduce Populations Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness interactions between police and people experiencing There are specific subpopulations of people experiencing homelessness overall. Homeless Courts are also another unsheltered homelessness that will need additional key strategy to resolve these barriers through voluntary, considerations and resources to address their health, individualized action to satisfy fines, fees, and case safety, and service needs. This will include unsheltered dismissal. The County of Riverside should continue to chronically homeless, individuals with Severe Mental push for alternatives to criminalization policies that are Illness (SMI), individuals with Substance Use Disorder focused on engagement and housing. (SUD), Transitional Aged Youth (TAY), high utilizers of • Develop Homeless Street Outreach Protocols to emergency services, survivors fleeing domestic violence, compliment decriminalization advocacy families, and older adults/seniors. • Advocate for decriminalizing homelessness responses • Refine specific policies and procedures as it relates to across the county and state that include pre- needs of unsheltered chronically homeless adjudication and sentencing alternatives to minimize Refine specific policies and procedures as it relates to involvement of people experiencing homelessness in needs of unsheltered individuals with Severe Mental criminal justice system Illness (SMI)
• Develop processes to ensure greater collaboration • Refine specific policies and procedures as it relates to between judicial agencies and local alternative courts needs of unsheltered individuals with Substance Use like Homeless Court and pre-booking diversion Disorder (SUD) resources
Refine specific policies and procedures as it relates to • Ensure that Riverside County does not needs of unsheltered Transitional Aged Youth (TAY). disproportionately enforce existing county ordinances
• Refine specific policies and procedures as it relates against homeless individuals and families
to needs of unsheltered high utilizers of emergency
• Develop an inclusive approach to public space services management with non-punitive policies
Refine specific policies and procedures as it relates
Strategy 17: Develop Training for First Responders to needs of unsheltered survivors fleeing domestic First responders, like emergency medical services, fire, violence and law enforcement, frequently respond to homeless • Refine specific policies and procedures as it relates to related emergencies. In moving towards a responsive, needs of unsheltered families engagement-focused outreach system, the Riverside
Refine specific policies and procedures as it relates to County CoC will also need to engage and train first
needs of unsheltered older adults/seniors
responders in integrating evidence based best practices (e.g., trauma-informed care, critical time intervention, Refine specific policies and procedures as it relates to motivational interviewing, and housing first strategies) needs of unsheltered LGBTQIA+ individuals for service delivery. The Riverside County CoC will
work in partnership with first responders to develop
26 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
PERFORMANCE METRICS
STRATEGY PERFORMANCE METRICS MECHANISMS
SYSTEM PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Strategy 12: Increase Regional Capacity of
Homeless Street Outreach Number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness at a point in time and month to
month, including key subpopulations
tomelessnes:
Strategy 12: Increase Regional Capacity of
Homeless Street Outreach
Strategy 13: Support the Health of People
Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness Length of time a person remains homeless (street through Cross-Departmental/Cross-Sector and shelter)
Supports
Strategy 14: Improve Access for People
Experiencing Homelessnes:
Steles 2 tre ast Regional Capacity of Successful placement from Street Outreach Number of permanent housing placements from Various HUD reporting tools - System Someles 2 tet it Regional Capacity of Street Outreach Performance Measures Repor ongitudinal Systems Analysis, Stella, an
Strategy 12: Increase Regional Capacity of Number of successful contacts with people others Homeless Street Outreach experiencing unsheltered homelessness Riverside County CoC Public Data
Strategy 15: Develop Countywide Encampment Dashboards
Management Protocols Number of encampments
trategy 12: Increase Regional Capacity c Jumber of people entering into chroni lomeless Street Outreac omelessnes
strategy 12: Increase Regional Capacity o Geographic distribution of people experiencing Homeless Street Outreac unsheltered homelessness (including encampments)
Strategy 18: Establish Key Resources for Number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness discharged from mainstream
Special Populations Experiencing Unsheltered institutions or re-entering from homeless Homelessness
response system.
Strategy 14: Improve Access for People Geographic distribution of housing access in to Experiencing Homelessness
Strategy 14: Improve Access for People emographics of people experiencin omelessness utilizing access and outreac
Experiencing Homelessness services
PROCESS MEASURES
Strategy 12: Increase Regional Capacity of Geographic distribution and make-up of Homeless Street Outreach homeless street outreach teams/programs Strategy 16: Support the Decriminalization of Various Riverside County and Riverside Homelessness Number of emergency calls, citations, arrests County CoC process reporting tools.
made by law enforcement for homeless related
Strategy 17: Develop Training for First Some process measures will likely need disturbances.
Responders to include the creation of new tools and
reporting mechanisms
Strategy 18: Establish Key Resources for Number of successful referrals to support Special Populations Experiencing Unsheltered services (mental health, employment, hygiene, Homelessness nutrition, etc.)
27 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
FIVE YEAR GOALS
The following Five-Year Goals will be tracked utilizing various existing and new reporting tools. These tools
may include but are not limited to: HUD Reporting Tools, Point in Time Count, System Performance Measures,
ACTION AREA 3: EXPAND
Longitudinal Systems Analysis, Stella, Riverside County CoC Public Data Dashboards, Annual Housing Inventory
COMMUNITIES CAPACITY
Count, Regional Housing Need Assessment, other real-
time housing inventory tracking mechanisms, and County TO PROVIDE SAFE AND and Riverside County CoC process reporting tools.
• 50% reduction in the number of people experiencing EFFECTIVE SHELTER AND unsheltered homelessness at a point in time and
month to month, including key subpopulations across INTERIM HOUSING all regions
CURRENT RESPONSE
• 50% reduction in the length of stay (SO, ES, SH, TH)
Presently there are not enough year-round beds in
• 50% increase in successful housing placement from the Riverside Homeless Response system to provide street outreach adequate temporary shelter or interim housing to people • 25% reduction in the number of emergency calls, experiencing unsheltered homelessness. This was citations, arrests made by law enforcement for supported by data reflected in Housing Inventory Count homeless related disturbances and HMIS data underline the increase in unsheltered homelessness.
• 75% reduction in the number of people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness discharged from Stakeholder reported the shelter and interim housing institutions or re-entering from the homeless response options available as being inaccessible and hard to system navigate for people experiencing homelessness. In addition to the system fragmentation, other stakeholders • Resources are uniformly accessible across
described the inaccessibility reflected in the policies Riverside County regardless of sub-region or client of shelters themselves that place additional barriers demographics, reflected in CES access data
on people experiencing homelessness, such as no
• 50% increase in successful street outcomes accommodations for couples, no pets allowed, or • Riverside County CoC has adopted Homeless Street curfews.
Outreach Protocol, including First Responder Training The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges to the and Encampment Management region's shelter response. Despite these challenges, however, stakeholders highlighted successes that can
FUNDING PRINCIPLES be expanded on. The region was able to leverage • Invest in multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional solutions state-level resources, like Project Roomkey and Project to address the health, safety, and housing needs of Homekey, to secure hotel and motel rooms for vulnerable people experiencing unsheltered homelessness and people experiencing homelessness. Because of these staying in encampments. innovative programs, providers noted that there was an increase in the capacity of low barrier non-congregate
Participate in the development of CalAIM initiatives
shelter options for people experiencing homelessness.
that seek to extend a whole person care approach
With the threat of the pandemic on people experiencing
through the Enhanced Care Management and In Lieu
homelessness, there was increased collaboration and
of Services to serve people experiencing unsheltered
problem solving between various agencies to get those
homelessness.
most vulnerable into shelter.
PROPOSED STRATEGIES
Strategy 19: Increase the Number of Crisis Housing
Beds Regionally
In order to meet the needs of people experiencing
unsheltered homelessness, the Riverside County CoC will need to expand the number of crisis housing beds across the region. Through various funding sources and models, including new CalAIM programs and Project Homekey
2.0, the Riverside County CoC will need to increase the number of crisis housing (ES, SH, TH) units to meet the 28 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
system needs. As described earlier, to reduce the entries Strategy 20: Refine Crisis Housing Policies and into chronic/long-term homelessness, which is more Procedures costly, the Riverside County CoC will ensure coordinated The Riverside County CoC will further refine the policies access and a housing focus to ensure throughputs into
and procedures of crisis housing, which includes
the system. emergency shelter, interim housing, medical respite, • Create more crisis housing, which includes emergency domestic violence shelters, faith-based shelters, family shelter, interim housing, medical respite, domestic shelters, transitional housing, and motel vouchers to be violence shelters, faith-based shelters, family shelters, radically accessible, low-barrier, and housing focused transitional housing, stabilization beds, recuperative The Riverside County CoC will assess the current state care beds, and motel vouchers to meet the specific of crisis housing, reform policies and procedures, build needs by population and region capacity in certain regions, and develop real-time bed availability.
• Develop and advance CalAIM proposals seeking to
extend statewide the service options available under • Assess crisis housing coordinated entry and referral Whole Person Care and Health Homes Program patterns to identify regional gaps and under resourced through the Enhanced Care Management program crisis housing capacity and In Lieu of Services care coordination and housing
• Ensure that shelter access is equitable through review services to better address the health care needs of
of data
people who are staying in shelter and interim housing
sites • Refine best practices for crisis housing that focus on accessibility and are low barrier. Barriers can
• Ensure that there are more public services in
include lack of privacy, sobriety, curfews, engaging in neighborhoods developing crisis housing to meet
treatment, animal policy, storage, couples, people of
community needs non-binary gender identity
• Ensure that crisis housing account for the unique • Move towards a system where shelters are open 24/7 needs of specific subpopulations
• Establish system wide procedures to track and utilize • Mobilize Homekey resources and other funding real-time crisis housing bed availability sources to support acquisition of sites for use as crisis • Assess and refine policies and procedures to ensure
housing
that crisis housing is centered on housing-focused
problem-solving
• Provide technical assistance and guidance that will
support the continued application of Housing First
practices, including lowered barriers and housing-
focused services and supports, within shelter and
interim housing programs
• Ensure that policies and procedures account for the
unique needs of specific subpopulations: Transitional
Aged Youth (TAY), high utilizers of emergency
services, survivors fleeing domestic violence, families, and LGBTQAI+
29 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
PERFORMANCE METRICS
STRATEGY PERFORMANCE METRICS MECHANISMS
SYSTEM PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Strategy 19: Increase the Number of Crisis
Housing Beds Regionally Number of people experiencing sheltered homelessness at a point in time and month to
Srocedures: Refine Crisis Housing Policies and month, including key subpopulations Strategy 19: Increase the Number of Crisis
Housing Beds Regionally Demographics of people utilizing crisis housing Strategy 20: Refine Crisis Housing Policies and options Procedures
Strategy 19: Increase the Number of Crisis
Housing Beds Regionally Length of time a person remains homeless (ES, /arious HUD reporting tools - Syster
Strategy 20: Refine Crisis Housing Policies and SH, TH) Performance Measures Repor Procedures Longitudinal Systems Analysis, Stella, and
others
Suasiny 19 Increase the Number of Crisis
Number of successful housing placements from Baesar County CoC Public Data Srocedures: Refine Crisis Housing Policies and crisis housing Suasing t9. regise the Number of chil
ercent of returns to homelessness in 6, 12, and
Strategy 20: Refine Crisis Housing Policies and 4 months for people connected to crisis housin Procedures
Strategy 19: Increase the Number of Crisis
Housing Beds Regionally Number of people experiencing sheltered homelessness discharged from institutions or re-
Strategy 20: Refine Crisis Housing Policies and entering from homeless response system Procedures
HOUSING INVENTORY MEASURES
Strategy 19: Increase the Number of Crisis
Housing Beds Regionally Number of crisis housing beds in the system and Procedures: Refine Crisis Housing Policies and geographic distribution Annual Housing Inventory Count Report, Regional Housing Need Assessment, and
Strategy 19: Increase the Number of Crisis other real-time housing inventory tracking lousing Beds Regionally
Crisis housing bed utilization
Strategy 20: Refine Crisis Housing Policies and
Procedures
PROCESS MEASURES
Strategy 19: Increase the Number of Crisis Various County and Riverside County CoC Housing Beds Regionally Number of successful referrals to support process reporting tools. Some process services (mental health, employment, hygiene, measures will likely need to include Strategy 20: Refine Crisis Housing Policies and nutrition, etc.) the creation of new tools and reporting Procedures mechanisms
30 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
FIVE YEAR GOALS
The following Five-Year Goals will be tracked utilizing various existing and new reporting tools. These tools
may include but are not limited to: HUD Reporting Tools, Point in Time Count, System Performance Measures,
ACTION AREA 4: EXPAND
Longitudinal Systems Analysis, Stella, Riverside County CoC Public Data Dashboards, Annual Housing Inventory
AND ENSURE EQUITABLE
Count, Regional Housing Need Assessment, other real-
time housing inventory tracking mechanisms, and County
ACCESS TO PERMANENT
and Riverside County CoC process reporting tools.
• 100% of crisis housing adhere to CoC Policies and HOUSING IN OUR Procedures
COMMUNITIES
• 25% increase in the number of crisis housing beds
(ES, SH, TH) in the system, geographically distributed CURRENT RESPONSE • Increase in the ratio of sheltered to unsheltered The shortage of affordable housing is a core driver of the homelessness at a point in time and month to month, County of Riverside's homelessness crisis. Low vacancy including key subpopulations rates, rising rents, low incomes, precarious employment, • 50% reduction in the length of stay in crisis housing and a lack of effective social safety nets are all significant (ES, SH, TH) contributors to homeless system pressures. The impact of this housing shortage is reflected by challenges of
• 50% increase in the number of successful housing
people experiencing homelessness in obtaining housing.
placements from crisis housing
Due to the shortage of housing, people experiencing
• 75% reduction in the number of people experiencing homelessness sometimes spend months or longer on unsheltered homelessness discharged from waitlists, searching for suitable units, which exacerbate institutions or re-entering from homeless response not only their social and economic instability but also system their physical and behavioral health conditions. Research FUNDING PRINCIPLES has shown that the increased instability that people experience while waiting for housing directly undermines • Invest in innovative approaches to expand the supply
their ability to achieve long-term stabilization and leads to of safe, humane, housing-placement focused shelter
an increased utilization of services.
and interim housing models, like Project Homekey/
Roomkey for people experiencing homelessness A major step in solving homelessness is ensuring that every extremely low-income (ELI) household has access
• Expand alignment and engagement of healthcare, to a home they can afford. Currently in Riverside County, behavioral health, mental health, and substance there is a gap of roughly 38,000 homes affordable use disorder resources in efforts to address
to ELl households, those earning 30% or less of
health disparities and service needs among
Area Median Income (AMI), the group most at risk of
people experiencing unsheltered and sheltered
homelessness. According to two methods of analysis,
homelessness
Riverside County will need an additional 21,000 to
46,000 homes affordable to ELl households to address
the homelessness crisis for those currently experiencing homelessness and those facing housing instability.
The RHNA estimate of 21,000 is primarily a production
goal, meaning it represents the number of homes that
must be built. This goal can only be met primarily by
producing new homes or converting existing buildings-
such as motels, offices, or commercial buildings-into
housing. Each locality's RHNA is based on a number
given to each region from the state, and then distributed across the region by Southern California Association
of Governments (SCAG). The need of about 46,000
additional homes affordable to ELl households does not
need to be met by new construction of ELl-affordable
units alone. It can be met in a variety of ways, including new construction, maintaining affordability, and reducing cost of housing. This 46,000-unit threshold will secure 31 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
enough stable, decent, and affordable housing for those • Pursue lower-cost housing typologies, like tiny homes, most at-risk of homelessness. This reflects a critical accessory dwelling units, mobile homes, hotel and need to increase the development of affordable housing motel conversions, prefabricated modular housing, solutions in the region. and shipping containers, and innovative housing and When looking at housing interventions, Permanent financing models Supportive Housing (PSH) and Rapid Rehousing • Identify feasibility to develop affordable and (RRH) need to be further scaled up to meet the need. supportive housing on underutilized state, county, and This will require supportive strategies in streamlining city owned land development and increasing housing stock. Stakeholders
• Ensure Riverside County utilizes full funding
highlighted other challenges of the housing response opportunities from the federal and state governments like the accessibility of Housing Choice Vouchers, a
for housing development
fragmented approach to landlord outreach, engagement,
and retention, and the unavailability of flex funds, • Advocate for inclusionary housing policies, up zoning, shallow subsidies, and funding for move-in assistance. and infill development In feedback from stakeholders, they described that the • As part of communication strategy, develop strategies housing stock of certain cities' is largely inaccessible to address NIMBY sentiments to people experiencing homelessness, underlining the
Strategy 22: Increase Permanent Supportive Housing
need to better track housing outcomes geographically to Units and Capacity
ensure equitable access and opportunity.
To meet the needs of people experiencing
When looking at key subpopulations, stakeholders
homelessness, the Riverside County CoC will need
described that Chronically Homeless, Individuals with
to develop additional Permanent Supportive Housing
Mental Illness, Individuals with Substance Use Disorders, (PSH) units, including site-based, scattered site, and
Older Adults /Seniors, and Transition Aged Youth (TAY)
tenant-based. Not only will the Riverside County CoC
had inadequate resources or services available to them
work towards increasing the total number of units but
in Riverside County.
will also focus on increasing PSH capacity by optimizing The County of Riverside CoC will work with cities and utilization, refining system-wide guidelines, and community partners on a multipronged approach that supporting moving on strategies. implements innovative approaches, provides critical
• Increase the number of permanent supportive housing
support services, and expands housing stock.
stock
PROPOSED STRATEGIES
• Identify costs associated with developing adequate
Strategy 21: Advocate for the Increased Production of supply of permanent supportive housing Affordable Housing
• Increase access to tenant-based, scattered site
There currently is a shortfall of units available for Permanent Supportive Housing programs the extremely low-income population in the County
• Assess coordinated entry, referral patterns to identify of Riverside. In order to address the housing and
regional gaps, and under resourced PSH capacity
homelessness crises, the County of Riverside will
need to work towards developing and implementing • Ensure that PSH programs access is equitable through a strategy to build enough affordable housing to meet review of data the region's housing needs. The Riverside County • Expand partnerships with behavioral health treatment CoC, alongside other regional partners, will need to services through Riverside County and local identify and coordinate clear unit production goals behavioral health providers to ensure that PSH units and targets. This will require the County of Riverside are paired with adequate supportive services to leverage a wide array of private, local, state, and
federal funding to support the expansion of affordable • Implement a "moving on" strategy, targeting up to 20% of current PSH residents for transition to general
housing. For individuals, families, and communities
that are experiencing homelessness, or are at-risk of population affordable housing, thus freeing up PSH for new tenants
homelessness, it will require the equitable development of housing affordable to extremely low-income • Convene stakeholders (housing developers, households. planning departments, service providers, cities, • Advocate for federal, state, county, and local policies regional governments) to explore ways to create and funding to increase and preserve affordable and streamline permanent supportive housing within housing for households earning below 30% Area context of local housing elements Median Income (AMI) • Leverage a wide array of private, local, state, and federal funding, including CalAIM and Project
Homekey, to support the expansion of a Permanent
Supportive Housing
32 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
• Advocate for the local conditions so that expanded
RRH is effective in the private rental market
• Optimize utilization through progressive engagement
by enabling clients to move to less or more service-
intensive housing based on identified need
Assess outcomes for expanded rapid rehousing
programs
• Identify effective practices for rapid rehousing to be effective in high-cost, high-SDOH housing markets
• Strengthen the integration of workforce development/
employment services with RRH
Strategy 24: Develop Centralized Landlord Outreach,
Engagement, and Retention Strategies
The current system of landlord outreach, engagement,
• Improve PSH service quality and fidelity by refining
and retention is decentralized, with homeless service
community standards, facilitating trainings, and
providers, cities, regional governments, housing
creating learning collaboratives
authorities, and other homeless serving entities
• Advocate for the local conditions to develop enough each managing their own network of contacts and permanent supportive housing to meet the need in partnerships. Managing tenant-based programs, like our community Housing Choice Vouchers and Rapid Rehousing, • Identify feasibility to develop permanent supportive requires homeless service providers to build up housing on underutilized State or county owned land individual networks of partnering landlords or property management companies; if this are not done, it requires • Optimize utilization through progressive engagement clients to find units themselves. This dynamic often leads by enabling clients to move to less or more service- to competition among providers, resulting in varying intensive housing based on identified need quality of housing available to clients from program to Ensure sufficient level of supportive services, which program based on the relative success of a program's are voluntary, housing first oriented, trauma-informed, housing location team. This often leads to unnecessary and incorporate harm reduction principles competition and a prolonged housing search for tenant- based rental assistance programs like RRH, HCV, etc.
Strategy 23: Increase Rapid Rehousing Housing Units
The County's Housing Authority Division launched its
and Capacity
Landlord Incentive Program to expand existing and new
The Riverside County CoC will need to expand Rapid relationships with property managers and landlords that Rehousing (RRH) capacity to meet the needs of single should continue to address the disconnected approach adults, families, and youth as identified in the gaps to landlord engagement, outreach, and retention in the analysis. Additionally, the Riverside County CoC will region. The Riverside County CoC will work towards also focus on increasing RRH capacity by improving developing a centralized landlord outreach, engagement, outcomes, refining system-wide guidelines, standardizing and retention strategy. assistance, reducing competition among programs, and
• Assess the viability of development of a centralized
strengthening move-in supports. Scaling Rapid Rehousing landlord engagement program with one entity
will prevent inflows into long-term homelessness.
conducting housing outreach for the entire county
• Increase the number of rapid rehousing programs/
• Develop provider facing real-time listings of rental
units
units available to people experiencing homelessness
• Identify costs associated with developing adequate
• Increase the stock of units available to programs,
supply of rapid rehousing
homeless service providers, etc., especially in
• Assess coordinated entry, referral patterns to identify neighborhoods with high SDOH CES integrations, regional gaps, and under resourced
• Develop service provider performance standards for
RRH capacity
issuing timely payments, documentation, processing,
• Ensure that RRH programs access is equitable through and inspections so that experiences for landlords review of data are uniform, regardless of which provider or payment • Improve RRH service quality and fidelity by refining source is being utilized community standards, facilitating trainings, and • Develop additional incentives and supports, like facilitating learning collaboratives. For those with contingency funds, flex funds, mediation services, higher needs, provide longer-term housing assistance landlord incentive payments, security deposits, etc. and critical time intervention
33 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
• Work with property management companies, Strategy 27: Address Housing Needs of Unique owners, landlords, apartment associations, and Subpopulations housing developers to secure housing units through
As highlighted in the Gaps Analysis, there are key
developed and formalized partnerships, MOUs, master subpopulations of people experiencing homelessness leasing, etc. that have insufficient resources and housing supports • Incentivize the reduction of screening criteria that available to them in Riverside County: Chronically screens out prospective tenants with evictions, poor Homeless, Individuals with Mental IlIness and/or credit, and/or criminal histories Substance Use Disorders, Older Adults/Seniors, and Transition Aged Youth (TAY). The Riverside County CoC
• Track key metrics associated with the housing search
will work to increase the service and housing supports to and housing lease-up process
meet the unique needs of these subpopulations.
• Ensure that trained Housing Locators or Housing
• Assess and expand current programs serving
Specialists are designated as representatives for the
system to ensure consistent messaging and service Chronically Homeless delivery • Assess and expand current programs serving
Individuals with Severe Mental Illness (SMI)
Strategy 25: Innovate Approaches to Expand Existing
Housing Stock • Assess and expand current programs serving Alongside some of the other strategies outlined above, Individuals with Substance Use Disorders (SUD) the Riverside County CoC will develop innovative • Assess and expand current programs serving approaches to increase housing stock to reduce the Transition Aged Youth (TAY) time spent locating an adequate unit. These methods of
• Assess and expand current programs serving Older
increasing housing stock can also meet the unique need Adults/Seniors of specific subpopulations and expand housing access
and mobility. • Assess and expand current programs serving LGBTQAI+
• Explore lower-cost housing typologies, like tiny
homes, accessory dwelling units, hotel and motel Strategy 28: Develop Strategies to Reduce Barriers conversions, prefabricated modular housing, and for People Experiencing Homelessness in Obtaining shipping containers Housing and to Increase the Speed of Lease-Up Process
• Explore master leasing at-scale to secure units for
people experiencing homelessness Once connected to services, people experiencing homelessness still face many barriers to obtaining
• Develop shared housing program to increase rental
housing. Some of these are addressed in previous
options and affordability for clients, with emphasis on strategies around landlord engagement and flexible private rooms, split leases, etc. spending. The Riverside County CoC will look to develop • Expand and scale the use of shallow subsidies and programs and processes that address some of these longer-term subsidies barriers to housing like, poor credit/debt, evictions on record, criminal background, and housing documentation.
Strategy 26: Increase Flexible Housing Funds
By reducing these barriers, it will decrease the time it To ensure easier move-ins to permanent housing, takes for the housing search. mitigate concerns with landlords, and increase access to •Assess and establish programs and processes for
high-opportunity communities, the Riverside County CoC
individuals experiencing homelessness to improve
will need to increase the availability of flexible housing credit and pay off debts
funds. These funds could take the form of one-time
payments but could also be more long-term in the form of • Assess and establish programs and processes for shallow subsidies. individuals experiencing homelessness that have evictions on record
• Explore possibility of developing Flexible Housing
Subsidy Pool similar to other communities • Assess and establish programs and processes for individuals experiencing homelessness that have
• Expand flexible housing subsidy funds, like shallow
subsidies and longer-term subsidies, especially for criminal justice issues on record instances of homelessness prevention, where families • Assess and establish programs and processes for are rent burdened individuals experiencing homelessness to expedite documentation necessary for housing, like social
• Expand flexible housing funds to cover one-time
security card, identification card, birth certificates, and expenses like move-in costs
proof of income documentation
• Assess and establish universal housing application for all programs across Riverside County
34 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
• Clarify, contractually and through training, the based best practices such as: trauma-informed care, non- expectations regarding roles and responsibilities violent crisis intervention, peer supports, strength-based of shelter case managers, outreach workers, and case management, critical time intervention, motivational housing case managers in getting clients document- interviewing, progressive engagement, cultural humility, ready and establish & record performance metrics to racial equity, and housing first strategies. track progress • Assess and refine policies and procedures to ensure • Identify additional ways to expedite the housing that services are applying best practices in case search and lease up process management
Strategy 29: Expand Housing Access to High • Develop training around best practice approaches Opportunity Neighborhoods, With a Focus on Those to case management to improve provider, city, and with High Social Determinants Of Health (SOH) regional government capacity Due to market and other factors, not all cities in • Strengthen provider tables/forums and create learning the County of Riverside are accessible to people collaborative for more frequent capacity building experiencing homelessness to obtain housing. opportunities around best practice approaches to These cities are often characterized as high-income case management cities. Cities that were characterized as having high
Strategy 31: Leverage Housing Authority Division
social determinants of health were inaccessible for
Resources for People Experiencing Homelessness
people experiencing homelessness. Cities with high
social determinants of health have access to quality The County of Riverside will continue leveraging Housing employment, education, healthcare, transportation, Authority Division resources, like the Housing Choice supermarkets, housing, green spaces, clean air and Voucher program, to better serve people experiencing water, public safety, etc. homelessness.
Riverside will track housing placements at the ZIP • Increase advocacy for the expansion of the Housing code level for Permanent Supportive Housing, Rapid Choice Voucher program Rehousing, Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8), or other Strategy 32: Continue to Advocate for Legislation types of housing interventions to analyze larger trends Protecting Against Housing Discrimination in Housing around racial equity, concentrations of poverty, and social Search determinants of health. The County of Riverside will use The intersections of homelessness on race, ethnicity,
this data to make informed policy or programmatic design gender, sexual orientation, age, family size, criminal
modifications to ensure that neighborhoods with high
history, disability status, and income source often is
social determinants of health are accessible to people
seen clearly in the various forms of discrimination that experiencing homelessness and that the outcomes of the
people experiencing homelessness face when applying
homeless response system do not perpetuate residentia
for units in the private rental market and, in some
segregation or the concentration of poverty. Instead, they cases, in homeless dedicated housing. The County of
are centered on equity, access, and mobility. Changes
Riverside will continue to push for better protections
to policy could include revised payment standards or
against housing discrimination. The County of Riverside shallow subsidies to incentivize landlords in high social will also seek to increase its partnerships with legal
determinants of health areas.
aid organizations to develop mechanisms for better
• Track housing placements in HMIS at the zip code enforcement of existing protections. As part of the level to analyze regional trends centralized landlord engagement described above, the • Create a framework and policy recommendations County of Riverside will also elevate this in partnership to increase housing placements in opportunity with industry leaders. neighborhoods with high social determinants of health • Advocate for the legislation protecting against • Ensure homeless housing stock and services are housing discrimination geographically located to allow, whenever possible, • Establish partnerships and mechanisms for better for the needs of individuals and families to be met in tracking and enforcement of existing protections their own communities.
• Explore incentivization strategies to promote move-ins in neighborhoods with high SDOH
Strategy 30: Strengthen Approaches to Case
Management
As part of developing service provider, city, and regional government capacity, the Riverside County CoC will
continue to push for person-centered, housing-focused
case management with enhanced training in evidence
35 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
PERFORMANCE METRICS
STRATEGY PERFORMANCE METRICS MECHANISMS
SYSTEM PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Strategy 22: Increase Permanent Supportive
Housing Units and Capacity
Strategy 23: Increase Rapid Rehousing Housing
Jnits and Capacit
Strategy 22: Increase Permanent Supportive
Housing Units and Capacity Demographics of different housing interventions, Strategy 23: Increase Rapid Rehousing Housing including PSH and RRH Units and Capacity
Strategy 22: Increase Permanent Supportive
Housing Units and Capacity Number of clients that successfully exit housing Strategy 23: Increase Rapid Rehousing Housing interventions, including PSH and RRH Units and Capacity Various HUD reporting tools - System Strategy 22: Increase Permanent Supportive Performance Measures Report, Housing Units and Capacity Number of clients that successfully retain Longitudinal Systems Analysis, Stella, and strategy 23: Increase Rapid Rehousing Housin monting, including PSH and RH, f0r 6.2, 24 Inits and Capacit Riverside County CoC Public Data
Dashboard
Strategy 24: Develop Centralized Landlord
Outreach, Engagement, and Retention
Strategies
Strategy 25: Innovate Approaches to Expand
Existing Housing Stock
Length of time during housing search
Strategy 26: Increase Flexible Housing Funds
Strategy 28: Develop Strategies to Reduce
Barriers for People Experiencing Homelessness
in Obtaining Housing and to Increase the Spee
of Lease-Up Process
utcomes of flexible funds issued, including one
Strategy 26: Increase Flexible Housing Funds ime payments and shallow subsidie:
HOUSING INVENTORY MEASURES
Strategy 21: Advocate for the Increased outineone population, both curenty anton the Production of Affordable Housing pipeline
Jumber of Permanent Supportive Housing Units
Strategy 22: Increase Permanent Supportive oth tenant-based and project-based, currentl Housing Units and Capacity and in pipeline
Strategy 23: Increase Rapid Rehousing Housing Number of Rapid Rehousing Program Units Units and Capacity
rategy 22: Increase Permanent Supporti
using Units and Capac Utilization rates for housing interventions, Strategy 23: Increase Rapid Rehousing Housing including PSH and RRH Units and Capacity
Annual Housing Inventory Count Report
Strategy 22: Increase Permanent Supportive Regional Housing Need Assessment, anc Housing Units and Capacity other real-time housing inventory tracking Strategy 23: Increase Rapid Rehousing Zip codes of housing placements for housing Housing Units and Capacity/ Strategy 29: interventions, including PSH and RRH Expand Housing Access to High Opportunity
Neighborhoods, With a Focus on Those with
High Social Determinants of Health
Strategy 24: Develop Centralized Landlord
Outreach, Engagement, and Retention
Strategies Number of units secured for people
experiencing homelessness through centralized
trategy 25: Innovate Approaches to Expan
xisting Housing Stoc!
Strategy 29: Expand Housing Access to High
Opportunity Neighborhoods, With a Focus or
Those with High Social Determinants of Health
36 / HOMELESS ACTION PLANI
HOUSING INVENTORY MEASURES CONTINUED
Strategy 24: Develop Centralized Landlord erage number of real-time unit availabili Outreach, Engagement, and Retention cured by centralized landlord engageme Strategies program
Number of Housing Authority Division vouchers,
Strategy 31: Leverage Housing Authorit utilization rate, length of time during housing Division Resources for People Experiencin search, zip code of housing placements, anc Homelessness vouchers set aside for people experiencing
PROCESS MEASURES
Strategy 22: Increase Permanent Supportive
Housing Units and Capacity Referral pattern for housing interventions, Strategy 23: Increase Rapid Rehousing Housing including PSH and RRH Units and Capacity
Strategy 27: Address Housing Needs of Unique
Subpopulations Number of successful referrals to support services (mental health, employment, hygiene,
rategy 30: Strengthen Approaches to Ca nutrition, etc.) anagemer
Strategy 30: Strengthen Approaches to Case
Management
Strategy 22: Increase Permanent Supportive Number of programs adhering to Riverside CoC Housing Units and Capacity Policies and Procedures for PSH and RRH trategy 23: Increase Rapid Rehousing Housin Various County and Riverside County CoC Inits and Capacit process reporting tools; some process measures will likely need to include
Strategy 24: Develop Centralized Landlord Number of incentives and supports issued the creation of new tools and reporting Outreach, Engagement, and Retention through centralized landlord engagement mechanisms program
Strategy 24: Develop Centralized Landlord Number of landlords participating in centralized Outreach, Engagement, and Retention landlord engagement program, including Strategies formalized partnerships
Strategy 26: Increase Flexible Housing Funds Number of flexible funds issued, including one- time payments and shallow subsides
Strategy 28: Develop Strategies to Reduce Number of clients with housing barriers, including Barriers for People Experiencing Homelessness credit, debt, evictions, criminal justice issues, in Obtaining Housing and to Increase the Speed documentation (social security card, identification card, birth certificate, proof of income, etc.)
Strategy 32: Continue to Advocate for
Legislation Protecting Against Housing Number of housing discrimination instances Discrimination in Housing Search within Riverside County
FIVE YEAR GOALS
The following Five-Year Goals will be tracked utilizing various existing and new reporting tools. These tools may include but are not limited to: HUD Reporting Tools, Point in Time Count, System Performance Measures, Longitudinal Systems Analysis, Stella, Riverside County CoC Public Data Dashboards, Annual Housing Inventory Count, Regional Housing Need Assessment, other real-time housing inventory tracking mechanisms, and County and Riverside County CoC process reporting tools.
• Promote the development of 21,000 units affordable to extremely low-income population • Increase the number (unit count) of Permanent Housing Units by 75% from baseline year (including Permanent Supportive Housing [PSH] and Rapid Re-Housing [RRH)
• Increase the number of clients that successfully exit housing interventions, including PSH and RRH by 25% • Increase the number of clients that successfully retain housing, including PSH and RRH by 25% • Over 50% of new housing placements occur in opportunity neighborhoods/zip codes with high social determinants • 100% of programs adhering to Riverside CoC Policies and Procedures for PSH and RRH • Length of time during housing search is reduced by 50% 37 / HOMELESS ACTION PLANI
• Increase in the number of units secured for people
experiencing homelessness through centralized
landlord engagement program, especially in
neighborhoods with high SDOH, including through
master leasing and shared housing
ACTION AREA 5:
• Increase in the number of landlords participating in
centralized landlord engagement program, including PREVENT PEOPLE FROM formalized partnerships
• Increase in the number of real-time unit availability EXPERIENCING THE CRISIS secured by centralized landlord engagement program
OF HOMELESSNESS
FUNDING PRINCIPLES
• Strengthen the implementation of Housing First CURRENT RESPONSE approaches and other best practices that support In order to address the inflow/outflow gap, there will need equitable access in housing markets with high to be a marked shift towards focusing on prevention social determinants of health (SDOH), including but whenever possible and on providing housing focused not limited to: supportive housing, rapid rehousing, services, which ensure that when homelessness does short- and longer-term forms of rental subsidy and occur, the experience is rare, brief, and non-recurring. assistance, shallow subsidies, move-in assistance, and Preventative approaches to homelessness result in landlord outreach, engagement, and retention
better outcomes for individuals and families and provide • Invest in the creation of an expanded supply of a higher return on investment, resulting in reduced costs affordable and supportive housing opportunities, in healthcare, correctional services, and emergency paired with appropriate health and behavioral services. Shifting investment away from reactive, health care resources, and accessible and culturally emergency solutions towards a strengthened focus on responsive services to people exiting homelessness, preventative strategies will be critical to reducing the flow low-income individuals and families, and to people of people becoming homeless. This includes increasing from historically marginalized communities early intervention approaches that help people to avoid evictions and maintain their homes as well as diversion services. Enhanced integration with cross-sector regional partners, like healthcare, behavioral/mental health,
substance use disorder, criminal justice, child welfare, juvenile justice, education, immigration, employment,
land use and code enforcement systems, are required to
reduce pathways into homelessness.
In the Gaps Analysis, stakeholders highlighted the need to improve discharge planning from regional mainstream
institutions for people experiencing homelessness.
This included institutions like healthcare, mental health, substance use disorder, criminal justice/correctional, child welfare/foster care, and juvenile justice. Similarly, these sectors could improve their efforts to identify people
at risk for homelessness and rapidly connect them to
services before entering homelessness.
While prevention and diversion program performance has
been successful, these programs need to be made more
readily accessible to those facing housing instability.
Stakeholders noted that resources and programs that
assist those at-risk of entering homelessness when faced with eviction, displacement, or housing discrimination
could be improved. Stakeholders described that the
homeless response system is often ineffective at
preventing people from reentering into homelessness,
underlining the need for more tracking around reentry
and longer term supports.
38 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
Lastly, stakeholders often linked economic instability with codes, apartment complexes for prevention services housing instability. When clients obtain housing, they
• Incentivize landlords, apartment associations, etc.
often need supports to meet their basic financial needs to make referrals for their tenants to homelessness
and to gain stable employment. Those supports are
prevention and diversion programs
essential for homelessness prevention and for eliminating bounce back when individuals return to homelessness • Target populations should include people who after "exiting" the system. Respondents highlighted that previously exited the homelessness system with the system does not account for this and should begin to housing supports and are at risk of returning to prioritize not only permanent housing development but homelessness also economic mobility supports that serve as buffers to • Develop early identification, discharge planning, and homelessness. cross-sector collaboration
PROPOSED STRATEGIES • Include automated referrals for employment, income Strategy 33: Increase Homelessness Prevention, supports, social safety net services, etc.
Diversion, and Mediation Services • More accurately track at the city and zip code level To curtail the inflows into the homeless system, Riverside where an individual and family fell into homelessness County CoC will need to strengthen and expand and target outreach and supports to those homelessness prevention, diversion, housing problem communities solving, and rapid resolution programs across Riverside • Disaggregate data by demographics, to identify and County. As rent relief and COVID-19 eviction protections address any trends in access and utilization end, there will be a renewed need for these types of
Radically increase client facing materials across
services.
Riverside County to help people at-risk of
• Ensure right-sized funding from state and federal homelessness understand what services and resources to homelessness prevention, diversion, resources are available to them and what the process housing problem solving, and rapid resolution services looks like to access prevention services/supports and programs. with identification of clear goals and
Strategy 34: Address Inflows of Homelessness Through
targets for the number of households to receive
Cross-Sector Collaboration, Discharge Planning, and
diversion and prevention services through each
Early Identification
program
To further prevent the system flow gap, the homeless
Ensure program models utilize flexible financial
response system will need to address the inflows into
assistance and housing focused case management
homelessness through cross-sector collaboration,
to prevent individuals and families from experiencing
discharge planning, and early identification of
homelessness
individuals at-risk for homelessness. Cross-sector
• Develop standardized best practices and procedures collaboration with mainstream system providers, such for the delivery of homelessness prevention, diversion, as healthcare, behavioral/mental health, substance use housing problem solving, and rapid resolution services disorder, criminal justice, child welfare, juvenile justice, and programs; guidance should include baseline education, immigration, employment, land use and code standards for housing-focused case management, enforcement, are necessary to create aligned strategies strengths-based service planning and delivery, and and policies centered on preventing people from falling effective strategies for reducing barriers to housing into homelessness. • Through data sharing agreements, analyze
• Evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions mainstream system data to understand involvement of as programs are scaled further across the CoC; all people experiencing homeless in mainstream systems homelessness prevention efforts should be tracked in before they fell into homelessness to better target the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)
• Expand targeted homelessness prevention and • At points of intake, ensure there is a thorough diversion outreach and engagement; target services questioning of how and where an individual became to highest-risk populations and geographies to homeless, with an understanding of mainstream ensure people and communities at highest risk for systems they may have touched in advance homelessness are engaged with housing supports
• Identify and develop specific staff positions
before experiencing literal homelessness
responsible for cross-sector collaboration
• Develop an automatic process to provide information
• Develop strategies based on national best practices
on homelessness prevention and diversion services
for improving discharge planning models and
when someone is issued a notice to pay or quit or
coordination to prevent mainstream systems from
receives an unlawful detainer; by better tracking
discharging individuals without stable housing
evictions in the city, programs can target specific zip 39 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
• Develop strategies based on national best Education
practices for early identification of people at-risk for • Provide guidance to support schools and universities homelessness and get them connected to homeless
to develop community collaborations and stronger
and other mainstream services
referral systems to address housing instability and
• Advocate for necessary resources to incorporate or homelessness, and other service needs, among bring to scale cross-sector collaboration, discharge students and their families planning, and early identification Criminal Justice
• Set cross-sector goals • Improve coordination and connection to services • Develop and adopt a universal housing/economic and housing for people being discharged from stability screening tool and automated referral criminal justice settings, like incarceration, processes for individuals and families accessing safety detention, probation, who are homeless or at risk of net services homelessness
• Expand on initiatives of Whole Person Care and • Develop process and outcome metrics to support CalAIM to target high utilizers of emergency services cross-system coordination and goals Healthcare (Behavioral Health, Mental Health, Physical • Support the implementation of CalAIM proposals Health, Substance Use Disorders) seeking to address needs of people exiting corrections settings through expedited enrollment in
• Improve care coordination and connections to
Medi-Cal
services and housing for people discharged from
hospitals who are homeless • Increase supports for households with incarcerated • Continue to develop communication, procedures, family members to prevent homelessness processes among hospitals, substance use treatment • Expand existing and develop new housing and centers, mental health facilities, health plans, and the workforce development programs to successfully homeless system to improve care coordination, early reintegrate people leaving probation, parole, jails, and identification, and effective discharge planning for prisons into the community people experiencing homelessness • Offer all homeless inmates' jail in reach services from • Implement CalAIM to provide medically necessary the beginning of incarceration recuperative care placements for unhoused people
• Identify the feasibility of creating targeted positions, who are exiting acute inpatient facilities and/or were like homeless services liaison, at hospitals to assist recently hospitalized
with discharge planning and care coordination and to
• Identify feasibility of creating targeted positions, like prevent discharge of clients to the street homeless services liaison, at hospitals to assist with • Promote the creation and implementation of discharge planning and care coordination and to
effective re-entry networks and supports with
prevent discharge of clients to the street
integrated services or robust links to mental health,
Child Welfare/ Juvenile Justice substance use disorder, housing, case management, employment, and other social services in the
• Develop strategies for effective discharge planning for youth exiting foster care and juvenile justice systems, community with a focus on earlier interventions and supports for • Conduct data analysis projects with reentry partners youth around housing and economic stability to improve our understanding of individuals at • Expand housing programs for families involved in the heightened risk of experiencing homelessness child welfare system upon release, racial disparities that exist among this population, patterns of shelter system utilization, and • Expand and diversify housing programs for foster opportunities to intervene sooner youth to meet their long-term housing needs, so no
Older Adults/Seniors
foster youth become homeless
• Conduct data match with child welfare system and • Identify strategies to serve older adults and people with disabilities at risk of experiencing homelessness, juvenile legal system to establish baseline data on the including meeting the need for in-home supports and
number and characteristics of system-involved youth
access to licensed adult and senior care facilities
that experience homelessness, with an emphasis
on racial disparities within the population; establish • Improve identification and stabilization of older adults/ targeted intervention strategies seniors at greatest risk of housing loss • Continue to develop a long-term plan and strategy for • Develop targeted homelessness prevention strategies improving health outcomes and the delivery of fully for older adults/seniors, including development of a integrated health care services for youth in foster care data-driven framework for identifying older adults/ seniors at greatest risk of housing loss
40 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
Provide subsidized housing to homeless disabled • Assess the viability of cash transfers and/or universal individuals pursuing SSI basic income (UBI) models to empower people experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing
• Support in-home care and long-term care options for
homelessness to meet their immediate financial needs
older adults/seniors
Strategy 35: Expand Opportunities to Achieve Financial • Support efforts to increase the minimum wage to a living wage in Riverside County
Stability/Economic Mobility Through Employment,
Educational, Income Supports, and Wealth Generation Strategy 36: Reduce Reentries into Homeless Response Programs and Services. System
There is a clear linkage between economic instability A key component of ending homelessness within and housing instability, with economic instability driving Riverside County CoC will be to prevent the reentry of the latter. When clients obtain housing, they often need individuals and families back into the homeless response supports to meet their basic financial needs and to gain system. stable employment. Those supports are essential for • Track and analyze causes for reentry into the homelessness prevention and for eliminating bounce homeless response system back when individuals return to homelessness after
"exiting" the system. The homeless response system • Identify targeted solutions for anyone re-entering the will need to prioritize opportunities to achieve financial homeless response system stability/economic mobility through employment, Strategy 37: Preserve Vulnerable Housing and Prevent education, income support, and wealth generation Community Displacement programs and services.
Vital to address the system flow gap is ensuring the
• Increase the connectivity between the Riverside preservation of housing affordable to extremely low- County Workforce Development Center, income income populations to prevent community displacement. supports, and education and homeless services, like As neighborhoods change through processes of prevention, rapid rehousing, etc. to increase and development and gentrification, it is essential to ensure sustain income that lower-income households are not priced out of the • Expand partnerships with businesses and social rental market. The Riverside County CoC will work to enterprises to train and hire people who have promote solutions to preserve vulnerable housing and experienced homelessness reduce neighborhood displacement. • Increase access to appropriate services to gain and • Advocate for the creation of a fund to preserve sustain employment and educational opportunities, naturally occurring, affordable housing and income such as childcare (or financial assistance for childcare) restricted affordable housing • Formalize cross-system agreements to improve • Promote the investments of infill area infrastructure, access to employment and education programs, and inclusionary zoning, community land trusts, adaptive outcomes of people experiencing homelessness reuse, etc • Improve data collection on the employment • Promote the preservation of existing housing stock and education needs and outcomes of people through long-term affordability covenants experiencing homelessness • Advocate for the increased access to homeownership, • Provide training, internships, and mentorships to help especially for Black, Indigenous and People of Color people who are unhoused or at risk of homelessness (BIPOC) communities to obtain access to living wage jobs • Advocate for right of first refusal policies • Establish countywide SSI and veteran's benefits Strategy 38: Expand Protections for Renter/Tenants advocacy programs for people experiencing
To better address the inflows into homelessness, the
homelessness or at risk of homelessness, including
Riverside County CoC will advocate and push to expand
those in the criminal justice system
tenant protections and services that support tenants.
• Explore opportunities to expand assessment tools This will include better tracking of evictions, centralizing to also screen for income-generating pathways, and coordinating eviction prevention programs, and like employment, and income supports; provide supporting other tenant protections. automated referrals
• Develop a streamlined approach and public facing
• Identify programs and solutions to develop wealth/ database to better track evictions/unlawful detainers equity for people experiencing homelessness and across Riverside County, greatest impact on older those at-risk of homelessness adults/seniors and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC)
41 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
• Coordinate and centralize eviction prevention Strategy 39: Advocate for the Expansion of a Social programs across Riverside County Safety Net
• Advocate for the establishment of rent stabilization Necessary to ending homelessness, the Riverside policies paired with enforceable building standards CoC will continue to advocate for the expansion of • Advocate for the establishment of "just cause" eviction social safety net services and mainstream anti-poverty initiatives. This will include expanding supports to
policies
housing, healthcare, welfare, income supports, nutrition, • Develop and support tenant counseling and legal and childcare. services for tenant facing housing instability and
dislocation • Advocate for the state and the federal government to increase funding and access to safety net services
• Support a legal right to counsel policy for tenants to prevent evictions
• Support right to remain and right to return ordinances • Support tenant option to purchase
• Consider developing a tenant advisory council to
provide guidance and advice to the city on actions to
support tenants and those at-risk of homelessness
• Increase access to civil legal aid in situations where legal advocacy will prevent homelessness (e.g.,
access to State and Federal benefit programs, SSI/
SSDI, etc., foreclosure prevention, immigration, tenant representation, unemployment benefits, ABD, etc.)
• Strengthen local tenant protections impacting people
experiencing homelessness and those at-risk of
homelessness
PERFORMANCE METRICS
STRATEGY PERFORMANCE METRICS MECHANISMS
SYSTEM PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Strategy 33: Increase Homelessness Prevention,
Diversion, and Mediation Services Number of people experiencing homelessness Strategy 34: Address Inflows of Homelessness for first time, including regional and demographic Through Cross-Sector Collaboration, Discharge breakdown Planning, and Early Identification
Strategy 36: Reduce Reentries into Homeless Number of people returning to homelessness, Response System including regional and demographic breakdown Strategy 34: Address Inflows of Homelessness
Through Cross-Sector Collaboration, Discharge Number of people exting miser restions, Planning, and Early Identification homelessness
Various HUD reporting tools - System
Strategy 34: Address Inflows of Homelessness Number of people who would have been Performance Measures Report, homeless upon discharge from mainstream
Through Cross-Sector Collaboration, Discharge institutions and are successfully placed into othersudinal Systems Analysis, Stell, and Planning, and Early Identification housing
Riverside County CoC Public Data
Strategy 37: Preserve Vulnerable Housing and Dashboards Prevent Community Displacement Number of low-income households that are Strategy 38: Expand Protections for Renter/ considered rent-burdened Tenants
Strategy 33: Increase Homelessness Prevention, Percentage successful households receiving revention services, including regional and
Diversion, and Mediation Services lemographic breakdowi Strategy 35: Expand Opportunities to Achieve
Financial Stability/Economic Mobility Through creases to employment, income, and wealt eneration among people experiencin
Employment, Educational, Income Supports, and
Wealth Generation Programs and Services homelessness
42 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
SYSTEM PERFORMANCE MEASURES CONTINUED
Strategy 33: Increase Homelessness Prevention,
Diversion, and Mediation Services
Strategy 39: Advocate for the Expansion of a
Social Safety Net Percent of clients still in permanent housing at 6,12-, and 24-months following assistance
Strategy 35: Expand Opportunities to Achieve
Financial Stability/Economic Mobility Through
Employment, Educational, Income Supports, and
Vealth Generation Programs and Services
others.
Strategy 34: Address Inflows of Homelessness Riverside County CoC Public Data hrough Cross-Sector Collaboration, Discharg Readmissions and recidivism rates Dashboards lanning, and Early Identificatio
trategy 37: Preserve Vulnerable Housing anc
Prevent Community Displacement Jumber of evictions across Riverside County ncluding regional and demographic breakdowr
Serategy 38: Expand Protections for Renter/
PROCESS MEASURES
Strategy 34: Address Inflows of Homelessness
Through Cross-Sector Collaboration, Discharge Cost saving for discharge planning Planning, and Early Identification
Number of programs adhering to Riverside CoC
Strategy 33: Increase Homelessness Prevention, Policies and Procedures for Prevention and Diversion, and Mediation Services
Diversion
Various Riverside County and Riverside
Strategy 34: Address Inflows of Homelessness Number of mainstream systems with data sharing Through Cross-Sector Collaboration, Discharge agreements or integrations with homeless Planning, and Early Identification response system
reporting mechanisms
Strategy 34: Address Inflows of Homelessness Number of mainstream systems utilizing Through Cross-Sector Collaboration, Discharge
developed homeless tracking metrics
Planning, and Early Identification
Strategy 34: Address Inflows of Homelessness
Number of referrals for housing related services
Through Cross-Sector Collaboration, Discharge from mainstream institutions Planning, and Early Identification
FIVE YEAR GOALS
The following Five-Year Goals will be tracked utilizing various existing and new reporting tools. These tools may include but are not limited to: HUD Reporting Tools, Point in Time Count, System Performance Measures, Longitudinal Systems Analysis, Stella, Riverside County CoC Public Data Dashboards, Annual Housing Inventory Count, Regional Housing Need Assessment, other real-time housing inventory tracking mechanisms, and Riverside County and Riverside County CoC process reporting tools.
• 75% reduction in the number of people experiencing homelessness for first time • 75% reduction in the number of people returning to homelessness • 75% reduction in the number of people exiting mainstream institutions that experience sheltered and unsheltered homelessness
• Increase in the number of people who would have been homeless upon discharge from mainstream institutions and are successfully placed into housing
• Reduction in the number of low-income households that are considered rent-burdened • Quadruple the number of households receiving prevention services • Increase employment, income, and wealth generation among people experiencing homelessness • 25% increase in the percentage of clients still in permanent housing at 6,12-, and 24-months following assistance • Decrease in the number of evictions across Riverside County, demographics, and geographic breakdown • 100% of programs adhering to Riverside CoC Policies and Procedures for Prevention and Diversion 43 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
FUNDING PRINCIPLES
• Invest in programs that will immediately address
the needs of data-informed special populations,
like homeless youth, older adults/seniors, veterans,
individuals, and/or families, or prevent them from
becoming homeless
• Reduce entries into homelessness as people exit and/
or receive services from institutional settings through cross-sector collaborative programs
- Invest in programs focused on reducing entries into
homelessness for people re-entering communities
from jails and prisons
Invest in programs focused on reducing entries
into homelessness for youth and young adults
connected to the child welfare and/or juvenile
justice systems
- Invest in programs focused on reducing entries
into homelessness for people exiting health care
settings and programs, including mental health and
substance use
• Enhance communities' capacity to provide targeted
homelessness prevention interventions and to
successfully divert people from entering shelter or
experiencing unsheltered homelessness
Invest in cross-sector partnerships between
homelessness services systems and other systems
which can support asset and wealth building, including
access to educational opportunities and employment
services that address the economic instability for
people experiencing and exiting homelessness
• Support programs and cross-sector partnerships that
prioritize the early identification of households at-
risk for homelessness and quickly connect them to
services
• Invest in upstream homelessness prevention
programs that stabilize individuals, families, and
communities, protect vulnerable housing, prevent
displacement, and expand tenant protections
44 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
FUNDING SOURCES
LEGEND
URGENT: Items requiring immediate consideration and response within next 30 - 120 days NEW: Updated information on funding awards, potential opportunities, and pending announcements to look into/out for within the next 6 months NOT NEW: Do not require immediate response
PROGRAM AVAILABLE FUNDS ELIGIBLE USES ADDITIONAL
CATEGORY ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS TIMELINE INFORMATION
Affordable HOME- California received Direct Allocation: Tenant-based Rental HUD implementation notice The State of Housing American ~$667M (direct "Participating Jurisdictions Assistance released Sept 2021; PJs California received Rescue Plan ormula allocation t (PJs)" that qualified for ar can receive 5% of their approximately cal jurisdictions annual FY 2021 HOME Development and support of $155 million allocation for planning and
Program allocation. affordable housing. in HOME-ARP
state funding to be administration currently.
further distributed). Supportive housing services resources.
State funding: cities, For PJs to receive the California cities Riverside was counties, developers. (e.g., housing counseling, remainder of HOME-ARP allocated $4.3M. other services under and counties
and nonprofit Community funds, they need to develop
McKinney-Vento) that are HOME
Housing Development a HOME-ARP allocation plan
Organizations (CHDOs) and submit it as a substantial Participating Acquisition and Jurisdictions
that did not receive HOME- development of non- amendment to the FY 2021 received ARP funds from HUD. congregate shelter. annual action plan. There is allocations of
no deadline for submission.
more than $512
CA state is probably also
million.
undergoing this process.
Affordable HOME $72M Cities, counties, Rental new construction and NOFA released from CA HCD NOFA Housing (2020/21 developers, and rehab, First-time Homebuyer CA HCD on Dec 1, 2021. funding) ionprofit Communi Program, Owner-occupied Applications due at 5pm, lousing Developmer rehab, Tenant-based Rental March 10, 2022. NOFA Organizations (CHDOs) Assistance workshop webinars are
that did not receive HOME. available.
ARP funds from HUD.
Affordable Permanent N$340M 2021 NOFA Entitlement formula: Predevelopment, 2021 Entitlement and PLHA 2021 NOFA Housing Local metropolitan cities and development, acquisition, Non-Entitlement Formula Housing urban counties allocated a rehabilitation, and Component NOFA released Allocation grant for the federal fiscal preservation of affordable May 2021 with deadline of year 2017 pursuant to the multifamily, residential Dec 31, 2021. federal CDBG formula live-work, rental housing
on-entitlement formu (including Accessory
ind competitive gran Dwelling Units), including
rogram: non-entitlemer necessary operating
urisdictions subsidies, Rapid re-
housing, rental assistance.
management services,
operating and capital costs
for navigation centers
Development $2.2B Counties, tribal entities onstruct, acquire, an non-profit, and for-profi habilitate real esta Applications Continuum entities. with a deadline a 2022.
Infrastructure
Program expand the community Round 3: applications for
(BHCIP) continuum of behavioral
ealth treatment resource
acility types include B
Wellness Centers, Short-
term crisis stabilization,
Acute and subacute care,
andis residential, community,
45 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
CATEGORY PROGRAM AVAILABLE FUNDS ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS ELIGIBLE USES TIMELINE ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
Health Housing and $133.75M in Counties and tribes or Outreach, case NOFA for noncompetitive FY 2021 - 22 (Physical and Disability noncompetitive groups of counties and management, disability allocations released Sept NOFA Behavioral) & Advocacy allocation tribes. benefits advocacy, housing 13, 2021. All grantees Services Program $25M in strategic assistance, (including must submit a Director's housing navigation and Certification by Friday,
investments. direct financial assistance). December 3, 2021, to Riverside County All four components must be receive funds. received $4.4M offered to recipients.
Applications for strategic
in noncompetitive allocation will be awarded
allocation. on a first come, first
served basis and must be
submitted by the Director's
Certification deadline of
Friday, December 3, 2021.
Interim/ Federal 100% of eligible State and local Currently, FEMA's Public Many uses are now Temporary Emergency expenses government and nonprofit Assistance Program eligible for up to 100% Housing Management agencies that meet certain Category B is reimbursing reimbursement through April Agency requirements. 100% of expenses for shelter 1, 2022, subject to FEMA (FEMA) Public and temporary housing authorizations and approval Assistance when state public health processes, including to Program authorities determine it is support the operation of Category B needed. non-congregate shelter
sites.
Eligible costs: cost of shelter
operations, staffing needed
to protect public health
and safety, food, clothing,
toiletries, and other supplies
and infrastructure.
Perming (PSH Project HK 2.0: $1.45B ities, counties, and a Acquisition and/or NOFA and application have Hotel to Housin Homekey ther state, regiona rehabilitation of motels, been released. Case Studie + RRH Additional $1.3B likely and local public entitles, hotels or other sites and from the National disbursed within the including councils off assets to be converted Final Day for Application Alliance to End next 2 years. government, metropolitan to permanent or interim Bonus Award and Homelessness housing. Geographic Pools - January (NAEH)Homekey
31,2022. 1.0 Awards
Master leasing of properties Application Period for
for non-congregate housing, Statewide Pool Opens -
Entities may apply conversion of units from February 1, 2022. independently or jointly non-residential to residential, with a nonprofit or for-profit new construction, the Final Application Due Date corporation as a Co- purchase of affordability - May 2, 2022, or until funds Applicant. covenants and restrictions are exhausted, whichever for units, relocation costs for occurs first.
individuals being displaced
as a result of this program, Award Announcements are
and capitalized operating continuous.
subsidies for units using
funds awarded under the
Homekey Round 2 NOFA for
FY 2021-22.
Permanent No Place
Housing (PSH Like Home
+RRH) Program development sponsor
(NPLH)
46 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
CATEGORY PROGRAM AVAILABLE FUNDS ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS ELIGIBLE USES TIMELINE ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
Street Encampment $47.5M CoCs, counties, and cities. irect Services and Housing HCFC released the request Request for Outreach/ Resolution ptions: street outreact for applications on October Applications (Oct Engagement Grants and engagement, housing 29, 2021. Applications 2021) and/or systems navigation, will be due to HCFC no
interim housing, and later than December 31,
permanent housing. 2021, and initial award
determinations shall be
Capacity Building: made no later than March
service coordination
1, 2022.
efforts, establishing and
strengthening cross-system
partnerships, and workforce
development, including
specialized training and
contracting with providers
of culturally specific
interventions.
outcomes for those served
and to support sustained
restoration of encampment
sites to their intended or
original state.
Affordable California $1.6B Project sponsors who Tier 1 prioritizes HCD- Eligible Uses/ Housing Housing have been awarded HCD
Accelerator funding for an affordable
housing project but were
unable to secure tax
credits.
Affordable Multifamily 45% of distribution Sponsors or their principals New construction, HCD SuperNOFA. Expected AB 434 Housing Housing to SoCal, 30% for must have successfully rehabilitation, and release Feb 2022; SuperNOFA Program rojects in NorCal, an developed at least one eservation of permane pplication closing date Ma Updates (MHP) 0% for projects affordable housing project id transitional rent June 202 rural areas. Individual, JV, partnership. housing for lower income LP, trust, corporation, LLC, households.
Local Public Entity, duly
eservation or Rancheria
ther legal entity
organized on a for-profit
including limited profit, o
ffordabl cal governme HCD SuperNOFA. Draft AB 434
lousing encies, nonpro guidelines end 2021. SuperNOFA
orporations, cooperati Updates
Grant (FWHG) using corporation cause and one units
limited partnerships where
Eligible beneficiaries of
tribes. funds are households who
derive, or prior to retirement
or disability derived, a
substantial portion of
borictural employment.
Infill $534.1M - $90M A Capital Improvement HCD SuperNOFA. Draft AB 434 Oh, to orang: mination Project must be an integral SuperNOFA guidelines end 2021.
Program Updates
date May - June 2022.
Eligible costs include the
construction, rehabilitation
demolition, relocatior
preservation, and acquisition
of infrastructure.
47 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
CATEGORY PROGRAM AVAILABLE FUNDS ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS ELIGIBLE USES TIMELINE ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
Building SDS $150M TBD Sole-source financing of Not publicly available As of Oct 2021, Capacity Supportive permanent supportive currently funding Housing 30 projects in CA.
Fund 22 projects in LA
County;
Video on one
project (from May
2021)
Building Providing $300M in one-time Homeless and Direct Care Support bridge funding for TBD Summary of new Capacity Access and funds (FY 21 - 22). Providers transitioning services from programs under Transforming Requesting federal CalAIM
Health (PATH) funding of $1.25B over
funds 5 years. the IT infrastructure of CBOs
Community Communiy $805M ounties, tribes, non-prof Acquisition, construction Listening Session Development nd for-profit entitie and rehabilitation of adult Slides Expansion and senior care facilities
Program
recipients of Social Security
individuals who are at risk
of or are experiencing
homelessness and those
who have behavioral health
conditions.
Flexible Use Homeless HHAP 3: $4.2M for CoCs, counties, and cities. Rapid rehousing, operating HHAP-3 standard Round 3 Housing, Riverside City & subsidies and reserves, agreements for initial allocations Assistance County; $1B total street outreach, services allocations (20% - 25% and coordination, systems of base funds) were
Prevention HHAP 4: $1B total
support to create regional released by the state on
(HHAP) Grant partnerships, delivery September 15, 2021. All Program of permanent housing. eligible grantees submitted innovative solutions, their SAA by the statutory
including motel/hotel deadline of October 15.
conversion, prevention HHAP 3 NOFA should be
and shelter diversion to
released soon (2021 - 22).
permanent housing, new
navigation centers and HHAP 4 funds likely
emergency shelters, with disbursed during FY 22 - 23.
requirement to demonstrate
need. For HHAP round 3
HHAP-3), at least 10% mus
e for programs servin
youth.
Flexible Use Coronavirus Riverside County Riverside County The County of Riverside Funds can be used to cover Presentation State and received $240M. nonprofits. preliminary spending plan costs incurred by December uring the Oc Local Fiscal oposes an allocatio 31, 2024. The County is 0, 2021 boa Recovery $50M to housing ar
Funds • thermit
of allocations
categone bove
Health $10M (FY 21 - 22) A NOFA is expected to b
(Physical and leased before the end c
Behavioral) & operaning oneseles 2021. interested parties Services can subscribe to
Program I hater that comes or ong with staffing an
conditions relating to providing ase serviced to
vision of services
ents and their pe
been 5000 d
$200,000
48 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
CATEGORY PROGRAM ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS ADDITIONAL
AVAILABLE FUNDS ELIGIBLE USES TIMELINE
INFORMATION
Health Enhanced CalAIM program that will Replaces Whole Person Phased in by county and Enhanced Care (Physical and Care eventually expand to all Care pilots and Health Population of Focus from Management Behavioral) & Management MediCal members in the Homes Program. January 2022 through July and In Lieu of Services (ECM) state. 2023. Goes live for Riverside Services Services: Outreach
County in Jan 2022 for
and Engagement; the following populations:
Comprehensive Assessment Individuals and Families
and Care Management Plan; Experiencing Homelessness;
Enhanced Coordination of
High Utilizer Adults; and
Care; Health Promotion;
Adults with SMI/SUD.
Comprehensive Transitional
Care; Member and
Family Supports; and
Coordination of and Referral
to Community and Social
Support Services.
Permanent Housing for $170M Permanent loans for The next NOFA for $170 2021 NOFA - Pig (PSH a Healthy acquisition, rehab, and/or million is expected to be Listening Session California new construction for existing released at end of 2021. Slides - Details (HHC) Program and new supportive housing about upcoming nonprofit entity) that is ar opportunities. Grants for NOFA Owner or Developer Capitalized Operating
Subsidy Reserves (COSRS).
Target population: people
who are chronically
homeless or homeless and a
high-cost health user.
Preservation, Portfolio $300M Provide capital to HCD NOFA Spring 2022 Approved in FY Community legacy projects about to 21 - 22 budaet:
Displacement Progrestment
go market-rate to extend likely updated on
affordability covenants this site.
and preserve the state's
affordable housing stock.
Initial target of 60 to 80
projects, including projects
with expired loans and
regulatory agreements, as
well as other projects at risk
of conversion to market-rate
over a five-year period
Prevention, In Lieu of edi-Cal Managed Car Housing Transition ILOS may be offered by Enhanced Care Diversion, Services (ILOS roviders (MCPs); MCF Navigation Services; MCPs beginning January 1, Management Recuperative Care (Medical 2022. Additional ILOS may and In Lieu of be added thereafter on a Services
six-month cadence.
Assisted Living Facilities;
Services/Nursing Facilit
ransition to a Home
Personal Care and
daptations (Home
Modifications); Medicall
Special /eteran ~$30OM per funding ICD SuperNOFA. Dra AB 434 Populations tousing and round uidelines end 202 SuperNOFA Homelessness Expected NOFA release Feb Updates
Petention 2022; application closin
date May - June 202
Program
agency or private entity
capable of entering into a
contract is eligible to apply,
49 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
CATEGORY PROGRAM AVAILABLE FUNDS ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS ELIGIBLE USES TIMELINE ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
Special CalWORKs $190M yearly for FY County Welfare Financial assistance and FY 21 - 22 NOFA released in FY 21 - 22 RFA Populations Housing 21-22 and FY 22-23 Departments. housing-related wrap- May 2021 with deadlines in Letter around supportive services June 2021.
Supram (ASP) including rental assistance
housing navigation, case
management, security
deposits, utility payments,
legal services, and credit
repair. Some funds can be
set-aside for purchasing
property.
Special Transitional $8M for Round 3 (FY County child welfare Young sals user el TBD. The deadline to submit Populations Housing 21 - 22) services agencies that Round 2 THP application Program (THP) demonstrate a need to 25 years of age secure and as November 12, 2020. provide housing for young maintain housing. rther Round 3 informati adults aged 18 to 25 year ligible uses: Identifying an has been released. ssisting housing service
helping this population
secure and maintain housing
(with priority given to those
formerly in the state's foster
care or probation system
mproving coordination c
services and linkages to
community resources within
the child welfare system and
the Homeless Continuum of
Care; outreach and targeting
to serve those with the
most-severe needs.
Special Bringing $92.5M yearly in FY Counties and tribes. 22 Financial assistance Program was expanded Information Populations Families Home | 21-22 and FY 22-23 counties and one tribe are and housing-related following FY 21 - 22 budget. on Program Program available over three wrap-around supportive Expansion years services for eligible families Announce on or anding experiencing homelessness continuing grantees is
one of them. in the child welfare system, forthcoming.
including rental assistance,
housing navigation, case
management, security
deposits, utility payments
legal services, and credit
repair.
Special CalWORKS Varies by county Counties Temporary HA, which SB 1065, passed in 2020, All County Letter Populations Homeless - combination of helps families pay the streamlines and expands Regarding Assistance Federal, State, and costs of temporary shelter; eligibility for HA. Likely Implementation Program County funds permanent HA, which helps implemented mid-late 2022. of SB 1065 families secure housing or
prevent eviction: security
deposit and last month's rent
or 2 months arrearages to
prevent eviction.
arget populatio
alWORks recipien
or CalWORKs eligible
applicants who are
or peter of homelessness
Building Y 2021 ~$2.65B was available Continuum's of Care CoC activities, including: NOFO released in Sept 2021 CoC Program Capacity Continuum for FY 2021 NOFO Quickly rehousing homeless with deadline of Nov 2021. Competition | of Care individuals, families. HUD.gov / U.S.
Competition persons fleeing domestic Department
violence(and dating
violence, sexual assault,
and stalking) and youth Development
Homeless while minimizing the trauma
Demonstration and dislocation caused by
Program homelessness; promoting
Renewal and access to and effective
Replacement utilization of mainstream
Grants programs by homeless
individuals and families;
optimizing self-sufficiency
among those experiencing
homelessness.
50 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
CATEGORY PROGRAM AVAILABLE FUNDS ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS ELIGIBLE USES TIMELINE ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
Community Riverside Riverside County Non-Profits, 501(c)(3) Highe Community Developmen Application deadline was Nov Riverside County Development County CDBG received $8M in 2020 Education Institutions CD) uses: Housing, publi 12, 2021. 2022 - 23 Program Cooperating Cities, improvements, community CDBG Awards ind other Governme facilities, public services, Application gencies/Special District planning and technical
assistance (PTA), Native
American housing and
housing-related activities, and
Colonia housing needs.
Economic Development
D) uses enterprise fund
lanning and technic
assistance (PTA), and over-
the-counter grants.
Flexible Use alifornia receive Direct Allocation: Distribute eet Outreach, Emerger Direct allocation: Substantial HUD Emergency 949M (direct formu o currently approve elter, Rapid Re-Housi Amendment/Action Plan Solutions Grants Grants Program allocation to local units of general-purpose Homelessness Prevention, Submission to HUD due Aug in CARES Act jurisdictions + state local government, knowr and Homeless Management (ESG-CV) funding to be further as Administrative Entities Information System. distributed) (Aes), or directly to the COC. State allocation: applications depending on capacity. due by October 2021.
State funding: Continuum
of Care (CoC) service area
that have at least one
jurisdiction that does not
receive ESG funds directly
from HUD.
Flexible Use Mental Health ~$2.3B annually unties - must expe Can be used to fund TBD. Counties with population Riverside County Services Act e funds for the requir homeless and housing above 200,000 have three MHSA Plan Components consistent with assistance services through years to expend funds Update the Community Services and distributed for CSS, PEl, and Supports (CSS), Prevention INN components. Counties
and Early Intervention (PEI), with less than 200,000 have Innovation (INN), and Capital five years to expend funds Facilities and Technological distributed for CSS, PEl and Needs (CF/TN) components INN components. All counties
of MHSA. have ten years to expend
funds distributed for CF/TN
and WET components.
Health Whole Person $7M annually for four ounty, a city and county Facilitates the coordination of Will be replaced by Enhanced Riverside County (Physical and Care Pilots years ealth or hospital author health, behavioral health, and Care Management (ECM) WPC Application Behavioral) & or a consortium of any of social services, as applicable, starting Jan 2022.
Services e above entities serving in a patient-centered manner unty or regic with the goals of improved
beneficiary health and
wellbeing through more
efficient and effective use of
resources.
Special Home Safe $15M from July Counties or tribes. Adult Protective Services On October 15, 2021, CDSS Latest NOFA Populations Program 2018 to June 2021. (APS) clients who are released NOFA on Oct 15, Noncompetitive 2021. These funds include
allocations. Riverside non-competitive allocations
received $3.7M for FY available to all 58 counties
21-22.
or tribes of counties andr
services agency.
$92.5M yearly for FY 21
- 22 and FY 22 - 23. ne deadline for acceptin
nds is December 3, 202
Suponie Servicensive
ase management, evictio
revention, and/or landlor
mediation.
51 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
CATEGORY ADDITIONAL
PROGRAM AVAILABLE FUNDS ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS ELIGIBLE USES TIMELINE
INFORMATION
Special Housing FY 2021: $41M Formula program (90% o Formula program: housing FY 2021 competitive program Populations Opportunities funds): MSAs with more than information, resource NOFO was announced in for People with 500,000 people and at least identification, and permanent April 2021 with an application AIDS (HOPWA) 2,000 HIV/AIDS cases and housing placement; deadline of June 2021. tates with more than 2,00 acquisition, rehabilitation, Awardees announced on IV/AIDS cases outsic conversion, lease, and repair 12/1/2021. of eligible MSAs. Awards of facilities to provide short- are contingent upon the term shelter and services;
new construction; project
or tenant-based rental
assistance, including for
Competitive program (10% shared housing; and short-
of funds): States, local term rent, mortgage, and
governments, and nonprofit utility payments.
organizations. Competitive program:
Special Projects of National
Significance (SPNS): Projects
of innovative nature or their
potential for replication.
New Long-Term Projects:
These projects provide
housing and services for
eligible persons in areas of
the nation that did not qualify
for HOPWA Formula Program
allocations.
COLLABORATING AGENCIES/DEPARTMENTS
A number of the Action Areas and their associated strategies require developing and/or deepening partnerships with agencies and partners in both the homeless and the homeless serving sectors. The table below shows groups with which the Continuum of Care and its administrative support systems should work to cultivate relationships.
AGENCY/DEPARTMENT AREAS OF PARTNERSHIP
TAY support, family support, homeless prevention, early
CHILD WELFARE SERVICES
identification, and resolution.
CalAIM coordination and healthcare for those
CORONA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
experiencing homelessness.
CalAIM coordination and healthcare for those
DESERT HEALTHCARE DISTRICT
experiencing homelessness.
Assistance with supplying food, clothing, and toiletries.
FAITH BASED ORGANIZATIONS Emergency shelters, safe parking, and construction of affordable housing on church properties.
LAW ENFORCEMENT (SHERIFF, CITY POLICE DEPARTMENTS, Outreach, encampment resolution, discharge planning, PROBATION, PAROLE, JAIL, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, jail in reach, early identification, and resolution.
PUBLIC DEFENDER)
REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF GOVERNMENT Coordination and integration of services.
Jointly develop strategies to support pet friendly solutions
RIVERSIDE COUNTY ANIMAL SERVICES
for persons experiencing homelessness.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH Outreach and behavioral health services and support.
Work to proactively address encampments in a
RIVERSIDE COUNTY CODE ENFORCEMENT
coordinated manner.
Work to proactively address encampments in a
RIVERSIDE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY SERVICES
coordinated manner.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Jointly develop strategies to increase the overall economic stability of the ELl population in the county. 52 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
AGENCY/DEPARTMENT AREAS OF PARTNERSHIP
Early identification of and support for children and
families at risk of and/or experiencing homelessness.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION
Establish/enhance year-round breakfast and lunch
programs.
Early identification of and support for older adults at risk
RIVERSIDE COUNTY OFFICE ON AGING
of and/or experiencing homelessness
Work to proactively address encampments in a
RIVERSIDE COUNTY PARK AND OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
coordinated manner.
Work to identify opportunities to develop more housing
RIVERSIDE COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT affordable to everyone and to increase the production of Permanent Supportive Housing.
Jointly develop strategies to enhance training programs
RIVERSIDE COUNTY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD
for persons experiencing homelessness.
Work to proactively address encampments in a
RIVERSIDE FLOOD CONTROL
coordinated manner.
RIVERSIDE UNIVERSITY PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM alAIM coordination and healthcare for thos xperiencing homelessnes
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VETERANS Funding and services for veterans experiencing SERVICES OFFICE homelessness and their families.
PARTNER CITIES IN COUNTY OF
RIVERSIDE CONTINUUM OF CARE
City of Banning City of Hemet City of Murrieta
City of Beaumont City of Indian Wells City of Norco
City of Blythe City of Indio City of Palm Desert
City of Calimesa City of Jurupa Valley City of Palm Springs City of Canyon Lake City of Indio City of Perris
City of Cathedral City City of Jurupa Valley City of Rancho Mirage City of Coachella City of Lake Elsinore City of Riverside City of Corona City of La Quinta City of San Jacinto
City of Desert Hot Springs City of Menifee City of Temecula City of Eastvale City of Moreno Valley City of Wildomar 53 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
SAMHSA: Substance Abuse
GLOSSARY
& Mental Health Services
AHAR: Annual Homeless Administration
Assessment Report SH: Supportive Housing
APR: Annual Performance Report SMI: Severe Mental Illness (for HUD homeless programs)
SNAPS: Office of Special Needs
CALAIM: California Advancing and Assistance Program (HUD office Innovating Medi-Cal overseeing CoC)
CDBG: Community Development SO: Street Outreach
Block Grant (CPD program - federal)
SOAR: SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access,
CES: Coordinated Entry System and Recovery (SSI/SSDI Application CSBG: Community Services Block program)
Grant SRO: Single-Room Occupancy
COC: Continuum of Care housing units
CPD: Community Planning and SSA: Social Security Administration Development (HUD Office) SSDI: Social Security Disability ES: Emergency Shelter Income
ESG: Emergency Solutions Grant SSI: Supplemental Security Income (CPD - federal program) SUD: Substance Use Disorder
FMR: Fair Market Rent (maximum TA: Technical Assistance rent for Section 8 rental assistance/
TANF: Temporary Assistance to
CoC grants)
Needy Families
GR: General Relief
TAY: Transition Age Youth (usually
HCD: Housing and Community ages 16-24)
Development (State office)
TH: Transitional Housing
HEARTH: Homeless Emergency
VA: Veterans Affairs (U.S.
and Rapid Transition to Housing
Department of
(HEARTH) Act of 2009
VASH: Veterans Affairs Supportive
HIC: Housing Inventory Count
Housing
HMIS: Homeless Management
VI-SPDT: Vulnerability Index and
Information System
Service Prioritization Decision
HOME: Home Investment Assistance Tool
Partnerships (CPD program)
HOPWA: Housing Opportunities for
Persons with AIDS (CPD program)
HUD: U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (federal)
MHSA: Mental Health Services Act
NOFA: Notice of Funding Availability
PHA: Public Housing Authority
PIT COUNT: Point in Time Count
PH: Permanent Housing
PSH: Permanent Supportive Housing
RHNA: Regional Housing Needs
Assessment
RRH: Rapid Rehousing
54 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
EXHIBIT A: TABULATED RIVERSIDE
COUNTY HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Instill shared values into CoC culture and work • Number of new positions created • Total number of people • Invest in strategies and to increase CoC participation in response to Homeless Action successfully exiting to housing programs that support the • Gain deeper insight into CoC performance and Plan, especially around cross- each month/year exceeds the Homeless Strategic Action Plan, adopt a continuous improvement framework sector alignment, and partnership. people entering homelessness emphasizing the expansion of through the use of data Riverside County CoC Policy each month/year. system coordination, housing Agenda. 100% of the programs/services resources, outreach, navigation, • Develop system for monitoring progress of
adhere to CES Policies and and supportive services
Homeless Action Plan and other actions of the • Number of new opportunities Procedures. and provider, city, regional
CoC generated through private and government, and system • Continue to streamline the CoC structure & philanthropic funding. 100% of programs/services are capacity
committees in alignment with goals outlined in integrated within CES and HMIS. • Invest in programs that
this Homeless Action Plan • 50% reduction in the length of stay (SO, ES, SH, TH). demonstrate ongoing, long-term,
• Leverage political will of regional stakeholders or sustainable data-informed over the adoption of priorities and goals System Performance Measures results that are consistent with outlined in this Homeless Action Plan are reflected in public facing benchmarks established in the • Develop internal operational capacity to support dashboards. Homeless Strategic Action Plan the influx of new spending related activities like • 100% of data reports, • Utilizing a data-driven approach RFP responses, HUD technical assistance, etc. dashboards, etc. have data (HMIS, annual Point-In-Time Lead cross-sector initiatives around data-sharing disaggregated demographically Count, System Performance and discharge planning • Disparities of Black, Indigenous Measures, and CES By-Name • Lead system mapping and regional coordination and People of Color (BIPOC) List), invest in programs experiencing homelessness addressing significant service • Spearhead the initiative to transform the gaps and priority needs are reduced across all program
county's data capacity types. by targeting high-need
• Lead in the development of new funding communities, under-served or • Riverside County CoC has
opportunities with private, philanthropic, and increased the number of active hard to-serve geographic areas, public sources, including cross-sector braiding or special subpopulations, such partnerships with cross-sector/
of funding with housing/ homeless system as the chronically homeless, mainstream systems.
resources individuals with mental illness
• 100% of identified cross-sector/ and substance use disorders, ACTION AREA 1: STRENGTHEN SYSTEM TO BETTER PREVENT & END HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 1: STRENGTHEN LEADERSHIP & DEPARTMENTAL CAPACITY • Develop Riverside County CoC Policy Agenda mainstream systems uuize older adults/seniors, and
to address items like tenant protections,
developed homeless tracking Transitional Age Youth (TAY) decriminalization, etc.
metrics and processes.
• Refine and develop program specific guidance, • Strengthen equity-focused • Riverside County CoC has an strategies, programs, and policies, procedures, and trainings to develop effective provider training, capacity regionally partnerships that reduce
learning collaborative, provider racial disparities, support • Support the enhancement/ development of sub- forum schedule in place to equitable access to services regional infrastructure, specifically in subregions develop service provider and resources, and produce without developed infrastructure, to implement capacity regionally. equitable outcomes and Homeless Action Plan strategies • Riverside County CoC has communities • Engage cities and tribal lands to implement adopted Policy Agenda. • Advance client-centered goals outlined in the Homeless Action Plan Riverside County CoC tracks strategies, programs, and client program satisfaction partnerships that are informed results and uses them to inform by people with lived experience decision making. of homelessness and provide
legitimate feedback mechanisms
Increases in Riverside County
CoC staff that have lived for clients experiencing
homelessness
experience and/or are Black,
Indigenous and People of Color • Support strategies to address (BIPOC). regional inequities in homeless
• 100% of awarded projects response infrastructure,
address racial equity disparities approaches, and service delivery capacity. These include
• 100% of CoC staff and service adopting and implementing providers are trained in cultural regional planning, coordination, humility, trauma-informed care, decision-making, data-sharing, and anti-racist trainings and accountability measures
Riverside County CoC
Framework implemented to
right-size system flow
55 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Increase the use of HMIS data for evaluating Number of System Performance • Total number of people • Invest in strategies and and reporting on program and system outcomes Measures/goals of Homeless successfully exiting to housing programs that support the • Expand system and program level reporting to Action Plan reflected in public each month/year exceeds the Homeless Strategic Action Plan, inform funding and policy decisions facing dashboards. people entering homelessness emphasizing the expansion of •Number of programs with each month/year. system coordination, housing • Ensure that all contracts that fund services to
demographic data disaggregated • 100% of the programs/services resources, outreach, navigation. address homelessness require participation and supportive services in HMIS protocol, trainings, monitoring, and in public facing dashboards. adhere to CES Policies and Procedures. and provider, city, regional
procedures Real time shelter and housing unit
government, and system
• Expand services and programs in HIS so that inventory reflected in public facing | • 100% of programs/services are capacity dashboards. integrated within CES and HMIS.
HMIS is the main repository for all programs • Invest in programs that addressing homelessness Percentage of programs/services • 50% reduction in the length of Create public-facing dashboards based on the integrated within CES and HMIS. stay (SO, ES, SH, TH). or sustainable data-informed goals outlined in the Homeless Action Plan and • System Performance Measures System Performance Measures are reflected in public facing STRATEGY 2: IMPROVE COUNTY'S ABILITY TO TRACK. LEVERAGE, & MANAGE DATA Use data to assess the intersectionality of race, dashboards. ethnicity, disability, gender, and age within the • 100% of data reports, • Utilizing a data-driven approach homeless response system across program dashboards, etc. have data types to ensure equitable access and delivery of disaggregated demographically Count, System Performance services for overrepresented groups • Disparities of Black, Indigenous • Refine mechanisms for improving HMIS data and People of Color (BIPOC) entry and data quality, especially for front-line experiencing homelessness staff at shelters, day centers, and access centers are reduced across all program where client turnover creates challenges for types.
data quality • Riverside County CoC has
Develop mechanisms to track real-time increased the number of active hard to-serve geographic areas, availability of shelter and housing units within partnerships with cross-sector/ the system mainstream systems.
• Develop reporting structure to report on key • 100% of identified cross-sector/ data indicators at sub-regional and city specific mainstream systems utilize level developed homeless tracking
metrics and processes.
• Reducing Inflow: Root Causes and Total number of people entering Riverside County CoC has an strategies, programs, and
Homelessness Prevention homeless each month.
effective provider training,
• Curtailing the inflows into the homeless Total number of people exiting to learning collaborative, provider response system will require addressing the housing each month. forum schedule in place to root causes of homelessness and preventing Total active people experiencing develop service provider new individuals, families, or communities homelessness each month. capacity regionally. from falling into homelessness. Upstreaming Riverside County CoC has solutions by developing equity-centered, Allocation of Riverside County CoC Awards reflecting units of adopted Policy Agenda. • Advance client-centered regional, and cross-sector collaboration that
focuses on preventing people from becoming "Reducing Inflow", "Increasing Riverside County CoC tracks strategies, programs, and Outflow", and "Supporting Interim client program satisfaction partnerships that are informed homeless through homelessness prevention Solutions".
programs, preservation of vulnerable housing results and uses them to inform by people with lived experience and communities, tenant protections, and the decision making. of homelessness and provide ACTION AREA 1: STRENGTHEN SYSTEM TO BETTER PREVENT & END HOMELESSNESS production of affordable housing, all of which • Increases in Riverside County legitimate feedback mechanisms STRATEGY 3: IMPLEMENT PRIORITIZATION FRAMEWORK TO ADDRESS SYSTEM FLOW will begin to address the system flow. CoC staff that have lived for clients experiencing experience and/or are Black, homelessness
Increasing Outflow: Housing Solutions and
Supportive Services Indigenous and People of Color • Support strategies to address • Housing solutions with corresponding (BIPOC). regional inequities in homeless response infrastructure,
supportive services rooted in Housing First, like 100% of awarded projects address racial equity disparities approaches, and service supportive housing, rapid rehousing, and other delivery capacity. These include flexible housing subsidies and supports are • 100% of CoC staff and service adopting and implementing necessary tools to end homelessness. providers are trained in cultural regional planning, coordination. • Supporting Interim Solutions: Interim and humility, trauma-informed care, decision-making, data-sharing, Emergency Options and anti-racist trainings and accountability measures • Supporting the needs of unsheltered Riverside County CoC people experiencing homelessness will be a Framework implemented to critical component to humanely addressing right-size system flow homelessness.
Map out the number of units/interventions • Allocation of Riverside County needed for each component of prioritization CoC Awards reflecting units of • Establish how to quantify and evaluate provider "Reducing Inflow", "Increasing Outflow", and "Supporting Interim
performance
Solutions".
• Identify gaps in regional deficiencies across the
• Number of new opportunities
system
generated through private and
• Provide technical assistance and training philanthropic funding. opportunities and adapt program guidelines and
guidance
Expand partnerships with corporations,
philanthropic institutions, and individual donors
to secure private funding to reduce and prevent
homelessness
STRATEGY 4: UTILIZE FUNDING PRINCIPLES INFORMED BY THE PRIORITIZATION FRAMEWORK, PROVIDER, CITY, & REGIONAL GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE, & REGIONAL DEFICIENCIES & NEEDS 56 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Evaluate and refine current system functionality. • Number days between referral • Total number of people • Invest in strategies and including access, assessment, prioritization, and and contact. successfully exiting to housing programs that support the matching/referrals to ensure that the system is • Length of stay in shelter or street. each month/year exceeds the Homeless Strategic Action Plan, connecting the highest need, most vulnerable people entering homelessness emphasizing the expansion of persons in the community to available housing • Functionality of Coordinated Entry each month/year. system coordination, housing System.
and supportive services equitably • 100% of the programs/services resources, outreach, navigation. • Conduct an analysis of the VI-SPDAT, • Effectiveness of access, adhere to CES Policies and and supportive services highlighting areas of concern around equity. assessment, prioritization, and Procedures. and provider, city, regional matching/referrals. government, and system
such as racial identity, gender identity, sexual • 100% of programs/services are orientation, etc., and identify whether it is the • Number of programs/services capacity integrated within CES and HMIS.
correct assessment tool for Riverside County adhering to Riverside County. • Invest in programs that • 50% reduction in the length of
CoC demonstrate ongoing, long-term,
stay (SO, ES, SH, TH). or sustainable data-informed
• Evaluate, refine, and implement standardized
• System Performance Measures results that are consistent with Riverside County CoC CES Policies and
Procedures are reflected in public facing benchmarks established in the STRATEGY 5: STRENGTHEN COORDINATED ACCESS dashboards.
Homeless Strategic Action Plan
• Increase housing and program resources
connected to CES by targeting and bringing • 100% of data reports, • Utilizing a data-driven approach onboard programs and services currently dashboards, etc. have data (HMIS, annual Point-In-Time operating outside of CES and HMIS disaggregated demographically Count, System Performance • Disparities of Black, Indigenous Measures, and CES By-Name • Systematize CES reporting, accountability, List), invest in programs and People of Color (BIPOC)
and evaluation, and align with the Homeless addressing significant service Management Information System (HMIS) experiencing homelessness are reduced across all program gaps and priority needs
Integrate cross-departmental referrals into types. by targeting high-need intake processes, like standardized employment communities, under-served or readiness assessments that leads to appropriate • Riverside County CoC has hard to-serve geographic areas, linkages with employment services or increased the number of active or special subpopulations, such
departments partnerships with cross-sector/
as the chronically homeless,
mainstream systems. individuals with mental illness
• Integrate case conferencing component within
• 100% of identified cross-sector/ and substance use disorders, CES
mainstream systems utilize older adults/seniors, and
• Support service provider expansion to CoC CES Policies and Procedures. developed homeless tracking Transitional Age Youth (TAY) strengthen regional deficiencies Percentage of programs/services metrics and processes. • Strengthen equity-focused
• Develop/Refine CoC community standards/ integrated within CES and HMIS. Riverside County CoC has an strategies, programs, and program guidelines for all program types • Number of/participation trainings. effective provider training, partnerships that reduce • Enhance reporting and monitoring procedures leaming collaboratives, provider learning collaborative, provider racial disparities, support forums provided. forum schedule in place to equitable access to services to track and support provider performance
develop service provider and resources, and produce
• Develop training strategies to improve provider, • Program staffing/Caseload ratio capacity regionally. equitable outcomes and
city, and regional government's capacity. per program,
• Riverside County CoC has communities
• Identify training requirements and required • Increase provider, city, and ACTION AREA 1: STRENGTHEN SYSTEM TO BETTER PREVENT & END HOMELESSNESS adopted Policy Agenda. • Advance client-centered competencies. regional government capacity.
Riverside County CoC tracks strategies, programs, and
Training strategies include but are not limited to: client program satisfaction partnerships that are informed Explicit emphasis on racial equity and cultural results and uses them to inform by people with lived experience humility decision making. of homelessness and provide
• Increases in Riverside County legitimate feedback mechanisms • Workshops to identify common errors and
mistakes on CoC Grant Applications CoC staff that have lived for clients experiencing experience and/or are Black, homelessness
Workshops to identify common errors and
Indigenous and People of Color Support strategies to address mistakes in performance reports and payment
(BIPOC). regional inequities in homeless
requests
response infrastructure,
• Presentations before City Councils on best 100% of awarded projects address racial equity disparities approaches, and service practices, good neighbor strategies, and delivery capacity. These include leveraging city resources with CoC resources • 100% of CoC staff and service adopting and implementing • Developing provider, city, and regional providers are trained in cultural regional planning, coordination. government partnerships to fill gaps, enhance humility, trauma-informed care, decision-making, data-sharing, STRATEGY 6: ENHANCE PROVIDER, CITY & REGIONAL GOVERNMENT'S CAPACITY & SYSTEM INFRASTRUCTURE and anti-racist trainings services, and collaborate on grant opportunities and accountability measures • Increase the capacity of providers to implement Riverside County CoC tailored services, utilizing progressive Framework implemented to engagement and Housing First practices that right-size system flow are flexible and responsive to the needs and
priorities of individuals.
• Ensure support for culture shift for providers
• Strenathen provider tables/forums and create
learning collaboratives for more frequent
capacity building opportunities
• Promote hiring and retention practices to further
diversify system staff at all levels to better
reflect populations served.
Track results of hiring practices to ensure
diversity and inclusion are expanded.
Encourage organizations to ensure that diverse
staff are not limited to entry-level positions
but can access the full range of organizational
leadership positions
• Improve investments in workforce development
for positions who provide direct homeless
services by partnering with universities and
community colleges to increase the scale and
quality of homeless service workers
57 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Facilitate working groups around cross-sector/ • Number of mainstream/cross- • Total number of people • Invest in strategies and departmental/multi-jurisdictional collaboration sector systems with data sharing successfully exiting to housing programs that support the • Ensure that each sub-region in Riverside County agreements or integrations with each month/year exceeds the Homeless Strategic Action Plan, has an effective regular meeting structure homeless response system. people entering homelessness emphasizing the expansion of around issues related to homelessness aligned • Number of mainstream/cross- each month/year. system coordination, housing with the Riverside County CoC sector systems utilizing developed | • 100% of the programs/services resources, outreach, navigation. homeless tracking metrics. adhere to CES Policies and and supportive services • Implement unified approach for tracking and provider, city, regional homelessness across mainstream, cross- • Number of new positions created Procedures. government, and system
sector systems that touch or serve a large in response to Homeless Action • 100% of programs/services are capacity
proportion of homeless residents and identify Plan, especially around cross- integrated within CES and HMIS. ways to "flag" homelessness and respond to sector alignment, and partnership. • 50% reduction in the length of "flags" in departmental data systems by rapidly Number of active cross-sector stay (SO, ES, SH, TH). connecting clients to housing and supportive or regional working groups/ • System Performance Measures
services
partnerships. are reflected in public facing
Identify the feasibility, costs, and legality of dashboards. integrating and sharing data across disparate
systems like healthcare, behavioral/mental • 100% of data reports, health, substance use disorder, criminal justice, dashboards, etc. have data child welfare, juvenile justice, education, disaggregated demographically immigration, employment, land use, and code • Disparities of Black, Indigenous enforcement and People of Color (BIPOC)
Develop plans to address the feasibility, costs, experiencing homelessness and legality of integrating and sharing data are reduced across all program types.
across systems towards a central data lake
that could spur new opportunities in machine • Riverside County CoC has learning and client ownership of data increased the number of active Develop standardized screening tools and partnerships with cross-sector/ related protocols for identifying needs across mainstream systems. systems and connecting individuals to the right • 100% of identified cross-sector/ ACTION AREA 1: STRENGTHEN SYSTEM TO BETTER PREVENT & END HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 7: SUPPORT REGIONAL, CROSS-SECTOR ALIGNMENT & PARTNERSHIP community-based services mainstream systems utilize
• Align strategic planning efforts, task force developed homeless tracking metrics and processes.
initiatives and planning committees across all
system partners, including all counties, cities, Riverside County CoC has an faith communities, philanthropic and business effective provider training, sectors learning collaborative, provider
• Identify internal staff responsible for cross- forum schedule in place to develop service provider
sector data sharing
capacity regionally.
• Investigate ways to improve client care
coordination through multidisciplinary teams • Riverside County CoC has that include the healthcare, mental, and adopted Policy Agenda. behavioral health sectors Riverside County CoC tracks
• Strengthen partnerships with the state to client program satisfaction results and uses them to inform
increase access to healthcare and supportive
services. decision making.
• Improve data sharing across providers, cities, • Increases in Riverside County CoC staff that have lived
regional governments, and systems to facilitate
experience and/or are Black,
continuity of care and integrated service
Indigenous and People of Color
delivery (BIPOC).
• 100% of awarded projects
address racial equity disparities
• 100% of CoC staff and service
providers are trained in cultural
humility, trauma-informed care,
and anti-racist trainings
Riverside County CoC
Framework implemented to
right-size system flow
58 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Provide regular, coordinated public Riverside County CoC Policy • Total number of people • Invest in strategies and communication to inform the public about Agenda. successfully exiting to housing programs that support the actions underway, results achieved, and ways to Effectiveness of PR/ each month/year exceeds the Homeless Strategic Action Plan, support those efforts Communication Campaign. people entering homelessness emphasizing the expansion of • Prepare public-facing educational materials each month/year. system coordination, housing and articles based on data and information to • 100% of the programs/services resources, outreach, navigation. educate the public on challenges and activities, adhere to CES Policies and and supportive services and to provide updates on the implementation Procedures. and provider, city, regional of programs and resources government, and system
• 100% of programs/services are capacity
• Create public facing dashboards around integrated within CES and HMIS. performance toward achieving adopted goals • Invest in programs that • 50% reduction in the length of demonstrate ongoing, long-term, • Designate a CoC spokesperson/PR stay (SO, ES, SH, TH). or sustainable data-informed representative to manage CoC communication • System Performance Measures results that are consistent with • Expand public and private sector support for are reflected in public facing benchmarks established in the ending and preventing homelessness through dashboards. Homeless Strategic Action Plan increased community engagement. • 100% of data reports, • Utilizing a data-driven approach • Create a business leaders task force to establish dashboards, etc. have data (HMIS, annual Point-In-Time goals and strategies for the business community disaggregated demographically Count, System Performance to support the strategic plan. • Disparities of Black, Indigenous Measures, and CES By-Name • Areas of focus for the task force could include and People of Color (BIPOC) List), invest in programs fundraising, advocacy, job creation, and housing experiencing homelessness addressing significant service access are reduced across all program gaps and priority needs types. by targeting high-need
• Create a countywide education/PR campaign/
communities, under-served or
STRATEGY 8: REFINE COMMUNICATIONS EFFORTS AROUND HOMELESSNESS IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY communication strategy that increases • Riverside County CoC has hard to-serve geographic areas, awareness about the causes and impacts of increased the number of active or special subpopulations, such
homelessness, the ongoing efforts to end partnerships with cross-sector/ as the chronically homeless,
homelessness, and addressing NIMBYism mainstream systems. individuals with mental illness concerns • 100% of identified cross-sector/
and substance use disorders,
• As a part of a communications strategy, invest mainstream systems utilize older adults/seniors, and in a client facing component that targets those developed homeless tracking Transitional Age Youth (TAY) experiencing or at-risk of homelessness through metrics and processes. robust multi-media strategies to make access to • Strengthen equity-focused Riverside County CoC has an strategies, programs, and
services intuitive and radically accessible effective provider training, partnerships that reduce
• Develop opportunities to include the voices of learning collaborative, provider racial disparities, support those with lived experience forum schedule in place to equitable access to services • Provide opportunities for action and compassion develop service provider and resources, and produce among all residents, housed and homeless, capacity regionally. equitable outcomes and through advocacy, volunteerism, donations, and • Riverside County CoC has communities adopted Policy Agenda. • Advance client-centered
• Increase community engagement and Riverside County CoC tracks strategies, programs, and support for affordable and supportive housing client program satisfaction partnerships that are informed ACTION AREA 1: STRENGTHEN SYSTEM TO BETTER PREVENT & END HOMELESSNESS development throughout Riverside County results and uses them to inform by people with lived experience decision making. of homelessness and provide
Increase the visibility and expand the efforts
of successful initiatives that engage faith • Increases in Riverside County legitimate feedback mechanisms institutions and individual congregants; CoC staff that have lived for clients experiencing experience and/or are Black, homelessness
initiatives could include advocacy, recruitment
of landlords, and hosting of day centers, meals, Indigenous and People of Color • Support strategies to address shelter, and encampments (BIPOC). regional inequities in homeless response infrastructure,
• Develop processes and technology for clients to Client program satisfaction results. 100% of awarded projects address racial equity disparities approaches, and service provide feedback on services, with mechanisms delivery capacity. These include to apply feedback data toward service delivery 100% of CoC staff and service adopting and implementing and process improvement providers are trained in cultural regional planning, coordination. • Continue to develop a system where client humility, trauma-informed care, decision-making, data-sharing, and anti-racist trainings and accountability measures
choice is paramount
Riverside County CoC
• Ensure that new and existing programs develop Framework implemented to within this new framework
right-size system flow
STRATEGY 9: EXPAND ACCOUNTABILITY TO CLIENTS • When developing cross-sector data sharing, center the efforts on the benefits to the
client experience for people experiencing
homelessness
• Work with data team to continue to adopt client-
connie orie
• Provide technical assistance and training
opportunities, and adapt program guidelines
and quidance
• Actively develop opportunities for persons • Percentage of CoC and service with lived experience to participate in the provider staff with Black, development and implementation of regional Indigenous and People of Color and sub-regional plans and people with Lived Experience • Expand the hiring of people with lived
experience in regular staff positions (not just
peer support roles), and promote leadership
development for people with lived experience
STRATEGY 10: DEVELOP LIVED EXPERIENCE KNOWLEDGE, LEADERSHIP, & DECISION-MAKING • Develop peer certification trainings to prepare individuals for peer support positions in the
homeless service system
• Encourage service providers to modify
requirements for specific positions to allow
the substitution of lived experience in place of
education or work experience
• Explore the benefit and feasibility of creating a
Lived Experience Advisory Board
59 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Embed a racial equity lens into all homelessness •Number of programs with • Total number of people • Invest in strategies and and housing decisions demographic data disaggregated successfully exiting to housing programs that support the • Develop a racial equity impact assessment that in public facing dashboards. each month/year exceeds the Homeless Strategic Action Plan, will forecast and assess the impacts of new • Percentage of CoC and service people entering homelessness emphasizing the expansion of programs and funding decisions provider staff with Black, each month/year. system coordination, housing Indigenous and People of Color • 100% of the programs/services resources, outreach, navigation. • Incorporate a focus on racial equity data, and supportive services analysis, and planned activities when submitting and people with Lived Experience. adhere to CES Policies and Procedures. and provider, city, regional
and reviewing applications for funding • Number of awarded programs/ government, and system • Utilize HMIS to analyze data and create public- projects that address racial equity. • 100% of programs/services are capacity facing dashboards around racial inequities in • Number of Riverside County integrated within CES and HMIS. • Invest in programs that
experiences of homelessness, provision of CoC Policy and Procedures that 50% reduction in the length of demonstrate ongoing, long-term, services, and outcomes address racial equity. stay (SO, ES, SH, TH). or sustainable data-informed • Analyze whether housing outcomes and • System Performance Measures results that are consistent with placements perpetuate residential segregation are reflected in public facing benchmarks established in the • Adapt program guidelines, policies, procedures dashboards. Homeless Strategic Action Plan focused on racial guity • 100% of data reports, • Utilizing a data-driven approach • Incorporate a focus on racial equity data, dashboards, etc. have data (HMIS, annual Point-In-Time analysis, and planned activities within disaggregated demographically Count, System Performance applications for CoC funded projects and • Disparities of Black, Indigenous Measures, and CES By-Name analyze the data and information gathered in and People of Color (BIPOC) List), invest in programs response experiencing homelessness addressing significant service are reduced across all program gaps and priority needs
• Create a plan to move forward on racial equity
types. by targeting high-need
work that will include system and programmatic
communities, under-served or
actions • Riverside County CoC has
increased the number of active hard to-serve geographic areas, Institute standardized cultural humility, trauma or special subpopulations, such informed care, and anti-racist trainings for CoC partnerships with cross-sector/ as the chronically homeless,
programs and system partners mainstream systems. individuals with mental illness • Align racial equity work in the homelessness • 100% of identified cross-sector/ and substance use disorders, ACTION AREA 1: STRENGTHEN SYSTEM TO BETTER PREVENT & END HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 11: CENTER RACE EQUITY IN HOMELESS RESPONSE mainstream systems utilize sector with other racial equity initiatives in older adults/seniors, and Riverside County developed homeless tracking Transitional Age Youth (TAY) metrics and processes.
• Strengthen equity-focused
Riverside County CoC has an strategies, programs, and
effective provider training, partnerships that reduce
learning collaborative, provider racial disparities, support forum schedule in place to equitable access to services develop service provider and resources, and produce
capacity regionally. equitable outcomes and
• Riverside County CoC has communities
adopted Policy Agenda. • Advance client-centered
Riverside County CoC tracks strategies, programs, and
client program satisfaction partnerships that are informed results and uses them to inform by people with lived experience decision making. of homelessness and provide
• Increases in Riverside County legitimate feedback mechanisms CoC staff that have lived for clients experiencing
experience and/or are Black, homelessness
Indigenous and People of Color • Support strategies to address (BIPOC). regional inequities in homeless
response infrastructure,
• 100% of awarded projects
address racial equity disparities approaches, and service delivery capacity. These include
• 100% of CoC staff and service adopting and implementing providers are trained in cultural regional planning, coordination. humility, trauma-informed care, decision-making, data-sharing, and anti-racist trainings and accountability measures
Riverside County CoC
Framework implemented to
right-size system flow
60 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Create CoC Homeless Street Outreach • Number of people experiencing • 50% reduction in the number • Invest in multi-agency, multi- Protocol with regional stakeholder that include unsheltered homelessness at a of people experiencing jurisdictional solutions to the standardization of outreach practices, point in time and month to month, unsheltered homelessness address the health, safety, schedules, and engagement strategies and including key subpopulations. at a point in time and month and housing needs of people corresponding training across all outreach • Length of time a person remains to month, including key experiencing unsheltered efforts homeless (street and shelter). subpopulations across all homelessness and staying in • Establish outreach coordination infrastructure in regions. encampments.
Successful placement from Street
each sub-region Outreach. 50% reduction in the length of • Participate in the development • Leverage person-centered, housing-focused stay (SO, ES, SH, TH). of CalAIM initiatives that seek • Number of permanent housing to extend a whole person care case management with enhanced training in placements from Street Outreach. • 50% increase in successful evidence based best practices (e.g., trauma- housing placement from street approach through the Enhanced informed care, critical time intervention, Number of successful contacts outreach. Care Management and In Lieu motivational interviewing, and housing first with people experiencing of Services to serve people unsheltered homelessness. • 25% reduction in the
strategies) for service delivery experiencing unsheltered number of emergency calls,
Number of people entering into homelessness.
Develop encampment management and citations, arrests made by law resolution policies chronic homelessness.
enforcement for homeless
Increase access and safety for all to basic Geographic distribution of related disturbances. hygiene resources, such as bathrooms, people experiencing unsheltered • 75% reduction in the number showers, and laundry, that accommodate their homelessness (including of people experiencing sell-identified race, gender identity, gender encampments). unsheltered homelessness expression, etc. Geographic distribution and make- discharged from institutions or Increase the number of free public up of homeless street outreach re-entering from the homeless transportation options for people who are teams/programs. response system. unhoused to access services • Resources are uniformly
ACTION AREA 2: EQUITABLY ADDRESS THE HEALTH, SAFETY, & SERVICES NEEDS OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 12: INCREASE REGIONAL CAPACITY OF HOMELESS STREET OUTREACH Expand the number of outreach teams and accessible across Riverside staff to ensure appropriate coverage to all County regardless of sub-region sub-regions throughout the county, with specific or client demographics, reflected in CES access data.
empnasis on under-resourced communities
• Further develop data initiatives to better track, • 50% increase in successful target, and ensure comprehensive, efficient, and street outcomes. effective delivery of outreach and permanent • Riverside County CoC has housing assistance for people experiencing adopted Homeless Street Outreach Protocol, including
Connect unsheltered individuals directly with First Responder Training and rental assistance with the understanding Encampment Management. that shelter or transitional housing is not a
requirement tor unsnettered individuals working
with outreach teams to qualify for rental
assistance
Develop programs that support frequent users
of public systems, including hospitals, jails or
orisons, and shelters, and provide unem wit
supportive housing, significantly reducing
returns to the streets
• Develop systems for mental health professionals
to intervene in place or law entorcement
• Identify technological strategies to enhance
street outreach coordination
61 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Identify strategies to improve ongoing Length of time a person remains • 50% reduction in the number • Invest in multi-agency, multi- connectivity for clients referred for mental homeless (street and shelter). of people experiencing jurisdictional solutions to health services and/or substance use services unsheltered homelessness address the health, safety, • Support communities in implementing multi- at a point in time and month and housing needs of people agency, multi-jurisdictional outreach and to month, including key experiencing unsheltered protective measures addressing the health subpopulations across all homelessness and staying in and safety needs of people experiencing regions. encampments. unsheltered homelessness • 50% reduction in the length of • Participate in the development • Increase the number of mobile crisis teams with stay (SO, ES, SH, TH). of CalAIM initiatives that seek clinical staff and expand their hours to support • 50% increase in successful to extend a whole person care individuals experiencing severe mental health housing placement from street approach through the Enhanced and substance use crises outreach. Care Management and In Lieu of Services to serve people
• Increase the number of beds available for • 25% reduction in the experiencing unsheltered
substance use treatment and provide the number of emergency calls, homelessness.
follow-up supportive services needed to prevent citations, arrests made by law relapses enforcement for homeless
Increase access to mental health treatment for related disturbances. people who are unhoused and struggling with • 75% reduction in the number mental illness of people experiencing
• Develop a plan to eliminate service access unsheltered homelessness and treatment gaps for unsheltered people discharged from institutions or struggling with chronic and severe mental re-entering from the homeless illness response system.
Improve health access for people experiencing • Resources are uniformly STRATEGY 13: SUPPORT THE HEALTH OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS THROUGH CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL/CROSS-SECTOR SUPPORTS unsheltered homelessness, including accessible across Riverside through CalAIM services like Enhanced Care County regardless of sub-region Management and In Lieu of Services or client demographics, reflected in CES access data.
Develop new, and enhance existing.
partnerships between behavioral health • 50% increase in successful and social service providers, neighborhood street outcomes. associations, cities, and regional governments, • Riverside County CoC has Including law enforcement and other first adopted Homeless Street responders. Outreach Protocol, including
Engage partners in proactive strategies that link First Responder Training and individuals who are homeless with housing and Encampment Management. services with the additional goal of reducing
criminal justice system involvement
Ensure adequate resources are available for
proactive and consistent outreach efforts
ACTION AREA 2: EQUITABLY ADDRESS THE HEALTH, SAFETY, & SERVICES NEEDS OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS • Develop multi-disciplinary teams that include
homeless street outreach, mental health
services, etc.
• Ensure people living outside have adequate
access to basic needs
• Engage regional stakeholders to ensure
appropriate responses to persons living in
vehicles and to ensure adequate safe zones
for people to park and receive services while
working towards housing
• Refine hybridized "No Wrong Door Approach" Length of time a person remains by establishing Access Centers/Navigation homeless (street and shelter).
Centers in key subregions that are focused on Geographic distribution of housing providing access to services with a focus on access in to CES connecting to housing Demographics of people
Enhance training, standard orientation experiencing homelessness messaging, and client facing materials to help utilizing access and outreach people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness
services.
understand what services and resources are
available to them and what the process looks
like to access services/housing across the CoC
• Develop a culture of housing-focused problem-
solving across all programs that serve as
access points (outreach, drop-in centers, access
STRATEGY 14: IMPROVE ACCESS FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS centers, navigation centers, etc.) Streamline intake processes for individuals and
families experiencing homelessness, including
a review of the desirability of the VI-SPDAT
through the lens of equity
• Improve protocols for prioritization into
emergency shelter, interim housing, medical
respite, etc. to ensure that bed availability is
real-time
• Improve roles and responsibilities for
assisting clients in obtaining housing-related
documentation, like IDs, social security cards,
proof of income, birth certificates, etc.
• Implement diversion/problem-solving
conversations at all points of entry
62 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Enhance coordination between agencies • Number of encampments. • 50% reduction in the number • Invest in multi-agency, multi- engaging people living in encampments to of people experiencing jurisdictional solutions to ensure consistent and humane approaches to unsheltered homelessness address the health, safety, encampment resolution across the county at a point in time and month and housing needs of people • Coordinate between department and to month, including key experiencing unsheltered agencies to create a coordinated encampment subpopulations across all homelessness and staying in STRATEGY 15: DEVELOP COUNTYWIDE ENCAMPMENT MANAGEMENT PROTOCOLS management strategy regions. encampments. • As part of CoC Homeless Street Outreach • 50% reduction in the length of • Participate in the development Protocol, establish guidance on Encampment stay (SO, ES, SH, TH). of CalAIM initiatives that seek Management and Resolution Protocols • 50% increase in successful to extend a whole person care housing placement from street approach through the Enhanced Engage cities and other local government Care Management and In Lieu entities to utilize encampment guidance of CoC outreach. of Services to serve people
Homeless Street Outreach Protocol • 25% reduction in the experiencing unsheltered
number of emergency calls,
• Develop Homeless Street Outreach Protocols to homelessness.
Number of emergency calls, citations, arrests made by law compliment decriminalization advocacy citations, arrests made by law enforcement for homeless • Advocate for decriminalizing homelessness enforcement for homeless related related disturbances. responses across the county and state that disturbances. 75% reduction in the number
include pre-adjudication and sentencing of people experiencing alternatives to minimize involvement of people unsheltered homelessness experiencing homelessness in criminal justice discharged from institutions or system re-entering from the homeless
STRATEGY 16: SUPPORT THE • Develop processes to ensure greater response system.
DECRIMINALIZATION OF HOMELESSNESS
collaboration between judicial agencies and • Resources are uniformly local alternative courts like Homeless Court and accessible across Riverside pre-booking diversion resources County regardless of sub-region Ensure that Riverside County does not or client demographics, reflected disproportionately enforce existing county in CES access data. ordinances against homeless individuals and • 50% increase in successful families street outcomes.
• Develop an inclusive approach to public space Riverside County CoC has management with non-punitive policies adopted Homeless Street Outreach Protocol, including
• Co-develop protocol for first responders • Number of emergency calls.
First Responder Training and
when engaging people on the streets and citations, arrests made by law Encampment Management. encampments with key considerations when enforcement for homeless related engaging with key subpopulations (survivors disturbances. of domestic violence, individuals with Severe
ACTION AREA 2: EQUITABLY ADDRESS THE HEALTH, SAFETY, & SERVICES NEEDS OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS Mental Iliness (SMI) or Substance Use Disorder (SUD), Transitional Aged Youth (TAY), older
adults/seniors, and dependent adults)
STRATEGY 17: DEVELOP TRAINING FOR FIRST RESPONDERS
Ensure that the first responder training and
protocol is in alignment with CoC initiated
Homeless Outreach Strategy and Encampment
Protocols
Co-design and implement outreach training for
first responders that focuses on evidence based
best practices in homeless street outreach and
service coordination
Refine specific policies and procedures as it Number of people experiencing relates to needs of unsheltered chronically unsheltered homelessness at a homeless point in time and month to month,
Refine specific policies and procedures as it including key subpopulations. relates to needs of unsheltered individuals with Number of people experiencing Severe Mental Iliness (SMI) unsheltered homelessness
Refine specific policies and procedures as it discharged from mainstream relates to needs of unsheltered individuals with institutions or re-entering from Substance Use Disorder (SUD) homeless response system.
Refine specific policies and procedures as it • Number of successful referrals to relates to needs of unsheltered Transitional support services (mental health, Aged Youth (TAY). employment, hygiene, nutrition,
etc.)
STRATEGY 18: ESTABLISH KEY RESOURCES FOR SPECIAL • Refine specific policies and procedures as it
POPULATIONS EXPERIENCING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS
relates to needs of unsheltered high utilizers of
emergency services
Refine specific policies and procedures as it
relates to needs of unsheltered survivors fleeing
domestic violence
Refine specific policies and procedures as it
relates to needs of unsheltered families
• Refine specific policies and procedures as it
relates to needs of unsheltered older adults/
seniors
• Refine specific policies and procedures as it
relates to needs of unsheltered LGBTQIA+
individuals
63 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
Create more crisis housing, which includes Number of people experiencing • 100% of crisis housing adhere to • Invest in innovative approaches emergency shelter, interim housing, medical sheltered homelessness at a CoC Policies and Procedures to expand the supply of safe, respite, domestic violence shelters, faith-based point in time and month to month, • 25% increase in the number of humane, housing-placement shelters, family shelters, transitional housing. including key subpopulations. crisis housing beds (ES, SH, TH) focused shelter and interim stabilization beds, recuperative care beds, and • Demographics of people utilizing in the system, geographically housing models, like Project motel vouchers to meet the specific needs by crisis housing options. distributed. Homekey/Roomkey for people population and region experiencing homelessness.
• Length of time a person remains • Increase in the ratio of sheltered Develop and advance CalAIM proposals homeless (ES, SH, TH). to unsheltered homelessness • Expand alignment and seeking to extend statewide the service options at a point in time and month engagement of healthcare, available under Whole Person Care and Health • Number of successful housing behavioral health, mental placements from crisis housing. to month, including key Homes Program through the Enhanced Care subpopulations. health, and substance use Management program and In Lieu of Services • Percent of returns to disorder resources in efforts to homelessness in 6,12, and 24 • 50% reduction in the length of care coordination and housing services to better address health disparities and address the health care needs of people who months for people connected to stay in crisis housing (ES, SH, service needs among people STRATEGY 19: INCREASE THE NUMBER OF CRISIS HOUSING BEDS REGIONALLY TH). are staying in shelter and interim housing sites crisis housing. experiencing unsheltered and Ensure that there are more public services in • Number of people experiencing • 50% increase in the number of sheltered homelessness neighborhoods developing crisis housing to sheltered homelessness successful housing placements meet community needs discharged from institutions or re- from crisis housing. entering from homeless response • 75% reduction in the number • Ensure that crisis housing account for the
unique needs of specific subpopulations system. of people experiencing Number of crisis housing beds unsheltered homelessness
Mobilize Homekey resources and other funding discharged from institutions sources to support acquisition of sites for use as in the system and geographic distribution. or re-entering from homeless
crisis housing response system
Crisis housing bed utilization.
Number of successful referrals to
support services (mental health,
employment, hygiene, nutrition,
etc.).
ACTION AREA 3: EXPAND COMMUNITIES CAPACITY TO PROVIDE SAFE & EFFECTIVE SHELTER & INTERIM HOUSING Assess crisis housing coordinated entry and Number of people experiencing referral patterns to identify regional gaps and sheltered homelessness at a under resourced crisis housing capacity
Ensure that shelter access is equitable through including key subpopulations. review of data
• Refine best practices for crisis housing that crisis housing options. focus on accessibility and are low barrier. • Length of time a person remains • Barriers can include lack of privacy, sobriety, homeless (ES, SH, TH). curfews, engaging in treatment, animal policy, • Number of successful housing storage, couples, people of non-binary gender placements from crisis housing. identity Percent of returns to
Move towards a system where shelters are homelessness in 6.12, and 24 open 24/7 months for people connected to
• Establish system wide procedures to track and crisis housing.
STRATEGY 20: REFINE CRISIS HOUSING POLICIES & PROCEDURES utilize real-time crisis housing bed availability • Number of people experiencing Assess and refine policies and procedures sheltered homelessness to ensure that crisis housing is centered on
housing-focused problem-solving
system.
Provide technical assistance and guidance
that will support the continued application Number of crisis housing beds of Housing First practices, including lowered in the system and geographic barriers and housing-focused services and distribution. Crisis housing bed supports, within shelter and interim housing utilization. programs
Ensure that policies and procedures account for support services (mental health, the unique needs of specific subpopulations: employment, hygiene, nutrition, Transitional Aged Youth (TAY), high utilizers of etc.). emergency services, survivors fleeing domestic
violence, families, and TAI+
64 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Advocate for federal, state, county, and local • Number of housing units • Promote the development • Strengthen the implementation policies and funding to increase and preserve affordable to extremely low- of 21,000 units affordable of Housing First approaches affordable housing for households earning income population, both currently to extremely low-income and other best practices that below 30% Area Median Income (AMI) and in the pipeline. population. support equitable access in • Pursue lower-cost housing typologies, like tiny • Increase the number (unit count) housing markets with high homes, accessory dwelling units, mobile homes, of Permanent Housing Units social determinants of health hotel and motel conversions, prefabricated by 75% from baseline year (SDOH), including but not limited modular housing, and shipping containers, and (including Permanent Supportive to: supportive housing, rapid innovative housing and financing models Housing [PSH] and Rapid Re- rehousing, short- and longer- Housing [RRH]). term forms of rental subsidy and
• Identify feasibility to develop affordable and assistance, shallow subsidies, supportive housing on underutilized state, Increase the number of clients move-in assistance, and landlord county, and city owned land that successfully exit housing outreach, engagement, and
• Ensure Riverside County utilizes full funding interventions, including PSH and retention. opportunities from the federal and state RRH by 25%.
• Invest in the creation of
governments for housing development • Increase the number of clients an expanded supply of • Advocate for inclusionary housing policies, up that successfully retain housing, affordable and supportive zoning, and infill development including PSH and RRH by 25%. housing opportunities, paired • As part of communication strategy, develop • Over 50% of new housing with appropriate health strategies to address NIMBY sentiments placements occur in opportunity and behavioral health care neighborhoods/zip codes with resources, and accessible and high social determinants of culturally responsive services to health. people exiting homelessness,
ACTION AREA 4: EXPAND & ENSURE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO PERMANENT HOUSING IN OUR COMMUNITIES STRATEGY 21: ADVOCATE FOR THE INCREASED PRODUCTION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING • 100% of programs adhering low-income individuals and
to Riverside CoC Policies and families, and to people from Procedures for PSH and RRH. historically marginalized
communities
• Length of time during housing
search is reduced by 50%.
• Increase in the number o'
units secured for people
experiencing homelessness
through centralized landlord
engagement program, especially
in neighborhoods with high
SDOH, including through master
leasing and shared housing.
Increase in the number
of landlords participating
in centralized landlord
engagement program, including
formalized partnerships.
• Increase in the number of
real-time unit availability
secured by centralized landlord
engagement program
65 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Increase the number of permanent supportive • Number of people utilizing • Promote the development • Strengthen the implementation housing stock housing intervention, including of 21,000 units affordable of Housing First approaches • Identify costs associated with developing PSH and RRH, at a point in time to extremely low-income and other best practices that adequate supply of permanent supportive and month to month, including key population. support equitable access in housing subpopulations. Increase the number (unit count) housing markets with high Demographics of different housing of Permanent Housing Units social determinants of health • Increase access to tenant-based, scattered site •
interventions, including PSH and by 75% from baseline year (SDOH), including but not limited Permanent Supportive Housing programs to: supportive housing, rapid RRH. (including Permanent Supportive
• Assess coordinated entry, referral patterns to rehousing, short- and longer- • Number of clients that successfully Housing [PSH] and Rapid Re- identify regional gaps, and under resourced Housing [RRH]). term forms of rental subsidy and PSH capacity exit housing interventions, assistance, shallow subsidies, including PSH and RRH. Increase the number of clients move-in assistance, and landlord • Ensure that PSH programs access is equitable that successfully exit housing through review of data Number of clients that successfully outreach, engagement, and retain housing, including PSH and interventions, including PSH and retention.
Expand partnerships with behavioral health RRH, for 6,12, 24 months. RRH by 25%. treatment services through Riverside County • Invest in the creation of Number of Permanent Supportive • Increase the number of clients an expanded supply of and local behavioral health providers to ensure
Housing Units, both tenant-based that successfully retain housing, affordable and supportive that PSH units are paired with adequate including PSH and RRH by 25%. supportive services and project-based, currently and housing opportunities, paired in pipeline. • Over 50% of new housing with appropriate health Implement a "moving on" strategy, targeting up placements occur in opportunity and behavioral health care to 20% of current PSH residents for transition Utilization rates for housing interventions, including PSH and neighborhoods/zip codes with resources, and accessible and to general population affordable housing, thus
RRH. high social determinants of culturally responsive services to freeing up PSH for new tenants health. people exiting homelessness, • Convene stakeholders (housing developers, • Zip codes of housing placements • 100% of programs adhering low-income individuals and
planning departments, service providers, cities, for housing interventions, families, and to people from STRATEGY 22: INCREASE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING UNITS & CAPACITY including PSH and RRH. to Riverside CoC Policies and regional governments) to explore ways to create Procedures for PSH and RRH. historically marginalized and streamline permanent supportive housing Referral pattern for housing communities within context of local housing elements interventions, including PSH and • Length of time during housing RRH. search is reduced by 50%.
• Leverage a wide array of private, local, state,
and federal funding, including CalAIM and • Number of programs adhering • Increase in the number of Project Homekey, to support the expansion of a to Riverside CoC Policies and units secured for people Permanent Supportive Housing Procedures for PSH and RRH. experiencing homelessness through centralized landlord
• Improve PSH service quality and fidelity by engagement program, especially refining community standards, facilitating in neighborhoods with high trainings, and creating learning collaboratives SDOH, including through master Advocate for the local conditions to develop leasing and shared housing. enough permanent supportive housing to meet
• Increase in the number
the need in our community of landlords participating
• Identify feasibility to develop permanent in centralized landlord supportive housing on underutilized State or engagement program, including ACTION AREA 4: EXPAND & ENSURE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO PERMANENT HOUSING IN OUR COMMUNITIES county owned land formalized partnerships. • Optimize utilization through progressive • Increase in the number of engagement by enabling clients to move to less real-time unit availability or more service-intensive housing based on secured by centralized landlord Identified need engagement program
Ensure sufficient level of supportive services,
which are voluntary, housing first oriented,
trauma-informed, and incorporate harm
reauction principles
• Increase the number of rapid rehousing Number of people utilizing programs/units housing intervention, including
PSH and RRH, at a point in time
• Identify costs associated with developing
adequate supply of rapid rehousing and month to month, including key subpopulations.
• Assess coordinated entry, referral patterns to
identify CES integrations, regional gaps, and Demographics of different housing under resourced RH capacity interventions, including PSH and RRH.
Ensure that RRH programs access is equitable
through review of data • Number of clients that successfully exit housing interventions,
• Improve RRH service quality and fidelity by including PSH and RRH. refining community standards, facilitating
trainings, and facilitating learning collaboratives. • Number of clients that successfully retain housing, including PSH and
• For those with higher needs, provide longer- RRH, for 6.12, 24 months. term housing assistance and critical time
STRATEGY 23: INCREASE RAPID REHOUSING HOUSING UNITS & CAPACITY intervention • Number of Rapid Rehousing Program Units.
• Advocate for the local conditions so that
expanded RRH is effective in the private rental • Utilization rates for housing interventions, including PSH and
market
RRH.
• Optimize utilization through progressive
engagement by enabling clients to move to less • Zip codes of housing placements or more service-intensive housing based on for housing interventions Identified need including PSH and RRH
• Assess outcomes for expanded rapid rehousing • Referral pattern for housing nterventions, including PSH an
programs
RRH.
• Identify effective practices for rapid rehousing
to be effective in high-cost, high-SDOH housing • Number of programs adhering markets to Riverside CoC Policies and
Procedures for PSH and RRH.
• Strengthen the integration of workforce
development/employment services with RRH
66 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Assess the viability of development of a • Length of time during housing • Promote the development • Strengthen the implementation centralized landlord engagement program with search. of 21,000 units affordable of Housing First approaches one entity conducting housing outreach for the • Number of units secured to extremely low-income and other best practices that entire county for people experiencing population. support equitable access in • Develop provider facing real-time listings of homelessness through centralized Increase the number (unit count) housing markets with high rental units available to people experiencing landlord engagement program, of Permanent Housing Units social determinants of health homelessness especially in neighborhoods with by 75% from baseline year (SDOH), including but not limited high SOH, including through (including Permanent Supportive to: supportive housing, rapid • Increase the stock of units available to rehousing, short- and longer- programs, homeless service providers, etc., master leasing and shared Housing [PSH] and Rapid Re- housing. Housing [RRH]). term forms of rental subsidy and especially in neighborhoods with high SDOH assistance, shallow subsidies, Develop service provider performance Average number of real-time unit Increase the number of clients move-in assistance, and landlord availability secured by centralized that successfully exit housing standards for issuing timely payments. outreach, engagement, and documentation, processing, and inspections landlord engagement program. interventions, including PSH and retention. so that experiences for landlords are uniform. Number of incentives and RRH by 25%. • Invest in the creation of
regardless of which provider or payment source supports issued through • Increase the number of clients an expanded supply of is being utilized centralized landlord engagement that successfully retain housing, affordable and supportive Develop additional incentives and supports, including PSH and RRH by 25%. housing opportunities, paired STRATEGY 24: DEVELOP CENTRALIZED LANDLORD OUTREACH, ENGAGEMENT, & RETENTION STRATEGIES like contingency funds, flex funds, mediation • Number of landlords participating • Over 50% of new housing with appropriate health services, landlord incentive payments, security in centralized landlord placements occur in opportunity and behavioral health care deposits, etc. engagement program, including neighborhoods/zip codes with resources, and accessible and Work with property management companies, formalized partnerships. high social determinants of culturally responsive services to owners, landlords, apartment associations, and health. people exiting homelessness, housing developers to secure housing units • 100% of programs adhering low-income individuals and through developed and formalized partnerships, to Riverside CoC Policies and families, and to people from MOUs, master leasing, etc. Procedures for PSH and RRH. historically marginalized communities
• Incentivize the reduction of screening criteria • Length of time during housing that screens out prospective tenants with search is reduced by 50%. evictions, poor credit, and/or criminal histories • Increase in the number of Track key metrics associated with the housing units secured for people search and housing lease-up process experiencing homelessness • Ensure that trained Housing Locators or through centralized landlord Housing Specialists are designated as engagement program, especially representatives for the system to ensure in neighborhoods with high consistent messaging and service delivery SDOH, including through master leasing and shared housing.
• Explore lower-cost housing typologies, like • Length of time during housing Increase in the number tiny homes, accessory dwelling units, hotel search. of landlords participating ACTION AREA 4: EXPAND & ENSURE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO PERMANENT HOUSING IN OUR COMMUNITIES and motel conversions, prefabricated modular • Number of units secured in centralized landlord housing, and shipping containers for people experiencing engagement program, including Explore master leasing at-scale to secure units homelessness through centralized formalized partnerships. for people experiencing homelessness landlord engagement program, • Increase in the number of Develop shared housing program to increase especially in neighborhoods with real-time unit availability rental options and affordability for clients, with high SOH, including through secured by centralized landlord STRATEGY 25: INNOVATE APPROACHES TO EXPAND EXISTING HOUSING STOCK emphasis on private rooms, split leases, etc. master leasing and shared engagement program housing.
Expand and scale the use of shallow subsidies
and longer-term subsidies
Explore possibility of developing Flexible • Length of time during housing Housing Subsidy Pool similar to other search.
Outcomes of flexible funds issue
Expand flexible housing subsidy funds, like ncluding one-time payments an STRATEGY 26: INCREASE FLEXIBLE HOUSING FUNDS shallow subsidies and longer-term subsidies, shallow subsidies. especially for instances of homelessness • Number of flexible funds Issued, prevention, where families are rent burdened including one-time payments and • Expand flexible housing funds to cover one-time shallow subsides. expenses like move-in costs
• Assess and expand current programs serving • Number of successful referrals to Chronically Homeless support services (mental health,
Assess and expand current programs servin employment, hygiene, nutrition, ndividuals with Severe Mental Illness (SMI etc.)
Assess and expand current programs serving
Individuals with Substance Use Disorders (SUD)
STRATEGY 27: ADDRESS HOUSING NEEDS OF UNIQUE SUBPOPULATIONS Assess and expand current programs serving
Transition Aged Youth (TAY)
• Assess and expand current programs serving
Older Adults/Seniors
• Assess and expand current programs serving
LGBTOAI+
67 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
Assess and establish programs and processes • Length of time during housing • Promote the development • Strengthen the implementation for individuals experiencing homelessness to search. of 21,000 units affordable of Housing First approaches improve credit and pay off debts • Number of clients with housing to extremely low-income and other best practices that Assess and establish programs and processes barriers, including credit, debt, population. support equitable access in for individuals experiencing homelessness that evictions, criminal justice issues, • Increase the number (unit count) housing markets with high have evictions on record documentation (social security of Permanent Housing Units social determinants of health card, identification card, birth by 75% from baseline year (SDOH), including but not limited Assess and establish programs and processes to: supportive housing, rapid for individuals experiencing homelessness that certificate, proof of income, etc.). (including Permanent Supportive Housing [PSH] and Rapid Re- rehousing, short- and longer- have criminal justice issues on record
Housing [RRH]). term forms of rental subsidy and
Assess and establish programs and processes assistance, shallow subsidies, for individuals experiencing homelessness to Increase the number of clients move-in assistance, and landlord expedite documentation necessary for housing, that successfully exit housing outreach, engagement, and like social security card, identification card, birth interventions, including PSH and retention.
STRATEGY 28: DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO REDUCE BARRIERS FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN OBTAINING HOUSING & TO INCREASE THE SPEED OF LEASE-UP PROCESS certificates, and proof of income documentation RRH by 25%. • Invest in the creation of
Assess and establish universal housing • Increase the number of clients an expanded supply of application for all programs across Riverside that successfully retain housing, affordable and supportive County including PSH and RRH by 25%. housing opportunities, paired Clarify, contractually and through training, • Over 50% of new housing with appropriate health the expectations regarding roles and placements occur in opportunity and behavioral health care responsibilities of shelter case managers, neighborhoods/zip codes with resources, and accessible and outreach workers, and housing case managers high social determinants of culturally responsive services to in getting clients document-ready and establish health. people exiting homelessness, & record performance metrics to track progress • 100% of programs adhering low-income individuals and Identify additional ways to expedite the housing to Riverside CoC Policies and families, and to people from Procedures for PSH and RRH. historically marginalized
search and lease up process
communities
• Length of time during housing
search is reduced by 50%.
Track housing placements in HMIS at the zip Zip codes of housing placements Increase in the number of code level to analyze regional trends for housing interventions, units secured for people Create a framework and policy including PSH and RRH. experiencing homelessness recommendations to increase housing Number of units secured through centralized landlord placements in opportunity neighborhoods with for people experiencing engagement program, especially high social determinants of health homelessness through centralized in neighborhoods with high landlord engagement program, SDOH, including through master • Ensure homeless housing stock and services leasing and shared housing. are geographically located to allow, whenever especially in neighborhoods with possible, for the needs of individuals and high SOH, including through Increase in the number families to be met in their own communities. master leasing and shared of landlords participating housing. in centralized landlord
Explore incentivization strategies to promote engagement program, including move-ins in neighborhoods with high SDOH formalized partnerships.
STRATEGY 29: EXPAND HOUSING ACCESS TO HIGH OPPORTUNITY NEIGHBORHOODS, WITH A FOCUS ON THOSE WITH HIGH SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH • Increase in the number of real-time unit availability
secured by centralized landlord
engagement program
ACTION AREA 4: EXPAND & ENSURE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO PERMANENT HOUSING IN OUR COMMUNITIES • Assess and refine policies and procedures to • Number of successful referrals to ensure that services are applying best practices support services (mental health, in case management employment, hygiene, nutrition,
Develop training around best practice etc.).
approaches to case management to improve Number of programs adhering provider, city, and regional government capacity to Riverside CoC Policies and STRATEGY 30: STRENGTHEN APPROACHES TO CASE MANAGEMENT • Strengthen provider tables/forums and create Procedures for PSH and RRH. leaming collaborative for more frequent
capacity building opportunities around best
practice approaches to case management
• Increase advocacy for the expansion of the • Number of Housing Authority Housing Choice Voucher program Division vouchers, utilization rate, length of time during housing
search, zip code of housing
placements, and vouchers set
aside for people experiencing
homelessness,
STRATEGY 31: LEVERAGE HOUSING AUTHORITY DIVISION RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS 68 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS
PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES
AREA
• Advocate for the legislation protecting against Number of housing discrimination • Promote the development • Strengthen the implementation housing discrimination instances within Riverside County of 21,000 units affordable of Housing First approaches • Establish partnerships and mechanisms for to extremely low-income and other best practices that better tracking and enforcement of existing population. support equitable access in protections • Increase the number (unit count) housing markets with high of Permanent Housing Units social determinants of health by 75% from baseline year (SDOH), including but not limited (including Permanent Supportive to: supportive housing, rapid Housing [PSH] and Rapid Re- rehousing, short- and longer- Housing [RRH]). term forms of rental subsidy and
assistance, shallow subsidies,
Increase the number of clients move-in assistance, and landlord that successfully exit housing outreach, engagement, and interventions, including PSH and retention.
RRH by 25%.
• Invest in the creation of
• Increase the number of clients an expanded supply of
that successfully retain housing, affordable and supportive including PSH and RRH by 25%. housing opportunities, paired • Over 50% of new housing with appropriate health
placements occur in opportunity and behavioral health care neighborhoods/zip codes with resources, and accessible and high social determinants of culturally responsive services to health. people exiting homelessness,
ACTION AREA 4: EXPAND & ENSURE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO PERMANENT HOUSING IN OUR COMMUNITIES STRATEGY 32: CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR LEGISLATION PROTECTING AGAINST HOUSING DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING SEARCH • 100% of programs adhering low-income individuals and
to Riverside CoC Policies and families, and to people from Procedures for PSH and RRH. historically marginalized
communities
• Length of time during housing
search is reduced by 50%.
• Increase in the number o'
units secured for people
experiencing homelessness
through centralized landlord
engagement program, especially
in neighborhoods with high
SDOH, including through master
leasing and shared housing.
Increase in the number
of landlords participating
in centralized landlord
engagement program, including
formalized partnerships.
• Increase in the number of
real-time unit availability
secured by centralized landlord
engagement program
69 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Ensure right-sized funding from state and Number of people experiencing • 75% reduction in the number • Invest in programs that will federal resources to homelessness prevention, homelessness for first time, of people experiencing immediately address the diversion, housing problem solving, and including regional and homelessness for first time. needs of data-informed special rapid resolution services and programs. with demographic breakdown. • 75% reduction in the number populations, like homeless identification of clear goals and targets for the • Percentage successful of people returning to youth, older adults/seniors, number of households to receive diversion and households receiving prevention homelessness. veterans, individuals, and/or prevention services through each program services, including regional and families, or prevent them from • 75% reduction in the number becoming homeless.
• Ensure program models utilize flexible demographic breakdown. of people exiting mainstream financial assistance and housing focused case • Percent of clients still in institutions that experience • Reduce entries into management to prevent individuals and tamilies permanent housing at 6,12, and sheltered and unsheltered homelessness as people exit from experiencing homelessness 24 months following assistance. homelessness. Increase in the and/or receive services from • Develop standardized best practices and number of people who would institutional settings through • Number of programs adhering cross-sector collaborative procedures for the delivery of homelessness to Riverside CoC Policies and have been homeless upon prevention, diversion, housing problem solving, discharge from mainstream programs.
Procedures for Prevention and
and rapid resolution services and programs; Diversion. institutions and are successfully • Invest in programs focused guidance should include baseline standards placed into housing. on reducing entries into for housing-focused case management, • Reduction in the number of homelessness for people re- strengths-based service planning and delivery, low-income households that are entering communities from jails and effective strategies for reducing barriers to considered rent-burdened. and prisons. housing retention • Invest in programs focused
• Quadruple the number of
• Evaluate the effectiveness of these households receiving prevention on reducing entries into interventions as programs are scaled further services. homelessness for youth and across the CoC; all homelessness prevention young adults connected to the efforts should be tracked in the Homeless Increase employment, income, child welfare and/or juvenile and wealth generation
Management Information System (HMIS) justice systems.
among people experiencing
Expand targeted homelessness prevention homelessness. Invest in programs focused and diversion outreach and engagement; on reducing entries into target services to highest-risk populations and • 25% increase in the percentage homelessness for people geographies to ensure people and communities of clients still in permanent exiting health care settings and at highest risk for homelessness are engaged housing at 6,12-, and 24-months programs, including mental with housing supports before experiencing following assistance. health and substance use. literal homelessness • Decrease in the number of • Enhance communities' ACTION AREA 5: PREVENT PEOPLE FROM EXPERIENCING THE CRISIS OF HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 33: INCREASE HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION, DIVERSION, & MEDIATION SERVICES evictions across Riverside Develop an automatic process to provide capacity to provide targeted information on homelessness prevention and County, demographics, and homelessness prevention diversion services when someone is issued a geographic breakdown. interventions and to successfully notice to pay or quit or receives an unlawful • 100% of programs adhering divert people from entering detainer; by better tracking evictions in the to Riverside CoC Policies and shelter or experiencing city, programs can target specific zip codes. Procedures for Prevention and unsheltered homelessness apartment complexes for prevention services Diversion
• Invest in cross-sector
• Incentivize landlords, apartment associations. partnerships between etc. to make referrals for their tenants to homelessness services systems homelessness prevention and diversion and other systems which can programs support asset and wealth
• Target populations should include people who building, including access to previously exited the homelessness system with educational opportunities and housing supports and are at risk of returning to employment services that homelessness address the economic instability
for people experiencing and
Develop early identification, discharge planning,
exiting homelessness.
and cross sector collaboration
• Support programs and
• Include automated referrals for employment, cross-sector partnerships that income supports, social safety net services, etc. prioritize the early identification • More accurately track at the city and zip code of households at-risk for level where an individual and family fell into homelessness and quickly homelessness and target outreach and supports connect them to services. to those communities
Invest in upstream
• Disaggregate data by demographics, to identify homelessness prevention and address any trends in access and utilization programs that stabilize • Radically increase client facing materials individuals, families, and across Riverside County to help people at-risk communities, protect vulnerable of homelessness understand what services housing, prevent displacement, and resources are available to them and what and expand tenant protections the process looks like to access prevention
services/supports
70 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN|
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Through data sharing agreements, analyze • Number of people experiencing • 75% reduction in the number • Invest in programs that will mainstream system data to understand homelessness for first time, of people experiencing immediately address the involvement of people experiencing homeless including regional and homelessness for first time. needs of data-informed special in mainstream systems before they fell into demographic breakdown. • 75% reduction in the number populations, like homeless homelessness to better target solutions • Readmissions and recidivism of people returning to youth, older adults/seniors, At points of intake, ensure there is a thorough rates. homelessness. veterans, individuals, and/or questioning of how and where an individual families, or prevent them from • Cost saving for discharge • 75% reduction in the number becoming homeless. became homeless, with an understanding of planning. of people exiting mainstream mainstream systems they may have touched in institutions that experience • Reduce entries into advance • Number of mainstream systems homelessness as people exit sheltered and unsheltered
with data sharing agreements and/or receive services from Identify and develop specific staff positions or integrations with homeless homelessness. Increase in the responsible for cross-sector collaboration number of people who would institutional settings through response system. cross-sector collaborative
Develop strategies based on national best have been homeless upon Number of mainstream systems programs.
practices for improving discharge planning discharge from mainstream utilizing developed homeless institutions and are successfully • Invest in programs focused models and coordination to prevent mainstream tracking metrics. systems from discharging individuals without placed into housing. on reducing entries into stable housing Number of referrals for housing Reduction in the number of homelessness for people re- STRATEGY 34: ADDRESS INFLOWS OF HOMELESSNESS THROUGH CROSS- SECTOR COLLABORATION, DISCHARGE PLANNING, & EARLY IDENTIFICATION related services from mainstream entering communities from jails Develop strategies based on national best low-income households that are institutions. and prisons.
practices for early identification of people at-risk considered rent-burdened. for homelessness and get them connected to • Quadruple the number of • Invest in programs focused homeless and other mainstream services households receiving prevention on reducing entries into homelessness for youth and
Advocate for necessary resources to
young adults connected to the
incorporate or bring to scale cross-sector Increase employment, income, child welfare and/or juvenile collaboration, discharge planning, and early and wealth generation justice systems.
identification among people experiencing
homelessness. Invest in programs focused
• Set cross-sector goals on reducing entries into
Develop and adopt a universal housing/ • 25% increase in the percentage homelessness for people economic stability screening tool and of clients still in permanent exiting health care settings and automated referral processes for individuals and housing at 6,12-, and 24-months programs, including mental families accessing safety net services following assistance. health and substance use.
Expand on initiatives of Whole Person Care and • Decrease in the number of • Enhance communities' CalAIM to target high utilizers of emergency evictions across Riverside capacity to provide targeted
County, demographics, and
Comices homelessness prevention
geographic breakdown. interventions and to successfully Increase the connectivity between the Riverside Increases to employment, • 100% of programs adhering divert people from entering County Workforce Development Center, income income, and wealth generation to Riverside CoC Policies and shelter or experiencing supports, and education and homeless services, among people experiencing Procedures for Prevention and unsheltered homelessness like prevention, rapid rehousing, etc. to increase homelessness Diversion • Invest in cross-sector
Ana Sustain income
partnerships between
Expand partnerships with businesses and social
homelessness services systems
enterprises to train and hire people who have and other systems which can experienced homelessness support asset and wealth
• Increase access to appropriate services to building, including access to gain and sustain employment and educational educational opportunities and opportunities, such as childcare (or financial employment services that assistance for childcare) address the economic instability Formalize cross-system agreements to improve for people experiencing and access to employment and education programs, exiting homelessness. and outcomes of people experiencing • Support programs and cross-sector partnerships that
Improve data collection on the employment prioritize the early identification and education needs and outcomes of people of households at-risk for homelessness and quickly
connect them to services.
Provide training, internships, and mentorships
to help people who are unhoused or at risk of Invest in upstream STRATEGY 35: EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES TO ACHIEVE FINANCIAL STABILITY/ECONOMIC MOBILITY THROUGH EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATIONAL, INCOME SUPPORTS, & WEALTH GENERATION PROGRAMS homelessness to obtain access to living wage homelessness prevention programs that stabilize
individuals, families, and
Establish countywide SSI and veteran's benefits communities. protect vulnerable advocacy programs for people experiencing housing, prevent displacement, homelessness or at risk of homelessness,
and expand tenant protections
including those in the criminal justice system
• Explore opportunities to expand assessment
tools to also screen for income-generating
pathways, like employment, and income
supports; provide automated referrals
• Identify programs and solutions to develop
wealth/equity for people experiencing
homelessness and those at-risk of
homelessness
• Assess the viability of cash transfers and/
or universal basic income (UBI) models to
empower people experiencing homelessness
or at risk of experiencing homelessness to meet
their immediate financial needs
Support efforts to increase the minimum wage
to a living wage in Riverside County
71 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Track and analyze causes for reentry into the • Number of people returning to • 75% reduction in the number • Invest in programs that will homeless response system homelessness, including regional of people experiencing immediately address the and demographic breakdown. homelessness for first time. needs of data-informed special • Number of people exiting • 75% reduction in the number populations, like homeless mainstream institutions that of people returning to youth, older adults/seniors, experience sheltered and homelessness. veterans, individuals, and/or unsheltered homelessness. • 75% reduction in the number families, or prevent them from becoming homeless.
• Number of people who would of people exiting mainstream have been homeless upon institutions that experience • Reduce entries into discharge from mainstream sheltered and unsheltered homelessness as people exit institutions and are successfully homelessness. Increase in the and/or receive services from placed into housing. number of people who would institutional settings through have been homeless upon cross-sector collaborative
discharge from mainstream programs.
institutions and are successfully • Invest in programs focused placed into housing. on reducing entries into
Reduction in the number of homelessness for people re-
low-income households that are entering communities from jails considered rent-burdened. and prisons.
• Quadruple the number of • Invest in programs focused
households receiving prevention on reducing entries into homelessness for youth and
young adults connected to the
Increase employment, income, child welfare and/or juvenile and wealth generation justice systems.
among people experiencing
homelessness. Invest in programs focused
on reducing entries into
• 25% increase in the percentage homelessness for people of clients still in permanent exiting health care settings and housing at 6,12-, and 24-months programs, including mental following assistance. health and substance use.
ACTION AREA 5: PREVENT PEOPLE FROM EXPERIENCING THE CRISIS OF HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY 36: REDUCE REENTRIES INTO HOMELESS RESPONSE SYSTEM • Decrease in the number of • Enhance communities'
evictions across Riverside
capacity to provide targeted
County, demographics, and homelessness prevention
geographic breakdown. interventions and to successfully • 100% of programs adhering divert people from entering to Riverside CoC Policies and shelter or experiencing
Procedures for Prevention and unsheltered homelessness
Diversion • Invest in cross-sector
partnerships between
homelessness services systems
and other systems which can
support asset and wealth
building, including access to
educational opportunities and
employment services that
address the economic instability
for people experiencing and
exiting homelessness.
• Support programs and
cross-sector partnerships that
prioritize the early identification
of households at-risk for
homelessness and quickly
connect them to services.
Invest in upstream
homelessness prevention
programs that stabilize
individuals, families, and
communities. protect vulnerable
housing, prevent displacement,
and expand tenant protections
72 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
ACTION
STRATEGY CORRESPONDING ACTIONS PERFORMANCE METRICS GOALS FUNDING PRINCIPLES AREA
• Advocate for the creation of a fund to preserve • Number of low-income • 75% reduction in the number • Invest in programs that will naturally occurring, affordable housing and households that are considered of people experiencing immediately address the income restricted affordable housing rent-burdened. homelessness for first time. needs of data-informed special • Promote the investments of infill area • Number of evictions across • 75% reduction in the number populations, like homeless infrastructure, inclusionary zoning, community Riverside County, including of people returning to youth, older adults/seniors, land trusts, adaptive reuse, etc. regional and demographic homelessness. veterans, individuals, and/or breakdown. families, or prevent them from
• Promote the preservation of existing housing • 75% reduction in the number becoming homeless. stock through long-term affordability covenants of people exiting mainstream institutions that experience • Reduce entries into
• Advocate for the increased access to homelessness as people exit sheltered and unsheltered
homeownership, especially for Black, and/or receive services from Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) homelessness. Increase in the number of people who would institutional settings through communities cross-sector collaborative
have been homeless upon
STRATEGY 37: PRESERVE VULNERABLE HOUSING & PREVENT COMMUNITY DISPLACEMENT • Advocate for right of first refusal policies programs. discharge from mainstream
institutions and are successfully • Invest in programs focused placed into housing. on reducing entries into
Reduction in the number of homelessness for people re-
low-income households that are entering communities from jails considered rent-burdened. and prisons.
• Quadruple the number of • Invest in programs focused
households receiving prevention on reducing entries into homelessness for youth and
young adults connected to the
Increase employment, income, child welfare and/or juvenile and wealth generation
justice systems.
among people experiencing
homelessness. Invest in programs focused
on reducing entries into
• 25% increase in the percentage homelessness for people • Develop a streamlined approach and public Number of low-income of clients still in permanent exiting health care settings and facing database to better track evictions/ households that are considered housing at 6,12-, and 24-months unlawful detainers across Riverside County. rent-burdened. programs, including mental following assistance. health and substance use.
greatest impact on older adults/seniors and • Number of evictions across • Decrease in the number of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) • Enhance communities' Riverside County, including evictions across Riverside
capacity to provide targeted
• Coordinate and centralize eviction prevention regional and demographic County, demographics, and homelessness prevention
programs across Riverside County breakdown. geographic breakdown. interventions and to successfully
• Advocate for the establishment of rent • 100% of programs adhering divert people from entering stabilization policies paired with enforceable to Riverside CoC Policies and shelter or experiencing building standards Procedures for Prevention and unsheltered homelessness • Advocate for the establishment of "just cause" Diversion • Invest in cross-sector eviction policies partnerships between
• Develop and support tenant counseling homelessness services systems ACTION AREA 5: PREVENT PEOPLE FROM EXPERIENCING THE CRISIS OF HOMELESSNESS and other systems which can and legal services for tenant facing housing
instability and dislocation support asset and wealth
Support a legal right to counsel policy for building, including access to STRATEGY 38: EXPAND PROTECTIONS FOR RENTER/TENANTS tenants to prevent evictions educational opportunities and employment services that
• Support right to remain and right to return address the economic instability ordinances
for people experiencing and
Support tenant option to purchase exiting homelessness.
Consider developing a tenant advisory council • Support programs and to provide guidance and advice to the city on cross-sector partnerships that actions to support tenants and those at-risk of prioritize the early identification homelessness of households at-risk for
Increase access to civil legal aid in homelessness and quickly situations where legal advocacy will prevent connect them to services. homelessness (e.g., access to State and Federal Invest in upstream benefit programs, SSI/SSDI, etc., foreclosure homelessness prevention prevention, immigration, tenant representation, programs that stabilize unemployment benefits, ABD, etc.) individuals, families, and communities. protect vulnerable
• Strengthen local tenant protections impacting
people experiencing homelessness and those housing, prevent displacement, at-risk of homelessness and expand tenant protections
• Advocate for the state and the federal • Percent of clients still in government to increase funding and access to permanent housing at 6,12, and safety net services 24-months following assistance.
STRATEGY 39: ADVOCATE FOR THE EXPANSION OF A SOCIAL SAFETY NET 73 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
for the refinement of crisis housing precariously housed: doubled-up, EXHIBIT B:
policies and procedures like living with friends or family, and emergency shelter, interim housing, are therefore at-risk of falling into
TRANSITIONAL
medical respite, domestic violence homelessness.
shelters, faith-based shelters, family Action Area 1: Strengthen
AGED YOUTH
shelters, transitional housing, and System to Better Prevent and motel vouchers to ensure they are End Homelessness calls for (TAY) HOMELESS
accessible, low barrier, and housing strengthening of the homeless focused. Policies and procedures will
ACTION response system to address the root
account for the unique shelter needs
causes of homelessness, preventing
of Transition Aged Youth. increases of new families falling into
SUMMARY
Strategies in Action Area 4: Expand homelessness.
The following section summarizes and Ensure Equitable Access Action Area 2: Equitably Address
actions, strategies, and funding to Permanent Housing in Our the Health, Safety, and Services
principles of the Riverside County Communities call for the need to Needs of People Experiencing
CoC Homeless Action Plan for increase housing resources available Unsheltered Homelessness
Transition Aged Youth (TAY) at-risk of to Transition Aged Youth, like Rapid highlights the need to expand
and experiencing homelessness. Rehousing. This section calls out the the accessibility of the homeless
In 2020 there were 256 youth need to expand housing supports and response system and the need to experiencing unsheltered programs for Transition Aged Youth. establish designated resources for homelessness, a 41% increase from Action Area 5: Prevent People special populations experiencing 2019. Surprisingly, this increase in from Experiencing the Crisis of unsheltered homelessness like youth experiencing unsheltered Homelessness, highlights the need homeless families. homelessness was accompanied to address the inflows of youth Action Area 3: Expand
by a 65% decrease in the count homelessness through cross-sector Communities Capacity to Provide
of sheltered youth experiencing collaboration, discharge planning, Safe and Effective Shelter and
homelessness. As part of the Needs early identification, and housing Interim Housing focuses on Assessment and Gaps Analysis supports within child welfare, increasing crisis housing available to of the County of Riverside, juvenile justice, and education homeless families and refining crisis stakeholders highlighted the need systems. Funding Principles call housing policies and procedures to
to provide more services to key for the need to invest in programs ensure they are radically accessible,
sub-populations like Transition Aged that will immediately address the low-barrier, and housing focused.
Youth (TAY). needs of homeless youth and
programs that reduce entries into Action Area 4: Expand and Ensure Action Area 1: Strengthen System Equitable Access to Permanent the Better Prevent and End homelessness as people exit and/ or receive services from institutional Housing in Our Communities Homelessness, highlights the need highlights the advocacy of increased settings through cross-sector
to utilize a data-driven approach production of affordable housing collaboration.
to invest in programs addressing that will expand housing available significant service gaps for high-
to families at-risk or currently
need communities, under-served
experiencing homelessness.
or hard to-serve geographic areas, EXHIBIT C:
Strategies include increasing rapid
or special subpopulations such as
rehousing for families experiencing
transitional age youth. FAMILY
homelessness, increasing the
Action Area 3: Expand availability of flexible housing
Communities Capacity to HOMELESS
funds to support move-in costs
Provide Safe and Effective and flexible housing subsidies, and Shelter and Interim Housing, ACTION
continuing to leverage housing
focuses on developing training authority division resources for and protocols for first responders SUMMARY
families experiencing homelessness.
when engaging people on the Expanding housing access in high The following section summarizes
streets and encampments, with opportunity neighborhoods through actions, strategies, and funding
considerations for interacting with centralized landlord outreach will principles of the Riverside County
key subpopulations like Transition have a significant impact on the CoC Homeless Action Plan for
Aged Youth. These strategies families at-risk of and experiencing health of families, most significantly also call for the need to establish for families with children. Lastly, homelessness.
resources and refine policies and this action area calls for the procedures for existing programs There is a significant number of advocacy of legislation protecting accessed by Transition Aged Youth. families experiencing homelessness against housing discrimination in Additionally, this action area calls in Riverside County and numerous the housing search, which has a households and families that are
74 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
significant impact on families looking Action Area 2: Equitably Address the EXHIBIT F:
to utilize rental assistance, subsidies, Health, Safety, and Services Needs or vouchers. of People Experiencing Unsheltered
DOMESTIC
Homelessness includes a specific
Action Area 5: Prevent People
from Experiencing the Crisis of strategy to develop county wide
VIOLENCE
Homelessness focuses on increasing encampment management protocols. homelessness prevention, diversion, This will include establishing best
HOMELESS
and mediation services, which will practice in encampment management, greatly benefit families at-risk of incorporating person-centered ACTION
homelessness. By collaborating with approaches, enhancing coordination with providers, cities, regional
cross-sector partners, the Action SUMMARY
Plan will address the inflows into governments, and developing homelessness for families through formal Encampment Management Action Area 2: Equitably Address effective discharge planning, early and Resolution Protocols. Funding the Health, Safety, and Services Principles call for the investment
identification, and the expansion of Needs of People Experiencing in multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional Unsheltered Homelessness, social and housing supports.
solutions to address the health, highlights the need to develop safety, and housing needs of training for first responders when people experiencing unsheltered engaging people experiencing EXHIBIT D: homelessness and staying in
unsheltered homelessness who
encampments. are survivors of domestic violence.
ENCAMPMENT
Additionally, this action area focused
HOMELESS on establishing key resources for
EXHIBIT E: special subpopulations experiencing
unsheltered homelessness like
ACTION
VETERAN survivors fleeing domestic violence.
SUMMARY Action Area 3: Expand
HOMELESS Communities Capacity to Provide
Stakeholder feedback from the Safe and Effective Shelter and Needs Assessment and Gaps ACTION Interim Housing calls to increase Analysis of the County of Riverside the number of crisis housing highlighted differing regional SUMMARY beds regionally, with emphasis on approaches to outreach and domestic violence shelter beds and The successful response to veteran
engagement. Some regions utilize capacity. Part of this action area Homelessness in Riverside County
more enforcement approaches addressed the need to expand represents a roadmap on how to
and others more engagement access to resources and refine crisis approaches. The complexities of effectively respond to the unique housing policies and procedures
needs of subpopulations. While
outreach and engagement often to ensure that they are accessible, veteran homelessness is included in all
come to a point when responding low-barrier, and housing focused. the action areas of the plan, it is most
to encampments, which vary Part of this process will be to assess referenced in Action Area 5: Prevent
significantly from region to region, regional capacity and develop real- People from Experiencing the Crisis
encampment to encampment. There time bed availability.
of Homelessness. The plan calls
currently is not a unified approach to
for the need to continue to expand
encampment management.
upstream early identification, housing,
Action Area 1: Strengthen System and social supports for veterans at-risk EXHIBIT G:
to Better Prevent and End of homelessness. Funding Principles Homelessness of the Homeless call for the investment in programs RACIAL EQUITY Action Plan calls for the need to that immediately address the needs refine communications efforts of data-informed special populations HOMELESS around homelessness in Riverside like veterans through housing and County. Due to the visibility of supports. ACTION
unsheltered street homelessness
and encampments, it is important SUMMARY
to proactively engage the public
around the challenges, activities, Action Area 1: Strengthen System and implementations of homeless to Better Prevent and End programs and resources. Homelessness calls to center race equity in the County of Riverside
CoC's Homeless Response. Black,
Indigenous, and Communities of
75 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
Color (BIPOC) are significantly populations experiencing encampments, with special focus on overrepresented in the homeless unsheltered homelessness, including key subpopulations like older adults/ population, a legacy of historical LGBTQAI+ individuals and families. seniors. and contemporary structural racism. Action Area 3: Expand Action Area 3: Expand
The homeless response system Communities Capacity to Provide Communities Capacity to Provide also plays a role in perpetuating Safe and Effective Shelter and Safe and Effective Shelter and inequities in service provision, Interim Housing calls for the need Interim Housing calls for the need access, and mobility. The County to refine crisis housing policies to refine crisis housing policies of Riverside CoC will continue to
and procedures to ensure they and procedures to ensure they center race equity in the homeless are safe and accessible for key are safe and accessible for key
response, disaggregate data to subpopulations, including LGBTQAI+ subpopulations, including older better develop solutions, and individuals and families. adults/seniors.
look upstream at the inflows and
structural roots of homelessness. Action Area 4: Expand and Ensure Action Area 4: Expand and Ensure Furthermore, this strategy calls Equitable Access to Permanent Equitable Access to Permanent to embed racial equity lens into Housing in Our Communities Housing in Our Communities all homelessness and housing addresses the expanding resources addresses the expanding resources decisions, develop a racial equity to meet the housing needs of key to meet the housing needs of key impact assessment that will forecast subpopulations, including LGBTQAI+ subpopulations, including older and assess the impacts of new individuals and families. adults/seniors. programs and funding decisions, and Action Area 5: Prevent People incorporate a focus on racial equity from Experiencing the Crisis of data, analysis, and planned activities EXHIBIT I: OLDER Homelessness outlines strategies to when submitting and reviewing address inflows into homelessness applications for funding. The strategy ADULTS/SENIORS through cross-sector collaboration, emphasizes the need to utilize discharge planning, and early HMIS to analyze data and create HOMELESS identification. To specifically public-facing dashboards around target older adults/seniors, this racial inequities in experiences of ACTION strategy includes identifying homelessness, provision of services, supports to serve older adults and outcomes. The strategy calls to SUMMARY and people with disabilities at risk adapt program guidelines, policies, of experiencing homelessness, procedures focused on racial equity Stakeholder feedback from the including meeting the need for and institute standardized cultural Needs Assessment and Gaps in home supports and access to humility, trauma informed care, Analysis of the County of Riverside licensed adult and senior care and anti-racist trainings for CoC highlighted the need to provide more facilities. It also calls for improving programs and system partners. services to key sub-populations like identification and stabilization of Lastly it highlights the need to create Seniors/Older Adults. older adults/seniors at greatest plan to move forward on racial equity risk of housing loss, developing Action Area 1: Strengthen System
work that will include system and to Better Prevent and End targeted homelessness prevention programmatic actions and alignment Homelessness of the Homeless strategies for older adults/seniors, with other regional equity initiatives. Action Plan calls for utilizing a data- including development of a data- driven approach to invest in programs driven framework for identifying addressing significant service gaps older adults/seniors at greatest EXHIBIT H: and priority needs for under-servec risk of housing loss. Additionally, or hard to-serve geographic areas, or this strategy highlights the need LGBTQIA+ special subpopulations such as older for providing subsidized housing adults/seniors. to homeless disabled individuals
HOMELESS pursuing SSI and supporting in-
Action Area 2: Equitably Address the
home care and long-term care
Health, Safety, and Services Needs
ACTION options for older adults/seniors.
of People Experiencing Unsheltered
Lastly, to better address the inflows
Homelessness, highlights the
SUMMARY into homelessness, the Riverside
need to establish resources for key
County CoC will advocate and push
Action Area 2: Equitably Address special populations experiencing to expand tenant protections and
unsheltered homelessness, including
the Health, Safety, and Services services that support tenants, which Needs of People Experiencing older adults/seniors. Strategies will have a significant impact on
also include co-developing
Unsheltered Homelessness, older adults/seniors.
highlights the need to establish protocols for first responders when engaging people on the streets and
resources for key special
76 / HOMELESS ACTION PLAN
EXHIBIT J:
OTHER SPECIAL
POPULATIONS
HOMELESS
ACTION
SUMMARY
While these subpopulations are
addressed throughout the plan,
they are specially called out in the
following action areas.
Action Area 2: Equitably Address
the Health, Safety, and Services
Needs of People Experiencing
Unsheltered Homelessness,
highlights the need to establish
resources for key special
populations experiencing
unsheltered homelessness,
including chronically homeless
individuals, individuals with Severe
Mental Illness (SMI), individuals with
Substance Use Disorders (SUD), and
high utilizers of emergency services.
Action Area 3: Expand
Communities Capacity to Provide
Safe and Effective Shelter and
Interim Housing calls for the need
to refine crisis housing policies
and procedures to ensure they
are safe and accessible for key
subpopulations, including chronically
homeless individuals, individuals
with Severe Mental IlIness (SMI),
individuals with Substance Use
Disorders (SUD), and high utilizers of
emergency services.
Action Area 4: Expand and Ensure
Equitable Access to Permanent
Housing in Our Communities
addresses the expanding resources
to meet the housing needs of key
subpopulations, including chronically
homeless individuals, individuals
with Severe Mental Illness (SMI),
individuals with Substance Use
Disorders (SUD), and high utilizers of
emergency services.