California Public Housing Agencies and Homeless Admission Preference
By Joe Colletti | June 6, 2018 | Comments Off on California Public Housing Agencies and Homeless Admission Preference
As a promising practice, a homeless admission preference has the potential to end homelessness for many households as evidenced by several high percentages (50%+) of new admissions into Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs for several California Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) listed in the table below.
A homeless admission preference expands housing opportunities for households experiencing homelessness over households not experiencing homelessness through Public Housing and HCV programs. This preference must be based on local housing needs and priorities supported by local data sources such as a point-in-time count or the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). PHAs must work with local organizations to establish a homeless admission preference including the local Continuum of Care (CoC), which generally consists of a wide-range of public and private service providers committed to preventing and ending homelessness.
The table below lists the answers that California Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) gave to their local California Continuums of Care (CoC) who were asked two questions by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that focused on local PHAs and homeless admission preference in section 1C-4 of their 2017 Continuum of Care Program application.
CoCs were asked to provide the following information for up to five of the largest PHAs in their geographic area:
- identify the percentage of new admissions to the Public Housing or Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Programs in the PHA’s last fiscal year that were homeless at the time of admission; and
- indicate whether the PHA has a homeless admission preference in its Public Housing and/or HCV program.
The answers in the table below reveal that of the 83 Public Housing Agencies listed,
- 31 or approximately one-third (37.3%) had a percentage of 10% or less of new admissions to the Public Housing or Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Programs in the PHA’s last fiscal year that were homeless at the time of admission;
- 10 or 12% had a percentage of 50% or higher of new admissions to the Public Housing or Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Programs in the PHA’s last fiscal year that were homeless at the time of admission;
- 26 or nearly one-third (31.3%) of PHAs has a general or limited homeless preference in their public housing and/or HCV programs.
In 2013, HUD provided “strategies that PHAs can pursue to expand housing opportunities for individuals and families experiencing homelessness through the Public Housing and HCV programs.”
Also, in 2013, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness provided “guidance to PHAs on how to collaborate and align resources to best prevent and end homelessness” and “how partnering with a variety of organizations can make a substantial impact on ending homelessness.”
Recommendations in these publications focus on increasing the percentage of homeless persons who obtain public housing and Housing Choice Vouchers whenever possible. They also focus on encouraging Public Housing Agencies to establish written homeless preference policies.
Table 1. Public Housing Agency and homeless preference and admissions into public housing and Housing Choice Voucher Program.
Continuum of Care and Public Housing Agency Name
|
% New Admissions into Public Housing andHousing Choice Voucher Program during FY 2016who were homeless at entry |
PHA has General orLimited Homeless | |
|
|
|
|
CA-500 | San Jose/Santa Clara City & County CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara | 79 | Yes-Both |
| Housing Authority of the City of San Jose | 9 | Yes-Both |
CA-501 | San Francisco CoC |
|
|
| San Francisco Housing Authority | 5 | Yes-Both |
CA-502 | Oakland, Berkeley/Alameda County CoC |
|
|
| Livermore Housing Authority | 100 | No |
| Oakland Housing Authority | 9 | Yes-Public Housing |
| Berkeley Housing Authority | 13 | Yes-Public Housing |
| City of Alameda Housing Authority | 21 | Yes-HCV |
| Alameda County Housing Authority | 13 | Yes-HCV |
CA-503 | Sacramento City & County CoC |
|
|
| City of Sacramento | 4 | No |
| County of Sacramento | 21 | Yes-HCV |
CA-504 | Santa Rosa, Petaluma/Sonoma County CoC |
|
|
| Sonoma County Housing Authority | 16 | Yes-HCV |
| Santa Rosa Housing Authority | 66 | Yes-HCV |
CA-505 | Richmond/Contra Costa County CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority of Contra Costa County | 42 | Yes-HCV |
| City of Pittsburg Housing Authority | 7 | No |
| City of Richmond Housing Authority | 12 | No |
CA-506 | Salinas/Monterey, San Benito Counties CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority of the County of Monterey | 35 | Yes-Both |
| Santa Cruz Housing Authority | 37 | Yes-HCV |
CA-507 | Marin County CoC |
|
|
| Marin Housing Authority | 45 | Yes-Both |
CA-508 | Watsonville/Santa Cruz City & County CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz CA072 | 53 | Yes-HCV |
CA-509 | Mendocino County CoC |
|
|
| Community Development Commission of Mendocino County | 1 | Yes-HCV |
CA-510 | Turlock, Modesto/Stanislaus County CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority County of Stanislaus | 39 | Yes-HCV |
| Riverbank Housing Authority | 0 | No |
CA-511 | Stockton/San Joaquin County CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority County of San Joaquin | 19 | Yes-HCV |
CA-512 | Daly City/San Mateo County CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority of San Mateo County | 29 | Yes-HCV |
CA-513 | Visalia/Kings, Tulare Counties CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority of Kings County | 0 | Yes-HCV |
| Housing Authority of Tulare County | 2 | Yes-HCV |
CA-514 | Fresno City & County/Madera County CoC |
|
|
| Fresno Housing Authority | 13 | Yes-Public Housing |
| Madera Housing Authority | 9 | Yes-Public Housing |
CA-515 | Roseville, Rocklin/Placer, Nevada Counties |
|
|
| Regional Housing Authority of Sutter and Nevada Counties | 24 | No |
| Placer County Housing Authority | 3 | No |
| City of Roseville | 22 | No |
CA-516 | Redding/Shasta County CoC |
|
|
| Del Norte County Housing Authority | 22 | No |
| Plumas County Housing Authority | 10 | No |
| Shasta County Housing Authority | – | – |
| City of Redding Housing Authority | 4 | Yes=Both |
CA-517 | Napa City & County CoC |
|
|
| Housing Division, City of Napa | 13 | Yes-HCV |
CA-518 | Vallejo/Solano County CoC |
|
|
| City of Suisun City Public Housing Authority | 1 | No |
| City of Fairfield Public Housing Authority | 8 | Yes-HCV |
| City of Vacaville Public Housing Authority | 4 | No |
| City of Vallejo Public Housing Authority | 15 | No |
| City of Benicia Public Housing Authority | 0 | No |
CA-519 | Chico, Paradise/Butte County CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority of the County of Butte | 5 | Yes-Public Housing |
| Housing Authority of the County of Butte | 3 | Yes-HCV |
CA-520 | Merced City & County CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority of the County of Merced | 20 | Yes-Both |
CA-521 | Davis, Woodland/Yolo County CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority of Yolo County | 19 | No |
CA-522 | Humboldt County CoC |
|
|
| County of Humboldt/City of Eureka Housing Authority | 23 | No |
CA-523 | Colusa, Glen, Trinity Counties CoC* |
|
|
CA-524 | Yuba City/Sutter County CoC |
|
|
| Regional Housing Authority of Sutter and Nevada County | 14 | No |
CA-525 | El Dorado County CoC |
|
|
| El Dorado County Public Housing Authority | 1 | Yes-HCV |
CA-526 | Tuolumne, Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa Counties CoC |
|
|
| Stanislaus County Housing Authority | 0 | Yes-HCV |
CA-527 | Tehama County CoC |
|
|
| Plumas County Community Development Commission | 4 | No |
CA-529 | Lake County CoC* |
|
|
CA-530 | Alpine, Inyo, Mono Counties CoC* |
|
|
CA-600 | Los Angeles City & County CoC |
|
|
| Burbank Housing Authority | 0 | Yes-HCV |
| Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles | 61 | Yes-HCV |
| Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles | 57 | Yes-Both |
| Inglewood Housing Authority | 46 | No |
| Santa Monica Housing Authority | 3 | Yes-HCV |
CA-601 | San Diego City and County CoC |
|
|
| San Diego Housing Commission | 50 | Yes-Both |
| County of San Diego Housing & Community Development | 42 | Yes-HCV |
| Oceanside | 12 | Yes-HCV |
| City of Carlsbad Housing & Neighborhood Services | 17 | Yes-HCV |
| Housing Authority of the City of National City | 0 | No |
CA-602 | Santa Ana, Anaheim/Orange County CoC |
|
|
| Orange County Housing Authority | 20 | Yes-HCV |
| Garden Grove Housing Authority | 5 | Yes-HCV |
| Anaheim Housing Authority | 15 | Yes-HCV |
| Santa Ana Housing Authority | 42 | Yes-HCV |
CA-603 | Santa Maria/Santa Barbara County CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara | 7 | Yes-Both |
| Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara | 24 | Yes-Public Housing |
CA-604 | Bakersfield/Kern County CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority of the County of Kern | 75 | Yes-Both |
| Wasco Housing Authority | 0 | No |
CA-606 | Long Beach CoC |
|
|
| City of Long Beach PHA | 40 | Yes-HCV |
CA-607 | Pasadena CoC |
|
|
| City of Pasadena Housing Department | 32 | Yes-HCV |
CA-608 | Riverside City & County CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority of the County of Riverside | 28 | Yes-Both |
CA-609 | San Bernardino City & County CoC |
|
|
| San Bernardino County Housing Authority | 31 | Yes-Both |
| Upland Housing Authority No | – | No |
| Needles Housing Authority | 4 | Yes-Both |
CA-611 | Oxnard, San Buenaventura/Ventura County CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura | 14 | Yes-Both |
| Area Housing Authority of the County of Ventura | 7 | Yes-HCV |
| Oxnard Housing Department | 15 | Yes-HCV |
| Port Hueneme Housing Authority | 0 | No |
| Santa Paula Housing Authority | 0 | No |
CA-612 | Glendale CoC |
|
|
| Glendale Housing Authority | 100 | Yes-HCV |
CA-613 | Imperial County CoC |
|
|
| Imperial Valley Housing Authority | 0 | No |
| Calexico Housing Authority | 0 | No |
CA-614 | San Luis Obispo County CoC |
|
|
| Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo | 63 | Yes-HCV |
*Did not submit a 2017 Continuum of Care Program application.