CHAPTER 2.8. California Emergency Solutions and Housing Program [50490. - 50490.5.]

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC 2.8.

in effect

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 50490. Section 50490.

For purposes of this chapter: (a) “Administrative entity” means one of the following that has been designated by the Continuum of Care to administer California Emergency Solutions and Housing Program funds: (1) A unit of general purpose local government. (2) A nonprofit organization that has previously administered HUD Continuum of Care funds as the collaborative applicant, as that term is defined by Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (3) A unified funding agency, as that term is defined by Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (b) “Applicant” means an administrative entity that has applied to receive funds under the program. (c) “At risk of homelessness” has the same meaning as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (d) “Continuum of Care” has the same meaning as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (e) “Continuum of Care service area” means the entire geographic area within the boundaries of a Continuum of Care. (f) “Coordinated Entry System,” or “CES,” means a centralized or coordinated assessment system developed pursuant to Section 576.400(d) or Section 578.7(a)(8), as applicable, of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and related requirements, designed to coordinate program participant intake, assessment, and referrals. In order to satisfy this subdivision, a centralized or coordinated assessment system shall cover the entire geographic area, be easily accessed by individuals and families seeking housing or services, be well advertised, and include a comprehensive and standardized assessment tool. (g) “Department” means the Department of Housing and Community Development. (h) “HMIS” means a Homeless Management Information System, as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The term “HMIS” also includes the use of a comparable database by a victim services provider or legal services provider that is permitted by HUD under Part 576 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (i) “Homeless” has the same meaning as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (j) “HUD” means the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. (k) “Permanent housing” means a structure or set of structures with subsidized or unsubsidized rental housing units subject to applicable landlord-tenant law, with no limit on length of stay and no requirement to participate in supportive services as a condition of access to or continued occupancy in the housing. “Permanent housing” includes permanent supportive housing. (l) “Permanent supportive housing” means permanent housing with no limit on the length of stay that is occupied by the target population and that is linked to onsite or offsite services that assist the supportive housing residents in retaining the housing, improving his or her health status, and maximizing his or her ability to live and, when possible, work in the community. “Permanent supportive housing” includes associated facilities if used to provide services to housing residents. (m) “Program” means the California Emergency Solutions and Housing Program established pursuant to this chapter. (n) “Subrecipient” means a unit of local government or a private nonprofit or for-profit organization that the administrative entity determines is qualified to undertake the eligible activities, described in subdivision (a) of Section 50490.4, for which the administrative entity seeks funds under the program, and that enters into a contract with the administrative entity to undertake those eligible activities in accordance with the requirements of the program. (o) “Temporary housing” means housing that does not qualify as permanent housing as defined under subdivision (l), including, but not limited to, emergency shelters or navigation centers as defined under other federal, state, or local programs. All programs providing temporary housing funded pursuant to this chapter shall have partnerships or other linkages to case management services to connect homeless individuals and families to income, public benefits, health services, and permanent housing

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 50490.1. Section 50490.1.

(a) There is hereby established the California Emergency Solutions and Housing Program, to be administered by the department in accordance with this chapter. (b) The department may carry out the program through the issuance of one or more notices of funding availability as necessary to exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred or imposed on it by this chapter. An administrative entity may submit an application, which shall meet all the requirements in Section 50490.3, for an allocation pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 50490.2 in response to a notice of funding availability issued by the department pursuant to this section. Any notice of funding availability issued pursuant to this section shall not be subject to the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 50490.2. Section 50490.2.

(a) The department shall allocate 50 percent of moneys available in the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund described in subdivision (c) of Section 50472, and any moneys that have not yet been made available pursuant to a notice of funding availability or request for proposal as of June 30, 2018, that were previously appropriated by Item 2240-105-0001 in the Budget Act of 2016 (Chapter 23 of the Statutes of 2016) for purposes of the California Emergency Solutions Grants Program (Chapter 19 (commencing with Section 50899.1)) for expenditure by an administrative entity within each Continuum of Care service area using the most recent data available for that Continuum of Care service area. The department shall allocate the money described in the previous sentence using a formula that is based off of the formula utilized, as of June 30, 2018, for the allocation of grants pursuant to the California Emergency Solutions Grants Program (Chapter 19 (commencing with Section 50899.1)), and that includes the following formula components: (1) The 2017 point-in-time count published by HUD that includes both sheltered and unsheltered homeless. (2) The number of extremely low income households in rental housing that pay more than 50 percent of household income on rent, based on HUD’s most recent Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy dataset. (3) (A) The number of persons below the federal poverty line divided by the total population within the Continuum of Care service area, based on data from the United States Census Bureau. (B) The formula required by this subdivision shall afford double weight to the factor described in this paragraph. (b) The administrative entity within a Continuum of Care service area that receives an allocation pursuant to this section shall not use more than 5 percent of that allocation for administrative costs related to the planning and execution of eligible activities. For purposes of this subdivision, “administrative costs” does not include staff and overhead costs directly related to carrying out the eligible activities described in subdivision (a) of Section 50490.4. An administrative entity may share any funds available for administrative costs with a subrecipient. (c) Any funds not distributed by the Continuum of Care service area or otherwise returned to the department shall be reallocated in the following manner in order to redistribute funds as soon as possible: (1) Any funds not distributed after the initial round of awards shall be reallocated among all Continuum of Care service areas with a participating administrative entity, in accordance with the formula specified in subdivision (a) and any other applicable requirements of this section, in a subsequent notice of funding availability released for the program. (2) Any funds not distributed after the second round of awards shall revert to be used for the Multifamily Housing Program (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 50675)). (d) Funds available under the program are not required to be matched.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 50490.3. Section 50490.3.

(a) An application submitted in response to the department’s notice of funding availability shall meet all of the following minimum requirements: (1) The application requests an allocation pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 50490.2 in order to carry out one or more of the eligible activities described in subdivision (a) of Section 50490.4 within the relevant Continuum of Care service area. (2) The applicant is an administrative entity that meets one of the following: (A) Has prior experience administering the eligible activities described in the application. (B) Has partnered with one or more local governments or other entities within the relevant Continuum of Care service area that have the necessary prior experience to administer the requested funds. (3) (A) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (B), the application documents that the Continuum of Care service area has a functioning CES and HMIS that meet the applicable HUD requirements, as set forth in the department’s notice of funding availability. (B) If the Continuum of Care does not have systems in place that meet the requirements of subparagraph (A), the application documents that a minimum of 20 percent of the allocation to the Continuum of Care service area pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 50490.2 will be used to implement or update its systems to comply with the applicable HUD requirements. (4) The application describes or provides documentation of the local program or project selection process anticipated to be used to allocate available funds to subrecipients qualified to carry out the eligible activities. In order to satisfy the requirements of this subdivision, the applicant’s proposed program or project selection process shall avoid conflicts of interest in program or project selection and shall be easily accessible to the public. (5) The application identifies anticipated estimated amounts to be used for the specific eligible activities described in the application and numerical goals and performance measures established by the applicant, in collaboration with the relevant Continuum of Care, to be used to evaluate success in implementing eligible activities described in the application for the anticipated term of the agreement with the department entered into pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 50490.5. Any goal established pursuant to this paragraph shall be greater than zero, unless using funds for systemwide or administrative capacity-building such as improving CES functionality. At minimum, the application shall evaluate the following project or system performance measures based on HMIS data from the Continuum of Care service area, as set forth in the department’s notice of funding availability: (A) The number of homeless persons served. (B) The number of unsheltered homeless persons served, and the average length of time spent as homeless before entry into the program or project. (C) The number of homeless persons exiting the program or project to permanent housing. (D) The number of persons that return to homelessness after exiting the program or project. (b) An application submitted in response to the department’s notice of funding availability may include, if available, the most current plan addressing actions to be taken within the Continuum of Care service area to address homelessness. If there is no current plan addressing actions to be taken within the Continuum of Care service area to address homelessness, the application may request that funds allocated to the Continuum of Care service area pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 50490.2 be used to develop a plan. If an application requests funding to develop a plan pursuant to this subdivision, the applicant shall submit the plan developed to the department prior to the expiration of the contract pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 50490.5.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 50490.4. Section 50490.4.

(a) An administrative entity shall use funds allocated pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 50490.2 for one or more of the following eligible activities: (1) Rental assistance and housing relocation and stabilization services to ensure housing affordability to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. Rental assistance provided pursuant to this paragraph shall not exceed 48 months for each assisted household, and rent payments shall not exceed two times the current HUD fair market rent for the local area, as determined pursuant to Part 888 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (2) Operating subsidies in the form of 15-year capitalized operating reserves for new and existing affordable permanent housing units for homeless individuals and families. (3) Flexible housing subsidy funds for local programs that establish or support the provision of rental subsidies in permanent housing to assist homeless individuals and families. Funds used for purposes of this paragraph may support rental assistance, bridge subsidies to property owners waiting for approval from another permanent rental subsidy source, vacancy payments, or project-based rent or operating reserves. (4) Operating support for emergency housing interventions, including, but not limited to, the following: (A) Navigation centers that provide temporary room and board and case managers who work to connect homeless individuals and families to income, public benefits, health services, permanent housing, or other shelter. (B) Street outreach services to connect unsheltered homeless individuals and families to temporary or permanent housing. (C) Shelter diversion, including, but not limited to, homelessness prevention activities, and other necessary service integration activities to connect individuals and families to alternate housing arrangements, services, and financial assistance. (5) Systems support for activities necessary to maintain a comprehensive homeless services and housing delivery system, including CES, data, and HMIS reporting, and homelessness planning activities. (6) To develop or update a CES system pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 50490.3, or to develop a plan addressing actions to be taken within the Continuum of Care service area to address homelessness pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 50490.3. (b) The administrative entity or a subrecipient, as applicable, shall establish the duration, amount, and other terms of assistance provided, consistent with the requirements of this chapter and other reasonable limitations established by the department in the notice of funding availability or in the contract with the department entered into pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 50490.5. (c) Unless otherwise exempted by federal rules, an administrative entity that is allocated funding under the program for a program or project that is an eligible activity shall utilize a CES that meets the requirements of Section 576.400(d) or Section 578.7(a)(8), as applicable, of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations and related HUD requirements. Except in the case of a program or project specifically concerned with homelessness prevention activities as a part of shelter diversion activities authorized under subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), an administrative entity that is allocated funding under the program for an eligible program or project funded shall prioritize assistance to homeless individuals and families over assistance to individuals and families at risk of homelessness. (d) An administrative entity that is allocated funds under the program for eligible activities described in subdivision (a) that provide permanent housing shall incorporate the core components of Housing First, as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 8255 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. (e) An administrative entity shall provide all eligible activities in a manner consistent with the Housing First practices described in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision (b) of Section 8409 of Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations. (f) An administrative entity shall not use more than 40 percent of any funds allocated pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 50490.2 in a fiscal year for operating support for emergency housing interventions as described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a).

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 50490.5. Section 50490.5.

(a) The department shall distribute funds allocated to an administrative entity pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 50490.2 by executing a contract with that entity that shall be for a term of five years. After a contract has expired pursuant to this subdivision, any funds not expended for eligible activities described in subdivision (a) of Section 50490.4 shall revert to the department to be used for the Multifamily Housing Program (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 50675)). (b) (1) An administrative entity that receives funds pursuant to this chapter shall submit to the department an annual report on a form issued by the department, pertaining to the administrative entity’s program or project selection process performed in collaboration with the Continuum of Care, contract expenditures, and progress toward meeting state and local goals as demonstrated by the performance measures set forth in the application pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 50490.3. (2) The annual report required by this subdivision shall include the information required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), pertaining to funds distributed to subrecipients. (3) The department may request additional information, as needed to meet other applicable reporting or audit requirements. (c) (1) An administrative entity that receives funds under the program shall be responsible for ensuring that the expenditure of those funds is in accordance with this chapter and for the eligible activities described in subdivision (a) of Section 50490.4. The administrative entity shall monitor the activities and expenditures of any subrecipients at least annually to ensure that those activities and expenditures comply with this chapter. (2) As part of the annual report required pursuant to subdivision (b), the administrative entity shall report to the department on the expenditures and activities of any subrecipients for each year of the term of the contract with the department until all funds awarded to a subrecipient have been expended. (d) The department may monitor the expenditures and activities of the administrative entity, as the department deems necessary, to ensure compliance with program requirements. (e) The department may, as it deems appropriate or necessary, request the repayment of funds from an administrative entity or pursue any other remedies available to it by law for failure to comply with program requirements.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026