Assemblymember Valencia Releases Statement on Upcoming Budget Sub 7 Hearing on Homelessness

SACRAMENTO, CA – The Assembly’s Budget Subcommittee No.7 on Accountability and Oversight is turning its attention to the issue of homelessness. On Monday, May 6, Budget Sub. No. 7 will look closer at how the State is handling homelessness and to ensure that public funds are used efficiently in addressing the homelessness crisis. The hearing will begin promptly at 11:00 a.m. in Room 1100 of the Swing Space.

In response to the escalating homelessness challenge, the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program was created as a follow-up to the Homeless Emergency Aid Program in 2019. The HHAP program extends support to large cities, counties, continuums of care, and tribal entities with formula-based grant funding through which they can address homelessness using a wide variety of strategies and services. The Encampment Resolution Funding (ERF) program is another grant funding effort built to assist local jurisdictions with people experiencing homelessness in encampments by providing services and support that address their immediate physical and mental wellness ultimately leading to meaningful paths to safe and stable housing. These programs were placed under the purview of the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal-ICH) to administer.

The Governor’s 2024 January budget includes a plan to transfer the grant programs from Cal-ICH to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) in accordance with the 2023 Budget Act. The proposal to transfer these programs to HCD will allow HCD to administer the grant funding and provide necessary oversight of the programs, while allowing Cal-ICH to focus on developing statewide policy development and coordination across all state departments. 

At the hearing, panelists including experts and agency officials will testify and provide their insights on their progress in reducing the number of persons experiencing homelessness, collaborative efforts with other entities, and metrics used for tracking these initiatives.

Chairman Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) issued the following statement: “As we look to our current economic conditions, this committee’s objective is to meticulously evaluate our investments in these programs and ask the tough questions to gain insights into how we make sure these taxpayer funded programs are leading to results.”