AB 146

Grants to homeless individuals and families

This bill provides an additional $900,000 in each fiscal year of the 2021-23

fiscal biennium for grants to provide housing and associated supportive services to

homeless individuals and families.

Grants to defray housing costs and for diversion programming

This bill provides an additional $500,000 in each fiscal year of the 2021-23

fiscal biennium for grants or loans to persons or families of low or moderate income

to defray housing costs.

The bill also provides $300,000 for grants or loans to eligible organizations to

assist persons or families of low or moderate income to obtain and participate in

diversion programming. The bill defines “diversion programming” as short-term

intervention that supports persons or families of low or moderate income in

identifying immediate, safe housing arrangements, other than temporary shelters,

including by utilizing conflict resolution and mediation skills to reconnect the

individuals or families to their support systems.

Grants for housing navigators

This bill creates an annual appropriation of $300,000 to be used by the

Department of Administration to provide grants to Continuum of Care organizations

for hiring housing navigators.

homeless case management services

This bill requires the Department of Children and Families to allocate in each

fiscal year $1,000,000 of funding under the Temporary Assistance for Needy

Families (TANF) block grant program to the Department of Administration to make

grants to shelter facilities for case management services for homeless families.

Current law requires DCF to allocate $500,000 of that funding to DOA to make the

grants. The bill also increases the annual limit on grants to a shelter facility from

$50,000 to $75,000. Also, the bill eliminates a restriction under current law that

limits DCF to making no more than 10 grants in total each year. In addition, the bill

allows shelters to use the grants for professional development of case managers, in

addition to the uses allowed under current law. The bill provides that professional

development includes travel expenses necessary for case managers to participate in

training. However, the bill provides that no more than 10 percent of a grant can be

used for professional development purposes.