Grants to homeless individuals and families, grants to defray housing costs and for diversion programming, housing navigator grants, homeless case management services, and making an appropriation. (FE)

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.