HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1766

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that homelessness is one of the most pressing problems in Hawaii, and it requires a robust, comprehensive effort to increase the pace at which Hawaii addresses homelessness.  In 2017, for the first time in years, Hawaii's homelessness rate decreased.  Hawaii is turning the tide on the homelessness crisis by investing in proven programs such as housing first and rapid rehousing.  The network of people and resources engaged in addressing homelessness has begun to make more efficient use of available resources by implementing a data-driven, collaborative process that matches individuals experiencing homelessness with the services they need to make more efficient use of available resources.  However, Hawaii continues to have the highest per-capita rate of homelessness of any state in the United States, with an estimated 7,220 people living on the streets and in shelters.  Given the magnitude of Hawaii's homelessness problem, the State needs to increase its investment in, and commitment to, a solution.

     The legislature further finds that addressing homelessness requires a multi-faceted approach using proven interventions that are targeted to particular characteristics of the homeless population and address the root causes of homelessness.  First and foremost, Hawaii needs more housing that is affordable to low-income families.  Hawaii has the highest housing costs in the nation, and the lowest wages after adjustment for the cost of living.  The greatest need is for housing that is affordable to residents with incomes at thirty per cent or below the area median income, the lowest end of the income scale.  Much like housing provided through the State's low-income public housing program, housing for this income demographic will require significant government subsidies to build.  The Hawaii public housing authority manages hundreds of units that are vacant due to the need for major repairs, and these units could be rapidly brought back into service to assist homeless and extremely low-income families.

     The legislature further finds that in addition to affordable housing, Hawaii needs to sustain programs that connect people experiencing homelessness with critical services and housing, programs such as outreach, rapid rehousing, the State's rent supplement program, housing first, Oahu's family assessment center, law enforcement assisted diversion, and substance abuse treatment.

     Moreover, the legislature recognizes that outreach is critically necessary to connect people to all available housing options such as emergency shelters, transitional shelters, housing first, rapid rehousing with rent stipends, and other assistance.  For many chronically homeless mentally ill persons, it may take fifty or more individual outreach contacts, over several months or years, to establish trust and move them off the streets.  Outreach teams may also perform wound care, distribute hygiene kits or snacks, and offer to obtain identification documents.  Housing first programs have proven to be effective in addressing homelessness for chronically homeless individuals, including those who have an addiction, mental illness, or both.

     The legislature recognizes that the success of housing first programs is attributable to its principles, which include:

     (1)  Moving chronically homeless individuals into housing directly from the streets and shelters without a precondition of accepting or complying with treatment;

     (2)  Providing robust support services for program participants that are predicated on assertive engagement rather than coercion;

     (3)  Granting chronically homeless individuals priority as program participants in housing first programs;

     (4)  Embracing a harm reduction approach to addictions rather than mandating abstinence while supporting program participants' commitment to recovery; and

     (5)  Providing program participants with leases and tenant protections as provided by law.

     The legislature finds that, while costly, housing first programs are cost-effective.  Providing housing and services under the housing first program is less costly than the alternative of providing emergency services and other necessary services for unhoused chronically homeless persons.

     The legislature also finds that rapid rehousing and the State's rent supplement program have proven effective in securing and maintaining housing for working homeless individuals and families.  A significant segment of the homeless population has a stable source of income and only requires modest financial help and some housing stabilization services instead of full-scale subsidies and intensive, ongoing case management.  More than a quarter of Hawaii households fall into homelessness simply because they lack money to pay rent, but they have no other underlying issues.  For these individuals and families, a small subsidy may allow them to rapidly move out of shelters and into permanent homes.  Rapid rehousing provides struggling households with a one-time payment to cover delinquent rent, utility payments, or first month's rent and security deposit.  This one-time financial intervention is often all that families need to avoid homelessness or quickly bounce back from becoming homeless.  In contrast, the State's rent supplement program provides a "shallow" but sustained subsidy to struggling households.  Unlike the "deep" Section 8 subsidy program, which helps families at the lowest end of the income scale by bridging a wide affordability gap between income and housing costs, the State's rent supplement program helps households that are closer to financial self-sufficiency but that still have a narrow affordability gap to fill.  The program provides a small time-limited subsidy that wards off homelessness while providing time for families to close the affordability gap and achieve self-sufficiency.  Financial case management and counseling are critical to stabilizing these families for future sustainability in permanent housing.  Because individual subsidies under the rapid rehousing and state rent supplement programs are relatively low, the programs may resolve homelessness for a large number of individuals and families relative to the total cost of the subsidy programs.

     Additionally, the legislature finds that the family assessment center, which was opened on Oahu in September 2016, has achieved extraordinary results over its first year of operation.  Out of fifty-four households served, ninety-one per cent were successfully housed.  The assessment center offers comprehensive services including benefit reviews and determinations, health assessments, service coordination, and housing placement.  This proven model can be replicated on the neighbor islands as an effective way to move families with children rapidly to permanent housing.  For example, on the island of Hawaii, a large parcel of land has been set aside to develop housing solutions for homelessness in Kona, where the need for localized services is particularly acute.

     Finally, to adequately address homelessness, the legislature recognizes that Hawaii needs to disrupt the ineffective, destructive, and expensive cycle of substance abuse addiction that leads to homelessness, arrest, incarceration, release, and a return to addiction and living on the streets.  The law enforcement assisted diversion program is a pre-booking diversion program that grants police officers the discretionary authority to redirect low-level offenders, who are typically drug-involved and homeless, to case managers if the offender consents to being assisted.

     The purpose of this Act is to appropriate moneys to the Hawaii public housing authority, the department of human services, and the department of health to support the State's most effective efforts to end homelessness:  public housing, outreach, rapid rehousing and the state's rent supplement program, housing first, Oahu's family assessment center, the law enforcement assisted diversion program, and civil legal services.

     SECTION 2.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $35,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the Hawaii public housing authority to provide public housing improvements and renovations statewide.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii public housing authority for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $3,750,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the department of human services to continue to administer housing first programs for chronically homeless individuals in the State.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 4.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $3,750,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the department of human services to continue to administer the rapid rehousing program to assist homeless individuals or families in obtaining or maintaining permanent housing and to cover housing stabilization services and administrative costs to operate the program.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 5.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $800,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the Hawaii public housing authority to administer a state rent supplement pilot program to assist one hundred currently homeless families with minor children or families with minor children at imminent risk of homelessness due to domestic violence in obtaining or maintaining permanent housing, by providing time-limited rental assistance up to $500 per month and financial case management by a United States Department of Housing and Urban Development certified financial counseling organization.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii public housing authority for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 6.  No later than         , the Hawaii public housing authority shall adopt interim rules, which shall be exempt from chapter 91, to address the amount of rental assistance and other program requirements for purposes of the state rent supplement pilot program funded pursuant to section 5 of this Act.  The interim rules shall remain in effect until         , or until rules are adopted pursuant to chapter 91 to effectuate the pilot program, whichever occurs first.  The Hawaii public housing authority may amend the interim rules and the amendments shall be exempt from chapter 91; provided that the interim rules and any amendments to the interim rules shall remain in effect until         , or until rules are adopted pursuant to chapter 91 to effectuate the pilot program, whichever occurs first. 

     SECTION 7.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $2,200,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the department of human services to continue to administer the outreach services program to homeless persons, including, but not limited to, individuals and families with children and unaccompanied homeless youth, including $310,000 for civil legal services.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 8.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $1,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the department of health to continue to administer outreach, counseling, and diversion for unsheltered homeless persons experiencing substance abuse, including $250,000 to continue administering the law enforcement assisted diversion pilot program.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 9.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $680,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the department of human services to continue to administer the family assessment center for homeless families.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 10.  This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2050.


 


 

Report Title:

Homelessness; Housing; Outreach; Rapid Rehousing; State Rent Supplement; Housing First; Oahu Family Assessment Center; Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion Program; Appropriation

 

Description:

Appropriates funds to the Hawaii Public Housing Authority for public housing improvements and renovations, and to administer a Rent Supplement Program.  Appropriates funds to the Department of Human Services to administer the Housing First, Rapid Rehousing, and Family Assessment Center programs, and conduct outreach.  Appropriates funds to the Department of Health to conduct outreach and counseling, and administer the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion Pilot Project.  (HB1766 HD1)

 

 

 

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