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Home My WebLink About2022-07-21; Homeless Data; Barberio, GaryTo the members of the: CITY COUNCIL Date 7/21/:i.2CA V CC V CM t/ACM V DCM (3) ✓ July 21, 2022 To: From: Via: Re: Council Memorandum Honorable Mayor Hall and Members of the City Council Gary Barberio, Deputy City Manager, Community Services Mandy Mills, Director of Housing & Homeless Services Geoff Pat~oe, Assistant City Manager (i;j . Homeless Data (Districts -All) {city of Carlsbad Memo ID #2022088 This memorandum provides information related to one of the City Council's goals, related to homelessness. Staff provided the following information in response to a Councilmember's inquiry associated with homeless data. Background On March 11, 2021, the City Council established a goal to reduce the unsheltered homeless population, among those who want help, by 50% within five years, with quarterly reports until we decrease the unsheltered homeless population or five years. The City Council approved a comprehensive package of initiatives, strategically designed to make both short-term and long- term impacts intended to help meet the City Council's goal. Discussion Data is an important part of the process to get an accurate, un-duplicated count, characteristics, and understand what interventions and strategies are effective and which are not. Performance measures can include concepts that are difficult to quantify and measure. To promote transparency and ensure accountability, city staff tracks and provides information on the number of individuals experiencing homelessness in Carlsbad, performance metrics and outcomes, work plan updates, and program expenses to date. Regional Database of Individuals Experiencing Homelessness The HEARTH Act requires that all communities have a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) with the capacity to collect unduplicated counts of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires all Continuums of Care (CoCs) to designate an HMIS Lead Agency which is responsible for managing the HMIS. In San Diego, the HMIS Lead Agency is the Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH). They set policy; oversee technical design, implementation, and monitoring; manage day-to-day system operations, and provide training and technical support for all HMIS users. Community Services Branch Housing & Homeless Services Department 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 442-339-2810 t Council Memo -Homeless Data (Districts -All) July 21, 2022 Page 2 San Diego's HMIS collects data from homeless service providers (Participating Agencies) throughout the Coe geographic area. Staff members at these providers enter data on the clients they serve. Participating Agencies are agencies who have agreed to be a part of the "trust network" of homeless service providers utilizing the HMIS according to established policies, procedures, and protocols. The City of Carlsbad recently became a Participating Agency and enters client information into HMIS. Regions must collect data in accordance with baseline data collection requirements called Universal Data Elements (UDEs). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released the updated HMIS Data Standards which include: • Name • Social Security Number • Date of Birth • Race • Ethnicity • Gender • Veteran Status • Disabling Condition • Project Start Date • Project Exit Date • Destination • Relationship to Head of Household • Client Location • Housing Move-in Date • Living Situation In addition to UDEs, projects may have Program-Specific Data Elements (PSDEs) which provide information about the characteristics of clients, the services that are provided, and client outcomes. Examples of these elements include, but are not limited to: • Income and Sources • Non-Cash Benefits • Health Insurance • Physical Disability • Developmental Disability • Chronic Health Condition • HIV/AIDS • Mental Health Problem • Substance Abuse • Domestic Violence • Date of Engagement Housing Assessment Disposition Council Memo -Homeless Data (Districts -All) July 21, 2022 Page 3 Participating Agencies are required to enter data into the HMIS in real time or within three business days of collecting the information. Outreach programs and clients entered into HMIS must have their current living situation updated at least once every 90 days or they are auto- exited from those programs. Individual data is updated at project entry, whenever there is a change, at least annually for certain data elements depending on the project, and at project exit. This applies to people who are actively engaged with a Participating Agency. Individuals that are not engaged with a Participating Agency will not have data in HMIS. Once an individual is housed, they may have follow up supportive services through a program. In that case their record may be updated in the database. After data is not reported for 90 days, they'will no longer show up in the database. As the data is unique to each individual, any ' reentry into services will reactivate that individual client's data. Criminal Activity in the Regional Database Clients must opt-in to having their information shared within the HMIS by signing a Multi-Party Authorization (MPA) form which authorizes information to be shared exclusively for the purposes of coordinating housing and services, not to track criminal activity. Participating Agencies agree to adhere to the CoC's Privacy Use and Disclosure Policy. City staff does report on the percentage of calls, citations, arrests, and mental health holds attributed to individuals experiencing homelessness during quarterly reports to the City Council. Such information comes from data gathered by the Police Department. Arinual Cost of Homelessness to the City of Carlsbad During quarterly reports to the City C~uncil, city staff provide a detailed report of annual spending towards the City Council's Work Plan. Through the first three quarters of the most recent fiscal year (July 2021-June 2022), the city spent $1,985,315 on the comprehensive homeless response work plan. Of this amount, $1,317,423, or 66%, were attributed to Police Department expenses dedicated to homeless outreach. Staff are currently in the process of compiling information for the 4th quarter report which will include the total amount for the fiscal year. These costs do not include emergency response and other service costs such as ambulance rides, paramedic response, Fire Department response, police patrol outside of the Homeless Response Team, etc. Tracking these costs is complex and problematic to calculate. Council Memo -Homeless Data (Districts -All) July 21, 2022 Page 4 Next Steps Staff provide quarterly reports to the City Council which include data on the performance of the homeless service programs funded by the city. Staff will continue to refine the data presented to ensure they reflect a comprehensive picture of the city's progress towards the City Council's goal. cc! Scott Chadwick, City Manager Celia Brewer, City Attorney Cindie McMahon, Assistant City Attorney Mickey Williams, Chief of Police