SR-301-004 (3)
Council Meeting: September 26, 2000 Santa Monica, CA
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Transmittal of the FY1999-00 Annual Review of the City’s Coordinated Plan for
Homeless Services and Recommendation to Hold a Public Hearing
INTRODUCTION
This report transmits the FY1999-00 Annual Review of the City’s Coordinated Plan for Home-
less Services and recommends the City Council hold a public hearing on the Plan pursuant to
Municipal Code Section 2.69.030.
BACKGROUND
The Public Safety Initiative (now Municipal Code Section 2.69.010 through 2.69.030), adopted
by City Council in September of 1994, required the City to adopt a plan to coordinate services to
homeless individuals and to report on the effectiveness of this plan annually. The City’s Coordi-
nated Plan for Homeless Services was adopted by City Council as part of the City’s Consoli-
dated Plan, a multi-year planning document required by the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD). This report transmits the FY1999-00 Annual Review of the City’s
Coordinated Plan for Homeless Services and Related Issues.
In connection with the annual review and pursuant to Municipal Code Section 2.69.030, a public
hearing is required to gain input on:
the impact of the City’s homeless population on other residents of the City;
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the effectiveness of the delivery of services to homeless persons by the City and various
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social service agencies;
the cost of those services; and
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the changes which should be made in the plan in order to carry out its primary goals and
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objectives.
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Notice of this public hearing has been sent to City Boards and Commissions, the Chamber of
Commerce, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, Santa Monica College, the Los
Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), City-funded agencies, neighborhood organiza-
tions and other relevant community groups. A display ad was placed in the “Our Times” section
of the Los Angeles Times on September 7, 2000.
DISCUSSION
As detailed in the attached FY1999-00 Annual Review of the City’s Coordinated Plan for Home-
less Services, the City continues to implement its coordinated homeless services in compliance
with goals detailed in Municipal Code Section 2.69.010. Program outcomes for FY1999-00
demonstrate high achievement in housing placements, despite a shrinking supply of affordable
housing and a 52% increase in the number of homeless people served since FY98-99. This
increase in the number served does not indicate a marked increase in the City’s homeless
population (according to the homeless census conducted this year). Rather, the increase indi-
cates success in the efforts of those providing services finally being able to engage the hard-to-
reach “dually diagnosed” homeless, such as those with untreated mental illness coupled with an
addiction to alcohol and/or other drugs.
Data collected through the City-implemented computerized network and the Citywide homeless
census—both of which are discussed in the attached review—reveals that most of the local
homeless population are single men, and more than half have a mental or other disability. This
population, easy to recognize on the street and often described professionally as the “service
resistant,” is beginning to use City-funded services in significant numbers due to recently insti-
tuted staff training about working with the mentally ill and those with substance addictions. Be-
cause of the providers’ increased ability to work successfully with such a challenging population,
of the 2,953 persons enrolled in City-funded homeless programs, 743 obtained transitional
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housing (a 36% increase over last year); 471 moved into permanent housing (38% more than
last year); and 597 found jobs (a 10% increase). While these successes were accomplished
without any funding increases other than minor cost of living adjustments, agencies report that
case managers and their colleagues have been stretched thin and are straining under the
weight of heavy caseloads. Nonetheless, the increasing expertise of these highly dedicated
workers has earned the “Santa Monica/Westside Continuum of Care” a HUD 2000 Best Prac-
tices award for cutting-edge work from the Los Angeles HUD Regional Office.
FISCAL/BUDGETARY IMPACT
On June 22, 1999, the City Council approved City funding of homeless programs for FY1999-00
in the amount of $1,761,993. Funding for homeless services in FY2000-01 was approved on
June 20, 2000, in the amount of $1,783,200. This represents a 1.2% increase over last year.
RECOMMENDATION
City staff recommends that the City Council accept this report and hold a public hearing to gain
input on the FY1999-00 Annual Review of the City’s Coordinated Plan for Homeless Services.
Prepared by: Barbara Stinchfield, Director,
Community and Cultural Services Department
Julie Rusk, Human Services Manager
Tracy Scruggs, Human Services Supervisor
Joel Schwartz, Homeless Services Coordinator
Human Services Division
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment I Compliance with the Public Safety Initiative
Attachment II Overview of Homeless Continuum of Care Funding Since FY 1993-94
Attachment III Agency Comments
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