Study session on county efforts to address homelessness

In plain English

The county's Human Services Department would brief the Board on homelessness data and programs for July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, and get permission to rewrite the "Housing for a Healthy Santa Cruz" plan (which expires December 31, 2026) by the end of this year. The Board would also approve moving management of two supportive-housing funding streams — a federal grant known as MATCH and state Behavioral Health Services Act money — from the Health Services Agency to the Housing for Health Division, so they can be "pooled" into one flexible housing subsidy fund that pays long-term rent plus care management for seniors and people with disabilities. A yes vote approves $1,380,691 in transfers between the two agencies, accepts $413,514 in new federal money, and directs staff to report back by the last October 2027 Board meeting.

The pooled fund is aimed at seniors and people with disabilities on fixed incomes leaving homelessness into permanent supportive housing, and the grants involved currently support up to 41 master-leased units and about 63 behavioral health clients. The data presented also shapes what the county's next three-year homelessness plan will prioritize.

Key facts

In Fiscal Year 2025-26, 1,110 people exited homelessness into permanent housing — 52.4% of all program exits; for the first time in four calendar years, more households entered programs than exited.
The 2026 Point-in-Time Count rose 12%, from 1,473 to 1,648 people, which staff attribute mostly to counting 126 safe parking and safe sleeping participants and expanded youth outreach (identified youth went from 20 to 86).
Average stay in shelter and transitional housing was 183 days versus the federal "high performing" benchmark of 20 days; returns to homelessness within two years have run 11.5% to 14.6% against a 5% federal benchmark.
The HUD MATCH grant is $1,240,542 for March 1, 2026 – February 28, 2027, covering leasing ($1,061,545), supportive services ($70,543), operating ($57,018) and administration ($51,436) for up to 41 units; transfer to Housing for Health would take effect October 1, 2026.
Pool funding also includes $914,623 in Behavioral Health Services Act money for FY 2026-27 and a request to use at least $729,509.46 in Behavioral Health Bridge Housing funds; staff say no additional general fund money is needed.
Front St., Inc. was selected through the Housing for Health Vendor Pool to help operate the fund; it already subcontracts on both the federal grant and the behavioral health housing contract.

Reasons to support

With federal and state homelessness money shrinking, combining the MATCH, Behavioral Health Services Act and Bridge Housing dollars under one division is meant to increase efficiency and expand the number of households in permanent supportive housing without new general fund spending.
The data argues for this target population: 71% of Point-in-Time respondents reported a health condition limiting their ability to work or keep housing, long-term homelessness among seniors and people with disabilities keeps rising, and rents are outpacing Social Security retirement and disability income.
The county reports concrete gains to build on — over $22M secured for four Homekey projects with capacity for 74 households, $25.5M for three low-barrier shelters now open with 86 beds, a new South County prevention program with Community Action Board, and expanded disability advocacy with Senior Legal Services.

Reasons to oppose or change it

The county is falling well short of federal performance standards — 183 days average shelter stay against a 20-day benchmark, and only 712 people (48% of the HUD goal) linked to housing through street outreach — and staff concede that without new resources, improvement will rely only on better quality and consistency of existing services.
Reorganizing who manages grants does not add housing units or rent subsidies; it moves existing dollars between departments, and staff say street outreach and both temporary and permanent housing capacity remain severely limited relative to need.
Housing production that the plan depends on is lagging: Watsonville, Capitola and the unincorporated county are at 6% or less of their very low-income housing goals for the current eight-year cycle, compared with nearly 50% for the City of Santa Cruz.
Some pooled money is time-limited or not yet secured — Medi-Cal transitional rent is available only through December 31, 2029, and the $729,509.46 in Bridge Housing funds still requires state approval — raising the question of what happens to subsidized tenants when those sources end.

Official wording

Conduct study session to review updates on addressing homelessness in the County of Santa Cruz, and take related actions (Human Services Department)

Official agenda Staff Report Attachment A Annual Report Item 7.b - REVISED AUD60 Clean Copy Item 7.b - REVISED AUD60 (strikeout copy) Packet 22-32 AUD-74 BHSA from HSA to HSD (eSign)AUD-74 HUD from HSA to HSD (eSign)AUD-74 BHSA from HSA to HSD (eSign)AUD-74 HUD Match from HSA to HSD (eSign)

Summary written by claude-opus-5 from the agenda and the Staff Report. It can contain mistakes. The official documents govern.