This week, the Assembly gave final approval to the No Place Like Home Initiative (NPLH) and moved it forward to the Governor for consideration.  Assembly Bill 1618 (Committee on Budget) establishes a $2 billion bond program for the permanent support housing of California’s homeless struggling with mental illness.  This bond program will be partially funded through a portion of Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) funding enacted through Proposition 63 in 2004. 

RCRC worked in partnership with the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), Urban Counties of California (UCC), and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California (CBHDA) over the past several weeks to negotiate critical amendments of importance to California’s counties.  The NPLH initiative will provide both competitive and non-competitive bond funding to support the construction and reconstruction of supportive housing projects as outlined below:

  • $2 billion in bond financing
  • $1.8 billion of all funding will be available on a competitive basis
  • $200 million will be available through a non-competitive process
  • $6.2 million in technical assistance funding
  • Establishes an “Advisory Committee” to assist in the development of the guidelines

In collaboration and partnership with local government organizations, RCRC successfully negotiated several significant amendments to ensure all counties have access to these critical funds and that the NPLH initiative furthers the intent of the MHSA.  While there are a number of technical and clarifying amendments that we addressed over the past several weeks, the key provisions advocated for and secured as part of the negotiations include:

Rural Set-Aside

A minimum of 8 percent of the total $1.8 billion in competitive funding is set-aside for small counties under 200,000 population.

County Groupings

Counties will be grouped by population to ensure they are only competing against like-sized counties: Large (750,000+ population), Medium (200,000 – 749,999 population) and Small (under 200,000 population).

Non-Competitive Funding

Counties will receive a $500,000 minimum funding level or a county can opt to receive their share based on the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s homeless count.

NPLH Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee will have both a small and large county representative to help development of the NPLH guidelines and additional criteria. 

County Consultation 

The California Department of Housing and Community Development will develop the NPLH guidelines and criteria in consultation with CSAC.  As part of this negotiated compromise, CSAC will work in collaboration with RCRC, UCC, and CBHDA to ensure that all counties have a strong role in the process.

Technical Assistance

Funding for technical assistance will be distributed to counties based on the following population groupings: Large ($150,000), Medium ($100,000), and Small ($75,000).

Legislative language outlining the bond financing mechanism component of NPLH has not yet been released.  It is our understanding that subsequent legislation will be unveiled in the coming weeks.  RCRC will continue to work in partnership with CSAC, UCC, and CBHDA to ensure the financing component compliments these provisions.