Grant Program Providing Responses To Homelessness

The act creates the connecting Coloradans experiencing homelessness with services, recovery care, and housing supports grant program (grant program), administered by the division of housing (division) in the department of local affairs (department).

The grant program provides grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations to enable those entities to make investments and improvements in their communities or regions of the state to address and respond to the needs of people experiencing homelessness.

The act requires the division to develop policies, procedures, and guidelines governing the administration of the grant program. The act specifies how grant funding is to be awarded and the eligible uses of grant money awarded under the grant program. The act specifies requirements for grant recipients.

The act creates the connecting Coloradans experiencing homelessness with services, recovery care, and housing supports fund (fund) in the department. The act specifies requirements pertaining to the administration of the fund. The act requires a transfer of $105 million from the economic recovery and relief cash fund to the fund to administer the grant program. The act allows for up to $5 million of the money appropriated to the fund to be used for data collection and outreach efforts.

The act sets forth specified reporting requirements pertaining to the grant program.

The act requires the department, in conjunction with the department of health care policy and financing, to report to the house of representatives public and behavioral health and human services committee and the senate health and human services committee, and to its committee of reference during its "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act" hearing, any results, recommendations, and federal implications concerning any supportive housing pilot program currently being administered by the department in conjunction with the department of health care policy and financing.

The act requires the division to report on the activities of the grant program as part of the regular annual public report prepared by the division on affordable and emergency housing spending.

The act appropriates $9,218 to the office of information technology to provide information technology services for the department.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)