(a) The Interagency Council shall provide leadership in the development of strategies and policies that guide the implementation of the District’s policies and programs for meeting the needs of individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
(b) In fulfilling the responsibility described in subsection (a) of this section, the Interagency Council shall:
(1) Coordinate an annual, community-wide needs-assessment and planning process to identify, prioritize, and target needs for services within the Continuum of Care. The needs-assessment shall take into account existing data, including the number of homeless youth and the number of LGBTQ homeless youth in the District, and include input from at least one public hearing, which shall be held at least once each year;
(2) At least every 5 years, prepare and publish a strategic plan for services within the Continuum of Care that takes into account existing data and community input;
(3) Prepare and submit to the Mayor an annual update based on existing data and community input that reviews the strategic plan, changes in the landscape, and an assessment of the need for services among subpopulations, and that details the resources and strategies needed to support implementation of the strategic plan prepared pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection;
(4) As part of the annual update, review the efforts of each member of the Interagency Council to fulfill the goals and policies of the strategic plan prepared pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection;
(5) Repealed.
(6) Direct the Department of General Services to identify vacant public buildings or tax-foreclosed buildings to be used as shelter and transitional housing or permanent housing program facilities;
(7) Provide input into the District’s planning and application for federal funds for services within the Continuum of Care. All applications for federal funds shall take into account the strategic plan developed by the Interagency Council prepared pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection;
(8) Regularly review HMIS data to assess program and system utilization and performance;
(9) By September 1 of each year, develop a plan, consistent with the right of clients to shelter in severe weather conditions, describing how member agencies will coordinate to provide hypothermia shelter, identifying the specific sites that will be used as hypothermia shelters, and including protocols on how to provide shelter services for unaccompanied minors; and
(10) Review reports of the fair hearings and administrative reviews requested or received by clients within the Continuum of Care, which shall include the provider party to the appeal, the subject matter of the appeal, and the final disposition of the appeal.
(b-1) Beginning 5 years from May 3, 2014, and every 2 years thereafter, the Interagency Council shall evaluate the service needs of the District’s LGBTQ homeless youth as compared to homeless youth in the general population. If the Interagency Council determines, based on data, that the needs of LGBTQ homeless youth are being met at a rate equal to or higher than the needs of homeless youth in the general population, the provisions of § 4-755.01(c) shall expire.
(c) The Mayor shall, upon release of the proposed annual budget each year, make available to all Interagency Council members the District’s proposed budget breakdown of each agency’s appropriations for services within the Continuum of Care. The Interagency Council shall give comments to the Mayor regarding the proposed budget.
(d) Each member agency of the Interagency Council shall:
(1) Conduct or commission an annual audit of any private entity designated by the agency to approve or allocate any grants or contracts, on behalf of the Mayor, for services within the Continuum of Care, and make available a report of the audit to all Interagency Council members;
(2) Offer training and technical assistance to its employees who directly provide services within the Continuum of Care and to any providers with which the member agency or its designee contracts to deliver the services; and
(3) Provide data as requested to the Interagency Council to support system planning and performance evaluation efforts.
(e) The Department of Human Services shall administer the Homeless Prevention Program, established pursuant to Chapter 7B of this title [§ 4-771.01], in consultation with the Interagency Council on Homelessness.
(Oct. 22, 2005, D.C. Law 16-35, § 5, 52 DCR 8113; Sept. 26, 2012, D.C. Law 19-171, § 33(b), 59 DCR 6190; May 3, 2014, D.C. Law 20-100, § 2(c), 61 DCR 1873; Feb. 26, 2015, D.C. Law 20-155, §§ 5102(a), 5113, 61 DCR 9990; Feb. 28, 2018, D.C. Law 22-65, § 2(b), (e), 65 DCR 331.)
Section ReferencesThis section is referenced in § 4-754.53 and § 4-755.01.
Effect of AmendmentsThe 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-171 substituted “Department of General Services” for “Office of Property Management” in (b)(6).
The 2014 amendment by D.C. 20-100 substituted “existing data, including the number of homeless youth and the number of LGBTQ homeless youth in the District,” for “existing data” in (b)(1); rewrote (b)(3); and added (b-1).
The 2015 amendment by D.C. Law 20-155 rewrote (b)(9); and added (e).
Emergency LegislationFor temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see §§ 5102(a) and 5123 of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-377, July 14, 2014, 61 DCR 7598, 20 STAT 3696).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see §§ 5102(a) and 5113 of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-449, October 10, 2014, 61 DCR 10915, 20 STAT 4188).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see §§ 5102(a) and 5113 of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Second Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-566, January 9, 2015, 62 DCR 884, 21 STAT 541).
Editor's NotesSection 5052 of D.C. Law 18-111 provided: “Sec. 5052. Winter plan report. ”By September 1, 2010, the Department of Human Services shall submit to the Council, along with the annual winter plan required by section 5(b)(9) of Homeless Services Reform Act of 2005, effective October 22, 2005 (D.C. Law 16-36; D.C. Official Code § 4-752.02(b)(9)), an evaluation of case management services provided to homeless individuals during the hypothermia season, including a detailed protocol to evaluate residents’ needs to help them emerge from homelessness.”