Tim Vandenack, Standards Examiner File Photo
A homeless encampment along 33rd Street in Ogden on November 26, 2020. Local authorities dispersed the homeless population living there on December 10, 2020.
A bill that would update the Utah Homeless Council, require more detailed data collection on homelessness and remove some restrictions on conducting unauthorized camping during Code Blue alerts advanced in the Utah House of Representatives on Friday.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Tyler Clancy of Provo, was introduced in a House committee and received unanimous support.
This bill has two main components. One is to replace the current 29-member Utah Homeless Council with a nine-voting member Utah Homeless Services Commission, and the other is to collect more data on homelessness and that data. requires an annual report on the Local governments can also enforce anti-camping ordinances even during the winter code blue warning period.
A “data-driven” strategy to address homelessness
Key components of the bill address what data on homelessness will be collected, how progress towards reducing homelessness will be measured, and detailed annual progress reports will be required. ing.
Clancy said Friday that more effective data and “getting to the heart of the problem” will lead to better policy-making. He added that much of the data currently being used comes from the 2021 legislative audit.
“The fact of the matter is that the mother is fleeing domestic violence with her two children. This is a far cry from a mother who has probably been using heroin and meth for the past five years and living without shelter. “It will be a very different policy intervention,” he said. “They both need our help, but the circumstances are going to be different, and that’s what we want to measure.”
Mo Egan of Otherside Village said during public comment that the bill would bring more oversight and accountability and create a “data-driven” strategy to address homelessness.
“Accountability means tracking the success of the service, not just the distribution,” he said. “This also ensures that individuals receiving support receive instruction on how to maintain sobriety, manage their mental health, obtain employment, stay drug- and crime-free, and integrate into their communities as employed contributing members. It means being able to receive it.”
Former Congressional Auditor James Behunin, who led the 2021 audit mentioned by Clancy and is interim executive director of the Pioneer Park Coalition, said the Legislature addressed most of the recommendations from the 2021 audit, but this bill said it would complete the work.
“We are finalizing all the mechanisms that we called for years ago to make this a more data-driven system,” he told the committee as he introduced the bill with Clancy.
Specific data the bill would require the board to track include the number of people who become homeless for the first time, the number of people who left homelessness and returned to it, and where those who left homelessness went. . Data will also need to be collected on how many people are using homeless services.
On the data collected, the commission is required to prepare an annual report for submission to state and local homeless councils. State and local homeless councils would also be required to set goals to advance homelessness reduction.
Utah Homeless Council Reorganization
Currently, Utah has a 29-member Utah Council on the Homeless, which includes mayors, philanthropic leaders, and legislators. Clancy is proposing to restructure the council and change it to the Utah Homeless Services Commission, which would consist of nine voting members and one non-voting advisory member.
The new board includes the state homeless coordinator, philanthropic leaders, the mayor of Salt Lake City, an appointee from the Utah Association of Counties, a representative from the Utah Homeless Network, and another board created by the bill. Includes appointees from a Shelter City Advisory Council.
The purpose of the City of Refuge Advisory Committee is to make recommendations to the Board regarding improvements to services for unsheltered individuals throughout the state.
Utah County Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner expressed support for the bill, noting, among other things, that the board’s updated structure would increase representation from cities and counties outside of Salt Lake County.
“This would really be a more holistic approach where Utah counties and second-tier counties would have a say in how state funds are spent,” Powers Gardner said. “Right now, most of these resources and the advice they’re getting are coming from Salt Lake County, and it’s better that we have representation across the board because we’re trying to work together to solve this problem. It is important.”
Some of the commission’s responsibilities include updating the state’s plan to reduce homelessness, recommending best practices for managing homeless services and addressing substance abuse, developing indicators to measure service effectiveness, and The goal is to set reduction targets.
The bill would also allow local governments to enforce camping ordinances during code blue warnings, meaning when temperatures drop below 15 degrees, even if shelter beds are not available. A law passed last year prohibited local governments from enforcing anti-camping ordinances if shelter beds were not available.
Clancy said this is to allow cities and counties dealing with “public safety and public health issues” to enforce their ordinances without being hindered by the state.
At a press conference Friday, Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz spoke about homelessness and voiced support for Clancy’s bill.
At the committee meeting, Mr Clancy expressed that “we need to do more on the ground” to reduce homelessness.
“You need people to remember your name,” he says. “What we need is to look someone in the eye and share that we believe in them and that there is something better on the other side of this. But I We also need effective systems and this addresses this.”
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