(a) There is established in the District the Interagency Council on Homelessness for the purpose of facilitating interagency, cabinet-level leadership in planning, policymaking, program development, provider monitoring, and budgeting for the Continuum of Care of homeless services.
(b) The Interagency Council is composed of:
(1) The City Administrator, who shall serve as chairperson of the Interagency Council;
(2) The administrative head of each of the following entities or divisions thereof:
(A) Department of Human Services;
(B) Department of Mental Health;
(C) Child and Family Services Agency;
(D) Department of Housing and Community Development;
(E) Department of Health;
(F) District of Columbia Housing Authority;
(G) Department of Corrections;
(H) Department of Employment Services;
(I) Office of the State Superintendent of Education;
(J) Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency;
(K) Department of General Services; and
(L) Metropolitan Police Department;
(3) A representative of any private entity designated to approve or allocate any grants or contracts, on behalf of the Mayor, for services within the Continuum of Care;
(4) A representative from a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 10 organizations that are providing services within the Continuum of Care;
(5) A minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 homeless or formerly homeless individuals;
(6) A minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 advocates for the District of Columbia's homeless population;
(7) The Chairman of the Council, or his or her designee, and the Chairman of the committee of the Council having purview over homeless services, or his or her designee, both of whom shall be non-voting members; and
(8) The administrative head of the Office of Shelter Monitoring, who shall be a non-voting member.
(c) All non-government members of the Interagency Council described in subsections (b)(4)-(6) of this section shall be nominated for appointment by the Mayor and approved by the Council. The Mayor shall transmit to the Council, within 90 days of October 22, 2005, nominations of each non-government member of the Interagency Council for a 60-day period of review, excluding days of Council recess. If the Council does not approve or disapprove a nomination by resolution within the 60-day review period, the nomination shall be deemed approved.
(Oct. 22, 2005, D.C. Law 16-35, § 4, 52 DCR 8113; Mar. 14, 2007, D.C. Law 16-262, § 405, 54 DCR 794; Mar. 14, 2007, D.C. Law 16-296, § 2(d), 54 DCR 1097; Aug. 16, 2008, D.C. Law 17-219, § 5004(a), 55 DCR 7598; Sept. 26, 2012, D.C. Law 19-171, § 33(a), 59 DCR 6190.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 16-262, in subsec. (b)(2)(J), substituted "Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency" for "District of Columbia Emergency Management Agency".
D.C. Law 16-296, in subsec. (b), added par. (8).
D.C. Law 17-219, in subsec. (b)(2)(I), substituted "Office of the State Superintendent of Education" for "District of Columbia Public Schools".
D.C. Law 19-171, in subsec. (b)(2)(K), substituted "Department of General Services" for "Office of Property Management".
Legislative History of Laws
For Law 16-35, see notes following § 4-751.01.
Law 16-262, the "Homeland Security, Risk Reduction, and Preparedness Amendment Act of 2006", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 16-242, which was referred to Committee on Judiciary. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on December 5, 2006, and December 19, 2006, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on December 28, 2006, it was assigned Act No. 16-618 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 16-262 became effective on March 14, 2007.
For Law 16-296, see notes following § 4-751.01.
For Law 17-219, see notes following § 4-126.
For history of Law 19-171, see notes under § 4-205.19m.
Miscellaneous Notes
Short title: Section 5003 of D.C. Law 17-219 provided that subtitle B of title V of the act may be cited as the "Housing First and Homeless Services Reform Amendment Act of 2008".
(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 imminent risk of becoming homeless.
(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 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 an annual plan detailing how the District intends to provide or arrange for services within the Continuum of Care that takes into account existing data and community input;
(4) Review on a regular basis the efforts of each member of the Interagency Council to fulfill the goals and policies of the annual plan prepared pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection, including a review of the number and nature of contracts and grants entered into by each agency to provide services within the Continuum of Care;
(5) Prepare and submit to the Mayor an annual written report evaluating the efforts of each member agency of the Interagency Council to meet the goals and policies of the annual plan prepared pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection;
(6) Direct the Department of General Services to identify vacant public buildings or tax-foreclosed buildings to be used as shelter and supportive housing 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) Have access to data collected and generated by a computerized information system as set up by the Mayor pursuant to § 4-753.02(d). The data may include the number of beds or units available in the District's shelter and supportive housing facilities, the availability of supportive services in the District, and the current usage of and unmet demand for such beds, units, and services;
(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 and identifying the specific sites that will be used as hypothermia shelters; 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.
(c) The Mayor shall, no later than February 1 of 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) Report to the Interagency Council on a quarterly basis currently available data on the number of individuals and families that applied for homeless services and the number of homeless individual or families that were served by the agency and its contractors.
(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.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 19-171, in subsec. (b)(6), substituted "Department of General Services" for "Office of Property Management".
Legislative History of Laws
For Law 16-35, see notes following § 4-751.01.
For history of Law 19-171, see notes under § 4-205.19m.
Miscellaneous Notes
Section 5052 of D.C. Law 18-111 provides:
"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."
(a) The Interagency Council shall meet not less than quarterly. All meetings of the Interagency Council shall comply with the following requirements:
(1) A quorum of one-third of the appointed representatives of member agencies, one-third of appointed representatives of providers of homeless services, and one-third of the appointed homeless or formerly homeless individuals or advocates must be present in order to conduct the business of the Interagency Council;
(2) The meetings of the Interagency Council, and the meetings of any committees it shall establish pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, shall be subject to the open meeting provisions of § 1-207.42; and
(3) The Interagency Council shall provide a reasonable opportunity at the beginning of each meeting during which members of the public may comment on matters relevant to the work of the Interagency Council.
(b) The Interagency Council shall enact rules of procedure or bylaws to guide the regular operation of the Interagency Council. The rules of procedure or bylaws shall be made available to the public upon request.
(c) The Interagency Council may establish committees to aid in conducting its business. No meeting of a committee of the Interagency Council shall qualify as a meeting of the Interagency Council for purposes of fulfilling the requirements in subsection (a) of this section.
(d) The Mayor shall, within 30 days of October 22, 2005, designate an existing department or agency to provide staff assistance and support to the Interagency Council.
(Oct. 22, 2005, D.C. Law 16-35, § 6, 52 DCR 8113.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Legislative History of Laws
For Law 16-35, see notes following § 4-751.01.
