(1) The department shall, in consultation with the interagency council on homelessness, the affordable housing advisory board, and the state advisory council on homelessness, prepare and publish a five-year homeless housing strategic plan which must outline statewide goals and performance measures. The state homeless housing strategic plan must be submitted to the legislature by July 1, 2019, and every five years thereafter. The plan must include:

(a) Performance measures and goals to reduce homelessness, including long-term and short-term goals;

(b) An analysis of the services and programs being offered at the state and county level and an identification of those representing best practices and outcomes;

(c) Recognition of services and programs targeted to certain homeless populations or geographic areas in recognition of the diverse needs across the state;

(d) New or innovative funding, program, or service strategies to pursue;

(e) An analysis of either current drivers of homelessness or improvements to housing security, or both, such as increases and reductions to employment opportunities, housing scarcity and affordability, health and behavioral health services, chemical dependency treatment, and incarceration rates; and

(f) An implementation strategy outlining the roles and responsibilities at the state and local level and timelines to achieve a reduction in homelessness at the statewide level during periods of the five-year homeless housing strategic plan.

(2) The department must coordinate its efforts on the state homeless housing strategic plan with the office of homeless youth prevention and protection programs advisory committee under RCW 43.330.705. The state homeless housing strategic plan must not conflict with the strategies, planning, data collection, and performance and outcome measures developed under RCW 43.330.705 and 43.330.706 to reduce the state’s homeless youth population.

(3) To guide local governments in preparation of local homeless housing plans due December 1, 2019, the department shall issue by December 1, 2018, guidelines consistent with this chapter and including the best available data on each community’s homeless population. Program outcomes, performance measures, and goals must be created by the department in collaboration with local governments against which state and local governments’ performance will be measured.

(4) The department shall develop a consistent statewide data gathering instrument to monitor the performance of cities and counties receiving grants in order to determine compliance with the terms and conditions set forth in the grant application or required by the department.

The department shall, in consultation with the interagency council on homelessness and the affordable housing advisory board, report biennially to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature an assessment of the state’s performance in furthering the goals of the state five-year homeless housing strategic plan and the performance of each participating local government in creating and executing a local homeless housing plan which meets the requirements of this chapter. To increase the effectiveness of the report, the department must develop a process to ensure consistent presentation, analysis, and explanation in the report, including year-to-year comparisons, highlights of program successes and challenges, and information that supports recommended strategy or operational changes. The report may include performance measures such as:

(a) The reduction in the number of homeless individuals and families from the initial count of homeless persons;

(b) The reduction in the number of unaccompanied homeless youth. “Unaccompanied homeless youth” has the same meaning as in RCW 43.330.702;

(c) The number of new units available and affordable for homeless families by housing type;

(d) The number of homeless individuals identified who are not offered suitable housing within thirty days of their request or identification as homeless;

(e) The number of households at risk of losing housing who maintain it due to a preventive intervention;

(f) The transition time from homelessness to permanent housing;

(g) The cost per person housed at each level of the housing continuum;

(h) The ability to successfully collect data and report performance;

(i) The extent of collaboration and coordination among public bodies, as well as community stakeholders, and the level of community support and participation;

(j) The quality and safety of housing provided; and

(k) The effectiveness of outreach to homeless persons, and their satisfaction with the program.

Intent—Short title—2018 c 85: See notes following RCW 43.185C.045.

Findings—2017 3rd sp.s. c 15: “The legislature finds that a surcharge on documents recorded for the sale or transfer of real property have generated approximately one hundred forty million dollars for homeless programs in Washington. The legislature further finds that according to a third-party audit of the use of surcharge funds, additional performance measures are needed to effectively measure the success of the state’s homeless programs. Therefore, the legislature finds that developing and adopting recommendations to improve performance measures contained in the December 5, 2016, report required under *RCW 43.185C.240(1)(e) will help ensure accountability and transparency of public funds and their effectiveness in reducing homelessness in Washington.” [ 2017 3rd sp.s. c 15 § 1.]

*Reviser’s note: RCW 43.185C.240 expired June 30, 2019.

Short title—2015 c 69: See RCW 43.330.911.