(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, there is created the office of apple health and homes within the department.

(2) Activities of the office of apple health and homes must be carried out by a director of the office of apple health and homes, supervised by the director of the department or their designee.

(3) The office of apple health and homes is responsible for leading efforts under this section and coordinating a spectrum of practice efforts related to providing permanent supportive housing, including leading efforts related to every aspect of creating housing, operating housing, obtaining services, and delivering those services to connect people with housing and maintain them in that housing.

(4) The office of apple health and homes shall:

(a) Subject to available funding, allocate funding for permanent supportive housing units sufficient in number to fulfill permanent supportive housing needs of persons determined to be eligible for the program by the coordinating entity or entities under RCW 74.09.886;

(b) Collaborate with department divisions responsible for making awards or loans to appropriate housing providers to acquire, build, and operate the housing units, including but not limited to nonprofit community organizations, local counties and cities, public housing authorities, and public development authorities;

(c) Collaborate with the authority on administrative functions, oversight, and reporting requirements, as necessary to implement the apple health and homes program established under RCW 74.09.886;

(d) Establish metrics and collect racially disaggregated data from the authority and the department related to the program’s effect on providing persons with permanent supportive housing, moving people into independent housing, long-term housing stability, improving health outcomes for people in the program, estimated reduced health care spending to the state on persons enrolled in the program, and outcomes related to social determinants of health;

(e) Develop a publicly accessible dashboard to make key program outcomes available to the public. Key program outcomes include, but are not limited to, the number of people served by the program and the number of housing units created by the office;

(f) Create work plans and establish milestones to achieve the goal of providing permanent supportive housing for all eligible individuals; and

(g) Oversee the allocation of community support services provider and housing provider capacity-building grants to further the state’s interests of enhancing the ability of community support services providers and housing providers to deliver community support services and permanent supportive housing and assure that an initial infrastructure is established to create strong networks of community support services providers and housing providers.

(5) The office of apple health and homes must be operational no later than January 1, 2023. The department shall assure the coordination of the work of the office of apple health and homes with other offices within the department with similar or adjacent authorities and functions.

(6) For the purposes of this section:

(a) “Community support services provider” has the same meaning as in RCW 74.09.885.

(b) “Coordinating entity” has the same meaning as in RCW 74.09.885.

(c) “Housing provider” has the same meaning as in RCW 74.09.885.

(d) “Permanent supportive housing” has the same meaning as in RCW 74.09.885.

Findings—Intent—Short title—2022 c 216: See notes following RCW 74.09.885.