2016 Utah Code
Title 35A - Utah Workforce Services Code
Chapter 8 - Housing and Community Development Division
Part 6 - Homeless Coordinating Committee
Section 602 - Purposes of Homeless Coordinating Committee -- Uses of Pamela Atkinson Homeless Account.

Effective 5/10/2016
35A-8-602. Purposes of Homeless Coordinating Committee -- Uses of Pamela Atkinson Homeless Account.

• (1)
  • (a) The Homeless Coordinating Committee shall work to ensure that services provided to the homeless by state agencies, local governments, and private organizations are provided in a cost-effective manner.
  • (b) Programs funded by the committee shall emphasize emergency housing and self-sufficiency, including placement in meaningful employment or occupational training activities and, where needed, special services to meet the unique needs of the homeless who:
    • (i) have families with children;
    • (ii) have a disability or a mental illness; or
    • (iii) suffer from other serious challenges to employment and self-sufficiency.
  • (c) The committee may also fund treatment programs to ameliorate the effects of substance abuse or a disability.
  • (d) Before October 1, 2016, the committee shall conduct a needs assessment or contract with another state agency or private entity to conduct a needs assessment that:
    • (i) identifies desired statewide outcomes related to minimizing homelessness;
    • (ii) reviews technology used for data gathering by state, county and local governments and private organizations for reporting information about, and providing service to, homeless individuals in the state, including an evaluation of:
      • (A) the functionality of existing databases;
      • (B) the ability to expand and tailor existing databases to better serve the needs of homeless individuals; and
      • (C) the ability of the technology to ensure proper privacy restrictions and sharing between reporting entities, including those addressing domestic violence, as allowed by federal privacy regulations;
    • (iii) identifies gaps between the data described in Subsection (1)(d)(i) and the data needed to implement best practices in minimizing homelessness and achieve the outcomes identified in accordance with this Subsection (1)(d);
    • (iv) evaluates the technical capacity of existing databases and information technology systems used to gather and report data related to homelessness and identifies improvements needed to better serve the homeless population and meet the needs of all stakeholders;
    • (v) identifies opportunities to align data gathering and reporting related to homelessness with state efforts to reduce intergenerational poverty, incarceration, and recidivism rates; and
    • (vi) makes recommendations regarding the needed improvements related to this Subsection (1)(d) and outlines steps for implementing the recommendations.
  • (e) Before October 1, 2016, the committee shall report to the department the findings and recommendations of the needs assessment described in Subsection (1)(d) for inclusion in the annual written report described in Section 35A-1-109.

• (2) The committee members designated in Subsection 35A-8-601(2) shall:
  • (a) award contracts funded by the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Account with the advice and input of those designated in Subsection 35A-8-601(3);
  • (b) consider need, diversity of geographic location, coordination with or enhancement of existing services, and the extensive use of volunteers in awarding contracts described in Subsection (2)(a); and
  • (c) give priority for funding to programs that serve the homeless who have a mental illness and who are in families with children.

• (3)
  • (a) In any fiscal year, no more than 80% of the funds in the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Account may be allocated to organizations that provide services only in Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, and Utah Counties.
  • (b) The committee may:
    • (i) expend up to 3% of its annual appropriation for administrative costs associated with the allocation of funds from the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Account, and up to 2% of its annual appropriation for marketing the account and soliciting donations to the account; and
    • (ii) pay for the initial costs of the State Tax Commission in implementing Section 59-10-1306 from the account.
      

• (4) If there are decreases in contributions to the account, the committee may expend money held in the account to provide program stability, but the committee shall reimburse the amount of those expenditures to the account.

• (5) The committee shall make an annual report to the department regarding the programs and services funded by contributions to the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Account for inclusion in the annual written report described in Section 35A-1-109.

• (6) The state treasurer shall invest the money in the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Account according to the procedures and requirements of Title 51, Chapter 7, State Money Management Act, except that interest and other earnings derived from the restricted account shall be deposited in the restricted account.

Amended by Chapter 157, 2016 General Session