New Bill Creates a Doorway to Services for Homeless Families and Individuals
New Bill Creates a Doorway to Services for Homeless Families and Individuals
On May 3, 2011, Governor Chris Gregoire signed into law a bill that will help families and individuals experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness quickly connect to the support they need. Building Changes and the Washington Families Fund led the effort in partnership with the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Washington State Coalition for the Homeless, Committee to End Homelessness in King County, and Washington Low Income Housing Alliance.
“We worked hard with our partners to strike the right balance in getting this bill passed,” said Betsy Lieberman, Executive Director of Building Changes. “Our goal was to eliminate a roadblock while maintaining the safety and privacy of people seeking services, especially those who are survivors of domestic violence.”
The bill, sponsored by Representative Larry Springer (D), passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate. It allows providers, who are working on behalf of vulnerable and homeless families and individuals, to obtain over-the-phone consent to immediately get clients the help they need.
By streamlining how services are accessed, individuals and families no longer have to make numerous trips to different housing and homeless service providers, fill out multiple applications, and then wait—sometimes for weeks—to be helped.
People seeking help can now safely share their information over the phone so that it can be entered into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). HMIS provides a one-stop access to information and resources for both clients and providers without any cost in time and money.
This bill also supports counties across Washington State in establishing an efficient and reliable system of centralized intake, such as 211, for the homeless to be screened and referred to resources as quickly as possible.
“Centralized intake is a nationally recognized best practice for delivering services to families and individuals experiencing homelessness,” says Troy Christensen, Homeless Services Administrator for Pierce County. “This bill is the first of many steps that will bring changes to our delivery system that quickly move people from crisis to stability.” Building Changes and Pierce County, through the Community Connections Department, are co-funding centralized intake in Pierce, which will benefit from this bill.
“During times of deep budget cuts, we are finding innovative ways to reform state policies and programs in order to continue serving the most vulnerable Washingtonians," says Representative Larry Springer (D), who sponsored the bill. “This is a small policy change but an important one to help homeless individuals in our state find housing.”
The legislation will go into effect 90 days after the adjournment of the regular session.
