State homeless board outlines centralized campus vision, calls for coordinated system and accountability

Randy Shumway, chair of the Utah Homeless Services Board, told the Health and Human Services Interim Committee that the board supports using a proposed transformative centralized campus to provide treatment while increasing accountability for people experiencing homelessness. “Compassion without accountability … is indifference,” Shumway said, adding that “expectations without compassion is harshness.”

Shumway said the board is recommending several changes: consolidate the three federal Continuums of Care into a coordinated statewide system; co‑locate a certified community behavioral health clinic (CCBHC) on the centralized campus with an expected 300–400 beds reimbursed by Medicaid PPS; and create a secure residential placement — an accountability center — where people sanctioned to enter would have a likely 90‑day period for detox, behavioral and physical health care before transition to medium‑barrier placements.

The board chair emphasized the recommendations are his current draft and “have not been approved by the board yet,” and that the board will review the proposals at its next meeting. He said the governor, legislature and HUD have requested an assessment tied to the president’s executive order, and he delivered a written response at their request.

Wayne Niederhauser, identified in the meeting as “President Niederhauser,” and other committee members framed the proposals as part of a systemic approach that must also address criminal‑justice touch points, reentry, and the supply of inpatient beds. Niederhauser and Representative Eliason discussed civil‑commitment tools; Eliason noted about 1,461 individuals were on civil commitment statewide, roughly 220 of whom were in the state hospital, leaving “at least a thousand people currently under civil commitment on the streets.”

Committee members raised concerns about moving people far from existing services and the capacity to provide inpatient psychiatric beds. Representative Clancy said recent shelter expansion may have increased visibility of people experiencing homelessness, and urged clarity about which recommendations require legislative action. Senator Escamilla asked for a clear community engagement and process flowchart because the 1,300‑bed facility discussed would directly affect neighborhoods.

Shumway and Niederhauser also proposed shifting toward pay‑for‑performance for service providers, expanding “stackable credentials” in higher education to grow the workforce, and creating a secure conduit for Medicaid reimbursement of new behavioral health capacity. Shumway said HUD had been consulted and there is “a high degree of confidence” about reimbursement for a co‑located CCBHC. Several committee members warned the system is overwhelmed: inpatient facilities have closed in recent years, and construction of new psychiatric beds is expensive — Representative Eliason cited a recent figure of about $1,000,000 per inpatient psychiatric bed.

The meeting record shows broad support for continued work and further detail: Shumway offered to return with follow‑up reporting on funding flows and operational proposals. No formal committee action on the board’s proposals was taken at the meeting; Shumway repeatedly characterized the memo he distributed as a recommendation draft to be discussed and refined.