County unveils homeless-services fact sheet; staff seek commissioner guidance as state grant cuts loom

Spokane County staff presented a proposed public-facing fact sheet and data tools on Jan. 6 intended to summarize the county’s investments and services for people experiencing homelessness and to help commissioners answer constituent questions.

George and Chris, county staff members who led the presentation, said the single-page sheet is meant to be a concise leave-behind that lists emergency-shelter capacity, prevention and rapid-rehousing investments, funding sources, and links (QR codes) to more detailed dashboards and the Continuum of Care (CoC). “This is something that you all see as a value,” George said, explaining the intent is to give commissioners a simple reference to use in meetings and public conversations. The product was developed in collaboration with the City of Spokane Valley; Jill, the city’s public information officer, also assisted on the materials.

Staff asked commissioners whether the fact sheet should include (or link to) veterans’ services that are managed outside the homeless-services portfolio; Commissioner French suggested adding veteran services content because those activities are a significant part of regional outreach. Pat, who spoke for county communications and program coordination, said the fact sheet targets a general audience and links to technical program pages for service providers; staff said additional one-pagers could be developed for different audiences.

County staff noted key funding context for commissioners: a large portion of current funding shown on the sheet is state-funded, and Commerce has indicated the county should anticipate a roughly 20% reduction in its Consolidated Homeless Grant in the next biennium. Staff said the county will present proposed priorities and recommended funding levels to the advisory committee in March and will bring draft recommendations to the board in subsequent meetings.

On data and outcomes, staff said they recently gained access to the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), which will allow county staff to do more validation of provider-reported results. Commissioners asked whether system-level recidivism and longer-term housing-retention metrics are available; staff said those metrics are technically possible but currently limited by whether individuals re-enter programs and by HMIS reporting practices. Staff committed to returning later in the month with more outcome data and suggested the board could add specific reporting requirements to future contracts and RFPs.

Commissioners asked about the county’s contract with The Salvation Army for the Way Out Shelter. Staff said the shelter contract is currently active and funded from document-recording-fee (document-report-fee) dollars; the county has committed ongoing funding and the contract remains in place through 2026. Staff said document-report-fee funds are more flexible than state Consolidated Homeless Grant money and can be used for programs that would not meet state CHG low-barrier requirements.

Commissioners emphasized regional context and private investments. Several commissioners asked staff to include a regional “grid” that compares prevention, emergency shelter, rapid rehousing and other interventions across jurisdictions and funding streams; staff said they will circulate an existing regional funding grid and aim to present a more comprehensive regional picture at a future roundtable.

There was no formal vote on the fact sheet; staff will incorporate commissioner feedback, distribute materials electronically, and return with additional outcome data and RFP-related proposals.