El Dorado County updates navigation center operations; officials cite reduced average stay and more exits to permanent housing

Assistant Director Timbaland Janes told the Board of Supervisors on April 29 that the county's navigation center continues to be a central tool in responding to homelessness, and presented cumulative and year-over-year data on operations.

The navigation center opened in 2023. Janes said the 2024 point-in-time count for El Dorado County showed 284 people experiencing homelessness, down from 511 in 2022. She emphasized that point-in-time counts are single-day snapshots and can vary based on methodology, weather and local outreach.

The county reported 56 law-enforcement-referred beds and 6 COC (continuum of care) beds at the center. Janes said the average length of stay fell from 89 days in year one to 62 days in year two and that exits to permanent housing increased from 19 in the first year to 43 in the second year — 62 total over two years. She said staff recorded 210 income-maximization encounters, 411 document-readiness contacts and 316 general case-management contacts between October 2024 and January 2025.

Janes described the intake and services model: case managers perform a housing assessment and then work with clients on individual service plans, weekly check-ins, benefit enrollment, referrals to behavioral health and life-skills classes. Volunteers of America (VOA) provides day-to-day operations and the Upper Room provides meals. Janes said VOA tracks engagement and that nonengagement (no contact for three weeks or missed ISP due dates) can result in an exit plan.

County staff said bed utilization averaged about 93 percent during the 12 months reviewed. The navigation center averaged roughly 62 days length of stay, and staff framed the decline in length of stay as a function of program improvements and the larger initial intake after the Broadway encampment abatement when the shelter opened.

On finances, Janes said grant funding (CDBG-CV, ESG-CV, HAP rounds) has paid much of operations but that the county also carries costs: $113,160 for utilities and other general-fund support for security and grounds maintenance. She said the navigation center’s monthly operating cost was approximately $188,717 (VOA, Upper Room, and county HHSA staff) and that the program’s per-participant daily cost compared internally to other county housing-support placements at about $105 per day.

Supervisors and the public pressed on several operational points: how the navigation center coordinates with law enforcement for referrals and exits; whether persons from outside El Dorado County are admitted (staff said no, entrants are screened to confirm county residency); how exits are handled when a participant refuses help; and whether the center’s activities reduce encampments. Janes said daily emails are sent to law enforcement about bed availability and that, where clients consent to release of information, staff can share identities with law enforcement.

Public speakers ranged from supporters who said the navigation center fills a gap in services to residents worried about downtown impacts, generator use, smoke and long-term funding. Supervisors asked for follow-up information about evacuation/evacuee planning, linkage to permanent housing projects and clearer public outreach about prevention resources.

The board received the update; staff said they will return with additional information when available and continue to coordinate with community partners on the center and related prevention programs.

Ending

Janes and HHSA staff emphasized the navigation center is one tool among several county and regional efforts — including Housing El Dorado prevention programs and the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless — and asked the board to treat the briefing as a continuing update rather than a final policy decision.