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Bringing Families Home program shows outcomes but counties warn many grantees will exhaust one‑time funds
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Summary
State and county officials described the Bringing Families Home (BFH) program's results — increased reunification and permanent housing exits — and warned that many county and tribal grantees will exhaust one-time state funds within 6–12 months unless the Legislature provides ongoing support.
CDSS and counties described Bringing Families Home (BFH) as an evidence-based housing and service program for families involved with child welfare that has demonstrably increased family reunification and exits to permanent housing, but officials warned the program will face service reductions as one-time funding is spent down.
Hannah Zamati, CDSS deputy director for housing and homelessness, said BFH rapidly expanded after one-time state funding in recent budget acts, growing from 22 counties and one tribe to 53 counties and 25 tribes in FY 2023–24 and serving 4,929 families in that year. An independent evaluation by UC Berkeley and other partners found BFH families exited to permanent housing at higher rates than other homelessness-response clients and that reunification increased by roughly 20 percentage points for families with children in foster care at BFH enrollment.
Zamati warned that, because the program has relied on one-time allocations, county grantees are beginning to exhaust funds: seven county programs already closed and CDSS estimates 21 more programs will close by July unless additional funding is provided. Counties have been stretching remaining dollars to preserve services but are facing layoffs, terminated contracts and rollback of emergent referral systems if funds are not extended.
Diana Boyer (CWDA) underscored BFH’s impact—counties reported BFH helped divert children from foster care and facilitate faster reunifications—and offered a preliminary estimate that maintaining BFH infrastructure statewide would cost approximately $81 million annually. Officials acknowledged $81 million is a preliminary figure and recognized the state's difficult budget situation, but urged the Legislature to consider scaled options to preserve county capacity while some grantees can operate into FY 2026.
The committee asked for further fiscal detail and noted the urgency of decisions about whether to continue BFH funding or accept program wind-downs that could increase homelessness and delay reunifications.
