Tulare County task force grapples with HAP 6 rules; staff urge prioritizing navigation centers and mapping encampments

At a Tulare County Task Force on Homelessness meeting on 2025-06-01, county staff and task force members reviewed eligible uses and application requirements for the state'9s HAP Round 6 funding and discussed a required county-wide encampment mapping effort.

The HAP Round 6 NOFA requires regions to demonstrate sustainability for existing interim housing before spending on many other categories. "We must first fully fund all transitional housing projects before any funds can be devoted to any other use categories," a county staff presenter said, reading from the NOFA and stressing that "interim housing" is the round'9s central focus.

The requirement means applicants must document: (1) total existing interim housing shelters and beds, (2) any beds proposed to be added during the grant term, (3) total estimated capital and operating costs for existing and proposed beds, and (4) funding sources and amounts to sustain those beds. Staff warned that the NOFA gives a 50% minimum requirement on housing solutions, a continuing 10% youth set-aside, a 7% administrative cap and a 1% HMIS set-aside, and that the state requires documentation of sustainability through 2029.

Why it matters: HAP 6 differs from prior…