Placer County reviews homeless services funding, directs staff to renegotiate shelter contracts and pursue regional coordination

Placer County supervisors received an overview Feb. 18 of homeless services paid for with county general-fund dollars and by state and federal programs, and directed county staff to negotiate contract extensions for Mid Placer shelters and continue regional work on homelessness.

County CEO staffer Jeff Merriman and Dr. Rob Oldham, director of Health & Human Services (HHS), told the board that Placer County funds about $5.7 million annually in locally supported outreach, shelters and encampment management while state and federal programs tied to housing and services amount to roughly $12.9 million. Merriman and Oldham said the county is emphasizing permanent supportive housing and prevention programs, and that the outreach-focused Homeless Liaison Team (HLT) plays a central role in case coordination.

The presentation came after years of county planning documents, including a Marbot study and a regional homelessness response process, and followed the board’s earlier approval of a 10-year regional forest health action plan and other initiatives. HHS presented program-level outcomes for county-supported congregate shelters and the mobile temporary shelter (MTS), noting that shelters run close to capacity and that many shelter guests are ‘‘housing ready’’…