Multnomah County and Portland present refreshed homelessness response action plan; KPIs still under development

Multnomah County and City of Portland staff presented a reorganized homelessness response action plan to the Homelessness and Housing Committee on Nov. 4, and said the steering and oversight committee (SOC) has referred the updated plan to both legislative bodies for an official vote in December.

The plan, presented by Jillian Shoney, director of the Homelessness Response System, was condensed from nine broad goal areas into five: inflow; safety on and off the streets; outflow; care coordination and cross‑sector collaboration; and data and evaluation. Shoney said the document is intended as a policy roadmap; separate key performance indicators will be used to inform budget and investment decisions.

"Think of the plan as the policy document, if you will, and then the key performance indicators as your guide to making investment decisions," Shoney said.

Shoney also described two operational changes in the updated document: (1) a status column that identifies what items are "currently being worked on" and what is "up next," and (2) a list of responsible parties that names lead conveners or funders for each action item. She told the committee the SOC gave a referral vote to send the refreshed plan to the Portland City Council and the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners; staff have held Dec. 11 for an official vote.

"We have always planned for this document to adapt and keep up with the work that needs to get done," Shoney said.

Ryan Deibert, deputy director of the Homelessness Response System, briefed the committee on the status of key performance indicators (KPIs). Deibert said the KPIs are meant to be the measurable "needle" that shows whether the system is moving in the intended direction; each KPI will include subindicators and program metrics that can roll up into contract requirements for funded providers.

"We were particularly trying to put forward ones that can help you understand how to make policy and budget decisions," Deibert said. He described three cross‑cutting KPIs that track inflow, outflow and safety on/off the street and additional metrics tied to housing availability for people with very low incomes and to returns to homelessness.

Deibert said the plan's original four KPIs — adopted under the intergovernmental agreement between the city and the county — are scheduled to sunset at the end of this calendar year; the updated indicators would replace them. Staff said detailed briefings are planned with council members and commissioners, and that the measures will be discussed in a joint session on Nov. 13.

Councilor Zimmerman praised the more direct conversations about populations and service fit and cautioned that KPIs should not create pressure to place people in housing types that do not match their needs. Committee members asked for briefings on a high‑acuity behavioral health cohort that county staff said has a roughly 4 percentage‑point lower housing retention rate than the rest of the population; Deibert said that subgroup represents about 200 people and is being targeted with a work group of behavioral health providers, hospitals and housing partners.

What happens next: Staff will return with detailed KPI proposals in follow‑up briefings and at the Nov. 13 joint session; the SOC referral places a staff item on Dec. 11 for a formal vote by the city council and county board.