Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento told the board that the HUD Continuum of Care (CoC) program — which funds a mix of permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing — could be affected by a proposed federal change that would cap permanent housing HAP funding at 30 percent. He said the CoC funded housing for more than 1,400 Orange County residents last year and warned that a funding cap "would substantially limit the funding available to help formerly homeless households that remain stably housed at this moment."

At the commission’s recommendation, the board directed the Office of Care Coordination and county departments (HCA, SSA and OC Community Resources were named) to prioritize preserving housing stability for households already housed through the CoC, and to develop recommendations for alternative funding programs and services to prevent re‑entry into homelessness. Doug Beckt, Office of Care Coordination, and Nishtha Mohendra, Families Forward and CoC vice chair, addressed the board and supported an "all‑government approach" to mitigate the possible federal change.

What the board did: The board accepted the Commission to Address Homelessness motion and directed departments to work with the Office of Care Coordination, the CoC board and the county’s 34 cities to develop aligned recommendations and resource allocations.

Why it matters: Board and nonprofit leaders said this cap, if enacted, could cause dozens to hundreds of households to lose the assistance that prevents them from becoming homeless again, reversing years of local progress. The board’s directive seeks to identify alternate funding streams and prioritize maintaining existing households in stable housing.