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Committee approves CARE Fund spending plan amid warnings of a future shortfall
Summary
The subcommittee approved the Human Services Agency—s CARE Fund (Housing First) FY 2010–11 spending plan, while staff and the budget analyst warned the fund will face a projected $300,000 shortfall in the following year unless savings or additional revenue are found.
The Budget and Finance Subcommittee on May 11 approved the Fiscal Year 2010–11 spending plan for the Human Services Agency's CARE Fund (Housing First), which directs funding for supportive housing and services targeted to homeless single adults.
Phil Arnold, deputy director for finance and administration at the Human Services Agency, told the committee the plan is a spending plan required by the 2003 ordinance setting up the CARE Fund and does not itself appropriate funds. He said the program has funded hotel rooms (13–21 rooms across 17 locations) and achieved a >90 percent stability rate for residents in those hotels. Arnold reported that in the program—s early years CAP recipients numbered about 3,000 and are now under 400.
Arnold and Budget Analyst Mister Rose noted a structural pressure: projected CARE Fund revenues will not fully cover the proposed spending plan in FY 2011–12 without residual savings to roll forward, producing an estimated shortfall of about $300,000. Arnold said the Human Services Agency incorporated that projection into the mayor—s base budget proposal rather than requesting a supplemental appropriation at this time. The budget analyst recommended the agency develop budget options to limit future impacts on the general fund, including reducing program costs or maximizing revenues.
Public commenters stressed the need for a holistic approach to homelessness, flagged families displaced by HOPE SF, and urged continued focus on SRO conditions and tenant supports. The committee approved the spending plan without objection and will consider appropriation questions in the June budget hearings.
