Clark County details homelessness response, housing investments and language access plan to Legislature

Clark County officials told the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs on the first day of the 2025 session that the county is expanding noncongregate sheltering, investing in permanent supportive and homeownership projects and implementing a countywide language access plan as part of efforts to address homelessness and housing shortages.

The presentation, led by County Manager Kevin Schiller and CFO Jessica Colvin and delivered to the committee by Government Affairs Manager Joanna Jacob, outlined the county’s budget profile, homelessness ‘‘stair-step’’ approach, use of noncongregate sheltering and a community housing fund meant to accelerate multifamily and homeownership production. ‘‘Noncongregate care gives four walls, a separate room, privacy to those individuals that we’re serving,’’ Schiller said, citing lower recidivism and better outcomes in those settings.

County leaders said the general fund operating budget totals roughly $2 billion for FY25 and that about 42.5% of general fund revenues come from consolidated taxes, 35% from property taxes and roughly 17% from licenses and permits. Colvin said more than half of the general fund is dedicated to public safety, with nearly a third allocated to policing and the county detention center.

Why it matters: Clark County is Nevada’s most populous county and provides both regional services (public health, hospital match, juvenile justice) and municipal services to unincorporated areas. County officials told legislators that the scale of homelessness and housing need — and the county’s heavy reliance on consolidated tax revenue — have budget and program implications statewide.

Details and initiatives

- Noncongregate facilities and navigation centers: Schiller and Colvin said the county used hotel master-leases initiated during COVID-19 to stand up ‘‘noncongregate’’ units (private rooms with on-site services). They said the county has contracts supporting multiple noncongregate facilities and navigation centers that served different populations (families, youth 18–24, assisted living for seniors, mental-health specific sites and ‘‘hard to house’’ populations). The presentation listed contracts totaling roughly $252 million (noted in the county slide deck) and described capacity for about 2,446 units across those facilities.

- Community Housing Fund and permanent supportive housing: The county said it recently added approximately 3,000 multifamily affordable units across 20 developments and rehabbed 562 units, invested $177 million in a community housing fund aimed at closing financing gaps, and funded three permanent supportive housing developments that add about 210 units targeted at households at 30–50% of area median income (AMI).

- Homeownership pilot: Officials said the county has two developments under construction to produce about 240 single-family homes targeted at households at roughly 50–80% of AMI, with a planned groundbreaking in February (year not specified in the presentation). The county said it negotiated creative lending and land-trust arrangements to address lender reluctance.

Constraints and implementation challenges

County staff repeatedly identified three constraints that limit how quickly housing can be delivered: (1) availability of developable land tied to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) processes and pending lands bills; (2) water infrastructure and other utilities required for new development; and (3) availability of units and pathways to move people from noncongregate settings into longer-term housing (master leases, permanent supportive units, market-rate transitions).

Schiller said BLM processing for some parcels can take two to three years and that the county meets monthly with the agency to try to reduce backlog. He said the county has been pursuing BLM parcels and has sought ways to assist BLM’s backlog if finances permit.

Foster care and family-specific services

Schiller described efforts to recruit and retain foster parents, speed licensing for relative placements and provide payments to relatives serving as caregivers. He said the county averages close to 3,000 children in the custody system over time (not all in foster homes) and cited pressures on placements for sibling groups and high-acuity children. Colvin and Schiller also described coordinated emergency financial assistance, rental and utility assistance and master-leasing of apartments as tools used to keep families from entering child welfare care.

Language access and grants management

Joanna Jacob described the county’s implementation of a language access plan required by recent legislation; she said Clark County filed its plan in July 2024, has set up a language access committee and designated liaisons in each of the county’s 38 departments to identify ‘‘vital documents’’ (documents affecting rights or benefits) and standardize access to interpretation and translated materials.

Jessica Colvin described a centralized grants office created during the pandemic to manage CARES and ARPA dollars, provide monitoring and reporting, and support departments with limited federal-grant experience. The county said it expended roughly $207 million in federal funds during FY24 and that the centralized office now helps departments and nonprofit subrecipients with application, compliance and reporting.

Questions from legislators and follow-ups

Legislators pressed county officials on how long county-owned or BLM-managed land will last for housing development; Schiller said he could not give an exact timetable but estimated ‘‘years’’ and noted water availability is an additional limiting factor. Committee members also asked for follow-up figures including a detailed list of available developable parcels and updated AMI figures for the 30% cohort; staff agreed to provide follow-ups through committee channels.

Ending

County officials closed by offering to provide additional data requested by committee members and to host tours of the navigation center and other facilities. They also asked the Legislature to note the interdependence of state and county resources — from BLM land transfers to federal grant flows — when considering policy changes that affect housing and social services.