What is a Continuum of Care (CoC)?

A Continuum of Care (CoC) is a local planning body where organizations work together towards ending homelessness, including: nonprofit homeless providers, victim service providers, faith-based organizations, businesses, governments, advocates, school districts, public housing agencies, social service providers, hospitals, universities, mental health agencies, affordable housing developers, individuals with lived-experience of homelessness, law enforcement, and organizations that serve homeless and formerly homeless veterans. Agencies involved in the CoC can be awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to be used towards efforts to end homelessness such as providing access to housing resources, and helping individuals become housed.

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There are CoC’s all over the United States. Our local CoC covers Nassau and Suffolk counties.

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Roles within a CoC:

Governance and Policymaking:

Each CoC has a Governance Board which is responsible for the following: reviewing data and feedback, determining populations that have needs that are not being met, creating strategies and policies to respond to challenges, and adapting policies and service delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our CoC allows individuals to nominate themselves or be nominated by someone else, if they meet one of the following categories:

• Collaborative Applicant

• Department of Social Services (DSS)

• New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH)

• Nassau County (ESG representative)

• Town of Brookhaven (ESG representative)

• Town of Islip (ESG representative)

• Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

• Public Housing Authority

• Homeless service providers

• Other funders (foundations, philanthropists, and others supporting homeless response on Long Island)

• General community stakeholders.

• Persons with lived experience of homelessness

• Youth or young adult with lived experience of homelessness

• Person with lived experience of homelessness as a single adult

• Person with lived experience of family homelessness

• Survivor of domestic violence

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​The Governance Board is currently being revised and an Elections Committee will be determining the new process, with the new Board set to begin effective March 2024.

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Nassau, Suffolk Counties Continuum of Care (NY- 603) Governance Charter UPDATED 5/23/25

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The Long Island CoC is tasked with the mission of ending homelessness in Nassau and Suffolk counties. To ensure a focused, thoughtful process for meeting this mission, the CoC must have clear written standards  for governance and internal structure. This Governance Charter will be reviewed annually and voted on by the full CoC membership for approval.

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II. PURPOSE OF CHARTER

This Charter identifies the purpose, composition, responsibilities, and governance of the Nassau, Suffolk Counties Continuum of Care (hereinafter referred to as the Long Island CoC).

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III. COC MISSION AND VISION

The mission of the Long Island CoC is to:

 End chronic homelessness and reduce the overall number of people experiencing homelessness on Long Island

 Develop and oversee the implementation of strategies and interventions to ensure that homelessness is a rare, brief, and one-time occurrence in our region

 Coordinate and consolidate the efforts of housing and service providers to create strongly coordinated partnerships with streamlined connections to leveraged supports.

 Maximize the use and coordination of resources to best serve people experiencing homelessness on Long Island, based on evidence-based practice and local needs and considerations, while utilizing a person-centered approach.

 Create political will to best address homelessness, increase awareness and education, and minimize community barriers to serving those experiencing homelessness.

 Evaluate quantitative and qualitative information and feedback on those experiencing homelessness on Long Island and seek to ensure fairness in the way people connect to resources and housing.

 Create a collaborative network that includes a wide range of community partners to determine local solutions to end homelessness, including people that have experienced homelessness.

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The Long Island CoC envisions a community in which people experience homelessness for shorter periods of time, experience less trauma, remain successfully housed and do not return to homelessness.

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IV. COC RESPONSIBILITIES

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A. Operate the Continuum of Care

The CoC must:

1. Hold meetings of the full membership, with published agendas, at least semi-annually;

2. Make an invitation for new members to join publicly available within the geographic area at least annually;

3. Adopt and follow a written process to select a board to act on behalf of the Continuum of Care. The process must be reviewed, updated, and approved by the Continuum at least once every 5 years;

4. Appoint additional committees, subcommittees, or workgroups;

5. In consultation with the collaborative applicant and the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) lead, develop, follow, and update annually (1) a governance charter that includes all procedures and policies needed to comply with 24 CFR Part 578 Subpart B (Establishing and Operating a Continuum of Care) and with HMIS requirements as prescribed by HUD; and (2) a code of conduct and recusal process for the board, its chair(s), and any person acting on behalf of the board;

6. Consult with recipients and subrecipients to establish performance targets appropriate for population and program type, monitor recipient and subrecipient performance, evaluate outcomes, and take action against poor performers;

7. Evaluate outcomes of projects funded under the Emergency Solutions Grants program and the Continuum of Care program, and report to HUD;

8. In consultation with recipients of Emergency Solutions Grants program funds within the geographic area, establish, and operate either a centralized or coordinated assessment system that provides an initial, comprehensive assessment of the needs of individuals and families for housing and services. The Continuum must develop a specific policy to guide the operation of the centralized or coordinated assessment system on how its system will address the needs of individuals and families who are fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, but who are seeking shelter or services from nonvictim service providers. This system must comply with any requirements established by HUD by Notice.

9. In consultation with recipients of Emergency Solutions Grants program funds within the geographic area, establish and consistently follow written standards for providing Continuum of Care assistance. At a minimum, these written standards must include:

i. Policies and procedures for evaluating individuals' and families' eligibility for assistance under this part;

ii. Policies and procedures for determining and prioritizing which eligible individuals and families will receive transitional housing assistance (these policies must include the emergency transfer priority required under § 578.99(j)(8));

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iii. Policies and procedures for determining and prioritizing which eligible individuals and families will receive rapid rehousing assistance (these policies must include the emergency transfer priority required under § 578.99(j)(8));

iv. Standards for determining what percentage or amount of rent each program participant must pay while receiving rapid rehousing assistance;

v. Policies and procedures for determining and prioritizing which eligible individuals and families will receive permanent supportive housing assistance (these policies must include the emergency transfer priority required under §578.99(j)(8));

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B. Designating and Operating an HMIS

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The CoC must:

1. Designate a single Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) for the geographic area;

2. Designate an eligible applicant to manage the Continuum's HMIS, which will be known as the HMIS Lead;

3. Review, revise, and approve a privacy plan, security plan, and data quality plan for the HMIS.

4. Ensure consistent participation of recipients and subrecipients in the HMIS; and

5. Ensure the HMIS is administered in compliance with requirements prescribed by HUD.

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C. Continuum of Care Planning

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The CoC must develop a plan that includes:

1. Coordinating the implementation of a housing and service system within its geographic area that meets the needs of the homeless individuals (including unaccompanied youth) and families. At a minimum, such system encompasses the following:

i. Outreach, engagement, and assessment;

ii. Shelter, housing, and supportive services;

iii. Prevention strategies.

2. Planning for and conducting, at least biennially, a point-in-time count of homeless persons within the geographic area that meets the following requirements:

i. Homeless persons who are living in a place not designed or ordinarily used as

a regular sleeping accommodation for humans must be counted as unsheltered homeless persons.

ii. Persons living in emergency shelters and transitional housing projects must be counted as sheltered homeless persons.

iii. Other requirements established by HUD by Notice.

3. Conducting an annual gaps analysis of the homeless needs and services available within the geographic area;

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4. Providing information required to complete the Consolidated Plan(s) within the Continuum's geographic area;

5. Consulting with State and local government Emergency Solutions Grants program recipients within the Continuum's geographic area on the plan for allocating Emergency Solutions Grants program funds and reporting on and evaluating the performance of Emergency Solutions Grants program recipients and subrecipients.

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D. Develop Emergency Transfer Plan​

The CoC must develop the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) emergency transfer plan for the Continuum of Care that meets the requirements under § 578.99(j)(8). This local policy and process is outlined within the NY-603 PSH Transfer Policy and the DV Emergency Transfer Request Form. The goal is this policy is to ensure the safety of household participants of CoC funded permanent housing programs, which may include the need to move locations or transfer into a different CoC-funded program in order to maintain safety. The policy can be found here on the CoC website: https://www.lihomeless.org/coc-policies-standards

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E. Prepare an Application for Funds​

The CoC must:

1. Design, operate, and follow a collaborative process for the development of applications and approve the submission of applications in response to a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) published by HUD;

2. Establish priorities for funding projects in the geographic area;

3. Determine if one application for funding will be submitted for all projects within the geographic area or if more than one application will be submitted for the projects within the geographic area;

a. If more than one application will be submitted, the CoC must designate an eligible applicant to be the collaborative applicant that will collect and combine the required application information from all applicants and for all projects within the geographic area that the Continuum has selected funding.

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V. COC MEMBERSHIP​

A. Composition​

The Continuum of Care seeks robust membership from various community stakeholders in both the public and private sectors. Membership shall consist of interested individuals and representatives from relevant organizations within the geographic area of the CoC. Relevant organizations include, but are not limited to, nonprofit homeless assistance providers, victim service providers, faith-based organizations, governments, local chambers of commerce, local development authorities, businesses, advocates, local housing authorities, school districts, social Long Island CoC Governance Charter 7 of 22 service providers, mental health agencies, hospitals, colleges, technical schools, universities, affordable housing developers, landlords, law enforcement, organizations that serve veterans. Individual membership will also be sought among those who have lived experience of homelessness and community members invested in ending homelessness locally.

B. Member Solicitation

Proactive member recruitment efforts will take place at least semi-annually through targeted emails to parties associated with relevant organizations. In addition, there will be an open membership recruitment process posted on the collaborative applicant’s website. Applications for membership will be evaluated no less than quarterly. New members will be able to join the CoC mailing list by submitting a request through the CoC website and/or through the CoC’s Constant Contact email network.

C. Meetings

Meetings of the full CoC membership will be held at least quarterly (but are typically held monthly). Meetings may be held in-person or virtually through an online meeting platform. The collaborative applicant will work with the CoC Governance Board Chair and/or Vice-Chair to develop agendas for these meetings. Notice of the date, time, and place of full membership meetings, along with the meeting agenda, will be posted on the collaborative applicant’s website at least seven (7) business days before the meeting date.

D. Active Participation

• To remain in good standing, CoC members are expected to attend not less than 65% of membership meetings per year. For CoC members serving on the CoC Governance Board, a CoC Standing Committee, or a CoC Ad-Hoc Committee, attendance at those governance meetings constitutes annual participation for CoC membership purposes. Membership will be evaluated by the collaborative applicant annually to determine if any members did not meet the minimum requirements to remain in good standing. Members identified as not in good standing will be notified in writing and targeted for outreach by CoC Planning staff for re-engagement and feedback as an initial measure. Non-active members will not be able to vote on CoC decisions, however they still will be able to attend CoC meetings and will be encouraged to regain good standing within the CoC. The Ranking Committee will be informed of the participation status of all applicants. ESG jurisdictions and other funders may also require CoC participation and/or attendance records from CoC meetings.

E. Voting and Quorum

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The collaborative applicant will administer and maintain records associated with CoC membership votes. Each organization represented in CoC membership shall have one vote and must assign a designated voting representative if more than one person associated with the organization maintains membership in the CoC. Individual stakeholder CoC members who are not part of a relevant organization shall have one vote each. For in-person CoC membership meetings, a quorum is defined as fifty percent of active voting members. A simple majority of the present quorum in favor of a given voting item will constitute passage of that item. In the absence of a quorum, in-person voting will be deferred to the electronic voting process described herein. For electronic voting, a quorum shall be reached when votes have been received from at least fifty percent of active voting members. Electronic voting will be closed at a pre-determined deadline after a quorum has been reached. Upon closure of voting, a simple majority of votes received in favor of a given voting item will constitute passage of that item.

Full membership votes shall be taken for items including, but not limited to, the following:

 Initial vote to ratify the updated CoC Governance Charter

 Periodic votes to elect CoC Governance Board members to designated elected seats

 Review and/or update the governance charter’s process for CoC Governance Board selection not less than once every five (5) years

F. Action Without a Meeting

For voting items that must be addressed in the absence of an in-person or virtual CoC membership meeting, or when a quorum is not present for voting at an in-person or virtual CoC membership meeting, the collaborative applicant will administer an electronic voting process. The electronic voting process shall be administered pursuant to section VI.D of this Charter.

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VI. COC GOVERNANCE BOARD

A. Board Responsibilities

The CoC Governance Board is the governing body for the Long Island Continuum of Care. The CoC Governance Board is responsible for determining the policy direction of the CoC and ensuring that the CoC fulfills its responsibilities as prescribed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other entities as relevant. The CoC Governance Board approves all CoC policies, procedures, and CoC program funding decisions.

B. Active Participation

CoC Governance Board members are required to attend no less than 75% of all CoC Governance Board meetings in a calendar year to maintain active status. A CoC Governance Board member who has been duly notified of CoC Governance Board meetings and fails to attend at least 75% Long Island CoC Governance Charter 9 of 22 of CoC Governance Board meetings in a calendar year without discussing the reasons for absences with the CoC Governance Board Chair will be presumed to have resigned. In this event, the Elections Committee Chair will confirm resignation with the CoC Governance Board member and, upon confirmation, initiate the process to fill the vacant seat pursuant to section VII.G of this Charter.

C. Board Composition

The CoC Governance Board shall consist of 19 members. Considerations for board representation include expertise and experience in homeless services, lived experience of homelessness, geographic distribution, varying interests, provider perspective, limiting conflicts of interest, and other relevant factors. Board members must be relevant, meaning that they must live, work, or have direct influence over services provided in the geographic area of the CoC. In compliance with the CoC Program Interim Rule, the CoC Governance Board must include at least one individual currently or formerly experiencing homelessness. CoC Governance Board members must represent relevant organizations and projects serving homeless subpopulations, which may include persons with substance abuse disorders, persons with HIV/AIDS, veterans, persons experiencing chronic homelessness, families with children, unaccompanied youth, persons with mental illness, and victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking (24 CFR 578.5(b)(1)). One board member may represent the interests of more than one homeless subpopulation.

Each organization/agency shall only fill one voting seat.

1. STANDING MEMBERS

The CoC Governance Board shall have 9 seats reserved for standing members appointed from the following entities:

Organization Number of Seats

Collaborative Applicant 1

Department of Social Services (DSS) 2

Public Health Entity 1

Nassau County (ESG representative) 1

Town of Brookhaven (ESG representative) 1

Town of Islip (ESG representative) 1

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 1

Public Housing Authority 1

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2. AT-LARGE MEMBERS

The CoC Governance Board shall have 10 seats for At-Large members elected from the CoC membership body to represent the specific categories of stakeholders as follows:

Category:  Number of Seats

Persons with lived experience of homelessness (1 seat for each the following experiences):

1. Youth or young adult with lived experience of homelessness

2. Person with lived experience of homelessness as a single adult

3. Person with lived experience of family homelessness

4. Survivor of domestic violence

Total 4

Homeless service providers: Total 2

Other funders (foundations, philanthropists, and others supporting homeless response on Long Island) - 1 total General community stakeholders

Note: These seats may not represent homeless service providers. To ensure maximum representation, they should prioritize candidates that represent communities most impacted by homelessness locally and/or provide perspective not captured by other Governance Board seats/members. 3

Persons with lived experience are defined for the purpose of the CoC Governance Board as persons who have interacted with the homeless response system on Long Island (Nassau and/or Suffolk Counties) as a participant in services including but not limited to shelter through the Department of Social Services or other entities, street outreach, or CoC funded programs (Coordinated Entry, permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing). Experience with the homeless response system should be within 7 years of nomination to the CoC Governance Board. Persons with lived experience that are not paid for their work on the CoC Governance Board through their place of employment or other means will be compensated at an hourly rate using CoC Planning Funds administered by the Collaborative Applicant. While persons with lived experience may be employed by a homeless service provider and still sit on the board, no more than one person with lived experience working at the same agency may sit on the board simultaneously. Persons with lived experience elected for the lived experience slate should not Long Island CoC Governance Charter 11 of 22 be considered to represent the agency they are employed by, but rather as representatives of their own experiences in the homeless response system. General community stakeholders may be employed at other non-profit organizations that serve other communities or populations in need of support but may not be considered if their organization operates housing or services that are specifically for persons experiencing homelessness (shelter providers, permanent housing providers, etc.). These stakeholders may serve people experiencing homelessness in other ways, (legal advocacy, faith-based ministries, food pantries, etc.) so long as their focus is on serving marginalized communities. Organizational involvement is not a requirement to be elected to the Governance Board.

D. Selection Process

Standing members shall be appointed in writing by a senior leader of the appointing agency. The Elections Committee will review appointments and, upon Elections Committee approval, recommend appointments to the CoC membership for a vote pursuant to the provisions of this Governance Charter.

At-Large members shall be elected by CoC membership via a process administered by the Elections Committee. The Elections Committee will invite CoC members to apply for open At-Large seats annually. The Elections Committee will recommend a slate of candidates to fill open seats and present the slate for a full CoC membership vote pursuant to the provisions of this Governance Charter.

E. Term of Office

Standing members shall not be subject to term limits. Standing members must be re-appointed or

replaced by the appointing entity every three (3) years, or when the seat otherwise becomes vacant.

At-Large Members shall serve staggered terms of three years so that approximately one-third of members stand for election each year. In the first year of implementing this charter, one third of members will be chosen at random to serve one-year terms, one third will be chosen at random to serve two-year terms, and one third will be chosen at random to serve three-year terms. Thereafter, all At-Large Members will be elected to serve three-year terms. At-Large members may serve two (2) consecutive three-year terms. Following the end of an At-Large member’s second term, they shall not be eligible for re-election to the CoC Governance Board until one year has passed. A member may serve two – three-year terms consecutively. Following the end of a member’s second term, he/she shall not be eligible for re-election until one year has passed.

F. Resignations and Removal

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Unless otherwise provided by written agreement, any CoC Governance Board member may resign at any time by giving written notice to the CoC Governance Board Chair, Elections Committee Chair, and the Collaborative Applicant. In addition, members may be removed from the CoC Governance Board by a majority vote of remaining CoC Governance Board members for repeated absence, misconduct, failure to participate, or violation of code of conduct policies.

G. Vacancies

When a standing member resigns, is removed from the CoC Governance Board, or cannot serve for any reason, the Elections Committee Chair shall contact the authorized official of the organization represented by such member in writing and request appointment of a new representative to fill the unexpired term. When an At-Large member resigns, is removed from the CoC Governance Board, or cannot serve their full term for any reason, the Elections Committee shall call a special election to fill the unexpired term. The Elections Committee shall recommend members to the CoC membership for election to the CoC Governance Board. Election to fill a vacancy on the CoC Governance Board requires a vote of the full CoC membership, which shall be accomplished pursuant to the provisions of sections VI.E and VI.F of this Charter, as applicable.

H. Meetings

CoC Governance Board meetings will be held at a minimum bi-monthly basis. Additional meetings, which will be referred to as Special Board Meetings, may be called at the discretion of the CoC Governance Board Chair when necessary to address time sensitive business of the CoC, including matters related to the consolidated application.

I. Voting and Quorum

The collaborative applicant will administer and maintain records associated with CoC Governance Board votes. Each CoC Governance Board member shall have one vote. A quorum is defined as fifty percent of the entire CoC Governance Board membership is present in a meeting. A simple majority of the present quorum in favor of a given voting item will constitute passage of that item. In the absence of a quorum, voting may be deferred to the electronic voting process described herein, at the discretion of the Board Chair.

For electronic voting, votes must be received from 50% or more of the active CoC Governance Board members. Upon receipt of votes from 50% or more of CoC Governance Board members, a simple majority of votes in favor of a given voting item will constitute passage of that item. Proxy designation is not allowable for electronic voting.

J. Action Without a Meeting

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For voting items that must be addressed in the absence of a CoC Governance Board meeting, the Board Chair may direct the collaborative applicant to administer an electronic voting process. The electronic voting process shall be administered pursuant to section VII.I of this Charter.

K. Proxies

A CoC Governance Board member may designate another active CoC Governance Board member to stand in their place as proxy for CoC Governance Board meetings, provided that the Collaborative Applicant is notified in writing of such designation prior to the CoC Governance Board meeting time. A CoC  Governance Board member may serve as proxy for a maximum of one (1) other CoC Governance Board member at a given meeting. When serving as a designated proxy, a CoC Governance Board member shall have one (1) vote for their own position and one (1) vote for their proxy. Each proxy designation counts towards establishment of a quorum.

L. Officers

The CoC Governance Board shall be led by a Chair and Vice-Chair. The Chair and Vice-Chair are expected to have demonstrable knowledge of HUD mandates for the ESG and CoC programs, and of the overall homeless response system in the CoC.

3. RESPONSIBILITIES

The Chair shall be responsible for the following:

1. Call and preside over regular and special CoC Governance Board meetings.

2. Set the CoC Governance Board meeting agenda, in consultation with the collaborative applicant.

3. Ensure that the CoC Governance Board and committees are working collectively in accordance with the Governance Charter to accomplish goals of the CoC.

In the event that the Chair is not able to fulfill one or more of these responsibilities at any given time, the Vice-Chair shall fulfill the responsibilities at hand. The Chair may also request the Vice-Chair to collaborate at any given time in the fulfillment of these responsibilities.

4. SELECTION OF OFFICERS

The Chair and Vice-Chair shall be nominated from the CoC Governance Board membership and elected by a vote of the CoC Governance Board.

5. OFFICER TERMS

The Chair and Vice-Chair shall each serve one-year terms and may be elected for up to two (2) consecutive terms. After serving two consecutive terms, a CoC Governance Board member may not be elected again to the same position until one year has passed.

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6. RESIGNATION

Unless otherwise provided by written agreement, the Chair or Vice-Chair may resign at any time by giving written notice to the Elections Committee and collaborative applicant.

7. VACANCIES

When the Chair resigns or cannot serve the full term for any reason, the remaining Vice-Chair shall call a special election at the next regularly scheduled CoC Governance Board meeting to fill the unexpired term. If both the Chair and Vice-Chair positions are vacant, the special election shall be called and overseen by the chair of the Elections Committee.

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VII. COMMITTEES

A. Standing Committees

Standing committees are permanent committees of the CoC Governance Board established by the Governance Charter to carry out specific mandates related to CoC business, as described herein.

The Nassau, Suffolk Counties CoC shall have the following standing committees:

1. CoC Ranking Committee

2. Coordinated Entry Steering Committee

3. Elections Committee

4. HMIS Data Quality Committee

5. Legislative Committee

6. Street Outreach and Health Outcomes (SOHO) Committee

7. Monitoring Committee

B. Responsibilities

1. COC RANKING COMMITTEE

The CoC Ranking Committee will consist solely of non-CoC program funded stakeholders and provider representatives. The CoC Ranking Committee will develop and recommend to the CoC Governance Board a process to rate and rank project applications in response to NOFOs released by HUD for the Continuum of Care program, including establishment of priorities for funding projects in the CoC. It will be responsible for implementing the rating and ranking process approved by the CoC Governance Board, and for presenting final rating and ranking results to the CoC Governance Board for approval. Committee members will be elected annually by the full CoC and should include people with lived experience. This group meets as needed, with significant blocks of meeting times required during the funding round rank and review process.

2. COORDINATED ENTRY STEERING COMMITTEE

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The Coordinated Entry (CE) Steering committee will be responsible for ensuring that the CoC maintains a Coordinated Entry process that meets HUD requirements and the needs of those experiencing homelessness in the CoC, including affirmative marketing of CE. The CE Steering Committee will make recommendations to the CoC Governance Board on the CoC’s written standards, policies, and procedures for Coordinated Entry, including those related to prioritization for services. It will also ensure that the Coordinated Entry process is evaluated annually and make recommendations to the CoC Governance Board for improvement based on the results of annual evaluation. This committee has rolling enrollment (non-elected) for specific persons and representatives of groups such as CE staff, shelter staff, street outreach staff, DSS, people with lived experience including survivors of domestic violence, and persons representing communities most impacted by homelessness locally. Knowledge of Coordinated Entry is preferred, and onboard training is required. This group meets at a minimum quarterly and as needed.

3. COC ELECTIONS COMMITTEE

The Elections Committee will review matters directly related to the CoC Governance Board selection process and the appointment or election of CoC Governance Board members. This includes review, update, and approval of the CoC Governance Board selection process at least once every five (5) years. The Elections Committee will also serve as the arbiter on issues related to CoC Governance Board member conflicts of interest. Committee members will be elected by the full CoC annually, should have knowledge of CoC/HUD requirements and CoC Governance Board selection process and functions. Previous, but not current, CoC Governance Board members may be elected to this committee. This committee meets as needed and is most active during the Governance Board election process.

4. HMIS DATA QUALITY COMMITTEE

This committee will be responsible for reviewing how our CoC can capture data more accurately in order to inform regional needs, identify trends, and appropriately prioritize households for

CoC and other housing and services resources.

This Committee, in consultation with the CoC Collaborative Applicant and Coordinated Entry System, shall have the following responsibilities:

1. Identify areas of poor data quality with the HMIS and create solutions such as data clean up, training, and issued guidance to HMIS users.

2. Review how data impacts key HUD reports such as Point-In-Time, Housing Inventory County, LSA, and SPMs.

3. Assist in the use of HMIS by a wider range of stakeholders to better capture local needs, enhance collaboration, and ensure that By-Name Lists and other reports include a higher percentage of people experiencing homelessness that may be eligible for housing and services.

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4. Make recommendations to the HMIS Administrator about any necessary changes in HMIS governance and policies, particularly around privacy and security.

5. LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE

The Legislative Committee provides general advocacy on behalf of the CoC to support CoC goals, priorities, and strategies. The Legislative Committee also informs the CoC Governance Board on pertinent legislative issues that may potentially affect the CoC’s work to end homelessness. The Committee may form different working groups on different challenges based on local needs and circumstances, such as criminalization of homelessness, shelter access/low barrier shelters, affordable housing, development/zoning, access to education and employment, etc. Working groups may temporarily form to work on specific tasks and initiatives or establish more regular meetings in order to address ongoing challenges and longer-term goals, such as affordable housing development.​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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