(a) The departments shall establish and implement programs pursuant to the purposes of this article that focus on veterans at risk for homelessness or experiencing temporary or chronic homelessness. To the extent feasible, the departments shall establish and implement programs that, among other things, do the following:
(1) Leverage public (federal, state, and local), private, and nonprofit program and fiscal resources.
(2) Prioritize projects that combine housing and supportive services, including, but not limited to, job training, mental health and drug treatment, case management, care coordination, or physical rehabilitation.
(3) Promote public and private partnerships.
(4) Foster innovative financing opportunities.
(5) Ensure program guidelines and terms provide threshold requirements or scoring criteria, or both, to advance applicants with experience in combining permanent or transitional housing, or both, with supportive services for veterans, or for partnering with housing developers or service providers with experience offering housing or services to veterans.
(b) The departments shall ensure at least 50 percent of funds awarded for capital development under this article provide housing to veteran households with extremely low incomes, as defined in Section 50106 of the Health and Safety Code.
(1) In determining whether a potential tenant is eligible for supportive, affordable, or transitional housing targeted to extremely low income households under this provision, eligibility shall take into consideration all of a household’s income sources upon initial tenancy.
(2) At least 60 percent of units funded targeting extremely low income households shall be supportive housing.
(3) This section shall not deter the departments from funding projects serving mixed-income populations.
(c) The departments may review, adopt, amend, and repeal guidelines or terms, or both, to implement this article. Any guidelines or terms adopted to implement this article shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(d) Nothing in this article permits the departments or the board to purchase, operate, or manage properties except in the event of a foreclosure on a borrower or grantee.
(e) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a housing developer or service provider that provides housing or services pursuant to this article may provide housing or services to female veterans and their children in women-only facilities in limited instances in which a female veteran (A) has suffered any form of sexual abuse, trauma, or intimidation or harassment while serving in the military and is seeking treatment for that sexual abuse, trauma, or intimidation or harassment, or (B) is seeking the housing or services as a result of being a victim of sexual abuse or domestic violence.
(2) A housing developer or service provider that provides housing or services to female veterans in women-only facilities pursuant to paragraph (1) shall ensure that the housing or services shall provide supportive housing or services with a focus on, among others, treating the effects of military sexual abuse, trauma, or intimidation in a gender-specific manner.
(3) For purposes of this subdivision, “women-only facilities” means the facilities may house and provide services to female veterans only and their children, and shall not house or provide services to any adult who is not a dependent of a female veteran.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 535, Sec. 2. (SB 866) Effective January 1, 2017.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018