By: Jarrett James Lash
BILL NUMBER: HOUSE BILL NO. 506
BILL NAME: Louisiana Interagency Council on Homelessness
BILL STATE: Louisiana
BILL SPONSOR/CO-SPONSOR: Representative Daryl Adams [I], Representative Wilford Carter [D], Representative Mack Cormier [D], Representative Adrian Fisher [D], Representative Kyle Green [D], Representative Jason Hughes [D], Representative Patrick Jefferson [D]
BILL STATUS: Signed into Law
BILL SUMMARY:
Creates the Louisiana Interagency Council on Homelessness within the office of the governor
The Agency will submit an annual written report to the governor and the legislature regarding the statewide plan to end homelessness
The Agency will be comprised of the executive director of the Louisiana Housing Corporation, the secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, the state superintendent of education, the secretary of the Department of Health, the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, one representative from each of the federally recognized continuum of care to end homelessness programs, the executive director of the Louisiana Services Network Data Consortium, the executive director of the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and six appointed members by the chairmen of the Senate and House Health and Welfare Committee
KEY IMPLICATIONS:
This action is backed by the success that the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness has had since its inception in 1987 to not consolidate the work of homelessness, but rather create a platform to disseminate the information that different agencies are conducting.
This bill does not significantly alter the work being completed to address and reduce homelessness in the state but could lead to better cross-agency collaboration on existing programs
LEGISLATION SUGGESTIONS:
The Center for Rural Homelessness suggests that one of the appointed members by the chairman of the Senate and House Health and Welfare Committee will be from a HUD-designated rural part of the state to provide a well-rounded representation of homelessness from many parts of the state
The Center for Rural Homelessness suggests that the continuum of care representative be from the Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care as it represents the largest geographic area in the state.
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