Report 2020-112 Recommendation 22 Responses

Report 2020-112: Homelessness in California: The State's Uncoordinated Approach to Addressing Homelessness Has Hampered the Effectiveness of Its Efforts (Release Date: February 2021)

Recommendation #22 To: Fresno, Housing Authority of the City of

To ensure that individuals experiencing homelessness have adequate access to the coordinated entry process, the Fresno City Housing Authority should, by August 2021, coordinate with its CoC to assess the feasibility of establishing a dedicated telephone hotline for providing information about available services, assessing individuals' needs, and referring those individuals to appropriate housing or homeless service providers.

1-Year Agency Response

The FMCoC has three Triage Centers that are 24-hour operations, their addresses and phone numbers are listed on the FMCoC website. In addition, the FMCoC has hotline numbers for victims of domestic violence, Veterans, persons experiencing homelessness through MAP Point during business hours, with a rollover during evenings and weekends. The FMCoC is embarking on varying ways to better publicize said numbers to answer questions, provide assessment and linkage to appropriate community resources. The FMCoC has begun discussion with the 2-1-1 system in Fresno to further publicize services.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Will Not Implement

The intent of our recommendation is for the Fresno-Madera CoC to establish a designated hotline that people can call to begin the coordinated entry process, be assessed for their needs, and referred to appropriate housing or homeless services providers. Although the Fresno City Housing Authority indicates its three triage centers are open 24 hours a day and have dedicated phone lines, it also acknowledges that it is embarking on ways to publicize the phone numbers for these centers and other CoC resources to provide assessment services and link individuals to appropriate community resources. This suggests a single hotline phone number would be more efficient and would streamline access for those needing assistance.

6-Month Agency Response

The FMCoC has three Triage Centers that are 24-hour operations, their addresses and phone numbers are listed on the FMCoC website. In addition, the FMCoC has hotline numbers for victims of domestic violence, Veterans, persons experiencing homelessness through MAP Point during business hours, with a rollover during evenings and weekends. The FMCoC is embarking on varying ways to better publicize said numbers to answer questions, provide assessment and linkage to appropriate community resources. The FMCoC has begun discussion with the 2-1-1 system in Fresno to further publicize services.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Will Not Implement

The intent of our recommendation is for the Fresno-Madera CoC to establish a designated hotline that people can call to begin the coordinated entry process, be assessed for their needs, and referred to appropriate housing or homeless services providers. Although the Fresno City Housing Authority indicates its three triage centers are open 24 hours a day and have dedicated phone lines, it also acknowledges that it is embarking on ways to publicize the phone numbers for these centers and other CoC resources to provide assessment services and link individuals to appropriate community resources. This suggests a single hotline phone number would be more efficient and would streamline access for those needing assistance.

60-Day Agency Response

The FMCoC has three Triage Centers that are 24-hour operations, their addresses and phone numbers are listed on the FMCoC website. In addition, the FMCoC has hotline numbers for victims of domestic violence, Veterans, persons experiencing homelessness through MAP Point during business hours, with a rollover during evenings and weekends. The FMCoC is embarking on varying ways to better publicize said numbers to answer questions, provide assessment and linkage to appropriate community resources. The FMCoC has begun discussion with the 2-1-1 system in Fresno to further publicize services.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Will Not Implement

The intent of our recommendation is for the Fresno-Madera CoC to establish a designated hotline that people can call to begin the coordinated entry process, be assessed for their needs, and referred to appropriate housing or homeless services providers. Although the Fresno City Housing Authority indicates its three triage centers are open 24 hours a day and have dedicated phone lines, it also acknowledges that it is embarking on ways to publicize the phone numbers for these centers and other CoC resources to provide assessment services and link individuals to appropriate community resources. This suggests a single hotline phone number would be more efficient and would streamline access for those needing assistance.

All Recommendations in 2020-112

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.