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The Work of Managing
a Continuum of Care
A Message from Dr. Trent Simmons, Chief Executive Officer, Sacramento Steps Forward
Sacramento's response to homelessness depends on coordination among public agencies, service providers, people with lived experience, and community partners, each playing an important role. As local governments and the Continuum of Care (CoC) consider the future of a new governance structure, it's worth understanding where federal requirements end and local decision-making begins.
The Sacramento Continuum of Care (CoC) is one of approximately 400 such U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) designated communities across the country. Depending on the community, a CoC’s geography can be a single city, a single county, a multi-jurisdictional partnership, or an entire region or state.
Every CoC is required to carry out a set of responsibilities to coordinate a community's response to homelessness. These include operating a governance structure, administering the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), coordinating the Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, running a coordinated entry system, and managing the local funding competition, among others.
However, a CoC is not an organization. It’s composed of volunteer board members, providers, and community partners, but has no staff or organizational structure of its own. It needs dedicated professional capacity to translate the priorities and policies of its membership into coordinated action.
So, who carries out the work of the CoC? Each community answers that question differently. Some CoCs are managed by the organization that coordinates the CoC and submits its annual HUD funding application (known as the Collaborative Applicant). Others split responsibilities across multiple agencies or establish contracts for administrative and technical assistance. And others, like the Sacramento CoC, designate an organization to provide staffing capacity for the work of the CoC. This is how Sacramento Steps Forward (SSF) was created in 2011 by local elected leaders.
SSF carries multiple administrative roles: Collaborative Applicant for HUD funding, HMIS Lead for data management, and CoC Lead Agency for fulfilling core administrative responsibilities. Those responsibilities include conducting the PIT Count, supporting the CoC Board and its committees, and monitoring compliance with federal, state, and local requirements. While some of this work is mandated by HUD, much of it is not. Many responsibilities are designated and decided locally.
Beyond this existing work, as Sacramento considers how to best manage its homelessness response system, there are opportunities for Sacramento to pursue additional HUD designations to maximize efficiency, impact, and funding, including:
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Unified Funding Agency (UFA) status which would bring additional funds for program monitoring and subrecipient compliance, while consolidating fiscal administration across the system.
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High-Performing Community (HPC) status to unlock the use of additional funding for homelessness prevention and broaden the fund sources that providers can use to meet match requirements.
The CoC and its administration exist to support the essential work of providers, partners, and outreach teams in serving community members. As Sacramento’s decision-makers consider the future of its governance structure, understanding what HUD requires and what Sacramento has chosen to build is where that conversation should start.
We look forward to supporting this conversation in the months ahead.
With appreciation,
Dr. Trent Simmons
LEARN WHAT IT TAKES TO ADMINSTER A CoC ➜
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