The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Fiscal Policy
BILL: SB 558
INTRODUCER: Senator Rouson
SUBJECT: Homeless Service Professionals
DATE: February 20, 2024 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Rao Tuszynski CF Favorable
2. Sneed McKnight AHS Favorable
3. Rao Yeatman FP Favorable
I. Summary:
SB 558 aims to address the ongoing shortage of professionals in the field of homeless services by
creating a process for former homeless individuals to become certified as a “person with lived
experience” to provide support services to individuals who are currently experiencing
homelessness. The bill requires an individual seeking certification to complete a background
screening.
The bill requires a Continuum of Care lead agency (CoC) serving the homeless to provide
documentation of the homeless services an individual received from the CoC to the Department
of Children and Families (DCF) when requesting a background check of the applicant.
The bill further requires the DCF to ensure an adequate background screening of an applicant.
The bill makes an applicant ineligible for certification under certain circumstances.
The bill has an insignificant, indeterminate negative fiscal impact on state government. See
Section V. Fiscal Impact Statement.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
II. Present Situation:
Homelessness
Homelessness is defined in several ways, but a person is commonly considered homeless if he or
she stays in a homeless shelter, lives in transitional housing, or sleeps in a place not meant for
BILL: SB 558 Page 2
human habitation.1 To receive federally funded homelessness services, a person is considered
homeless if he or she:2
Is living in a place not meant for human habitation, in emergency shelter, in transitional
housing, or exiting an institution where they temporarily resided.3
Will imminently lose a primary nighttime residence within 14 days and lacks resources or
support networks to remain in permanent housing.4
Is part of a family with children or an unaccompanied youth who is unstably housed and
likely to continue in that state.
Is fleeing or attempting to flee from domestic violence, has no other residence, and lacks the
resources or support networks to obtain permanent housing.
Annually, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) releases
what is known as a point-in-time snapshot (PIT) or a count of the number of individuals who
experience homeless on a single night.5 Based on the 2023 PIT, roughly 653,100 people in
America experienced homelessness on a single night.6 Sixty percent experienced sheltered
homelessness (i.e., living in emergency shelter, transitional housing, or a safe haven program)
whereas 40 percent were unsheltered.7 From 2022 to 2023, the number of individuals
experiencing homelessness increased by 12 percent, or roughly 70,650 additional individuals.8
This is the highest PIT count of persons experiencing homelessness since reporting began in
2007.9
In a 2023 PIT count of Florida’s homeless population, an estimated 30,809 individuals were
experiencing homelessness, with 15,706 considered unsheltered homeless (i.e., living outside in
a car, park, or another place not meant for human habitation).10 The 2023 PIT count represents a
34 percent increase from the 11,746 individuals who were experiencing homelessness in 2022.11
Additionally, the highest number of individuals who experienced homelessness in 2023 were
persons aged 55-64, totaling 5,861.12
1
Center for Disease Control and Prevention, About Homelessness, available at:
https://www.cdc.gov/orr/science/homelessness/about.html (last visited Jan. 3, 2024).
2
24 C.F.R. 578.3
3
This includes a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human
beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground; a supervised publicly or
privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living arrangement; or exiting an institution where he or she resided
for 90 days or less and who resided in an emergency shelter or place not meant for human habitation immediately before
entering that institution.
4
Provided that the primary nighttime residence will be lost within 14 days of the date of application for homeless assistance;
no subsequent residence has been identified; and the individual lacks the resources or support networks.
5
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, The 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to
Congress, available at: (last visited Jan. 2, 2024).
6
Id.
7
Id.
8
Id.
9
Id.
10
Florida Department of Children and Families, Florida’s Council on Homelessness, 2023 Annual Report, available at:
https://www.myflfamilies.com/sites/default/files/2023-
07/Florida%27s%20Council%20On%20Homelessness%20Annual%20Report%202023.pdf (last visited Jan. 2, 2024).
11
Id.
12
Id.
BILL: SB 558 Page 3
Being homeless causes negative effects on an individual’s physical and mental health.13
Homeless individuals have higher rates of mortality, mental illness, communicable diseases,
sexually transmitted diseases, and substance abuse.14 Both federal and state services and
programs provide support to homeless individuals that attempt to address the associated effects
of homelessness.15
Federal – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
In recent years, the federal government has recognized the benefit of working with individuals
with lived experiences because such individuals can contribute insight from their personal
experience and better inform public policy. Engaging individuals with lived experiences in
policy considerations can also help policymakers better understand vulnerable populations and
how to best serve them by learning and determining unintended consequences of current or
proposed policy and how it can be adjusted to better benefit the public.16
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is responsible for
implementing national policies that address the nation’s homelessness and housing needs.17 HUD
administers programs, such as subsidized housing for low-income families and services for
individuals experiencing homelessness.18
HUD prioritizes working with people who have received supports and services from HUD (lived
experience) to better inform policy and achieve housing justice.19 HUD utilizes the knowledge
and information provided by its customers to create effective policy and programs.20 For
example, HUD has involved persons with lived experience in developed training materials,
policy, and other resources for providers who serve homeless populations.21
13
Jessica Richards, Randall Kuhn, Unsheltered Homelessness and Health: A Literature Review,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.focus.2022.100043 (last visited Jan. 2, 2024).
14
Id.
15
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Homelessness, available at: https://www.hhs.gov/programs/social-
services/homelessness/index.html (last visited 1/02/24).
16
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Methods
and Emerging Strategies to Engage People with Lived Experience, available at:
https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/47f62cae96710d1fa13b0f590f2d1b03/lived-experience-brief.pdf (last
visited Dec. 14, 2023).
17
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Questions and Answers about HUD, available at:
https://www.hud.gov/about/qaintro (last visited Dec. 28, 2023).
18
Id.
19
Id.
20
U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, Fiscal Year 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, available at:
https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/CFO/documents/FY2022-2026HUDStrategicPlan.pdf (last visited Dec. 24, 2023).
21
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD Exchange, Centering Lived Experience, available at:
https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/coc/centering-lived-experience/ (last visited Jan. 4, 2024); U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development, HUD Exchange, CoC Program Special NOFO Digest: Inclusion of People with Lived
Experience and Expertise of Homelessness, available at: https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/e-snaps/coc-supplemental-
nofo-to-address-unsheltered-rural-homelessness/coc-program-special-nofo-digest-inclusion-of-people-with-lived-experience-
and-expertise-of-homelessness/ (last visited Jan. 4, 2024).
BILL: SB 558 Page 4
Florida
State Office on Homelessness
The State Office on Homelessness (State Office) within the Department of Children and Families
(DCF) was created in 2001 as a central point of contact within state government on
homelessness.22 Section 420.622, F.S., requires the State Office to coordinate resources and
programs across all levels of government and with private providers that serve the homeless
pursuant to policies set by the Council on Homelessness and available funding.23
The inter-agency Council on Homelessness (Council) is a 19-member council24 required to
develop policy and advise the State Office on how to reduce homelessness statewide. The
Council is statutorily required to submit an annual report to the Governor, Legislature, and the
DCF’s Secretary that summarizes the extent of homelessness in Florida and recommendations
for ending homelessness. 25
The Council’s 2023 report recognized the strong investments made during the 2023 Legislative
session that increased funding for affordable housing and recommended a holistic approach to
homelessness prevention by coordinating between government, nonprofits, and communities to
implement comprehensive strategies to address underlying causes of homelessness.26
Continuums of Care
Continuums of Care (CoC) groups organize to coordinate, plan, and pursue ending homelessness
in designated areas throughout Florida.27 Section 420.621(1), F.S., requires CoCs to be
composed of representatives from certain organizations, including, but not limited to:
Nonprofit homeless providers,
Victim services providers,
22
Ch. 2001-98, Laws of Fla.
23
Section 420.622(3), F.S.
24
The individuals and agencies included in the Council of Homelessness are: the Secretary of Children and Families, or his
or her designee; the Secretary of Economic Opportunity, or his or her designee, who shall advise the council on issues related
to rural development; the State Surgeon General, or his or her designee; the Executive Director of Veterans’ Affairs, or his or
her designee; the Secretary of Corrections, or his or her designee; the Secretary of Health Care Administration, or his or her
designee; the Commissioner of Education, or his or her designee; the Executive Director of CareerSource Florida, Inc., or his
or her designee; one representative of the Florida Association of Counties; one representative of the Florida League of Cities;
one representative of the Florida Supportive Housing Coalition; one representative of the Florida Housing Coalition; the
Executive Director of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, or his or her designee; one representative of the Florida
Coalition for the Homeless; the secretary of the Department of Elder Affairs, or his or her designee; and four members
appointed by the Governor.
25
Section 420.622, F.S.
26
The Department of Children and Families, Florida’s Council on Homelessness Annual Report, available at:
https://www.myflfamilies.com/sites/default/files/2023-
07/Florida%27s%20Council%20On%20Homelessness%20Annual%20Report%202023.pdf (last visited Jan. 3, 2024).
27
Section 420.621, F.S. The Office of Economic Self-Sufficiency (Office) within the Department of Children and Families
employs a Continuum of Care (CoC) model to provide services for individuals experiencing homelessness. Local CoCs are
organizations composed of representatives of nonprofit homeless providers, victim service providers, faith-based
organizations, governments, businesses, advocates, public housing agencies, school districts, social service providers, mental
health agencies, etc. The Office designates local CoC entities to serve as lead agencies for homeless services throughout
Florida. The DCF, Homelessness, available at: https://www.myflfamilies.com/services/public-assistance/homelessness (last
visited Dec. 28, 2023).
BILL: SB 558 Page 5
Faith-based organizations,
Governments,
Businesses,
Advocates,
Public housing agencies,
School districts,
Social service providers,
Mental health agencies,
Hospitals,
Universities,
Affordable housing developers,
Law enforcement, and
Organizations that serve homeless and formerly homeless persons.28
The purpose of a CoC is to coordinate community efforts to prevent and end homelessness in a
catchment area designated by the State Office. Florida’s designated catchment areas must be
consistent with the CoC catchment areas recognized by HUD for the purpose of awarding federal
homeless assistance grant funding.29 The State Office recognizes one CoC lead agency for each
designated catchment area.30
The following table lists Florida's CoC lead agencies and the counties served by each.31
CoC Lead Agency Counties Served
Opening Doors of NWFL Escambia and Santa Rosa
Homelessness & Housing Alliance Okaloosa and Walton
Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and
Doorways of Northwest Florida
Washington
Franklin, Gadsen, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty,
Big Bend Continuum of Care
Madison, Taylor, and Wakulla
Columbia, Hamilton, Lafayette, and
United Way of Suwannee Valley
Suwannee
Alachua, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, and
United Way of North Central Florida
Putnam
Changing Homelessness Clay, Duval, and Nassau
Volusia/Flagler Coalition for the Homeless Flagler and Volusia
Flagler Hospital – St. Augustine St. Johns
Ocala/Marion Joint Office on Homelessness Marion
Mid Florida Homeless Coalition Citrus, Hernando, Lake, and Sumter
Coalition for the Homeless of Pasco County Pasco
28
Section 420.621(1), F.S.
29
Section 420.6225(3), F.S.
30
Section 420.6225(4), F.S.
31
Florida Department of Children and Families, Continuums of Care and Local Providers of Service, available at:
https://www.myflfamilies.com/continuums-care-and-local-providers-service (last visited Jan. 6, 2024).
BILL: SB 558 Page 6
CoC Lead Agency Counties Served
Homeless Services Network of Central Florida Orange, Osceola, and Seminole
Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative Hillsborough
Homeless Coalition of Polk County Polk
Brevard Homeless Coalition Brevard
Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council Indian River, Martin, and St Lucie
DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry,
Heartland Coalition for the Homeless
Highlands, and Okeechobee
Big Bend Continuum of Care Marion
United Way of North Central Florida Pasco
Gulf Coast Partnership Charlotte
Lee County Human & Veteran Services Lee
Hunter & Homeless Coalition of Collier County Collier
Palm Beach County Human & Veter