Chapter 348
2011 -- S 0539 SUBSTITUTE A AS
AMENDED
Enacted 07/13/11
A N A C T
RELATING TO
HUMAN SERVICES - SUPPORT OF HOMELESS
Introduced
By: Senators DeVall, Tassoni,
P Fogarty, Pichardo, and
Date Introduced: March 10, 2011
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 40-17-1, 40-17-2, 40-17-3, 40-17-4 and
40-17-5 of the General
Laws in Chapter 40-17
entitled "Support of Homeless" are hereby amended to read as follows:
40-17-1.
Legislative findings. -- (a) The general assembly hereby finds that there exists
in this state undetermined numbers of homeless persons,
many of whom suffer from chronic
mental illness and disability, and that this condition
exists among families and among individuals
of all age groups without regard to ethnic or racial
heritage or sex. The existence of this condition
is declared to be detrimental to the health, safety, and
welfare of the homeless individuals
themselves and to the state.
(b) The general assembly
further finds and declares that this condition is particularly
pronounced in the city of
throughout the state.
40-17-2. Purpose
Agency established. - It is the purpose of this chapter to:
(1) Establish a
pilot program to aid and assist homeless and mentally ill individuals in
the city of
(2) Identify the extent of the homeless problem in the state;
(3) Examine the effectiveness
of current programs dealing with the homeless; and
(4) Propose new
programs and modification and coordination of existing programs to
address the needs and problems of the homeless.
(a) There is hereby
created a permanent council to be called the "Interagency Council on
Homelessness" consisting of seventeen (17)
members and one ex-officio member:
(1) One of whom shall be the chief of the office of housing and
community development,
or his or her designee, who shall chair the Interagency
Council on Homelessness;
(2) One of whom shall be the director of the department of
administration, or his or her
designee;
(3) One of whom shall be the chair of the housing resources
commission, or his or her
designee;
(4) One of whom shall be the director of the department of human
services, or his or her
designee;
(5) One of whom shall be the director of the department of
health, or his or her designee;
(6) One of whom shall be the director of the department of children,
youth, and families,
or his or her designee;
(7) One of whom shall be the director of elderly affairs, or his
or her designee;
(8) One of whom shall be the director of behavioral healthcare,
developmental disabilities
and hospitals, or his or her designee;
(9) One of whom shall be director of the department of labor and
training, or his or her
designee;
(10) One of whom shall be the director of the department of
corrections, or his or her
designee;
(11) One of whom
shall be the commissioner of the department of elementary or
secondary education, or his or her designee;
(12) One of whom shall be the director of the
finance corporation, or his or her designee;
(13) One of whom shall be the director of emergency management
agency, or his or her
designee;
(14) One of whom shall be a representative from the
veterans' affairs or his or her designee;
(15) One of whom shall be the public defender, or his or her
designee;
(16) One of whom shall be the Medicaid director within the
department of human
services, or his or her designee;
(17) One of whom shall be the secretary of the executive office
of health and human
services, or his or her designee; and
(18) One of whom shall be an ex-officio member who shall be the
chair, or his or her
designee, of the Interagency Council on Homelessness Advisory
Council as described in this
chapter herein.
(b) Forthwith upon
the effective date of this chapter, the members of the commission
shall meet at the call of the chair and organize. Vacancies
in the commission shall be filled in like
manner as the original appointment.
(c) The department of
administration is hereby directed to provide suitable quarters and
staff for the commission.
(d) All departments
and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information,
documentary, and otherwise to the commission and its agents as is
deemed necessary or desirable
by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this
chapter.
40-17-3. Program
established Duties and responsibilities of council. - There is
hereby
established a pilot program to aid and assist homeless mentally
ill individuals in the city of
Providence by providing psychiatric and social services directly
to individuals and families in
meal sites, shelters, public and private social agencies,
on the street, and in any other places
where homeless individuals may be found.
The duties and
responsibilities of the council shall be:
(1) To participate in
the process of developing a strategic plan to end homelessness
aligned with the federal strategic plan to end homelessness
that will serve to reduce the number of
homeless individuals and families in
(2) To coordinate
services for the homeless among state agencies and instrumentalities,
community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, volunteer
organizations, advocacy
groups and businesses;
(3) To coordinate
services not specifically for the homeless, but from which the homeless
may benefit, among state agencies and instrumentalities,
community-based organizations, faith-
based organizations, volunteer organizations, advocacy
groups and businesses; and
(4) To identify and
seek to remedy gaps in services, specifically in the area of making
provisions for the availability, use and permanent funding
stream for permanent supportive
housing.
40-17-4.
Designation of agency Meeting and reporting requirements.
– The
Providence center for counseling and psychiatric services
("center") is hereby designated as the
agency to administer and develop the homeless mentally ill
aid and assistance program
("program") in the city
of
retardation, and hospitals shall provide advice and assistance to
the center in developing this
program and shall review the performance of the center. The
center shall make a report on the
administration and progress of this program and report its findings
concerning the homeless to the
"commission on the
homeless" on or before February 1, 1989 and shall make such interim
reports
as the commission shall require.
Meeting and reporting
requirements are as follows:
(1) The council shall
meet regularly;
(2) The council in
conjunction with the housing resources commission shall provide the
strategic plan and specific recommendations to prevent and end
homelessness to the governor,
senate president, speaker of the house, the senate committee
on housing and municipal
government and the house corporations committee by February 1,
2012;
(3) The council shall
provide a report on funding available during calendar year 2011 for
services, facilities, programs or otherwise for people who are
homeless. Said report shall be
provided to the senate president, speaker of the house, senate
fiscal advisor and house fiscal
advisor by January 31, 2012.
(4) The council shall
report annually to the governor and the general assembly, no later
than March 2013, and annually thereafter, on the progress
made in achieving the goals and
objectives set forth in the strategic plan, on the current number
of homeless individuals, families,
and children and any other pertinent information.
40-17-5. Commission
established Advisory council established. -- (a) There is hereby
created a permanent legislative commission to be called the
"commission on the homeless"
consisting of twenty (20) members:
(1) Two (2) of whom shall be from the house of representatives,
not more than one from
the same political party to be appointed by the speaker,
of whom two (2) may be members of the
general public appointed in lieu of legislative appointments;
(2) Two (2) of whom
shall be from the senate, not more than one from the same political
party to be appointed by the president of the senate, of
whom two (2) may be members of the
general public appointed in lieu of legislative appointments;
(3) One of whom shall
be representative of the general public to be appointed by the
governor;
(4) One of whom shall be the director of the department of
health or his or her designee;
(5) One of whom shall be the director of the department of human
services or his or her
designee;
(6) One of whom shall
be the director of mental health, retardation, and hospitals or his or
her designee;
(7) One of whom shall be the director of children, youth, and families
or his or her
designee;
(8) One of whom shall be the director of the
corporation or his or her designee;
(9) One of whom shall be the mayor of the city of
(10) One of whom shall be the mayor of Warwick or his or her
designee;
(11) One of whom shall be the mayor of
(12) One of whom shall be the mayor of
(13) Two (2) of whom
shall be representatives of shelters for the homeless located in the
state to be appointed by the lieutenant governor;
(14) One of whom shall be the director of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, or his or
her designee;
(15) One of whom shall be the executive director of the
Association of Community
Mental or his or her designee;
(16) One of whom
shall be the executive director of the Council on Domestic Violence or
his or her designee;
(17) One of whom
shall be the chairperson of the Emergency Food and Shelter Board or
his or her designee and whose purpose it shall be to
identify the extent of the homeless problem in
the state to evaluate programs for the homeless developed
by state and local governments and the
Providence mental health center;
to
study and make findings concerning homeless individuals and families in the
state of
Rhode Island and to make recommendations to the governor and
general assembly concerning
legislation and programs to assist the homeless.
(b) Forthwith upon
the passage of this chapter, the members of the commission shall
meet at the call of the governor and organize and shall select
from among the members a
chairperson. Vacancies in the commission shall be filled in like
manner as the original
appointment.
(c) The membership of
the commission shall receive no compensation for their services,
but shall be allowed their travel and necessary expenses.
The commission may engage such
clerical, technical, and other assistance as it may deem
necessary, and spend such other funds as
is necessary to accomplish its purpose.
(d) The department of
human services is hereby directed to provide suitable quarters and
staff for the commission.
(e) All departments
and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information,
documentary, and otherwise to the commission and its agents as is
deemed necessary or desirable
by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this
chapter.
(a) There is hereby
created a permanent advisory council to the Interagency Council on
Homelessness containing equal representation of
advocates, service providers, current and/or
former members of the homeless community, as well as
representatives specifically affiliated
with youth homelessness to be appointed by the governor.
The chair shall be elected by a
majority of the members.
(b) The purpose of
the council is to inform the Interagency Council on Homelessness on
the current status and issues facing the homeless
throughout
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02057/SUB A
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