About:
The Continuum of Care (CoC) is a federal program to support community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness. The CoC Board is made up of community members, homeless service providers, and government agencies to ensure alignment with the Multnomah County CoC Guidelines. The Board represents the Continuum of Care stakeholders and community members focusing on driving the effort to end homelessness in our region.
What Does the Board Do?
This Board reviews and approves the Continuum of Care Application for federal funding, helps make decisions about what is funded locally with the federal money, designates the local entity that will be the lead organization for the federal Homeless Management Information System, and provides Planning Feedback on the Continuum of Care.
History of the Continuum of Care:
The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2009 (HEARTH Act) amended the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Among other changes, the HEARTH Act consolidated the three separate McKinney-Vento homeless assistance programs (Supportive Housing Program, Shelter Plus Care program, and Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation SRO program) into a single grant program known as the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program.
HUD published the Continuum of Care Program interim rule in the Federal Register on July 31, 2012. The CoC Program is designed to assist individuals (including unaccompanied youth) and families experiencing homelessness and to provide the services needed to help such individuals move into transitional and permanent housing, with the goal of long-term stability. More broadly, the program is designed to promote community-wide planning and strategic use of resources to address homelessness; improve coordination and integration with mainstream resources and other programs targeted to people experiencing homelessness; improve data collection and performance measurement; and allow each community to tailor its program to the particular strengths and challenges within that community.
Continuum of Care Charter:
The HEARTH Act mandates each community establish a CoC governance charter, which includes all procedures and policies to comply with the HUD Interim Rule (24 C.F.R. § 578)
Continuum of Care Charter (151.99 KB)
Continuum of Care Charter_Large Print (157.78 KB)
