Section 194A.735 - Homelessness Prevention Project - Goals - Support - Timetables - Participation - Discharge plan - Administrative regulations - Data collection - Reports - Kentucky Interagency Council on Homelessness(1) Subject to sufficient funding, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, in consultation with any other state agency as appropriate, shall develop and implement the Homelessness Prevention Project, which offers institutional discharge planning on a voluntary basis to: (a) Persons with serious mental illness, persons between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty-five (25) who may be at risk of developing serious mental illness who are being released from a mental health facility operated or contracted by the cabinet, or persons with a history of multiple utilizations of health care, mental health care, or judicial systems;(b) Persons who are being released after serving out a sentence from any state-operated prison or persons who are being paroled from any state-operated prison; or(c) Persons who will be aging out of foster care or who have aged out of foster care.(2) The primary goal of the project shall be to prepare a limited number of persons in a foster home under supervision by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, state-operated prisons under supervision by the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, and mental health facilities operated or contracted by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services for return or reentry into the community, and to offer information about any necessary linkage of the person to needed community services and supports. (a) The project shall be jointly supported by each of the cabinets and managed under the direction of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities, Division of Behavioral Health.(b) Subject to sufficient funding as provided by an executive branch budget bill, the Division of Behavioral Health shall select the Homelessness Prevention Project sites. These sites shall be in addition to and integrated with the site located in and serving Jefferson County and the site located in a community mental health center serving Clinton, Cumberland, McCreary, and Wayne Counties.(c) Within thirty (30) days of July 15, 2016, the cabinets shall supply the project director at each site with the collection of information on available employment, social, housing, educational, medical, mental health, and other community services in the county. The information shall include but not be limited to the service area of each public and private provider of services, the capacity of each provider to render services to persons served by the project, the fees of each provider, contact names and telephone numbers for each provider, and an emergency contact for each provider.(d) Within thirty (30) days of July 15, 2016, the cabinets and directors shall begin a program of education for each of the cabinet and foster home and mental health and appropriate state-operated prison facility staff who will participate in the development of a discharge plan for volunteer participants under this section.(3) The project shall operate on a voluntary basis. Persons eligible for discharge or completing their sentence or who are being paroled from any state-operated prison shall be offered the opportunity to participate in the project. This offer shall be made at least six (6) months prior to discharge. There shall be a cap on the number of persons served in each Homelessness Prevention Project office, to be determined by available funding and staffing requirements. (a) The staff member designated as the homelessness prevention coordinator for each foster home or mental health facility shall maintain a file for each volunteer participant in the foster home or mental health facility, relating to the participant's employment, social, housing, educational, medical, and mental health needs. This file shall be updated from time to time as appropriate and pursuant to an administrative regulation promulgated by the cabinet in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A that establishes standards for the discharge summary. The staff member designated as the homelessness prevention coordinator for the appropriate state-operated prison participating in the project shall maintain a file containing appropriate forms completed and updated by each person voluntarily participating in the project, relating to the information provided under subsection (6) of this section. All applicable privacy and confidentiality laws shall be followed in assembling and maintaining this file.(b) Six (6) months prior to the expected date of discharge, the discharge coordinator for each foster home and mental health and state-operated prison facility shall contact the homelessness prevention director for the appropriate site where the volunteer participant chooses to locate following discharge about the pending release of the volunteer participant who is eligible for discharge from a foster home or mental health facility, who will have served out his or her sentence in a state-operated prison facility, or who is being paroled from any state-operated prison that is participating in the project. The director shall visit the home or facility, as appropriate, to assist with the preparation of the final comprehensive discharge plan.(c) The homelessness prevention director from the site where the participant chooses to locate and the discharge coordinator for each participating foster home and mental health and state-operated prison facility shall work together to develop a final comprehensive discharge plan that addresses the employment, health care, educational, housing, and other needs of the person to be released, subject to the consent of the person and the funding and staffing capabilities of the director. Information provided by the coordinator may include and be limited to, subject to the staffing and funding capabilities of the coordinator, information provided by the person to be released on a form or forms made available by the foster home or mental health or state-operated prison facility. The discharge plan shall contain but not be limited to the following:1. Estimated discharge date from the foster home, state-operated prison facility, or mental health facility, or identification by a social service provider of a person who meets the criteria listed in subsection (1) of this section;2. Educational background of the person to be released, including any classes completed or skills obtained by the person while in the foster home, state-operated prison facility, or mental health facility;3. The person's medical and mental health needs;4. Other relevant social or family background information;5. A listing of previous attempts to arrange for post-release residence, employment, medical and mental health services, housing, education, and other community-based services for the person; and6. Other available funding and public programs that may reimburse any services obtained from a provider listed in the discharge plan. Every effort shall be made in the discharge plan to refer the person to a provider that has agreed to an arranged public or private funding arrangement. No discharge plan shall be completed unless the written consent, consistent with state and federal privacy laws, to compile the information and prepare the plan has been given by the person eligible for release who has volunteered to participate in the project.
(4) The homelessness prevention director from the site where the participant chooses to locate shall assist with the completion of a final comprehensive discharge plan that may include but need not be limited to the following: (a) Availability of appropriate housing, including but not limited to a twenty-four (24) month transitional program, supportive housing, or halfway house. Planning discharge to an emergency shelter is not appropriate to meet the housing needs of the person being discharged from foster care, a state-operated prison facility, or a mental health facility;(b) Access to appropriate treatment services for participants who require follow-up treatment;(c) Availability of appropriate employment opportunities, including assessment of vocational skills and job training; and(d) Identification of appropriate opportunities to further education.(5) Discharge planning shall be individualized, comprehensive, and coordinated with community-based services. (a) Each discharge plan shall create a continuous, coordinated, and seamless system that is designed to meet the needs of the person.(b) Staff of the foster home or facility and staff of community-based services providers shall be involved in the planning.(c) Each facility shall utilize, wherever possible, community-based services within the facility to establish familiarity of the person residing in the facility with the community services.(6) The Department of Corrections shall, through an administrative regulation promulgated in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A, develop a discharge plan that addresses the education; employment, technical, and vocational skills; and housing, medical, and mental health needs of a person who is to be released after serving out his or her sentence in a state-operated prison facility participating in the project.(7) Appropriate data about discharge placements and follow-up measures shall be collected and analyzed. The analysis shall be included in the interim and final reports of the project specified in subsection (8) of this section.(8) Each homelessness prevention director shall have regular meetings with appropriate state cabinet and agency staff to review the project and make recommendations for the benefit of the project. Each director shall be assisted by a local advisory council composed of local providers of services and consumer advocates who are familiar with homelessness prevention issues. Priority for membership on the advisory council shall be given to existing resources and regional mental health and substance abuse advisory councils at the discretion of the director.(9) Each cabinet shall collect data about the discharge plans, referrals, costs of services, and rate of recidivism related to the homelessness prevention project, and shall submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislative Research Commission no later than October 1 that summarizes the data and contains recommendations for the improvement of the project. The annual report also shall be forwarded to the Kentucky Interagency Council on Homelessness.(10)(a) The Kentucky Interagency Council on Homelessness is hereby established to plan, develop, coordinate, and implement programs for the purpose of improving the well-being of homeless Kentuckians. The council shall be attached to the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky for administrative purposes.(b) The council shall include but not be limited to the following members: 1. The secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services;2. The executive director of the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky;3. The chief executive officer of the Kentucky Housing Corporation;4. The commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veterans' Affairs;5. The secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet;6. The secretary of the Education and Labor Cabinet;7. The secretary of the Transportation Cabinet;8. The executive director of the Administrative Office of the Courts;9. The state budget director;10. A representative from the Kentucky Housing Association, representing public housing authorities, appointed by the Governor for a two (2) year term; and11. An individual who has previously experienced homelessness and addiction, appointed by the Governor for a two (2) year term.(c) The chair of the council shall be appointed by the Governor for a two (2) year term and the vice chair shall be elected by the members of the council for a two (2) year term.(d) Members of the council who are not state employees shall be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties in accordance with KRS 45.101 and administrative regulations promulgated thereunder.(e) The council shall have the following functions and duties: 1. To serve as the single statewide homeless planning and policy development resource for the Commonwealth of Kentucky;2. To review, update, and recommend changes to Kentucky's Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness and monitor its implementation;3. To serve as a state clearinghouse for information on services and housing options for the homeless population;4. To conduct other activities as appropriate and necessary; and5. To report to the Governor and General Assembly as requested.Amended by 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 236,§ 95, eff. 7/1/2022.Amended by 2016 Ky. Acts ch. 41,§ 1, eff. 7/14/2016.Effective:7/15/2010
Amended 2010, Ky. Acts ch. 141, sec. 10, effective7/15/2010. -- Amended 2007, Ky. Acts ch. 85, sec. 220, effective 6/26/2007. -- Amended 2005, Ky. Acts ch. 99, sec. 168, effective 6/20/2005. -- Created 2004, Ky. Acts ch. 147, sec. 1, effective 7/13/2004.