Housing and Homelessness Programs
The Housing and Homelessness Division (HHD) is within the California Department of Social Services (CDSS). The Division is responsible for program development and oversight of statewide housing programs funded by the CDSS. The Division also serves as a statewide technical assistance provider to all of California’s social services agencies. The Division aims to streamline services on both the local and statewide level to promote equal access to safe and affordable housing for all Californians.
Our programs are administered/operated at the local level. To learn more about accessing housing and homeless services in your community, please contact the local Homeless Continuum of Care or County Welfare Department.
The purpose of Project Roomkey is to provide non-congregate sheltering for people experiencing homelessness, to protect human life, and minimize strain on health care system capacity.
The CalWORKs Housing Support Program (HSP) fosters housing stability for families experiencing and at risk of homelessness. HSP assists CalWORKs families who are experiencing or at-risk of homelessness in obtaining permanent housing and can provide temporary shelter, help with moving costs, short to medium-term rental subsidies, and wraparound case management.
The CalWORKs Homeless Assistance (HA) Program aims to help CalWORKs families meet the costs of securing or maintaining permanent housing or emergency shelter. The CalWORKs HA program serves eligible CalWORKs recipients, or apparently eligible CalWORKs applicants, who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. CalWORKs HA can provide payments for temporary shelter once every 12 months with exceptions, as well as payments to secure or maintain housing, including a security deposit and last month’s rent, or up to two months of rent arrearages.
The Bringing Families Home (BFH) program helps reduce the number of families in the child welfare system experiencing or at risk of homelessness, increase family reunification, and prevent foster care placements. BFH serves families so they can achieve housing stability and successfully reunify.
The Housing and Disability Advocacy Program (HDAP) assists homeless and disabled individuals apply for disability benefit programs, while also providing housing support. HDAP requires that participating counties offer outreach, case management, benefits advocacy, and housing supports to all program participants.
The Home Safe Program supports the safety and housing stability of individuals involved in Adult Protective Services (APS) who are experiencing, or at imminent risk of experiencing, homelessness due to elder or dependent adult abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or financial exploitation by providing housing-related assistance using evidence-based practices for homeless assistance and prevention.
The CCE program was established by Assembly Bill No. 172 (Chapter 69, Statutes of 2021) and provides $805 million in funding for acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation to preserve and expand adult and senior care facilities that serve SSI/SSP and Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI) applicants and recipients, including those who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.