Continuum of Care (CoC)
The lead entity role, largely consisting of leadership, grant monitoring and policy responsibilities, was transitioned to Washoe County from the City of Reno September 1, 2021.
Historical Context
The Continuum of Care (CoC) is a federal program within the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The HEARTH Act amended the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and established the Continuum of Care Program and was signed into law by President Obama signed in 2009. HUD developed and published the CoC Program interim rule in 2012 to formally implement the CoC Program. Essentially, this is one of many HUD programs and provides funding for eligible local programs through a centralized communitywide effort. Per the HUD website:
“The Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is designed to promote communitywide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, and State and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families, and communities by homelessness; promote access to and effect utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.”
Locally, the City of Reno had been the CoC lead and “collaborative applicant”, the entity that was charged with meeting the prescribed responsibilities around funding applications, governance, planning, etc. There is a description of the CoC responsibilities in this document, starting on page four.
Prior to October 1, 2019, the City of Reno subcontracted out the bulk of these responsibilities to Social Entrepreneurs, a local consulting company, who had been fulling this role on a contract basis for roughly the last 20 years. These services were paid for through a contract with the three jurisdictions. As a result of the OrgCode report recommendations, the City of Reno brought this body of work inhouse, per a Community Homelessness Advisory Board motion made during meeting in the Spring of 2019.
CoC Governance and Structure
The CoC is made up of a governance board known as the Northern Nevada CoC Leadership Council, a stakeholder group known as The Regional Alliance to end Homelessness (RAH) formerly (RAAH).
To learn more and view the policies and procedures, click here.
How can I get involved
CoC Stakeholders: To join the Regional Alliance to end Homelessness (RAH) meeting, please contact Washoe County Housing and Homeless Services at: RegionalHomelessServices@washoecounty.gov
Community Training: The Nevada Continuum of Care (CoC) offers various training opportunities to its members and the community. In this section you will find various trainings that are designed to promote countywide commitment to permanent solutions to end homelessness in Washoe County.
To view these trainings click here.
Additional Information
If you are interested in additional information on the Northern Nevada Continuum of Care (CoC), please contact Washoe County Housing and Homeless Services at: RegionalHomelessServices@washoecounty.gov