FL H0531

Motor vehicle registration forms and driver license application forms must include an option for voluntary $1 contributions to aid the homeless, with funds deposited into the Grants and Donations Trust Fund of the Department of Children and Family Services and used by the State Office on Homelessness.

Creates a homelessness prevention grant program under section 414.161 providing emergency financial assistance to families facing loss of shelter, with grants competitively ranked and preference given to applicants leveraging additional funds and demonstrating program effectiveness.

Maximum grant amount per lead agency is $300,000, with assistance usable for past due rent, mortgage, utilities, case management, and program administration costs limited to 3 percent of the grant award.

Lead agencies must track, monitor, and report on assisted families for at least 12 months after last assistance, with a goal of keeping at least 85 percent of families housed and avoiding homelessness during the ensuing year.

Limits lead agency administrative costs to maximum 8 percent of funding and repeals the emergency assistance program for families, transferring remaining balances to the new homelessness prevention grant program; effective July 1, 2012.