S.B. 2559 Summary

• Establishes minimum requirements for emergency shelters operated under state contracts, including adequate showers and bathrooms, partitioned sleeping spaces for each resident, and secure personal storage for belongings.

• Requires homeless shelter stipend payments to be based on performance measures actually achieved by provider agencies, such as the number of homeless families and individuals served, rather than automatic payments.

• Repeals automatic annual adjustments to homeless shelter stipend amounts and makes future adjustments subject to individual contracts between the Department of Human Services and provider agencies.

• Modifies shelter and service payment collection from homeless residents by requiring payments to be based on ability to pay when possible, with flexibility to use alternative criteria or waive payments entirely.

• Requires provider agencies receiving state homeless program contracts to submit annual financial audits to the Department of Human Services, with failure to address audit recommendations potentially resulting in contract disqualification.