ARTICLE 2. Community Support System for Persons Who are Homeless with a Mental Health Disability [5680. - 5688.6.]

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC 2.

in effect

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 5680. Section 5680.

To assist persons who are homeless with a mental health disability to secure, stabilize, and maintain safe and adequate living arrangements in the community, the Legislature hereby establishes the Community Support System for Persons who are Homeless with a Mental Health Disability.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 5681. Section 5681.

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that, when funds are made available, counties should ensure the delivery of long-range services and community support assistance to persons who are homeless with a mental health disability and those at risk of becoming homeless. (b) It is further the intent of the Legislature that specific outreach and service priority be given under this chapter to persons who are homeless with a mental health disability not served by a local or state program as of September 30, 1985.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 5682. Section 5682.

The goal of the community support system is to ensure that needed community services are provided to persons who are homeless with a mental health disability and those at risk of becoming homeless to stabilize, maintain, and enhance their living in the community. All services of the community support system are offered to these persons on a voluntary basis. The active participation of the clients being provided services is encouraged at all times. Programs are designed to be accessible to the clients intended to be served. No individual service offered should be contingent upon the acceptance of any other community support service or mental health treatment.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 5683. Section 5683.

The function of the community support system is to conduct active outreach to persons who are homeless with a mental health disability, to secure and maintain income, housing, food, and clothing for clients, and to develop social skills and prevocational and vocational skills on a voluntary basis. Each community support system is based upon the range of services as may be necessary to meet a client’s needs: (a) Personal assistance to secure and maintain housing, food, clothing, income, and health benefits. (b) Accessing social and vocational skill development activities when they are available, case management, and crisis intervention, with a focus on finding alternatives to acute inpatient hospital care, services when they are needed.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 5683.5. Section 5683.5.

Community support systems may provide temporary funds to their homeless clients for their personal incidental living needs while the clients are in residential placement. Up to seventy-five dollars ($75) may be made available monthly to each client for this purpose. Local mental health programs shall, to the extent possible, recoup payments from clients after they become eligible for a governmental assistance program, including, but not limited to, general relief or SSI/SSP funds or otherwise become financially able to repay the county community support system.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 5685. Section 5685.

Counties may provide specific services, contract with a public or private agency, or a combination of both. Nothing contained in this article shall prevent a county from developing a consortium model which involves a number of providers performing specific functions. If a county decides to contract out a portion or all of the community support program functions, priority shall be given to providers, public or private, that have demonstrated an ability and desire to the county to work with the population intended to be served and which possess the management skills needed to perform the functions they propose to perform.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 5685.5. Section 5685.5.

(a) A county may contract with the local office of the public guardian to receive and manage income and benefits for persons with a mental health condition, regardless of whether the persons are under conservatorship. The case management services described in this section shall be provided only with the consent of the client. The public guardian, under the contracts, may perform functions intended to meet the goals of the community support system listed in Section 5683, and may also include, but not be limited to, all of the following case management services: (1) Outreach and casefinding to locate persons with a mental health condition in need of services. (2) Establishing liaison with charitable organizations which serve persons with a mental health condition. (3) Assistance in applying for and obtaining public assistance benefits for which they are eligible. (b) Any office of the public guardian contracting with the county to provide these management services shall maintain a record of those individuals being assisted, including information about whether the individual is under conservatorship, the type of service assistance provided by the office of the public guardian, and any agency with which the office of the public guardian is coordinating efforts.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 5686. Section 5686.

If a county believes that a person with a mental health disability may be unable to manage their SSI/SSP funds, the county mental health program shall advise the person that they may have a trusted family member, relative, or friend designated as their representative payee under the SSI/SSP program.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 5686.5. Section 5686.5.

In order to make the most efficient use of the public funds appropriated for this purpose, counties are encouraged to maximize the use of existing public and private community resources. If voluntarily requested by the client, the community support agency shall help the client learn to manage his or her own money. Any SSI/SSP money, or other personal funds, if managed by the program or by the local office of the public guardian, shall, at all times, be considered as the client’s money. Nothing in this section, however, shall prevent a client from purchasing residential care with SSI/SSP funds.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 5688.6. Section 5688.6.

All funds appropriated for persons who are homeless with a mental health disability that have been determined to be unexpended and unencumbered two years after the date the funds were appropriated shall be transferred to the Department of Housing and Community Development. The amount of transfer shall be determined after the State Department of Health Care Services settles county cost reports for the fiscal year the funds were appropriated. The funds transferred to the Department of Housing and Community Development shall be administered in accordance with that department’s Special Users Housing Rehabilitation or Emergency Shelter programs to provide low-income transitional and long-term housing for persons who are homeless with a mental health disability. Special priority shall be given to project proposals for persons who are homeless with a mental health disability in the same county from which the funds for the support of the community support system were originally allocated.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026