What Is Our Central Sierra Continuum of Care?

Since 1981, the Amador Tuolumne Community Action Agency (ATCAA) has been a huge source of support for people who are homeless. Everyone is familiar with at least one of its programs: the food bank, housing assistance, family services such as Head Start, and energy assistance. However, few people know that ATCAA is a key member of a multi-county organization dedicated to alleviating homelessness, the Central Sierra Continuum of Care (CSCoC), which serves four counties: Tuolumne, Amador, Calaveras, and Mariposa.

What is a CoC?

A Continuum of Care (CoC) is a regional planning body that coordinates housing and services for families and individuals who are experiencing homelessness. It manages a system of organizations and agencies that work together to provide a range of services, everything from outreach and intake to permanent supportive housing.  CoCs promote a strategic approach to ending homelessness, leading to a more efficient use of resources and better outcomes. Its purpose is to coordinate and plan services and initiatives surrounding homelessness, ensuring that knowledge is shared, relationships are built, and common goals are reached. The various homeless service providers sit on its board, and general meetings are held monthly.

What Does a Continuum of Care Do?

There are four parts to a working CoC plan:

1. Outreach, intake, and assessment, which identify service and housing needs and provide a link to the appropriate level of both.
2. Emergency shelter to provide an immediate and safe alternative to sleeping on the streets, especially for families with children.
3. Transitional housing with supportive services to allow for skill development that will be needed once permanently housed.
4. Permanent housing, sometimes supportive, provides individuals and families with an affordable place to live with services if needed.

CoCs track and manage homeless funds, do counts of people who are homeless, and monitor agency services¹.

How Is Central Sierra Continuum of Care Funded?

In 1995, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) restricted applications for funding from its largest homelessness grant program to eligible CoCs. HUD hoped its targeted support of CoCs would encourage a more strategic approach to both housing and services for homeless people. Locally, CSCoC receives much of its funding from this HUD grant program via the California State Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) Grant Program².

These funds can be used for:

• rapid re-housing to provide time-limited permanent housing and stabilization services;
• permanent supportive housing for people who are homeless.;
• transitional housing to help individuals and families move to stable permanent housing within two years;
• support services to help identify and maintain permanent housing; and
• planning to improve program monitoring, collaboration, and data collection to drive higher performance.

CoCs are working with service providers, community-based organizations, cities, counties, and tribes to develop their next application. CSCoC is composed of ATCAA, Sierra Hope, Resiliency Village, Mother Lode Job Training and Tuolumne County departments such as Health and Human Services, Behavioral Health and Veterans Services.

It has applied for Round 5 funding³ with the Round Six application due in August. ATCAA, as the lead agency within CSCoC, manages the annual grant applications.

NOTES

1. “What is a Continuum of Care?” National Alliance to End Homelessness, January 14, 2010.
2. “CSCoC Requests for Proposals and Awards,” Central Sierra Continuum of Care, 2024.
3. “HHAP Round 5 Application,” California Interagency Council on Homelessness,

EDIT: The original article stated that funds can be used for: permanent supportive housing for people with disabilities who are homeless. This has been changed to: permanent supportive housing for people who are homeless.