A measure intended to improve how Utah manages services for people experiencing homelessness won unanimous approval Tuesday in the Utah House of Representatives.
HB298 , sponsored by Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, calls for changes in data collection, replacing the Utah Homelessness Council with a smaller board, and new accountability measures.
“We can’t simply invest resources and take our hand off the wheel and think it will suffice. I acknowledged HB298 is far from a cure to this complex problem but it is absolutely a marked departure from the status quo. I believe that’s what our homeless brothers and sisters desperately need,” said Clancy, who encounters numerous people experiencing homelessness in his work as a police officer.
With respect to data, the legislation would create a mechanism called “functional zero” that “we believe will help policymakers unravel some of the unique challenges that our homeless community faces,” he said. It will measure new entries to the system, individuals presently in our homeless services system and those who exit it.