Mayor Jenny Durkan and King County Executive Dow Constantine announced an agreement May 4 that commits the city and county better coordinate their response to the regional homelessness crisis.
Seattle and King County will coordinate before initiating any request for proposals related to homelessness between now and 2020. The two executives also agreed to collaborate on contract language and monitoring.
The agreement also establishes the Homeless Services and Housing Governance Partnership that will include city and county staff, regional partners and All Home King County, the federally mandated organization that coordinates the response to homelessness in King County.
By Dec. 1, that partnership will develop recommendations regarding system revisions to improve the regional response to homelessness.
The announcement comes just days after the King County Auditor released a report critical of the homelessness response. The audit found that there was insufficient coordination between major governmental funders and that although All Home is tasked with coordinating between governmental, nonprofit and business partners, it was not given the authority to do so.
Ashley Archibald is a Staff Reporter covering local government, policy and equity. Have a story idea? She can be can reached at ashleya (at) realchangenews (dot) org. Follow Ashley on Twitter @AshleyA_RC
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