HHAP Round 7, Santa Monica's count share

One-time state homelessness grant, split by each place's homeless count.

What it is

HHAP, the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program, is California's main homelessness grant. Since 2019 the Legislature has paid it in rounds to the state's largest cities (those over 300,000 people, currently 14), to counties, to Continuums of Care and to tribes. Each round is a separate decision by the Legislature. Nobody is promised the next one, which is why HHAP is called one-time money.

The money is divided by formula. Each grantee's share follows its share of the state's homeless population in the January point-in-time count. Round 7 uses the 2025 count. Santa Monica is neither a large city nor a Continuum of Care, so it gets no HHAP directly. Its share is folded into the grants to Los Angeles County and to the Los Angeles City and County Continuum of Care. Under the state's preliminary Round 7 table, the county gets $92,163,999.73 and the Continuum of Care gets $92,688,867.86.

Today the county spends its HHAP mostly on case management. In FY 2026-27 it put its $72,482,000 of Round 6 into Intensive Case Management Services, or ICMS ($68,226,000), and youth interim housing ($4,256,000). ICMS pays caseworkers for people who have already moved into permanent supportive housing. On a normal Tuesday an ICMS caseworker visits a client in their apartment, helps with benefits and medical appointments, and steps in when rent is late or a neighbor complains. The county funds 24,250 ICMS slots this year for $87,355,000, about $3,602 per person per year.

We ask that Santa Monica's count share of Round 7, about 1.12% (812 of 72,308 people in the 2025 count), go to the 150 Santa Monica beds. That is about $1.035 million from the county grant and $1.041 million from the Continuum of Care grant, $2.08 million in all, once, in FY 2027-28. If the county keeps spending HHAP the way it did with Round 6, $2.08 million is about 580 ICMS slots for a year.

Because it is one-time, this money pays for the beds only in the first year. From FY 2028-29 the beds need another source. The petition says so.

How it started

The Legislature created HHAP with AB 101 in 2019. Round 1 was $650 million in 2019-20 and Round 2 was $300 million in 2020-21, with at least 8% set aside for youth (secondhand). The Legislative Analyst counts later rounds as $820 million in 2021-22, $820 million in 2022-23, $993 million in 2023-24 and $1 billion in 2024-25, with nothing in 2025-26 (fact, LAO, February 2026). From Round 5, cities, counties and Continuums of Care had to apply together as a region (fact, LAO). In April 2024 the State Auditor found HHAP lacked the outcome data needed to judge cost-effectiveness and that nearly a third of HHAP-funded exits went to "unknown" (fact). Round 6 was authorized by AB 166, signed July 2, 2024 (fact, HCD). Round 7 was authorized by SB 158 of 2025, and the 2025-26 budget pledged $500 million for it (fact, LAO). AB 179, signed July 13, 2026, appropriated $900 million, of which $829,350,000 goes to regions (fact, HCD amended NOFA). Round 7 is paid as added Round 6 disbursements under each region's Regionally Coordinated Homelessness Action Plan, with no new application (fact). To be paid, a region must follow state encampment guidance and keep a compliant housing element; large cities and their counties must hold a Prohousing Designation and show local matching funds of 35%, rising to 70% over the grant (fact). Round 7 money must be spent by December 31, 2032 for the first payment and December 31, 2033 for the second (fact). HCD said final Round 7 allocations would come in September 2026; on October 11, 2026 only the preliminary table was posted (fact, HCD HHAP page).

What we take and when

In FY 2027-28, starting July 1, 2027, $2.08 million of HHAP Round 7, Santa Monica's 1.12% count share of the county and Continuum of Care allocations, pays for the 150 Santa Monica beds. It is one-time. It covers year one only.

The numbers today

HHAP 7 preliminary allocation, County of Los Angeles$92,163,999.73FY 2026-27 appropriation fact
HHAP 7 preliminary allocation, Los Angeles City and County CoC$92,688,867.86FY 2026-27 appropriation fact
HHAP 7 statewide appropriation; amount to regions$900,000,000; $829,350,000FY 2026-27 fact
HHAP 6 allocations: County; CoC$85,120,000; $86,772,936.22Round 6 fact
Santa Monica direct HHAP allocation$0Round 6 fact
County HHAP 6 in the FY 2026-27 plan$72,482,000 ($68,226,000 ICMS; $4,256,000 youth interim housing)FY 2026-27 fact
ICMS slots and total cost (Measure A $19,129,000 plus HHAP $68,226,000)24,250 slots; $87,355,000FY 2026-27 fact
Cost per ICMS slotabout $3,602 a yearFY 2026-27 inference
Santa Monica share of the 2025 count (812 of 72,308)1.12%2025 count inference
Our take (about $1.035 million county plus $1.041 million CoC)$2,080,000 onceFY 2027-28 inference
ICMS slots the take equalsabout 580 for one yearFY 2027-28 inference
State HHAP funding by round (LAO)$650M, $300M, $820M, $820M, $993M, $1,000M; none in 2025-262019-20 to 2024-25 fact
Spend-by dates for Round 7December 31, 2032 (first payment); December 31, 2033 (second)Round 7 fact
Local match required of large cities and their counties35% to receive the first payment; 70% over the grantRound 7 fact

What we give up

About 580 of the county's 24,250 ICMS case-management slots for one year, if the county uses Round 7 the way it used Round 6, or the same dollars of another HHAP use the county picks. ICMS caseworkers help formerly homeless people keep their apartments. Fewer slots means some of them get less help for a year. And because the money is one-time, the beds face a funding gap from FY 2028-29.

Why this works

HHAP may pay for interim housing by law, and state rules ask that interim beds connect people to permanent housing (fact, HCD NOFA). The $2.08 million pays for about 27 to 36 bed-years at $57,000 to $76,400 (inference). Beds are what move the number of people sleeping outside. Culver City paired its 2023 camping ban with a safe sleeping site and 73 Homekey units, and its unsheltered count went from 139 in 2023 to 115 in 2024, then from 51 in 2025 to 38 in 2026 (fact/secondhand, Wave and Culver City Crossroads). New York, which must offer shelter to everyone, had about 3.5% of its homeless population unsheltered in 2025, against 66% in Los Angeles County (fact, NYC DSS and LAHSA). Clearing camps without places moves people instead of housing them: in Venice, Hollywood and Skid Row, RAND found about three vehicles or rough sleepers added for every four tents removed (fact, RAND). Houston's unsheltered count rose 15.8% in 2025 after its shelter capacity fell (fact, Coalition for the Homeless). Santa Monica moved 72 people from the street into interim housing in FY 2025-26 (secondhand, SMDP).

The strongest case against

This takes caseworkers from people who escaped the street to buy one year of beds. ICMS keeps 24,250 formerly homeless people in their apartments, and every one who falls back out adds to the street. The money is one-time for a cost that never ends, and the state asks regions to show they can sustain the interim housing they open. The allocations are preliminary, final figures are late, and HCD can reallocate unspent prior-round money. The Continuum of Care half is not the county's to give: the CoC board decides it, and the CoC is in upheaval as LAHSA gives up its federal roles. HHAP beds must follow Housing First, so no treatment or other condition can be required for entry. The encampment, prohousing and 70% match conditions could delay the money. The State Auditor found HHAP lacked outcome data. And Santa Monica already hosts about 162 county-funded beds, well above its 34-bed count share (inference, county ledger).

Our answer

The take is 1.12% of each allocation, the same count share the state formula uses. We name the cost as about 580 ICMS slots for a year, and we ask HSH to choose a different HHAP use if it judges case management the worse cut. We state the one-time problem plainly: the stack is short $2.8 million to $3.3 million a year from FY 2028-29, and we say what would close it. The beds we ask for are low-barrier interim beds, which meets the Housing First rule; the petition's enforcement asks apply to camping on the street, not to entry into a bed. On the 162 beds: beds in Santa Monica are not the same as beds for people sleeping in Santa Monica. Only about 10% of SAMOSHEL's occupants met the city's local-ties definition (secondhand, SMDP). The 150 beds would be reserved for Santa Monica referrals.

Who decides

Who votes: HSH proposes the county share in the FY 2027-28 Measure A Spending Plan, which also carries HHAP. The Board of Supervisors (Horvath, Solis, Mitchell, Hahn, Barger) adopts it. The Los Angeles City and County CoC board decides the CoC share. HCD disburses once the region meets the Round 7 conditions.
Votes needed: 3 of 5 supervisors for the county share; a CoC board vote for the CoC share
When: Public comment on the county plan closes November 20, 2026. HSH presents the final plan January 12, 2027, and the Board approves it January 26, 2027 (fact, HSH). The CoC board date is not established. The regional action plan must be amended to name the use (secondhand, CSAC).
Note: Final HHAP 7 allocations were due in September 2026 and were not posted as of October 11, 2026.

The agenda or process

Questions people ask

Isn't this just moving money around?

Yes. The state already sends this money to the county and the Continuum of Care, counting Santa Monica's homeless residents in the formula. We ask that Santa Monica's share pay for beds in Santa Monica.

Why doesn't Santa Monica just apply for HHAP itself?

It cannot. HHAP goes only to cities over 300,000 people, counties, Continuums of Care and tribes. Santa Monica's share reaches it only if the county and the Continuum of Care pass it along.

What happens in year two?

This money is gone after FY 2027-28. The ongoing county lines total $5.74 million to $8.18 million, short of the $8.55 million to $11.46 million the beds need. Closing that gap takes a larger staffing cut, another HHAP round or Measure A revenue growth.

Why take it from case management?

That is where the county put Round 6, so it is the most likely use of Round 7. We name it as the cost. HSH may choose a different HHAP use.

Will people actually use the beds?

HHAP beds must be low-barrier, with no treatment requirement for entry, which lowers one reason people refuse. How many Santa Monica residents will accept is not established, and the petition asks the city to publish offers and acceptances monthly.

Sources

HCD: HHAP 7 preliminary allocationsCounty $92,163,999.73; CoC $92,688,867.86; marked preliminary
HCD: Amended HHAP 6 NOFA incorporating HHAP 7$900 million appropriated by AB 179; $829,350,000 to regions; conditions; 35% and 70% match; spend-by dates; Housing First; interim housing linked to permanent housing
HCD: HHAP program pageOnly preliminary Round 7 allocations posted as of 2026-10-11
HCD: HHAP 6 allocationsCounty $85,120,000; CoC $86,772,936.22; no Santa Monica allocation
LAO: Overview of HHAP funding and accountability, February 18, 2026Funding by round; formula by PIT share; regional applications from Round 5; $500 million pledged for Round 7
CSAC: HHAP Round 7 NOFA now availableRound 7 paid as Round 6 disbursements; regional plan amendment; encampment compliance
California State Auditor Report 2023-102.1, April 2024HHAP lacked outcome data; nearly a third of exits to unknown
HSH Draft FY 2026-27 Measure A Spending PlanHHAP 6 to ICMS $68,226,000 and youth interim $4,256,000; 24,250 ICMS slots; ICMS Measure A $19,129,000
LAHSA: 2025 count releaseCounty count of 72,308
HSH FY 2027-28 Measure A Spending Plan pageComment close and Board dates
SMDP: Santa Monica moves to shutter SAMOSHELAbout 10% of SAMOSHEL occupants met the local-ties definition (secondhand)
Culver City touts progress in reducing homeless numbers (Wave)Culver City unsheltered 139 in 2023 to 115 in 2024
Homeless counts raw data (Culver City Crossroads, 2026-08-03)Culver City unsheltered 51 in 2025 to 38 in 2026
NYC DSS press release, 2025About 3.5% of New York's homeless population unsheltered
LAHSA finalized 2025 countLos Angeles County about 66% unsheltered
RAND RR-A4903-1, LA LEADSAbout three vehicles or rough sleepers added for every four tents removed
Coalition for the Homeless, 2025 PIT resultsHouston unsheltered up 15.8% in 2025 (1,107 to 1,282)
SMDP: Santa Monica realignment plan first year72 people street to interim housing in FY 2025-26

Words on this page

bed-year: One bed paid for 365 nights. Two beds for six months is also one bed-year.
Board of Supervisors: The five elected officials who govern Los Angeles County. Three votes pass a motion or a spending plan.
case management slot: One person's place on a caseworker's caseload for a year.
CoC: Continuum of Care. The federal planning body for homelessness in a region. Most of Los Angeles County is in the Los Angeles City and County CoC. Long Beach, Pasadena and Glendale have their own.
FY: Fiscal year. County and city budget years run July 1 to June 30. FY 2027-28 runs July 1, 2027 to June 30, 2028.
HHAP: Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program. State grants to large cities, counties and Continuums of Care for homelessness, paid in rounds since 2019.
Housing First: A rule that housing paid with these funds may not require treatment, sobriety or other conditions before a person gets a bed.
HSH: Los Angeles County Department of Homeless Services and Housing. The county department that has run the county's homelessness contracts since July 1, 2026.
ICMS: Intensive Case Management Services. County-funded caseworkers who help people find housing and then stay housed, for example by connecting them to health care and benefits.
interim housing: A temporary place to sleep indoors (shelter, motel room, tiny home) while a person works toward a permanent home.
LAHSA: Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. A joint city and county agency that ran most county homeless contracts until June 30, 2026. It still runs some City of Los Angeles contracts.
one-time money: Money that arrives once and will not come back the next year. It should not pay for something that costs money every year unless a later source is found.
PIT count: Point-in-time count. The one-night January count of people experiencing homelessness that HUD requires. HHAP uses it to divide money.
Regionally Coordinated Homelessness Action Plan: The plan a county, its large cities and its CoC must file together to receive HHAP. HHAP 7 money is paid under the plan filed for Round 6.