Lawsuits challenge Trump’s sweeping changes to homeless policy

from Marissa KendallCalMatters

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California is fighting back after President Donald Trump’s administration triggered cuts to homeless housing that local service providers say will be “devastating.”

Two recently filed lawsuits accuse the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of illegally overstepping Congress to make massive changes to how federal funds for the homeless are distributed.

“HUD’s new grant rules would effectively strip funding for permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing programs across the country, eliminating proven tools that help residents transition out of homelessness sustainably,” Santa Clara County Councilman Tony LoPresti said in a statement. “This is yet another example of the Trump administration prioritizing its political agenda over the needs of our most vulnerable community members.”

Santa Clara County and San Francisco sued the Trump administration this week, in conjunction with the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the National Coalition on Low Income Housing. A a separate case was filed last week by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and a handful of other states. It was the 47th time California sued the Trump administration in 44 weeks.

Now, homeless service providers are anxiously waiting to see how the litigation plays out and wondering if the upcoming legal battle will further delay the money they desperately need.

“It’s how long it’s going to take that worries me,” said Robert Ratner, director of Santa Cruz County Housing for Health, which coordinates the county’s response to homelessness. “Because while we wait for these issues to be resolved, we have programs that are going to run out of money to support people.”

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement last month, HUD Secretary Scott Turner said the changes were aimed at “ending the Biden-era slush fund that fueled the homelessness crisis, excluded religious providers simply because of their values, and fueled endless dependence on government.”

The questions are changes the Trump administration made its funding policy last month. Jurisdictions applying for a share of about $4 billion in federal homeless funds can now spend no more than 30 percent of that money on permanent housing — a significant reduction. Los Angeles County, for example, currently spends more than 80% on permanent housing. Instead, the federal government wants local governments to prioritize emergency shelter and temporary housing programs that require participants to be sober or participate in treatment.

While shelters offer a temporary respite from the streets, permanent housing can end someone’s homelessness. For years, the federal government has prioritized funding for permanent housing using the “housing first” method, a strategy that moves people into housing as quickly as possible without requiring them to first get sober or agree to addiction treatment. The departure from both principles marks a major change in policy.

Last year, California communities won more than $683 million in federal homeless funds through the so-called Continuum of Care program. About 90 percent of that went to permanent housing projects that currently house tens of thousands of Californians, according to Newsom. The new rule threatens to put those people back on the street, he said in a news release.

“While we wait for these issues to be resolved, we have programs that will run out of money to support people.”

Robert Ratner, Director, Housing for Health

The new policy also prohibits the use of federal funds for diversity and inclusion efforts, support for transgender clients and the use of “harm reduction” strategies that seek to reduce overdose deaths by helping people with active addictions use drugs more safely. And it gives priority to projects in cities, counties and states that ban homeless encampments.

Both lawsuits claim that the Trump administration’s funding changes violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution by going against rules set by Congress for allocating funds. Congress authorized a two-year grant cycle in 2024, meaning local jurisdictions would not have to reapply for funds in 2025. The Trump administration ignored that decision when it suddenly forced jurisdictions to reapply, the lawsuits allege.

The lawsuits also allege the administration did not go through proper protocol before enacting changes to its funding strategy, which would have included giving cities and counties more time to comply with the new rules and allowing stakeholders to comment on the changes.

In Santa Cruz County, Ratner is of two minds about the lawsuits. For one thing, he believes the sudden manner in which the Trump administration rolled out the funding changes was “very inappropriate.” But he worries that a lengthy legal battle could tie up the funds his county needs to pay people’s rents.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness sued the Trump administration on similar charges related to a smaller $75 million homeless funding package in September. Judge sided with the Allianceand temporarily barred the federal government from disbursing those funds. But now that money is frozen and can’t help homeless residents while the case progresses.

Ratner worries that could happen again in this case. Santa Cruz County will start experiencing serious financial problems as early as February, Ratner said. That’s when a $1.2 million Assisted Housing Grant, which currently houses about 50 people in various apartments across the county, is expiring.

The Trump administration doesn’t expect to begin disbursing money for Continuum of Care until May. It’s unclear how the lawsuits will affect that schedule.

Meanwhile, Ratner and other homeless service providers are trying to remain optimistic.

“At this point, we don’t know how long the lawsuit will take, but we hope it will lead to a more workable path forward,” Sacramento Steps Forward CEO Lisa Bates said in a statement. “Of course, any delay in federal funding would have a real impact on communities across the country, including ours, for shelter management, rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing and core system coordination.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.