New planning group will help shape regional governance model for Sacramento County homelessness response
SACRAMENTO COUNTY — The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted May 19 to appoint two supervisors to an ad hoc Planning Task Force that will formally advance a new regional homelessness governance structure after months of collaboration with community partners, presentations and briefings that ultimately aligned the county, the city of Sacramento and the region’s Continuum of Care around a single framework.
The action marks a significant turning point in a long-running debate over how homelessness policy should be organized in the region, particularly given that there is no mandate from the state or federal government requiring the specific structure now being developed.
For more than two years, Sacramento County, city governments and Sacramento Steps Forward, the nonprofit organization that administers the Continuum of Care, have been discussing how to better coordinate responses to homelessness amid rising unhoused populations, increasingly complicated and reduced funding streams and mounting pressure from state leaders for regional cooperation.
In July 2025, Sen. Angelique Ashby introduced legislation, SB 802, to formally create a mandated Joint Powers Authority that would attempt to require the county and its incorporated cities to pool funding and spending authority into a separate entity.
On Dec. 9, 2025, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved the staff recommendation for a new homeless partnership model intended to create a more unified regional governance structure while maintaining local control of critical land use and budgetary decisions for locally generated funding. The proposal creates a single governing board that would serve dual roles: acting as the federally required Continuum of Care Board while also functioning as an advisory body to local jurisdictions on homelessness issues outside the scope of the Continuum of Care, including shelter operations, encampment response, housing coordination and related policy matters.
County leaders propose the structure would improve regional coordination, strengthen accountability and position Sacramento County and its cities more competitively for state and federal homelessness funding opportunities.
After a significant amount of shared staff work to more closely align what the Board of Supervisors approved with what the Sacramento City Council requested, the council ultimately adopted a governance framework closely aligned with the county’s original recommended structure rather than pursuing a separate Joint Powers Authority structure.
Shortly afterward, the Continuum of Care Board also agreed to participate in the framework. With the county, city of Sacramento and Continuum of Care now aligned around the same governance model, along with support from other cities in the county throughout the process, the region can move forward with discussions on next steps.
Those next steps include amending the Continuum of Care bylaws and determining the size and distribution of seats on the future governing board. That process will be handled by the newly created Planning Task Force.
Under the proposed structure, the task force will include two representatives from the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, two representatives from the Sacramento City Council, one representative from each of the county’s other incorporated city councils, and one or two representatives from the Continuum of Care Board. The Board of Supervisors’ action Tuesday specifically focused on appointing the county’s two representatives to participate in the task force.
The board voted to seat Supervisors Patrick Kennedy and Rich Desmond on the task force. Both currently sit on the existing Continuum of Care Board. Once the bylaws are developed for the new governing body, the Board of Supervisors will appoint permanent members to that body.
Existing staff from the Department of Homeless Services and Housing will provide administrative and policy support for the planning process as participating jurisdictions work through the details of the new governance model.
Once implemented, the newly created structure will represent one of the most significant reorganizations of homelessness governance in Sacramento County in recent years. Supporters are hopeful the unified framework will create a more coordinated regional response by consolidating leadership, aligning policy priorities across jurisdictions and incorporating both elected officials and community stakeholders into a single collaborative structure focused on addressing homelessness across the county.
Copyright © 2026, Folsom Times, a digital product of All Town Media LLC. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
