Texas Balance of State

What is the Balance of State?

The goal of a state Continuum of Care (CofC), or Balance of State, is to encourage planning and to make funding available to areas not covered by other Continuums. The Texas Balance of State CofC application offers support to communities in the development of comprehensive and long-term solutions to addressing the homelessness that affects approximately 200,000 men, women, and children each day in Texas.

CofC’s may be organized at a number of geographic levels: a single city, a city and surrounding county, a region, or a state. Funds are allocated based on the proportionate need of homeless assistance in the CofC area, which tends to favor the metropolitan centers, where large homeless populations exist. However, the need for homeless services in non-metropolitan areas is critical and resources scarce.

A Balance of State CofC combines the needs of the areas outside large urban centers and create a “critical mass” that boosts the funding prospects for those areas and ensures needed coverage for communities that may not be linked to the networks of service providers found in larger cities.

Last year 183 Texas Counties were covered by the Balance of State CoC thereby allowing, for the first time, every county in the state of Texas the opportunity to participate in a local CofC planning group and benefit from the funds HUD has made available to the state.

We are in the third year of Balance of State Continuum of Care (BoS CoC) planning process. Last year coalitions formed across the state and momentum increased for some innovative projects in underserved areas. Twenty-one agencies submitted project proposals as part of our 2006 BoS CoC application and requested a total of 16.9 million dollars for housing and supportive services for the homeless. Unfortunately our application was only partially funded last year but valuable experienced was gained and we hope for better results in the 2007 competition.

Currently 183 counties have joined the Balance of State, and the Texas Homeless Network is hostig monthly meetings in each of the eight regions. Click here for a map with designated regions in Texas.

Site Menu:

• Introduction to BOS
• News & Updates
• CoC Success Story
• Survey & Inventories
• Texas Balance of State HMIS
• Downloadable Files & Documents