Metro previews Supportive Housing Services reforms and a new oversight committee

Metro staff on Jan. 14 gave the C4 Metro subcommittee a preview of reforms to the Supportive Housing Services (SHS) program that Metro Council approved on Dec. 16. The preview covered governance changes, new regional investments and plans for greater transparency.

Liam (Metro) told the committee SHS was passed in May 2020 and that the program has operated across Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties for about five years. "We have proposed and Metro Council has approved a consolidation of those committees into one," Metro staff said, explaining the new committee will launch in April and will expand membership to a majority of elected officials with voting rights.

Key changes: Metro staff said the reforms include (1) consolidating the prior SHS oversight committee and the Tri County Planning Body into a single oversight committee, (2) carving out 5% of SHS revenue for regional investments intended to improve coordination, (3) updating key performance indicators and programmatic definitions for consistency across counties, and (4) creating a public data dashboard to report outcomes and spending transparency by the end of the calendar year.

Local context and reaction: Committee members praised the clarity of Metro's written materials and asked questions about committee composition and how regional oversight will respect county‑level differences in funding and service delivery. Metro staff acknowledged local nuance and committed to role clarity and to sharing the work plan and slides.

Next steps: Metro said the new consolidated oversight committee will launch in April and the data dashboard and updated KPIs will be developed under that committee's guidance. Metro offered to present a longer briefing to the subcommittee and to provide the slide deck to members.