Section 3 - County Integrated Plan
E. Guidance for Completing the Integrated Plan
E.3 Process for Requesting Exemptions
E.3.1 Eligible Exemptions
Counties, if eligible, are allowed to request exemptions from some requirements for the BHSA Housing Interventions and FSP components. (All counties, regardless of population size, will be exempt from certain FSP requirements for the FYs 2026-2029 IP. For the IP covering FYs 2029-2032, counties with a population of less than 200,000 are permitted to request FSP exemptions.) Please see Chapter 7, Section 7.C.6.2 for information regarding Housing Intervention exemptions and Chapter 7, Section 7.B.3.4. FSP Exemptions for information regarding FSP exemptions. For information about funding transfers, please see Chapter 6, Section B.4.
E.3.2 Exemptions Submission
Counties, if eligible, requesting an exemption from Housing Intervention and/or FSP requirements must submit the request through the county portal as part of the draft IP by March 31 of the fiscal year prior to the fiscal year covered in the IP (i.e., exemption requests for the 2026-2029 IP must be submitted to DHCS by March 31, 2026). Counties must begin their community planning process prior to submitting an exemption request to determine local priorities to make the exemption requests responsive to local needs. Exemption requests are only valid for the duration of the three-year plan. For each subsequent three-year plan submission, counties must submit updated exemption requests for DHCS approval.
E.3.3 Acceptance Criteria
DHCS will review the information provided in the county’s IP and determine whether the exemption request aligns with the exemption criteria outlined in the Policy Manual. Counties requesting an exemption to either increase or decrease the required funding allocations for Housing Intervention programs must provide information that meets the criteria for Housing Intervention exemption requests in Chapter 7, Section 7.C.6.2. Counties requesting one or more FSP exemptions must provide information that meets the criteria for FSP exemption requests in Chapter 7, Section 7.B.3.4.