Memorandum of Understanding
Between
City of Seattle
And
King County

This Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) sets forth the terms of agreement between the City of
Seattle (“City”) and King County (“County”) for the purposes of strengthening our ongoing government
to government cooperation and to review and make recommendations on joint governance structures
for programs affecting people experiencing homelessness countywide.
The purpose of this MOU is to further strengthen coordination and ensure our systems are improving
outcomes for people who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness
countywide. Just as homelessness does not respect municipal borders, our cooperation on
homelessness services and housing investments must expand beyond municipal boundaries. This MOU
establishes the Homeless Services and Housing Governance Partnership (‘Partnership”) consisting of City
and County staff, All Home, and regional partners.
The Partnership will have the following goals:
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Review current system governing homeless service and housing investments to identify
existing service gaps and duplicative efforts between the County and the City.
Set principles and outcomes that a new system governing homelessness service and housing
investment should address.
Engage stakeholders to discuss desired revisions to the existing governing system in order to
better serve our homeless community.
Work with cities in King County and other regional partners to ensure coordinated investments
provide a comprehensive network of services countywide.
Study current models governing public health, homeless services, and housing investments in
other U.S. cities. Consider what elements of these governance models could be implemented
to reach set principals and outcomes.
Establish shared budget priorities and joint planning efforts to meet the needs of King County
and Seattle’s homeless population.
By December 1, 2018, make governance recommendations to the King County Executive and
Mayor of Seattle regarding potential system revisions to increase the effectiveness, reach, and
efficiency of our countywide homelessness system.

While the work of the Partnership continues, the City and the County commit to the following short
term deliverables.
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Seattle Human Services Department (“HSD”), Seattle Office of Housing (“SOH”), and County
Department of Community and Human Services (“DCHS”) will coordinate in advance on all
Request for Proposals (“RFPs”) from the signing of this MOU to 2020.

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HSD, SOH, and DCHS will use joint contract language and joint monitoring of programs on all
RFPs from the signing of this MOU to 2020. Contracts will require providers to provide
information necessary to review efficiency, ensure accountable, and demonstrate success of
services. These requirements should complement and support the systemwide performance
targets and minimum standards established in the MOU signed September 6, 2016 between the
City, the County, and United Way of King County.
HSD, SOH, and DCHS directors will report monthly to the Mayor of Seattle and King County
Executive on their joint progress.
HSD and DCHS will commit to a review of HMIS data-based analytic models and develop a plan
for system improvements that would allow us to target future homelessness investments that
align data, performance, and impact evaluation efforts across the city and county. The City and
the County will engage regional partners, the City’s Performance and Innovation Team, and
regional tech businesses on best practices for improving current data sharing, privacy and
security practices, and analytical tools. The plan should include recommendations for
resourcing of potential improvements. This builds on ongoing work at HSD, DCHS, and All Home
to improve publicly facing dashboards. The City and County data teams will also explore
developing reporting tools to allow the public and decisionmakers to more frequently track
progress serving the homeless populations. DCHS and HSD will ensure that data teams engaged
in projects under the MOU have the HMIS access necessary for the execution of Partnershipinitiated projects.

Background
The coordination of funding between the City of Seattle, King County, and other cities in King County is a
consistent challenge in effectively serving our homeless population. Though Seattle has the largest
concentration of individuals experiencing homelessness, we know that some of that population
originates from other cities in the county, making this a shared crisis affecting all of the county’s
municipalities. It is essential that we look for every opportunity to further coordinate our investments
countywide so that we are reaching people in need in their community.
We also have a responsibility as stewards of taxpayer funding to ensure our homeless investments are
making the biggest impact for the most people. This will ensure our resources continue to improve
outcomes for people experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of becoming homeless. King County
residents have been generous in the provision of funds to this crisis – through initiatives such as the
Seattle Housing Levy, the King County Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy, and the Mental
Illness and Drug Dependency Sales Tax. However, there remain large unfilled gaps countywide.
Coordination on investments in shared priorities between the City and the County continues to be an
area where improvement is needed.
All Home, the Seattle/King County Continuum of Care, has traditionally been responsible for
coordinating homeless service investments across government entities in our region. However, we
continue to experience challenges in harmonizing administration of homeless services between our
many governing structures. This Partnership will work closely with All Home and other stakeholders
countywide, to make our system more resilient, responsive, and effective.