California REAL Dashboard

The California Racial Equity Action Lab CA (REAL) is a multi-year initiative developed by TAC to assist Homeless, Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant recipients in evaluating and addressing racial inequities within their homelessness response systems. Using the Equity-Centered Community Design assessment framework, participating communities worked under the guidance of TAC facilitators and CA REAL coaches to intensively redesign their policies, processes, governance structures, and data collection mechanisms with the express aim of reducing racial disparities.

CA REAL collaborated with 37 communities to develop and implement a HHAP-mandated racial equity goal that was “strategic, measurable, ambitious, realistic, time-bound, inclusive, and equitable” (SMARTIE). Coaches supported communities in conducting reparative and results-driven sessions, engaging people with lived experience of homelessness in Black, Brown, and Indigenous (BBI) communities. Sessions focused on how to establish trust and transparency; distribute shared power; and co-create systems and strategies that work for those who experience the greatest impact from homelessness. Coaching took place in two major phases

Phase 1A: Coach HHAP Grantees to Define Equity Goals by the SMARTIE Benchmark

Grantees learn that goals that are Strategic, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Time Bound, Inclusive, and Equitable (SMARTIE), can help them meet their commitments to racial equity and inclusion through actionable and progressive steps.

  • All 37 communities found by HHAP to be out of statutory compliance worked with CA REAL to define their SMARTIE equity goals within 3 months.
  • 28 of these communities (75%) proceeded to Phase 2, electing to work with TAC and CA REAL on implementation of those equity goals.
Phase 1A Slingshot

Phase 1B: Engage Grantees in a System Performance Measures Lab

Through a Systems Performance Measures (SPM) Lab, CA REAL team supported communities in strengthening their goals.

  • 68% of HHAP grantees had previously received an unsatisfactory rating for being out of compliance (75 out of 110).
  • 100% of these grantees improved to a satisfactory rating upon participating in the CA REAL SPM Lab (75).
phase 1B

Phase 2: Implement REIPs & Action Steps to Achieve Equity Goals

Through continuous quality improvement strategies, Phase 2 communities gained the capacity to promote system accountability and transparency in ongoing partnership with people with lived experience (PWLE). Of the 28 participating communities in Phase 2:

  • 93% received some form of TA/support (26 communities).
  • 75% actively engaged with coaches (21).
  • 67% completed a Racial Equity Improvement Plan (REIP) (19).

Phase 2: Encourage Plan Success & Sharing through Learning Labs

As of January 2024, 18 communities are busy implementing a Racial Equity Improvement Plan. To focus on specific Equity Improvement Plan goals, to support learning, and to foster collaboration, groups of communities joined “labs” organized around the following topics.

  • Phase 2 participants rated coaching quality to be excellent (4.7/5.0 points, with a 43% response rate).

Coordinated Entry Redesign
(2 communities)

Learning Lab - Tribal Communities

Shared Power & Decision-Making with PWLE and Tribal Nations/Communities
(10 communities)

Data, Research, & Evaluation
(6 communities)