File #: Int 0778-2026    Version: * Name: Creating an integrated and confidential data system to track all engagement with street homeless individuals.
Type: Introduction Status: Committee
Committee: Committee on General Welfare
On agenda: 3/10/2026
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to creating an integrated and confidential data system to track all engagement with street homeless individuals
Sponsors: Lincoln Restler, Sandy Nurse, Crystal Hudson
Council Member Sponsors: 3
Summary: This bill would require the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) to create a platform, accessible via mobile devices, available to DHS staff and contractors that do street outreach work, that allows for real-time tracking and reporting of all engagement with street homeless individuals. This bill would require DHS to report to the council quarterly, the total number of unsheltered homeless persons, disaggregated by the location where they were first engaged by staff; the total number of unsheltered homeless persons who accepted services during the reporting period, disaggregated by the type of service; and the aggregate number of engagements that resulted in temporary placements or permanent housing.
Indexes: Report Required
Attachments: 1. Summary of Int. No. 778, 2. Int. No. 778, 3. Committee Report 3/9/26, 4. Fiscal Impact Statement - City Council, 5. March 10, 2026 - Stated Meeting Agenda

Int. No. 778

 

By Council Members Restler, Nurse and Hudson

 

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to creating an integrated and confidential data system to track all engagement with street homeless individuals

 

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

 

Section 1. Section 21-319 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as added by local law number 217 for the year 2017, is amended to read as follows:

§ 21-319 Unsheltered homeless population record. a. Definitions. For [the] purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

Data Management System. The term “Data Management System” means a software system that controls, relates, retrieves, and provides accessibility to data stored in a database.

Outreach staff. The term “outreach staff” means department staff or staff contracted by the department to contact and offer services to the unsheltered homeless population.

Unsheltered homeless person. The term “unsheltered homeless person” means an individual with a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

b. Reporting. To the extent such information is provided voluntarily, the department shall maintain a record of all unsheltered homeless persons who are receiving services from or have been contacted by outreach staff, which shall be updated in real time and shall contain, to the extent available: first and last name, date of birth, race or ethnicity, and the location where outreach staff engaged the unsheltered homeless person, including but not be limited to, bus shelter, drop-in center, hospital, park, safe haven or subway. No later than September 1, 2018, and quarterly thereafter, the department shall submit to the speaker of the council and post online the following information:

1. [the] The total number of unsheltered homeless persons included in the record required pursuant to this subdivision, disaggregated to the extent available by the location where outreach staff first engaged the unsheltered homeless person;

2. The total number of unsheltered homeless persons who accepted services during the reporting period, disaggregated to the extent available by the type of service including, but not limited to, substance use treatment, mental health services, or medical services; and

3. The total number of engagements that resulted in temporary placements or permanent housing.

c. Street Outreach Digital Platform. The department shall create a digital platform, accessible via mobile devices, available to outreach staff that allows for the real-time tracking and reporting of all engagement with street homeless individuals including, but not limited to, interactions such as speaking with outreach workers; assisting individuals in obtaining medical treatment; and providing referrals to services. The department shall ensure that such platform is integrated with all data management systems used by the department to track individuals receiving services, in a manner that enables secure data sharing and the longitudinal tracking of client outcomes over time, and facilitates the reporting required pursuant to subdivision b.

§ 2. This local law takes effect 120 days after it becomes law.

JC

LS #18807/18879/22023

2/27/2026 12:30pm