Budget and Funding Sources

Department Overview

The Human Services Department (HSD) is one of the largest contributors to Seattle's safety net. We invest hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts with more than 200 community-based organizations that support our neighbors and communities, and to direct services carried out by our own staff. These programs and services ensure Seattle residents have food and shelter, education and job opportunities, access to health care, opportunities to gain social and economic independence and success, and many more of life's basic necessities. HSD also serves King County as the Area Agency on Aging. HSD is committed to working with the community to provide appropriate and culturally-relevant services.

HSD's work is funded by a variety of revenue sources, including federal, state, and inter-local grants, as well as the City's General Fund, Sweetened Beverage Tax Fund, Short Term Rental tax revenues (which fund investments in permanent supportive housing), and the Payroll Tax Fund. External funding such as grants represent 33% of HSD’s $308.4 million 2022 Adopted Budget.

Budget Overview

**For more details, download HSD's Budget Overview prepared by the City Budget Office.

The 2022 Adopted Budget for the Human Services Department (HSD) is $308.4 million. The adopted budget prioritizes investments in addressing homelessness and community safety, and food and nutrition programs. The adopted budget includes new and increased investments in transitional housing, behavioral health services, meal programs, and gender-based violence services. The 2021 Adopted Budget had a significant amount of one-time COVID-response-related funding, and while that funding is no longer available, the 2022 Adopted Budget, using Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery (CLFR) funding and other resources mitigates the service impacts to homelessness investments and makes a significant investment in permanent housing.

Citywide the 2022 Adopted Budget includes $155.3 million in funding for addressing homelessness. The adopted budget for HSD includes $120.4 million in funding for addressing homelessness. Of this funding, 91% ($109.3 million) will be transferred to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) to support programs started by HSD that will become part of KCRHA’s budget. The Mayor’s office, HSD, and KCRHA worked together to identify priorities and funding gaps in the current homelessness programs and address them in the proposed budget. The City Council identified additional priorities and increased the total appropriation to KCRHA by $5 million. HSD is working closely with the KCRHA to ensure the Authority has in place the appropriate infrastructure to assume the administration of 2022 contracts that fund homelessness services across the city. The remaining $11 million of funding for addressing homelessness will support City-managed homeless programs ($8.7 million), contract oversight and administration ($880,000), and the Homeless Outreach and Provider Ecosystem (HOPE) Team ($1.4 million).

In 2021, the new Safe and Thriving Communities Division began operations to elevate the department’s investments in community safety and violence prevention. The division includes three units: Community Safety, Crime Survivor Services, and the Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (MODVSA). The 2022 Proposed Budget continues the investments in these programs by prioritizing investments in programs to help support survivors/victims of gender-based violence, and adding two additional victim advocates.