Oceanside amends contract for civilian outreach team

By Gary Warth

Aug. 19, 2026

The Oceanside City Council took a final step to creating a civilian-led homeless outreach team by amending its contract with Interfaith Community Services.

As part of the consent calendar at their Aug. 19 meeting, council members approved amending the contract with Interfaith for an additional $520,000 to fund two social workers through June 30, 2028, revising the total contract $1,040,000.

The amended contract extends by two years the original contract from April 2024, which provided two outreach workers to back up the Oceanside Police Department homeless outreach team through June of this year.

“Homelessness is a multifaceted issue with many contributing factors, and the unique circumstances of each individual experiencing homelessness require an individualized, person-centered approach,” the Aug. 19 staff report read. “Outreach social workers play a critical role in providing engagement, case management, resource navigation, and connections to housing and supportive services tailored to each client’s needs.”

Outreach workers have provided street outreach services, resource navigation, referrals and housing-focused case management with a goal of connecting homeless people in Oceanside to temporary shelter, interim housing, permanent housing, behavioral health services and other supportive resources.

The city is shifting its approach with the creation of the civilian-led Homeless Evaluation, Assistance & Response Team, or HEART, which will operate under the city’s homeless services manager. HEART grew out of a 2025 homelessness workshop that called for an approach focused on social services rather than law enforcement for non-criminal concerns.

The City Council approved the creation of HEART at its May 20 meeting this year. At that meeting, Police Chief Taurino Valdovinos said he supported the shift because he believed there were professionals in the field who were better-trained to take the lead on homeless outreach. Valdovinos also said OPD would not separate totally from the issue, but would no longer be the lead agency on homelessness.

Also at the May meeting, City Manager Jonathan Borrego said the city already had budgeted $9.5 million on homeless services, with $5.8 million coming from the state Encampment Resolution Fund to clear encampments and house people. The balance of $3.7 million funds the Oceanside Navigation Center, a safe parking program, the homeless outreach team and encampment cleanups.