BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — Palm Beach County says a new agreement with the City of Boca Raton is now part of its broader strategy to expand homeless outreach and connect more unsheltered residents with shelter and housing services.
The agreement was referenced in Palm Beach County’s Fiscal Year 2025 Annual Report, which outlines county spending, programs and priorities from Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025.
The report says the new interlocal agreement with Boca Raton has strengthened countywide homeless outreach and access to short-term shelter. It appears under the county’s “Unsheltered Residents” initiative, one of the major areas Palm Beach County tracks as part of its long-term service planning.
The agreement matters locally because homelessness response in Boca Raton does not sit with one agency alone. Boca Raton is a municipal government, while Palm Beach County operates countywide housing, shelter and social service programs through departments and partner agencies. An interlocal agreement is the formal mechanism that allows those governments to coordinate responsibilities, funding and service delivery.
County officials said in the report that community stability remained a top priority in fiscal year 2025. Palm Beach County expanded funding for outreach, emergency sheltering and housing stabilization, including more than $1.16 million in state grants for rapid rehousing and prevention services.
The county also reported a $500,000 rental assistance transfer that provided housing support for approximately 85 households. A separate $20.9 million contract with Gulfstream Goodwill Industries supported the continued operation of the county’s housing resource centers.
Those housing resource centers serve as access points for people experiencing homelessness or housing instability. They are intended to connect residents with shelter, case management, housing navigation and related support.
Palm Beach County’s Community Services Department oversees much of the county’s health and human services safety net, including programs tied to homelessness, poverty, behavioral health, veterans services and support for vulnerable residents. The department also funds and oversees programs run by nonprofit partners.
In the same annual report, the county said it counted 1,520 unsheltered individuals during the 2025 Point-in-Time Count, a 28.5% decrease from the previous year. The county also said it launched a Housing Assistance Portal, opened Prosperity Village Cottage Homes for families experiencing homelessness, opened the Central County Housing Resource Center and opened a Medical Respite Facility with The Salvation Army for people recovering from medical conditions while experiencing homelessness.
For Boca Raton residents, the main takeaway is that homelessness outreach is being handled through a coordinated county-city framework rather than a standalone city effort. The county retains a major role in shelter access, housing navigation and service funding, while the city’s agreement places Boca Raton inside that broader countywide system.
The report does not list specific Boca Raton locations, shelter sites or individual outreach operations tied to the agreement. It also does not provide a separate Boca Raton homeless count.
What residents can watch next is how the agreement shows up in local practice: outreach activity, shelter referrals, housing assistance, public space concerns and coordination between Boca Raton and Palm Beach County service providers.
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