DATE: October 5, 2021
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Delfino E. Neira, Director, Department of Social Services
SUBJECT: Agreement with the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement to Apply with the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency affirming the County’s intent to submit a joint application for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program Round 3 Grant funding allocated to the County of Fresno and the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care.
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Approval of the recommended action will allow the Department of Social Services to apply on behalf of the County of Fresno and the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care (FMCoC) for Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program Round 3 (HHAP-3) grants administered by the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency (BCSH). The Department will serve as the Administrative Entity for the combined funding allocation. The funding will be used to support regional coordination and provide homeless services in Fresno County and the FMCoC’s service area (Fresno and Madera counties). This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
There is no viable alternative action. Should your Board elect not to approve the recommended action, the County and the FMCoC would forfeit $6,730,522 in HHAP-3 funding available to assist people experiencing homelessness in the community.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. If the recommended action is approved, the Department will apply for $6,730,522 in HHAP-3 funding allocated to the County of Fresno ($2,976,820) and the FMCoC ($3,753,702) to provide homeless services throughout the County and in the FMCoC service area. The maximum of 7% ($471,137) from the combined total allocation, will be retained by the County for the Department’s administrative costs. A required minimum of 10% from the combined total allocation, $673,052, must be set aside for youth homeless services. An initial disbursement of 25% ($1,682,631) of the total combined grant will be issued following execution of the HHAP-3 standard agreement with BCSH, which will be brought to your Board at a later date. The remaining 75% ($5,047,892) will be disbursed upon approval of the final HHAP-3 application anticipated in FY 2022-23. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department’s Org 5610 FY 2021-22 Adopted Budget and will be included in subsequent budget requests.
DISCUSSION:
HHAP-3, authorized by Assembly Bill 140 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 111, Statutes of 2021), is a $1 billion block grant program designed to develop a unified regional response to homelessness and to provide support to local jurisdictions to continue to build on regional collaboration developed through previous rounds of BCSH funding. The funding is available to continuums of care, counties, tribal governments, and cities with populations over 300,000. HHAP-3 funding recipients from overlapping jurisdictions (i.e. CoC, large city, and/or county) are required to collaborate in addressing regional homelessness needs. In addition to the County and FMCoC’s HHAP-3 grant allocations, the County of Madera and the City of Fresno have been allocated $526,636 and $7,524,257, respectively.
HHAP-3 applicants are required to submit an Agreement to Apply to BCSH affirming their intent to complete the full HHAP-3 application and homelessness response planning process. Jurisdictions that apply jointly will receive an initial distribution of 25% of their combined HHAP-3 allocation. By submitting a joint application, the Department will be able to use a combined application and reporting process for County and FMCoC HHAP-3 funds, reducing the overall administrative burden; the combined allocation will also provide greater flexibility in implementing services. Although the FMCoC’s HHAP-3 funding allocation will be redirected to the County to be administered by the Department, services provided with HHAP-3 funds must be carried out in alignment with the joint service plan developed in coordination with the FMCoC and the other regional HHAP-3 recipients.
As with previous HHAP grants, HHAP-3 features broad, flexible eligible use categories to reduce barriers for entry to the homeless services system and to increase access to permanent housing. Eligible activities include rapid rehousing, operating subsidies for new and existing permanent supportive housing and emergency shelters, street outreach, workforce and education training programs, system support for maintaining a homeless services and housing delivery system, permanent housing, homelessness prevention, and shelter diversion. The HHAP-3 grant will also feature a new accountability framework that includes establishing specific and measurable performance goals and bonus funds for grantees that meet their goals.
With your Board’s approval of the recommended action, the Department will submit the Agreement to Apply and BCSH will issue the Standard Agreement, which will be brought to your Board for approval. Once BCSH has executed the Standard Agreement, the Department will begin the full HHAP-3 application process, which includes assessing the existing homelessness response system, identifying racial disparity and gaps in service delivery, and developing a homeless services plan in collaboration with the HHAP-3 regional partner jurisdictions. The HHAP-3 application will be released in early 2022 and must be submitted with the completed homelessness action plan to BSCH by June 30, 2022. Joint planning among the regional HHAP-3 recipients will being in the fall of 2021 to ensure that the homelessness action plan is completed in advance of the application submission deadline. Agreements or amendments for services supported by the HHAP-3 grant will be brought before your Board for approval at a future date, as appropriate.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Standard Agreement to Apply
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa