DATE: June 21, 2022
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Sanja K. Bugay, Director, Department of Social Services
SUBJECT: Amendment to Agreement with Centro La Familia Advocacy Services, Inc.
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute Amendment No. I to Agreement with Centro La Familia Advocacy Services, Inc. for Bringing Families Home, effective July 1, 2022 extending the term by two years from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024, which includes a three-year base contract and one optional one-year extension and increasing the maximum by $1,099,394 to a total of $1,507,669
REPORT
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Approval of the recommended action will allow Centro La Familia Advocacy Services, Inc. (CLFA) to continue providing housing services to child welfare families and expand the Bringing Families Home (BFH) program to serve more families experiencing or at risk of homelessness. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board decide not to approve the recommended action, BFH services with CLFA would end on June 30, 2022. The Department of Social Services would seek to identify another eligible use for the funds before allocation deadlines.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The maximum cost of the recommended agreement ($1,507,669) will be offset with State BFH funds. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues will be included in the Department’s Org 5610 FY 2022-23 Recommended Budget and subsequent budget requests, as appropriate.
DISCUSSION:
On September 22, 2020, your Board approved Agreement No. 20-356 allowing CLFA to provide housing services to families in the child welfare system experiencing homelessness and housing instability. The services include temporary housing, housing search and placement services, direct financial assistance, and ongoing housing case management. The goal of BFH is to increase family reunification and prevent foster care placement by removing housing barriers for families and improving compliance with child welfare requirements.
CLFA provides housing case management services in close coordination with each family’s child welfare case requirements and objectives. The collaborative services are intended to house families and provide the ongoing supportive services needed to stabilize families and improve their long-term success. CLFA assists families in navigating the entire housing process, from documentation assistance to permanent housing support.
The current agreement proposes to serve a total of 25 child welfare families and permanently house 19 families throughout the duration of its two-year term. To date, CLFA has been able to provide BFH services to 36 child welfare families and has successfully housed 16 families. Of the 16 families, 11 have successfully closed their child welfare case and reunified with their child(ren) and 10 have been able to retain housing for three months after exiting the program. CLFA is expected to meet all agreement outcomes by the end of the contract term.
On February 11, 2022, CDSS announced additional funds appropriated to BFH through the Budget Act of 2021 (Senate Bill 129, Chapter 69, Statutes of 2021) and the expansion of the program’s eligibility criteria. These funds are intended to continue and expand housing and homelessness assistance through BFH. The County was awarded $1,810,337 of the noncompetitive allocation. The funds are eligible for expenditure through June 30, 2024 and are match exempt. The Department’s intent is to serve approximately 80 child welfare families during the next two years with these funds.
The proposed amendment seeks to accomplish three main objectives for the program: to continue to provide housing services to child welfare families after June 30, 2022, to redesign its current structure to incorporate recent programmatic changes, and to expand the program to serve more families in the next two years.
Approval of the recommended action will increase the current agreement’s budget to extend and expand services and ensure the summary of services addresses all service components requested by the Department, effective July 1, 2022.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #69, September 22, 2020
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Amendment I to Agreement with CLFA
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa