DATE: May 26, 2020
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Delfino E. Neira, Director, Department of Social Services
SUBJECT: Agreements with the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency for Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program Grants
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention grant (#20-HHAP-00096) on behalf of the County, effective upon execution by the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency through June 30, 2025 ($2,325,640).
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention grant (#20-HHAP-00097) on behalf of the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care, effective upon execution by the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency through June 30, 2025 ($2,954,437).
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. Approval of the recommended actions is necessary for the County to receive the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP) grants from the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing (BCSH) Agency. The Department of Social Services, acting as the Administrative Entity on behalf of the County and the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care (FMCoC), will administer the HHAP funding. The funding will be used to support regional coordination and provide homeless services to address homelessness challenges in Fresno and Madera counties. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
There are no viable alternative actions. Should your Board elect not to approve the recommended actions, the County and the FMCoC would forfeit a total of $5,280,077 in HHAP funding available to provide emergency assistance to people experiencing homelessness in the community.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The County and the FMCoC have been awarded HHAP grants in the amounts of $2,325,640 and $2,954,437, respectively, to provide homeless services throughout the County and in the FMCoC service area, including the County of Madera. The maximum of 7% from each total allocation, $162,795 (County) and $206,811 (FMCoC), will be retained by the County for the Department’s administrative costs. A required minimum of 8% from each total allocation, $186,051 (County) and $236,355 (FMCoC), is set aside for youth homeless services. There is no matching contribution requirement for these funds. The entire grants must be expended by June 30, 2025. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department’s Homeless Services Special Revenue Fund Org 1132 and in the Department’s Org 5610 FY 19-20 Adopted Budget and will be included in subsequent budget requests.
DISCUSSION:
HHAP, authorized by Assembly Bill 101 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 159, Statues of 2019), is a $650 million block grant program designed to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address immediate homelessness challenges throughout the State. The funding is available to continuums of care, counties, and cities with populations over 300,000. HHAP 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 grant allocations, the County of Madera and the City of Fresno have been allocated $411,434 and $6,158,246, respectively. Although HHAP grant funds are allocated to the FMCoC and are under its jurisdiction, the Department is serving as the Administrative Entity.
As a condition of participation in the HHAP program, CoCs are required to provide data to BCSH on the demographics and characteristics of the homeless populations and current programs providing housing and homeless services in the jurisdiction, as reported to the Federal government through the Homeless Management Information System. A data sharing agreement with BCSH will be brought before your Board for approval at a future date.
On February 4, 2020, your Board received a presentation on the HHAP joint service plan developed by a planning group comprised of representatives from the City, FMCoC, and the Counties of Madera and Fresno and authorized the Department to submit grant applications to BSCH for the HHAP program on behalf of the County and FMCoC. The HHAP joint service plan is consistent with the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) planning process undertaken in 2019 and the 14 homelessness priorities supported by your Board in 2019. In accordance with this plan, HHAP funding will be used to extend existing Triage Centers, Youth Bridge Housing, and Diversion services for an additional two years; extend Bridge Housing and Rapid Rehousing services an additional year; and, augment outreach services in rural Fresno County. The joint plan with the region’s recipients, utilizing an $11.9M combined allocation, will ensure a continuum of services across jurisdictions to strengthen the region’s crisis response network to address homelessness challenges in Fresno and Madera Counties. If necessary, agreements and/or amendments for these services will be brought before your Board for approval at a future date.
As reflected in the HEAP quarterly performance report provided to your Board on May 7, 2020, the HEAP programs implemented in July 2019 and planned for extension with HHAP funding, have provided services to 778 unduplicated homeless individuals and successfully connected 424 individuals to safe exits, which include permanent housing, transitional housing, and drug and psychiatric treatment facilities.
Activities funded through the HHAP program are informed by a best practice framework focused on moving homeless individuals and families into permanent housing and ensuring they are able to maintain their housing. The planned activities include Outreach services to engage and provide services to unsheltered homeless individuals and families, Diversion services to help people in crisis identify and access safe alternatives to emergency shelter, Triage Centers to provide emergency shelter and intensive case management, Bridge Housing to provide shelter for households assessed for housing and in the process of being permanently housed, Rapid Rehousing for housing relocation and stabilization services, and Youth Homeless services tailored to homeless youth ages 18 - 24, including Youth Bridge Housing and health and safety education classes.
With your Board’s approval, the County and FMCoC combined $5,280,077 in HHAP funding will be available to provide emergency assistance to people experiencing homelessness in the community.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #3, February 4, 2020
BAI #6, October 22, 2019
BAI #8, June 4, 2019
BAI #8, December 4, 2018
BAI #5, November 6, 2018
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - County Agreement with BCSH
On file with Clerk - FMCoC Agreement with BCSH
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa