DATE: October 22, 2024
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Sanja Bugay, Director, Department of Social Services
SUBJECT: Agreement with Poverello House for Triage Center Emergency Shelter Services
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Under Administrative Policy No. 34 for competitive bids or requests for proposals, determine that an exception to the competitive bidding requirement is satisfied and a suspension of competition is warranted due to unusual or extraordinary circumstances, and that the best interests of the County would be served by entering into an agreement with Poverello House as the vendor is uniquely qualified to provide ongoing triage center emergency shelter services; and
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with Poverello House for triage emergency shelter services, effective November 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, total not to exceed $342,005.
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions which will allow the Department of Social Services (Department) to provide triage emergency shelter services, including 23 beds for women experiencing homelessness through Poverello House. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board elect not to approve the recommended actions, 23 emergency shelter beds for women experiencing homelessness may no longer be available to the community.
SUSPENSION OF COMPETITION/SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT:
It is requested that the County find under Administrative Policy No. 34 (AP 34) that an exception to the competitive bidding requirement is satisfied, and a suspension of competition is warranted due to unusual or extraordinary circumstances as Poverello House has provided triage emergency shelter services, including 34 shelter beds for women experiencing homelessness through agreements with the County since 2019. The Department has identified that the best interests of the County will be served by entering into an agreement with Poverello House for the remainder of the current fiscal year to ensure that none of the guests are displaced while a transition plan is developed. The Internal Services Department - Purchasing concurs with the Department’s assessment that this satisfies the exception to the competitive bidding process required by AP 34.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The maximum cost of the agreement ($342,005) will be funded by Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 4 (HHAP-4) grant funds. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department’s FY 2024-25 Adopted Budget for Org 5610.
DISCUSSION:
HHAP-4, 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 response to homelessness and to provide support to local jurisdictions to continue to build on regional collaboration developed through previous rounds of California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency funding. The non-competitive funding is available to continuums of care, counties, tribal governments, and cities with populations over 300,000. Recipients from overlapping jurisdictions (i.e., CoC, large city, and/or county) are required to collaborate in addressing regional homelessness needs.
On November 29, 2022, your Board approved the Local Homelessness Action Plan required by the HHAP-4 application process which was developed in conjunction with regional HHAP recipients. Both the HHAP-4 Local Homelessness Action Plan and the County’s HHAP-4 funding plan, which budgeted 50% of the total HHAP-4 award for homeless family services, reflect the County’s priority to support families experiencing a housing crisis. Although HHAP-4 funding will be used to support the recommended agreement, no services budgeted for families will be impacted by this addition.
In December of 2023, through an RFP process, Poverello House was selected to provide triage center emergency shelter services through 11 of their 34 available beds for women at Naomi’s House. The agreements awarded through this RFP were to be funded with HHAP rounds 1 through 5 and prospective funding, excluding round 4 which was prioritized for families.
On May 21, 2024, the agreement with Poverello House was approved by your Board, however there was concern regarding the lack of support for the remaining 23 beds. The Department advised your Board that there was not sufficient funding in the budget to support these beds beyond the end of fiscal year 2024-25. Your Board directed the Department to find an interim solution if the Fresno City Council did not execute an agreement to support the remaining 23 Naomi’s House beds, and as a result, the Department has developed an agreement with Poverello House to provide center triage emergency shelter services for the remaining 23 beds through the end of the current fiscal year. This agreement will allow Poverello House time to develop a transition plan, and ensure that none of the women in these beds are displaced. Through the recommended agreement Poverello House will provide 23 emergency shelter beds with case management and access site services to those presenting in a housing crisis.
If approved, the recommended agreement will be effective November 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. Either party, upon providing 30-days advance written notice, may terminate the agreement without cause.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #67, July 18, 2023
BAI# 9, November 29, 2022
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Suspension of Competition
On file with Clerk - Agreement with Poverello House
CAO ANALYST:
Dylan McCully