DATE: July 11, 2017
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Dawan Utecht, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT: Grant Application and Board Resolution for No Place Like Home Technical Assistance Funds
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Authorize the Department of Behavioral Health’s submittal of a grant application in the amount of $150,000 to the Department of Housing and Community Development for technical assistance funds associated with the No Place Like Home Program.
2. Approve Resolution authorizing County to enter into and execute the Grant Award Standard Agreement and any amendments thereof as required by the Department of Housing and Community Development for County’s receipt of the technical assistance grant funds.
REPORT
Approval of recommended actions will authorize the submission of a non-competitive grant application to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for technical assistance funds in support of Assembly Bill (AB) 1618 (Chapter 43, Statutes of 2016) - No Place Like Home Program (NPLH) for $150,000. If the application is approved, the second recommended action will facilitate the County’s receipt of the grant funding through the mechanism of the Grant Award Standard Agreement. The HCD has made available $6.2 million in technical assistance funds state wide for counties to develop program planning and implementation strategies related to the $1.8 billion NPLH program.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
Should your Board not approve the recommended action, the grant application would not be submitted. Non-submittal of the grant application could significantly jeopardize the County’s future application for the competitive NPLH program.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. Successful grant applicants will receive an Award Letter from the HCD within 30 days of grant application submittal. The funds will be awarded through the standard State Agreement process. If awarded, the grant will provide the Department of Behavioral Health with up to $150,000 in technical assistance funds for planning and preparation activities related to the NPLH program. Funding for technical assistance funds is made available from the Mental Health Services Fund pursuant to an appropriation provided by subsection (a) of Section (§) 5849.10 of the Welfare and Institutions Code (W&IC).
DISCUSSION:
On July 1, 2016, Governor Brown signed AB 1618 enacting the NPLH Program dedicating $2 billion in bond proceeds to California counties for the development of permanent supportive housing for persons who are in need of mental health services and are experiencing homelessness, chronic homelessness, or are at-risk of chronic homelessness. W&IC §5849.10 appropriated $6.2 million from the Mental Health Services Fund and the HCD is providing the funding to counties for technical assistance grants to plan and prepare for the program.
The NPLH Program technical assistance grants will be awarded to counties to fund activities that support the planning, design and implementation of Coordinated Entry Systems (CES), permanent supportive housing and the accompanying supportive services needed for homeless individuals suffering from serious mental illness. Eligible funding uses include costs associated with the planning, design, application for, and implementation of an NPLH project. The Department’s application requests funds that may include some or all of the following:
• Coordinating activities with local homeless-serving agencies, including the Multi-Agency Access Program “MAP,” Fresno County’s CES.
• Implementing other capacity-building activities related to creating permanent supportive housing models suitable for the target population.
• Hiring staff or consultants to assist with; identification of appropriate sites for the development of permanent supportive housing; developing a process to identify potential affordable housing developers; brokering relationships between the County and affordable housing developers and/or Fresno Housing Authority; identifying and applying for additional resources for capital, supportive services and operating costs.
• Coordinating and collaborating with other County and community service providers (e.g. social services, healthcare, education, homeless-serving agencies and law enforcement agencies) to increase understanding of how these organizations serve homeless clients.
• Coordinating and communicating with HCD, Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and other state agencies to support learning, identification of additional training opportunities, technical assistance needs and regional collaboration.
• Developing or updating a Homeless Plan
The Department recently completed a Housing Inventory/Needs Assessment to better understand client-housing needs compared to available local resources. Findings of the Needs Assessment include recommendations to address client housing, for example, expanding the inventory of permanent supportive housing and master leasing units and temporary lodging for clients, and the development of a coordinated housing referral process. To assist the Department with implementation of the housing recommendations, a small cross-system task force convened to work on developing strategies and actions to address the housing recommendations. Once determined, the housing strategies will serve as a framework for how the Department will approach the NPLH Technical Assistance Grant opportunity, as well as serving as the foundation of County’s application for the NPLH Grant Program, which, if successfully funded, could provide upwards of $20 million to the County to address chronic homelessness.
The Resolution authorizes the County to apply for and accept the HCD technical assistance grant funds related to the NPLH Program. Should the County’s application be approved, the County will enter the subsequent State Agreement to receive the grant funds. The technical assistance grant will serve to prepare the Department’s future application for the NPLH Program.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
In May of 2017, the Fresno County Behavioral Health Board was informed of the Department’s plan to apply for the NPLH Technical Assistance Program
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
No Place Like Home Program (Assembly Bill 1618)
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - HCD, No Place Like Home, Technical Assistance Grant Application
On file with Clerk - Resolution
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia De La Rosa