DATE: February 4, 2020
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Jean M. Rousseau, County Administrative Officer
Delfino E. Neira, Director, Department of Social Services
SUBJECT: Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program administered by the California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Receive report and review the proposed joint service plan for Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program estimated preliminary allocations, which include allocations to the County of Fresno ($2,325,640) and Fresno Madera Continuum of Care ($2,954,437); and
2. Authorize the Department of Social Services to submit grant applications for the County ($2,325,640) and Fresno Madera Continuum of Care ($2,954,437) to the California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program.
3. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program Authorized Signatories Form, as an approved signatory.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended actions will allow for the review of the City of Fresno (City), Fresno Madera Continuum of Care (FMCoC), and Counties of Madera and Fresno proposed joint service plan using the combined Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP) grant funding of $11.8 million (Attachment A). The proposed plan includes allocations to the County of Fresno, FMCoC, City, and County of Madera to regionally extend services and augment outreach. HHAP funding will be used to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address homelessness challenges in Fresno and Madera counties. Per the Notice of Funding Availability, the grant applications must be submitted to California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC) by February 15, 2020, see Attachment B. The City and FMCoC will similarly place an item on their respective agendas to review and approve the joint service plan. The plan may require future changes to ensure the allocations are fully expended and strategic goals are met. It is necessary for the Chairman to be designated as an approved signatory on the HHAP Authorized Signatories Form in order to execute the HHAP Agreement. There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. 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 FMCoC would forfeit HHAP funding to provide immediate emergency assistance to people experiencing homelessness in the community.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The County and FMCoC are eligible for $2,325,640 and $2,954,437, respectively. The County maximum of 7% of the grant, or $162,795, will be retained by the Department of Social Services for administrative costs and a minimum of 8% ($186,051) is set aside for youth homeless services. The FMCoC maximum of 7% of the grant, or $206,811, will be retained by the Department of Social Services for administrative costs and a minimum of 8% ($236,355) is set aside for youth homeless services. There is no matching contribution requirement for these funds. In addition, for both recipients, up to 5% of an applicant’s program allocation may be expended on a strategic homelessness plan and/or infrastructure development to support Coordinated Entry Systems (CES) and Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS). The entire grants must be expended by June 30, 2025. HHAP grant program funding cannot be used to supplant existing local funds for homeless housing, assistance, or prevention. If awarded, the Department will return to your Board to recommend budget resolutions to increase appropriations and estimated revenues in the Department’s Homeless Services Special Revenue Fund Org 1132 and in the Department’s Org 5610 FY 2019-20 Adopted Budget.
DISCUSSION:
HHAP is authorized by Assembly Bill 101 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 159, Statutes of 2019), which was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on July 31, 2019. HHAP 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. HHAP funding is divided into three categories for distribution: Continuum of Care, City/City (Large Cities with population over 300,000) that is also a County, and County.
Proposed Service Plan (Attachment A)
A planning group consisting of representatives from the City, FMCoC, and Counties of Madera and Fresno drafted the proposed joint service plan, which supports a continuum of services. The plan is consistent with the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) planning process undertaken in 2019, which is consistent with the 14 priorities supported by the entities’ Board in 2019 and 2020.
The proposed joint plan will regionally extend Triage Centers, Bridge Housing, Youth Bridge Housing, and Rapid Rehousing for an added year; extend Diversion and Coordinated Entry-Navigation (including Youth Navigation) an added year; and, augment outreach. In addition, the plan would add new Triage beds regionally. If necessary, agreements and/or amendments for these services will be brought before your Board for approval at a future date.
The proposed activities are part of a coordinated plan among HHAP allocation recipients. The County of Madera and City are eligible for $411,434 and $6,158,246, respectively. The joint plan with the region’s recipients, utilizing the $11.9M combined allocation, will ensure a continuum of services across jurisdictions to strengthen the region’s crisis response network to address the homelessness crisis in Fresno and Madera Counties.
Eligible Uses (Attachment B)
HHAP requires grantees to expend funds on evidence-based solutions that address and prevent homelessness among eligible populations. As stated in Health and Safety Code, section 50219(c)(1-8), funds shall be expended on any of the following:
1. Rental assistance and rapid rehousing;
2. Operating subsidies in new and existing affordable or supportive housing units, emergency shelters, and navigation centers. Operating subsidies may include operating reserves;
3. Landlord Incentives (including, but not limited to, security deposits and holding fees);
4. Outreach and coordination (which may include access to job programs) to assist vulnerable populations in accessing permanent housing and to promote housing stability in supportive housing;
5. Systems support for activities necessary to create regional partnerships and maintain a homeless services and housing delivery system particularly for vulnerable populations including families and homeless youth;
6. Delivery of permanent housing and innovative housing solutions (such as hotel and motel conversions);
7. Prevention and shelter diversion to permanent housing; and
8. New navigation centers and emergency shelters based on demonstrated need. Demonstrated need for new navigation centers and emergency shelters shall be based on the following:
a. The number of available shelter beds in the jurisdiction;
b. The shelter vacancy rate in the summer and winter months;
c. The percentage of exits from emergency shelters to permanent
d. Housing solutions; and
e. A plan to connect residents to permanent housing.
Preliminary Allocations (Attachment C)
HCFC released the estimated allocations in January 2020, which were expected to change upon official 2019 Point-in-Time (PIT) count release; therefore, allocations may increase or decrease based on the official release of the 2019 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s PIT counts. The County’s allocation is $2,325,640, with a minimum of 8% ($186,051) set aside for youth homeless services. The FMCoC’s preliminary allocation is $2,954,437, with a minimum of 8% ($236,355) set aside for youth homeless services. Although HHAP grant funds are allocated to the FMCoC and are under its jurisdiction, the Department of Social Services is serving as the Administrative Entity.
Application (Attachment D)
The application must be submitted to HCFC by February 15, 2020 and include Eligible Applicant and Administrative Entity Information, Program Allocation Request, Required Applicant Attachments [HHAP Application Narrative (Annual Budget, Letters of Support, HMIS Data Sharing Agreement, Redirection of Funds Documents (if applicable), Authorized Signatory Form, Payee Data Record (STD 204 Form) for non-Governmental Organizations and, Government Tax Identification (GovTIN Form) for Governmental Organizations], Certification of Applicant, and Statement of Certifications.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #6, October 22, 2019
BAI #8, June 4, 2019
BAI #5, November 6, 2018
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Attachment A - D
On file with Clerk - HHAP Authorized Signatories Form
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa