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Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) recommending the Board:
1) Designate HHSA to continue to serve as the Administrative Entity (AE) for the El Dorado Opportunity Knocks Continuum of Care (CoC) for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Grant Program Round 5, administered by the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH);
2) Authorize the HHSA Director to submit a joint application, and modifications or updates thereto, in the estimated amount of $1,383,450, for HHSA and the CoC’s continued participation in the HHAP Program;
3) Delegate authority to the HHSA Director, or HHSA Chief Assistant Director, to accept HHAP Program Round 5 funding, if awarded, and to execute the resulting funding agreement and future amendments that do not increase Net County Cost, contingent upon County Counsel and Risk Management approval; and
4) Authorize the Chief Administrative Officer to execute a non-financial Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between HHSA and the CoC that is required to be submitted with the HHAP Program Round 5 application, and to execute future amendments thereto that do not alter the non-financial aspect of the MOU, contingent upon County Counsel and Risk Management approval.
FUNDING: 100% State funding authorized pursuant to California Assembly Bill 129, and Health and Safety Code 50230 signed into law by Governor Newsom on July 10, 2023; no matching funds are required.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND:
On September 29, 2023, Cal ICH released Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the HHAP Program Round 5 inviting California Continuums of Care, cities, and counties to apply. The State’s defined purpose of the HHAP Program Round 5 is to sustain existing federal, state, and local investments towards long-term sustainability of housing and supportive services, and to prioritize permanent housing solutions.
As outlined in Section 17 of Assembly Bill 129 (Chapter 40, Statutes of 2023; Health & Safety Code (HSC), Sections 50230, et seq.), grantees are allowed to expend funds on costs that support permanent housing; costs that support interim housing; and costs that support service provision and systems support. If awarded, HHSA and the CoC will use the HHAP Program Round 5 funding to continue to support the homelessness system of care within El Dorado County, to expand programs for persons experiencing or at risk of homelessness, expand support of housing opportunities, and address programmatic service provision and systems support.
In compliance with the NOFA application requirements, HHSA and the CoC must apply jointly as part of a region, be signatory to a Regionally Coordinated Homeless Action Plan (RCHAP), and submit a complete, joint application package that complies with HSC Section 50235(f). Accordingly, the application must contain a detailed funding plan for how the applicants intend to use the funds, a RCHAP pursuant to HCS 50233(c), and a non-financial MOU committing HHSA and the CoC to the RCHAP. A County Counsel and CoC approved MOU, to be signed by the Chief Administrator Officer and the CoC Co-Chair, will be submitted with the application.
The RCHAP shall lay out a strategic approach to address homelessness within the region, emphasizing collaborative efforts among participating applicants. The plan must include the following key elements:
1. Identifying Roles and Responsibilities: The plan must identify and describe the specific roles and responsibilities of each participating applicant within the region as they pertain to outreach and site coordination, sitting and use of available land, the development of interim and permanent housing options, and coordinating, connecting, and delivering services to individuals experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness, within the region.
2. System Performance Measures: The plan must describe key actions the applicants will take to improve the system performance measure (SPM) data as provided by Cal ICH.
3. Key Actions to Reduce Exits to Homelessness from Institutional Settings: The plan must describe actions each participating applicant will take to reduce homelessness among individuals exiting institutional settings, including but not limited to jails, prisons, hospitals, and any other institutions such as foster care, behavioral health facilities, etc., as applicable in the region.
4. Utilization of Funding Programs to End Homelessness: The plan must include the total amount of available funding, the amount prioritized for permanent housing solutions, and an explanation of how each participating applicant is utilizing local, state, and federal funding programs to end homelessness.
5. Connecting Individuals to Support Services: The plan must explain how the region is connecting, or will connect, individuals to wrap-around services from all eligible federal, state, and local benefit programs.
In the development of the RCHAP, HHSA and the CoC are required to collaborate and engage in a public stakeholder process. This inclusive process ensures that all key stakeholders have the opportunity to contribute their valuable insights and experiences to the plan before it is completed. The public stakeholder process must include at least three public meetings, allowing for extensive input from various groups and individuals. During the public stakeholder process, participating applicants shall invite and encourage the active participation of the following groups:
• People with lived experience of homelessness;
• Youth with lived experience of homelessness;
• Persons of populations overrepresented in homelessness;
• Local department leaders and staff from qualifying smaller jurisdictions, including child welfare, health care, behavioral health, justice, and education system leaders;
• Homeless service and housing providers operating within the region;
• Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans contracted with the State Department of Health Care Services in the region; and
• Street medicine providers and other service providers directly assisting people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
HHSA and the CoC have held the three required public meetings in which valuable input was provided in development of a robust RCAHP. The first meeting was held on December 20, 2023, in coordination with the CoC’s Strategic Planning Committee. On January 25, 2024, the second was held at the El Dorado County Community Action Council meeting, and on February 2, 2024, the third public meeting was held at the CoC General meeting. Regional stakeholders and the afore mentioned groups and individuals were invited and encouraged to participate as required.
To continue participation in the HHAP Program, HHSA requests the Board approve HHSA to serve as the AE under the CoC’s continued designation and approve HHSA to submit a joint HHAP Program Round 5 application, and any modifications or updates thereto, and to administer the resulting funding agreement, if awarded, on behalf of the CoC. HHSA is currently designated by the Board to serve as the AE on behalf of the CoC for all previous rounds of HHAP funding (Rounds 1 through 4).
Lastly, HHSA requests the Board authorize the CAO to sign the non-financial MOU and authorize HHSA to execute the resulting Funding-In Agreement from this grant, contingent upon County Counsel and Risk Management approval. This will ensure that HHSA will be able to submit a complete application by the deadline, as well as to execute the grant agreement in the required timeline.
ALTERNATIVES:
Should the Board decline to approve this recommendation, the County and CoC would be ineligible to participate in the HHAP Program Round 5 and would be unable to apply for a grant award in the estimated amount of $1,383,450. Consequently, the County’s ability to reduce and prevent homelessness in the region may be greatly reduced.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION:
1) 02/11/20, 20-0161, HHSA HHAP Application, and Resolution 023-2020
2) 07/13/21, 21-1000, HHSA HHAP Grant Round 2 Funding Acceptance
3) 11/16/21, 21-1720, HHAP Round 3 Resolution, Funding Acceptance and Budget Transfer Request
4) 06/21/22, 22-0914, HHSA Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Round 3 (HHAP-3), Local Homeless Action Plan with Outcome Goals Application
5) 11/15/22, 22-1921, HHSA HHAP Round 4 Funding
6) 12/06/22, 22-2226, HHSA HHAP Round 4 Guidance Memo
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
County Counsel and El Dorado Opportunity Knocks Continuum of Care.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with this Agenda item. HHAP Program Round 5 limits the use of available funding for administrative costs to no more than eight percent (8%) of the total allocation (including 1% administration for the County’s Homeless Management Information System), which could equate up to $110,676 for the administration of the grant. HHSA has established controls to monitor costs of funding administration for this grant. If approved by the Board and later awarded by the State, HHSA will return to the Board with a Budget Transfer Request that will increase revenue and appropriations in HHSA’s Community Services Division by an estimated $1,383,450 for the HHAP funding allocation in Fiscal Year 2024-2025.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
N/A
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT:
Safe and Healthy Communities
CONTACT
Olivia Byron-Cooper, MPH, Director, Health and Human Services Agency