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Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) recommending the Board:
1) Adopt and authorize the Chair to sign Resolution 150-2021, which authorizes HHSA to submit a joint application on behalf of the County and the El Dorado Opportunity Knocks Continuum of Care (CoC) to continue to participate in the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) Program, administered by the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency’s Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council;
2) Designate HHSA to continue to serve as the Administrative Entity for the CoC for HHAP Round 3 funding;
3) Delegate authority to HHSA to submit a joint application on behalf of the County and the CoC in the estimated amount of $2,273,779.01 for the HHAP Program Round 3 funding administered by the California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council;
4) Delegate authority to the HHSA Director to accept funding and execute any grant agreement for HHAP Program Round 3, if awarded, with a term to be determined, including any extension(s) or amendment(s) thereto, contingent upon County Counsel and Risk Management Approval;
5) Authorize the HHSA Director to submit a letter of support on behalf of the CoC, agreeing to regional coordination and partnership with the CoC on all funding and program elements related to the HHAP grant program, as required; and
6) Approve and authorize the Chair to sign a Budget Transfer Request increasing revenue and appropriations by $443,445 for Fiscal Year 2021-22 for the initial disbursement of the HHAP funding allocation.
FUNDING: State funding authorized pursuant to California Assembly Bill 140, signed into law by Governor Newsom on July 19, 2021.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND:
On September 15, 2021, the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC) released a Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) Program Initial Disbursement Funding Availability for the Round 3 HHAP grant. The HHAP Round 3 funding opportunity has set the base allocations of $917,471.90 for the El Dorado County Opportunity Knocks Continuum of Care (CoC) and $856,307.11 for El Dorado County, for a total combined allocation of $1,773,779.01. In addition, there is a potential third bonus disbursement available if performance goals are met, estimated in an amount of $500,000, for a total estimated HHAP Round 3 funding award of $2,273,779.01.
The application process for these funds include a 'Standard Agreement to Apply,' indicating if County and Continuum of Care jurisdictions will be applying for the funds, jointly. This will make a 25% initial disbursement of the total joint jurisdictions’ base allocations available for an estimated amount of $443,445 and will require the execution of a HHAP Round 3 Initial Disbursement Contract for Funding, a County Board Resolution, and a letter of Administrative Entity designation and support agreeing to collaborate on the spending priorities and program design for all activities funded through the grant.
Joint applicants will continue to work with HCFC to determine an interest in applying jointly for the remaining HHAP Round 3 program allocation, which will require an application to be submitted to the HCFC by June 30, 2022 in response to the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), once released, and will include a required local homelessness action plan with specific outcome goals. The CoC Homeless Strategic Plan, estimated to have a draft available toward the end of 2021, will meet this requirement and will allow both the County and CoC to meet the grant deadline and to apply for the remaining 75% of the joint jurisdictions' base allocation.
The HHAP Round 3 Initial Disbursement funds must be expended in accordance with the California Health and Safety Code 50220.7(a) and may fund the cost of completing the required homelessness action plan or for systems improvement, including, but not limited to: capacity building and workforce development for service providers within the jurisdiction, including removing barriers to contracting with culturally specific service providers and building capacity of providers to administer culturally specific services; funding existing evidence-based programs serving people experiencing homelessness; investing in data systems to meet reporting requirements or strengthen the recipient’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS); improving homeless point-in-time counts; and improving coordinated entry systems to eliminate racial bias or to create a youth-specific coordinated entry system.
Remaining HHAP Round 3 funds must be expended on evidence-based solutions that address and prevent homelessness among eligible populations. Allowable activities include any of those identified in California Health and Safety Code Section 50220.7(e)(1-9), including: rapid rehousing, including rental subsidies and incentives to landlords, such as security deposits and holding fees; operating subsidies, including operating reserves, in new and existing affordable or supportive housing units, emergency shelters, and navigation centers; street outreach to assist persons experiencing homelessness to access permanent housing and services; services coordination, which may include access to workforce, education, and training programs, or other services needed to promote housing stability in supportive housing; 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; delivery of permanent housing and innovative housing solutions, such as hotel and motel conversion; prevention and shelter diversion to permanent housing, including rental subsidies; interim sheltering, limited to newly developed clinically enhanced congregate shelters, new or existing non-congregate shelters, and operations of existing navigation centers and shelters based on demonstrated need; and improvements to existing emergency shelters to lower barriers and increase privacy. The County intends to use HHAP funding to continue to fund system supports necessary for the delivery of local homeless services, technical assistance related to homeless programs and grant opportunities, and for the implementation of activities identified in the the CoC Homeless five-year strategic plan that is under development.
The Board has previously designated the Health and Human Services Agency to act as the Administrative Entity on behalf of the CoC for: the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) Round 1 Grant (Item #20-0161 February 11, 2020); HHAP Round 2 Grant (#21-1000 July 13, 2021); Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) Grant (Item #18-1762, December 4, 2018; 2018 California Emergency Solutions and Housing (CESH) Grant (Item #18-1522, October 16, 2018); 2019 CESH Grant (Item #19-0553, April 23, 2019); Emergency Solutions Grant-COVID (ESG-CV) Round 1 (#20-0768 June 30, 2020); and ESG-CV Round 2 (#20-1355 November 10, 2020).
HHSA is recommending the Board approve and authorize the Chair to sign the attached Budget Transfer Request (Attachment C) to increase revenue and appropriations by $443,445 for the initial disbursement of the HHAP funding allocation in Fiscal Year 2021-22. The state has a very tight turnaround on the request to receive an executed agreement, and HHSA is requesting advance approval from the Board to authorize the HHSA Director to execute the resulting funding agreement from this grant, contingent upon County Counsel and Risk Management approval, to ensure that HHSA can execute the grant agreement in the required timeline. County Counsel and Risk Management have reviewed and approved the HHAP sample agreement for Board review before delegating authority to the HHSA Director. If the actual agreement is different than the sample, the actual agreement will be brought for review to County Counsel and Risk Management before execution.
ALTERNATIVES:
Should the Board decline to approve these recommendations, both the County and CoC would fail to complete all requirements necessary to participate in the HHAP Program, and as a result, El Dorado County would not receive $2,273,779.01 for homelessness services and programming.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION:
1) July 13, 2021, File ID 21-1000, Agenda No. 11, HHSA Grant Round 2 Funding Agreement; and
2) February 11, 2021, File ID 20-0161, Agenda No.10, HHSA HHAP Application, and Resolution 023-2020
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Risk Management and County Counsel.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Prior HHAP grants have limited the use of available funding for administrative costs to no more than seven percent (7%) of the total allocation, which could equate up to between $124,165 and $159,165 for the administration of the grant, dependent on eligibility to the bonus funding. HHSA has established controls to monitor costs of funding administration. If approved, the budget transfer request will increase revenue and appropriations in Community Services by $443,445 for the initial disbursement of the HHAP funding allocation in Fiscal Year 2021-22.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
1) Clerk of the Board to obtain signature of Chair on Board of Supervisors Resolution and contact HHSA Contracts for pick up;
2) Obtain signature of Chair on the attached Budget Transfer Request (BTR); and
3) Submit the BTR to the Chief Administrative Office for further processing.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT:
Healthy Communities
CONTACT
Don Semon, Director