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Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) recommending the Board:
1) Adopt and authorize the Chair to sign Resolution 147-2022, which extends the term of the Board approved Emergency Solutions Grant-Coronavirus (ESG-CV) Standard Agreement No. 20-ESGCV1-00037 to December 31, 2023, from the original Board-accepted term of November 30, 2022;
2) Accept and authorize the Director of HHSA to sign Amendment 3 to the ESG-CV Standard Agreement No. 20-ESGCV1-00037, administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), which extends the term of the Agreement through December 31, 2023, with no change to the total award of $1,653,000; and
3) Delegate authority to the Director of HHSA, acting on behalf of HHSA as the Administrative Entity for the El Dorado Opportunity Knocks Continuum of Care, to execute any future amendments that do not increase the total award or term, contingent upon County Counsel and Risk Management approval, and subsequent administrative documents or required fiscal and programmatic reports.
FUNDING: 100% Federal Funding administered by the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development, Emergency Solutions Grant Program, as a result of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stimulus Act enacted March 27, 2020.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND:
The Emergency Solutions Grant-Coronavirus (ESG-CV) grant program, administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), originated in 2020 to provide emergency response funding to local Continuum of Cares (CoC) to support homeless assistance and homeless prevention activities, and to mitigate the impacts created by the coronavirus pandemic among individuals and families who experience homelessness and/or receive homeless assistance in local CoC jurisdictions.
The ESG-CV Program provides funding for the following eligible activities:
(1) Provision of Street Outreach to engage unsheltered individuals and families;
(2) Rapid Rehousing services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness;
(3) Emergency Shelter operations and provision of essential services for homeless individuals and families; and
(4) Homeless Prevention and Diversion activities to prevent individuals and families from becoming homeless.
HCD issued the first Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Round 1 of ESG-CV funding on June 2, 2020. Within this NOFA, HCD stipulated that awarded funding would be directed to local CoCs on behalf of the administering agencies, and specifically required a Resolution be passed designating the ESG-CV Administrative Entity in the CoC service area for this purpose.
Accordingly, on June 30, 2020, the County Board of Supervisors (Board) adopted Resolution 109-2020 (File ID 20-0768), which was later revised and adopted on August 25, 2020 via Resolution 133-2020 (File ID 20-1053), which designated the Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) as the Administrative Entity for the El Dorado Opportunity Knocks (EDOK) Continuum of Care (CoC), for the ESG-CV Program, and authorized the Director of HHSA to accept and administer an ESG-CV Round 1 funding award in an amount of $437,000.
Subsequently, the Director of HHSA executed the Standard Agreement No. 20-ESGCV1-00037 in the amount of $437,000 on November 16, 2020, for the term of December 14, 2020, through September 30, 2022. Since the initial ESG-CV Round 1 Agreement was executed, HCD notified HHSA that additional ESG-CV funding rounds and/or term extensions were available. As such, the following funding notices, Board actions, and Amendments executed to Agreement No. 20-ESGCV1-00037 proceeded:
• ESG-CV Round 2 Funding Notice and ESG-CV Amendment 1 to Standard Agreement No. 20-ESGCV1-00037:
On October 2, 2020, HCD issued the second NOFA for ESG-CV Round 2 specifying that grantees previously awarded Round 1 funding were eligible to apply for additional funding. To accept this funding, HCD required a Resolution be adopted by the governing board authorizing the acceptance of additional Round 2 funding. HCD requested that the County’s Resolution include the estimated Round 2 amount of $716,000, plus an additional $500,000, should additional Round 2 funding become available.
Per HCD's instructions, on November 10, 2020, HHSA brought Resolution 161-2020 (File 20-1355) before the Board requesting their acceptance of additional Round 2 funding in an amount not to exceed $1,216,000. This Resolution was formally adopted and signed by the Chair authorizing the Director of HHSA to accept the Round 2 funding and to execute Amendment 1 to the ESG-CV Agreement 20-ESGCV1-00037 for a total award up to the amount of $1,653,000. On June 2, 2021, the Director of HHSA executed Amendment 1 to the Standard Agreement in the amount of $1,153,000 for the term of December 14, 2020, through September 30, 2022.
• ESG-CV Round 2 Additional Funding Notice and Amendment 2 to Standard Agreement:
On October 11, 2021, HCD notified HHSA that an additional $500,000 in ESG-CV Round 2 funding was available to the EDOK CoC, with acceptance contingent upon the County’s Board approval. On January 11, 2022, (File ID 22-0023), the Board authorized the Director of HHSA to accept this additional $500,000 and to execute Amendment 2 to the Standard Agreement, for a total Round 2 funding award of $1,216,000 with a term through September 30, 2022. At this time, HHSA had not yet been awarded the amended Agreement from HCD, therefore committed to bring the resulting Amendment before the Board in a subsequent Board item.
Thereafter, on May 2, 2022, HCD issued the EDOK CoC the Amendment 2 to the Agreement, which also extended the term from September 30, 2022, to November 30, 2022. Amendment 2 was brought before the Board on June 14, 2022 (File 22-0855), and the Board accepted the term extension and authorized the Director of HHSA to sign Amendment 2 to ESG-CV Agreement in the amount of $1,653,000. The Director of HHSA executed Amendment 2 to the ESG-CV Agreement on June 14, 2022.
On August 14, 2022, HCD informed HHSA that another term extension was available for the ESG-CV Agreement and provided the EDOK CoC the option to extend the Agreement’s term from November 30, 2022, to December 31, 2023. As required under the ESG-CV Program, HHSA as the CoC Administrative Entity for this funding, collaborated closely with the EDOK CoC to determine funding strategies for this term extension.
The EDOK CoC expressed their desire to accept this term extension to continue to expend this allocation on budgeted housing and homelessness activities in the County, which include the below eligible uses:
a) Street Outreach service provision to aid unsheltered individuals;
b) Rapid Rehousing activities to provide housing and rental assistance to individuals and families experiencing homelessness;
c) Homelessness Prevention and Diversion activities; and
d) Administrative and Technical Assistance for service delivery for the ESG-CV program.
On August 30, 2022, HCD issued HHSA the EDOK CoC Amendment 3 to the Standard Agreement with the extended term. Accordingly, HHSA is requesting the Board accept the increased term of the Agreement via a Resolution, and to authorize the Director of HHSA to sign Amendment 3 to ESG-CV Standard Agreement No. 20-ESGCV1-00037, in the amount not to exceed $1,653,000, thereby extending the end term of the Agreement from November 30, 2022, to December 31, 2023, with no change in the award amount.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board could decline to adopt and authorize the Resolution, and likewise decline to approve the extended term of the ESG-CV Standard Agreement, in which case, the El Dorado Opportunity Knocks Continuum of Care would not be eligible to extend the term and would have to return funding made available through the ESG-CV grant program.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION:
1) 06/14/22, File ID 22-0855, Adopted Name Change Resolution No. 084-2022 for ESG-CV Program and Term Extension for combined ESG-CV Rounds 1 and 2
2) 01/11/22, File ID 22-0023, ESG-CV Round 2 Additional Funding Acceptance
3) 11/10/20, File ID 20-1355, Adopted Resolution No. 161-2020 for ESG-CV Round 2
4) 08/25/20, File ID 20-1053, Adopted Revised Resolution No. 133-2020 for ESG-CV Round 1
5) 06/30/20, File ID 20-0768, Adopted Resolution No. 109-2020 for ESG-CV Round 1
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
ESG-CV Standard Agreement Amendment was approved by County Counsel and Risk Management. The Resolution was approved by County Counsel.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
ESG-CV funds do not have a match requirement. There is no impact to County General Fund associated with this Agenda Item. HHSA has included this allocation in the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget and will be included in future budgets for the term of the funding agreement.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
Clerk of the Board to obtain signature of Chair on one (1) original Resolution for ESG-CV and email signed copy to HHSA Grants Unit at hhsa-grants@edcgov.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT:
Healthy Communities
CONTACT
Evelyn Schaeffer, Director, Health and Human Services Agency