Title
Acting as the Public Housing Authority Board of Directors:
Hearing to consider adoption of a Resolution by the Public Housing Authority (PHA) to:
1) Authorize submittal of an application to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to allow the El Dorado County Public Housing Authority (PHA) to participate in the Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance Programs to receive renewal funding in the amount of $13,339 under the 2011 CoC Homeless Assistance Programs Supportive Housing Program allocation to provide support, administration and maintenance of the dedicated Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) project;
2) Approve a required cash match in the amount of $3,176 from the Housing Element Implementation General Fund contribution for the El Dorado County HMIS renewal project; and
3) Authorize the Director of Human Services, as the Executive Director of the PHA, to sign and submit the application and accompanying documents, including the Applicant Certification, the Application for Federal Assistance Declaration, Certification of Consistency with the Consolidated Plan and the Applicant/Recipient Disclosure Report, and, if the application is funded, to execute, contingent upon approval by County Counsel and Risk Management, the HMIS grant agreement and any amendments thereto that do not affect the dollar amount or the term and all other documents required by HUD for participation in the CoC Homeless Assistance Programs, and to take other actions necessary to facilitate same. (Refer 9/27/11, Item 18)
FUNDING: Primarily federal funds with required cash match of $3,176 from the General Fund.
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Fiscal Impact/Change to Net County Cost: There is no cost to the application process. If the application is funded, it is proposed to utilize $3,176 of the Department's County Affordable Housing Projects General Fund dollars budgeted exclusively for Housing Element Implementation to meet the required cash match.
Background: The 2003-2008 General Plan Housing Element Measure HO-FF directed the Department of Human Services to "work with community and local organizations in providing community education on homelessness, gaining better understanding of the unmet need, and developing and maintaining emergency shelter programs, including funding for programs developed through inter-jurisdictional cooperation and working with local organizations to annually apply for the End Chronic Homelessness through Employment and Housing grant." The 2008 Housing Element continues these goals under Measure HO-24 and policies HO-4.4, HO-4.5 and HO-4.6, with the expected outcomes of updating the Continuum of Care Strategic Plan. In accordance with these provisions, the El Dorado County Continuum of Care Stakeholders Committee was formed April 4, 2006 to develop a Continuum of Care Strategic Plan to prepare the County to address the needs of the homeless population and to address the funding constraints of community-based, non-profit and faith-based organizations that serve homeless populations. This collaboration is used to obtain and share information, provide community education and to work collectively on homeless problems and solutions. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) authorized the Department of Human Services to be the lead organization for the El Dorado County Continuum of Care activities.
A HUD requirement for Continuum of Care (CoC) jurisdictions is the implementation of a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) to collect data on the homeless population in order to identify the unmet needs of the chronically homeless population in our jurisdiction. To meet this requirement, on June 12, 2007 the Board of Supervisors approved the submittal of an application to HUD to receive a three-year grant of up to $40,016 under the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Programs Supportive Housing Program (SHP) allocation for the purposes of purchasing and implementing an HMIS. A one-year grant of $13,339 was subsequently awarded on December 21, 2007, with one-year renewals of $13,339 in 2008 and 2009. With these funds, an HMIS software system was purchased with user licenses for participating agencies.
Reason for Recommendation: On September 27, 2011 (item # 18), the Board gave conceptual approval for the Public Housing Authority, as the lead Continuum of Care (CoC) agency, to submit a consolidated application under the 2011 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Programs Supportive Housing Program to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in an amount not to exceed of $179,628, to include a request for renewal funding in the amount of $13,339 for the County's Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and eligible community agency funding request(s) received in response to a County Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process. There were no responses to the RFQ from CoC member agencies. Therefore, the application consists only of the County's request for one-year renewal funding in the amount of $13,339 for the HMIS system.
If the application is funded, existing staff will be utilized to administer the continuing activities under this grant. The proposed budget for the one-year HMIS renewal grant includes the $13,339 grant and the required local leverage committed by Board Resolution in the amount of $3,176 for in-kind staff services funded with the Department's General Fund Affordable Housing, Housing Element Implementation dollars budgeted for this purpose. There are no additional County costs anticipated during the grant period. In the request for conditional approval of the application submittal, a County in-kind match of $2,541 was specified. Although the 2011 NOFA requires matching funds of 20 percent of the grant amount, tools provided by HUD for calculating match requirements specify a cash match of 25 percent of the non-administrative funds. The request for General Fund dollars is, therefore, increased to $3,176.
The proposed grant budget for the HMIS is outlined as follows:
Supportive Housing Program (SHP) Budget during grant term:
CoC SHP funding - General Administration $ 635
County of El Dorado - Local Leverage/In-kind Staff Time 3,176
HMIS Implementation and Administration 12,704
Total SHP Budget: $16,515
Action to be taken following Board approval: Board Clerk to provide Human Services Community Community and Economic Development Division with two (2) Certified Resolutions.
Contact: Daniel Nielson, 642-7275