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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 07242012 - SD.6RECOMMENDATION(S): CONSIDER approving the response to Civil Grand Jury Report No. 1212, entitled, "Help for the Homeless" and DIRECT the Clerk of the Board to forward the response to the Superior Court no later than August 6, 2012. FISCAL IMPACT: No fiscal impact. BACKGROUND: On June 6, 2012 the 2011/12 Civil Grand Jury filed the above-referenced report. The attached response clearly specifies: Whether a finding or recommendation is accepted or will be implemented; If a recommendation is accepted, a statement as to who will be responsible for implementation and by what target date; A delineation of the constraints if a recommendation is accepted but cannot be implemented within a six-month period; and The reason for not accepting a finding or recommendation. Please see the attached response. APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 07/24/2012 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor Contact: Dorothy Sansoe, 925-335-1009 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: July 24, 2012 David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: June McHuen, Deputy cc: SD. 6 To:Board of Supervisors From:David Twa, County Administrator Date:July 24, 2012 Contra Costa County Subject:Response to Grand Jury Report 1212: Help for the Homeless CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: In order to comply with statutory requirements, the Board of Supervisors must provide a response to the Superior Court no later than August 6, 2012. The Board must take timely action in order to comply with the statutory deadline. CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT: Not Applicable. ATTACHMENTS Response to Grand Jury Report No. 1212 Page 1    BOARD OF SUPERVISORS RESPONSE TO GRAND JURY REPORT NO. 1212: Help for the Homeless FINDINGS 1. There are an inadequate number of shelter beds in the County for the homeless youth population. Response: Respondent agrees with the finding. 2. Adding to the problem of an inadequate number of youth shelter beds, there are no youth shelters outside of West Contra Costa County, which does not serve the needs of the rest of the County. Response: Respondent partially disagrees with the finding. There are an inadequate number of youth shelter beds, however, there is one other youth shelter, operated by Northern California Family Center, located in Martinez that serves a limited number runaway and homeless youth up to age 17. 3. Little has been done to educate the public about homelessness even though it is identified as one of the three main tasks of the County's Homeless Program. Response: Respondent disagrees with the finding. There are a number of forums that the County Homeless Program uses to educate the public about homelessness that includes quarterly meetings of the Contra Costa Inter-jurisdictional Council on Homelessness that are open to the public, annual Project Homeless Connect events that are advertised throughout the county, a bi-annual Homeless Count that relies heavily on volunteers from the community, and bi-annual posting of the Homeless Continuum-wide Demographic and Outcomes reports on the County’s public website. Additionally, the Homeless Program makes presentations (average 8 – 10 times per year) at regional conferences, health/job fairs, advisory commissions, as well as to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors. 4. There has been limited progress toward establishing benchmarks, measuring achievement of outcomes, and using these data to evaluate and communicate the effectiveness of programs and services. Response: Respondent disagrees with the finding. The County Homeless Program has well established benchmarks for its programs and can measure achievement of those outcomes. And, as a program that believes in continuous quality improvement, it has been engaged over the past year in a strategic planning process to refine those benchmarks and most importantly understand the impact of its services on the consumers it serves. Additionally, the County Homeless Program has engaged in a similar effort with other non-profit service providers within the Homeless Continuum of Care to establish continuum-wide benchmarks that they can collectively work to achieve. Page 2    5. The lack of available, affordable, permanent, supportive housing in the County poses an even greater challenge than in past years given the increased number of homeless families with children. Response: Respondent agrees with the finding. 6. Because of on-going economic challenges, it is likely that temporary shelters will continue to be necessary to serve the homeless population. Response: Respondent partially disagrees with the finding. Temporary shelters will continue to be necessary to serve individuals who are homeless without regard to the current economic challenges. There are a myriad of reasons, other than economics, that individuals find themselves without stable housing. For these reasons, shelters will remain an important safety net for individuals. 7. Without the extensive collaboration that now exists among concerned organizations, the Homeless Program would be less effective. Response: Respondent agrees with the finding. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. The Board of Supervisors should consider exploring the development of additional shelter services for homeless youth and transitional housing for individuals leaving foster care. Response: This recommendation will not be implemented as it is not reasonable. Youth, exiting the foster care system, account for approximately 35% of the homeless youth population in Contra Costa County. Rather than limiting the focus to individuals leaving foster care, it is critical to provide shelter and support services to any and all youth that are homeless in our community. To explore the development of additional shelter and transitional housing for a subset (former foster youth) of the larger homeless youth population is not feasible. 2. The County should develop educational outreach beyond the information included on the County's website to strengthen public awareness of homelessness. Response: This recommendation has been implemented. There are a number of forums that the County Homeless Program uses to educate the public about homelessness including quarterly meetings the Contra Costa Inter-jurisdictional Council on Homelessness that are open to the public, annual Project Homeless Connect events that are advertised throughout the county, a bi-annual Homeless Count and training that relies heavily on volunteers from the community, and a bi-monthly Behavioral Health newsletter that highlights activities and issues around homelessness. Additionally, the Homeless Program makes presentations on the issues of homelessness and services available within our community at regional conferences, health/job fairs, advisory commissions, as well as to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors. Page 3    3. The County should consider incorporating data from the Homeless Management Information System to create a performance planning, measurement, and reporting system that can be used for internal decision-making and for communicating results and progress achieved to its stakeholders. Response: This recommendation has been implemented. The County utilizes information available through the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), such as the Continuum-wide Demographics and Outcomes report data, to make decisions around its internal programs as well as provide guidance to the entire homeless continuum of services delivered throughout the community. Additionally, the information available through the HMIS is used in various grant proposals that results in approximately $6M per year in funding to support the programs and services the Homeless Program offers. The outcomes for the Homeless Program services are communicated to a variety of stakeholders – from funders to consumers, through written and verbal reports as needed. 4. The County should consider reordering its priorities in serving the homeless population in order to address the increasing number of homeless families with children. Response: This recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted. Reducing the number of homeless families within the community is one of many priorities outlined in our annual continuum of care submission to the Department of Housing and Development. These priorities are not ranked by importance; rather all are given equal attention. The Homeless Program, in conjunction with the Contra Costa Inter-jurisdictional Council on Homelessness, reviews its priorities on an on-going basis, continuously monitors its progress, and communicates its outcomes to the community on a regular basis.