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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12031996 - SD3 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS F&HS-01 Contra f "• :F FROM: FAMILY AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE ✓� Costa s County DATE: November 25, 1996 EpUN�`*y SUBJECT: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONTINUUM OF CARE PLAN FOR THE HOMELESS SPECIFIC REOUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. ACCEPT the Continuum of Care Plan, incorporating the comments of the Homeless Advisory Committee, without necessarily endorsing the need, at this time, for a Homeless Coordinator as outlined in the Plan. 2. DIRECT the County Administrator to outline several options for how the Board could provide an additional $400,000 to the Health Services Department for the homeless programs to prevent further program reductions during the balance of the 1996-97 fiscal year and return his recommendations to the 1997 Family and Human Services Committee by mid-January and for this purpose REFER oversight of the homeless programs to the 1997 Family and Human Services Committee. 3. DECLINE to approve the proposed program reductions outlined in Dr. Brunner's November 21, 1996 report to our Committee, pending receiving and having an opportunity to review the options outlined by the County Administrator. 4. DIRECT the Health Services Director to ensure that performance standards are included in the RFP for the homeless programs when it is issued in January. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF B ARD C M I TE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON Qecember 3, 1996 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER X APPROVED the recommendations of the Family and Human Services Committee on the Continuum of Care Plan for the Homeless, as set forth above; DIRECTED that the Police Chiefs' Association be included as a referal for homeless issues; and DIRECTED the County Administrator to report to the Board in January, 19931, on possible options to prevent further program reductions. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE X UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ---------- ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ATTESTED December 3, 1996 Contact: County Administrator PHI TC LOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF cc: Health Services Director UP V RS AND COUNTY ADMI ATOR Public Health Director , Social Service Director DEPUTY F&HS-01 5. AGREE with the proposed composition of the Continuum of Care Board as outlined in Dr. Brunner's report and AUTHORIZE the Health Services Director to proceed to come up with nominations for the 20 member Continuum of Care Board for consideration by the Board of Supervisors. 6. AGREE with the need to reestablish the Homeless Management Team as quickly as possible, DIRECT that a representative of the Public Managers' Association be invited to join the Homeless Management Team, and AUTHORIZE the Health Services Director to proceed to convene meetings of the Homeless Management Team as quickly as possible. 7. REFER to the City-County Relations Committee and the Public Managers' Association the fiscal problems being faced by the County in attempting to maintain the homeless programs at their current level in an effort to obtain support and interest from the cities in resolving some of the fiscal problems the County is currently facing. 8. REMOVE this subject as a referral to the 1996 Family and Human Services Committee. BACKGROUND: On September 17, 1996, the Board of Supervisors approved a report from our Committee which included the following recommendations: 1. APPROVE IN CONCEPT the recommendations contained in the "Continuum of Care Homeless Plan;'recognizing that the Plan provides a broad vision of what is needed in the County to address issues of homelessness and that there are not resources currently available to do more than begin the process of implementing the recommendations. WITHHOLD actual approval of the Plan itself at this time. 2. SPECIFICALLY approve the recommendation for the formation of a Continuum of Care Board, generally consistent with the specifics of the recommendation appearing on pages 89-90 of the Plan,subject to the release of HUD regulations which may require a slightly different composition and subject to the Family and Human Services Committee bringing specific recommendations to the Board of Supervisors for a process by which to obtain nominations for appointments to the Continuum of Care Board. 3. ACKNOWLEDGE the lack of affordable housing in Contra Costa County,which contributes substantially to the extent of homelessness in the County. 4. APPROVE the RFP process outlined in Dr. Brunner's September 4, 1996 memo to the Family and Human Services Committee(attached)for obtaining bids to operate the County's homeless shelters effective July 1, 1997 and authorize Dr. Brunner to proceed to implement that process. 5. APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Health Services Director or designee to execute Contract Extension Agreement#25-004-05 to the contract with Shelter,Inc.for the operation of the North Concord and Brookside (Richmond) homeless shelters to increase the payment limit by $588,920 (a one-time advance of $58,920 and ten monthly payments of $53,000) to a new payment limit of $1,473,278.25 for the two-year period from July 1, 1995 through June 30, 1997. 6. DIRECT the Public Health Director,Wendel Brunner, M.D.,to report again to the Family and Human Services Committee on November 25, 1996 on the following: the status of the RFP for operation of the shelters, - 2 - F&HS-01 the Health Services Department's comments on the recommendations made to our Committee by the Homeless Advisory Committee dated September 6, 1996. the Health Service Department's comments on the precise size, composition,role and process for selecting members of the Continuum of Care Board, if their recommendations and HUD regulations differ at all from what is in the Plan and how the Department would propose to staff the Board. Which of the recommendations included in the Plan the Health Services Department believes can be implemented during the current fiscal year within the existing resources that are available to the Department. Any additional information the Health Services Department has available by that time on the impact of welfare reform on the homeless population in the County. Any other issues relating to homelessness in Contra Costa County which the Health Services Department believes should be brought to the attention of the Board of Supervisors. On November 25, 1996, our Committee met with the Public Health Director, Wendel Brunner, M.D., members of his staff, members of the Homeless Advisory Committee, advocates for the homeless, representative from the faith community, members of the 1996-97 Grand Jury and other concerned individuals. Dr. Brunner presented the attached report to our Committee and reviewed it with us in some detail. The Homeless Programs have a currently projected deficit of at least $314,000 for the current fiscal year. Dr. Brunner reviewed the proposed program reductions with our Committee. We find the proposed program reductions unacceptable. The Board of Supervisors has to face the fact that we need to either provide sufficient resources to stabilize the program at the current level or shut down the whole program. The incremental program reductions�will eventually destroy the program anyway and are self-defeating. The testimony provided to our Committee unanimously supported the need to provide additional funding to the homeless programs. Attached are points made by the Homeless Advisory Committee's representative, Kathy Renfrow. Duane Chapman, our homeless ombudsman, noted that 40 additional beds for the homeless could have been used last week and that the situation becomes more serious as the rains come and the weather gets colder. Our Committee is convinced that we are a critical point with the homeless programs. We cannot continue to operate the current programs without additional resources and we do not believe it is responsible to simply make incremental reductions in order to keep the budget balanced. Therefore, rather than endorsing the reductions proposed by Dr. Brunner, we are asking the County Administrator to outline for the 1997 Family and Human Services Committee several options for how we could obtain $400,000 to put into the homeless programs. We know this is not easy. This amount of money cannot simply be taken from other programs without damaging them as well. But if we are unable to come up with this additional funding, then we believe that the Board should simply shut down the homeless programs. - 3 - 5D,3 F&HS-01 The homeless impact city services as well and so we are asking that a dialogue be opened with the cities through the City-County Relations Committee and the Public Managers' Association (PMA). We are asking that PMA be provided a seat on the interdepartmental Homeless Management Team so we can forge close working ties with the cities at this critical time. We would like the 1997 Family and Human Services Committee to take up this subject at their first meeting after the Board is reorganized on January 7, 1997 so we can make some of the critical policy decisions that need to be made. - 4 - 5b-3 To: Family and Human Services Committee Board of Supervisors From: The Homeless Advisory Committee Date: November 21, 1996 Re: Contra Costa County Continuum of Care Homeless Plan The Homeless Advisory Committee at its meeting of November 20, 1966 voted to express our pleasure that the following recommendations to the Continuum of Care Report are being addressed by Dr. Brunner and the Health Department: 1. The name for the Continuum of care Advisory Board would be The Homeless Continuum of Care Advisory Board. 2. A proceedure to handle"Conflict of Interest" issues by the Homeless Continuum of Care Board will be adopted. 3, SSI and Job Development Plans already in existance to address Welfare Reform are being attatched to the appendix of the plan. We strongly encourage the Social Service Department to complete their plan immediately and to integrate it with other county job development services. 4. The plan needs to be implemented now.An additional $314,000 is needed just to continue with the less than minimal programs now in existance. Issues that HAC feels still need to be addressed in the plan: 1. The Homeless Coordinator should be responsible to the County Administrator and the Board of Supervisors. 2. The Paul Gibson and Associates' inventory of existing homeless services was contracted for. The survey needs to be completed and included in the plan data Recommendations from Dr. Bruener's Report that HAC supports: 1. Requesting the other County Agencies charging the Emergency Shelter Programs fees, to reduce or forgive the fees so the Shelters can remain open year round. 2. Encourage/persuade Cities in the County to more fully support Homeless programs. The Santa Clara Model is an excellent example of how cities and counties can sucessfully address their joint homeless problems. HAC's Urgent Plea: 1. That the Board of Supervisors restore the original $1.2 million County support for homeless programs. r S D, 3 s>✓ L Contra Costa County Health Services Department Public Health Division / ,1 R n, I Administrative Offices II1i111®F —`�� 597 Center Avenue,Suite 200 Martinez,California 94553 1ti4 (510)313-6712 "C' sr4`COUIZ TO: Family & Human,Services Committee Mark DeSaulnier, Supervisor, District 4 Jeff Smith, Supervisor, District 2 FROM: Wendel Brunner, M.D.6J9-�� Director of Public Health DATE: November 21, 1996 SUBJECT: STATUS REPORT ON HOMELESS PROGRAMS This report provides information requested by the Family and Human Services Committee on September 17, 1996. Specifically, we were directed to report on the status of the RFP for shelter operations, to comment on the recommendations from the Homeless Advisory Committee (HAC) in regards to the Continuum of Care Homeless Plan, to comment on the development of the Continuum of Care Board, and to outline the recommendations in the Plan that can be implemented in the current fiscal year (FY). In addition, we have important information about the budget for the current fiscal year and the projected shortfall. BUDGET FOR 96/97 As we reported in June, we expected that we would have a budget shortfall for FY 96/97 of approximately $75,000. We reported at that time we would be tracking carefully the program expenditures and revenues and make needed adjustments. The Health Services Department (HSD) fiscal staff have projected the revenues and expenditures for this fiscal year based on our current knowledge of revenues and projections based on actual program costs from the past fiscal year. The projected budget shortfall for FY 96/97 is $314,000. This shortfall is the result of loss of revenues and reduction in revenues from traditional sources, an increase in match for the federally funded transitional shelters, and the need to put direct County funding into the transitional programs in order to complete year five of a ten year program commitment. There has been a shortfall in previous years that has been rolled forward into other fiscal years. The Homeless Programs have had chronic difficulties in meeting the yearly budget since 1992. The County general fund contribution has remained the same for the past several years, while there has been an increase in operating expenses for the shelters. The Regional Initiative and the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Homeless Assistance Funding 1996 has brought in other funding to various County community based organizations to provide services. This funding does not directly benefit the County funded emergency or transitional shelters. SP) , 3 Family & Human Services Committee Supervisors DeSaulnier/Smith November 21, 1996 In an effort to address these budget issues, a meeting was facilitated by Marty Fleetwood, the Executive Director of Homebase. In attendance at this meeting were HSD Homeless Program staff, a HAC representative, and Alameda County Homeless Program staff. The meeting focused on short-term approaches to the current shortfall involving assistance from the County, specific County departments, and program cuts. The group also focused on some long-term strategies to increase the level of support from the cities, local business, and the community at large. It was emphasized in this meeting that we should not allow our programs to continue on a downward spiral of cutting funding, programs, and service quality. We need to focus on building the programs to be stronger and create more effective outcomes. OPTIONS FOR BUDGET SHORTFALL The long-term strategies will need to take place over time. In order to address the current budget shortfall, we met with the Department of Social Services to discuss the current budget crisis. The continued operation of the Homeless Referral line and the emergency shelters is important to the Social Service Department and the operation of the County's General Assistance program. The budget shortfall can be handled by a combination of the following options: 1. Social Service Department contribution of $75,000 to $100,000 for the operation of homeless programs. 2. A reduction of fees from other County Departments: $20,000 Sheriff's Department Food Service 15,000 General Services Occupancy Costs $35,000 Total reduction 3. Cuts to existing contracts: $27,000 Shelter Inc. 7.500 Crisis and Suicide $34,500 Total reduction These amounts would have been added to the contracts through a contract amendment and were already reflected in the current budget projections. 4. Reduction in shelter services/operation: $72,000 Shelter Inc. staffing cuts The reduction of staffing at the shelters will mean that there will not be counselors on site to provide linkage to services for the clients. The shelter would remain open through the fiscal year. During the week, a very limited number of clients would have special permission to remain on site during the day. A total of 40 clients from both sites would have the opportunity to elect to receive support services. These services would be provided for the remainder of the fiscal year by current County staff that would have their job responsibilities altered for January through June. 2 Family & Human Services Committee D Supervisors DeSaulnier/Smith November 21, 1996 5. A larger reduction in shelter services/operations: $159,000 (plus food savings) This would involve operating the shelter through the winter months until March 31, 1997. At the end of March the shelter would be closed from April through June. This will create problems with the General Assistance Program that needs shelter beds available. 6. Increasing revenues: County CDBG, City funding (Concord CDBG), additional funds allocated from the County General Fund. STATUS OF THE RFP The budget shortfall for this year has some implications for the release of an RFP to operate the two emergency shelters. We are committed to a 12 month shelter program, that provides at least some basic level of support services. In order for this to take place the program design and operational budget must be within our current funding limits. Given the current fiscal year problems, we would like to rethink the RFP design to allow for a more competitive process and to ensure a budget that will be within next fiscal years parameters. It is a top priority that we are able to provide the most efficient and effective service based solely on the funds that are available for shelter operation. We will release the RFP in January and complete the process of selecting a contractor by March 1997 as scheduled. The subcontractor will take over program operations as of the new fiscal year July 1, 1997. CONTINUUM OF CARE PLAN We have reviewed the recommendations made to the Family and Human Services Committee by the Homeless Advisory Committee dated September 6, 1996. We are in support of their recommendations except for the establishment of another administrative position. As stated in our report to your Committee in September, this would be unnecessary for the current scale of the homeless programs and inappropriate given the current limitation in resources for homeless services. During the current fiscal year the Health Services Department believes the following recommendations in the Plan can be implemented: 1. Re-establishing the Homeless Management Team 2. Establishing the Continuum of Care Board 3. Funding of some of the priority recommendations of the plan through HUD Homeless Assistance Funding 1996 and HUD Regional Initiative funds. This includes: • Centralized Information and Referral service • Regional multi-service centers • Shelter for women and children: battered women • Employment services 3 Family & Human Services Committee S D ' 3 Supervisors DeSaulnier/Smith November 21, 1996 In addition the following can be added to the plan: • Social Service Department information on impact of Welfare Reform • Homeless Education component • A more detailed fiscal analysis of the homeless situation in the County CONTINUUM OF CARE BOARD Given that HUD has not developed final guidelines for Continuum of Care Board composition, the Health Services Department would like to recommend that the size of the Continuum of Care Board (COCB) be 20 members with one-third of the appointments being current HAC members. The Plan proposes that the COCB be composed of 23 members. We recommend the elimination of three seats by doing the following: • Removing one of the three County seats • Removing one of the Agency Representatives seats • Combining the Voluntary Organizations and Faith Community into one category with the elimination of one seat We'd like an ad hoc nominating committee to be developed to make recommendations for appointments to the COCB. This ad hoc committee membership would consist of one PEHAB member, three HAC members, and two Homeless Program staff. The committee would make recommendations of individuals to be appointed to the COCB based on the proposed structure in the Plan. After the COCB is established they will have a nominations and membership committee that will make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors. The Department will use existing staff for the COCB and is currently deciding which staff member will have this responsibility. WB:BB:bb Attachments 4 ATTACHMENT 1 To: Family and Human Services Committee of the Board of Supervisors From: H.A.C. Date: September 6, 1996 Re: Contra Costa County Continuum of Care Homeless Plan Items Needing Further Consideration I A better name for the Continuum of Care Board would be "The Homeless Continuum of Care Advisory Board." 2. A procedure (such as FACT adopted) to handle"Conflict of Interest" issues by members of the Continuum of Care Board is needed as many members will have divided loyalities. 3. The Homeless Coordinator should be responsible to the County Administrator and the Board of Supervisors. The first job of the coordinator would be to develop a functional organizational chart for plan implementation. 4. Now is the time to implement the recommendations as prioritized in the plan. 5. Welfare Reform will have a drastic impact on Contra Costa Homeless and the at-risk population. The Social Services, SSI and Job Development plans already in existence should be addded as information in the appendix of the plan. 6. We understand Paul Gibson and Associates had a contract to inventory existing services. We recommend that the survey be completed and included in the plan data. 7. The full membership of NAC has not endorsed the full document as it did not receive a copy until September 4, 1996. COMMENT The coordination and writing of the Continuum of Care Plan was a monumental effort skillfully handled by Lynn Nesselbush. She is to be congradulated for a job well done. Our comments listed above, in our opinion, would make the report even stronger. � ATTACHIKII�T ' SDI 3 D. COORDINATE HOMELESS-RELATED SERVICES AND HOUSING INTO ONE INTEGRATED CONTINUUM OF CARE SYSTEM WITH THE CAPACITY FOR ON-GOING STRATEGIC PLANNING Objectives: To enhance the effectiveness of service delivery and maximize efficient use of resources. To facilitate coordination among all components of the system for purposes of service delivery,planning and resource management,fund- raising, and policy and program development. 1. Create a Contra Costa County Continuum of Care Board (COCB) to oversee the homeless service delivery system and monitor the implementation of the County Homeless Plan. a. Consider issues raised during the planning process that merit further research, evaluation or consideration. In order to oversee the implementation of the Homeless Plan and to provide an on-going forum to facilitate coordinated planning, program development and fund-raising for homeless housing and services, it is recommended that the Contra Costa County Continuum of Care Board (COCB) be established. The COCB will be an inclusive body with representation from County departments, Cities, service providers, the faith community, the business sector, the community at-large and people who are currently or formerly homeless. The COCB will be formed by reconstituting the existing Homeless Advisory Committee(HAC) and revising its mission. The Continuum of Care Board's mission and responsibilities should include the following: • Monitoring the implementation of the County's Homeless Plan; • On-going planning and the establishment of annual action priorities based on the Homeless Plan; • Advising the Board of Supervisors, the Affordable Housing Finance Committee and the CDBG Advisory Committee regarding the allocations of all federal and state block grant funds(including HUD, McKinney, HOME, HOPWA and CDBG monies) for homeless-related projects in order to ensure consonance with Homeless Plan priorities; • Advising the Board of Supervisors, County Departments and City Governments on existing and proposed policies that affect people who are homeless or at-risk; • Providing a forum for communication and coordination about the overall 89 operation of the homeless services system and of agency specific program operation, fund-raising and program development efforts; • Providing a forum for addressing complaints and grievances regarding homeless programs or policies; and • Development and implementation of a community education campaign on homelessness; (See Recommendation D.6-page 96.) • Advocacy on federal, state, county and city policy issues affecting people who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness. It is recommended that the Contra Costa County Continuum Of Care Board be appointed by the Board of Supervisors. It should be composed of 23 members overall and not less than 51% of the Board, 12 members, should represent people who are currently or formerly homeless, homeless advocates or homeless services providers. The rest should represent County government, City governments, the business sector, voluntary organizations and the community at-large2 . Attendance guidelines, terms of service on the COCB, conflict of interest policies and the process for nominating and selecting candidates to the COCB will be determined in conjunction with the Board of Supervisors. The.proposed COCB membership composition is as follows: • 3 members will be people who are currently or formerly homeless • 2 members will be homeless advocates, one of whom has expertise in civil rights • 2 representatives will be citizens at-large (neighbors, homeowners etc.) • 4 representatives from agencies providing homeless housing or services • 2 representatives from voluntary organizations (service clubs) • 2 representatives from faith organizations and congregations, who are providing homeless services • 2 representatives from the business sector • 3 representatives from County government, the Social Services, Health Services and Community Development Department representatives to the Homeless Management Team (See Recommendation D.2 -page 91.) • 3 representatives from City government, selected from the Inter-Jurisdictional Coordinating Council. (See Recommendation D.3 -page 92.) 23 It is anticipated that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)may require that local jurisdictions have a local Continuum of Care board in place to oversee the implementation of their Homeless Plans. Since regulations about the composition of local Continuum of Care boards have not yet been adopted by HUD, the composition outlined in this Plan is subject to change to ensure compliance with any regulations released by HUD in the future. Care was taken in the development of the Continuum of Care board composition outlined in this Plan to anticipate the future HUD regulations to the greatest extent possible. 90 ' t 5D , 3 The Contra Costa County Continuum Of Care Board will be staffed by the Homeless Coordinator who will`organize the meetings, conduct information gathering and analysis, facilitate decision-making, and follow-up on actions taken by the Board. The Homeless Coordinator will not be a member of the COCB. (See Recommendation D.4-page 93.) During the planning process, the following issues were identified as needing further research, evaluation or consideration: the 90 day time limit at the Brookside and Concord shelters, the 30 day limit at the Antioch shelter, General Assistance(GA) regulations, and the need for more information on the needs of homeless youth and homeless seniors. Each of these issues should be taken up by the COCB. Create A Count Continuum of Care Board Cost: Staff Cost— See Recommendation DA - page 93 Implementation Timeline: Short Term Target Outcomes: • Improved Coordination In Program& Policy Development • Improved Delivery of Services • Regular Countywide Meetings For Problem-Solving, Long- Range Planning& Communication Responsible Entity(s): BOS & Homeless Coordinator 2. Re-establish the Homeless Management Team to facilitate coordination of County government efforts to address homelessness. a. Participate in the regional planning meetings for the development of multi-service centers in order to identify County resources that should be linked to the multi-service centers and plan for how services will be coordinated regionally and countywide. It is recommended that the Homeless Management Team be re-established to provide a forum for coordination among County departments and agencies on policy, program and fiscal issues related to homelessness. The Homeless Management Team's mission will be to ensure that departmental policies, programs and budgeting are consonant with the County's Homeless Plan, provide an inter-departmental perspective to the Board of Supervisors on proposed policy changes affecting the homeless services system, and facilitate joint planning, grant-writing and program development. The Homeless Management Team will include representation from all County departments 91 Request to Speak Form ( THREE (3) MINUTE LIMIT) l Gomplete this form and place it In the box near the speakers' nostrum be addressing the Board Nanw. s -1/l�as" �r Pte. 9-( as�-Sa 9I /lddress: O , c d6 t 4 C [ � I am speaking for myselfor --nkwrwni #A e- tnatne of or6an�Wt M 11�'le� CH ONS I wish to speak on Agenda Item #-IL3 1)de: Mr comments will be: general _for nst 1 wish to speak on the subject of . .. _ 1 do not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider: Request to Speak Form ( THREE (3) MINUTE LIMIT) Complete this form and place it in the box near the speakers' rostrum before addressing the Board. ,> Address: city: &Kv---v �<D 1 am speaking for myself_or organization: _ 6snne ofFU CH ONE: 1 wish to speak on Agenda item #_���.� Dat "� Mr comments will be genera! ._�oragai I wish to speak on the subject of - i & not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider: