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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06181996 - D3 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS F&HS-01 Contra FROM: FAMILY AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEECosta ,s County DATE: June 10, 1996s�q��UK SUBJECT: REPORT ON THE PROGRAMS FOR THE HOMELESS AND CONTRACT EXTENSION FOR OPERATION OF THE HOMELESS SHELTERS SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. ACCEPT the attached report from Wendel Brunner, M.D., Director of Public Health on the Status of Homeless Programs. 2. ACKNOWLEDGE that funding for homeless programs, particularly for the transitional living program and emergency shelter program, are in serious financial difficulty for the 1996-97 fiscal year for the reasons set forth in Dr. Brunner's report. 3. ACKNOWLEDGE AND CONCUR WITH the budget reductions already implemented in the homeless programs, as are outlined in Dr. Brunner's attached report. 4. CONCUR that the Health Services Director and Public Health Director should implement a corrective action program for the identified budget problems, based on the following premises: 4� The Transitional Housing Program will be run in a manner that will effectively serve the clients utilizing the existing HUD funding for the remainder of the HUD contract. 0 The Emergency Shelter Program should operate 12 months a year in a manner that is safe for clients and staff and maximizes the program opportunities available to homeless persons. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMTE ,- APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): MARK DeSAUL-NIFIR ACTION OF BOARD ON Ai mP 18, 199Fi APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER X IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that the above:�recommendations are APPROVED; and the Board REQUESTED that Requests For Interest be a part of the future . process. 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 June 18, 1996 Contact: County Administrator PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF cc: Health Services Director SUPERVISORS AND OUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Social Service Director Public Health Director County Counsel BY DEPUTY F&HS-01 ;k The homeless programs must be planned for the 1996-97 fiscal year within the existing budget of $1,445,000, which already includes some projected revenues which are not guaranteed to be available from year to year. 5. APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Health Services Director or designee to execute Contract Extension Agreement # 25-004-04 to the contract with Shelter, Inc. for the operation of the North Concord and Richmond homeless shelters to increase the payment limit by $117,784 ($58,892 per month) to a new payment limit of $884,358.25 and extend the termination date to August 31, 1996, recognizing that this extension is at a monthly rate which is $4,930 per month less than the existing contract. 6. DIRECT the Public Health Director to report to the Board on June 18, 1996 in conjunction with this report regarding the feasibility and wisdom of preparing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the operation of the North Concord and Richmond Homeless shelters. 7. DIRECT the Health Services Director to report back to our Committee on September 9, 1996 on the following: • The status of the draft Continuum of Care Plan dated May 10, 1996. • The status of HUD's 1996 Homeless Assistance Funding. • The status of the contract with Shelter, Inc. for the operation of the homeless shelters. • the status of funding from the Bay Area Regional Homelessness Initiative. • The status of funding for homeless programs for the balance of the 1996-97 fiscal year. BACKGROUND: On March 19, 1996, the Board of Supervisors approved a report from our Committee which included the following recommendation, among others: 8. REQUEST the Public Health Director to make a further report to the Family and Human Services Committee on June 10, 1996 to include at least the following: ✓ The status of the Comprehensive Homeless Plan. ✓ The status of the Request for Proposal for operation of the homeless shelters. ✓ The status of the contract with Shelter, Inc. for the operation of the homeless shelters. ✓ The status of funding from the HUD Notice of Availability for McKinney homeless funds(Super NOFA). ✓ The status of funding from the Bay Area Regional Homelessness Initiative. ✓ The status of funding for the homeless shelters for the balance of the 1995-96 fiscal year and for the 1996-97 fiscal year. -2- F&HS-01 On June 10, 1996, our Committee met with Dr. Wendel Brunner, Director of Public Health, members of his staff responsible for the homeless programs and several members of the Homeless Advisory Committee. Dr. Brunner summarized the attached report. He noted that the County is facing up to a $400,000 problem in funding homeless programs in the 1996-97 fiscal year compared with the 1995-96 fiscal year. This results from the HUD transitional housing grant. There is only $200,000 left for the fifth year of the grant, thus leaving a potential $300,000 problem for the transitional housing program. In addition, there is a funding problem of$100,000 for the emergency housing program resulting from one-time funding available for the 1995-96 fiscal year that is unlikely to be available in the future. In response to this problem, the Department has already taken or is taking several steps which are outlined in Dr. Brunner's report. Dr. Brunner also has outlined three premises on which he believes the funding of the homeless programs should be based. The dual case management system is being discontinued. This will result in the termination of three FTE case managers. About one-half of a case manager will be retained for the transitional housing program. Reductions have been negotiated in the contract with Shelter, Inc. Even with these reductions, the County would be left with a deficit of about $70,000. This is more of a shortfall than we can responsibly continue, expecting that revenue will somehow appear during the year, particularly since the Department is already budgeting some revenue the receipt of which is in some question. The Department indicates that we need an additional reduction in the contract with Shelter, Inc. They are negotiating further reductions with Shelter, Inc. which have not been agreed to by Shelter, Inc. We are going to have to entirely rethink the emergency shelter program. Thus, the Department is bringing in some consultants to advise them in redesigning the homeless programs. In response to a question from Bruce Oberlander about what tracking or quality control will be available, Dr. Brunner admitted that they will be weak. Mr. Oberlander noted his concerns about the existing case manager system. Supervisor DeSaulnier noted that the Social Service Department has achieved savings in the General Assistance Program due to the changes initiated by the Board and there may be some funds available from the Social Service Department. We also discussed the impact of the 90 day limit on the shelter residents. Brenda Blasingame admitted that a 90 day limit is not enough. The rule is now being interpreted as 90 days in a two-year period. Dr. Brunner noted that he may be asking Social Service to assist by providing some counseling for the G.A. clients who are in the shelter, assisting them seek housing. Supervisor DeSaulnier noted the difficulty in knowing whether our programs are working if we are unable to track clients to see what happens to them. Without this information, it is difficult for policy makers to decide how to allocate funds and resources. Supervisor DeSaulnier reiterated his interest in making some money available for a staff that would be responsible for evaluating the relative success of different programs in order to advise policy makers on what programs are achieving their goals. -3- F&HS-01 Lynn Nesselbush commented on that portion of Dr. Brunner's report dealing with the HUD 1996 Homeless Assistance Funding. We are being asked to describe the continuum of care and the community planning process that has been used. It is also necessary to prioritize the applications and HUD intends to use those priorities in deciding the order in what funding is provided. Pat Pinkston described the process used to identify the eight projects which have been submitted, which are described in more detail in the attachment to Dr. Brunner's report. Pat Pinkston also summarized the process by which the Regional Homeless Initiative funding will be made available. $8.4 million has been requested. About $6.3 million will be available. Decisions will be made on these allocations within the next few days. The funds are expected to be available effective July 1, 1996. She noted that 6 of the 8 proposals impact Contra Costa County. In response to a question from Supervisor DeSaulnier about the status of an RFP for the shelter program, Dr. Brunner noted that with the reduced budget and the need to redesign the program it did not seem feasible to issue an RFP at this time. However, our Committee believes strongly that because of the past criticism of the contract with Shelter, Inc., we need to issue an RFP. If we issue one and there is no other contractor then we can at least indicate that we tried to generate some competition but were unable to do so. We have, however, agreed to let Dr. Brunner raise this issue with the full Board and explain the Department's reasons for not wanting to issue an RFP for the shelter program for the 1996-97 fiscal year. Questions were raised about the impact of the decision to cut-off SSI payments to those recipients with a primary diagnosis of alcohol or drug addiction and what that decision will mean to the G.A. Program and the shelters. Dr. Brunner noted that the departments are aware of the impact of this issue and are working together on this issue. It was noted that Social Service and Health Services are meeting on June 20 to plan for these individuals. We have asked staff from the Health Services and Social Service Departments to be present for the Board meeting on June 18, 1996 when this report is presented to comment on the following: • Financing of programs for the homeless • Potential impact of the SSI decision on the G.A. and Homeless programs • Summary of the RFP issue. Supervisor DeSaulnier reiterated his interest in funding two or three staff in a performance review office to evaluate County programs and determine the extent to which they are achieving their outcomes. -4- D.-5 k. te t S Contra Costa County •;-^ a `,.. Health Services Department �__ __ —`,1• PUBLIC HEALTH DIVISION ) Administrative Offices O 597 Center Avenue _ ti4 Suite 200 'v Martinez, California 94553 Sr`�`COUI`Z (510)313-6712 TO: Family & Human Services Committee Mark DeSaulnier, Supervisor, District 4 Jeff Smith, Supervisor, District 2 FROM: Wendel Brunner, M.D. Director of Public Health DATE: June 5, 1996 SUBJECT: STATUS OF HOMELESS PROGRAMS We are asked to report on the status of the Homeless Programs, including the Emergency Shelter Program and the contract with Shelter, Inc., and the possible preparation of an RFP for the Emergency Program. In addition, we are to discuss the draft Homeless Plan. We also have projected budget difficulties for FY 96/97, which have major implications for both the emergency and transitional shelter programs, and are influencing the restructuring of those programs and the development of a possible RFP. The Contra Costa homeless planning process has been focused over the last month on the development of the Continuum of Care document and the prioritization of programs within Contra Costa County required by HUD for the application from all community based programs in Contra Costa for the HUD Homeless Assistance Initiative, which must be submitted on June 10. A preliminary version of the draft plan and continuum has been available to your staff for some weeks; the May 10 version of the draft was formally submitted to all Board members last week. BUDGET FOR FY 96/97 Fiscal Year 95/96 is the first fiscal year for which the Health Services Department fiscal office has been overseeing the budget of the homeless,programs. When the Department's fiscal office finished transferring the accounting from the Housing Authority and developed a comprehensive picture of the grants and funding system, it became clear that there will be significant funding problems in both the Transitional Housing Program (Mt. View and San Joaquin House) and the Emergency Shelter Program at Concord and Brookside next year. The County received a five-year $2.2 million grant from HUD for transitional housing, to start in July 1992. We are currently finishing the fourth year of that program, and are about to begin the fifth and final year of the project. Expenditures in each year have varied, as different kinds of costs have been funded under that grant, including major rehabilitation to the facilities and a variety of administrative expenses from the County homeless programs. This problem was A372 (7/91) Family & Human Services Committee June 5, 1996 Page 2 compounded by the fact that the rehabilitation in the early years of the project was about $100,000 more than originally budgeted, and the County matching requirements of 25% in Years 1 through 3 are increased by the contract to 50% County match in Years 4 and 5. The result is that while the program costs for transitional housing have been running at approximately $500,000 per year, there is only $210,000 left in the grant for operations in Year 5. This leaves a potential budget shortfall in the Transitional Housing Program of $300,000. In addition, the Emergency Shelter Program was balanced this fiscal year by including $100,000 in revenue which we do not expect to be available next fiscal year. We have, therefore, a potential budget problem of $400,000 for the homeless programs for FY 96/97. In addition, the contract with HUD requires that we not only operate the programs for the full five years of funding, but the County is also obligated to continue operating the programs for an additional five years, for which no HUD funding is committed. We are developing, and have begun to implement, a corrective program for this budget problem based on the following premises: • The Transitional Housing Program will be run in a manner that will effectively serve the clients utilizing the existing HUD funding for the remainder of the HUD contract. • The Emergency Shelter Program should operate 12 months a year in a manner that is safe for clients and staff and maximizes the program opportunities available to homeless persons. • The homeless programs must be planned for next year within the existing budget of $1.445 million, which already includes some projected revenues which are not guaranteed to materialize from year to year. Budget Reductions Already mplemented • The dual case manager/case counselor system in the Emergency Shelter Program will be eliminated effective July 1. Three FTE's of the total 3.5 FTE case managers working for the Health Services Department have been informed they will not have their contracts renewed, for a reduction of $150,000. This is a very painful decision, as these are excellent staff who have contributed much to many homeless individuals and the program. Approximately .5 FTE case manager is retained to provide case management service at Mt. View House to maintain the integrity of that transitional housing program. A small amount of case management time will continue with the Homeless Program to do quality assurance and program consultation with Shelter, Inc. and staff in the emergency shelters. • The contract for emergency shelters has been renegotiated with Shelter, Inc. for a$60,000 reduction to an annualized total of$707,000. $100,000 has been transferred from other areas in the homeless budget to the Transitional Housing Programs, and reductions in those programs have been negotiated with Rubicon and Shelter, Inc. totalling $126,000. 0 Other reductions in staff costs in Homeless Program administration are planned for next fiscal year. Family & Human Services Committee June 5, 1996 Page 3 • We will seek additional funding from HUD for transitional housing for Years 6-10, or a HUD waiver that will allow us to modify those programs. These reductions still leave a projected shortfall in the Homeless Programs for next fiscal year of $71,000. This is more than we can prudently plan to make up with additional grants and funding, particularly because some of our already projected funding sources are not certain. We need to make an additional reduction in the Emergency Shelter Program contract with Shelter, Inc. of$53,000 (annualized). This is a greater reduction than Shelter, Inc. believes can be made in the program. Our negotiations have been very positive and collaborative, but we have a disagreement at this point. Merlin Wedepohl from Shelter, Inc. and the County Homeless Program have agreed to move through this disagreement by convening a working group to redesign and evaluate the existing Emergency Shelter Program, given the new funding constraints. In addition to County and Shelter, Inc. staff, we have invited the Executive Director of HomeBase, a representative from Battered Women's Alternative, and the Homeless Coordinator from San Mateo County, and representatives from HAC to assist us in this process. Based on this input, we will redesign the shelter program to meet the financial constraints and still operate in a manner that is safe and effective. After making these additional reductions, we will still have a projected budget shortfall for the next fiscal year of$18,000. This is an amount we hope to meet with additional revenue; in any case we will carefully track the spending and make timely corrections if necessary. Housing Authority Participation For the last several years the Housing Authority has been contributing $38,000 per year to the County homeless effort by providing a staff person to manage the Homeless Hotline. That staff person this month has taken another position within the Housing Authority. If the Housing Authority's contribution is not maintained, the projected budget deficit will rise to $56,000 for the next fiscal year. RECOMMENDATIONS • We recommend that the County Board of Supervisors approve the Emergency Shelter contract with Shelter, Inc. for the months of July and August at a rate of $58,892 per month, a reduction of$4,930 per month from the existing contract. This is based on the new rate we have negotiated with Shelter, Inc. • Based on the work of the Emergency Shelter Program Committee, we intend to implement a further reduced program starting August 1, with a monthly expense of $54,500 per month. Before the extended Shelter, Inc. contract expires at the end of August, we would come back to the Board for a year-long contract at the lower monthly rate. Family & Human Services Committee June 5, 1996 Page 4 CONTRA COSTA COUNTY CONTINUUM OF CARE PLAN The draft Continuum of Care Plan dated May 10, 1996 has already been distributed to your staff and the members of the Board of Supervisors. Since then, Lynn Nesselbush has been focusing on developing the Continuum of Care Narrative required for the HUD 1996 Homeless Assistance Funding. The quality of this narrative will be a key factor in the success of our county and our agencies in attracting funding from HUD for our programs. There are eight excellent proposals being submitted to HUD in a County Package along with the countywide Continuum of Care. These proposals are listed and summarized in the attachment. Lynn Nesselbush and Pat Pinkston have facilitated an intense and collaborative process to provide this countywide response to the HUD funding initiative. County staff and community agencies are all to be congratulated for moving beyond individual agency perspective and contributing to the homeless needs of Contra Costa. These proposals have been ranked, as required by HUD, according to our county's homeless priorities, and represent and important and well thought through package of programs for the homeless in our county. WB:ah Attachment cc: William Walker, M.D., Health Services Director ATTACHMENT Continuum of Care: Project Priorities Project Naive/Project Sponsor Numeric Requested Program Priority Project (Check only One) Amount SBP S+C SRO Moving Out of Violent Em irotnnents (MOVE) l 1 $284,479 x Battered Women's Alternatives GRIP Multi-Service Resource Center/Greater 2 $486,045 1 Richmond Interfaith Program(GRIP) Family Employment Resources and Services 3 $885,672 X Together(FERST) Multi-Service Centers" St Vincent de Paul Transitional Housing Partnership Program!Shelter, 4 $486,112 X Inc. Contra Costa County Shelter Plus Care Program! $445,920 X The Housing Authority of Contra Costa County rloney Management Program Rubicon Program 6 $521,600 Inc. Dual Diagnosis Homeless Project,'Contra Costa 7 $458,168 X County Health Services Department Community Substance Abuse Services Division and Mental Health Division New Hope Housing Program Pre-School 8 $372,120 1 Coordinating Council, Inc. 1) MOVE Project: It is estimated that 163 women without children and 827 women and children are in need of transitional housing for victims of domestic violence. This proposal will work toward filling this gap by creating a transitional housing program for battered women that will serve 12 women Nwithout children and 12 women and their children(39 people) each year. In addition;the proposal will make domestic violence services available to NN-onien and children at other programs, including emergency shelters,transitional housing and the regional multi-service centers,thereby expanding the availability of these services to women outside of domestic violence facilities. This means that a total of 153 more women and children will receive domestic violence services linked to transitional housing each year. These women and children will be provided Lwith support and services, including vocational assessments and employment skills training, support groups, mental health counseling and substance abuse support groups,to enable them to obtain and permanent housing and maintain their independence. 2) GRIP Multi-Service. Center: This proposal will create a regional multi-service center in West County where there are over 6000 people wlio experience an episode of homelessness each year. .A11 homeless sub-populations will be served, in particular families and individuals Nwith a substance abuse problem, a mental health disability or a dual diagnosis. The multi-service center will work with other aspects of the Continuum of Care system , including the GRIP emergency shelter,the Transitional Housing Partnership Program(Proposal =`4 in this application)and the Souper Center soup kitchen,to provide clients Nvith access to a broad range of support services to help them regain housing and maximize their self-sufficiency. The services to be provided include housing counseling and case management, drug and alcohol treatment, mail and message services, life skills training and peer counseling, all of which were identified as key services for enhancing self-sufficiency by the Task Force. 3) Family Employment Resources and Services Together(FERST): This proposal will create regional multi-service centers in Central and East County where over 7,000 people are homeless each year. The target population to be served include homeless families and people with substance abuse problems transitioning from a 90- day recovery center. The multi-service centers will work with other programs in the Continuum of Care system, including the Crisis and Suicide Intervention Homeless Hotline, emergency shelter progranis, transitional housing programs and the mental health multi-service centers to provide access to key support services and assistance in regaining permanent housing. Services to be provided through the niulti-service centers include mail and message services,job training and development, housing counseling, and case management, all identified as needed by the Task Force. 4) Transitional Housing Partnership: It is estimated that 319 individuals and 369 family members are dually diagnosed and in need of transitional housing. 493 family members are in need of transitional housing for people with substance abuse problems and 132 individuals «ith HIV'AIDS are in need of transitional housing. This proposal will work towards filling these gaps by providing housing for 38 households (96 individuals) with these disabilities over three years. The housing will be provided in conjunction with a case management program that links people with drug and alcohol treatment, vocational education and training,mental health services, and other needed services. The goal is to increase participants independent living skills so that they can transition to permanent housing and self-sufficiency . 5) Shelter Plus Care: Over 300 households (individuals and families) are dually diagnosed with HIV/_-!VDS and substance .abuse or a mental health disability and in need of permanent supportive housing. This proposal would work toward filling that gap by providing tenant-based rental assistance and array of supportive services to Y households. The goal is to enable people to obtain permanent housing, stabilize themselves and then move toward maximum self sufficienev. 6)Monej,iManagement Program: This proposal will provide money management services for 350 people. The target population includes those who are dually diagnosed(individuals and families), individuals with HIS"MAIDS, and families with chronic substance abuse problems. "These services will be offered in coordination with the existing Continuum of Care system, including the regional multi-service centers and the transitional housing partnership programs. In conjunction with other support services, money management services will enable the targeted population to obtain and maintain permanent housing. Money management services were identified as a key service to be expanded Uy the Task Force. 7) Dual Diagnosis Homeless Project: This proposal will expand access to drug,and alcohol treatment services for people who are dually diagnosed. It«gill create a mobile mental health substance abuse unit that will conduct outreach to people who are dually diagnosed and provide the ongoing support necessary to help them access and succeed in treatment programs. In addition,the proposal will create five beds specifically set-aside for people ,N ith dual diagnoses at one of the County residential treatment programs. 8) New Hope Housing Program: transitional and permanent supportive housing