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.
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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.
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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.
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D.-5 k. te t
S Contra Costa County
•;-^ a `,.. Health Services Department
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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
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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