To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Department of Health Services
Staff Name and Phone Number: Tina Rivera 707-565-4774
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Districts 1, 3 and 4
Title:
Title
Project Homekey agreements with the City of Rohnert Park and City of Healdsburg for interim housing sites; Award of Encampment Resolution Funding Grant Agreement with Homeless Action Sonoma
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize the Director of the Department of Health Services, or designee, to execute a services agreement with the City of Rohnert Park to operate and provide supportive services at Labath Landing in the amount of $1,262,880 for Fiscal Year 2023-24.
B) Authorize the Director of the Department of Health Services, or designee, to execute a services agreement with the City of Healdsburg to operate and provide supportive services at the L&M Village in the amount of $644,180 for Fiscal Year 2023-24.
C) Authorize the Director of the Department of Health Services, or designee, to execute a funding agreement with Homeless Action Sonoma to assist with costs incurred in the completion of Sonoma Valley’s Home and Safe Village in an amount not to exceed $200,000.
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Executive Summary:
The Sonoma County Department of Health Services (hereinafter, “DHS” or “the Department”) is requesting Board approval to authorize the Director of Health Services, or designee, to execute three (3) agreements to support operations for two municipal interim housing sites (A and B) and one non-profit (C) in alignment with the Sonoma County Funding Framework established by DHS, the Community Development Commission, and the Sonoma County Homeless Coalition (formerly Continuum of Care) and approved by the Board of Supervisors on October 26, 2021.
The City of Rohnert Park services agreement is to operate and provide interim supportive services at Labath Landing at 6050 LaBath Avenue in Rohnert Park, providing sixty (60) units of interim housing at a cost not to exceed $1,262,880 from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
The City of Healdsburg services agreement is to operate and provide interim supportive services at the L&M Village at 70 Healdsburg Avenue in Healdsburg, providing twenty-two (22) units of interim housing at a cost not to exceed $644,160 from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
The Homeless Action Sonoma funding agreement will use Encampment Resolution Funds to augment the stand-up of 20 tiny homes at Home & Save Village by offsetting one-time capital costs associated with the addition of a permanent restroom, shower, and laundry facility at a cost not to exceed $200,000.
Discussion:
Project Homekey
On September 9, 2021, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) announced the availability of approximately $1.45 billion in Project Homekey Round # 2 funding statewide. Project Homekey is intended to sustain and rapidly expand the inventory of housing for people experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness and who are, thereby, inherently impacted by or at increased risk for medical diseases or conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Homekey Round #2 was an opportunity for state, regional, and local public entities to develop a broad range of housing types, including but not limited to hotels, motels, hostels, single-family homes and multifamily apartments, adult residential facilities, and manufactured housing, and to convert commercial properties and other existing buildings to Permanent or Interim Housing for persons experiencing homelessness.
Of the $1.45 billion in State funds:
• $1.2 billion came from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and offered for site acquisition and master leasing; and
• $250 million came from the state's General Fund and was intended to be used either for site acquisition or operating subsidies for Homekey sites.
Homekey’s Round # 2 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) included significant incentives for applicants to provide local capital matches, up to $100,000 per door, as well as local operating subsidy matches of up to $1,400 per month for three years if a locality could show a local commitment of four years’ funding for operating costs.
Sonoma County as a region (including County Board of Supervisors, DHS, Community Development Commission, Sonoma County Homeless Coalition, and cities) cooperated to develop a Funding Framework (which went to the Board of Supervisors and the Coalition Board in October 2021) that drew both capital matching funds and supportive services/operational funds from:
• The State’s Homeless Housing Assistance Program (HHAP) funds, including funds that go to both the Continuum of Care and County of Sonoma. The Funding Framework envisioned awarding up to $1.1 million from each source, as often as annually or when the State awards HHAP; and
• Measure O’s Transitional and Permanent Supportive Housing category, up to $500,000 per year, which per Measure O’s expenditure plan would be two (2) percent of the total Measure O funding and could be used “to help secure housing resources to service the homeless populations in the County;” and
• Project-Based Housing Vouchers (PBVs) issued by the Sonoma County Housing Authority for new construction or rehabilitation in all areas of Sonoma County except Santa Rosa who has its own Housing Authority.
The Funding Framework was intended to buttress the Homekey Round #2 applications by drawing from a pool of approximately $2.7 million in State and local revenue and $2.52 million in value from the federal Housing and Urban Development’s housing vouchers to provide approximately $5.22 million in supportive services expenses annually. Additionally, the Funding Framework suggested awarding $1.3 million from residual County-assigned HHAP Round #1 funds to local projects to serve as a part of the required local capital match. The Funding Framework also authorized the County Administrator to modify aspects of the Framework and Early Capital Match program as needed within the general parameters of offering operational support of up to $80 per person per day for Project Homekey facilities and up to $1.3 million in early capital match incentives.
At the same time, a Project Homekey Cohort was created in DHS. This cohort of four staff members would provide additional supportive services such as behavioral health care and substance use disorder treatment to Homekey-funded projects anywhere in the County. On October 26, 2021, the Board approved the use of up to $500,000 of Measure O funds to establish the new Project Homekey Cohort and to work with the jurisdictions to evaluate the efficacy of the multidisciplinary County and City model after the initial 12 months of operations supporting Homekey sites.
The Funding Framework’s collaboration led to successful applications for multiple different Homekey Round #2 projects. The four applicants were awarded with commitments from the Funding Framework:
• Labath Landing $14,678,400 (commitments of supportive services funds)
• L&M Village $7,048,800 (commitments of supportive services funds as well as early capital match)
• Studios at Montero $15,680,382 (commitments of 60 PBVs as well as early capital match)
• George’s Hideaway $6,300,784 (commitments of up to 22 PBVs as well as early capital match)
The proposed contracts are for one year and assist with costs up to $80 per person per day for Project Homekey facilities for which Healdsburg and Rohnert Park as municipalities have little or no dedicated revenue source to operate. Both projects:
• Include supportive services costs including case management, substance use disorder counseling, benefit navigation, housing navigation;
• Include expenses such as site management, security, utilities, food, janitorial, furnishings, and longer-term maintenance;
• Have performance metrics including placements in permanent housing and returns to homelessness; and
• Include clients from across the Sonoma County region, including unincorporated areas.
It is anticipated that both interim housing sites will continue to need support from the Funding Framework in the years to come. They and other interim housing programs serve clients from across the Sonoma County region.
Recent Metrics
At Labath Landing, with a capacity of 60 clients, 108 clients have been served since opening in October 2022. The City of Rohnert Park and Home First, as operator of the site, report that 42% of all exits were to permanent housing destinations (18 persons). Of the 25 people, out of 43, (58%) who exited to a non-permanent housing situation after their stay at Labath, 17 (40%) exited to homelessness, six (14%) exited to institutional or a temporary housing situation, and two (2) (5%) exited to “other.”
At the L&M Village, with a capacity of 22 clients, 43 clients have been served since opening in October 2022. The City of Healdsburg and Reach for Home, as operator of the site, report that 40% of exits were to a permanent housing location (17 of 43). Nine (9) of the 43 (21%) exited to a homeless situation. However, four of the nine clients (44%) returned to the L&M after working with a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, resulting in only five (5) of the 43 returning to homelessness or “other” (12%).
Procurement
The Framework uses the Housing Authority’s Project-Based Vouchers to support Permanent Supportive Housing operations (as interim housing funding does not qualify for PBVs) and relies on both Measure O and HHAP (from both the portion of HHAP assigned to the Homeless Coalition and the portion assigned to the County of Sonoma) to support the remaining interim housing programs. As a result, the only projects eligible for funding consideration under the Funding Framework in FY 23-24 were the Healdsburg and Rohnert Park projects. Both the City of Healdsburg and the City of Rohnert Park submitted letters of interest for the Framework’s funding within the DHS/Homelessness Services Division’s FY 23-24 Local Homelessness Services NOFA, within the carve-out category of support for Project Homekey supportive services.
Additionally, the Continuum of Care issued Letters of Support for Operating Subsidy Request to State HCD noting that, “the CoC has some operating subsidies available, but not for the entire project” and referencing that the Funding Framework existed and was in place for both the Healdsburg and Rohnert Park projects.
Encampment Resolution Funding Grant Agreement
In 2021, the State Legislature passed a program to target specific, one-time funding towards resolving homelessness encampments across California, known as the Encampment Resolution Fund (ERF) Program. The State, via the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal-ICH) has allocated $350 million over two fiscal years for the ERF program. ERF is a competitive grant program available to assist local jurisdictions in ensuring the wellness and safety of people experiencing homelessness in encampments by providing services and supports that address their immediate physical and mental wellness and result in meaningful paths to safe and stable housing. Eligible applicants include counties, Continuums of Care (CoCs), and cities of any size.
In recent years with its Project Homekey grants, the State has set up application processes that score the applications based in part on the experience and qualifications of the parties that partner on the applications. Similarly, the ERF grants are competitive and are scored on the quality of the application submitted. Additionally, applications appear to be ranked highly when they have defined pathways to permanent housing, address encampments on State Rights of Way, and have competent and experienced supports to keep clients housed.
The proposed agreement would provide funding to the Home and Safe Village in Sonoma. Currently providing interim housing for up to twenty (20) persons experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. The Home and Safe Village project includes services coordination, including services needed to promote housing stability in supportive housing and plans to connect residents to permanent housing, per California Health and Safety Code section 50220.8 (e). This funding is specifically designated to address the one-time costs associated with the restroom, laundry, and shower facility (and related plumbing and electrical and grading) that enables the residents of the Home and Safe Village to have safe, clean, and accessible laundry, restroom, and shower facilities.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Healthy and Safe Communities
Goal: Goal 4: Reduce the County’s overall homeless population by 10% each year by enhancing services through improved coordination and collaboration.
Objective: Objective 2: Identify and leverage grant funding sources for permanent supportive and affordable housing development.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Staff respectfully shares that all required performance data from these two interim housing sites will be broken down by race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, age, and other factors to allow the Continuum of Care to be better informed about the projects’ outcomes relating to equity. Collecting this data is an important first step in providing the baseline for project improvement or adjustment using the County’s Anti-Racist Results-Based Accountability (AR-RBA) framework.
Prior Board Actions:
November 7, 2023: Award of Encampment Resolution Funding Grant Agreements (Item 2023-1158) authorizing the acceptance of revenue from the State of California’s Interagency Council on Homelessness Encampment Resolution Funding Program.
October 26, 2021: Project Homekey-2 (Item 2021-1178) approving the Supportive Services Framework.
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY23-24 Adopted |
FY24-25 Projected |
FY25-26 Projected |
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Budgeted Expenses |
$2,107,040 |
|
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
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Total Expenditures |
$2,107,040 |
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Funding Sources |
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General Fund/WA GF |
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State/Federal |
$2,107,040 |
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Fees/Other |
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Use of Fund Balance |
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General Fund Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
$2,107,040 |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The Department has already programmed the HHAP-3, Homeless Coalition Homeless Housing Incentive, and has sufficient appropriations to fund the Homeless Action contract that will be funded by Encampment Relief Funds.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - Proposed Contract with City of Rohnert Park
Attachment 2 - Proposed Contract with City of Healdsburg
Attachment 3 - Proposed Contract with Homeless Action Sonoma
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None