To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and Board of Commissioners of the Community Development Commission
Department or Agency Name(s): Community Development Commission, Department of Health Services
Staff Name and Phone Number: Dave Kiff, (707) 565-7504; Tina Rivera, (707) 565-4774
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
American Rescue Plan Act Homelessness Allocations, Including Results-Based Accountability Performance Metrics
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Review and approve American Rescue Plan Act Homelessness Allocation (ARPA) Homelessness appropriations of:
i) $2,065,000 towards Community Housing Connectors (CHC), a centralized housing location service hosted by the Sonoma County Housing Authority.
ii) $620,000 for Peer Navigation and Support administered by the West County Community Services, a local non-profit. This funding covers the period July 1, 2022, to December 31, 2024.
iii) $865,000 for Emergency Flexible Funds assigned to the Department of Health Services’ (DHS) homelessness division for either or both improvements to non-congregate and interim housing solutions or additional homelessness prevention and problem-solving resources.
iv) $250,000 to improve homeless information and prevention activities at Sonoma County 211, administered by United Way of the Wine Country, a local non-profit.
v) $200,000 for additional consultant support to the DHS Homelessness Division to implement aspects of the 2023-2027 Continuum of Care (CoC) Strategic Plan and the January - July 2022 Front End Assessment.
B) Adopt a resolution authorizing budgetary adjustments to the Sonoma County Community Development Commission fiscal year 2022-2023 adopted budget for the SoCo Housing Connections Program in the amount of $1,275,000.
C) Adopt a resolution authorizing budgetary adjustments to the Department of Health Services’ fiscal year 2022-2023 adopted budget for the Peer Navigation and Support Program, the EFF Program, the 211 Program, and the Strategic Plan/Front End Assessment work in the amount of $1,685,000.
D) Review and accept the proposed Results Based Accountability (RBA) performance metrics for these programs (subject to further improvement by the Upstream Investments team), and direct staff to report back on the results at the conclusion of the program(s).
E) Authorize the Interim Executive Director of the CDC, or their replacement or designee, to enter into agreements for the CHC Program in compliance with ARPA rules and RBA safety net contracting expectations.
F) Authorize the Director of the Department of Health Services (DHS), or their designee, to enter into agreements to implement the Peer Navigation, EFF, 211, and Strategic Planning/Front End Assessment items in this agenda item in compliance with ARPA rules and RBA safety net contracting expectations.
end
Executive Summary:
On July 12, 2022, the Board of Supervisors reviewed proposed allocations of $4 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to implement solutions related to serving and housing unhoused persons in our community. Staff was directed to return to the Board with Results-Based Accountability (RBA) metrics for the proposed uses of the $4 million allocation.
Staff believes that the allocations as proposed in July 2022 remain applicable and relevant today, especially in light of action steps proposed within the Continuum of Care’s draft 2023 - 2027 Homelessness Strategic Plan, which includes:
The need for more housing units serving persons coming out of homelessness, including property owners who accept Housing Choice, Emergency Housing, and Mainstream housing vouchers (HCVs, EHVs).
• Increasing peer navigation to expand the role of lived experience peers in assisting persons leaving homelessness.
• Adding more resources to Emergency Flexible Funding (EFF) programs.
• Enhancing the role of Sonoma County’s 211 system in providing increased housing resources and problem-solving strategies for persons at risk of homelessness.
• The need for better coordination across the CoC - so that our region’s governments and service providers can operate as one coordinated system of care.
This agenda item establishes performance metrics for funding recipients to adhere to, as well as seeks authorization to both confirming the funding for each organization and to delegate authority to staff to enter into related contracts for the programs.
Discussion:
On April 2, 2019, the Board of Supervisors adopted a set of Contracting Principles for safety net service programs. Subsequently, the Board of Supervisors adopted Results Based Accountability (RBA) as the approach to operationalize these principles. As a result of this adoption, the Upstream Investments staff within the Human Services Department is managing the scaling of RBA for County contracts with community-based organizations (CBOs).
On December 14, 2021, the Board made several specific directions relating to American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. It directed that $4 million be allocated to homelessness efforts.
A critical aspect of Sonoma County’s ARPA allocations is to use “equity-centered” RBA metrics, to attempt to ensure that funding and programs “help eliminate or reduce the disproportionality experienced by (among other populations), populations with the highest rates of COVID-19 in Sonoma County (including but not limited to) … the American Indian/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and Black/African American (populations)”.
The 2022 Point in Time Count (held on February 25, 2022) showed that the percentage of Black/African American and American Indian/Alaska Native Sonoma County residents experiencing homelessness (11% and 6% respectively) was significantly higher than these communities’ representation in the general Sonoma County population (at 2% and 2% respectively).
On July 12, 2022, the County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors and Board of Commissioners of the Community Development Commission received a Housing and Homelessness Update. The update included staff’s proposed allocations of $4 million in ARPA funds to implement solutions related to serving and housing unhoused persons in our community. As a result of the Board’s review, staff were directed to return to the Board with Equity Centered Results-Based Accountability (RBA) metrics for the proposed uses of the $4 million allocation.
About the Metrics. RBA and the County’s Upstream Investments Policy asks us to:
1. Invest Early. “Whenever possible, dedicate funding and other resources to prevention-focused policies and interventions.”
2. Invest Wisely. “Ensure that upstream policies and interventions have the highest possible likelihood of success by selecting those that are backed by sound evidence.”
3. Invest Together. “Focus community-wide upstream policies and interventions on preventing 6 targeted factors and improving 26 indicators of success under 4 over-arching goals to achieve the Upstream vision, mission, goals and measurable impacts.”
This agenda item includes programs which focus on prevention, which are evidence-based, and which align with the Sonoma County Strategic Plan’s “Healthy and Safe Communities” pillar (specifically Goal 4, “Reduce the County’s overall homeless population by 10% each year by enhancing services through improved coordination and collaboration”). It also links to the Upstream Investments Policy’s Overarching Goal #3 - “All community members are well sheltered, safe, and socially supported.”
RBA asks that each program has:
• A results statement reflecting a population, a geographic area, and a condition of well-being; and
• Indicators that answer “how much,” “how well,” and “how are communities better off”?
• Indicators that have communication power (does it communicate to a broad range of audiences?), importance power (is it relevant to the outcome?), and data power (is quality data available?)
We note that the RBA Team does not ask that each indicator have goals or targeted amounts. Instead, the numbers that follow the metrics are reviewed as to progress (or lack thereof) in advancing community interests.
The results statements and performance indicators for each of the five programs identified for ARPA funding on July 12, 2022, are shown in the following paragraphs. We note that, in terms of equity-centered metrics, programs in the overall $4M allocation will be measured against whether (by the January 2025 Point in Time Count) it reduces or eliminates the disparity noted previously regarding how Black and American Indian/Alaska Native residents are overrepresented in the Sonoma County homeless population.
First, a $2.165 million Community Housing Connectors (CHC) Program, a centralized housing locator service. This evidence-based program is about increasing the number of permanent housing units available to persons coming out of homelessness or who would otherwise be at risk of homelessness (and supports the Continuum of Care’s Strategic Plan Action Step 1.3a - adding 200 more units of permanent housing per year). A CHL service is an approach to property owner engagement that has worked well in other places - it is landlord-focused (versus client focused) and involves persons with real estate backgrounds recruiting private sector residential property owners to lease units to persons ready for housing and coming out of homelessness.
The CHC will involve communication between the Housing Authority, the City of Santa Rosa’s public housing authority, the Department of Health Services’ (DHS) homelessness division staff, Coordinated Entry staff, city housing contacts, the region’s service providers, and others. It includes $2.165 million in funding over an 18-month program for a comprehensive software solution (Padmission), staffing, funds for deposits, unit holds, and risk mitigation, marketing, and education, and more.
RBA results statement for this program is: “Community Housing Connectors provide a positive and supportive relationship with Sonoma County property owners to increase the amount of property owners participating in the Connector Program so that more Sonoma County residents at risk of homelessness secure safe, affordable, and stable housing.”
Proposed RBA performance measures for the CHC are these:
1. How Much: The number of new property managers leasing with the Housing Authorities.
2. How Well: The #/% of voucher holders who successfully locate housing and are leased-up.
3. Better Off: The #/% of voucher holders leased up.
Second, Peer Navigation and Support. This allocation adds $620,000 more funding to a Board-approved evidence-based ARPA program (Transitions to Housing) operated by West County Community Services (WCCS) that embraces a best practice in homelessness by including persons with lived experience in homelessness to serve as mentors and peer counselors to homeless individuals and families. The navigation skills earned by Lived Experienced Peers as well as the trust that peers can build with clients measures up as well or better than other field level staff. This type of program is called for in the CoC’s Strategic Plan (Action Step 2.6b). We recommended adding $620,000 to this program to expand the numbers of peers hired by 3.25 full-time equivalent positions and to expand the geographic scope of the effort countywide. The total number of peers in housing or about to be housed and receiving services in the program is 18 annually (or 40 in total for the program).
RBA results statement for this program is: “Transitions to Housing stabilizes at least two cohorts of the homelessness community by training and employing lived experience peers to build trust and navigate homeless Sonoma County residents into safe and stable housing.”
Proposed RBA performance measures for the Transitions to Housing program are these:
1. How Much: The number of unique participants in the program.
2. How Well: The number of participants who report services are assisting them with maintaining housing.
3. Better Off: The number of participants who maintain stable housing.
Third, assignment of $865,000 into a prevention-centered and evidence-based Emergency Flexible Funds (EFF) system administered by the County’s DHS homeless teams (in partnership with Coordinated Entry and our service providers across the county) to both expand the number of interim housing units and prevention-related rapid support. As the Board is aware and as is called out in the CoC’s Strategic Plan (Action Steps 1.1a, 1.1b, and 1.2a), we likely have a shortfall of about 200 interim housing (i.e., not a person’s permanent housing solution - typically transitory housing of anywhere from 1-180 days as a person receives services to prepare them for a permanent housing placement) solutions in our region. We also have a system-wide need to invest more funds in one-time prevention and problem-solving activities (a tank of gas, a portion of a month’s rent, a utility payment, car registration, a brief hotel stay) to help people from falling into homelessness.
RBA results statement for this program is: “The Sonoma County Emergency Flexible Funding (EFF) program intervenes nimbly and quickly before or early in a Sonoma County resident’s homelessness to stabilize or restore housing safety and stability.”
Proposed RBA performance measures for the EFF program are:
1. How Much: # of unique individuals who receive one or more resources from EFF.
2. How Well: #/% of persons who are housed via EFF assistance.
3. Better Off: #/% of persons receiving EFF who do not return to homelessness in 1 year.
4. Better Off: #/% of persons receiving interim shelter who do not return to homelessness in 1 year.
Fourth, $250,000 to improve how Sonoma County 2-1-1 helps clients with intervention and prevention strategies. United Way of the Wine County today administers 211 services in Sonoma County and uses a contractor (Interface Children and Family Services, located in Ventura County, CA) to provide direct resource assistance, primarily via telephone but also by the internet and texts.
County leaders and the CoC’s Strategic Planning effort have identified ways to use Sonoma County 211 for more expansive homelessness prevention, information, and problem-solving. We have mapped out a plan and a service contract to do this work, which will include keeping updated, timely information about current housing and homelessness resources available to persons who may be at risk of homelessness. Linking people 24/7 to services and service providers, to Coordinated Entry, to the EFF program mentioned in this staff report, and to problem-solving advice and training are proven best practices for prevention interventions (and are recommended Action Steps 1.1b, 2.6a, and 3.3b in the CoC Strategic Plan).
RBA results statement for the 211 program is: “Sonoma County 211 is known regionwide as a 24/7 provider of current and accurate resource information that helps keep Sonoma County residents in safe, secure housing.”
Proposed RBA performance measures for this portion of the Sonoma County 2-1-1 Program are:
1. How Much: #/% of incoming calls that relate to housing or homelessness.
2. How Well: #/% of persons who successfully retain housing.
3. Better Off: #/% of homeless persons who are successfully placed in permanent housing.
Fifth, your Board discussed setting aside $200,000 in funding to implement evidence-based recommendations from this year’s dual effort of examining the “Front End” of the system of care and implanting actions within the CoC’s five-year Strategic Plan. This included looking at:
• Updating Coordinated Entry (the enrollment process whereby persons at risk of homelessness or homeless are placed in a database for their housing placement, along with assessing their personal and medical vulnerabilities to prioritize that same housing placement);
• Improving the vulnerability assessment tool itself to overcome race and ethnic bias (Action Step 3.7a);
• Finding alternatives to exits into homelessness from institutional settings (such as the justice system and hospitals) (Action Step 2.3a);
• Standardizing street outreach (i.e., is every part of the county covered? What skills and standards should street outreach teams have? Should we triage our approach to street outreach - where we have basic skills teams and higher-needs teams who work collaboratively?) (Action Step 2.5c); and
• Establishing five-six subregional and one roll-up By Names List (“BNL” - a BNL is a key recommendation of “Built for Zero,” where we as a region have a single list of all persons known to be homeless, and via coordinated case conferencing, strategize housing solutions for our homelessness population by name, by need, and by vulnerability) (Action Steps 1.3b, 3.6b, and 3.6c).
Funding for this work is likely to go towards consultant services to assist DHS homelessness division staff and the Continuum of Care move these initiatives forward. Some of this work is already underway via a contract with Andrew Hening, of Andrew Hening Consulting LLC.
RBA results statement for this program is: “The Sonoma County system of homeless care shall operate so that Sonoma County residents at risk of homelessness or who are homeless are rapidly served by the most appropriate service provider for them, leading to no or less time homeless.”
Proposed RBA performance measures for the Front End-related portion of this program are:
1. How Much: # of persons who go through the assessment process (which looks at vulnerability and housing strengths, and more).
2. How Well: #/% of homeless persons who move from a By Names List into housing.
3. Better Off: #/% of Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) residents who are housed.
As to the specific metrics, CDC staff only recently consulted with the Upstream Investments team at the Human Services Department (HSD) for the 211, EFF, and Strategic Planning portions of the allocation. The other two (CHC and Transitions to Housing) had earlier review and approval. With additional review, we may make minor improvements or refinements to the metrics after more interaction with Upstream in the months to come.
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 3: Increase investment in programs that treat underlying causes of homelessness, including substance abuse, mental illness, poverty, and lack of affordable housing.
Prior Board Actions:
12/14/2021: Board of Supervisors designated $4 million of the larger County ARPA allocation towards homelessness programs.
7/12/2022: Board received the Housing and Homelessness Update, CARE Court, Los Guilicos Village and Related Agreements and Authorizations.
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY 22-23 Adopted |
FY 23-24 Projected |
FY 24-25 Projected |
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Budgeted Expenses |
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$1,040,000 |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
$2,960,000 |
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Total Expenditures |
$2,960,000 |
$1,040,000 |
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Funding Sources |
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General Fund/WA GF |
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State/Federal |
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Fees/Other - ARPA |
$2,960,000 |
$1,040,000 |
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Use of Fund Balance |
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Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
$2,960,000 |
$1,040,000 |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Expenditure and Revenue appropriations adjustments are being requested for the FY 2022-23 Budget in the amount of $2,960,000. These will go to the CDC and DHS as per the below paragraph. Expenses will be financed with the Board’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds allocated for homelessness solutions as preliminarily reviewed and approved by the Board on 7/12/2022.
The anticipated funding needs for FY 2022-23 is $1,125,000 for Community Housing Connectors (to the CDC), $620,000 for Peer Navigation and Support (to DHS), $865,000 for Emergency Flexible Funds (to DHS), $150,000 to improve homeless information and prevention activities (to DHS) and $200,000 for additional consultant support (to DHS) for a total of $2,960,000. The remaining $940,000 for the CDC’s Community Housing Connectors and $100,000 for the United Way of the Wine County today administration of 211 services will be included in FY 2023-24 Budget development. We note that the full cost of the CHC ($3.165M) includes $100,000 previously allocated to the CDC for housing location programming.
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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 - Sonoma County Community Development Commission and Department of Health Services Budgetary Adjustment Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
N/A