To: County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Department of Health Services
Staff Name and Phone Number: Nolan Sullivan, 707-565-4774
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Keep People Housed Agreement
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize the Director of Health Services, or designee, to execute a new agreement with the Committee on the Shelterless for $250,000 annually, for a not-to-exceed maximum of $500,000, with a term of two years starting July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028, to support the Keep People Housed project.
B) Authorize the Director of Health Services, or designee, to execute non-substantive modifications to the foregoing agreement, subject to available funding as well as review and approval by County Counsel.
end
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 a funding agreement with the Committee on the Shelterless (COTS) for $500,000 ($250,000 per year) which funds the two-year period of performance July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2028 and continue the Keep People Housed (KPH) program. KPH was launched as a successful regional pilot led by the City of Santa Rosa, with DHS, the City of Petaluma, and private philanthropy as funding partners. The KPH model uses evidence-based prevention strategies to target households most at risk of homelessness and least likely to self-resolve, ensuring financial resources are directed to those with the highest likelihood of becoming homeless without financial support or intervention.
The KPH pilot program ends June 30, 2026, and COTS has requested continued County support to sustain and scale this proven homelessness prevention model. Both the City of Santa Rosa and City of Petaluma have submitted letters of support acknowledging KPH’s strong outcomes, data-driven operations, and demonstrated impact in preventing homelessness, even though they are no longer able to contribute financially. This item brings forward the opportunity to transition KPH into a County-supported program with a record of effectiveness and system value. This funding agreement will utilize Partnership HealthPlan of California’s Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program (HHIP) funds.
Discussion:
On June 10, 2024, the Board authorized the Director of Health Services, or designee, to execute a $500,000 funding agreement with the City of Santa Rosa to support the two-year Keep People Housed (KPH) pilot program using Partnership HealthPlan of California’s Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program (HHIP) funds. The pilot was structured as a regional partnership, with the Cities of Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Cotati, along with the County contributing funding, and private philanthropy providing significant matching support.
Program Design and Regional Model
The KPH model was developed and tested by All Home, a Bay Area nonprofit advancing regional, data-driven solutions to homelessness. The model focuses on early intervention for households at imminent risk of eviction, serving households below 50% of Area Median Income who are already housed but facing housing instability.
All Home first presented the KPH prevention framework to the Sonoma County Homeless Coalition Board in 2023. Following that presentation, staff from the County and the Cities of Santa Rosa and Petaluma engaged All Home to explore adapting the model locally. The jurisdictions identified $1.3 million in public funding (County of Sonoma $500,000; City of Santa Rosa $500,000; City of Petaluma $300,000), contingent upon Board and Council approvals. All Home committed to a dollar-for-dollar match through private philanthropy, bringing total pilot resources to approximately $2.6 million over two years.
The KPH system pairs:
1. Rapid, flexible financial assistance with housing stabilization services and legal aid referrals for tenants facing eviction; and
2. Data-driven prioritization, using an online platform developed and maintained by Bay Area Community Services to identify households least likely to self-resolve.
All Home provided the majority of total funding and designed the program infrastructure, while COTS was selected by the City of Santa Rosa as the local lead operator based on COTS 30+ years of experience delivering housing and shelter services in Sonoma County. COTS leveraged its existing partnerships to coordinate rental assistance, eviction defense legal aid, and stabilization services, forming a countywide referral network for at-risk households.
Pilot Outcomes and Performance
In the first 12 months of the pilot, KPH served 801 individuals, including 445 adults and 356 children. Over 50% of households served included a female head of household with minor children. Additionally:
• 81% of households served were Extremely Low Income (0-30% Area Median Income)
• Nearly 15% of households were seniors age 62+
• Average financial assistance per household: $3,276
• Over 20% of households required translation services
• More than 90 households received eviction defense legal aid
• The Keep People Housed pilot program processed 2,429 applications
Applications to the KPH pilot program were received from nearly every zip code in Sonoma County, with the highest concentrations in Central, South, and West County. Spanish speaking households were disproportionally high relative to County demographics, with 38% of households receiving assistance falling into this group; 10% of assisted households identified as Black or African American.
Of households that received financial assistance, 94% remained housed six months after intervention, demonstrating strong program effectiveness. In 2025 alone, the program prevented nearly 800 Sonoma County residents from entering homelessness.
The KPH model uses evidence-based prevention strategies to target households most at risk of homelessness and least likely to self-resolve, ensuring financial resources are directed to those with the highest likelihood of becoming homeless without financial aid.
Proposed Continuation and Funding Source
COTS has requested that the County extend funding for KPH for an additional two years at $250,000 per year, for a total not-to-exceed obligation of $500,000, using Partnership HealthPlan of California (PHC) administered Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program (HHIP) funds.
Support for this initiative comes from the County’s HHIP Funding Plan, approved by the Sonoma County Homeless Coalition in late 2022, which identifies homelessness prevention as a priority and eligible use of HHIP resources. HHIP funds are specifically intended to reduce housing instability and homelessness among Medi-Cal populations by strengthening housing and service capacity and improving health outcomes through stable housing.
This funding proposal aligns directly with HHIP’s purpose by preventing homelessness before it occurs, therefor reducing future demand on shelters, emergency services, health systems, and County programs.
Procurement and Program Continuity
On January 6, 2026, the County Purchasing Agent approved a Single Source Waiver authorizing DHS to continue the program without a competitive solicitation. This waiver is justified because:
• KPH is currently the only publicly funded homelessness prevention program operating countywide;
• COTS is the existing operator with demonstrated performance and infrastructure;
• Continuity of service is critical to prevent gaps in eviction prevention; and
• The program is embedded in the County’s and the Continuum of Care’s Five-Year Strategic Plan to End Homelessness.
Without Board approval of this item, the KPH program would end on June 30, 2026, eliminating the County’s only coordinated eviction-prevention system and placing hundreds of vulnerable households at increased risk of entering homelessness.
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 5: Continue to collaborate with local partners, including Continuum of Care, to advance planning and policies to address homelessness.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
June 10, 2024 - Action C: Authorize the Director of Health Services, or designee, to execute a funding agreement in the amount of $500,000 with the City of Santa Rosa in FY 2024-2025 using State Homelessness Housing Incentive Program funding to support a regional homelessness prevention pilot project.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 25-26 Adopted |
FY 26-27 Projected |
FY 27-28 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
|
$250,000 |
$250,000 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
|
$250,000 |
$250,000 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
$250,000 |
$250,000 |
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
|
$250,000 |
$250,000 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The FY 2025-2026 Adopted Budget includes $250,000 for the current agreement with Committee on the Shelterless, which ends June 30, 2026.
Approval of this action will authorize a new two-year agreement for $500,000 ($250,000 per fiscal year) for the term July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028. Funding for the new agreement will be supported by Partnership HealthPlan of California administered Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program (HHIP) funds and included in the FY 2026-2027 and FY 2027-2028 Recommended Budgets, subject to Board approval.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None
Attachments:
Attachment 1: Keep People Housed Agreement
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None