To: County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Department of Health Services
Staff Name and Phone Number: Jennifer Solito, 707-565-4774
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Agreement for Annual Homelessness “Point in Time” Count Services
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize the Director of Health Services, or designee, to execute an agreement with Applied Survey Research for professional consulting services related to Sonoma County’s annual “Point in Time” Count of persons experiencing homelessness for the period of November 1, 2024, to October 31, 2029, in an amount not to exceed $480,000.
B) Adopt a Resolution adjusting the Department of Health Services FY 2024-2025 adopted budget increasing revenue and expense appropriations in the amount of $16,000 to be appropriated to fund costs associated with the required annual “point in time” count of homeless individuals in Sonoma County.
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Executive Summary:
The Department of Health Services (DHS) requests the Board authorize the Director of DHS, or designee, to execute an agreement with Applied Survey Research for professional consulting services related to Sonoma County’s required “Point in Time” Count of persons experiencing homelessness throughout Sonoma County, as a result of an RFP. Continuums of Care (Sonoma County Homeless Coalition) are required to conduct a Count at least every two years, though Sonoma Country conducts its count annually. The term of this agreement would be for a period of three (3) years starting on November 1, 2024, with two (2) one-year optional extensions, at a cost of $96,000 per year, for a total not to exceed of $480,000 over the term of the agreement.
Additionally, DHS is requesting the adoption of a resolution adjusting the FY 2024-2025 adopted budget increasing revenue and expense appropriations in the amount of $16,000 to fund costs associated with the agreement in the current fiscal year.
Additional layers of review will be incorporated into the Count going forward, including closely vetting numbers with teams the morning of the Count as part of continuing quality improvement efforts.
Discussion:
DHS currently serves as the Lead Agency for the Sonoma County Homeless Coalition (HC) providing core administrative and staff support for the HC’s planning and goals utilizing the Ending Homelessness unit of the DHS Homelessness Division. The HC is a planning consortium composed of non-profit service providers, local government representatives and others interested in solutions focused on local homelessness. Under the leadership of a 17-member Board, the HC recommends setting policy, and planning goals for managing homelessness across the County, preparing the HC’s annual application for homeless-targeted funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and overseeing various other funding streams to address homelessness.
As Lead Agency, DHS is obligated to conduct the annual “Point in Time” (PIT) Count culminating in the collection of numerical data to track progress in the County’s efforts towards ending homelessness in Sonoma County. HUD requires a local PIT Count coordinated by local governing agencies to enable participating agencies via collaboration with the HC and its Lead Agency to access HUD’s funding proportionally. Additionally, some State agencies use PIT Count data to formulate funding allocations. Further, when combined with data from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), the PIT Count informs the County’s homeless housing needs. HMIS is a local information technology system utilized to gather demographical data and the clientele history of homeless individuals and services accessed by homeless individuals.
HUD requires the HC conduct the annual PIT Count during the last 10 days of January each year. This annual PIT Count of unhoused people has been conducted annually since 2015. The count typically occurs on a single day in January, from 5am-10am across Sonoma County with a separate count for Transition Age Youth (TAY) ages 18-24 from 2pm-7pm the same day. The 2025 PIT count is tentatively scheduled for Friday, January 31, 2025. Sheltered individual counts are coordinated via information from the HMIS database. All federal census tracts of the annual PIT count are canvassed.
Since 2009, the HC has historically contracted with a consultant to coordinate and complete the annual count. The lead consulting agency coordinates with community volunteers, stakeholders, and individuals with lived experiences recruited by the consultant and Lead Agency. Costs to reimburse individuals with lived experiences and volunteers helping with the PIT count are funded by percentage contributions from the nine incorporated municipalities in the county based on population size: Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma, and Windsor. Currently the contributions are as follows annually:
|
City |
Population 2023 |
% of total |
Amount Due |
|
Cloverdale |
8,912 |
3% |
$408 |
|
Cotati |
7,337 |
2% |
$336 |
|
Healdsburg |
11,183 |
3% |
$512 |
|
Petaluma |
58,857 |
17% |
$2,695 |
|
Rohnert Park |
44,547 |
13% |
$2,040 |
|
Santa Rosa |
175,065 |
50% |
$8,017 |
|
Sebastopol |
7,339 |
2% |
$336 |
|
Sonoma |
10,515 |
3% |
$482 |
|
Windsor |
25,628 |
7% |
$1,174 |
|
TOTAL City |
349,383 |
1 |
$16,000 |
Per County Purchasing requirements and recommendations, DHS, acting as the Lead Agency for the HC, conducted an RFP to secure a long-term agreement with a professional consultant to conduct the annual PIT Count with the intention of awarding a contract for a term of three years, with two 1-year optional extensions. The RFP was released on July 9, 2024. Two proposals were received and evaluated and scored by an RFP scoring committee composed of two DHS Homelessness Services Division staff and two representatives from outside stakeholder agencies who provide services related to homelessness. The RFP scoring committee recommended Applied Survey Research as the contract awardee. Evaluation scores were based on years of proven experience, demonstrated expertise with data analysis, appropriateness and cost effectiveness of proposed budget, experience working with community partners/volunteers/individuals with lived experiences, references, and response to required proposal elements as set forth in the RFP.
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.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
9/24/2024 - Homeless Point in Time Count Update
9/12/2023 - Homelessness Program Updates, Including Replacing the Emergency Shelter Site at the County Campus and Los Guilicos Village, Transfer of Grant Agreements, and Results of 2023 “Point in Time” Count of Persons Experiencing Homelessness.
8/26/2022 - Results of the February 25, 2022, Point in Time (PIT) Count in Sonoma County.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 24-25 Adopted |
FY25-26 Projected |
FY26-27 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$80,000 |
$96,000 |
$96,000 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
$16,000 |
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$96,000 |
$96,000 |
$96,000 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
$80,000 |
$80,000 |
$80,000 |
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
$16,000 |
$16,000 |
$16,000 |
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$96,000 |
$96,000 |
$96,000 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The adopted FY 2024-2025 budget includes $80,000 in General Fund support. Approval of this item adopts a resolution increasing revenue and expense appropriations for FY 2024-2025 by $16,000. These additional funds are provided by the 9 cities in Sonoma County based on population. The additional funds will cover the total $96,000 annual cost of contract services provided by Applied Survey Research for the annual Point in Time study in the current fiscal year. Future year appropriations will be included during the budget process.
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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):
None
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - DRAFT Agreement
Attachment 2 - Budget Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None