To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Human Services
Staff Name and Phone Number: Katie Greaves, 565-8501 and Cristin Tuider, 565-8504
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): All
Title:
Title
Approval of Two New Positions for the SonomaWORKs Housing Support Program
End
Recommended Actions:
Recommended action
Adopt a position resolution to approve the addition of 2.0 FTE Employment and Training Program Counselors (ETC) for the SonomaWORKS Housing Support Program.
end
Executive Summary:
Catholic Charities successfully applied for and has subsequently served as the Contractor for the SonomaWORKS Housing Support Program (HSP) since its inception in Fiscal Year 2014-15. In April 2019, Catholic Charities informed the Human Services Department that it would not be renewing the HSP contract for next fiscal year. The Employment & Training Division is prepared to provide these services directly with the addition of two Employment & Training Counselor positions, as well as re-assignment of a current Employment and Training Counselor to support the program.
Discussion:
The SonomaWORKS Housing Support Program (HSP) is funded annually by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Program. The allocation for FY 2019-20 is $1,219,825.
The SonomaWORKS HSP utilizes a Housing First model to address the immediate and long-term housing needs of SonomaWORKS clients. SonomaWORKS is the local name for the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program that provides cash aid and services to eligible families that have children in the home. If a family has little or no cash and needs housing, food, utilities, clothing or medical care, they may be eligible to receive immediate short-term help. Families that apply and qualify for ongoing assistance receive money each month to help pay for housing, food and other necessary expenses. The SonomaWORKS HSP was implemented in 2014 and is entering its fifth year. Since inception, the program has housed 208 SonomaWORKS families.
The HSP program has historically had three primary partners:
1. The Sonoma County Human Services Department (HSD) is the administrator of the SonomaWORKS program and is the grantee for the HSP. HSD is responsible for overall client case management, evaluation, referrals to the HSP, and authorization of housing assistance payments.
2. The Sonoma County Community Development Commission (CDC), as the lead agency for homeless and housing programs and the administrator of the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), plays a key role in the HSP by processing direct payments for rent, deposits, utilities, and home habitability items, such as mattresses and bedding. The CDC also collects and tracks client housing data using the HMIS.
3. Catholic Charities has provided housing locator services, housing-related case management, financial literacy education, and housing retention services.
In April 2019, Catholic Charities informed Human Services that it would not be renewing its contract to provide HSP services. The most recent Request for Proposals was completed in February 2018 and Catholic Charities was the only organization to submit a proposal. Given that there does not appear to be additional capacity in the community to take on the HSP services, the Human Services Department will fill the need by taking over the program and staffing it with County employees to ensure continuity of services to clients. The opportunity for HSD to bring these services in-house will integrate housing case management with SonomaWORKS case management. Whole person case management is more effective in achieving SonomaWORKS program goals of housing permanency and ultimately self-sufficiency. Participants will see greater success if housing services are provided in concert with other supportive services provided by HSD staff who have established relationships with their clients.
Two new Employment & Training Counselor (ETC) positions will be supported by the SonomaWORKS HSP State allocation and will cost $274,000 per year. In addition to the two ETC positions requested in this Board item, one current ETC will be re-assigned to support HSP along with an Employment and Training Coordinator and one partial Program Planning and Evaluation Analyst (PPEA) who are already staffing the HSP. Administrative costs, including staffing, were budgeted at $619,886 in the FY 18-19 contract with Catholic Charities. For FY 19-20, these administrative costs, including the two new ETC positions, will rise to $695,283. The total HSP allocation is $1,219,825 in FY 19-20. The remainder of the funds are applied to direct housing payments on behalf of clients. HSD intends to request additional HSP funding for FY 19-20 as the Governor’s January budget had an additional $20 million per year for the next three years for the CalWORKs Housing Support Program. Additional ongoing staffing costs will be offset by the reduction of the annual contract costs previously allocated to Catholic Charities along with additional permanent state funding for this program in the 19-20 state budget.
Adoption of this position resolution will allow HSD to hire 2.0 FTE Employment and Training Program Counselors (ETC) in support of the SonomaWORKS Housing Support Program.
Prior Board Actions:
January 8, 2019: Approval of additional appropriations in support of the Housing Support Program (HSP); a new Program Coordinator position in support of the HSP; and a contract amendment to increase funding for Catholic Charities to provide direct client housing assistance.
June 11, 2018: Funding approval for the HSP in the amount of $969,471 and a contract with Catholic Charities to administer the SonomaWORKS HSP in the amount of $385,603.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 19-20 Adopted |
FY20-21 Projected |
FY 21-22 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$1,219,825 |
$1,219,825 |
$1,219,825 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$1,219,825 |
$1,219,825 |
$1,219,825 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
$1,219,825 |
$1,219,825 |
$1,219,825 |
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$1,219,825 |
$1,219,825 |
$1,219,825 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The full allocation of SonomaWORKS HSP funds will remain with the Human Services Department for administration of the program. HSP is a permanent program within CalWORKs given the on-going need for housing assistance and HSD does not anticipate any cuts to funding in the foreseeable future. There will be no fiscal impact to the HSD budget and no County General Fund will be requested.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A - I Step) |
Additions (number) |
Deletions (number) |
|
Employment & Training Counselor I |
$4,891 - $5,947 |
2.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
The Program Planning and Evaluation Analyst will manage the Housing Services Program in-house rather than through a contracted service provider. The Supervising Employment & Training Counselor will supervise the two (2) additional Employment & Training Counselors. In addition, one of the Supervisor’s current Counselors will be re-assigned to support the HSP. The reassigned ETC Counselor’s duties will be spread amongst the other ten non-HSP Welfare-To-Work Counselors (WTW). As an ETC is reassigned to support HSP, they will stop taking new clients. Other WTW Counselors will see an increase of approximately one (1) additional referral per month. New cases will be assigned based on caseload size. The average ETC will receive between one (1) to three (3) cases over a four week period. The balancing of caseloads consistently occurs over weeks versus days to minimize the impact to ETCs.
Attachments:
- Position Resolution
- HSP Budget Side-by-Side
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None