REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
August 20, 2024
FROM
CARRIE HARMON, Director, Community Development and Housing
SUBJECT
Title
Emergency Solutions Grant Contracts for Homeless Services in San Bernardino County
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve contracts with the following providers for the provision of immediate emergency assistance for a combined not to exceed amount of $567,863, for a period of September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2025:
a. Community Health Action Network in the amount of $51,150
b. Children’s Fund, Incorporated in the amount of $176,757
c. Inland Empire Rebound in the amount of $49,184
d. Lutheran Social Services of Southern California in the amount of $55,477
e. Mountain Homeless Coalition in the amount of $45,000
f. The Salvation Army in the amount of $190,295
2. Authorize the Chief Executive Officer, the Assistant Executive Officer, or the Director of Community Development and Housing to execute any subsequent, non-substantive amendments to the contracts, subject to review by County Counsel.
3. Direct the Director of Community Development and Housing to transmit contract amendments to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors within 30 days of execution.
4. Authorize the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector to post necessary budget adjustments to the Community Development and Housing Department’s 2024-2025 budgets, as detailed in the Financial Impact Section (Four votes required).
(Presenter: Carrie Harmon, Director, 382-3983)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item will not result in the use of any Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The total cost for services from providers for the provision of immediate emergency assistance will not exceed $567,873 and will be funded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG).
Approval of this item authorizes the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector to post the following budget adjustments, as detailed below:
|
Cost Center |
Commitment Item/GL |
Description |
Actions |
Amount |
|
6210002482 |
40509094 |
Federal - Grants |
Increase |
$306,337 |
|
6210002482 |
53003205 |
Public Assistance |
Increase |
$283,932 |
|
6210002482 |
55405018 |
Internal Cost Allocation Out |
Increase |
$22,405 |
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
As the administrative entity for the ESG Program, the Community Development and Housing Department (CDH) administers both the Federal and the State annual allocation of ESG funds. ESG funds are intended to assist people with quickly regaining stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis and/or homelessness.
These funds may be used for the following five program components: street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing assistance, and Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). While the County has autonomy in how it elects to fund each component, no more than sixty percent of the annual allocation can be used for street outreach and emergency shelter. The five components when used together provide a path to shelter and permanent housing by:
• Engaging homeless individuals and families living on the street;
• Improving the number and quality of emergency shelters for homeless individuals and families;
• Funding shelter operations;
• Providing essential services to shelter residents;
• Rapidly re-housing homeless individuals and families; and
• Preventing families and individuals from becoming homeless.
On May 9, 2023 (Item No. 20), the Board of Supervisors approved the Federal 2023 ESG allocation of $613,906 (HUD Contract No. E-20-UC-06-0503). The 2023 allocation represents a return to pre-pandemic level funding and is a 2.6% reduction from the 2022 allocation.
CDH plans to use Federal 2023 ESG to fund six non-profits, authorizing each agency to provide direct services throughout the County.
Approval of these recommendations will allow the County to continue funding non-profits to provide ESG-eligible services to the County’s homeless and at-risk of homelessness population through August 31, 2025.
PROCUREMENT
On February 22, 2024, CDH issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 24-01 to solicit interested and qualified organizations to provide Homelessness Prevention, Street Outreach, Rapid Rehousing, Emergency Shelter, and HMIS services to eligible homeless or individuals at-risk of homelessness who reside in the County.
The RFP was publicly advertised through direct email to over 500 community-based organizations, service providers, and other interested parties, and was advertised on the CDH website. The RFP closed on March 22, 2024.
Eight proposals were received in response to the RFP by the established deadline. Based on the evaluation results of the proposals, CDH is recommending the County award contracts to the six providers identified in Recommendation number one.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Suzanne Bryant, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on July 25, 2024; Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector (Charlene Huang, Auditor-Controller Manager, 382-7022) on August 1, 2024; Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on August 1, 2024; Finance (Christopher Lange, Deputy Director, 386-8392) on August 1, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0332) on August 6, 2024.