REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
October 27, 2020
FROM
CASONYA THOMAS, Assistant Executive Officer, Human Services
SUBJECT
Title
Grant Award from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Planning Project
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Accept and approve Grant Award (Grant Agreement No. CA1901L9D091900) from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Planning Project funding, in the amount of $372,687, for a one-year period beginning the date the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development completes the grant approval process.
2. Designate the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Assistant Executive Officer of Human Services, or Chief of Homeless Services, to execute and submit the grant award agreement documents and any subsequent non-substantive amendments as required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to secure funding, on behalf of the County, subject to review by County Counsel.
3. Direct the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Assistant Executive Officer of Human Services, or Chief of Homeless Services, to transmit all documents and amendments in relation to this grant award agreement to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors within 30 days of execution.
(Presenter: Tom Hernandez, Chief of Homeless Services, 501-0610)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The grant award agreement in the amount of $372,687 from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires a minimum 25 percent cash and/or in-kind match for the Continuum of Care (CoC) Planning Project (Planning) funds. The in-kind match of $93,172 will be provided in the form of salaries funded from non-federal resources. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Office of Homeless Services (OHS) 2020-21 budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The HUD CoC Homeless program is designed to promote community-wide commitment to the goals of ending homelessness; to provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, states and local governments to quickly re-house homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families, and communities by homelessness; to promote access to and effective utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and to optimize self-sufficiency among those experiencing homelessness. A portion of the HUD grant funds can be used by the local CoC for planning activities, such as evaluating the outcomes of projects for which funds are awarded in the geographic area, including the Emergency Solutions Gran program; and participating in the consolidated plan of the jurisdiction to further the efforts on ending homelessness. These planning activities have assisted the CoC to secure over $10 million per year in grant funds for the past three years.
The Planning Grant may be utilized under the following four key areas to improve the design and carry out the collaborative process for the application to HUD: 1) increase and expand the evaluative outcomes of the CoC and Emergency Solutions Grant programs, including collaborative efforts and alignment of services to identify outreach strategies and improve service; 2) engage local municipalities to participate and assume ownership of an annual Point-In-Time Count; 3) integrate the CoC and other homeless funded programs into the consolidated planning process of the local and municipal agencies to enhance regional coordination of services; and 4) further the development of a CoC system that will end homelessness among veterans, youth, families, and the chronically homeless.
On September 23, 2019, the non-binding grant application for the CoC Planning Project application was approved by the County Administrative Office and submitted to HUD on September 27, 2019 as part of the entire CoC collaborative grant process. OHS acts in the role of an administrative agent on behalf of the San Bernardino County CoC, which includes the submission of the annual HUD CoC Homeless Assistance program collaborative grant.
On October 15, 2020, the San Bernardino County CoC received the grant award (Grant Agreement No. CA1901L9D091900) for the CoC Planning funds, in the amount of $372,687, for a one-year period beginning the date HUD completes the grant approval process. Approval of this item will allow OHS to accept the grant award and authorizes the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Assistant Executive Officer of Human Services, or Chief of Homeless Services to execute and submit the grant agreement documents and any subsequent non-substantive amendments on behalf of the County, subject to review by County Counsel.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Suzanne Bryant, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on September 16, 2020; Finance (Chris Lange, Administrative Analyst, 386-8393) on September 21, 2020; and County Finance and Administration (Tanya Bratton, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0332) on September 21, 2020.