REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 26, 2024
FROM
SHARON NEVINS, Director, Department of Aging and Adult Services
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with Inland Housing Solutions for Adult Protective Services Housing Navigator Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contract with Inland Housing Solutions to provide housing navigator services in a total amount not to exceed $1,000,000, for the period of May 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.
(Presenter: Sharon Nevins, Director, 891-3917)
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 and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The California Department of Social Services announced a statewide non-competitive allocation of $82,875,000 for all 58 counties in California. San Bernardino County (County) was awarded $6,225,258 of this state funding, with no local match required, to implement a Home Safe Program, from which this $1,000,000 contract for housing navigation services is funded. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Human Services (HS) Administrative Claim 2023-24 budget and will be included in the 2024-25 recommended budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Department of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS) is tasked with administering a Home Safe Program (Program) for the County. In 2018, the Program was established to prevent or address homelessness to support the safety and housing stability of individuals involved in Adult Protective Services (APS), or in the APS intake process. The Program supports the safety and housing stability of older adults and individuals with disabilities who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Housing navigation is one of the critical components of the Program as it assists participants in finding, applying for, securing, and moving into interim and permanent housing as needed. Services through housing navigation include, but are not limited to:
• Landlord engagement, including outreach and appreciation events to recruit landlords to work with Program participants.
• Housing search based on participant’s housing preferences, financial situation, and mobility needs.
• Development of a resource of available units and matching participants to unit availability, according to preferences for both interim and permanent housing options.
• Assistance in completing housing applications.
• Coordination with the local public housing authority and advocating for availability of affordable housing vouchers for Program participants.
• Verification that participants are referred without preconditions of treatment acceptance or compliance.
• Assistance in making higher-level care placements, such as adult residential facilities and residential care facilities for the elderly or skilled nursing facilities, only when needed.
DAAS estimates housing navigation services will be provided to approximately 216 participants throughout the county.
PROCUREMENT
On September 18, 2023, the County Administrative Office approved and authorized HS release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for qualified agencies to provide housing navigator services countywide. RFP No. DAAS123-OAAGI-4994 was advertised through the County’s Electronic Procurement Network (e-Pro), and bids closed Monday, December 4, 2023, resulting in bids received from the following three vendors:
|
Vendor Name |
Service Area(s) Covered |
|
Inland Housing Solutions |
East Valley, Mountains, West Valley, Victor Valley |
|
Mountain Homeless Coalition |
Mountains |
|
Simple Solutions Family Therapy |
East Valley, West Valley, Victor Valley |
An evaluation of the proposals was completed by a team of DAAS representatives comprised of two Staff Analysts, one District Manager, one Social Service Practitioner, and one Supervising Social Service Practitioner. The applications were evaluated based on cost, qualifications and experience, technical expertise, housing-first emphasis, and references. Based on these criteria, negotiations, and available funding, Inland Housing Solutions (IHS) was recommended for contract award. IHS’s proposal demonstrated the ability to provide the most comprehensive level of service to Program participants in the area of housing navigation. The IHS proposed multi-tiered plan was thorough and designed to provide a successful path towards meeting the Program housing goals.
The unsuccessful agencies were notified during the RFP process of the ability to protest the qualification review by submitting a formal protest letter to the HS Contracts Unit by February 9, 2023. No protests were received.
The contract may be terminated by the County immediately in the event that funds are not available to the County and without cause by the County by serving a written notice to the contractor 30 days in advance of termination. Contractor performance will be measured by reviewing monthly reports and annual site visits by County staff to monitor compliance with the administrative, fiscal, and program requirements of the contract. DAAS will review the invoices and other documents submitted by the contractor to ensure charges are for eligible participants receiving housing navigation services.
The Purchasing Department supports this competitive procurement based on the formal solicitation completed by DAAS.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Human Services Contracts (Patty Steven, Contracts Manager, 388-0241) on February 29, 2024; County Counsel (Jacqueline Carey-Wilson, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on March 6, 2024; Purchasing (Christina Reddix, Buyer III, 387-2060) on March 7, 2024; Finance (John Hallen, Administrative Analyst, 388-0208) on March 8, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on March 11, 2024.