REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 1, 2022
FROM
SUPRIYA BARROWS, Deputy Executive Officer, Community Revitalization
SUBJECT
Title
Initial Disbursement Contracts for Funds for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 3
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve and authorize the submission of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 3 Initial Disbursement Contract for Funds to the State of California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Counsel on behalf of San Bernardino County Continuum of Care (Agreement No. 22-HHAP 10068), for funding in the initial disbursement amount of $780,374.96, to support regional coordination and provide immediate assistance to people experiencing homelessness in the region.
2. Ratify the Chief Executive Officer’s exercise of authority, in accordance with Assembly Bill 140 guidelines (Committee on Budget, Chapter 111, Statutes of 2021), mandating that awardees of the 20% initial disbursements submit the Initial Disbursement Agreement within 30 days of notice and endorsed by the State Authorized Signer as noted in HHAP Round 2 of San Bernardino County’s (Agreement No. 22-HHAP 10066), for funding in the initial disbursement amount of $728,349.96, to support regional coordination and provide immediate assistance to people experiencing homelessness in the region.
3. Authorize the Chief Executive Officer or the Deputy Executive Officer of Community Revitalization to execute the Initial Disbursement Contract for Funds and subsequent Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 3 grant applications, Remainder Disbursement Contract for Funds, and all required application supporting materials, as well as all other ancillary documents, and any subsequent non-substantive amendments necessary on behalf of San Bernardino County and the San Bernardino County Continuum of Care, subject to review by County Counsel.
4. Authorize the Office of Homeless Services to revise the State Authorized Signers form on behalf of San Bernardino County and the San Bernardino County Continuum of Care to include both Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Executive Officer of Community Revitalization upon approval by the State for Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 3.
5. Authorize the Chief of Homeless Services to prepare and submit the applications and supporting materials and documents on behalf of the San Bernardino County Continuum of Care and San Bernardino County.
6. Direct the Chief Executive Officer, Deputy Executive Officer of Community Revitalization or the Chief of Homeless Services to transmit all grant application documents, Remainder Disbursement Contract for Funds, and amendments in relation to the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 3 Program on behalf of San Bernardino County and San Bernardino County Continuum of Care to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors within 30 days of execution.
(Presenter: Supriya Barrows, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-4261)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The recommended actions do not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The total initial disbursement amount of $1,508,724.92, $728,349.96 for San Bernardino County and $780,374.96 for the San Bernardino County Continuum of Care (SBC CoC) for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Round 3 program, is administered by the State of California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency’s (BCSH) Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC), as authorized by Assembly Bill (AB) 140, which was signed into law by the Governor on July 19, 2021, and does not require a match. The priority for the use of the initial disbursement is to complete the local homeless action plan. Beyond the initial disbursement, the funds can be used for capacity building and workforce development, evidence-based programs serving people experiencing homelessness, data reporting systems, improving homeless point-in-time counts, and improving coordinated entry systems. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Office of Homeless Services’ 2021-22 budget for HHAP (6210002505) and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On May 19, 2020 (Item No. 36), the Board of Supervisors (Board) accepted the HHAP Round 1 (HHAP-1) grant award in the amount of $2,845,118 for San Bernardino County and $3,071,060 for the SBC CoC from the State.
On June 8, 2021 (Item No. 44), the Board accepted the HHAP Round 2 (HHAP-2) grant award in the amount of $1,300,625 for San Bernardino County and $1,453,114 for the SBC CoC from the State.
San Bernardino County has allocated its HHAP-1 and HHAP-2 funding to support the Homekey program, which provides interim and/or permanent housing for individuals and families who are at-risk of or experiencing homelessness. The SBC CoC is utilizing its HHAP-1 and HHAP-2 funding to contract with local cities and community providers to provide homeless outreach, rental assistance, and rapid rehousing services to individuals and families of San Bernardino County who are experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of homelessness.
Approval of the recommended actions allow for two initial HHAP Round 3 (HHAP-3) award disbursements: 1) SBC CoC in the amount of $780,374.96; and 2) San Bernardino County in the amount of $728,349.96.
In order to receive the remaining $6,034,899.70 balance of HHAP-3 allocations, San Bernardino County and the SBC CoC (together “Applicants”) must submit the HHAP-3 grant applications by June 30, 2022, and include a local homelessness action plan for each applicant that specifies the outcome goals. Both the County and the CoC will work collectively to bring into alignment these plans to maximize local impact through a shared vision to make homelessness a rare, brief, and nonrecurring experience. Applicants will also be required to submit Remainder Disbursement Contract for Funds agreements. After approval of the HHAP-3 applications and Remainder Disbursement Contract for Funds agreements, San Bernardino County will receive an additional $2,913,399.86, for a total amount of $3,641,749.82, and the SBC CoC will receive an additional amount of $3,121,499.84 for a total award amount of $3,901,874.80. The Office of Homeless Services is the administrative entity for both the San Bernardino County and SBC CoC awards.
Initial Disbursement Contract for Funds Agreement
On January 14, 2022, the County received a request from the state to submit the Initial Disbursement Contract for Funds for HHAP-3. To qualify, the state provided only 30 days for the submission of the signed documents. These documents were immediately submitted to the Assistant Executive Officer over Community Revitalization however the department was not informed of the Assistant Executive Officer’s departure from the County until January 24, 2022, leaving less than 20 days to process the agreement. The only State Authorized Signers on file were the Assistant Executive Officer and the Chief Executive Officer. The Office of Homeless Services therefore sought the CEO’s use of delegated authority for the Initial Disbursement Contract for Funds. Due to the internal delay and the urgencies however, the Initial Disbursement Contract for Funds (San Bernardino County Grant Agreement #22-HHAP 10066) were endorsed February 11, 2022 and submitted that same day. The Office of Homeless Services is seeking the Board’s ratification of the CEO’s signature of the San Bernardino County’s Initial Disbursement Contract as the request for CEO endorsement was not necessarily associated with the COVID authority given to the CEO but instead in alignment with the State Authorized Signers authority.
Furthermore, Initial Disbursement Contract for Funds agreement on behalf of the Continuum of Care (Grant Agreement #22-HHAP 10068) must still be endorsed and submitted. To address this, the Office of Homeless Services contacted the State to formally request an extension due to the unusual circumstances. This request was approved with a new submission date for the CoC Initial Disbursement Contract for Funds agreement to be received no later than March 4th.
Intent to Apply Agreement
On September 15, 2021, the Office of Homeless Services received the State notice requiring each county provide documents of their Intent to Apply for HHAP-3. Per California Section 50220.7.a.(3) of the Health and Safety Code, if the applicant did not submit a completed standard agreement by the deadline, specified as 30 days for HHAP-3, the California Interagency Council on Homeless (Cal ICH) could distribute that applicant’s share of funds to an eligible overlapping jurisdiction. This Intent to Apply directive differed from HHAP-1 and HHAP-2 in that HHAP-1 and HHAP-2 did not require Intent to Apply documents but instead waited for the formal application process before considering financial allocations. However, with HHAP-3, the State sought to streamline the process by first determining which counties intended to apply, then planned to advance counties 20% of the anticipated funds through an initial disbursement process.
Simultaneously, the (Cal ICH) allowed grantees who had previously contracted with Business, Consumer Services and Housing (BCSH) Agency to use the same approved signers that were listed on the State Authorized Signers HHAP-2 forms. This was intended to reduce the amount of paperwork needed to process the HHAP- 3 award. On October 15, 2021, with the approval of the prior Assistant Executive Officer, the Intent to Apply agreement was signed by the CEO and submitted to the State before the deadline. To avoid future delays, the Office of Homeless Services has placed a request with the State requesting that San Bernardino County be allowed to update the State Authorized Signers form, removing the prior Assistant Executive Officer and renaming the newly appointed Deputy Executive Officer. The Office of Homeless Services has yet to receive approval at this time.
HHAP Round 3 Background
HHAP-3 grant is administered by the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency’s (BCSH) Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC), now known as the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH).
The grant is enabled through Statute - AB 140 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 111, Statutes of 2021). Per the statute, allocations of HHAP Round 3 program funds to cities, counties, and continuums of care, require Cal ICH to issue an Intent to Apply standard agreement for applicants interested in pursuing HHAP-3 no later than September 15, 2021, and required applicants to submit an agreement no later than October 15, 2021. Recipients were allowed to use initial funds awarded to complete the local homeless action plan with priority for initial funds, above the costs of completing the application, for systems improvement, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
• Capacity building and workforce development for the jurisdiction’s administering staff and providers, including technical assistance to culturally specific providers.
• Funding existing evidence-based programs serving people experiencing homelessness.
• Investing in data systems to meet reporting requirements or strengthen the recipient’s Homeless Management Information System.
• Improving homeless point-in-time counts.
• Improving coordinated entry systems to eliminate racial bias or to create a youth-specific coordinated entry system.
To receive the remaining balance of the HHAP-3 program allocation, an applicant must submit the application to Cal ICH by June 30, 2022, that includes a local homelessness action plan and specific outcome goals with the applicant engaging with the council on its local plan and outcome goals prior to submitting a complete application. These elements are still in development.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Division Chief (Tom Hernandez, Chief of Homeless Services, 501-0611) on February 15, 2022; County Counsel (Suzanne Bryant, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on February 16, 2022; Finance (Christopher Lange, Administrative Analyst, 386-8393) on February 16, 2022; and County Finance and Administration (Robert Saldana, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-4342) on February 17, 2022.