REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
December 19, 2023
FROM
MARCUS DILLARD, Chief of Homeless Services, Office of Homeless Services
SUBJECT
Title
Contracts for Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 3 Program Services on behalf of the San Bernardino City and County Continuum of Care
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve the following contracts for the provision of Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 3 Program services on behalf of the San Bernardino City and County Continuum of Care, in an aggregate amount not to exceed $943,386 for the contract period of October 3, 2023 through June 30, 2026:
1. City of Ontario in an amount not-to-exceed $135,000
2. City of San Bernardino in an amount not-to-exceed $808,386
(Presenter: Marcus Dillard, 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 and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The total cost for services will not exceed $943,386 and will be funded by the State of California Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 3 Program (HHAP-3) block grant funding awarded to the San Bernardino City and County Continuum of Care (SBC CoC). The SBC CoC determines how these funds will be expended, and the Office of Homeless Services (OHS) acts as the Administrative Entity, administering the grant on behalf of the SBC CoC. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the OHS 2023-24 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The contracts listed in the Recommendation will allow for the SBC CoC’s allocation of HHAP-3 funds to be distributed to community and faith-based homeless services providers to prevent and alleviate the impact of homelessness on individuals and families throughout San Bernardino County.
On December 17, 2021, the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, released a Notice of Funding Availability for HHAP-3 grant funding. Eligible funding recipients included California’s Continuums of Care, large cities (with a population of 300,000 or more as of January 1, 2020), counties, and federally recognized tribal governments. HHAP-3 grant funding is based on the applicant’s proportionate share of the state’s homeless population as reported by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development 2019 Point-in-Time count.
On March 1, 2022 (Item No. 22), the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved the submission of the HHAP-3 Initial Disbursement for Funds and authorized the Chief Executive Officer or Deputy Executive Officer of Community Revitalization to execute the Remainder Disbursement Contract for Funds on behalf of the SBC CoC and the County. On June 28, 2022 (Item No. 43), the Board approved and authorized the submission of HHAP-3 grant applications for remaining HHAP-3 funds. The Remainder Disbursement Contract for Funds was executed by the CEO, on behalf of the SBC CoC, on December 29, 2022.
On October 3, 2023 (Item No. 18), the Board approved nine of the 12 recommended HHAP-3 SBC CoC funded contracts. The two contracts being recommended for approval required additional time to finalize provisions related to the scope of services.
The HHAP-3 funded providers will assist individuals and families across the county experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of homelessness. Providers will help homeless individuals and families exit homelessness and achieve permanent housing stability through development projects that increase shelter capacity throughout the county, including the creation of a 224-bed navigation center in the City of San Bernardino.
The recommended contracts support the goals and objectives of the Homeless Strategic Action Plan by serving those most at risk of homelessness, adding shelter capacity, and increasing the impact on homelessness through combined efforts of the County and the SBC CoC. The table below delineates the contract award for each agency, the purpose of the funding, and the number of households to be served via the funding.
|
Agency |
Service Provided |
Beds/Units Created (if applicable) |
Contract Amount |
|
City of Ontario |
Rapid Rehousing Services Coordination |
8 households 8 households |
$135,000 |
|
City of San Bernardino |
Interim Sheltering |
224 beds |
$808,386 |
The contracts were presented to the respective city councils for approval to accept the funds and are now ready to be fully executed. Retroactivity will allow for all of the HHAP-3 SBC CoC contracts to remain on the same timeline and will grant the cities sufficient time to utilize the funds before the expenditure deadline of June 30, 2026.
OHS will review contractor performance, referrals to other agencies, and services provided. The contractors’ performance will be monitored by the review of monthly reports and an annual site visit to ensure compliance with the administrative, program, and fiscal terms and conditions of the contracts. OHS will review invoices and attachments remitted by the contractors to ensure funds are expended on eligible activities.
PROCUREMENT
On April 24, 2023, acting as the Administrative Entity for the SBC CoC, OHS released Request for Applications (RFA) No. OHS 23-01 to qualified applicants to provide HHAP-3 services. Notice of the RFA was sent to an email distribution list of over 1,100 entities that included members of the local Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH), which serves as SBC CoC’s governing board, the Homeless Provider Network, city managers within San Bernardino County, and subscribed partnership providers. The RFA was also posted on the San Bernardino County Homeless Partnership website.
Approximately 57 participants attended the non-mandatory, virtual application workshop held on May 1, 2023. A total of 25 agencies submitted applications in response to the RFA with four agencies applying in multiple regions. OHS staff performed an initial review of the applications for completeness. Applications from 19 agencies met the minimum qualifications set forth in the RFA and were evaluated and scored by evaluation panels comprised of non-conflicted members representing each of the local ICH regions. The evaluation panels scored the applications based on the criteria referenced in the RFA. The criteria measured the proposed project’s ability to address regional needs, alignment with HHAP-3 eligible uses and best practices, provider’s experience and capacity, and collaboration with other partners.
Each regional evaluation panel met to evaluate and score the applications, with funding recommendations presented to the respective Regional Steering Committee (Committee). Each Committee then held public meetings to discuss and vote on its respective evaluation panel’s recommendation. Each Committee voted in favor of the funding recommendations presented.
In addition to the regionally based contracts, the SBC CoC allocated funds specifically for homeless youth. An evaluation panel consisting of representation from each region was created to review the applications for homeless youth. ICH held a public meeting on June 28, 2023, to vote on each Committee and youth panel recommendation.
All applicants were notified of the public ICH meeting and applicants had an opportunity to appeal the Committee recommendations at the ICH meeting. One appeal was filed, which resulted in the original scores being upheld.
Based on the evaluations, public meetings, and completed contract negotiations, ICH recommended the following 12 agencies for contract awards:
• City of Montclair
• City of Ontario
• City of San Bernardino
• Desert Manna
• Family Assistance Program
• Family Service Association of Redlands
• Growing Outreach Growing Opportunities
• Impact Southern California, Inc.
• Morongo Basin Arch
• Mountain Homeless Coalition
• Operation Grace
• Victor Valley Family Resource Center
Nine contracts were presented to and approved by the Board on October 3, 2023 (Item No. 18), and two additional contracts have been finalized for Board consideration. One remaining contract may be presented to the Board for consideration upon the conclusion of contract negotiations.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Suzanne Bryant, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on November 27, 2023; Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on November 30, 2023; Finance (Christopher Lange, Administrative Analyst, 386-8393) on November 28, 2023; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on December 5, 2023.