REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 27, 2023
FROM
DIANA ATKESON, Deputy Executive Officer, Community Revitalization
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with Inland Southern California 211+ for Coordinated Entry System Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contract with Inland Southern California 211+ for the provision of Coordinated Entry System services, in the total amount not to exceed $726,069, effective June 27, 2023 through June 30, 2024.
(Presenter: Carrie Harmon, Director, 382-3983)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
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 impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The total cost for the contract will not exceed $726,069 and will be funded by $653,413 from the California Emergency Solutions and Housing (CESH) Round 1 and 2 grants and $72,656 from the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Continuum of Care (CoC) Round 2 grant. The CESH and HHAP grants do not require a local match. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Office of Homeless Services’ (OHS) 2022-23 and 2023-24 budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
This contract with Inland Southern California 211+ (ISC 211+) will enhance system supports associated with the Coordinated Entry System (CES) for the purpose of maintaining a comprehensive homelessness services and housing delivery system. Enhancements include expanding CES access points; launching a virtual platform to support integration activities, assess clients, verify homelessness, and connect directly with resource agency; and the development of CES information, education, and tools to support user engagement. These activities will support and increase intake, assessment, and enrollment of homeless individuals and families. Performance metrics in the recommended contract include conducting intake for a minimum of 20 inbound calls per day; assessment of a minimum of five homeless households per day; and providing a minimum of 25 referrals per month. Contract performance will be monitored on a monthly basis for quality assurance.
The primary purpose of a CES is to streamline the process for people experiencing homelessness to access the housing and support services they need to permanently end their homelessness. The primary components of a successful CES include easy access to the system for intake, which covers the entire geographical region claimed by the CoC; a well-advertised system; usage of a comprehensive and standardized assessment tool and scoring; a person-centered approach; service prioritization; eligibility determination; and a referral process to efficiently match and connect individuals and families to available and appropriate housing and supportive services.
On September 19, 2018, the San Bernardino County Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH), as the CoC governing board, designated Community Development and Housing (CDH) as the Administrative Entity (AE) to apply and manage the grant in accordance with the terms of the State Notice of Funding Availability for CESH Round 1. Also, on September 19, 2018, ICH approved the recommendation of funding in the amount of $486,272, of the $1,459,234 of CESH Program Round 1 funding, for enhancement activities necessary to maintain a comprehensive CES.
On October 2, 2018 (Item No. 9), the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved CDH’s submission of a grant application to HCD for CESH Round 1 funding in an amount not-to-exceed $3,000,000. CDH submitted the CESH grant application on October 4, 2018, and received the CESH award letter for $1,459,234 on January 11, 2019. On August 6, 2019 (Item No. 13), the Board accepted CESH Round 1 funding.
On April 24, 2019, ICH approved the selection of CDH to serve as the AE for the CESH Round 2 funding on behalf of the CoC. ICH also approved the recommendation of funding in the amount of $167,141 of the $835,737 of CESH Program Round 2 funding for enhancement activities necessary to maintain a comprehensive CES.
On May 21, 2019 (Item No. 50), the Board authorized the submittal of the CESH Round 2 grant application to the HCD in an amount not-to-exceed $1,000,000. CDH submitted the CESH Round 2 grant application on June 14, 2019, and received the CESH award letter for $835,737 on October 7, 2019. On March 10, 2020 (Item No. 25), the Board accepted CESH Round 2 funding.
On March 9, 2021 (Item No. 13), the Board approved the transfer of the role of AE to OHS to manage the CESH Program funds in accordance with the State and County Agreement Nos. 19-518 and 20-95, respectively, and to adopt a resolution amending Resolution No. 2019-69 to update the AE as OHS.
On January 5, 2021 (Item No. 22), the Board approved and authorized the submission of the HHAP Round 2 grant application to the State of California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council for the regional CoC and the County. On June 8, 2021 (Item No. 44), the Board accepted HHAP Round 2 funding for the regional CoC in the amount of $1,453,114, and funding for the County in the amount of $1,300,625.
On March 17, 2022, OHS released a Request for Applications (RFA) on behalf of the regional CoC seeking proposals for HHAP Round 2 funding. No applications for the 5% set-aside to support CES regional engagement activities were received. As such, $72,656 of HHAP Round 2 funding for CES was not allocated at that time. However, this set-aside was later allocated by the ICH board in May 2023.
On June 1, 2022, the ICH Regional Steering Committees presented their recommendations for the regional CoC allocation of the HHAP Round 2 grant funding to ICH for adoption, and to recommend that OHS initiate and administer HHAP Round 2 funded contracts with the agencies recommended for funding.
On February 22, 2023, ICH adopted to allocate $653,419 in CESH Round 1 and 2 grant funding to the CoC CES Lead Agency ISC 211+ to support CES enhancement, expansion, and software integration activities.
On May 11, 2023, the Outreach and CES Standing Committee, authorized by ICH to review and make recommendations associated with CES enhancement and development activities, met and approved the allocation of the 5% HHAP Round 2 set-aside in the amount of $72,656 to ISC 211+. The recommendation was voted on and approved by the ICH Board on May 24, 2023.
PROCUREMENT
The recommended contract will ensure seamless project enhancement services and improved implementation of CES services currently in progress. OHS will monitor ISC211+ performance on a regular basis by reviewing monthly reports to ensure compliance with the administrative, programmatic, legal, and fiscal terms and conditions of the contract. Monitoring will focus on ensuring that the CES enhancement activities reduce barriers to service access and response times. The Purchasing Department concurs with the non-competitive justification of specialized credentials.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Suzanne Bryant, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on June 12, 2023; Purchasing (Leo Gomez, Purchasing Manager, 387-2063) on June 9, 2023; Finance (Christopher Lange, Administrative Analyst, 386-8393) on June 9, 2023; and County Finance and Administration (Paloma Hernandez-Barker, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on June 11, 2023.