REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
May 4, 2021
FROM
CASONYA THOMAS, Assistant Executive Officer, Human Services
SUBJECT
Title
Amendments to Contracts for the Homeless Emergency Aid Program
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve Amendments, effective May 4, 2021, to the following contracts for Homeless Emergency Aid Program, decreasing the contracts by a total of $80,634, with no change to the total contract periods:
a. Knowledge, Education for Your Success, Inc., Contract No. 19-264 A-1, decreasing the total contract amount by $36,455, from $320,000 to $283,545, with no change to the total contract period of April 30, 2019 through June 30, 2021.
b. City of Montclair, Contract No. 19-290 A-3, decreasing the total contract amount by $44,179, from $343,279 to $299,100, with no change to the total contract period of May 21, 2019 through June 30, 2021.
2. Approve Amendment No. 3, effective May 4, 2021, to Contract No. 19-270 with The Chance Project, increasing the total contract amount by $178,490, from $1,427,145 to $1,605,635 with no change to the total contract period of April 30, 2019 through June 30, 2021.
3. Authorize the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector to post the adjustments as indicated in the Financial Impact section below to the Office of Homeless Services 2020-21 budget. (Four votes required).
(Presenter: CaSonya Thomas, Assistant Executive Officer, 387-4717)
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.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). These contracts are funded by the State of California Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) block grant funding. The decrease of funding to the contracts reflects the vendors’ projected expenditures in 2020-21. The contract reductions will allow the Office of Homeless Services (OHS) to redirect the $80,634 savings, thus avoiding the return of unspent grant funds to the State at the end of 2020-21. The increase of $178,490 will be funded with the redirected savings from the contract reductions and other HEAP funding that is available for HEAP contract providers.
The following adjustments to the OHS 2020-21 budget are needed to allow the use of unspent prior year revenue in the current budget to provide HEAP services.
|
Fund Center |
Commitment Item/GL Account |
Description |
Action |
Amount |
|
6210002500 |
53003205 |
Public Assistance |
Increase |
$80,634 |
|
6210002500 |
40408955 |
State Grants |
Increase |
$80,634 |
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
HEAP is a one-time $500 million block grant program authorized under Senate Bill 850 to provide direct assistance to cities and counties to address the homelessness crisis throughout California. HEAP funds benefit San Bernardino County individuals and families who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness.
On April 30, 2019 (Item No. 88), the Board approved Contract No.19-264 with Knowledge, Education for Your Success, Inc., (KEYS) and Contract No. 19-270 with The Chance Project, and on May 21, 2019 (Item No. 51), the Board approved Contract No. 19-290 with the City of Montclair (Montclair) to provide HEAP services to homeless constituents for mobile street outreach, motel and housing vouchers, case management, operating support, eviction prevention, landlord incentives, navigation services, and Rapid Rehousing. These Board actions also granted delegated authority to allow for non-substantive changes to the agreements.
Recommendation No. 1
Due to KEYS’ and Montclair’s recent projections of their expenditures for their HEAP programs through the end of the grant period, OHS working in collaboration with each agency identifies that KEYS and Montclair will not spend all of their allocations. In concurrence with each agency based on their projections, OHS is recommending amending their contracts to decrease the total contract amounts stipulated in the initial agreements.
Recommendation No. 2
OHS is recommending an increase to the contract with The Chance Project in the amount of $43,490 to serve homeless clients under HEAP and an additional $135,000 to provide two housing units dedicated to the mountain communities. The increase of $43,490 is needed in order to provide The Chance Project with funding to accommodate the current HEAP clients being served, with effective housing planning activities for eventual movement to permanent supportive housing before the closing of the grant. The additional $135,000 will be used to support the Georgia Street Cabin Homekey project for the expansion of eight permanent supportive housing units in partnership with the Mountain Homeless Coalition. The Chance Project was selected to receive additional funding due to the success it has had with the innovative Moving Forward project and to assist the Mountain Homeless Coalition meet their Homekey obligations to the State. The increase of $178,490 will be funded with the redirected savings from the contract reductions and other HEAP funding that is available for HEAP contract providers.
PROCUREMENT
On October 2, 2018, OHS, in conjunction with Department of Behavioral Health, released a Request for Applications (RFA) to solicit qualified applicants to provide immediate emergency assistance to people experiencing homelessness as part of the collaborative application for State HEAP grant funding, for the tentative award period of February 2019 through June 30, 2021. Through the HEAP procurement process, fifteen contracts for a total of $6,618,146.30 were approved by the Board on April 30, 2019 (Item No. 88), and five contracts for a total of $1,889,025 were approved on May 21, 2019 (Item No. 51).
On October 8, 2019 (Item No. 13), the Board approved Amendment No. 1 to Contract No. 19-270 with The Chance Project for HEAP services, adding housing navigation services in the mountain areas, increasing the contract amount by $27,145, from $1,400,000 to $1,427,145, with no change to the total contract period of April 30, 2019 through June 30, 2021. On October 27, 2020 (Item No. 38), the Board ratified the CEO’s approval of Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. 19-270 with The Chance Project, effective September 2, 2020, expanding services as part of the Moving Forward Project, increasing the total contract amount by $1,230,000, from $1,427,145 to $2,657,145, for the contract period April 30, 2019 through August 31, 2021. Amendment No. 2 specified that there was no change to the contract term for the HEAP Program services, for the period of April 30, 2019 through June 30, 2021. Amendment No. 2 also stipulated that a separate Moving Forward Program contract was being developed with additional provisions and requirements and the new contract would supersede the Moving Forward Program detailed in Amendment No. 2.
On May 19, 2020 (Item No. 44), the Board ratified the Chief Executive Officer’s (CEO) approval of Amendment No. 1, effective May 1, 2020, to Contract No. 19-290 with the City of Montclair, updating contract language and increasing the total contract amount by $109,279, from $234,000 to $343,279, to provide shelter for persons experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 crisis, with no change to the total contract period of May 21, 2019 through June 30, 2021. Under delegated authority, Amendment No. 2 was approved effective May 1, 2020, to allow for non-substantive changes to the budget and scope of work, with no changes to the total contract amount or the contract period.
On October 27, 2020 (Item No. 27), the Board approved Contract No. 20-1072 with The Chance Project in the amount totaling $1,230,000 to provide Project RoomKey residents homeless services and housing solutions through the Moving Forward Project from November 1, 2020 to September 30, 2022. The services and additional funding under Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. 19-270 terminated upon the approval and execution of Contract No. 1072 for the Moving Forward Project.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Suzanne Bryant, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on April 15, 2021; Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector (Erika Gomez, General Accounting Manager, 382-3196) on April 15, 2021; Purchasing Department (Bruce Cole, Supervising Buyer, 387-2148) on April 16, 2021; Finance (Chris Lange, Administrative Analyst, 386-8393) on April 15 2021; and County Finance and Administration (Tanya Bratton, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0332) on April 15, 2021.