REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 8, 2021
FROM
CASONYA THOMAS, Assistant Executive Officer, Human Services
SUBJECT
Title
Grant Awards from the State of California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 2 Program Funding
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Accept grant awards from the State of California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 2 Program funding to support regional coordination and provide immediate assistance to people experiencing homelessness in the region, effective upon approval by the State through June 30, 2026:
a. San Bernardino County Continuum of Care (Standard Agreement No. 21-HHAP-00041) in the amount of $1,453,114.
b. San Bernardino County (Standard Agreement No. 21-HHAP-00040) in the amount of $1,300,625.
2. Designate the Chief Executive Officer or the Assistant Executive Officer to execute the grant award documents, as well as all other ancillary supporting documents, and make any subsequent non-substantive amendments and changes necessary on behalf of the County, subject to review by County Counsel.
3. Authorize the Office of Homeless Services to prepare and submit the grant awards and supporting materials and documents on behalf of the San Bernardino County Continuum of Care and San Bernardino County.
4. Direct the Chief Executive Officer or the Assistant Executive Officer or the Chief of Homeless Services to transmit all grant documents and amendments in relation to Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors within 30 days of execution.
(Presenter: CaSonya Thomas, Assistant Executive Officer, 387-4717)
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.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The total allocation amount of $2,753,739 ($1,453,114 for the San Bernardino County Continuum of Care (SBC CoC) and $1,300,625 for San Bernardino County) is administered by the State of California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency’s (BCSH) as authorized by Assembly Bill (AB) 83, which was signed into law by the Governor on June 29, 2020, and does not require a match. Necessary appropriation and revenue adjustment are not requested at this time, but will be included in a future quarterly budget report presented to the Board of Supervisors (Board) for approval.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On November 13, 2020, the State of California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC) released the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Program Round 2 grant funding. HHAP Round 2 is a $300 million block grant program authorized by AB 83 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 15, Statutes of 2020), which was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on June 29, 2020. HHAP Round 2 is designed to build on regional coordination developed through previous rounds of HCFC Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP), HHAP Round 1, and emergency COVID-19 funding. HHAP Round 2 funds should be used to continue to build regional coordination and a unified regional response to reduce and end homelessness.
On January 5, 2021 (Item No. 22), the Board approved the submission of two applications allowing the County Office of Homeless Services (OHS), as the Administrative Entity (AE) of these awards, to apply for both the SBC CoC grant allocation of up to $1,453,114 and the San Bernardino County grant allocation of up to $1,300,625. The County and SBC CoC applications were approved for total allocation amount of $2,753,739. The action before the Board is for acceptance of the grant awards and delegates authority to execute the grant award documents and any ancillary supporting documents, including non-substantive amendments necessary on behalf of the County, in relation to HHAP Round 2, subject to review by County Counsel. The grant term is for five years and commences upon execution by the State of California.
HHAP Round 2 funding is intended to provide CoCs, counties, and large cities (population of 300,000 or more) additional assistance in continuing to move homeless individuals and families or individuals and families at-risk of homelessness into permanent housing and supporting the efforts of those individuals and families to maintain their permanent housing using a best practices framework. HHAP Round 2 requires grantees to expend funds on evidence-based solutions that prevent, reduce and end homelessness. Grantees may not use HHAP grant funding to supplant existing local funds for homeless housing, assistance, or prevention, and funds must be expended in compliance with Housing First requirements per Health and Safety Code Section 50220.5(g).
Eligible uses of HHAP Round 2, similar to HHAP Round 1, include but are not limited to the following: rental assistance and rapid rehousing, operating subsidies including reserves, landlord incentives, homeless outreach and coordination, job programs, promoting housing stability, systems support for regional partnerships and maintaining a homeless services and housing delivery system, delivery of innovative housing solutions such as hotel and motel conversions, prevention and shelter diversion, and navigation centers and emergency shelters where the region can justify demonstrated need.
A minimum of eight percent of HHAP Round 2 funds must be used to provide services specific to the needs of homeless youth. Up to five percent of an applicant’s program allocation may be expended on administration, such as infrastructure development to support Coordinated Entry Systems and Homeless Management Information Systems. Administrative costs are capped at seven percent of program funds.
On November 17, 2020 (Item No. 43), the Board approved the development of an annual San Bernardino County Homeless Strategic Plan to increase the efficacy and expand the impact of the County’s housing and homeless programs. The Homeless Strategic Plan will encompass broad strategies that, together, will bring the necessary capacity, investment, partnership and collective impact to achieve the goal of addressing homelessness. Upon final adoption of the Homeless Strategic Plan, the County and the CoC will collaborate to propose projects and programs aligned with the Homeless Strategic Plan related to HHAP Round 2 funding.
The HHAP Round 2 funds totaling an estimated $2,753,739, will be administered accordingly by the respective awardees:
• SBC CoC allocation - Total award of $1,453,114. Up to $1,235,147 of the award will be allocated to programs and/or projects yet to be determined to support the provision of homeless services. Once the Homeless Strategic Plan is adopted, the County and the CoC will collaborate to recommend projects and programs in alignment with the Homeless Strategic Plan and a recommendation will be presented to the Board for how the funding should be expended. A minimum of $116,249 will be allocated to youth services as required per State regulations, and the remaining balance, or up to $101,718 will be retained by OHS to perform the administration of the State grant; and,
• County allocation - Total award of $1,300,625. On December 15, 2020 (Item No. 44), the Board earmarked $1,105,531 of proposed HHAP Round 2 funding to provide operating costs, such as administrative expenses, utility expenses, operation and maintenance, taxes and insurance, and supportive services costs for the All-Star Homekey project. The prospective receipt of this funding was included in the original project budget in order to make the project viable for the $5,000,000 in operating costs. The project is a motel/hotel conversion that is providing interim to permanent housing assistance for residents who were formerly participating in Project Roomkey and impacted by COVID-19. The remaining balance of $104,050 will be allocated to youth services as required per State regulations, and up to $91,044 will be retained by OHS to perform the administration of the State grant.
The following actions were taken by the Board in relation to HHAP Round 1 and Round 2 program funding:
On February 11, 2020 (Item No. 26), the Board approved the submission of an application to the BCSH for HHAP Round 1 funding, allowing the County to apply for both the San Bernardino County grant allocation amount of up to $2,865,015, and the SBC CoC grant allocation amount of up to $3,071,060.
On May 19, 2020 (Item No. 36), the Board approved the acceptance of the following grant awards for the HHAP Round 1 funding from the HCFC for a period of five years: SBC CoC HHAP Round 1 in the amount of $3,071,060 (Standard Agreement No. 20-HHAP-00088); and San Bernardino County HHAP Round 1 in the amount of $2,845,118 (Standard Agreement No. 20-HHAP-00081).
On December 15, 2020 (Item No. 44), the Board approved the Homekey County grant agreement with Shangri-La Industries, LLC, 450 G Street, LP and Step Up on Second, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $5,000,000 for operating costs of the All-Star Lodge Homekey project. The item dedicated both HHAP Round 1 funding and proposed HHAP Round 2 funding in the total amount of $3,473,191 to support the project (HHAP Round 1 in the amount of $2,367,660, and earmarking HHAP Round 2 in the amount of $1,105,531).
On January 26, 2021 (Item No. 38), the Board approved contracts with 12 agencies for the provision of SBC CoC HHAP Round 1 homeless-related services in a total amount not to exceed $2,440,834, for the contract period of January 26, 2021 through June 30, 2025.
On February 9, 2021 (Item No. 30), the Board approved a contract with the City of Montclair for the provision of SBC CoC HHAP Round 1 homeless-related services, in an amount not to exceed $115,254, for a contract period of February 9, 2021 through June 30, 2025.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Suzanne Bryant, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on May 26, 2021; Finance (Chris Lange, Administrative Analyst, 386-8393) on May 26, 2021; and County Finance and Administration (Tanya Bratton, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0332) on May 26, 2021.