REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
December 7, 2021
FROM
GARY HALLEN, Director, Community Development and Housing
SUBJECT
Title
State Emergency Solutions Grant Continuum of Care 2021-22 Application and Resolution
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Ratify the submission of a grant application to the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development for the 2021-22 Emergency Solutions Grant Continuum of Care program in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000.
2. Adopt Resolution approving an application for funding, execution of the grant agreement and any amendments thereto for the 2021-22 Emergency Solutions Grant program Continuum of Care allocation.
3. Designate the Chief Executive Officer or the Assistant Executive Officer of Community Revitalization to execute ancillary grant application documents, subject to review by County Counsel.
4. Direct the Community Development and Housing Director to transmit all documents in relation to this application to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors within 30 days of execution.
(Presenter: Gary Hallen, Director, 387-4411)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). Upon award of Emergency Solutions Grant Continuum of Care (ESG-COC) funding, the Community Development and Housing Department (CDH) will receive an estimated amount not to exceed $1,000,000 from the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for 2021-22. Of the amount not to exceed $1,000,000 requested in the grant application, CDH has been allocated $324,424 as identified in the 2021 Notice of Funding Availability for San Bernardino County (County). CDH will return to the Board of Supervisors (Board) for acceptance of the award and any necessary budget adjustments, which may include additional funding provided by HCD.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Approval of this item will ratify submission of the San Bernardino ESG-COC application submitted by CDH to HCD on Friday, October 29, 2021. If awarded, these funds will be used to provide homeless services to individuals and families experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. HCD recommended that the County request an amount not to exceed $1,000,000 in the ESG-COC application; however, during the application process, HCD limited the County’s proposed budget amount to $324,424. Should additional funds become available during the application process, HCD could allocate an additional $675,576 to the County for a total not to exceed amount of $1,000,000.
In October 2021, CDH was notified of the impending deadline for this application. However, due to administrative oversight and significant staffing impacts, the submission of the application was considerably delayed and therefore CDH was unable to seek approval before the Board prior to submission of the application. Now that CDH is part of the Community Revitalization Group they are undergoing an assessment of the resources needed to fulfil their department responsibilities.
Upon award of grant funds CDH will undertake the necessary procurement process to enter into contracts with homeless service providers for the activities of Rapid Rehousing, Street Outreach and Homeless Management Information Systems. The proposed budget is based on the 2021-22 allocation of $324,424 identified by HCD, however, if HCD determines that more funds are available, additional funds may be awarded to the County. An item for the grant agreement will be presented to the Board at a later date, upon HCD final determination of the award amount. The proposed ESG-COC application budget is described below:
• Rapid Rehousing - $130,000: these activities are designed to quickly transition homeless individuals and families to permanent housing through housing relocation and stabilization services and short and/or medium-term rental assistance. HCD requires a minimum of 40% of the grant allocation to Rapid Rehousing efforts.
• Street Outreach - $153,113: street outreach will provide case management to assist the homeless individuals and families by connecting them to critical services. It will also include working with homeless individuals and families to obtain documents that are necessary to secure housing. HCD has no minimum or maximum allocation requirements for this activity.
• Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) - $32,442: these activities are designed to fund Emergency Solutions Grant recipient (CDH) and sub-recipient (contracted homeless service providers) participation in the HMIS collection and analysis of data on individuals and families who are homeless and at risk of homelessness. HCD allows a maximum of 10% of the grant allocation for this activity.
• Administrative Entity Grant Administration - $8,869: provides for staffing costs to administer the grant. HCD allows a maximum of 2.73% of the grant allocation for this activity.
On behalf of the San Bernardino County Continuum of Care, the County is the Administrative Entity for the State HCD ESG-COC funds, with CDH serving as the lead department. The grant supports the County Homeless Strategic Plan Strategy 2 and 3, by focusing on expanding the homelessness prevention and housing programs and creating healthy communities to improve quality of life for unsheltered individuals.
The County is required to provide HCD an approved resolution using the State Resolution template. This resolution indicates that if the ESG-COC application is approved, the Chief Executive Officer or Assistant Executive Officer of Community Revitalization is authorized to enter into, execute, and deliver the grant agreement (Standard Agreement), and any and all subsequent amendments with HCD for the purposes of the grant. Though the resolution provides for administrative authority, if funds are awarded, CDH will comply with County policy to present an item for Board consideration for grant acceptance and approval of the Standard Agreement. Although the initial application was accepted without the final approved resolution, HCD is holding the County application in a pending status until a final approved resolution is submitted. The expenditure deadline is not known at this time but will be identified in the Standard Agreement from HCD.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Suzanne Bryant, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on November 19, 2021; Finance (Kathleen Gonzalez, Administrative Analyst, 387-5412) on November 18, 2021; and County Finance and Administration (Robert Saldana, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on November 19, 2021.