REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL February 13, 2020 FROM: LEE BRAND, Mayor Office of the Mayor & City Manager MIGUEL ARIAS, Council President, District 3 ESMERALDA SORIA, Councilmember, District 1 GARRY BREDEFELD, Councilmember, District 6 (Members, City Council Subcommittee on Homelessness) BY: H. SPEES, Director, Strategic Initiatives Office of the Mayor & City Manager SUBJECT ..Title Actions pertaining to the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program: 1. Approve a proposed Joint Service Plan for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program estimated preliminary allocations, which include allocations to the City of Fresno ($6,158,246); County of Fresno ($2,325,640); Fresno Madera Continuum of Care ($2,954,437); and the County of Madera ($411,434) (Attachment A) 2. Approve the City's grant application for $6,158,246.18 to the California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council ..Body RECOMMENDATION Approval of the recommended actions will allow for the implementation of the attached Joint Service Plan including Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) allocations from the City of Fresno (City), Fresno Madera Continuum of Care (FMCoC), and Counties of Madera and Fresno totaling $11.8 million (Attachment B). The proposed plan will regionally extend current services and augment shelter beds in the City of Fresno. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY HHAP funding will be used to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address homelessness in Fresno and Madera Counties. Per the Notice of Funding Availability, the grant applications must be submitted to California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC) by February 15, 2020. The Counties and FMCoC will similarly place an item on their respective agendas to review and approve the joint service plan. This plan calls for the expenditure of these funds over two years from July 2021 through June 2023 and was unanimously approved by the members of the City Council Subcommittee on Homelessness and the Mayor with the goal of providing two years additional funding for programs initiated under earlier HEAP funding. The Subcommittee's recommendations to reduce the number of beds in District 3 and add new Triage beds regionally were included in the final Joint Service Plan adopted by all four HHAP applicants. The plan may require future changes to ensure the allocations are fully expended and strategic goals are met. BACKGROUND HHAP is authorized by Assembly Bill 101 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 159, Statues of 2019), which was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on July 31, 2019. HHAP is a $650 million block grant program designed to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address immediate homelessness challenges throughout the State. HHAP funding is divided into three categories for distribution: Continuums of Care, Cities (Large Cities with population over 300,000), and Counties. A planning group consisting of representatives from the City, FMCoC, and Counties of Madera and Fresno drafted the proposed Joint Service Plan, which supports a continuum of services. The plan is consistent with the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) planning process undertaken in 2019, which is consistent with the 14 priorities supported by the entities' in 2019 and 2020. The proposed Joint Service Plan will regionally extend Triage Centers, Bridge Housing, Youth Bridge Housing, Rapid Rehousing for an added year; and, augment outreach. This plan includes recommendations made by the members of the City Council Subcommittee on Homelessness as follows: 1.) That the 37-bed Triage Center currently operated by Turning Point in District 3 be relocated outside of District 3; 2.) That 18 additional Triage Center beds be added, also to be located outside of District 3. The location of these beds will be a part of the procurement process taking place over the next 16 months for implementation in July 2021. If necessary, agreements and/or amendments for these services will be brought to Council for approval at a future date. The proposed activities are part of a coordinated plan among HHAP allocation recipients. The Joint Service Plan with the region's recipients, utilizing the $11.8 combined allocation, will ensure a continuum of services across jurisdictions to strengthen the region's crisis response network to address the homelessness crisis in Fresno and Madera Counties. Should you elect not to approve the recommended actions, the City would forfeit HHAP funding to provide immediate emergency assistance to people experiencing homelessness in the community. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS This item is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act. LOCAL PREFERENCE Local preference was not implemented because this item does not involve an award of a construction or service agreement. FISCAL IMPACT There is no increase in Net City Cost associated with the recommended action. The City maximum of 7% of the grant, or $431,077, will be retained for administrative costs and a minimum of 8% is set aside for youth homeless services. There is no matching contribution requirement for these funds. In addition, for both recipients, up to 5% of an applicant's program allocation may be expended on a strategic homelessness plan and/or infrastructure development to support Coordinated Entry Systems (CES) and Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS). The entire grants must be expended by June 30, 2025. HHAP grant program funding cannot be used to supplant existing local funds for homeless housing, assistance, or prevention. Attachments: Attachment A - HHAP Grant Allocations Attachment B - HHAP Proposed Service Plan