title
Approve submission of a grant application for the No Place Like Home Program 2017 Technical Assistance grant in the amount of $100,000; Authorize the County Administrator to sign the grant application and agreement and any and all other documents necessary to secure the grant; and Approve an Appropriations Transfer Request (ATR) in the amount of $100,000 (4/5 vote required)
body
Published Notice Required? Yes ___ No _X _
Public Hearing Required? Yes ___ No _X _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Department of Health and Social Services recommends that the Board of Supervisors approve submission of a grant application of $100,000 and authorize the County Administrator to sign the grant application and agreement and any and all other documents necessary to secure the grant; and approve an Appropriations Transfer Request (ATR) in the amount of $100,000 (4/5 vote required).
SUMMARY:
The No Place Like Home (NPLH) technical assistance (TA) grant is intended to assist counties with planning for the No Place Like Home competitive and non-competitive grant application which will use Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) funding to pay debt services on bonds issued to expand permanent supportive housing for individuals with serious mental illness who are homeless, chronically homeless, or at-risk of chronic homelessness. The No Place Like Home competitive grant through the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is expected to post for proposals in summer 2018. Solano County will be eligible for a minimum of $1.7 million in the non-competitive process, as well as competitive funds, the amount of which is not presently specified.
Solano County H&SS will use the technical assistance funds to support the stakeholder input process and develop a proposal to secure the housing funds through HCD. Additional information regarding this statewide project is included on HCD’s website: <http://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-funding/docs/draft-nplh-framework-16dec21.pdf>
Solano County Behavioral Health has begun a stakeholder process that includes the Housing Authority for all three city jurisdictions and will be expanded through use of the technical assistance funds.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
NPLH TA funds will be added to the Department’s FY2017/18 Budget Appropriations. No County General Fund is associated with this grant.
DISCUSSION:
On July 1, 2016, Governor Brown signed into legislation AB 1618, to create the NPLH Program, which dedicated $2 billion in bond proceeds for the development of permanent supported housing for persons who are in need of mental health services and are experiencing homelessness, are chronically homeless, or are at-risk of chronic homelessness. The bonds are repaid by funds from the Mental Health Services Act, reducing the statewide MHSA allocation to the counties.
The NPLH TA funding is the first in a series of funding opportunities related to the NPLH Program. In Summer 2018, there will be a non-competitive application where Solano County is eligible for $1.7 million. Additional funds will be available through a competitive application process. These TA funds will assist the Department in its preparation to compete for these grant funds.
For purposes of these technical assistance funds, eligible uses include costs associated with the planning, design, application for, and implementation of, a NPLH project, including:
1) Applying for NPLH Program funds
2) Implementing NPLH activities
3) Coordinating funded activities with local homelessness systems, including Coordinating Entry Systems
4) Collecting data, sharing data amongst multiple systems, evaluating program activities, sharing data among multiple systems, and implementing regulatory and homelessness systems
5) Planning for delivering a range of supportive services to tenants.
6) Promote evidence-based service delivery, including soliciting consumer feedback,
7) Develop or implement community acceptance strategies
8) Hire staff or consultants to assist with:
a. Identifying potential sites,
b. Developing a process to identify potential developers, or development sponsors,
c. Monitoring activities of developers or development sponsors to ensure adherence with NPLH Program requirements.
d. Brokering relationships and coordinating activities between parties involved in providing housing and/or services to members of the Target Population, including but not limited to, the county, affordable housing developers and/or housing authorities, service providers, and local Coordinated Entry Systems, and
e. Identifying and applying for additional resources for capital, supportive services, and operation costs.
9) Coordinate and partner with other county and community providers (e.g., social services, healthcare, education, homeless providers) to increase understanding of the intersections and overlapping needs of these sectors’ shared homeless clientele
10) Coordinate and communicate with the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Department of Health Care Services, and other State agencies to support learning, identification of additional training and other technical assistance needs, regional collaboration
11) Implement other capacity-building activities related to creating housing models suitable for the Target Population
12) Develop or update a county homeless plan.
Once the TA funds are awarded, the County will be required to enter into a Standard Agreement with HCD requiring the parties to comply with the requirements and provisions of the TA guidelines as well as generally applicable contracting rules and requirements.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board could decide not to approve this grant application and not obtain the Technical Assistance Grant. This alternative is not recommended as the TA grant will assist the County in preparing an application for the NPLH housing funds. In addition, receipt of these TA funds does not obligate the county to apply for the NPLH housing funds when they become available.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
There are no other agencies involved with this item.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION