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Approve the appointments of Debbie Vaughn, Principal Management Analyst, County Administrator’s Office as the primary and Emery Cowan, Mental Health Services Administrator, Health and Social Services as the alternate, to the Community Action Partnership of Solano (CAP Solano) Joint Powers Authority, to complete the 2 year terms expiring on June 30, 2019; and Approve the appointment of Emery Cowan as the Solano County representative to the Housing First Solano Continuum of Care
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Published Notice Required? Yes ____ No _X _
Public Hearing Required? Yes ____ No _X _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The County Administrator’s Office and the Health and Social Services Department recommend the Board of Supervisors approve the appointment of Debbie Vaughn, Principal Management Analyst, County Administrator’s Office (CAO) as the primary and Emery Cowan, Mental Health Services Administrator, Health and Social Services (H&SS) as the alternate, to the Community Action Partnership of Solano (CAP Solano) Joint Powers Authority (JPA) to complete the 2 year terms expiring on June 30, 2019; and Approve the appointment of Emery Cowan as the Solano County representative to Housing First Solano Continuum of Care
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
In 1999, the County and Solano County cities established a joint powers authority for the purpose of providing oversight and coordination of homeless and safety net services; to receive safety net funding and administer such funding including making grants available to non-profit entities for the provision of homeless services; and to provide centralized guidance and oversight for homeless housing services, community action councils, and other safety net services.
In 2006, the JPA was renamed Community Action Partnership of Solano County or CAP Solano, to reflect the national trend of community organizations and local governments working together in partnership on reducing homelessness and providing basic safety net services. CAP Solano JPA is the collaborative applicant for federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds, the Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) lead agency, and the recipient of the County’s Community Service Block Grant funds (CSBG) from the State of California.
On March 7, 2017, the Board appointed Tonya Nowakowski, Assistant Director of H&SS as the primary, and Sandy Rose, Community Services Coordinator, H&SS as the alternate representatives to CAP Solano JPA. Ms. Nowakowski will separate from the County on April 12th. At that time, Ms. Rose will directly report to Emery Cowan who is the lead staff member coordinating and overseeing homelessness services within H&SS. Debbie Vaughn is the CAO analyst assigned to H&SS and works with the department on housing programs as well as on special housing/homeless programs coordinated through the CAO.
Therefore, it is recommended that Debbie Vaughn be appointed as the primary CAP Solano JPA representative and Emery Cowan be appointed as the alternate CAP Solano JPA representative for Solano County.
The Board appointed Tonya Nowakowski as the Solano County representative to Housing First Solano Continuum of Care (CoC) on September 11, 2018. Housing First Solano CoC is the regional CoC for Solano County and is the regional planning body of representative stakeholders in Solano County that coordinates the community’s policies, strategies and activities toward preventing and ending homelessness. It is recommended that Emery Cowan replace Ms. Nowakowski as the Solano County representative due to her ongoing work and coordination with community services providers in housing and homelessness.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The costs associated with preparing the agenda item are nominal and absorbed by the department’s FY2018/19 Adopted Budget. There is no additional impact the County General Fund with the recommended appointments.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board may choose not to approve the appointments or to select other individuals to represent Solano County on CAP Solano JPA and Housing First Solano CoC.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The County Administrator’s Office and Health and Social Services participated in the development of the staff report.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION