To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Rick Tooker, Community Development Director
Prepared By: Lark Ferrell, Housing Manager
TITLE:
Title
Cooperative Joint Powers Homeless Services Agreement with Napa County and Update on Homeless System Redesign
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute the Joint Powers Homeless Services Agreement with the County of Napa.
Body
DISCUSSION:
The City of Napa (the “City”) and the County of Napa (the “County”) have historically partnered with each other to address the needs of homeless individuals and families. The City’s Police Department has taken the lead on homeless outreach and encampment clean-up activities while the County has funded specialty mental health services and drug and alcohol recovery services for vulnerable individuals and families. In recent years, the City and the County have each funded 50% of year-round shelter operating costs and the County has funded 100% of winter shelter operations.
In 2016, the City and the County undertook a redesign of the community’s homeless system. This was done by jointly engaging Corporation for Supportive Housing and National Alliance to End Homelessness to review the community’s homeless system and to then develop recommendations for system changes. The report was presented to the Board of Supervisors and to the City Council in April 2016. The recommendations included:
1. Jointly funding a Homeless Programs Coordinator to oversee the homeless services system.
2. Establish the Napa Funders’ Collaborative to bring together key community stakeholders with the goal of aligning funding and policy to reduce homelessness in the region.
3. Develop an affordable and supportive housing funding mechanism (the Flex Pool) to incorporate private and public sources to fund the creation and operation of housing and supportive services for households.
4. Redesign and fund the homeless emergency shelter and homeless crisis response system to better align with Housing First principles (versus the previous “housing ready” model where people were not housed until they were considered ready for housing) and other national best practices such as low barrier shelters to let people in rather than screen them out.
5. Create and implement a coordinated entry system to standardize the matching of housing and service resources to people experiencing a housing crisis.
Since 2016, the City and County have made significant progress implementing many of these recommendations. Progress to date includes the establishment of the funders’ collaborative with representatives from Gasser Foundation, Napa Valley Community Foundation, Napa Valley Vintners, Partnership Health, Queen of the Valley, County Probation, County Public Health, the Housing Authority of the City of Napa, and the City of Napa (including representatives from the Napa Police Department), among others. Through these partnerships, several new grants totaling millions of dollars have come into the homeless system for flexible funds and funding towards supportive housing. This includes funding from St. Joseph’s Healthcare and Partnership Health Plan. Additionally, the County has secured a number of new grants, including grants to expand mental health residential treatment capacity and implement mental health crisis stabilization, grants linking housing to health care, and a one-time $2 million grant to further improve the homeless system. Additionally, the County was awarded a five-year Whole Person Health grant which brings $2 million into the system. This pilot program is provided through Medi-Cal and provides supportive housing services to chronically homeless and disabled homeless.
The County has also hired a Homeless System Coordinator. This position, which is jointly funded by the City and County and filled in 2016, oversees management of the community’s homeless system and is helping to roll out the Whole Person Health Care Program. Additionally, the County issued a request for proposals, and Abode Services was selected as the Flex Pool and homeless system operator. The County and Abode are currently working to fully implement coordinated entry systems. Abode is also working with the Police Department to expand outreach and diversion efforts and to help locate housing for homeless households.
To date, progress has also been made to improve programming and staffing at the Hope Center. As part of this effort, the Hope Center was cleaned and repainted. Abode’s outreach team has been based out of the Hope Center to help address neighborhood concerns about the area near the Hope Center, which has received far fewer complaints in recent months. The Police Department’s downtown beat has had an increased presence downtown including around the Hope Center, and its Homeless Outreach team has been actively working to address concerns about encampments while working closely with Abode’s outreach staff.
One of the remaining outstanding recommendations is to formalize the City’s and County’s collaboration on the homeless system by entering into a Cooperative Joint Powers Homeless Services Agreement (see Exhibit “A”). Under this Agreement, each party’s role and responsibilities are identified. Additionally, the Agreement identifies the amounts the City would reimburse the County for its services. This includes approximately half of the cost for the County’s contract with Abode Services for its operation of the Flex Pool and the year-round homeless shelter system, one-third of the cost of the joint Homeless Services Coordinator, and approximately $33,000 toward consulting costs to ensure progress is made on tasks such as fully implementing a coordinated entry system and providing continuing training on best practices to shelter staff. For FY2017-2018 this totals $639,576. Under the terms of the Agreement, each year the County would present a proposed budget to the City for its review and approval.
Another recommendation currently being developed is to work to increase the community’s supply of permanent supportive housing units. Permanent supportive housing is housing that includes on-going supportive services for those households who require extra support to be successful in housing. Valley View Senior Homes in American Canyon is currently under construction, which will include three units for homeless persons 55 years or older referred through the Coordinated Entry System and 17 units for chronically homeless veterans 55 years and older who are referred through the Veterans’ Administration. Additionally, the County has secured permanent supportive housing funding for rental assistance for units scattered throughout the community. The City and County are continuing to work with community partners on a permanent supportive housing project which will expand the supply of permanent supportive housing units in the community. This type of housing is critical to the success of the redesigned homeless system.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
There are sufficient funds budgeted in the City’s adopted FY2017-2018 General Fund budget (41723-55002) for up to $639,576, representing the City’s portion of costs under the proposed Joint Powers Homeless Services Agreement for Fiscal Year 2017-2018. There is also $73,158 in CDBG funds provided directly to Abode Services for a portion of South Napa Shelter’s annual shelter operating costs. This funding is under a separate contract and was approved by separate Council action.
CEQA:
The Community Development Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not subject to CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Resolution Authorizing City Manager to Execute the Joint Powers Homeless Services Agreement
EX A - Joint Powers Homeless Services Agreement with Napa County
NOTIFICATION:
The County of Napa and Abode Services were notified of this agenda item.