REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JENNIFER CLARK, Director
Planning & Development Department
PHIL SKEI, Assistant Director
Planning & Development Department
BY: JILLIAN GAYTAN, Senior Management Analyst
Housing and Community Development Division
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) program:
1. ***RESOLUTION - Authorizing application to and acceptance of funding from the State of California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency’s (BCSH) California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) as a joint applicant for the fifth round of Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program (HHAP) and authorizing the City Manager to sign all required implementing documents. (Subject to Mayor’s Veto)
2. Approve a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) committing the City to participate in and comply with the jointly completed Regionally Coordinated Homelessness Action Plan and application for the fifth round of HHAP
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council approve the resolution to submit an application as an eligible applicant to Cal ICH in order to continue to receive HHAP funds and authorize the City Manager to sign all required implementing documents.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Fresno (City) is eligible for a fifth round of HHAP (HHAP-5) funding to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address homelessness in the city. BCSH requires all eligible applicants to submit an application and a Regionally Coordinated Homelessness Action Plan to Cal ICH for HHAP-5 funding no later than March 27, 2024. By submitting the application and Regionally Coordinated Homelessness Action plan, the City will receive an initial disbursement equal to 50% of its $13,096,671.82 total allocation.
BACKGROUND
HHAP-5 is a $1 billion grant program authorized by Section 17 of AB 129 (Chapter 40, Statutes of 2023; Health & Safety Code (HSC) § 50230, et seq.), which was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on July 10, 2023. HHAP-5 is established for the purpose of organizing and deploying the full array of homelessness programs and resources comprehensively and effectively, and to sustain existing federal, state, and local investments toward long-term sustainability of housing and supportive services. Eligible recipients of HHAP funding include: Continuums of Care, Cities (Large Cities with population over 300,000), Counties, and Tribal Governments.
In August 2023, a planning group consisting of representatives from the City, Fresno Madera Continuum of Care (FMCoC), and Counties of Madera and Fresno, began coordinating to complete the proposed Regionally Coordinated Homelessness Action Plan and application template provided by the state. The homelessness action plan developed by the region’s HHAP-5 recipients will ensure a cross-jurisdictional continuum of services to strengthen the region’s crisis response network to address the homelessness crisis in Fresno and Madera Counties and the City of Fresno. The state requires participating applicants to collaborate and engage in a public stakeholder process to inform the development of the Regionally Coordinated Homelessness Action Plan. The jurisdictional partners hosted a total of five in-person public meetings: one hosted by Madera County, two hosted by Fresno County, one hosted by City of Fresno, one hosted by the FMCoC; one virtual meeting was hosted by the City of Fresno. The following stakeholder groups were invited:
• People with lived experience of homelessness
• Youth with lived experience of homelessness
• Persons of populations overrepresented in homelessness
• Local department leaders and staff from qualifying smaller jurisdictions, including child welfare, health care, behavioral health, justice, and education system leaders
• Homeless service and housing providers operating within the Central Valley region
• Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans contracted with the State Department of Health Care Services in the region
• Street medicine providers and other service providers directly assisting people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness
The Regionally Coordinated Homelessness Action Plan includes: (1) specific roles and responsibilities of each participating applicant within the region as they pertain to outreach and site coordination, siting and use of available land, the development of interim and permanent housing options, and coordination, connecting and delivering services to individuals experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness, within the region; (2) system performance measures (SPM) data for the region, which includes number of people accessing services, experiencing unsheltered homelessness, accessing services for the first time, exits to permanent housing, length of time experiencing homelessness while accessing services, percentage of returns to homelessness, and successful placement from street outreach. Each SMP includes a racial and ethnic disparities subcategory; (3) key actions the region intends to take to improve each of the above performance measures which identifies funding sources, lead entity and collaborating entities, timeframes for implementing key actions, and methods to measure the success; (4) key action the region will take to ensure racial and gender equity in service deliver, housing placements and retention, changes to procurement to affirm equitable access to housing and services, and describe how the CoC collaborates with cities and counties. (5) key actions to reduce exits to homelessness from institutional settings; (6) total amount of available funding prioritized for permanent housing solutions and how each participating applicant is utilizing local, state, and federal funding programs to end homelessness; and (7) explain how the region is connecting individuals to wrap-around services from all eligible federal, state, and local benefit programs.
Per Health and Safety Code section 50233(f), the Regionally Coordinated Homelessness Action Plan must be reflected in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by each participating applicant. The MOU commits all signatories to participate in and comply with the Regionally Coordinated Homelessness Action Plan. The MOU, drafted by the County of Fresno, was approved by City Attorney’s Office on February 5, 2024 and approved by County of Madera on February 20, 2024. The final MOU signed by County of Madera and City of Fresno, along with the Regionally Coordinated Homelessness Action Plan and application is schedule to be presented at the FMCoC general membership meeting on March 14, 2024 and the County of Fresno’s board meeting on March 19, 2024.
HHAP-5 allocations are based on HUD review of the 2023 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count and calculated on the percentage of those experiencing homelessness residing in each respective jurisdiction. The City of Fresno’s allocation totals $13,096,672, the total combined regional allocation is $25,756,214. By submitting the application and local homelessness action plan, the City will receive an initial disbursement of 50% of the HHAP-5 allocation totaling $6,548,335.91. To receive the second disbursement of funds, the City must demonstrate that no less than 75 percent of HHAP-5 funds are contractually obligated, and no less than 50 percent of HHAP-5 funds are expended by June 30, 2026.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This item is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not implemented because of State funding.
FISCAL IMPACT
The agreement will be funded through the City’s Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention allocation.
Attachments:
Resolution with attached HHAP 5 Application
Memorandum of Understanding - HHAP-5