Agenda Item AGENDA STAFF REPORT ASR Control 24-000109
MEETING DATE:	03/12/24
legal entity taking action:	Board of Supervisors
board of supervisors district(s):	1, 2
SUBMITTING Agency/Department:	County Executive Office (Approved)
Department contact person(s):	Douglas Becht (714) 834-2323
	Lilly Simmering (714) 834-6234

Subject: Approve Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Garden Grove

ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

Concur

Approved Agreement to Form

Discussion

3 Votes Board Majority

Budgeted: N/A

Current Year Cost: N/A

Annual Cost: FY2024-25: $165,000
FY2025-26: $165,000

Staffing Impact:

# of Positions:

Sole Source: N/A

Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

Funding Source: State 100% (Encampment Resolution Funding Program)	County Audit in last 3 years: No
Levine Act Review Completed: N/A

Prior Board Action: N/A

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

Approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Orange and the City of Garden Grove for the implementation and administration of the Encampment Resolution Funding Program Round 2, effective April 15, 2024, through June 30, 2026.

Authorize the Director of Care Coordination or designee to execute the Memorandum of Understanding as referenced in the Recommended Action above.

SUMMARY:

Approval of the Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Orange and the City of Garden Grove will allow for the City of Garden Grove to transfer Encampment Resolution Funding to the County of Orange to address the homeless encampment site at Beach Boulevard and Trask Avenue in the City of Garden Grove.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The State of California has established the Encampment Resolution Funding (ERF) Program that was initially authorized in 2021 through Assembly Bill (AB) 140, which allocated $50 million for the first round of funding. AB 178 allocated an additional $300 million for ERF-Round 2 funding. The ERF Program is a competitive grant program available to assist local jurisdictions in ensuring the wellness and safety of people experiencing homelessness in encampments by providing services and supports that address their immediate physical and mental wellness and result in meaningful paths to safe and stable housing.

On October 29, 2021, the ERF-Round 1 Program released a request for applications for the first round of funding. The County of Orange (County) was awarded $3,627,030 to address the encampment located at Talbert Regional Park in the City of Costa Mesa. The ERF-Round 1 Program is scheduled to end on June 30, 2024.

On December 1, 2022, the ERF-Round 2 Program released a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) to fund actionable, person-centered local proposals that resolve the experience of unsheltered homelessness for people residing in encampments.

Through the ERF-Round 2 NOFA, the County’s Office of Care Coordination and City of Garden Grove (City) collaborated on designing a proposal that demonstrated a comprehensive plan to serve individuals experiencing homelessness in the identified encampment site in the City, with enhanced supportive services. The proposal leveraged the County’s Regional Care Coordination Services Model and the Care Plus Program to provide a multi-disciplinary approach to case conferencing and enhanced care coordination to expedite connections to supportive services and resources across the County’s System of Care. The collaboration with the City and County leverages regional collaboration between street outreach providers, street medicine programs, and other community-based organizations to provide personalized and comprehensive wrap-around services. In September 2023, the City received funding under the ERF-Round 2 Program and will contribute funds to the County to support the expansion of the Care Coordination Services Model as outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The County’s Office of Care Coordination has worked with the City on the development of the MOU for the implementation and administration of the ERF-Round 2 Program (Program). Under the MOU the City will disburse $330,000 in Program funding to the County. The County will transition the ERF-Round 1 Program team from the City of Costa Mesa to the City of Garden Grove starting July 1, 2024. This will allow the County and the City to leverage their experience and expertise in working with ERF and addressing homeless encampments. The County will dedicate one Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Care Coordinator Supervisor and two FTE Care Coordinators to the identified encampment site at Beach Boulevard and Trask Avenue for a two (2) year period ending June 30, 2026. The Care Coordinators will provide street-based case management services to clients in the community with the goal of linking them to long-term supportive services while the client is experiencing unsheltered homelessness. The MOU contains standard County language developed and approved by County Counsel.

The County’s Office of Care Coordination will be working to contract the Program with PATH, the current ERF-Round 1 Program provider, given their experience in working with individuals experiencing homelessness in encampments. The Office of Care Coordination will bring this contract to the Board of Supervisors for approval at a future meeting.

On November 27, 2023, the ERF-Round 3 Program released a NOFA, providing different application windows to submit proposals. The Office of Care Coordination worked to submit an ERF-Round 3 Program application by the first application window of January 31, 2024, to address the unsheltered homeless population along Beach Boulevard. The Office of Care Coordination collaborated with the California Department of Transportation and the seven cities – Brea, La Habra, Anaheim, Stanton, Garden Grove, Westminster, Huntington Beach – that Beach Boulevard transverses, and detailed how the City’s ERF-Round 2 Program award will be leveraged to support the County’s ERF-Round 3 Program application given the overlapping areas of Beach Boulevard to be addressed.

Approval of the MOU with the City will support the implementation of the Program for individuals experiencing homelessness in the proposed encampment site within the City. By approving the Recommended Actions, the County will be able to support in the implementation of a vital homeless service program for individuals experiencing homelessness and support the City’s commitment and effort to address homelessness.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

Revenue budget for this MOU will be included in Budget Control 018 FY 2024-25 and FY 2025-26 Budget Requests. This MOU has no impacts to the County General Fund.

STAFFING IMPACT:

N/A

ATTACHMENT(S):

Attachment A - Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Garden Grove
Attachment B - Assembly Bill 140
Attachment C - Assembly Bill 178