Agenda Item
ASR
Control 24-000109 |
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MEETING
DATE: |
03/12/24 |
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legal entity taking action: |
Board
of Supervisors |
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board of supervisors district(s): |
1,
2 |
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SUBMITTING Agency/Department: |
County
Executive Office (Approved) |
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Department contact person(s): |
Douglas
Becht (714) 834-2323 |
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Lilly
Simmering (714) 834-6234 |
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Subject: Approve Memorandum of Understanding
with the City of Garden Grove
ceo CONCUR |
County Counsel Review |
Clerk of the Board |
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Concur |
Approved
Agreement to Form |
Discussion |
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3
Votes Board Majority |
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Budgeted: N/A |
Current Year
Cost: N/A |
Annual Cost: FY2024-25: $165,000 |
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Staffing Impact: |
No |
# of Positions: |
Sole Source: N/A |
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Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A
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Prior Board Action: N/A |
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RECOMMENDED
ACTION(S):
1. |
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. |
2. |
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