Agenda Item AGENDA STAFF REPORT ASR Control 24-000333
MEETING DATE:	06/04/24
legal entity taking action:	Board of Supervisors
board of supervisors district(s):	All Districts
SUBMITTING Agency/Department:	County Executive Office (Approved)
Department contact person(s):	Douglas Becht (714) 834-2323
	Amanda Sanchez (714) 834-3268

Subject: Memorandum of Understanding for Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention

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: N/A

Staffing Impact:

# of Positions:

Sole Source: N/A

Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

Funding Source: N/A	County Audit in last 3 years: No
Levine Act Review Completed: N/A

Prior Board Action: 7/18/2023 #24

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

Approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Orange, the City of Anaheim, the City of Irvine, and the City of Santa Ana for Round 5 of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program Commitment to Partnership and Participation in a Regionally Coordinated Homelessness Action Plan.

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, the City of Anaheim, the City of Irvine and the City of Santa Ana will support the County of Orange and Orange County Continuum of Care in meeting a condition from the California Interagency Council on Homelessness regarding the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program Round 5 funding and required coordination by overlapping jurisdictions.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Program is a grant administered by the State’s Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency (BCSH) through the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH). HHAP Program provides local jurisdictions with funds to specifically support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges with the goal of ending and preventing homelessness in their community. Eligible applicants for HHAP Program include counties, cities, and Continuum of Cares (CoC). The County of Orange (County) is the eligible applicant for both the County and the Orange County CoC allocations. Additionally, the Cities of Anaheim and Santa Ana are eligible applicants and have received funding through the first four rounds of HHAP funding. The City of Irvine became an eligible applicant and recipient for the first time during the Round 4 of HHAP Program funding.

Prior Board Action

Board Date	Contract	Action
July 18, 2023	Approve Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Cities of Anaheim, Irvine and Santa Ana for Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention commitment to partnership.	Approved as Recommended.

HHAP Allocations by Rounds

Eligible Applicant	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5
County of Orange	$7,486,576	$3,433,435	$9,582,817	$7,131,233	$8,346,727
Orange County CoC	$8,081,116	$3,823,692	$10,267,304	$7,600,842	$8,699,841
City of Anaheim	$8,422,163	$3,981,386	$10,290,352	$5,092,955	$5,878,393
City of Irvine				$5,092,955	$5,878,393
City of Santa Ana	$8,422,163	$3,981,386	$10,290,352	$5,092,955	$5,878,393

As part of the HHAP Round 4 application process and in an effort to implement a Cal ICH best practice, the County entered into an MOU to establish a commitment to partnership with the City of Anaheim, City of Irvine and City of Santa Ana in July 2023.

The HHAP Round 5 Notice of Funding Availability was made available on September 29, 2023, with the objective of providing recipients with flexible funding to continue efforts to improve regional and systems coordination to prevent and end homelessness in their communities. State priorities for HHAP Round 5 include sustaining existing investments towards the long-term sustainability of housing and supportive services and prioritizing permanent housing solutions. The HHAP Round 5 allocation for the County is $8.35 million and for the CoC is $8.67 million. Applicants eligible for HHAP program funds must apply as part of a region and be a signatory to a regionally coordinated homelessness action plan. The County worked collaboratively with the cities of Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Irvine to complete the HHAP Round 5 application, submitted on March 27, 2024. A required component of the HHAP Round 5 funding process is submission of a MOU signed by each participating applicant, that details the commitments to focus on coordinating and integrating strategies to address homelessness regionally.

The County Executive Office (CEO) Office of Care Coordination has worked with the City of Anaheim, City of Irvine, and City of Santa Ana to establish a regional MOU outlining and detailing a HHAP commitment to partnership. The goal of the MOU is to ensure that all HHAP-funded entities communicate, work collaboratively, and leverage, whenever possible, available resources to maximize impact and serve the greatest number of households experiencing homelessness. This commitment aligns with recent efforts to work with and leverage opportunities to address homelessness and requires county-wide collaborative efforts. This MOU will meet the Cal ICH’s best practice requirement of entering into a regional MOU with detailed commitments that focus on coordinating and integrating interim and permanent housing resources, supportive services, and outreach and engagement strategies as noted in the document that the Office of Care Coordination signed in, and which was agreed upon during the HHAP Round 5 application process.

On February 27, 2024, the City of Irvine received approval from their respective city council to enter the MOU between the County of Orange, the City of Anaheim, the City of Irvine, and the City of Santa Ana for HHAP commitment to partnership and participation in a regionally coordinated homelessness action plan.

On April 24, 2024, the Orange County CoC Board approved the County of Orange, as the Collaborative Applicant for the Orange County CoC; City of Anaheim; City of Irvine; and the City of Santa Ana to establish a commitment to partnership and participation in a regionally coordinated homelessness action plan in implementation of the HHAP Program.

On May 21, 2024, the City of Anaheim received approval from the city council to enter the MOU between the County of Orange, the City of Anaheim, the City of Irvine, and the City of Santa Ana for HHAP commitment to partnership and participation in a regionally coordinated homelessness action plan.

May 21, 2024, the City of Santa Ana received approval from the city council to enter the MOU between the County of Orange, the City of Anaheim, the City of Irvine, and the City of Santa Ana for HHAP commitment to partnership and participation in a regionally coordinated homelessness action plan.

Board approval of the MOU with the City of Anaheim, City of Irvine, and City of Santa Ana will continue to support the provision of the HHAP Program and efforts to address homelessness in the County of Orange and support the overall System of Care. By approving the Recommended Actions, the County will maintain vital homeless service infrastructure and programming for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

N/A

STAFFING IMPACT:

N/A

ATTACHMENT(S):

Attachment A - Memorandum of Understanding
Attachment B - HHAP-5 Guidance