Agenda Item   

AGENDA STAFF REPORT

 

                                                                                                                        ASR Control  20-000686

 

MEETING DATE:

08/25/20

legal entity taking action:

Board of Supervisors

board of supervisors district(s):

4

SUBMITTING Agency/Department:

Health Care Agency   (Approved)

Department contact person(s):

Jason Austin (714) 834-5000 

 

 

Clayton Chau (714) 834-2830

 

 

Subject:  Ratify Memorandums of Understanding with the Cities of Fullerton and La Habra

 

     ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

Concur

Approved Agreement to Form

Discussion

 

 

3 Votes Board Majority

 

 

 

    Budgeted: No

Current Year Cost: $1,721,000

Annual Cost: N/A

 

 

 

    Staffing Impact:

No

# of Positions:

Sole Source: N/A

    Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

  Funding Source: FED: 100% (CARES Act Funding)

County Audit in last 3 years: No

 

 

    Prior Board Action: N/A

 

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

 

 

1.

 

 

 

Ratify the Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Orange and the City of Fullerton to allocate $1,092,000 of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding for the operation of the Fullerton Navigation Center effective August 1, 2020, through December 30, 2020.

 

2.

Ratify the Memorandum of Understanding between the County of Orange and the cities of Fullerton and La Habra to allocate $629,000 of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding for the cities’ Alternate Shelter Program effective July 15, 2020, and through November 14, 2020.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY:

 

Ratification of the Memorandums of Understanding will support the operation of the Fullerton Navigation Center and the joint Fullerton-La Habra alternate shelter program for serving individuals experiencing homelessness that were affected by COVID-19.

 

 

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

 

Fullerton Navigation Center

In March 2020, the Health Care Agency (HCA) shifted operations of the Cold Weather Shelter Program operating at the Fullerton Armory (Armory) to the Independence Park Gymnasium with the support of the City of Fullerton after the activation of the National Guard made the Armory site unavailable. The new emergency shelter at Independence Park Gymnasium was extended to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide individuals experiencing homelessness the ability to follow the California Governor’s Safer at Home guidelines and limit their exposure to COVID-19. The use of the Independence Park Gymnasium was a temporary solution to respond to the immediate need of continuing to provide shelter after the Armory site closed.

 

The Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) between the County of Orange (County) and the City of Fullerton to allocate Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding will support individuals experiencing homelessness that were affected by COVID-19 in the North Service Planning Area and who were using shelter services at the temporary Independence Park location. By supporting operations of the Fullerton Navigation Center, the County will be able to transition the current shelter program participants from the Independence Park Gymnasium to the Fullerton Navigation Center; and close the temporary Independence Park Gymnasium location. 

 

The MOU in the amount of $1,092,000 in CARES Act funding is a necessary expenditure that the County has incurred as a response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, as described above. This amount was not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020, for the state or County, and it is incurred during the period that begins March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020.

 

Due to the urgency of the timeframe related to the operations of the Fullerton Navigation Center and the need to distribute the CARES Act funds to the City of Fullerton to provide shelter to individuals experiencing homelessness in the North Service Planning Area, the MOU was executed and is now submitted to the Board of Supervisors (Board) with a ratification request. 

 

Alternate Shelter Program for Fullerton and La Habra

HCA has primarily been responsible for implementing the County’s COVID-19 Homelessness Response System that encompasses three components: Temporary Isolation for individuals who are sick or symptomatic for COVID-19, Temporary Shelter for Vulnerable Individuals and Alternative Shelter for individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness who are asymptomatic.  The first two components are part of the County’s implementation of the state initiative, Project Roomkey. Project Roomkey is designed to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by providing non-congregate shelter in hotels and motels for individuals experiencing homelessness who are sick or symptomatic for COVID-19 and those who are at high risk for severe COVID-19 illness due to being 65 years of age or older and/or having underlying health conditions.

 

The cities of Fullerton and La Habra expressed interest in operating an Alternative Shelter Program modeled after the County’s implementation of Project Roomkey to serve the most vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness in their communities. The MOU to allocate CARES Act funding for the cities’ of Fullerton and La Habra’s supports the operations of a joint Alternate Shelter Program that serve individuals experiencing homelessness who are at high risk for severe COVID-19 illness due to being 65 years of age and older/or having underlying health conditions. Additionally, it supports the County in creating additional motel resources for those experiencing homelessness as part of the overall county Project Roomkey response.

 

The MOU in the amount of $629,000 in CARES Act funding is a necessary expenditure that the County has incurred as a response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, as described above. This amount was not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020, for the state or County, and it is incurred during the period that begins March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020.

 

Due to the urgency of the timeframe related to the operation of an Alternative Shelter Program and the need to distribute the CARES Act funds to the cities of Fullerton and La Habra to provide shelter to vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness in the North Service Planning Area, the MOU was executed and is now submitted to the Board with a ratification request. 

 

HCA requests the Board to ratify the MOUs between the County and the cities as referenced in the Recommended Actions above.

 

 

 

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

 

Appropriations for these Agreements are included in Budget Control 042 FY 2020-21 Budget.

 

 

 

STAFFING IMPACT:

 

N/A

 

ATTACHMENT(S):

 

Attachment A - MOU with the City of Fullerton
Attachment B - MOU with the cities of Fullerton and La Habra