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Agenda Item
ASR
Control 24-000243 |
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MEETING
DATE: |
05/07/24 |
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legal entity taking action: |
Board
of Supervisors |
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board of supervisors district(s): |
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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Karen
Betances (714) 834-2184 |
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Subject: Renewal Contract for Yale
Navigation Center Shelter Operations and Services
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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: FY 2024-25 $9,645,416 |
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Staffing Impact: |
No |
# of Positions: |
Sole Source: No |
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Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A
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Prior Board Action: 4/9/2024 #24, 5/23/2023 #56,
11/17/2020 #13, 6/23/2020 #S66B |
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RECOMMENDED
ACTION(S):
Approve Amendment No. 10 and
authorize the County Procurement Officer or Deputized designee to execute and
renew the Contract with PATH, People Assisting the Homeless for Yale Navigation
Center Shelter Operations and Services, for a term effective July 1, 2024,
through June 30, 2025, for an amount not to exceed $9,645,416, for a revised
cumulative total Contract amount not to exceed $35,452,160.
SUMMARY:
Approval of the Amendment to renew
the Contract for the Yale Navigation Center Shelter Operations and Services
will provide individuals experiencing homelessness in the Central Service
Planning Area of Orange County continued access to emergency shelter and
housing-focused case management.
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:
The Yale Navigation Center first
opened in January 2021 and provides emergency shelter services for up to 425
beds for adult (ages 18 and over) individuals experiencing homelessness in the
Central Service Planning Area (SPA) in Orange County.
Prior
Board of Supervisors (Board) Actions:
|
Board Date |
Contract/Amendment |
Contract Term |
Action |
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11/20/2018 |
Purchase and
Sale Agreement |
N/A |
Approved as
Recommended |
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11/19/2019 |
Cooperation and
Implementation Agreement and Ground Lease |
11/19/2019 –
11/19/2020 |
Approved as
Recommended |
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6/23/2020 |
Amendment 2 to
the Ground Lease |
6/23/2020 –
12/31/2020 |
Approved as
Recommended |
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11/17/2020 |
Contract Yale
Shelter Operator Services MA-042-21010673 |
11/17/2020 –
6/30/2024 |
Approved as
Recommended |
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5/23/2023 |
Amendment No. 7
to Contract MA-017-22011908 |
7/1/2021 –
6/30/2024 |
Approved as
Recommended |
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4/9/2024 |
Amendment No. 9
to Contract MA-017-22011908 |
7/1/2021 –
6/30/2024 |
Approve as
Recommended |
Since 1983, PATH, People Assisting
the Homeless (PATH) has provided a full range of homeless services centered on
housing people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including street
outreach, emergency shelter, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing
programming. PATH has been a leader in effectively and efficiently serving the
most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness in our communities. PATH has
grown to also serve the Counties of Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa
Barbara, and Santa Clara, and become one of California’s largest homeless
services agencies. PATH is the current operator of Yale, and previously
operated the Cold Weather Emergency Shelter in the City of Fullerton and the
Placentia Navigation Center in the North SPA. Additionally, PATH is also
contracted by the County to provide Rapid Rehousing Services for Individuals,
and Regional Care Coordination Services.
Scope
of Services:
The services under the Emergency
Shelter Operations and Services for Yale Navigation Center (Program) are
designed to provide safe, temporary shelter services with the goal to ensure a
household’s experience with homelessness is as brief as possible. The Program
incorporates evidenced-based approaches such as motivational interviewing, progressive
engagement, trauma-informed care, harm reduction and risk management, to
address barriers to housing and economic stability. Access into the Program is
facilitated by referrals from community partners, including law enforcement
departments, street outreach providers and Coordinated Entry System (CES)
Access Points through the CES bed reservation system. The Program receives
referrals from law enforcement, other County Departments, CES access points,
and street outreach providers, with the majority of its referrals coming from
street outreach providers (25 percent), and law enforcement departments (24
percent).
The Program operates in accordance
with the County of Orange’s Standards of Care for Emergency Shelter Providers
(Standards of Care). The Standards of Care are a comprehensive set of
administrative, operational, and facility-based standards designed to support
the quality and consistency of program operations, evidence-based participant
services, core organizational and administrative functions, and facility design
and operations.
PATH provides the following
services at minimum as part of the Program:
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a. |
Process
referrals into the Program through identified referral partners and through
the Bed Reservation System to ensure equity and accessibility of beds. |
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b. |
Intake and
assessment to understand the history of participation in other homeless
service assistance programs and collection of needed demographic information
from participants. |
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c. |
Housing-focused
case management to support program participants with locating housing options
that meet the participant's individual needs. |
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d. |
Housing
navigation services to support the participants in identifying available
housing units and community resources, completing needed forms and
applications for housing, as well as providing support through in-person or
teleconference meetings relating to housing search and placements. |
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e. |
Coordinated
Entry System (CES) Access Point to support participants in accessing the CES
through the completion of an assessment and the collection of required
documentation to verify length of homelessness, homelessness status and/or
disabling condition. |
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f. |
On an annual
basis, at minimum, the contractor must solicit participant feedback to assess
program operation changes to better support and meet the needs of
participants and evaluate how to best meet the performance outcomes. |
The agreed upon Scopes of Work and
Services outlined in the proposed Contract are in alignment with the Shelter
Pillar’s best practices, guiding principles and commitments as detailed in the
Homeless Service System Pillar Report.
As the operator of the Yale
Navigation Center, PATH will continue to support the regional strategies with
ensuring all referring providers can seamlessly access the shelter program
within the Central SPA.
Performance
Metrics:
From July 1, 2022, to March 1,
2024, the following performance metrics were measured and achieved:
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FY 2022-23 |
FY 2023-24* |
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Number
of Participants Served |
804 |
987 |
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95
percent of all participants will be continuously engaged in an active
individualized service and housing plans. |
81% |
72% |
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90
percent of participants will be connected to the CES within 30 days of
program enrollment. |
86% |
89% |
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30
percent of participants exited were placed into a permanent housing
destination |
16% |
6% |
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95
Percentage of bed utilization |
84% |
93% |
* Fiscal
Year in progress – July 1, 2023, to March 1, 2024
PATH is currently
under performing in the performance outcome categories of active individualized
services and housing plans, as well as placements in the permanent housing
destinations. PATH’s ability to meet the
individualized service and housing plan performance outcome has been impacted
by high staff turnover, which has been detrimental to service delivery and data
entry quality, as well as the severity of barriers experienced by participants
which limits their ability to engage meaningfully in this process. Program data
from FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24 indicates that:
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a. |
82 percent of
participants reported having at least one disabling condition. |
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b. |
50 percent of
participants reported having a mental health concerns. |
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c. |
38 percent of
participants reported having a substance use disorder. |
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d. |
Additionally,
there are 15 beds designated to serve individuals who meet the Mental Health
Services Act eligibility of serious and persistent mental illness which means
that behavioral health support for these participants is critical. |
Furthermore, PATH’s ability to meet
the participant exiting into a permanent housing destination performance
outcome has been impacted by the decrease in available housing resources (i.e.,
motel housing) following the end of COVID-19. This is further exacerbated by an
already challenging local housing
market. Together, both occurrences lead to less permanent housing opportunities
for participants to transition to. The County Executive Office (CEO) is
actively working with PATH to review current practices related to the Program
operations by facilitating monthly meetings with PATH and addressing all
aspects of the contract in detail, including performance outcomes achieved. In
addition, bi-weekly programmatic meetings are held in person to facilitate case
conferencing related to housing service plans, exits to permanent housing, data
entry accuracy and strategies to enhance the delivery of services.
The outcome measures for the
Program during the term July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, are detailed below.
Please note these have been updated from the previously negotiated contract
described above and based on trends observed by the Office of Care Coordination
across the Homeless Service System.
The target goals for the performance
metrics are:
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a. |
75 percent of
participants will have an Individualized Housing and Service Plan within
thirty (30) calendar days of program enrollment. |
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b. |
90 percent of
participants will be connected to the CES within 30 days of program
enrollment. |
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c. |
At minimum, 20
percent of participants will exit to a permanent housing destination. |
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d. |
At minimum, 15
percent of participants will have a higher income than at program entry due
to employment and or mainstream benefits. |
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e. |
Maintain a bed
occupancy/utilization of 90 percent or higher through the term of the Contract. |
The recommended Amendment to renew
the Contract with PATH with an annual budget of $9.6 million is a $1.8 million
increase from the current fiscal year. Through the contract negotiation
process, PATH noted operational costs, such as staffing, food, and security
services, increasing significantly due to the economic environment.
Additionally, PATH noted that as an agency, the additional funding from
fundraising that were previously leveraged to offset the costs and support the
operations of the Program, are no longer available. As the recommended
Amendment is the fifth year of the contract with PATH expiring at the end of FY
2024-25, the Office of Care Coordination will issue a solicitation through a
Request for Proposal (RFP) in the Fall of 2024 to identify another vendor to
continue the Yale Navigation Center Shelter Operations and Services.
The CEO works collaboratively with
PATH and approves a Good Neighbor Policy that is included wherein Contractor
provides services to County residents and the services may have a potential
impact on the surrounding neighborhood(s) including but not limited to
environment, safety, and congregation. CEO has worked with PATH to address any
community concerns and negative feedback and will continue to work with PATH to
ensure positive community relations.
The Contractor’s performance has
been confirmed as satisfactory. The County Procurement Office has verified there
are no concerns that must be addressed with respect to Contractors’
ownerships/names, litigation status or conflicts with County interests.
This Contract does not currently
pass through to other providers but does have subcontractors. See Attachment C for
the Contract Summary Form. The Orange County Preference Policy is not
applicable to this Contract renewal. The CEO has worked to incorporate the
Homeless Service System Pillars Attestations into the Amendment for the
Contract as detailed in the recommended actions, for the Shelter Pillar as
applicable to the Emergency Shelter Operations and Services being provided.
The CEO requests that the Board approve
the Amendment to the Contract with PATH for Emergency Shelter Operations and
Services for the Yale Navigation Center as referenced in the Recommended
Actions above. Approval of the Amendment will continue to support the County’s
effort to build a responsive System of Care that meets the needs of different
segments of the homeless population.
FINANCIAL
IMPACT:
Appropriations for this Contract
will be included in Budget Control 018 FY 2024-25 Budget Request.
The
funding sources for this Contract will be:
County
General Fund: 91%
State:
9% [Mental Health Service Act Grant (3%); Pet Assistance and Support Grant
(2%); Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program Grant (4%)]
The proposed Contracts include provisions
allowing CEO to terminate the Contracts, reduce the level of services, and/or
renegotiate the levels of services provided, as necessary. This includes a
notice that allows CEO adequate time to transition or terminate services to
clients, if necessary.
STAFFING
IMPACT:
N/A
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment
A – Amendment No. 10 to Contract MA-017-22011908 with PATH
Attachment B – Redline to Contract MA-017-22011908
Attachment C – Contract Summary Form for MA-017-22011908