Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: Authorization for Letter of Support for a Health and Human Services Hub in Rohnert Park
Date: January 24, 2023
Written by: Damien O'Bid, City Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council, by motion, authorize the Mayor to send letters of support for start up funding requests for a Health and Human Services Hub in Rohnert Park.
Background
Most health and human services in California are provided by counties, non-profit organizations, and health and hospital systems. Many of the services are largely funded by the Federal and state governments, supplemented by some county funds. Cities typically have little or no role in funding or offering these services.
Services are delivered in different ways, including:
a. By the provider directly in the community, such as county social workers responding to allegations of adult or child abuse.
b. By the provider at a centralized location, such as job training offered by the County in Santa Rosa, and a range of services at the Family Justice Center in Santa Rosa.
c. By the provider in cities and/or outlying communities. This is a common model in Sonoma County, where non-profits and health centers deliver services in numerous communities.
The County focuses on expanding services in larger population centers (Santa Rosa and Petaluma) or areas more distant from Santa Rosa. It is looking to expand services in Sonoma, Guerneville, and Cloverdale. The Cotati/Rohnert Park area does not have a robust non-profit that offers a wide range of these services, which makes it more challenging for the County to contract to deliver services here. The City of Rohnert Park has unused space at their Senior Center, which they are proposing to use as a Health and Human Services Hub (Hub).
Analysis/Discussion
The City of Rohnert Park is soliciting one-time funds for start up from traditional funding sources and has asked if the City of Cotati would support their requests. Attached is a letter Rohnert Park recently sent to the Kaiser Permanente requesting funds. If authorized by the City Council, the Mayor would send letters supporting these requests.
Financial Considerations
There are no financial impacts related to issuing letters supporting Rohnert Parks’ request for startup funding of a services hub.
Environmental Issues
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378.
Attachments:
Sample Rohnert Park Letter to Kaiser (PDF)