City Council Office
September 20, 2022 Erik L. Larsh
Presiding Judge of the Superior Court 700 Civic Center Drive West Santa Ana, CA, 92701
RE: Orange County Grand Jury Report, City of Fullerton Response
Mayor, Fred Jung Mayor Pro Tem, Bruce Whitaker
Nick Dunlap Jesús J. Silva Ahmad Zahra
The purpose of this letter is to provide a formal response to the Orange County Grand Jury Report, “How is Orange County Addressing Homelessness?” All cities in Orange County were identified to provide a comment to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court on findings and recommendations.
Findings
F3: The County of Orange and cities within Orange County have been inconsistent in collaboration for support of shelters and services, which has resulted in missed opportunities to end homelessness.
Response: The Respondent disagrees with the findings.
The thirteen (13) North Orange County Service Planning Area cities, which includes the City of Fullerton, have designed a system of care for support of outreach and shelter activities to address homelessness. Efforts included coordinating the different network systems of resources and services:
Developing one network system through the implementation of a regional street homeless outreach and engagement services program across the 13 cities utilized for referrals and case management.
A warm hand-off between public safety and community-based organizations to ensure the right resources are being provided for the right person at the right time.
Spring 2018: Inaugural month-long, by-name Homeless Census Report resulting in a census of 1,837 in North Orange County, of which 1,324 provided their individual unique identifiers to track their progress (By-Name Registry).
Spring 2021: From the 2018 1,324 By-Name Registry, over 628 exited homelessness and entered into housing and 581 have engaged in case management.
The By-Name Registry allowed service providers to utilize a software application - Outreach Grid - to effectively streamline support for transient homeless individuals to match them with relevant care and housing.
Significantly reduced the amount of time public safety officers or service workers searched for resources and decreased the inability to find a client.
Shared responsibility with a common agenda and vision by entering a Memorandum of Understanding amongst the participating cities to determine governance, cost sharing and operational responsibilities in the creation of two regional Navigation Centers.
Established the first-of-its-kind bed shelter reservation management system application to coordinate availability in Navigation Centers to ensure that beds are available and ready for use in real time.
F4: There are an insufficient number of rental units available to those exiting Emergency Shelters, resulting in the majority returning to homelessness when leaving the shelter.
Response: The Respondent partially agrees with the findings.
The County’s Coordinated Entry System is intended to streamline access and referrals to housing opportunities to support people experiencing homelessness in accessing permanent housing. In addition to constraints in the housing market, additional barriers such as lack of income, criminal backgrounds, and lower credit scores add another layer of complexity, delaying housing and more importantly stabilization.
Recommendations
R4: By July 1, 2024, the County of Orange and cities should collaborate to open facilities that can house people with severe and persistent mental illness and addiction issues in a secure setting.
Response: The recommendation has been partially implemented.
The City of Fullerton partnered with Illumination Foundation in 2019 to develop and fund a state-of-the-art Navigation Center that includes 60 recuperative care beds and 90 emergency shelter beds. The Navigation Center includes a fully staffed medical and dental services at the facility. The medical team works with the local hospitals and Medical who refer homeless clients whose addiction needs to be monitored by the medical professionals. The facility after treatment works with the Housing Navigators to place the clients in long-term facility with required services. These needed services are based in a secure setting. The City continues to explore opportunities with existing facilities within the community to address mental illness and addiction issues.
R5: By July 1, 2023, the County of Orange, cities and CoC should collaborate to encourage the development of housing affordable to individuals exiting the emergency shelters in Orange County.
Response: The recommendation is being implemented.
The City surplused two parcels for development of new affordable housing. The first site, the City has entered into an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement with Meta Housing to develop a 68-unit affordable housing project at 1600 Commonwealth. The City is currently processing the plans and going through environmental review. In addition, the second site will be listed on the California Housing and Community Development page for creation of additional affordable housing within the City in the near future.
R6: By December 1, 2022, the County of Orange, cities and CoC should collaborate to increase the number of housing opportunities for Transitional Aged Youth.
Response: The recommendation has been implemented.
Currently, through its participation in the North Orange County Public Safety Collaborative, the City of Fullerton funds community-based organizations such as the Homeless Intervention Services of OC (HIS-OC) that operates 8 male beds for Transitional Aged Youth.
Should you have any questions or need any additional information, please contact Eric Levitt, City Manager, at (714) 738-6310 or via email at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Fred Jung Mayor
Cc: Fullerton City Council Eric Levitt, City Manager
Richard D. Jones, City Attorney
303 West Commonwealth Avenue, Fullerton, California 92832-1775 (714) 738-6311 [email protected] www.cityoffullerton.com