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CITY OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA
REPORT TO THE JOINT MEETING: GLENDALE CITY COUNCIL AND
GLENDALE HOUSING AUTHORITY
AGENDA ITEM
Report: Housing Programs Update – Low Income Student Rental Assistance Program and Low Income Family Employment & Rental Assistance Program.
1. Council Motion to Receive and File Report and Direct Staff to Extend the Housing Program(s) for One Additional Year Utilizing Remaining Unencumbered Funding.
2. Council Resolution of Appropriation
COUNCIL ACTION
Item Type: Action Item
Approved for February 6, 2024 calendar
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
At its meeting of October 20, 2020, the City Council received a report on funding a variety of new, temporary, housing programs for lower income households that would be financed utilizing Measure S funds, and subsequently approved and funded two new programs, the Low-Income Student Rental Assistance Program (LISRAP), and the Low- Income Family Employment & Rental Assistance Program (LIFERAP).
LISRAP is an affordable housing program designed to provide rental housing assistance to low income, Glendale-based, Glendale Community College (GCC) students who are living alone or with family, while also providing them supportive services such as education and employment support/skills. The program is administered by GCC, via its Glendale College Foundation programming for its “Fresh Success” program. LISRAP was awarded $1.309M in Measure S funding for a 3-year term.
LIFERAP provides housing and employment assistance to low-income Glendale families for a 12-month period to support employment training and education activities, or any other goals identified/set by the family and case manager for adults in working families, to facilitate income progression so that by the time of successful completion of the program, the family members are left with the necessary tools to support themselves.
The program is administered by the Verdugo Job Center and was awarded $1.315M in Measure S funding for a 3-year program term.
Both programs are approaching the end of their 3-year terms. While faced with challenges early on due mainly to the emergence from the COVID pandemic lockdown, both 2{{section.number}}1
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programs proved to be successful in assisting Glendale households and achieving program objectives. At this time, staff estimates that the two programs, combined, will realize approximately $259,000 in unused program funding, hence staff’s request for direction on its continued use.
In consultation with GCC and VJC, staff is proposing that both programs be extended, for one additional year, utilizing $109,000 and $150,000 in unencumbered funding for both the LISRAP and LIFERAP programs, respectively.
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council adopt a motion to receive and file the Housing Programs Update report and extend both programs, for one additional year, utilizing $109,000 and $150,000 in unencumbered funding for both the LISRAP and LIFERAP, respectively.
ANALYSIS
In October 2020, the City Council approved two new, temporary affordable housing programs for lower income households utilizing an allocation of Measure S funding. Both programs are approaching the end of their 3-year terms. Program accomplishments are provided below for City Council information. In addition, staff estimates approximately $259,000 in unused program funding, from both programs, will be realized and staff requests City Council direction on its continued use.
Low Income Student Rental Assistance Program
The purpose of LISRAP is to provide rental housing assistance to lower income, GCC and Glendale based students, who are living alone or with family, while also providing them supportive services such as education and employment support/skills. The program is operated by GCC and was created when analysis showed that basic needs and economic insecurities were faced by students many of whom are Glendale residents.
In response, GCC established an Office for Basic Needs to ensure that participants received adequate basic needs support (food, shelter, transportation, etc.) to impact their persistence and completion of their education and that participants receive education and training that will improve their employability after they complete their education at GCC. This resulted in the Fresh Success Program. Students enrolled in the Fresh Success program at GCC are required to participate in:
•Undergoing an initial intake process and employability assessment with a case manager. The goal of this is to assess a student’s educational and career goals and identify any barriers to achieving those goals.
•Enrolling in CalFresh to receive food benefits under the program. •Ongoing meetings with a case manager at GCC, which includes academic and career counseling or coaching a minimum of three times per semester. •Attending workshops on academic success, career planning, soft skills development, and financial management. The requirement on the number of workshops varies based on the student’s academic goals and enrolled courses. 3{{section.number}}1
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Participants in the Fresh Success program also receive a number of supportive services to ensure their educational success at GCC and increase their future employability.
These supportive services include:
•Case management by GCC staff and/or interns who are recent Marriage and Family Therapy graduates from local universities.
•Academic and career counseling that goes above and beyond that which is available to other students.
•Financially based supportive services, which will include:
o Tuition waivers;
o Textbook vouchers;
o Transportation assistance in the form of bus passes;
o Gift cards for the purchase of hygiene supplies and clothing; o Access to the GCC food pantry and additional food support in the form of Grocery Store Gift Cards;
o Emergency grants for ancillary expenses: medical, housing, utilities, dependent care (pending partnerships to expand funding sources).
At the request of City Council, the Fresh Success program was expanded to provide housing support in the form of either emergency rental assistance or ongoing subsidized rent to qualified participants of the program. This allowed both the City of Glendale and GCC to address the issue of housing insecurity and homelessness, which serves as a major educational barrier to individuals who are financially insecure. After an appropriation of $1.309M in Measure S funding, the City and GCC entered into a Cooperation Agreement and advanced funding to be utilized exclusively for housing assistance payments to qualified students. GCC operates as a subcontractor for the City program and leverages it with its services under the Fresh Success program.
LISRAP participants must also meet the following criteria:
•Participants must be a resident of Glendale.
•Annual household income must be below Very Low incomes levels, 50% of Los Angeles County Area Median Income (AMI) at the time of application. •Participant must be 18 years of age or older.
•Participant must be a registered student at GCC, either with full or part time student status.
•Student is required to be taking at least one basic needs course, career and technical education course, vocational education course, or English as a second language course at GCC.
•Students who are enrolled in courses outside of the areas noted above, will be required to attend 12-hours per month of workshops and training on job search, job readiness, and job retention.
GCC operated three services under the LISRAP program, which included:
1) 12-Month Rental Subsidy: For students who were “Extremely Low-Income,” defined as being under 30% of Area Median Income. These students were already tenants in Glendale whose income put them at high risk of losing 4{{section.number}}1
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housing, or were homeless in Glendale and were being re-housed through the program.
2) 2-Month Rental Subsidy: For students who were “Very Low-Income,” defined as being between 30% to 50% of Area Median Income. This allowed the funds to be used to support students who struggled to pay rent during certain months of the year, often a back-fill to other funding/financial aid running out. This also helped prevent evictions and/or potential evictions caused by the inability to pay rent. 3) Emergency Hotel Vouchers: For students who were homeless in Glendale, an up to 5-night hotel stay was provided. This gave GCC staff time to begin the rapid- rehousing process, while providing students with a safe place to stay until their case was processed.
Since the launch of the LISRAP program, 215 GCC students who lived in Glendale or were homeless in Glendale applied for support through the program. All 215 met initial application eligibility by receiving government support (CalFresh) and being enrolled in the Fresh Success Employment & Training program.
As GCC has access to multiple internal mechanisms and controls to verify income, addresses, and identify additional documentation that the student may have omitted during the application process, a high number of applicants were denied. Given this internal data and due diligence, GCC had rejected nearly 55% of applicants because the applicant’s reported income was not an accurate representation of their actual income and/or resources.
As of today, 98 students and their families have been approved for support through the LISRAP program. Of the 98 students and families supported, seven were homeless in Glendale and were rehoused in apartments in Glendale because of the LISRAP program. All seven of the formerly homeless students and/or families remain housed today, even though the 12-month LISRAP support had ended.
In addition to the financial support provided to the 98 Glendale residents and their families, students who were approved for the LISRAP program showed higher academic achievement levels compared to the general student population. Students who were approved for LISRAP had an approximate 95% course pass/success rate, as compared to under 80% for the general student population. Students approved for the LISRAP program were also able to achieve an approximate half-point higher GPA during their LISRAP support period, as compared to the general student population.
These results indicate that the LISRAP program also had a significant impact on students’ overall academic achievement and attainment.
To date, $800,000 of the $1.309M has been advanced to GCC for housing subsidies. Of that, $702,732 has been expended, with another $161,621 encumbered for current and future obligations leaving approximately $444,647 in unencumbered funding. Based on current rate of applications, reviews, and approvals, it is estimated that approximately $185,000 of additional funding will be encumbered by the end of the current contract term. Based on this projection, approximately $259,647 is estimated to be left unused by the end of the current contract term.
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Low Income Family Employment & Rental Assistance Program LIFERAP is administered by the VJC to provide housing and employment assistance to low income, working, Glendale families for a 12-month period. The goal is to provide housing subsidies and support employment training and education activities, or any other goals identified/set by the family and case manager for adults in working families to facilitate income progression. The ultimate goal of the program is to assist families so that by the time of successful completion of the program, the family members are left with the necessary tools to support themselves.
The methods used to accomplish the program’s purpose, is to provide vocational case management, and time-limited rental assistance which will allow participants to divert limited cash resources to support employment, training and education or other related activities and savings.
LIFERAP participants must meet the following criteria:
•Annual household income must be below 80% of Los Angeles County Area Median Income (AMI) at the time of application.
•At least one member of the household must be a minor child under 18 years of age.
•Household must be living in Glendale.
•At least one adult must be a legal resident of the U.S. •At least one adult must be working a minimum of 32 hours per week at the time of application, unless all adults in the household are disabled. •Family must be living independently, and not share a dwelling. •The dwelling the tenant is currently living in and /or the one they will be moving into must pass a minimal inspection.
•Demonstrate a willingness to participate in vocational case management and a commitment and capacity for employment, training and/or education.
VJC staff were responsible for program advertising, client recruitment, and eligibility screening.
Over 700 families applied for the program and 95 families were ultimately enrolled.
Year 1 had 25 household participants, Year 2 had 38 participants, and 32 households participated in Year 3. All 95 participating families received on average $9,103 in housing subsidy for a 12-month period and in total $864,755 in rental subsidies were provided. In addition, all families received case management, referrals, monthly trainings and other resources to improve their quality of life. The trainings were provided through GYA’s partnership with Chase Bank, Housing Rights Center and New Horizons etc. The topics for the monthly trainings included the following:
•Budget and Savings Training
•Financial Health training
•Career Exploration, Labor Market Information, Linkedin •Cyber Security Workshop
•Managing Debt
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•Tenant Rights
•Homebuying Seminar
Program results to date include:
98% of the families successfully completed the entire 12-month program. 94% indicated they were very satisfied with the overall program. 97% indicated they were very satisfied with the trainings provided. 89% found the saving component beneficial.
92% indicated that the program made a meaningful difference in their life. 33% had increased income - promotion/new job at the end of the program. 40% enrolled in a training and/or education program.
36% completed a training program and received a certificate/diploma.
To date, three families were able to purchase a house and several others were able to save the funds needed for their downpayment of a future home.
At the completion of the third year, VJC estimates that the total savings, for all the families combined, will be approximately $650,000, or $6,840 per family.
To date, $1.315M has been advanced to VJC for housing subsidies and program staffing costs. Of that, $997,296 has been expended, with another $317,703 encumbered for current obligations. By June 30, 2024, VJC staff projects that 100% of the funding will be expended.
STAKEHOLDERS/OUTREACH
Not Applicable.
FISCAL IMPACT
Staff estimates approximately $259,647 in savings from the LISRAP Program.
Extending both the LISRAP and LIFERAP programs for one additional year will cost $259,000, therefore staff is requesting to shift $150,000 in existing funding from the LISRAP Program to the LIFERAP Program to ensure that both programs are fully funded for the additional year. The appropriation request is outlined below.
Requesting Appropriation
Amount From (Account
String)
To (Account String) Funding Source
$150,000 43110-1070-CDD-
8507-P8009
43112-1070-CSP-
8509-P5226
General Fund
(Measure S)
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW (CEQA/NEPA)
Not applicable.
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CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE
This item is exempt from campaign disclosure requirements.
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Alternative 1: The City Council may adopt a motion to receive and file the report and take no action on extending either housing program.
Alternative 3: The City Council may adopt a motion to receive and file the report and take action on extending the LISRAP housing program only.
Alternative 4: The City Council may adopt a motion to receive and file the report and take action on extending the LIFERAP housing program only.
ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION
Submitted by:
Bradley Calvert, Director of Community Development
Prepared by:
Peter Zovak, Assistant Director
Approved by:
Roubik R. Golanian, P.E., City Manager
EXHIBITS/ATTACHMENTS