CITY OF
LONG
Office of the City Manager
411 West Ocean Boulevard, 1011' Floor Long Beach, CA 90802 (562) 570-6711
August 23, 2022
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
City of Long Beach
California
RECOMMENDATION:
R-22
Approve the Substantial Amendment to the City of Long Beach's 2021-2022 Action Plan and the proposed programs and budget for the HOME Investment Partnerships American Rescue Plan Program (HOME-ARP); and, Adopt Specifications No. RFP HE-22-061 and award a contract to El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center of San Bernardino, CA, for training, technical assistance, culturally- and linguistically-tailored education materials, and to perform evaluation activities, in a total amount not to exceed of $1,000,000, for a period of two years; and, authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into the contract, including any necessary subsequent amendments. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
Long Beach Recovery Act
On March 16, 2021, the City Council adopted the Long Beach Recovery Act (LB Recovery Act), becoming one of the first major cities to approve COVID-19 recovery programs made possible through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and other federal and State funding sources. Additional funding adjustments to the LB Recovery Act were made as part of the Adopted Fiscal Year 2022 (FY 22) Budget and periodic adjustments have been brought to the City Council as needed. The LB Recovery Act funding and program details were originally outlined in Attachment A to the March 16, 2021, City Council letter and in subsequent updates brought to the City Council. Since then, over 80 programs have been developed with collective impact and equity in mind, focused on the three main funding categories: Healthy and Safe Community, Economic Recovery, and Securing Our City's Future. Additional information can be found on the LB Recovery Act website: https://longbeach.gov/recovery.
1. Homeless Relief Programs
The Federal American Rescue Plan provides $5 billion in grants as part of HOME-ARP for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to distribute to loc�I
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
August23,2022
agencies to reduce homelessness and increase housing stability through assisting individuals or households who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, and other vulnerable populations by providing housing, rental assistance, supportive services, and non-congregate shelter. The City of Long Beach (City) has received a HOME-ARP grant award of $10,240,858.
HOME-ARP funds can be used for the following four eligible activities:
• Production or Preservation of Affordable Housing
• Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA)
• Supportive Services, Homeless Prevention Services, and Housing Counseling • Purchase and Development of Non-Congregate Shelter
The City's 2018-2022 Consolidated Plan required by HUD and approved by City Council on July 18, 2017, includes priority community development needs addressed in yearly Action Plans. The proposed Substantial Amendment to the 2021-2022 Action Plan (Action Plan) (Attachment), which describes how the HOME-ARP funds will be used to help the City meet its community development needs, must be approved by the City Council and submitted to HUD in order for the City to spend the HOME-ARP funds. The 2021-2022 Action Plan for the use of the City's HOME-ARP funds was first presented to the Homeless Services Advisory Committee on April 7, 2021, for feedback and input. Once HUD guidance was released, the Action Plan was presented to internal City stakeholders on November 28, 2021, for consideration and feedback. The Action Plan was presented to the public on December 14, 2021, at the Continuum of Care Board and General Membership meeting to solicit input. A Substantial Amendment to the 2021-2022 Action Plan (Substantial Amendment) was then presented to the Long Beach Community Investment Company on February 16, 2022, for a public hearing to accept public comment. The Substantial Amendment was posted on the City's website for 15 days for public review, as required by HUD. City Council approval is now requested for the Substantial Amendment to the Action Plan, which contains the following prdposed programming and budgeting of City's HOME-ARP funds.
HOME-ARP Proposed Budget
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August23,2022
Funding
Project Source Comments
Outreach and HOME-ARP To engage and link individuals experiencing Case Funding homelessness to housing and supportive
Management services. This includes easier access to shelter (Supportive and housing referrals, social services
Service) enrollments, and critical mental health services.
Non-Congregate HOME-ARP Additional housing units accessible to people Shelter/ Housing Funding experiencing or at risk of homelessness, (Acquisition / operated with wraparound services.
Rehab/
Development)
Administration HOME-ARP General administrative support associated with Funding implementing the grant.
Total
2. Addressing Health Disparities Program
Amount
$6,646,874
$2,569,898
$1,024,086
$10,240,858
LB Recovery Act Program: Addressing Health Disparities (Healthy and Safe Community) Selected Vendor: El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center Contract Duration: One year with the option to renew for one 12-month period, at the discretion of the City Manager
Contract Amount: $1,000,000
City Council approval is requested to adopt Specification No. RFP HE-22-061 and enter into a contract with El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center (El Sol) to provide training, technical assistance, culturally- and linguistically-tailored education materials, and to perform evaluation activities with a cohort of community organizations seeking to implement or expand their Promotoras/Community Health Champions (Promotora/CHC) programs. El Sol will collaborate with the City's Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) and provide a framework for successful design, implementation, and evaluation of Promotora/Community Health Champions programs of five to seven partner organizations selected by the City.
El Sol was founded in 1991 with the mission "to empower vulnerable communities to lead healthy lives with access to health care; safe, affordable housing; opportunities for education; and the leadership skills to eliminate disparities." In 2001, El Sol developed the Community Health Worker (CHW) Academy which required 70 hours of basic training.
Th.e El Sol CHW Network has a membership of over 800 Community Health Workers. El Sol is committed to promoting equity in eliminating health disparities by fostering an intentional focus on eliminating racial and other demographic differences in social determinants of health and health outcomes.
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August 23, 2022
El Sol is focused on equipping stakeholders from low-income families and under-served communities by providing systems of support, collaboration, and services to improve their quality of life. El Sol is recognized as a leading organization in identifying, training, deploying, developing, supporting, and evaluating Community Health Workers/Promotores (CHWs/Ps) to address health inequities. To ensure cultural relevance, programs are guided by a Community Advisory Board, which includes representation of the community served.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) was advertised in the Long Beach Press-Telegram on April 25, 2022, and 608 potential proposers specializing in providing training and technical assistance to community organizations were notified of the RFP opportunity. Of those potential proposers, 32 downloaded the RFP via the City's electronic bid system. The RFP document was made available from the Purchasing Division, located on the sixth floor of City Hall, and the Division's website at https://longbeach.gov/finance/business info/purchasing-division/. An RFP announcement was also included in the Purchasing Division's weekly update of Open Bid Opportunities, which is sent to 39 local, minority owned, and women-owned business groups. Additionally, the City engaged in additional outreach via Facebook, Twitter and lnstagram, and translated in Spanish, Khmer, and Tagalog. The opportunity was also advertised in the Go Long Beach, City of Long Beach Equity, and Economic Development Newsletters.
The City's Purchasing Division also assists businesses with registering on the Long Beach Buys database to download RFP specifications. There were five proposals received by May 23, 2022. Of those five proposers, five were Minority-owned Business Enterprises (MBEs), Women-owned Business Enterprises (WBEs), certified Small Business Enterprises (SBEs), and/or Long Beach vendors (Local).
The five proposals received were evaluated upon the following criteria:
• Organizational Capacity and Experience
• Method of Approach
• Communications and Reporting
• Thorough and Reasonable Program Cost Analysis
The selection committee determined that El Sol of San Bernardino, CA, was the most qualified firm to provide the services. El Sol was selected based on the company's organizational capacity and experience performing similar scopes of work, providing a comprehensive method of approach for the requested services, a structured communications and reporting plan, thorough and reasonable program cost analysis, and in meeting minimum qualifications to implement the desired scope of work.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
August 23, 2022
Local Business Outreach
To align with the City's outreach goal, Long Beach businesses are encouraged to submit proposals for City contracts. Through outreach, 143 Long Beach vendors were notified to submit proposals, of which 15 downloaded and 3 submitted a proposal. The Purchasing Division is committed to continuing to perform outreach to local vendors to expand the bidder pool.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Lauren Misajon on August 4, 2022, Business Services Manager Tara Mortensen on July 27, 2022, and by Recovery Budget Officer Dee Okam on August 5, 2022.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on August 23, 2022, to approve the Substantial Amendment to the Action Plan, adopt Specifications No. RFP HE-22-061, and award a contract concurrently with El Sol, to continue with programming to address homelessness and health disparities to support recovery in Long Beach.
EQUITY LENS
The City has incorporated the Equity Toolkit in this recommendation, as requested by the City Council on April 21, 2020. Authorizing this request will allow for a streamlined process to efficiently disburse LB Recovery Act funding intended for community recovery from the effects of the pandemic. Long Beach residents, workers, and business owners are faced with economic and social impacts that require action and assistance from the City, especially for the communities of color that were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
FISCAL IMPACT
This recommendation requests that the City Council approve the Substantial Amendment to the City's 2021-2022 Action Plan and the proposed programs and budget for the programs funded by HOME-ARP funds. Sufficient appropriation is budgeted in the Community Development Grants Fund Group in the Development Services Department to support these programs.
The LB Recovery Act has identified $7.7 million for the Addressing Health Disparities Program. The total cost of the contract will not exceed $1,000,000 and is funded by the CDC Health Disparities Grants. Sufficient appropriation for the contract is budgeted in the Health Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department.
This recommendation has no staffing impact beyond the normal budgeted scope of duties for the Long Beach Recovery Office and Recovery-related staff and is consistent with
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August 23, 2022
existing City Council priorities identified in the Long Beach Recovery Act in March 2021.
The local job impact associated with this recommendation is undetermined at this time.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully submitted,
THOMAS B. MODICA
CITY MANAGER
Attachment - Substantial Amendment to the 2021-2022 Action Plan Substantial Amendment to the 2021-2022 Action Plan
Introduction:
The Consolidated Plan is the planning and application requirement for the City’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), a program administ ered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Consolidated Plan includes yearly Action Plans that describe how CDBG funds will be used to help the City meet the community development needs. The 2021-2022 Action Plan was submitted to the Community Planning and Development Department of HUD in August 2021.
The City of Long Beach is proposing a First Substantial Amendment to its FY 2021-2022 Annual Action Plan. This Substantial Amendment is now required due to an increase in the amount of funding due to an unanticipated HOME ARP grant award of $10,240,858.
The City’s current Citizen Participation Plan defines a Substantial Amendment to an Annual Action Plan to include the addition of a new project not described in an Annual Action Plan; the deletion of a project described in an Annual Action Plan; a change in the funding amount of a project by 25% or more; a change in the purpose or scope such that it would be considered a new project; a change in the location of a project; or a change of 25% or more of the beneficiaries served by the project. The funding will be allocated to fund outreach and case management, and the development of non-congregate shelter and housing options.
Background:
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 appropriated $5 billion to provide housing, services, and shelter to individuals experiencing homelessness and other vulnerable populations, to be allocated by formula to jurisdictions that qualified for HOME Investment Partnerships Program allocations in Fiscal Year 2021. On September 13, 2021, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a notice, titled: Requirements for the Use of Funds in the HOME-American Rescue Plan Program to provide guidance to how these funds could be used. On September 22, 2021, the Grant Agreement for the HOME Investment Partnerships – America Rescue Plan (HOME-ARP) program was executed.
The proposed plan for the use of these funds was first presented to the Homeless Services Advisory Committee on April 7, 2021 for feedback and input. Once HUD guidance was released, it was presented to internal City stakeholders on November 28 , 2021 for consideration and feedback. Additionally, the proposal was presented to the public on December 14, 2021 at the Continuum of Care Board and General Membership meeting to solicit input and before this notice of public hearing.
Fiscal Impact:
The proposed changes to the Plan will affect the total amount of funding that is currently allocated to projects and activities by $10,240,858.
Project Funding
Source
Comments Amount
Outreach and
Case
Management
(Supportive
Service)
HOME ARP
Funding
To engage and link individuals
experiencing homelessness to
housing and supportive services. This
includes easier access to shelter and
housing referrals, social services
enrollments, and critical mental
health services.
$6,646,874
Non-Congregate
Shelter/Housing
(Acquisition/
Rehab/
Development)
HOME ARP
Funding
Additional housing units accessible to
people experiencing or at risk of
homelessness, operated by a housing
provider with wraparound services.
$2,569,898
Administration HOME ARP
Funding
General administrative support
associated with implementing the
grant.
$1,024,086
Total $10,240,858
Proposed Substantial Amendment:
The proposed activity to be added is within the Priority Housing Needs section of the 2018- 2022 Consolidated Plan (Pages CP 84- CP 91).
Activity Description: The Outreach and Case Management Program, including the Restorative Engagement Towards Achieving Collective Health (REACH) team, will engage and link individuals experiencing homelessness to housing and supportive services. This embraces easier access to shelter and housing referrals, social services enrollments, and critical mental health services. This will include leading and implementing homeless community outreach, education, and response, as well as creating and implementing engagement strategies to encourage people to engage in services to resolve their barriers to permanent housing, and identifying encampments and locations where people ex periencing homelessness congregate. Funds will also be used to provide additional housing units accessible to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, operated by a housing provider with wraparound services.
Citizen Participation:
The draft Substantial Amendment has been available for public review on lbds.info for 15 days. Notice of the proposed amendment w as published in at least one newspaper of general circulation, i.e., Press Telegram.
The City of Long Beach Community Investment Company and the City of Long Beach Operations Officer will consider any comments or views of citizens received in writing, via e- mail or orally at public hearings. The comments will be included as an attachment to the final substantial amendment.
Web address where the substantial amendment is posted:
longbeach.gov/lbds
Contact: Alem Hagos
Operations Officer, City of Long Beach
411 W. Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802
Telephone 562-570-7403
Email: [email protected]
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND NOTICE OF DOCUMENT AVAILABILITY NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING: On Wednesday, February 16, 2022, at 4:00 p.m., The Long Beach Community Investment Company (LBCIC) will conduct a public hearing in the 3 rd Floor Large Conference Room, City Hall, 411 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach.
The purpose of the public hearing will be to receive public comments on the Substantial Amendment to the 20 21-2022 Action Plan (Plan). The Plan, which covers program funding for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, HOME Investment Partnership Act (HOME) funds, and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds, was approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Planning (HUD). The Substantial Amendment to the Plan is to include unanticipated HOME ARP Funding, not previously described in the Plan, and allocate these funds outreach and case management, and the development of non-congregate shelter and housing options.
Draft copies of the Substantial Amendment to the Plan will be made available starting January 31, 2022 from “Latest News” section of the Development Services web page at longbeach.gov/lbds.
The City of Long Beach intends to provide reasonable accommodation for the Public Hearing in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. If you require this document in an alternate format or require special accommodations to participate in the public hearing, please contact Alem Hagos at (562) 570-7403 or [email protected] at least 48 hours prior to the February 16 hearing. Written comments must be received by February 14, and addressed to Alem Hagos, Development Services Department, 411 W. Ocean Blvd., 3 rd Floor, Long Beach, CA 90802 or [email protected].