View Report — Life Enrichment Committee, January 23, 2023

Life Enrichment Committee
January 23, 2023

AGENDA REPORT

TO: Edward D. Reiskin FROM: Estelle Clemons
City Administrator Interim Director, Human
Services
SUBJECT: AC-OCAP Annual Report and 2023
CSBG Resolutions
DATE: January 5, 2023

City Administrator Approval Date: Jan 12, 2023

RECOMMENDATION

Staff Recommends That City Council Adopt The Following Pieces Of Legislation:

Resolution:

1. Accepting Anti-Poverty Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) In The Amount Of One Million, Two Hundred, Ninety-Four Thousand, Two Hundred Thirty-Four Dollars ($1,294,234) Awarded By The California Department Of Community Services And Development (CSD) For The January 1, 2023 Through December 31, 2023 Program Year (“2023 CSBG Program Year”);

2. Authorizing The City Administrator To Accept And Appropriate Any Additional Grant Funds From CSD For The Same Purpose Within The 2023 Term, Without Returning To Council;

3. Authorizing The Use Of General Purpose Funds To Pay The Human Services Department Central Services Overhead Charges For 2023 CSBG Programs In The Amount Of One Hundred Fifty-One Thousand, Nine Hundred Fifty-Six Dollars ($151,956)

And
Resolution:

1. Authorizing The City Administrator To Negotiate and Enter Into Grant Agreements With Anti-Poverty Service Providers For The Alameda County – Oakland Community Action Partnership (AC-OCAP) 2023 CSBG Program Year With The Service Providers And In The Amounts Listed In The Table In This Resolution; And

Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: AC-OCAP 2023 CSBG State Contract Resolutions
Date: January 5, 2023 Page 2
Life Enrichment Committee
January 23, 2023

2. Authorizing The City Administrator To Amend The Agreements And Enter Into Amended Agreements To Increase The Amount And Extend The Term If Additional CSBG Funding Becomes Available During The 2023-2025 Three- Year Funding Cycle Without Returning To Council; And

3. Authorizing The City Administrator To Negotiate And Enter Into Professional Services Agreements For Advertising Services With Clear Channel, CBS Outdoors, BART And AC Transit To Support The Programs; And Waiving, To the Extent Necessary, The Competitive RFP/Q Process In The Best Interests Of The City For a Total Amount Not To Exceed Forty Thousand Dollars ($40,000).

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report provides the City Council with a recommendation to adopt a resolution to accept and program a renewal federal anti-poverty Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) in the amount of one million two hundred ninety-four thousand two hundred thirty- four dollars ($1,294,234) awarded by the California Department Of Community Services And Development (CSD) for the 2023 program year; and authorize the use of general purpose funds to pay the Human Services Department's central services overhead charges for the 2023 CSBG program year, which is estimated to be one hundred fifty-one thousand nine hundred and fifty-six dollars ($151,956).

The services provided through AC-OCAP’s Community Economic Opportunity (C.E.O) network supports the agency’s mission of creating pathways that lead to economic empowerment for the 152,060 (9.3 percent) Alameda County residents documented by the 2016-2020 U.S. Census American Community Survey (ACS) as living below the Federal poverty level. These funds will be used to help support the goals and strategies outlined in the AC-OCAP’s 2020–2025 Strategic Plan and the state approved 2022-2023 Community Action Plan; both geared at supporting the needs of Oakland’s and the surrounding Alameda County’s residents with low-incomes by helping to increase their self-sufficiency and improve their overall economic well-being.

BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Calendar Year 2023 marks the 52nd Anniversary of the City of Oakland’s Community Action Agency. In 1971, the Federal government designated the City of Oakland as a public Community Action Agency responsible for administering various anti-poverty programs and services as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1964 “War on Poverty”. In 1981, the Federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act restructured the allocation of funds to Community Action Agencies by establishing the Community Services Block Grant program. These Federal CSBG funds are administered through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and managed by the State of California’s Department of Community Services & Development (CSD). The CSBG formula for local funding allocations is based on the number of residents living below the Federal poverty level as captured by the United States (U.S.) Decennial Census.

Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: AC-OCAP 2023 CSBG State Contract Resolutions
Date: January 5, 2023 Page 3
Life Enrichment Committee
January 23, 2023

In 2011, the State Department of Community Services and Development expanded Oakland’s geographical territory to include all the cities within Alameda County, except the City of Berkeley, approved through City Council Resolution No. 83589 C.M.S. As a result, the AC- OCAP was established. Unlike other funding governance structures, federal regulations mandate that a public entity shall administer the Community Services Block Grant program through a tripartite board that fully participates – ensuring maximum feasible participation of the poor in the development, planning, implementation, and evaluation of the program(s) to serve low-income communities (Public Law 105-285, SEC. 676B; 42 U.S.C. § 9901).

Federal
reauthorization of the Community Services Block Grant Act legislation was last authorized in 1998. On May 13, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Modernization Act (H.R. 5129) to enhance funding for CSBG and make other programmatic changes to ensure it is effectively meeting the current needs of local communities, including expansion of eligibility for services to 200% of the federal poverty line (FPL). The bill has been received in the Senate, read twice, and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Alameda County’s CSBG funding is administered by the City of Oakland’s Human Services Department (HSD) through the Community Action Partnership Governing Board (City Council) and the federally mandated 18-member Tripartite Administering Board which includes nine (9) democratically selected members who represent the low-income community, six (6) elected officials or their designees, and three (3) members who represent other groups and interests that serve the low-income community. AC-OCAP’s Community Economic Opportunity (C.E.O) network is part of 1,000 Community Action Agencies located throughout the 50 states representing an estimated 40.9 million (12.8 percent) people living in poverty according to the 2016-2020 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates.

ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES

Adoption of the proposed resolutions will continue to allow the City of Oakland’s Community Action Agency to provide responsive and essential program and services to residents whose income falls below the federal poverty threshold. The U.S. Census Bureau uses income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who is living in poverty.

Based on the 2022 federal poverty guidelines, the income threshold for an individual living in poverty is $13,590 annually (around $6.53 per hour). By comparison, the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since 2009, and on January 1, 2023, California’s minimum wage increases to $15.50 per hour, and Oakland’s minimum wage increases to $15.97 per hour.

In Alameda County, the overall poverty level is at 9.3 percent (152,060 residents) according to the 2016-2020 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimate, down 9,521 from (161,581 residents) in the 2015-2019 ACS 5-year estimate. The City of Oakland’s poverty level for the same duration is at 14.6 percent (61,170 residents) down 9,188 from (70,358).

Table 1 is a highlight of AC-OCAP’s service population and a comparison of Alameda County’s 2016-2020 ACS 5-year estimate, and the 2000 and 2010 low-income population census data.

Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: AC-OCAP 2023 CSBG State Contract Resolutions
Date: January 5, 2023 Page 4
Life Enrichment Committee
January 23, 2023

Table 1: Alameda County’s Low-Income Population

Alameda County & Oakland’s
Low-Income Community Profile
2000
Below
Poverty
% of
Total
Pop.
2010
Below
Poverty
% of
Total
Pop.
2016-20
Below
Poverty
% of
Total
Pop.

Change
from
2010
Alameda County 156,804 11.0% 172,348 11.7% 152,060 9.3% (20,288) Oakland 76,489 19.4% 74,335 19.3% 61,170 14.6% (13,165) Alameda County
without Oakland
& Berkeley

60,820

6.4%

79,543

8.1%

71,193

6.4%

(8,350)
AC-OCAP Areas 137,309 9.6% 153,878 10.4% 132,363 8.7% (21,525) Berkeley 19,495 20.0% 18,470 18.4% 19,697 17.8% 1,227
Source: US Census Bureau 2000, 2010, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates – 2016-2020

When race is factored into the equation, the chart below (Table 2) shows that a higher percentage of African Americans, American Indian/Alaska Natives, Some Other Races, and Hispanics are living below the Federal Poverty Line (FPL) than their resident population percentage in both Alameda County and the City of Oakland. It is worth noting, that while African Americans account for only 10.3 percent (168,213) of the County’s population (1,635,239), 20.2 percent (30,740) live in poverty. This is more than double the County’s poverty rate at 9.3 percentage and nearly triple the percentage of Whites at 6.8 percent (who are 30.6 percent of the County’s population) or Asians at 7.6 percent (who are 31.3 percent of the County’s population). In Oakland, African Americans account for 22.7 percent of the City’s population, yet 32.1 percent (19,631) live in poverty.

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Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: AC-OCAP 2023 CSBG State Contract Resolutions
Date: January 5, 2023 Page 5
Life Enrichment Committee
January 23, 2023

Table 2: Alameda County Population Living in Poverty by Race and Ethnicity

Source: US Census Bureau, 2016-2020 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates - S1701

(The remainder of this page left intentionally blank)

Oakland & Alameda County Residents
Living Below FPL By Race & Ethnicity
Percentage of Total Alameda County Population
Percentage of Population Living Below Federal Poverty Level in Alameda County Percentage of Total Oakland Population
Percentage of Population Living Below Federal Poverty Level in Oakland

35.0%

30.0%

25.0%

20.0%

15.0%

10.0%

5.0%

0.0%
White Black or
alone, none African
American Asian alone
Indian and
Alaska
Native
alone
Native Some other Two or Hispanic or
Hawaiian race alone more races Latino
Hispanic American
alone
and PI
alone
origin
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: AC-OCAP 2023 CSBG State Contract Resolutions
Date: January 5, 2023 Page 6
Life Enrichment Committee
January 23, 2023

AC-OCAP will receive a renewal grant in the amount of $1,294,234 in federal Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funds to provide services to the 132,363 low-income residents who reside within the agency’s service area. This translates into an allocation of $9.78 per resident. To increase the grant’s impact, the AC-OCAP Board uses an equity lens to ensure the needs, particularly those of the low-income Black, Latinx, Indigenous, People of Color (BLIPOC), are being directly addressed and served.

In the AC-OCAP 2023-2025 RFP selection process initiated in August 2022, the Program Planning Committee (PPC) received 27 completed proposals (16 job training and 11 housing/ 21 Oakland and 6 Alameda County). The PPC acknowledged the housing challenges people are currently experiencing in both Oakland and Alameda and took action to advance the Citywide priority to support housing, economic, and cultural security. The PPC ensured its selections covered the highly impoverished areas of Alameda County and Oakland. The PPC was also very intentional about its funding selections and leaned more into helping the housing applicants. The recommendation to the AC-OCAP Executive Committee was that 8 housing applicants should be funded versus the 5 selected in 2020 and 2 of the new housing selections are smaller agencies that are being seed funded for growth. The Executive Committee's final RFP recommendations were given to the Administering Board and confirmed at the Administering Board meeting on November 14, 2022.

The annual CSBG allocation provides critical support to AC-OCAP’s Community Economic Opportunity (C.E.O.) network of funded grantees and partners. Its impact increases as the Administering Board continues to implement the AC-OCAP 2020–2025 Strategic Plan , which
includes its State approved 2022-2023 Community Action Plan highlighting the following five agency focus areas:

1. Entrepreneurship/Job Training & Employment Placement to help people with low-income and the hard to serve population build skills that lead to employment;

2. Low-Income Housing to increase opportunities that help people with low-income access safe temporary shelter and/or stable affordable housing /homeownership;

3. Community Development that increases access, opportunities, and resources within Alameda County’s low-income communities;

4. Civic Engagement & Advocacy to increase public awareness and empower people with low-income to take action;

5. Capacity Building that fosters and expands the agency’s capacity to address and eradicate poverty.

Civic Engagement, Advocacy, and Capacity Building is supported through AC-OCAP’s internal programing for community wide projects such as the Earned Income Tax Credit Initiative, Fatherhood Initiative, End Hunger Initiative, and the relaunch of Oakland’s Bank On Initiative.

FISCAL IMPACT

Funding for the programs and services will be derived from the Federal Community Services Block Grant administered through a contract from the State of California Department of Community Services and Development (CSD) in the amount of $1,294,234 for AC-OCAP Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: AC-OCAP 2023 CSBG State Contract Resolutions
Date: January 5, 2023 Page 7
Life Enrichment Committee
January 23, 2023

funding for anti-poverty programing throughout Alameda County (excluding the City of Berkeley) for program year 2023. In addition, the City of Oakland provides an operating subsidy from the General-Purpose Fund (GPF) in the amount equivalent to HSD’s Central Services Overhead Charges.

The Human Services Department’s 2023 CSBG allocation in the amount of $1,294,234 is included in the City’s FY 2022 - 2023 Adopted Policy Budget of which $1,391,569 is appropriated in the Department of Health and Human Services Fund (2128), SC22, CSBG - Programs (78362), CAP/CSBG 2023 Project (1005642/1005643). Approval of the resolution will authorize acceptance of this grant in the amount of $1,294,234, a decrease of $97,335 as adopted in the City FY 2022-2023 budget. The State CSBG contract administrative costs are capped at 12 percent; therefore, HSD is requesting, as it has in prior years, a contribution from the General-Purpose Fund in an amount equivalent to Central Services Overhead estimated at $151,956. Failure to accept the Federal CSBG renewal funds would result in a decrease of $1,294,234 in revenues for vital support and services to Oakland’s and the surrounding Alameda County’s (excluding Berkeley) low-income families.

This grant supports AC-OCAP’s service providers that deliver anti-poverty programs and services to Oakland and the surrounding Alameda County low-income community. Table 3 below shows the Board’s approved 2023-2025 programs and services to help Oakland and the surrounding Alameda County (excluding Berkeley) low-income residents achieve economic stability as outlined in the agency’s state approved Community Action Plan.

Employment services for low-
income young adults 16-24.

Comprehensive Job
Training and Job
Placement for Transition
Age Youth
Grant Agreement $50,000
Urban University: Education
and employment services for
low-income young adults 18-24
Single Moms at Work
Pathways Program
Grant Agreement $50,000
Community Works West Inc.:

Employment services for re-
entry, unemployed and
homeless low income adults
18-64
Project R3: Return,
Restore & Rise
Grant Agreement $50,000
Lighthouse Community
Charter Public School: CTE
Career pathways that earn
college credits and work
experience while in high school
Paid Student Internships Grant Agreement $50,000
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: AC-OCAP 2023 CSBG State Contract Resolutions
Date: January 5, 2023 Page 8
Life Enrichment Committee
January 23, 2023

Employment training in
technology for low-income
youth and young adults 14-24
Tech Career Pathways
for Youth in Oakland
Grant Agreement $50,000
Love Never Fails: Employment
opportunities for unemployed
homeless adults ages 18-64
AC: IT Biz
Entrepreneurial Program
Grant Agreement $30,000
Rubicon Programs
Incorporated: Employment
opportunities for low-income
adults ages 18-64
AC: Job Training and
Employment Placement
Grant Agreement $50,000
Chabot-Las Positas
Community College District,
DBA Tri-Valley Career Center:

Employment opportunities for
unemployed adults ages 18-64
in the Tri-Valley area
AC: Tri-Valley Pathways
to Employment
Grant Agreement $50,000
Sub-Total $380,000
Low-Income Housing
2023-2025 AC-OCAP Service
Providers (Legal Name)
Program Title Grant Agreement /
Procurement
Annual
Allocation
(not to exceed)
Covenant House California:

Housing for homeless young
adults ages 18-24
Emergency Shelter &
Supportive Services for
Young Adults
Experiencing
Homelessness
Grant Agreement $50,000
Lao Family Community
Development, Inc.:

Employment training for low-
income adults ages 25-54
Strong Housing Options
(SHO) Program
Grant Agreement $50,000
Operation Dignity, Inc.:

Housing for homeless and/or
disabled veterans ages 25+
Housing for Oakland's
Homeless Veterans
Grant Agreement $50,000
St. Mary’s Center: Housing for
homeless and disabled
adults/seniors ages 55+
Senior Homeless
Services
Grant Agreement $50,000
A Diamond in the Ruff, Inc.:

Housing support to women by
teaching life skills to stabilize
and succeed
Transitional Housing for
Single Women
Grant Agreement $30,000
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: AC-OCAP 2023 CSBG State Contract Resolutions
Date: January 5, 2023 Page 9
Life Enrichment Committee
January 23, 2023

Table 3: 2023-2025 Programs and Services (AC= Alameda County, excluding Oakland)
2023-2025 AC-OCAP Service
Providers (Legal Name)
Program Title Grant Agreement /
Procurement
Annual
Allocation
(not to exceed)
Change To Come: Creating
Pathways that lead to
Economic Empowerment
Her Story Grant Agreement $30,000
Fremont Family Resource
Center Corporation: Housing
for unemployed and homeless
families and individuals ages
18-54
AC: Family Support
Services for the
Homeless
Grant Agreement $50,000
Alliance for Community
Wellness, dba La Familia:

Housing assistance for
homeless, unemployed,
previously incarcerated, and
disabled families
AC: FESCO's Les
Marquis Emergency
Shelter and Banyan
House Transitional
Housing
Grant Agreement $50,000
Sub-Total $360,000
Civic Engagement, Advocacy, and Capacity Building
2023-2025 AC-OCAP Service
Providers (Legal Name)
Program Title Grant Agreement /
Procurement
Annual
Allocation
(not to exceed)
Housing & Economic Rights
Advocates (HERA): Promote
financial empowerment for low-
income individuals through
second chance bank accounts
Bank On Oakland (BOO)
Financial Empowerment
Grant Agreement $40,000
Eden I &R, Inc.: Provide
information and referral
services to support EITC and
Bank On Oakland Initiatives
and Community Homelessness
Services
AC-OCAP 2-1-1 Phone
Services for EITC and
BOO and Help
Residents Access App
(HRA)
Grant Agreement $40,000
Safe Passages in partnership
with Alameda County
Community Food Bank: Fight
hunger and increase food
security for Alameda County's
low-income families
Food Security Initiative Procurement for
food distribution
$40,000
Clear Channel/CBS
Outdoors/BART/AC Transit:

Education and outreach
advertising campaigns
Financial Empowerment
Marketing
Procurement of
Services
$40,000 (total
is inclusive for
all vendors)
Sub-Total $160,000
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: AC-OCAP 2023 CSBG State Contract Resolutions
Date: January 5, 2023 Page 10
Life Enrichment Committee
January 23, 2023

If additional grant funds become available from the grantor (CSD), within the existing grant term for the same purpose, staff is seeking authorization to accept and appropriate funds without returning to Council within the duration of the 2023 contracted program year.

PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST

AC-OCAP holds its monthly Administering Board meeting, which is open to the public, the second Monday of every month at 5:30 pm via Zoom teleconferencing due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and as permitted in accordance with California Government Code Section 54953, a provision of AB-361 and as approved by City Council Resolution No. C.M.S. 88075. Residents can also get more information on meeting agendas, and current programs and services by visiting the agency’s website at www.AC-OCAP.com.

COORDINATION

The Office of the City Attorney, Budget Bureau, and the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards, Contracts and Compliance Unit have been consulted in the development of this report and resolution.

PAST PERFORMANCE, EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP

Since 1971, the City of Oakland’s Community Action Agency has leveraged its Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) funds to help address poverty at the local level. Through CSBG funding, AC-OCAP has identified gaps in services and support innovative programming geared toward improving the overall quality of life for low-income residents by providing access to job training, entrepreneurship, education, employment, affordable housing, life skills-training, legal services, health care, food stamps, gift cards, Earned Income Tax Credit, financial education, asset building, and other essential services.

The State of California of Community Services and Development, as part of the condition of the grant, monitors and evaluates AC-OCAP’s performance on an annual basis. The agency continues to receive a clean CSBG fiscal/program monitoring report and audit, and is regarded as an exemplary public Community Action Agency. As of June 30, 2022, half-way through the program year, 32,267 (22,091 Oakland; 10,176 Alameda County) total residents with low- income have been served by AC-OCAP’s Community Economic Opportunity (C.E.O) Network.

AC-OCAP’s 2022 programs and services, client demographics, and client stories at mid-year are provided here in the 2022 AC-OCAP Mid-Year Outcomes report.

Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: AC-OCAP 2023 CSBG State Contract Resolutions
Date: January 5, 2023 Page 11
Life Enrichment Committee
January 23, 2023

A summary of the agency’s mid-year community impact is as follows:

 Relaunch of Bank On Oakland (BOO) 2.0 to help Oaklanders get banked  10,468 (4,560 Oakland) have received free tax preparation assistance returning $19,627,500 Million back into the families of low-wage earners - $3,745,631 captured through EITC and $4,397,920 Million captured through Child Tax Credit  151 have received employment training
 121 have obtained gainful employment
 8 have earned a high school diploma
 258 have been placed into transitional housing or an emergency shelter; and  50 have obtained or maintained permanent housing
For fifty-two (52) years, the City of Oakland’s Community Action Agency has had a track record in making a difference in the lives of thousands by staying true to its motto of “ helping people, changing lives.”

SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES

Economic: AC-OCAP programs and services directly impact the employability of Oakland’s and the surrounding Alameda County’s low-income residents by providing access to education, employment training, job opportunities, and financial empowerment all designed to help families achieve an increased level of self-sufficiency and economic well-being.

Environmental: The implementation and support for increasing access to weatherization, public transportation, and the availability of healthy, fresh, local foods directly contributes to decreasing the overall carbon footprint of Oakland and the surrounding Alameda County.

Race & Equity: The AC-OCAP programming directly supports Oakland’s Equity Indicators Report Topic 3: Financial Health by improving access to Healthy Financial Institution through its Bank On Oakland Initiative and addressing Poverty. AC-OCAP’s Community Economic Opportunity (C.E.O) network prioritize services to targeted populations based on needs assessed and outlined in the agency’s 2022-2023 State Approved Community Action Plan which focuses on serving populations of African American, Latinx and other People of Color within Oakland and throughout Alameda County who are disproportionately documented as living below the federal poverty threshold.

Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: AC-OCAP 2023 CSBG State Contract Resolutions
Date: January 5, 2023 Page 12
Life Enrichment Committee
January 23, 2023

ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL

Staff Recommends That City Council Adopt The Following Pieces Of Legislation:

Resolution:

2. Authorizing The City Administrator To Accept And Appropriate Any Additional Grant Funds From CSD For The Same Purpose Within The 2023 Term, Without Returning To Council;

And
Resolution:

2. Authorizing The City Administrator To Amend The Agreements And Enter Into Amended Agreements To Increase The Amount And Extend The Term If Additional CSBG Funding Becomes Available During The 2023-2025 Three-Year Funding Cycle Without Returning To Council; And

Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: AC-OCAP 2023 CSBG State Contract Resolutions
Date: January 5, 2023 Page 13
Life Enrichment Committee
January 23, 2023

For questions regarding this report, please contact Dwight Williams, AC-OCAP Interim Program Director at 510-238-6131.

Respectfully submitted,

ESTELLE CLEMONS
Interim Director, Human Services Department

Prepared by:

Dwight Williams, Interim Director AC–
OCAP Division

Life Enrichment CommitteeJanuary 23, 2023

Life Enrichment Committee
January 23, 2023