City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: INFORMATION REPORTS
Lead Department: Community Services
Meeting Date: February 10, 2025
Report #:2501-4020
TITLE
Key Findings of the 2024 Human Services Needs Assessment; CEQA Status - Not a Project
RECOMMENDATION
This is an informational report and City Council action is not required.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report transmits the results of the Human Services Needs Assessment conducted in 2024.
Through qualitative and survey research, and review of existing data of service providers, the Human Services Needs Assessment identifies community needs, common barriers to service participation, and specific needs for high-risk groups along with recommendations for additional considerations regarding the Human Services Resource Allocation (HSRAP) framework and human services needs that would benefit from future community conversations. The HRC revised the Priority of Needs for the FY26/27 HSRAP application process based on the recommendations from the assessment and will continue to work with staff on addressing the other recommendations from the report. This includes possible future adjustments to the HSRAP framework and working in collaboration with community partners on human services needs and gaps identified, all with the goal of informing the HRC’s work in the coming period as well as the FY28/29 HSRAP process, focus and investments.
BACKGROUND
The Human Services Resource Allocation Process (HSRAP) is the established mechanism by which the City solicits, reviews, and allocates the City’s General Fund dollars to human service organizations in the community; the process has been in place since 1984. One of the first steps in the process is to establish the Priority of Needs (i.e., allowable funding categories) for each funding period. The City’s Human Relations Commission (HRC) has historically done so by identifying human services needs through information provided by the community at its monthly meetings and from the findings of a biennial Needs Assessment conducted in advance of every HSRAP application period. These biennial Needs Assessments were limited in scope and included a survey of Palo Alto human services providers and local demographic information.
Since the last full-scale Human Services Needs Assessment (HSNA) was conducted in 2012, Office of Human Services (OHS) staff determined that there was a need for a more thorough examination into local human service needs and issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) in late 2023 for a consultant to conduct an assessment. A contract was awarded to RDA Consulting (RDA) in early 2024 and they began work in the Spring of 2024.
The key aim of the HSNA was to identify the needs, gaps, barriers and challenges faced by Palo Altans seeking human services, provide an understanding of local service needs, and help guide future grant making priorities. Together RDA and OHS identified three overarching questions for the HSNA:
(1) What human services needs are Palo Alto residents experiencing? (2) What are the strengths and gaps in existing services available to Palo Alto residents? (3) What are the opportunities for HSRAP to better fill gaps in services? The keys methods of community engagement and secondary qualitative and quantitative data gathering activities employed for the HSNA included:
•Qualitative Research (Focus Groups and Individual Interviews) •51 total participants
•Survey Research (Community & Service Providers)
•Community Survey translated into five languages
•385 Survey responses from community members and 34 from service providers •Secondary Data – Including data on current HSRAP grantees and other Human Services providers in Palo Alto and Santa Clara County
The completed HSNA (Attachment A) was presented to the HRC at their October 23, 2024 meeting1. Feedback centered on understanding and interpreting assessment findings and identifying next steps.
ANALYSIS
Key Finding from the 2024 HSNA report:
Community Needs – The report indicated through the results of both the qualitative and quantitative research tools that the greatest needs include:
(A) Essential services for high needs groups–primarily:
(1) Individuals experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness, (2) Individuals with disabilities, and
(3) Older adults.
1 Human Relations Commission, October 23, 2024; Agenda Item 2, Action Minutes; https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/DocView.aspx?id=123818&repo=r-704298fc (B) Community connection, isolation, and inclusion
The survey tool (given to both community members and service providers) asked both what the greatest needs were and the level to which those needs are not being met currently. Those results indicated that needs for community connection, isolation, and inclusion are largely met, and essential services for high needs groups are largely unmet - further stating that this is especially true for: (a) individuals experiencing homelessness; (b) adults with disabilities; and (c) those who identified as Hispanic or Latino/a/x, another race (including multiracial), and those who did not share their race/ethnicity.
Common Barriers to Service Participation – The report identified the following as barriers or limitations to receiving services:
1. Inaccessibility of services
2. Waitlists or lack of capacity
3. Long or confusing application processes
4. Service costs
Additional barriers identified include location and transportation to services as well as not knowing what services/resources are available.
Essential Services for High Need Groups - The report delves deeper into specific needs for “high need” groups (defined as individuals who fall into demographic categories that have high rates of unmet need relative to other demographics subgroups) stating that:
While high needs groups, such as unhoused individuals, adults with disabilities, and older adults, benefit in part from existing services within Palo Alto and neighboring cities within the County, they still lack comprehensive safety net services. Additionally, long waitlists for critical services and resources including shelter, along with the high demand for mental health services, remain pressing issues. Individuals who are currently unhoused, have a disability, or both, had the highest rates of unmet need overall.” Some of the specific areas of need reported in the HSNA include the following (Note – The full HSNA report provides details as to the level that these areas of need are being currently being met).
•Housing Assistance & Homelessness Services – Individuals across all sectors (unhoused, low income and more upper income individuals) named affordable housing and safe and accessible shelter as one of the most pressing needs facing local residents. As that relates to shelters, persons experiencing homelessness reported long wait times and short stays. The lack of affordable housing affects many sectors of the community including older adults, individuals with disabilities, young families, etc. •Services for Individuals with Disabilities –The report stated that “For many disabled individuals in the community, accessing consistent, affordable support from trained professionals is difficult in Palo Alto and the Bay Area overall. Both children and adults, require professional support workers trained to address specific medical diagnoses and disabilities. However, finding such specialized disability support staff locally is often challenging. The high cost of living in Palo Alto has led to a shortage of healthcare providers, therapists, and direct support workers within the city. As a result, individuals with disabilities find that they must travel long distances to receive services.” •Older Adult Services - A large proportion of both service providers and community members named the importance of sustaining older adult services as an area in critical need of additional funding, resources, and focus. It was found that older adults feel increasingly isolated and find it harder to access essential services that they need.
Service providers expressed concerns about the growing population of older adults whose needs are greater than their resources. Providers note that there are limits to what local agencies can provide in such areas as transportation, social activities, medical services, and counseling for older adults in relation to the need. •Mental Health Supports for Adults & Youth – Nearly all provider survey respondents responded that adult mental health support is a need among their client populations; this was also true for a majority of individuals who responded to the survey.
Approximately two-thirds of community members (65%) and some service providers also named youth mental health as a specific area of unmet need. As the quantitative survey was not administered to school age youth (under the age of 18), the report acknowledges that the extent of unmet need of youth may be underrepresented. •Food & Nutrition Services – While the need for food and nutrition services was affirmed by most survey respondents as an area of need, it was more specifically indicated as an area of greater unmet need by those whose household income is less than $60,000 and unhoused individuals who indicated that there were not free sources of food on the weekend.
Community Connection, Isolation, and Inclusion - The report indicates that across background characteristics that “Community connection and engagement, along with leisure/recreation, and cultural services or affinity spaces were the most widely shared needs identified by needs assessment participants….” Although the overall levels of unmet need were lower in relation to other areas. Experiencing higher unmet needs in these areas are specific communities such as those experiencing homelessness, individuals with disabilities, older adults, immigrants and those with limited English proficiency, and lower income residents. A specific conversation about these needs have been identified as an area that would benefit from additional community conversation in the final section of this report.
Additional survey results and demographics are included on pages 7 - 24 of the HSNA.
Staff and HRC Responses to the Findings and Recommendations from the HSNA:
Priority of Needs
The only action taken by the HRC at their October 23, 2024 review meeting of the HSNA was to finalize the proposed Priority of Needs - allowable HSRAP funding categories - as the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the FY26/27 HSRAP process was to be issued early December 2024.
RDA was asked to propose a new Priority of Needs for HSRAP based on the findings from the needs assessment and human serviced best practices for number of funding categories. In general, the HRC felt the proposed Priority of Needs did a good job of encompassing the needs that were highlighted in the HSNA. However, they felt that a couple key areas of need were missing based on current HSRAP funding in critical service areas of need. The following Priority of Needs was adopted for the FY26/27 HSRAP cycle, the text in BOLD indicates the changes that the HRC made to RDA’s proposed Priority of Needs.
•Homelessness services
•Housing support services
•Services for individuals who are disabled
•Services for older adults and their caregivers
•Food & nutrition services
•Mental and physical health services
•Services for youth and their caregivers
HSRAP Framework & Consideration of Service Improvements As part of the HRC’s work for the coming two years in anticipation of the FY28/29 HSRAP cycle, the Commission will be addressing the other recommendations and areas for further consideration of the HSNA. This includes the consideration of developing additional key elements of the HSRAP frameworks including guiding values, funding framework, and overarching strategic priorities.
The report also includes a series of recommendations for further Service Improvements from the main findings from the report. These are areas of need in the community that would benefit from being discussed and/or addressed cross-sectionally with partners such as the City of Palo Alto, Human Relations Commission, service providers, nonprofit partners, community members and other stakeholders. These follow up areas include:
•Barriers to Service Participation
•Housing Assistance & Homelessness Services
•Services for Individuals with Disabilities
•Older Adult Services
•Mental Health Supports for Adults & Youth
•Food & Nutrition Services
•Areas of Unmet Needs
•Community Connection, Isolation & Inclusion
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
The information in this report does not impact resources at this time.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
There was significant outreach to the community for the HSNA. This included outreach to area Human Services providers that provide services to Palo Alto resident and several touchpoints with current HSRAP grantees to encourage them, as well as their clients, to complete the needs assessment survey and participate in focus groups opportunities as well as targeted outreach to providers of services to vulnerable populations. Outreach was also done to local communities of faith, Palo Alto Unified School District, Child Care providers, local service group, City website/social media channels, County services representatives, flyers in local libraries/community centers, OHS list serve, paid ads in the Palo Alto Daily Post and Palo Alto Online, County-wide Human Service provider list serv, key stakeholder interviews and in-person interviews with community members at local libraries, among other outreach efforts.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This is an informational report and not subject to CEQA.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: City of Palo Alto Human Services Needs Assessment Report 2024 APPROVED BY:
Kristen O'Kane, Community Services Director