City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JANUARY 10, 2023 FROM: LIBRARY WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT SUBRECIPIENT AGREEMENT WITH PATH OF LIFE MINISTRIES FOR $200,000 OF AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT FUNDS FOR THE SOCIAL WORK INTERNSHIP PROGRAM CALLED THE LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR COLLABORATIVE AT EIGHT RIVERSIDE PUBLIC LIBRARY LOCATIONS TO CONDUCT NEEDS ASSESSMENT ISSUE:
Approve the American Rescue Plan Act Subrecipient Agreement with Path of Life Ministries for $200,000 of the American Rescue Plan Act funds for the Social Work Internship Program called the Love Your Neighbor Collaborative at eight Riverside Public Library locations to conduct needs assessment.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Approve the American Rescue Plan Act Subrecipient Agreement with Path of Life Ministries for $200,000 of the American Rescue Plan Act funds for the Social Work Internship Program called the Love Your Neighbor Collaborative at eight Riverside Public Library locations; and Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute the American Rescue Plan Act Subrecipient Agreement with Path of Life Ministries, including making minor and non-substantive changes and contract extensions subject to availability of funding.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act to facilitate the recovery from the devastating economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) established the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund and Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, which provides a combined $350 billion in assistance to eligible state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments to assist in the economic and health recovery by providing resources to address impacts resulting from the crisis.
BACKGROUND:
ARPA established the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund to provide resources to support communities that are struggling with the impacts of COVID-19. These funds may be used to respond to pandemic response needs including mitigation and prevention, support to communities and populations most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, and fill revenue shortfalls. The US Department of the Treasury first released Interim Final Rule providing eligibility guidance as well as regularly updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). The Interim Final Rule provided initial guidance and served to help communities develop proposals for funding.
On November 9, 2021, the City Council approved the ARPA funding Expenditure Category Plan for the first allocation in the amount of $36,767,594 following the Interim Final Rule guidelines, which included an allocation of $450,000 for Public Health - Mental Health Support to create a Mental Health Resource Hub that provides services, counseling, programs in various languages at no cost or reduced cost to residents facing mental health issues. City partnership between internal departments and local nonprofits. This resource hub can be used by community at large and have focus areas that target highest needs populations, i.e., families, youth, homeless population, etc. Potential partners may include health providers and related nonprofit organizations. Including mental health programs at the Library. The Final Rule was issued on January 6, 2022, and became effective on April 1, 2022. The City received its first ARPA allocation of $36,767,594 in June 2021 and is required to submit quarterly Project and Expenditure Reports and annual Recovery Plan Performance Reports.
DISCUSSION:
The Riverside Public Library serves many customers who are experiencing homelessness or other mental health challenges. In Fiscal Year 2021/2022 the Library had 309 incidents. Following best practices established throughout the United States including with the San Francisco Public Library, the Riverside Public Library has identified the need for social workers to assist customers experiencing homelessness and other mental health challenges in multiple library locations. To do this, the Library would like to partner with Path of Life Ministries to utilize their Social Work Internship Program, known as the Love Your Neighbor Collaborative (LYNC) that serves homeless individuals and families by utilizing undergraduate and graduate level social work students to connect them to crucial resources aimed at increasing their ability to become independent.
To bring the LYNC program to the Riverside Public Library, Path of Life Ministries will place social work interns at eight library sites on a rotating basis, supervised by social work specialists. The interns will engage displaced individuals and refer them to agency partners to receive assistance for their mental, physical, behavioral, and spiritual needs. They will also engage in a needs assessment process alongside their supervisors and professors.
Interns’ schedules, based on their academic calendars, will be determined based on the library sites’ hours of operation. Interns will interface with displaced individuals at eight libraries throughout Riverside to connect displaced individuals with various resources to improve their quality of life and to receive information about possible long-term housing options. The interns will be placed and supervised at the libraries for two years to work on meeting displaced individuals’ crucial needs.
Based on the number and type of incidents, interns will be scheduled at the Arlington, SPC Jesus S. Duran Eastside, La Sierra, Main, and Marcy Library locations.
The cost to operate the program for a two-year period is $200,000. To ensure funding is spent in the most impactful way, staff is conducting ongoing evaluation of projects for reporting purposes. The interns will be tracking clients’ age, race, ethnicity, income, household makeup and referrals made to partnering agencies. They will also be using the needs assessments to identify workshops and additional resources that can benefit the community. Based on the information gathered, staff will also determine if there are any underserved and/or disproportionately impacted population(s) that need to be prioritized for programs. In addition to ongoing assessments, funding is spent to start programs in phases and allows programs to be structured for continued benefits moving forward.
The evaluation of the Social Work Internship Program will include a review of the program’s performance outcomes measurements for shelter, obtain or retain housing, earnings/employment, and physical and mental health status.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
The ARPA Expenditure Plan is interwoven throughout the entire 2025 Envision Riverside Strategic Plan and Goals.
The item aligns with each of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – Riverside is committed to providing a transparent process and gather community input to support how funds will be used. To assist with these efforts, the City has developed an ARPA webpage that includes program information, a public survey and dedicated ARPA email address.
Equity – Riverside is supportive of the ongoing evaluation of potential programs and projects that ensure a response to disproportionately impacted groups and the exacerbation of health inequities along racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines.
Fiscal Responsibility – This item ensures fiscal responsibility of ARPA funds by identifying a need or negative impact and identifying how the project/program addresses the identified need.
Innovation – Riverside is committed to responding to the community’s changing needs and preparing for the future through developing ARPA funded projects/programs that build on collaborative partnerships.
Sustainability & Resiliency – This item ensures sustainability through ongoing evaluation of projects and programs to allow adaptation to meet the current Covid-19 public health emergency and future needs ensuring the City’s capacity to persevere, adapt, and grow.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact of this action is $200,000. Sufficient funds are budgeted and available in the Grants and Restricted Programs Fund, Federal Operating Grants account 8810200-440110.
Prepared by: Erin Christmas, Library Director
Certified as to
availability of funds: Edward Enriquez, Interim Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer Approved by: Rafael Guzman, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachment: American Rescue Plan Act Subrecipient Agreement American Rescue Plan Act ● Page 3