Community Development Agency
www.santa-ana.org/cd
Item # 3
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
August 19, 2025
TOPIC: Agreement between the City of Santa Ana, the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Ana, and Orangewood Foundation for Services Coordination for Transitional Age Youth and Former Foster Youth
AGENDA TITLE
Agreement between the City of Santa Ana, the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Ana, and Orangewood Foundation for Services Coordination for Transitional Age Youth and Former Foster Youth (Specification No. 25-057A)
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Approve and authorize the execution of an agreement between the City of Santa Ana, the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Ana, and Orangewood Foundation to provide services coordination for transitional age youth and former foster youth, aged 18 through 24, who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness and who have been matched with a Foster Youth to Independence voucher, in an amount not to exceed $632,839, for a three-year term beginning August 19, 2025, and expiring August 18, 2028, with the option for a one-year extension. (Agreement No. A-2025-XXX) (related to City Council Agenda Item No. 14)
GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: Yes
DISCUSSION
On April 2, 2025, staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP # 25-057A) soliciting applications from qualified organizations to provide services coordination for transitional age youth (TAY) and former foster youth, aged 18 through 24, who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness and who have been matched with a Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) voucher. Specifically, the selected provider will deliver two core services: 1) housing navigation and landlord incentive services to assist the FYI voucher holder to lease a rental unit in the private market; and 2) independent living skill training and life skills support services to maintain stable housing and not return to homelessness (Exhibit 1). The RFP required that priority be given to qualifying TAY at the Santa Ana Navigation Center (‘Carnegie Homeless Shelter’). The RFP was posted on the City’s online bid management and publication system, 305 vendors were notified, and letters announcing the RFP were e-mailed to four (4) individual organizations.
Responses to the RFP were accepted from April 2, 2025 until April 30, 2025.
The City received two (2) proposals prior to the RFP deadline. A Proposal Review Committee consisting of staff from the Housing Authority and Community Development
Agreement with Orangewood Foundation for Services Coordination for Transitional Age Youth and Former Foster Youth
August 19, 2025
5 2
7 5
Agency reviewed and ranked each proposal based on the following criteria as stated in the RFP: Responsiveness to RFP (25 points); Experience of Firm and Personnel (50 points); and Cost of Proposal (25 points). Below are the average scores for the proposals received from two (2) organizations based in Santa Ana:
Organization Average Score
Orangewood Foundation 93
Olive Crest 72
Based on the evaluation criteria, staff recommends that the City Council approve an agreement with the highest-ranked firm, Orangewood Foundation, to provide services coordination for transitional age youth and former foster youth beginning August 19, 2025 through August 18, 2028 (Exhibit 2). With more than four decades of experience serving TAY and former foster youth in Santa Ana, the Orangewood Foundation (Orangewood) has extensive organizational capacity, a highly trained and trauma- informed team, and a deep understanding of youth-specific barriers to housing retention. Olive Crest was not selected primarily because they did not have any experience working with FYI housing vouchers from our Housing Authority.
Furthermore, if the City and Housing Authority were to contract with both organizations, it would limit the overall impact of these funds to meet the specific needs of the City and Housing Authority.
The total cost of the agreement with Orangewood over a three-year period is not to exceed $632,839. The funding is comprised of $587,839 in Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program (HHAP) funds from the State of California and $45,000 in FYI administrative fees from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The following two sections provide more details on the agreement with the Orangewood Foundation and the two sources of funds used to pay for this agreement.
Background on Agreement with the Orangewood Foundation
Under the agreement, Orangewood will provide housing-focused support services to assist TAY and former foster youth, aged 18 through 24, who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. These youth will have an FYI housing voucher from the Santa Ana Housing Authority and require individualized assistance to successfully lease and retain rental housing in the private market. Orangewood has an established relationship with the Santa Ana Housing Authority and has already assisted many FYI voucher holders in leasing up and retaining their housing over the last five years.
Orangewood will deliver two primary services: (1) housing navigation and landlord engagement, and (2) independent living skills and case management support. Housing navigation includes short-term housing placements (hotel accommodations), assisting youth with locating available units, submitting rental applications, and working with landlords to reduce barriers to lease-up. To do this, Orangewood will subcontract with WelcomeHome OC, a housing navigation and landlord incentive program operated by Agreement with Orangewood Foundation for Services Coordination for Transitional Age Youth and Former Foster Youth
August 19, 2025
5 2
7 5
United to End Homelessness and Orange County United Way, which recruits landlords and provides housing navigation services across Orange County. Under the Agreement, annually Orangewood is anticipated to serve a minimum of six (6) TAY households per year with short-term housing placements and 25 TAY households with FYI vouchers per year with housing navigation and landlord engagement.
Once FYI voucher holders are successfully housed, Orangewood will deliver ongoing independent living skills and wraparound case management to help youth attain and maintain stable housing. These services include household furnishings, rent payments, car repairs, other emergency expenses, budgeting, employment readiness, transportation planning, conflict resolution, and connection to physical and behavioral health services. Orangewood is anticipated to serve a minimum of 28 TAY households per year with independent living skills and case management support. The agreement prioritizes youth residing at the Santa Ana Navigation Center and ensures a coordinated, responsive system of support in collaboration with the City and the Housing Authority.
Background on Funding Sources
The total cost of the three-year agreement with Orangewood is not to exceed $632,839.
This amount will be fully funded through non-City sources: $587,839 from the State of California’s HHAP Round 5 program and $45,000 from HUD under the FYI program’s Special Fee Set-Aside funds. The City is responsible for administering the $587,839 in HHAP Round 5 funds, and the Housing Authority is responsible for administering the $45,000 in FYI program Special Fee Set-Aside funds, ensuring that both funding sources are used in accordance with applicable state and federal requirements. Staff are combining and braiding these two funding sources together under this Agreement to maximize their impact for TAY with FYI vouchers from the Housing Authority. In this arrangement, the $587,839 in HHAP Round 5 funds leverages the Housing Authority’s FYI vouchers, while the $45,000 in FYI Special Fee Set-Aside funds supplements and enhances the HHAP-funded services restricted for TAY. Additional details on each funding source is provided below.
The HHAP Round 5 (HHAP-5) funds are flexible block grant dollars administered by the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to support cities, counties, and Continuums of Care to reduce and end homelessness. HHAP-5 grantees must set aside at least 10% of the grant allocation for services for homeless youth. Homeless youth is defined as unaccompanied youth between ages 12- and 24-years old experiencing homelessness, including pregnant and parenting youth (the FYI voucher program can only serve youth ages 18 to 24). On March 18, 2025, the City Council recognized the City’s HHAP-5 agreement with the State (Agreement No. 24-HHAP- 10007) that authorized $5.87 million in funding. The City intends to spend $3.8 million for shelter services for homeless, $979,066 for outreach and engagement, and the City is allocating 10% for this youth set-aside requirement ($587,839) from the $687,839 allocated for services coordination. The agreement with Orangewood is consistent with the City’s HHAP-5 funding plan and supports allowable uses including housing navigation, landlord engagement, and services for homeless youth populations.
Agreement with Orangewood Foundation for Services Coordination for Transitional Age Youth and Former Foster Youth
August 19, 2025
5 2
7 5
The FYI program’s Special Fee Set-Aside funds are a one-time award made available by HUD in 2022 to support additional administrative costs associated with full FYI voucher utilization. These funds are intended to ensure that Public Housing Authorities can provide adequate support for youth served under the FYI program and achieve full (100%) FYI voucher utilization. By braiding these two state and federal funding sources together, the City is able to maximize program flexibility and service delivery for TAY and former foster youth in Santa Ana without incurring any General Fund costs.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds in the amount of $45,000 were available in the FY 2024-25 budget under Housing Authority Contract Services-Professional account (no. 14018760-62300). A proposed carryover of unspent funds will be presented for City Council consideration to FY 2025-26 and future fiscal years.
The table below provides an estimate; however, actual costs may vary depending on the number of vouchers awarded to youth clients and the level of services provided. The remaining balance of $587,839 is funded through the City of Santa Ana’s HHAP-5 grant funds for a total not-to-exceed amount of $632,839.
This agreement requires approval from both the City and the Housing Authority; therefore, it appears separately on the August 19, 2025 regular City Council and Housing Authority agendas for formal approval.
Fiscal Year Accounting
Unit-Account
Fund
Description
Accounting Unit,
Account Description Amount
FY 2025-26 14018760-
69135
Housing
Authority
Vouchers ADM
Housing Authority
Vouchers ADM –
Payment to Subagent
$15,000
FY 2026-27 14018760-
69135
Housing
Authority
Vouchers ADM
Housing Authority
Vouchers ADM –
Payment to Subagent
$15,000
FY 2027-28 14018760-
69135
Housing
Authority
Vouchers ADM
Housing Authority
Vouchers ADM –
Payment to Subagent
$15,000
Total $45,000
EXHIBITS
1. RFP for Services Coordination for Transitional Age Youth and Former Foster Youth
2. Agreement with Orangewood Foundation and the City of Santa Ana Submitted By: Michael L. Garcia, Executive Director of Community Development Approved By: Alvaro Nuñez, City Manager