City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: May 9, 2023
Agenda Item: 11.B
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Danielle Noble, Acting Director, Community Services Department, Housing and Human Services
Subject: 2023-27 Human Services Grants Program (HSGP) Funding Recommendations
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of no possibility of significant effect pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines
2. Approve the FY2023-27 Human Services Grants Program (HSGP) funding recommendation (Attachment A)
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute grant agreements for the FY2023-27 HSGP (Attachment A)
Summary
The City of Santa Monica’s Human Services Grants Program (HSGP) is a key component of the City’s overall efforts to support the Santa Monica community and provide services that keep vulnerable residents healthy, stable, and housed by providing funding to non-profit service providers in Santa Monica. The HSGP is administered through the Community Services Department’s (CSD) Housing and Human Services Division (HHSD) and funds an array of social service safety-net programs for vulnerable and underserved individuals and families in Santa Monica.
On August 24, 2022, City Council approved the proposed FY 2023-27 HSGP Funding Guidelines and directed staff to release a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the next fouryear FY 2023-27 grant funding cycle (Attachment B). On September 28, 2022, the City 2 of 23
released the FY 2023-27 HSGP RFP to solicit applications from eligible service providers for the FY 2023-27 funding cycle (Attachment C). The City received a total of 31 program proposals by the January 18, 2023 deadline. Grant requests totaled approximately $11.6 million. The City’s proposed FY 2023-24 HSGP budget includes $7.920 million in resources from the General Fund. Staff has also identified onetime and recurring supplemental funds that can be leveraged into $2.225 million in additional annual funding. Combined, these resources total $10.146 million in annual funding for the FY 2023-27 HSGP.
The HSGP program proposals that will be recommended for funding are responsive to a broad range of community needs, include existing and new services, and advance City Council priorities. Once approved, funding would be available beginning July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024 and may be renewed for an additional three-years contingent upon available funding, effective program performance, ability to meet existing and emerging priority community needs, and Council budget approval.
Staff recommends that Council approve funding for the FY 2023-27 Human Services Grants Program in the amount of $10,145,594 for FY 2023-24, which incorporates budgeted general funds as well as other supplemental funding sources, as detailed in Attachment A.
Background
This background section provides an overview of the milestones leading up to City Council’s HSGP funding decisions for FY 2023-27 and reviews the guiding principles that have defined HSGP services and responses to community needs over the history of the grants program. In response to community feedback and Council direction, City staff implemented several enhancements to the RFP process to further support community participation and transparency in decisions leading up to the grant funding recommendations presented in this report.
There has been an eight-year lead-up to the production of the FY 2023-27 HSGP portfolio; a timeline that diverges from the City’s typical approach to funding HSGP in 3 of 23
four-year increments and was due to a set of unprecedented events. Details are as follows:
• The current HSGP grant cycle started in FY 2015-16, when Council approved four-year grants for 22 local non-profits (June 23, 2015) at an annual funding level of $8,165,812.
• In FY 2018-19, Council adopted the Framework for a Sustainable City of Wellbeing and departments worked City-wide to align goals and outcomes. o The Community and Cultural Services Department (the pre-cursor to the Community Services Department) worked with an external consultant to engage the community in structuring HSGP performance measures and outcomes to fit the adopted framework.
o On January 22, 2019, Council granted a two-year extension to the FY 2015-19 HSGP grant cycle to allow time for meaningful community input in advance of a planned Fall 2020 RFP release.
• RFP development halted in early 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as staff shifted to focus on emergency response, working with HSGP grantees to pivot local services to respond to pandemic needs, and launching two new programs—the Virginia Avenue Park Food Pantry and the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). Both the City and local agencies adapted to respond to local needs and re-prioritize and deliver essential services during a time of limited resources while facing an uncertain future. • In June 2020, Council adopted a budget for FY 2020-21 that reduced the previously proposed City budget by nearly 25%, including a decrease of over 12% to the HSGP, resulting in a $1.035M cut to local services to vulnerable populations (see June 23, 2020 staff report).
• As a result of these pandemic-related programmatic and fiscal impacts, on January 26, 2021, Council approved and directed an additional two-year extension to the HSGP funding cycle and set new dates for the next HSGP funding cycle for July 1, 2023 thru June 30, 2027.
• These two-year extensions also align the HSGP funding cycle with the City’s biennial budget process.
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The City is on track to begin the next HSGP funding cycle in July 2023. The extended timeline outlined above has not impacted the guiding principles that shape the scope and focus of the Human Services Grants Program. The FY 2023-27 HSGP RFP cycle builds on the guiding principles outlined below, responds to feedback from the community, and aligns with City Council priorities reaffirmed in March 2023.
HSGP Guiding Principles
The following guiding principles, as outlined in the August 2022 staff report to City Council, shape the scope and focus of the grants program:
• Multi-year funding: The City commits to a four-year funding cycle to support program stability and continuity of care, which directly benefits community members. Contractual performance outcomes are closely monitored by City staff and updated annually to ensure follow-through in program delivery. • Defined Santa Monica Program Participants (SMPP): HSGP funds are focused on serving Santa Monica Program Participants while the City expects agencies to also leverage regional resources to support the well-being of these defined community members. City funding fills gaps in services for SMPP when non-City funding is not available or insufficient.
• Depth of Services Versus Breadth of Services: The grants program focuses on holistic programs that can provide deep levels of support and robust comprehensive services to a smaller number of highly vulnerable individuals who are SMPP. This translates into more intensive services over a longer period, as opposed to providing light-touch, short-term interventions to more people. • Serving Multiple Populations: The HSGP has long sought to preserve the diversity of Santa Monica residents by supporting marginalized and underserved community members. The program prioritizes services across multiple populations including seniors, people with disabilities, youth and their families, low-income households, and people experiencing homelessness. In 2022, 5 of 23
Council approved a 40% cap on funds allocated to programs serving one specific population.
• Leveraging Non-City Resources: The HSGP stipulates a minimum 30% cash match requirement, meaning City funds can only be used to cover up to 70% of the cost of services to SMPP and agencies must secure non-City funding for the balance of those costs. City staff also focus on securing external funding sources to support the HSGP portfolio in addition to the City Council approved general fund allocation.
• Enhancing Transparency, Accountability, Collaboration: City staff closely monitor and support agencies to succeed in delivering their programs to the community. In response to feedback from community stakeholders, staff are further increasing public insight into this work, have actively applied these themes in the development of the FY 2023-27 HSGP funding cycle, and continue to evolve HSGP processes to advance these three priorities.
Grounded in these principles, the FY 2023-27 HSGP funding cycle is responsive to community and Council feedback on population needs and service priorities, and areas for process improvements in the administration of the HSGP portfolio. As already mentioned, the HSGP portfolio aligns with Council direction to focus on priorities that address the critical issues and resource needs impacting the Santa Monica community.
Discussion
Section 1 >> Release and Promotion of RFP
On August 24, 2022, City Council approved the funding and evaluation guidelines for the FY 2023-27 HSGP and directed staff to issue the RFP to solicit applications for the FY 2023-27 funding cycle (Attachment B).
The 2023-27 HSGP RFP was released on September 28, 2022 on the City’s OpenGov Procurement Portal alerting over 5,400 registered vendors about the open solicitation for social service program proposals. Announcement of the RFP was widespread with an initial media alert sent to 27 local and regional outlets on September 28th. Coverage 6 of 23
also included multiple announcements in SaMoNews, which reaches over 47,000 individuals. At the same time, staff sent email blasts announcing the RFP opening to Citywide distribution lists including Santa Monica boards, commissions, community groups, and neighborhood associations. Information was also included in multiple City Manager weekly updates to Councilmembers to help get the word out to their networks of stakeholders and constituents. Staff secured communications support from Southern California Grantmakers to promote the RFP in their e-newsletter which reached over 2,500 people and organizations in the social services grants space directly and was featured on SoCal Grantmakers’ social media channels. Staff continued to send monthly email blasts to the Citywide distribution lists through January 2023. These emails informed recipients of the following: October 2022 Bidder’s Workshop, addendums posted to OpenGov, Q&A and technical assistance sessions hosted by HHSD staff, reminders of the final January 18, 2023 deadline as well as calls for the community to apply and participate on the HSGP Proposal Review Panel.
Section 2 >> Creation of HSGP Proposal Review Panel
In response to community requests and Council direction to strengthen the community’s role in producing HSGP funding recommendations, staff partnered with the We Are Santa Monica Fund (WASMF) Advisory Board to conduct an open solicitation for qualified individuals to participate in the review of HSGP Proposals. The City promoted the opportunity to apply and participate on the review panel in communications announcing the availability of the HSGP RFP to the local and regional community (described in Section 1). The WASMF extended the statement of interest deadline by three weeks to create more time for people to respond to the opportunity to serve the community (see Attachment D -Statement of Interest). The WASMF established an ad hoc committee to review all Statements of Interest and selected 42 people to serve on the HSGP Proposal Review Panel. Selected panelists included subject matter experts in service provision for a variety of vulnerable populations; current and former members of Santa Monica boards, commissions, and community groups; City staff from multiple departments; persons with lived experience as consumers of services; and 7 of 23
representatives from related fields including public policy, social services, and non-profit management.
Section 3 >> RFP - Responding Agencies & Programs Proposed Responding Agencies: The City received 31 program proposals from 24 agencies by the January 18, 2023 RFP application deadline. Grant requests totaled approximately $11.6 million. Proposals also included a commitment to provide $19.9 million in matching funds, totaling to $31.5 million in proposed funding to serve SMPP. Of the 24 applying agencies, seven are new applicants to the City’s HSGP funding process. The combination of proposals for new and existing programs serves the full range of Santa Monica’s HSGP priority populations, including people with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness, seniors, youth and families, and other underserved populations.
Continuity of providers is important and demonstrates how the City has intentionally invested in and cultivated its portfolio of homegrown providers and supported their transformation from new to established partners over the years. These providers have roots within the community and understand community needs. Further, community members know they can depend on HSGP-funded organizations and services across multiple phases of their lives. Seven new organizations also submitted HSGP proposals, showing that the process was inclusive to new organizations addressing critical community needs. It is promising to see a mix of new agencies proposing to serve the community alongside long-standing HSGP grantee agencies.
Programs Proposed: Out of 31 proposals received, a total of 15 are new programs.
Program proposals serve the full range of Santa Monica’s HSGP priority populations.
See Attachment E for the complete list of programs proposed. Staff reassigned the SMPP primary population selected for Venice Family Clinic and Haven Neighborhood Services to ‘Underserved Population Not Otherwise Specified’. Both programs selected ‘Youth & Families’ as their primary SMPP population in the program funding application.
Given both programs support people across the lifespan in diverse household makeups, 8 of 23
the ‘Underserved Population Not Otherwise Specified’ category better captures the range of the populations served. This adjustment also ensures that staff use the correct inputs to calculate the percentage of funds allocated to each SMPP group, and that no group receives more than 40% of the portfolio’s funding allocations.
Section 4 >> Review Panel Evaluation Process & Results
As directed by City Council in August 2022, in parallel with the HSGP RFP, an RFP was released to identify an independent facilitator to support the HSGP Review Panel’s completion of the proposal evaluation process. Elizabeth Anderson Consulting was selected to complete the project.
The independent facilitator was fully responsible for assigning proposals to each member of the Review Panel. These assignments were made based on the details provided in each panelist’s statement of interest. In the statement of interest, applicants to the panel were asked to disclose any potential conflict(s) of interest related to their participation in the review and scoring of HSGP proposals. The Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office reviewed disclosures and provided guidance on which proposals should not be matched with particular reviewers in order to avoid conflict of interest. In the process of matching panelists with proposals, the City’s independent facilitator layered the City Attorney’s guidance with each panelist’s stated area of expertise, including their knowledge of the needs of specific populations, program and system design, and experience with administration and oversight. Once the proposals were allocated across the Review Panel, a collective effort enabled each proposal to be reviewed and scored by five different Review Panel members. The Audited Financials submitted with each proposal were reviewed and scored by a qualified staff member in the City’s Finance Department.
The independent facilitator supported Review Panel members beginning with the distribution of proposal assignments through the formal recording of reviewers’ scores in OpenGov. Support for the panel members included a virtual training workshop hosted on Zoom, virtual office hours, and one-on-one coaching via email and phone. The focus 9 of 23
of this training and support was to help reviewers evaluate the contents of each proposal (program plan, program budget, and supporting documentation) in accordance with the Council-approved HSGP RFP standardized evaluation criteria and scoring guidance (Attachment C). Review Panel members were also provided the program and fiscal monitoring reports of currently funded agencies as well as the Moss Adams Report on HSGP Grantee Monitoring to factor into their analysis of program proposals and agency capacity.
Each proposal was assessed across nine evaluation criteria related to program and fiscal categories, worth a total of 150 possible points. Each proposal’s five reviewer scores were then averaged to produce one overall score, which served by proxy as a determination of the program proposal’s level of qualification for HSGP funding. When ranked from high to low, the final program scores reported to staff by the City’s independent facilitator show a large gap between 76% and 67.33%, which created a natural funding boundary separating the most qualified applicants. All proposals that scored above 75% were considered for funding. By establishing the cutoff at 75%, two agencies that are new to the HSGP portfolio are included in staff’s funding recommendation. The Review Panel’s ranked HSGP program proposals are provided in Attachment E Review Panel Ranking of HSGP Program Proposals.
In the next section, staff present funding recommendations for City Council consideration. The Review Panel’s scoring (Attachment E) is the primary factor driving recommendations. All proposals that scored above 75% were considered for funding.
Program proposals that received scores below 75% are not recommended for HSGP funding. The following table reports the HSGP Review Panel’s average scores across the nine evaluation criteria for programs recommended for funding compared to averages of those not recommended for funding.
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Table 1. HSGP Review Panel’s Average Scores
Scoring Area Total
Points
Average Score of
Programs
Recommended for
Funding
Average Score of
Programs Not
Recommended for
Funding
Community Need 10 9.19 (91.9%) 6.80 (68.0%)
Description of Services 10 9.12 (91.2%) 6.14 (61.4%)
Access to Services 10 8.87 (88.7%) 6.74 (67.4%)
Program Evaluation 20 16.95 (84.8%) 11.74 (58.7%)
Organizational Capacity 15 13.26 (88.4%) 8.83 (58.9%)
Policies & Procedures 15 12.46 (83.1%) 9.29 (61.9%)
Past Performance 30 24.32 (81.1%) 9.63 (32.1%)
Program Budget 30 26.92 (89.7%) 18.09 (60.3%)
Audited Financial Stmts. 10 8.67 (86.7%) 3.00 (30.0%)
Total Proposal Score 150 129.74 (86.5%) 80.26 (53.5%)
Section 5 >> Funding Recommendations for FY 2023-27 HSGP Portfolio The City’s proposed FY 2023-24 HSGP budget includes $7.920 million in resources from the General Fund. Staff has also identified onetime and recurring supplemental funds that can be leveraged into $2.225 million in additional annual funding throughout the four-year funding cycle. By combining these funds, Council can allocate a total of $10.146 million annually to fund the HSGP portfolio for FY 2023-27. Supplemental funds include:
• Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for Public Services, • Early Childhood Contributions from Development Agreements, • Opioid Settlement Funds,
• State and Federal appropriations for Behavioral Health strategies; and • Local Measure CS funds for homeless initiatives.
Additionally, agencies will bring a minimum of 30% in matching funds dedicated to SMPP, further increasing the value of the portfolio.
HSGP investments directly align with Council priorities and many programs proposed deploy resources and services to the community that accelerate multiple Council priorities simultaneously. For example, senior services programs help prevent 11 of 23
homelessness, expand community and cultural offerings, advance racial equity and promote social diversity. Money management and employment programs advance homeless prevention, cultivate economic recovery at the household level and advance racial justice and social equity goals.
The total amount of funding requested for programs that scored above 75% is $11.045 million, which exceeds the amount of funds available for the Human Services Grants Program by $900,000. While the Review Panel scores serve as the foundation, staff have considered community needs and City Council Priorities to produce the FY 2023- 27 HSGP funding recommendations presented in Table 2 below. Staff provide insight into how these funding recommendations were produced through the following incremental steps:
The first step in the staff funding recommendation is to consider funding all proposals that scored above 75%; the following proposals, however, scored above 75% but are not recommended for funding:
• Providence Saint John’s (PSJ) Child & Family Development Center – ‘Preschool Wellness Consultation’ ($428,323): The Providence Saint John’s Child & Family Development Center (CFDC) is a current and longtime recipient of HSGP funds.
During negotiations of the 2022 Amendment to the Development Agreement between the City of Santa Monica and PSJ, one mutually agreed upon condition was that PSJ would maintain the CFDC’s HSGP-funded Child Youth Development Project (CYDP) without further use of City funds, thereby freeing up resource capacity within the City’s portfolio to fund additional services while ensuring that CFDC programs continued to benefit Santa Monica youth and families. Funding the proposed CFDC program in place of CYDP would eliminate this benefit. Additionally, awarding HSGP funding to PSJ would cause the Youth and Families category to closely approach and potentially exceed the 40% cap on funds allocated to a specific population (notably, approximately 25% of proposed HSGP funding is already allocated to early childhood programs within the Youth & Families category). In consideration of the above, while the proposed Preschool Wellness Consultation Program provides valuable services 12 of 23
to the community, staff does not recommend allocating HSGP funds to the program.
• Cancer Support Community Los Angeles (CSCLA) – ‘Santa Monica Women and ‘Older Adults and Seniors’ ($182,000 total): While CSCLA’s programs provide valuable supports and other health and wellness services that positively impact the lives of people affected by cancer, program eligibility based on this qualifying health condition limits the potential impact in the community. Further, while the services seek to benefit a vulnerable population, the program design does not fully align with HSGP guiding principles to focus HSGP dollars towards serving low-income households. In an environment where funding must be allocated to meet many competing priorities, staff recommends allocating HSGP resources to populations with the highest need.
The second step in the staff funding recommendation is to (a) set a baseline level of investment in all programs recommended for funding at a sufficient level that allows programs to operate as intended, and (b) reserve some funds for additional allocations to programs that address known service gaps and priority needs among the community’s most vulnerable members. After extensive deliberation, staff determined that it is possible to accomplish both objectives by setting a baseline allocation of 85% of the requested grant amount across all programs recommended for funding. This adequately funds all programs, with outcomes to be adjusted appropriate to reflect the level of funding.
The third step in the staff funding recommendation is to allocate the remaining funds to select programs that address known service and resource needs among the community’s most vulnerable members and address needs that emerged during COVID-19. All programs recommended for funding above 85% of their requested grant amount are grantees within the current HSGP portfolio. The Review Panel rated these program proposals an average score of 87%. Additionally, staff considered eight years of insights on the impact and performance of these programs gleaned from program monitoring work during the current funding cycle. Staff recommends increasing the allocations to the following programs to further advance Council priorities:
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• Meals on Wheels West Delivering More than a Meal: Fund at 100% grant ask.
This program addresses food insecurity and social isolation in low-income, homebound households whose vulnerabilities have been underscored during the COVID-19 pandemic. These households are also facing reductions to CalFresh benefits and rising food costs. This program also supports housing retention among our most vulnerable residents which aligns with the Council priority of addressing homelessness.
• St. Joseph Center Youth Resource Team (YRT): Fund at 100% grant ask. YRT serves as the system hub for collective impact to support highly vulnerable youth ages 11-24 years old. YRT is a currently funded program and proposes to serve some of the most at-risk older youth in the HSGP portfolio. YRT consistently operates with a waitlist of youth referred to the program, which indicates that there is a critical and growing need for this unique service in the community.
Additional funding supports the program’s capacity to enroll more youth in services which aligns with Council priorities on safety, connectedness, equity and preventing homelessness.
• The People Concern 24/7 Samoshel Interim Housing Program: Fund at 100% of grant ask to advance the City’s priority to Address Homelessness. This proposal will expand Samoshel’s hours of operations towards a 24/7 model which City Council and multiple City departments have identified as an unmet need and priority. The HSGP funding allocation to support the implementation of this model, when combined with $800,000 in local Measure CS funds, will provide an interim housing resource option for first responders to offer people experiencing homelessness on a 24/7 basis.
• The People Concern Housing Retention Program: Fund at 100% grant ask. Prior experience of homelessness is a key predictor for returning to homelessness.
Additional funding to this program bolsters the City’s homeless system capacity for housing retention and protects the City’s other investments in intensive programs that help people end their episode of homelessness. • Westside Food Bank Emergency Food Distribution: Fund at 100% grant ask. The Westside Food Bank is a critical backbone of the local food pantry system. Its 14 of 23
capacity to distribute food enables local programs to address food insecurity in vulnerable households throughout the City. The cost of wholesale food has increased significantly and granting additional funding supports the Food Bank’s role as the primary supplier to meet local demand for basic food support. This program also supports housing retention among Santa Monica’s most vulnerable residents which aligns with the Council priority of addressing homelessness. • WISE & Healthy Aging Care Management / Adult Day Health Programs: Fund at 95% of grant ask. Demand for services to support the Santa Monica senior population continues to grow as the population increases in size and diversity of needs. Older adults are also the fastest growing age group falling into homelessness making targeted case management critical to help Santa Monica seniors connect with benefits and resources that that strengthen their ability to retain housing. Adult day services are also a critical program in the continuum of care for older adults with increasing rates of dementia and cognitive decline. This program connects to Council priorities to prevent homelessness, expand community and cultural offerings, and promote social diversity. • WISE & Healthy Aging Club WISE and WISE Diner: Fund at 93% of grant ask.
Demand for services to support the Santa Monica senior population continues to grow as the population increases in size and diversity of needs. Club WISE supports the socialization and community connections among older adults who have experienced increased isolation since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional funding for WISE Diner offsets increasing meal costs and combats food insecurity faced by low-income senior households. This program connects to Council priorities to prevent homelessness, expand community and cultural offerings, and promote social diversity.
The RFP asked applicants to indicate the primary population they intend to serve on each program proposal in line with Council direction to cap funding at 40% for each priority population. Assigning each program in the current HSGP portfolio to one population served is challenging because most programs serve a range of populations, and individuals with intersectional identities (e.g., a senior with a disability who is also 15 of 23
experiencing homelessness). Notably, while funding for programs primarily serving people with disabilities is low, this population is also well-supported through other programming with broader priority populations.
The staff recommendation allocates funding across SMPP as follows, maintaining a balanced portfolio across target populations (i.e., not investing more than 40% of the portfolio in any given single population):
• 26% People Experiencing Homelessness
• 2% People with Disabilities
• 18% Seniors
• 17% Underserved Population Not Otherwise Specified
• 37% Youth & Families
Table 2. FY 2023-27 HSGP Funding Recommendations
Agency Program Amount
Chrysalis SM Employment Center $ 282,783
CLARE MATRIX Help Empower Linkage Program $ 340,240
Connections for Children SM Early Education $ 1,492,043 Disability Community Resource Ctr. Independent Living $ 205,285 Family Service of Santa Monica Integrated Mental Health $ 671,472 Growing Place Marine Park Child Dev. Center $ 212,500
*Haven Neighborhood Services Beyond the Bank $ 115,600
Hospitality Training Academy SM Jobs Initiative $ 109,907 JVS SoCal SM Youth Employment $ 170,190
Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles Community Legal Services $ 696,873 Meals on Wheels West Delivering More than a Meal $ 61,850 Santa Monica College Pico Partnership $ 226,971
*Social & Emotional Wellness Initiative Youth Mental Health & Wellness $ 147,042 St. Joseph Center Older Adults Health and Wellness $842,060 St. Joseph Center Youth Resource Team $ 768,631
The People Concern 24/7 Samoshel Interim Housing $ 2,082,488 The People Concern Housing Retention $ 200,000
Venice Family Clinic Comprehensive Care $ 255,000
Westside Food Bank Emergency Food Distribution $ 175,000 WISE & Healthy Aging Care Management / Adult Day
Programs $ 560,671
WISE & Healthy Aging Club WISE and WISE Diner $ 528,988 16 of 23
Total: $10,145,594
(*) Agency not currently funded by HSGP
Section 6 >> Projected Community Impact & Connection to City Council Priorities Outcomes are a key tool in assessing the impact that programs have on the community.
Given the essential role that outcomes play in the grants program, the City adopted the new HSGP Program Evaluation Framework based on community input collected through an extensive engagement process. The HSGP evaluation framework provides uniformity across agencies and programs to clearly measure and report performance, while also allowing flexibility for HSGP programs to be nimble and innovative in the way they address the community’s most pressing needs.
The HSGP Program Evaluation Framework focuses the HSGP portfolio on three priority areas of impact:
(1) Lifelong Learning,
(2) Stability, and
(3) Health & Wellness.
This grant cycle is the first time the HSGP outcomes framework will be implemented.
The framework creates visibility in the HSGP portfolio’s impact as a system and enables insight into how each agency’s program drives towards shared outcomes that reflect community and Council priorities, along with the HSGP community impact areas of Lifelong Learning, Stability, and Health & Wellness. Notably, the top two goals addressed in this portfolio are increasing economic wellbeing and increasing the number of households who receive appropriate supports to maintain stable, quality housing.
(Below, see ‘Number of proposals supporting the Santa Monica community’) Community Impact Area
Lifelong Learning
Santa Monica residents have access to and succeed in education and training Goals
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A B C D
Improve key
academic transitions
from pre-k through
college
Improve school
experience
Improve childcare
and early learning
access
Increase adult and
community education
Number of proposals supporting the Santa Monica community towards these goals 5 5 6 1
Community Impact Area
Stability
Santa Monica residents are socially and economically secure Goals
A B C D E
Increase the number of
vulnerable households
who receive appropriate
supports to maintain
stable, quality housing
Increase the number
of vulnerable
households who
access interim and
permanent housing
solutions
Increase
economic
wellbeing
Increase
parent/
caregiver
support
Increase access
to affordable
transportation
Number of proposals supporting the Santa Monica community towards these goals 8 3 10 3 0
Community Impact Area
Health & Wellness
Santa Monica residents are physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy Goals
A B C D
Improve behavioral
health
Improve physical
health
Improve food security Improve connections
between Santa
Monica residents and
their community
Number of proposals supporting the Santa Monica community towards these goals 7 4 3 7
In addition to the community impact areas above, the proposed HSGP grantee program outcomes align with and advance Council priorities (adopted March 11, 2023):
(1) Addressing Homelessness,
(2) Clean & Safe Santa Monica,
(3) Cultivate Economic Recovery & Expand Community & Cultural Offerings, (4) Racial Justice, Equity & Social Diversity, and
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(5) Sustainable & Connected Community.
Additionally, demand for behavioral health services is a concern and need that has been expressed by members of the community and Council. Multiple programs proposed either address behavioral health needs directly or enhance protective factors that support behavioral health and wellbeing.
Section 7 >> FY 2023 – 27 HSGP Grant Cycle Performance Management Performance management is a priority for HHSD, in alignment with community and Council emphasis on agency and program accountability. This section describes HHSD’s proposed protocols for performance management of the FY 2023-27 HSGP portfolio including progressive performance accountability for programs that do not deliver services as planned. Performance management will include reporting to the public at regular milestones during the four-year funding cycle and incorporating changes that reflect the recommendations from the Moss Adams Report on HSGP Grantee Monitoring and Process Review presented to the City Council Audit Subcommittee on February 21, 2023 (Attachment F) to enhance the HSGP system.
Activity 1: Regular Public Reporting on Program Performance • Continue public posting of year-end program and fiscal status reports for each funded program in the HSGP portfolio. Programmatic reports provide information on services provided, success stories, changes to the program, challenges, and progress towards contracted outputs and outcomes. Fiscal reports document actual expenditures based on the contract budget. Reports can be viewed at https://santamonica.gov/human-services-grants-program-reports. • Introduce a year-end status assessment of fiscal/programmatic performance that is reported publicly in the year-end posting above. Full details about the status assessment are described in Activity 2 below.
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Activity 2: Enhance program performance accountability
Staff intend to implement more progressive performance improvement expectations to support each agency’s focus on the HSGP service outcomes and funding commitments they have made to the Santa Monica community. The status of each program’s performance at year-end will be publicly reported (per Activity 1). Additionally, staff will leverage a progressive set of expectations to escalate the consequences of repeated inadequate performance related to service outcomes and/or budget management. This approach communicates to the agencies that the City values all the organizations in the HSGP portfolio and relies on funded programs to deliver services as intended to Santa Monica Priority Participants (SMPP). Agency programs that reach and exceed outcome goals are highly valued; agency programs that demonstrate year-over-year challenges in delivering services are addressed.
All agency programs will begin the FY 2023-27 grant cycle ‘In Good Standing’.
Programs will retain this status unless there are causes for HHSD to place the program on probation and require submittal of a performance improvement plan. HHSD staff assess and evaluate both fiscal and programmatic performance biannually per the City’s program monitoring process.
• Fiscal monitoring: HHSD analysts monitor each programs’ utilization of the annual grant budget and will request funds be returned if the program did not spend the entire HSGP grant amount or the year-end report shows a cash match value less than zero percent (meaning HSGP funds paid for non-SMPP participants). Analysts also monitor programs for the annual level of cash match allocated to the program; as established in the HSGP RFP eligibility criteria, programs must bring 30% or more cash match to the HSGP funded program. If the program brings less than a 30% cash match, that is cause for instituting a performance improvement plan. Additionally, a significant or high-risk finding identified during a fiscal monitoring engagement is another cause for instituting a performance improvement plan. Year-over-year challenges in this area is cause for probation.
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• Program monitoring: HHSD analysts monitor each program’s progress towards the outcome indicators established at the beginning of the funding cycle. The outcome indicators measure the program’s progress towards the goals selected from the HSGP Program Evaluation Framework – Lifelong Learning, Stability, and Health & Wellness. Analysts monitor for failure to meet a minimum performance threshold of 75% progress towards primary performance indicators.
Failure to reach 75% is cause to institute a performance improvement plan.
Repeat failure is cause for probation and returned funds or adjustment to the next year’s grant funding level commensurate with the performance anticipated by the program. Additionally, a significant or high-risk finding identified during a program monitoring site visit is another cause for instituting a performance improvement plan.
In summary, return of unspent funds, failure to meet the 30% cash match requirement, significant or high-risk findings during fiscal or program monitoring, or failure to reach 75% progress on the program’s primary performance indicators are all causes for a program status to change from ‘In Good Standing’ to ‘Probation’. The standing of each program will be publicly reported at year-end. This information will be available during the review process for the next HSGP RFP cycle.
Table 3 below organizes the information presented in Activity 1 and 2 as a progressive program performance accountability framework.
Table 3. HSGP Program Performance Accountability Framework Causes for Programs to Return Funds Status
(A) Did not spend entire HSGP grant amount; agency returns unspent funds
(B) Negative Cash Match - Year-end budget report shows Cash Match value less than 0%; agency returns funds to bring Cash Match up to 0%
Placed on Probation
Required to submit a
Performance
Improvement Plan
Performance Issues Resulting in Probation Status
- Did not meet minimum program outcome threshold on program’s primary indicators
Placed on Probation
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- Returned unspent funds (A or B above)
- Did not meet simple Cash Match (0-30%)
- Significant/high risk finding from a Fiscal or Program Monitoring Required to submit a
Performance
Improvement Plan
If a program continues to show cause for probation and/or fails to meet the goals set forth in a performance improvement plan, City staff may take corrective action, up to and including reducing the grant amount for the next program year or terminating the grant agreement. As City staff works to administer and implement the HSGP Program Performance Accountability Framework, staff may make adjustments as necessary in order to improve the efficiency and efficacy of the framework. Unused and returned grant funds will be re-programmed by HHSD. This re-allocation can be done through a simple Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) or through an existing Council-approved HSGP grantee doing similar work or serving the same population. These options enable the HSGP to be nimble and creative during the funding cycle.
Section 8 >> Preparing for the FY 2027-31 HSGP RFP
City staff will begin preparation for the FY 2027-31 HSGP RFP as follows:
• Fall 2025: Begin community outreach and engagement to solicit feedback on the design of the HSGP RFP and evaluation criteria;
• Fall 2026: Request City Council approval of the HSGP RFP and evaluation criteria;
• Fall 2026: Release HSGP RFP to the community and promote throughout the region;
• Fall 2026: Recruit HSGP Review Panel;
• Winter 2027: Provide one month period for Review Panel evaluate proposals; • Spring 2027: Present HSGP funding recommendations to City council; • Spring 2027: Conduct contract negotiations and execute contracts prior to go-live date July 1, 2027;
• Summer 2027: Council formally approves the HSGP with the 2027-29 Biennial Budget.
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Next Steps
Following approval of the FY 2023-27 HSGP, City staff will begin contract negotiations with approved programs. These contracts will include up to five parking permits for use by agency staff or volunteers for each City-funded program that provides community outreach and/or in-home services. Notably, because most programs will receive less funds than originally proposed in the RFP, program budgets and outcomes will be adjusted to reflect the awarded funding amount.
Final HSGP funding awards will be included in the FY 2023-25 budget and considered during budget adoption in June 2023. The FY 2023-27 HSGP funding cycle will start July 1, 2023. As programs begin operations in July 2023, City staff will work with agencies to ensure existing programs continue smoothy and new programs are introduced to the community.
Environmental Review
Approval of the FY 2023-27 Human Services Grants Program is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the CEQA Guidelines, which states that CEQA does not apply, “where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment. The funding recommendations are for administrative programs. Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that the funding recommendations in the program would not result in adverse physical impacts on the environment, and as such, is categorically exempt from CEQA.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action as a result of the recommendations in this report. The total amount of recommended funding for the FY 2023-24 HGSP is $10,145,594. Staff will incorporate any budget actions into the City’s FY 2023-25 Biennial Budget.
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Prepared By: Marc Amaral, Administrator
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Attachment A_2023-27 HSGP Funding Recommendations
B. Attachment B: August 24, 2022 Staff Report (Web Link) C. Attachment C: OpenGov Procurement Platform HSGP RFP (Web Link) D. Attachment D_HSGP RFP Review Panel Statement of Interest E. Attachment E_ Review Panel Ranking of FY 2023-27 HSGP Program Proposals1
F. Attachment F: February 21, 2023 Audit Subcommittee Agenda Packet (Moss Adams HSGP Monitoring Report)
G. ITEM.11.B.Written Comments
H. PowerPoint Presentation