Item Number: {{item.number}}
City Council / Board of Directors
Written Communications
Meeting of: November 19, 2024
Submitted By:
Alex Jauregui, City Planner
Subject:
Acceptance of California Department of Housing and Community Development Encampment Resolution Fund Round 3 (ERF-3) grant funding for homelessness services and an associated amendment to an existing Professional Services Agreement with Symba Center to include ERF-3 funding for program-specific services Recommendation:
That the Honorable City Council adopt Resolution Nos. 24-098 and 24-099, thereby:
(1) Accepting the ERF-3 Grant with the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and providing the City with $6,365,069.60 for enhanced street outreach, street medicine, housing navigation, emergency housing, interim housing, rapid rehousing (RRH), and permanent housing;
(2) Authorizing the City Manager to finalize all documents needed to execute the ERF-3 contract and administer the overall project;
(3) Authorizing the City Manager to make any necessary amendments to the contract as deemed necessary;
(4) Amending the annual budget for fiscal year 2024-2025 to reflect an additional appropriation in the amount of $6,365,069.60; and
(5) Amending the Professional Services Agreement with Symba Center, increasing Symba Center’s compensation in the amount of $1,417,420.00 to provide ERF-3 enhanced case management, street medicine, housing navigation, and RRH, with any non-substantive changes, if necessary, as agreed upon by the City Manager and City Attorney.
Fiscal Impact:
The proposed action will result in an increase of $6,365,069.60 in the City's budget to provide services and support to people experiencing homelessness in encampments that will result in meaningful paths to safe and stable housing. ERF-3 funding will be disbursed to the City in one allocation after HCD has received, reviewed and approved the 3 8
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completed Standard Agreement and the Request for Funds Form (RFF). The RFF has not been made available by HCD at this time; however, pursuant to the Boilerplate Standard Agreement provided by HCD (Attachment C), the RFF is required to include the proposed eligible uses and the amount of funds proposed to be expended, as approved by the City Council. Additionally, there is no match requirement with this funding source and required grant reporting functions (e.g. input and extrapolation of data) will be managed by the City’s Homelessness Solutions staff utilizing internal client management system and local Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). Lastly, the proposed action will also provide an additional $1,417,420.00 to Symba Center to provide ERF-3 specific services, which will be memorialized by an amendment to an existing Professional Services Agreement (Attachments D & E) given the HCD’s requirement to quickly expend ERF-3 funding and Symba Center’s current role in providing the subject ERF-3 services.
Strategic Plan Goal:
This grant opportunity aligns with Goal D of the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan; specifically, strategies 3, 4, and, 5, which state that in order to achieve the goal of reducing homelessness, the City should:
•Expand on the existing homelessness outreach network to effectively engage the homeless community in services;
•Evaluate the effectiveness of coordination of homelessness services; and •Strengthen collaboration with the County and other entities to identify new funding opportunities and expand partnerships for homelessness services.
Inasmuch as the proposed grant funding opportunity will allow the City to further implement the strategies noted above as well as address Goal A of the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan by identifying new funding sources to promote the City’s financial sustainability, acceptance of the subject grant would be in compliance with the City’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan.
Background:
Grant History
The California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal-ICH) released an Encampment Resolution Funding Round 3 (ERF-3) to assist local jurisdictions in ensuring the wellness and safety of people experiencing homelessness in encampments. While Cal-ICH published the Notice of Funding Availability regarding the ERF-3 grant, the responsibility of administering the grant was subsequently transferred to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Eligible applicants for ERF- 3 included counties, Continuums of Care (CoCs), and cities of any size. Applications were accepted on a rolling basis until June 30, 2024, or until all funds were depleted, whichever came first. Funds were prioritized for proposals that served people living in encampments on State rights-of-way.
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In April 2024, the City applied for ERF-3 funding, seeking resources from the State of California to fund services and support within the City to ensure the wellness and safety of people experiencing homelessness in encampments. Grant applications were required a focus on a specific encampment site/sites and City staff selected the encampment areas along Highway 18 and Interstate 15, including a one-mile radius from these focus areas. These areas were selected given that they encapsulate the highest concentration of the City’s homeless population needing services and support.
On September 27, 2024, the City was awarded $6,365,069.60 in Encampment Resolution Funding (ERF) by the HCD (Attachment F). At this time, the City has received a Boilerplate Standard Agreement; however, HCD intends to issue a final Standard Agreement within 90 days of receipt of the documentation required to execute this contract.
Grant Purpose
The ERF-3 grant is intended to assist local jurisdictions in ensuring the wellness and safety of people experiencing homelessness in encampments by: providing services and support that meet immediate physical and mental health needs; and creating meaningful pathways to safe and stable housing. Additionally, the objective of ERF-3 grant program is to fund actionable, person-centered proposals that resolves the experience of unsheltered homelessness for people residing in encampments by: addressing safety and wellness for these individuals; resolving critical encampment concerns, and transitioning people into interim shelter with clear pathways to permanent housing or directly into permanent housing.
Proposed/Eligible Grant Uses
The City’s grant application for ERF-3 funding was awarded based upon an application submittal that included the following eligible uses:
Eligible Use Proposed Activities
Street Outreach
Increased access to crisis services, the Wellness Center, and housing solutions by funding the City’s Homeless Engagement Team Officers, case management, and field medical personnel.
Interim Housing
Increased access to interim housing options by funding housing navigation services, Wellness Center operations, and a motel voucher program.
Rapid Rehousing
Increased housing options by funding rental subsidies, security deposits, landlord incentives, housing search assistance, and providing access of other community based services.
Permanent Housing
Delivery of permanent housing, such as linking individuals to Desert Haven (a permanent supportive housing complex
located on Stoddard Wells Road) and the possible
implementation of Phase 2 of the Wellness Center.
Although previous awards of Encampment Resolution Funding to the City of Victorville included the clean-up of encampments, the subject ERF-3 funding is focused on providing 3 8
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services and support that meet immediate physical and mental health needs for those experiencing homelessness in encampments and connecting people to housing, with actual clean-up of encampments a prohibited use of funds. The City currently has sufficient budgeted funds and staffing to address the clean-up of encampments.
Discussion:
Overview
The awarded ERF-3 funding is a significant step forward in the City’s ongoing efforts to combat homelessness, providing for the expansion of vital homelessness programs, including outreach, case management, and housing navigation, while continuing the operation of the Wellness Center. As outlined in the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, the City remains committed to expanding the homelessness outreach network by offering shelter and comprehensive supportive services to unsheltered residents, helping them achieve long-term stability and permanent housing. City staff intends to work closely with state agencies, local partners, and community organizations to ensure the effective implementation of these ERF-3 grant programs and achieve the best possible outcomes for Victorville residents.
As noted in the “Background” Section of this report, the City of Victorville has been awarded over $6.3 million in ERF-3 from HCD to further address homelessness and resolve encampments within the City. The ERF-3 funding awarded to the City is intended to be directed toward several key initiatives that aim to address homelessness and encampments in accordance with the ERF-3 guidelines, which include the following:
•Expand and enhance current efforts related to street outreach, street medicine, and housing navigation in order to engage unsheltered/sheltered individuals and connect them with housing and services;
•Support ongoing operations of the Victorville Wellness Center, which provides shelter, medical care, and supportive services;
•Develop and maintain interim and emergency housing solutions at the Wellness Center and supply motel vouchers to provide stability;
•Facilitate rapid rehousing to assist individuals and families in quickly moving from homelessness to stable housing; and
•Support permanent housing solutions, which include assisting Wellness Center client transitions to Desert Haven as well as furthering efforts to implementing permanent housing at Phase 2 of the Wellness Center.
A further description of these key initiatives, including their funding amounts, associated providers, and activity description are summarized in the attached ERF-3 budget summary (see Attachment G). The City’s goals in utilizing ERF-3 grant funding and advancing the noted initiatives are to provide service to 200 individuals in the identified 3 8
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encampment areas (Attachment H) and provide permanent housing solutions to at least 100 individuals.
Grant Implementation Timeline
The ERF-3 grant period includes various deadlines for expenditure and obligation of funds, reporting, and contract execution, as follows:
•July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2027 – Overall Expenditure Period of Performance oJune 30, 2025 - 100% of awarded funding required to be obligated. oJune 30, 2025 - 50% min. of awarded funding ($3,183,534.80) to be expended. oJune 30, 2027 - 100% of awarded funds to be expended.
•April 1, 2028 – Final Work Product submittal deadline to HCD, which reports on programmatic fiscal data as well as provides a narrative on outputs and outcome resulting from the grant funding.
•April 15, 2029 – ERF-3 Agreement Termination Date.
Additionally, HCD has set a 90-day timeframe to finalize a Standard Agreement upon their receipt of the City’s intent to accept the subject grant. While the City has not received a final Standard Agreement at this time, HCD has provided a boilerplate ERF agreement for reference (Attachment C).
Symba Center Agreement Amendment
In an effort to provide the services required by the acceptance of the ERF-3 grant as well as meet the timeliness standards, City staff is requesting City Council approval of an amendment to an existing Professional Services Agreement between the City and Symba Center to provide Wellness Center Wraparound Services in order to include funding and an updated scope of work for the subject ERF-3 services and staffing (Attachment E).
A brief synopsis of the City’s selection of and history with Symba Center is provided as follows:
•February 20, 2023, staff issued a Request for Proposal (RFP), pursuant to Section
2.28.280 of the Victorville Municipal Code to solicit a Wellness Center Wraparound Services Provider to oversee the supportive services of the Interim Shelter and the Wellness Center.
•On June 6, 2023, the Council approved the Professional Services Agreement between the City and Symba Center to provide wraparound services at the City’s Wellness Center (Attachment D). The supportive “Wraparound” services included but were not limited to, housing navigation, medical and behavioral health services, recuperative care, substance abuse counseling, case management, job training/placement, assistance with documentation readiness, and coordination with partner referral entities.
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oWhile this agreement is up for renewal on June 30, 2025, during the term of the Agreement, including any extensions (as applicable), the City may request that the Symba Center perform “Extra Services”. As defined in the existing agreement, "Extra Services" means any services, which are determined by the City to be necessary for the proper delivery of the Wraparound Services but which the Parties did not reasonably anticipate would be necessary at the execution of this Agreement.
Since initiating services with the City, Symba Center has met expectations and helped with the successful placement of over 90 Wellness Center clients into permanent housing solutions. Symba Center has also been helpful in supporting the City’s outreach efforts and providing aftercare services for individuals graduating into permanent housing after their stay at the Wellness Center. As such, Symba Center has shown the ongoing ability to provide successful services for the City’s homeless population and increase capacity of their scope of work to include ERF-3 specific programming and staff, which presents an opportunity to enhance the agreement between the City and Symba Center in a manner that will ensure compliance with ERF-3 expenditure deadlines. Specifically, the City seeks to amend the existing contract to provide the following services and funding amounts during FY ’24-’25 to Symba Center.
Service Description FY 24-25
Amount
Case Management
Trauma informed, client
centered case management to
advance client housing.
$112,000
(1/2 of total
amount)
Licensed Vocational
Nurse
Medical services to outreach
clients and connection to
additional levels of care.
$78,000
(1/2 of total
amount)
Housing Navigator
Landlord engagement, housing
search, landlord contracts, and
aftercare mitigation.
$67,500
(1/2 of total
amount)
Rapid Rehousing
(RRH)
Rental subsidies, security
deposits, landlord incentives,
house search, and facilitating
access to services.
$1,159,920
(1/2 of total
amount)
Total
Amount: $1,417,420
Due to the aggressive timeline for expending 50% of the subject funds by June 2025, and goals to provide associated services, City staff is requesting that the City Council approve the acceptance of the ERF-3 funding and authorize the City Manager to execute the contract upon its receipt and take necessary action to administer the grant, as outlined in Resolution Nos. 24-098 & 24-099, as well as approve the First Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement with Symba Center, increasing Symba Center’s 3 8
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compensation in the amount of $1,417,420.00 to provide ERF-3 enhanced case management, street medicine, housing navigation, and RRH.
Attachments: A. City Council Resolution No. 24-098 - City/HCD Standard Agreement B. City Council Resolution No. 24-099 - Budget Amendment C. City/State Boilerplate Standard Agreement
D. City/Symba Center Original Agreement
E. City/Symba Center First Amended Agreement
F. City of Victorville ERF-3 Award Letter
G. ERF-3 Budget Summary
H. ERF-3 Encampment Areas