HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 7149
City of Palo Alto (ID # 7149)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Consent Calendar Meeting Date: 8/22/2016
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Summary Title: Revenue Agreement SCC - Homeless Services
Title: Approval of a Revenue Agreement With the County of Santa Clara in
the Amount of $250,000 Over two Years for Support of Intensive Case
Management in Connection with Housing Subsidies to be Provided by the
County of Santa Clara for Palo Alto’s Homeless
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Community Services
Recommendation
Staff recommends that Council approve, and delegate signature authority to the City Manager
to execute the attached contract (Attachment A) with the County of Santa Clara (County),
authorizing the City of Palo Alto (City) to provide funding in the amount of $250,000 over two
years for support of Intensive Case Management in connection with housing subsidies to be
provided by the County of Santa Clara for Palo Alto’s Homeless.
Background
This collaboration between the County and City was first approved by Council on October 7,
2013 as a means to positively impact homelessness in Palo Alto, particularly in light of the
(then) homeless situation at the Cubberley Community Center. The previous two year contract
period was June 24, 2014 – June 30, 2016.
Funding for the continuation of this collaboration was included as part of the FY2017 budget.
The current contract states that the City will provide funding in the amount of $250,000
($125,000/year for two years) for the support of intensive case management in collaboration
with housing subsidy funds provided by the County to assist and house 20 Palo Alto homeless
who have contact with the criminal justice system, have a high chance of recidivism,
significantly impacted County, State or local resources and are currently homeless or at risk of
becoming homeless. Program referrals are made by the Palo Alto Police Department and/or
local social service agencies.
Discussion
This contract with Santa Clara County advances our Healthy City Healthy Community priority
and specifically supports the Council work plan item that aims to strategically align and invest
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locally in regional efforts to support the unhoused. This collaborative effort to house homeless
individuals includes a commitment by Santa Clara County to budget approximately $500,000 for
housing subsidies and administration costs over the next 24 months. A case manager will work
intensively with each individual to ensure the client's needs are met in a variety of contexts.
Staff is seeking authorization for the execution of the new contract term of July 1, 2016 – June
30, 2018.
During the initial 2014-2016 contract cycle, 14 homeless individuals from Palo Alto were
housed. This was quite challenging due to the tight housing market in the County and the
backgrounds of the individuals to be housed. The program has also seen significant substance
abuse and mental health issues with the clients under this contract. This can make engagement
and follow through of case management tasks, including locating and applying for housing
challenging. For those already housed, stable housing has provided them the foundation to
rebuild their lives. Newly housed clients are given the opportunity to shift the time and energy
previously spent on survival and locating a safe place to sleep nightly to improving their medical
and mental health, gaining employment, benefits and education. All of the program
participants who have been housed continue to receive the support of a case manager and are
working on gaining life skills and tools to maintain their self-sufficiency and stability.
The Santa Clara County / City of Palo Alto partnership has also laid the foundation for a broader
program that is documented as part of this new contract. The County, at no cost to the City, has
expanded the Program by adding 20 additional slots to serve chronically homeless individuals in
the northern region of the County (not exclusively Palo Alto), a significant addition to positively
address the homeless landscape in the local area. The expanded program offers the flexibility in
identifying individuals for housing who are not involved in the criminal justice system. For
clarity, since this expansion is North County wide and not exclusively for Palo Alto’s homeless,
the additional 20 slots are not included in the total amount of individuals served, listed as part
of the contract terms.
Under this contract (Attachment A), the City shall reimburse the County for expenses
associated with the intensive case management services (listed as “Program” in the contract) in
an amount not to exceed $250,000 through June 30, 2018, thus allowing the Program to serve
approximately 20 unduplicated Program clients.
Resource Impact
This agreement has a total expenditure of $250,000 or $125,000 per year for two years. The
funding for Fiscal Year 2017 was included in the development of the Fiscal Year 2017 Adopted
Operating Budget for the Community Services Department. Funding for the second year of the
agreement will be incorporated into the development of the Fiscal Year 2018 Operating Budget.
Attachments:
ATTACHMENT A - REVENUE AGREEMENT COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA (PDF)
Attachment A - Revenue Agreement County of Santa Clara with County Signatures
(PDF)