TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Jennifer Yasumoto, Director of Health and Human Services Agency
REPORT BY: Jennifer Yasumoto, Director of Health and Human Services Agency
SUBJECT: Napa County Agreement No. 240299B/City of Napa Agreement No. C2024-046
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve and authorize Agreement No. 240299B and related Budget Amendment in partnership with City of Napa Agreement No. C2024-046 , jointly referred to as Contribution Agreement, for a combined total of $1,500,000 to support the acquisition and rehabilitation of mental health treatment housing units by Mentis, a nonprofit organization. (Fiscal Impact: $750,000 expense; Health and Human Services Agency Fund; Behavioral Health Division; Not Budgeted; Discretionary)
[4/5 Vote Required]
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BACKGROUND
Napa County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) and City of Napa (City) intend to partner together by pooling funding to make it possible to secure suitable housing units to expand mental health treatment housing for those diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI) with priority for participants of the upcoming Community Assistance, Recovery & Empowerment (CARE) Act program that launches for the remainder of the 51 counties in California December 1, 2024.
The City has $750,000 of grant funds from the United States Housing and Urban Development Department for the acquisition of such units and HHSA intends to apply up to $450,000 of the approximately $3.5M in Behavioral Health Bridge Housing grant funds (that HHSA applied for and received to cover a wide range of housing support as a bridge to permanent, stable housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness and serious mental illness (SMI) or who meet criteria for Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System services or who are enrolled in CARE court; the grant permits up to $75,000 to be expended per bed, hence the amount that can be applied against the grant depends upon the specific number of housing units secured by the City and Mentis under this agreement), and HHSA general reserves will be used for the remainder.
The partnership with Mentis to purchase and operate the housing units and provide the needed mental health treatment support for this target population makes logical sense given that they are a long-standing contracted provider of HHSA, they bring the requisite capacity, expertise, and ability to provide Medi-Cal services, and they are trusted to collaboratively partner with HHSA to do so. This funding further allows for such units to be readily available for referrals and admissions for those individuals who meet Medi-Cal SMI treatment criteria.
Provisions have been included in the Agreement to ensure that the acquisition of such housing units will be subject to a deed restriction to ensure they are preserved for the intended use for individuals engaged in mental health treatment with priority given to CARE Court participants.
Requested Action:
1. Approve and authorize Napa County Agreement No. 240299B and City of Napa Agreement No. C2024-046 , jointly referred to as Contribution Agreement, for a combined total of $1,500,000.
2. Approve a Budget Amendment to increase revenue for State - Mental Health (43220) by $450,000 from the Behavioral Health Bridge Housing grant, increase expense appropriation in Contributions (54800) by $750,000 offset by a reduction to Principal on Debt (54105) by $25,000, in Health and Human Services Agency Behavioral Health 2000200, with the remainder from available fund balance for Fiscal Year 2023-2024.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
No |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
There is no mandate to engage in this specific partnership, however the implementation of CARE Court is a mandate that includes the need for treatment housing units for participants. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
No |
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Future fiscal impact: |
None, this is a one-time expenditure. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
The County will be unable to expand its treatment housing units for its Medi-Cal SMI population, including CARE Court participants. |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.