TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Jennifer Palmer, Director of Housing & Community Services
REPORT BY: Brandee Freitas, Staff Services Manager - Housing & Community Services
SUBJECT: Amendment No. 11 to Agreement No. 170374B for $194,000 with HomeBase for FY2025-2026
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve and authorize Amendment No. 11 to Agreement No. 170374B with HomeBase, with no increase to the contract maximum for the term July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, and each auto renewal thereafter, for the provision of consulting services and technical assistance in the development of grant applications and homeless services system administration. (Fiscal Impact: $194,000 Expense; Housing & Community Services Fund; Budgeted; Discretionary)
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BACKGROUND
Napa County contracts with HomeBase (formerly The Center for Common Concerns, Inc.), a team of lawyers and public policy experts for homeless services consultation and technical assistance, including grant writing, since 2000. In September 2015, the County issued a formal request for proposals Request for Proposals (RFP) for these consulting services and the Center for Common Concerns was the firm selected to do that work. Their current scope of work includes:
1. Preparation of the Napa City-County Continuum of Care (CoC) application to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for annual grants to help fund homeless services;
2. Technical assistance to the Continuum of Care (CoC) grantees to maintain the CoC’s competitiveness in the annual HUD grant award process; and
3. Consulting services for policies and procedures to improve homeless system performance and compliance with federal and state funding stream requirements.
An amendment in 2022 modified the scope of work to outline consultation and technical assistance in the following areas:
1. Administration of the Continuum of Care (CoC) Annual HUD NOFA. The CoC Program competition is an annual opportunity for Napa CoC to evaluate its progress and identify strategic actions to achieve system-change goals. Through past successful competitions, Napa CoC has expanded its permanent housing. Napa County is the designated Administrative Entity for the CoC. Home Base provides technical assistance to County staff with the annual CoC Program competition response preparation and submission process.
2. Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Program Local Process. HomeBase provides technical assistance to County staff who support the CoC in responding to the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Balance of State funding opportunity through the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) NOFA.
3. Monitoring CoC Funded Agencies. HomeBase provides a series of one-on-one, on-site programmatic and fiscal monitoring visits to all CoC funded agencies in Napa County and, when applicable, provides an analysis of sub-recipients and contracted programs.
4. System of Care Support. HomeBase provides technical assistance and support to County staff in creating a more effective homeless system of care. In 2022-2023 contract year, this work includes: analyzing system performance and community data to monitor strategic plan implementation progress and identify areas for improvement, engaging with CoC Program recipients, sub recipients, CoC members and other key stakeholders to implement best practices toward ensuring the homelessness is a rare, brief and non-recurring event for individuals in Napa County; on-call technical assistance for questions regarding HUD documentation requirements such as Annual Performance Reports (APRs) and System Program Monitoring (SPM), and evaluating and proposing changes to CoC and sub recipient policies and procedures as needed.
5. Coordinated Entry Evaluation. HomeBase conducts qualitative and quantitative evaluations of the CoC Coordinated Entry Systems (CSE) in compliance with HUD Notice CPD 17-01. The evaluation process includes: Facilitation of CES Workgroup, survey of providers and recently housed households, auditing and evaluating HMIS and CES data and providing analysis of its implications for the system of care, and supporting the Workgroup with preparation of a report for the CoC with actions steps and implementation plan.
Today’s action approves Amendment No. 11 to Agreement No. 170374B, continuing services for FY2025-2026 and each automatic renewal thereafter.
Requested Action:
Approve and authorize amendment No. 11 to Agreement No. 170374B for a contract maximum of $194,000 for the term July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, and each auto renewal thereafter, for the provision of consulting services and technical assistance in the development of grant applications and homeless services system administration.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
Yes |
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Where is it budgeted? |
Housing & Community Services |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
Approval of the requested action is discretionary in that there is no mandate to contract with HomeBase for consultation or technical assistance with regard to homeless policy or programmatic support. The ability to obtain this additional support will assist HCS with managing multiple grant applications, CoC administration and shelter and housing system management. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
No |
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Future fiscal impact: |
This Amendment will auto-renew and will be included in future budgets. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
If the amendment is not approved, Napa County will be unable to continue contracting with The Center for Common Concerns to adequately address homelessness. Napa County HCS will need to find the necessary resources and expertise to assist with: multiple grant submissions, Coordinated Entry Implementation, HEARTH Act Implementation, ESG program planning, and ESG grant writing assistance |
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Additional Information |
This contract is available to be used as match for other Continuum of Care programs. |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: 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.