TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Jennifer M. Palmer, Director of Housing & Community Services
REPORT BY: Jennifer M. Palmer, Director of Housing & Community Services
SUBJECT: FY2025 U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Continuum of Care Program Annual Funding Competition
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve and authorize the application and acceptance of U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Fiscal Year 2025 Continuum of Care Program Annual Funding Competition funding not to exceed $1,000,000 to provide certain homeless services in future fiscal years. (Fiscal Impact: $1,000,000 Revenue; Housing & Community Services Programs Fund; Not Budgeted; Discretionary)
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BACKGROUND
Each year the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) releases a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for their Continuum of Care (CoC) Competition and Renewal Grant Program. The Program is designed to promote community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness and to provide funding for efforts by nonprofit organizations, state and local government, Indian Tribes and public housing agencies to quickly re-house and support individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
The Napa City and County CoC is a group of community stakeholders who work together to plan for and provide emergency, transitional and permanent housing and other services to address the needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Napa County Dept. of Housing & Homeless Services (DHHS) plays a key role as the collaborative applicant in coordinating the CoC and in supporting the CoC’s eligibility for funding from HUD, along with submitting applications annually to support their efforts to provide permanent housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
The FY2025 HUD CoC NOFO process has been unlike prior years, due to several factors including:
1. The release of the NOFO occurred four months later into the calendar year than previous years.
2. The NOFO contains drastic changes to funding uses and eligibility criteria, including a cap on the amount of funding a community can utilize for direct rental assistance support for permanent housing (including permanent supportive housing) of no more than 30% of total award. For context, the Napa City and County CoC annual renewal demand as of FY 2024 was roughly $1,000,000, of which more than 95% is utilized for permanent supportive housing direct rental assistance and supports. The new criteria change results in an abrupt end of historically on-going federal rental assistance funding to more than forty (40) disabled individuals who previously experienced chronic homelessness.
3. An extremely compressed timeline for submitting applications.
4. HUD’s decision to withdraw the initial NOFO on December 8, 2025, with the stated intent to re-release it prior to the January 14, 2026, deadline for 2025 funding. No further details have been released.
While the NOFO has been withdrawn, the Napa City and County CoC is proceeding with its local competition as planned in order to be positioned to have completed the required public process and remain in a position to make individual application edits as need based on a presumed final re-released NOFO.
The Director of Housing & Community Services requests permission to apply for and accept U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Fiscal Year 2025 Continuum of Care Program Annual Funding Competition funding in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000 to provide certain homeless services. The grant applications include:
1. Permanent Supportive Housing grant in the amount of $320,000 to provide case
management and rental subsidies to house individuals or families experiencing chronic homelessness in need of non-time-limited affordable housing assistance with wrap-around services.
2. Tenancy Care and Sustaining Services grant in an amount not to exceed $400,0000 to provide housing stabilization and tenancy sustaining support services to individuals transitioning from shelters or encampments into permanent housing.
3. Housing Navigation Services grant an amount not to exceed $180,000 to provide housing location, subsidy support and lease up assistance to individuals experiencing homelessness in order to attain permanent housing.
4. The Coordinated Assessment grant in the amount of $50,000 to provide staff support to the Coordinated Entry System (CES) in Napa County to better serve those experiencing homelessness.
5. The Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) grant in the amount of $50,000 to fund software costs for the HMIS software vendor, which is currently Bitfocus, Inc.
Requested Action:
Authorize and direct the Director of Housing & Community Services to submit and execute funding applications and grant agreements on behalf of Napa County for the HUD FY2025 CoC Program Annual Funding Competition.
FISCAL IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
No |
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Where is it budgeted? |
Will be included in future FY budgets, if awarded, in alignment with funding performance periods. |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
There is no mandate to apply for HUD CoC Program Funding |
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Is the general fund affected? |
No |
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Future fiscal impact: |
If awarded, funds will be included in FY26-27 budget. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
Napa County will need to seek alternate grant funding, allocate local funding, or discontinue certain homeless services in the coming fiscal year. |
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.