TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Jennifer Palmer, Director of Housing and Community Services
REPORT BY: Brandee Freitas, Staff Services Manager Housing and Community Services
SUBJECT: Amendment No. 5 to Napa County Agreement No. 170266B with Bitfocus
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve and authorize Amendment No. 5 to Agreement 170266B with Bitfocus, Inc. changing the contract maximum from $255,242 to $248,190 for the term of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 and each automatic renewal thereafter, to maintain the number of licenses for users of the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and provide HMIS Community Administration Services. (Fiscal Impact: $7,052 Expense reduction; Housing & Community Services Fund; Budgeted; Discretionary)
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BACKGROUND
The Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is an information technology system designed and used to collect client-level demographic data and track the provision of services to individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Each Continuum of Care (CoC) is responsible for selecting an HMIS software solution that complies with the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) data collection, management, and reporting standards. The County receives HUD grant funding through the Napa City and County CoC to support County-run homeless services, including emergency shelter and certain housing programs. The data collected helps all service providers obtain a better understanding of the needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness and assists in the development and/or refinement of efficient delivery of program services for these County residents.
On April 8, 2014 the Board approved an agreement with Bitfocus, Inc. to provide software support and licenses for the County's HMIS. Bitfocus was selected through a formal Request for Proposals process. Since that time there have been four amendments, increasing the number of licenses under contract to meet the growing pool of service providers in the community, incorporating the Napa County ITS Big Data Integration project and adding Administrative Services.
In 2022, the Napa County Grand Jury released a report on Homelessness in Napa County. One specific recommendation provided by the Grand Jury was that the “Homeless Management Information System data should be more easily accessible to all HMIS users from different City and County departments to improve the efficiency and quality of service delivery.” Additionally, the Grand Jury recommended that the “City Managers and County Executive Officer should disseminate more data and information about homelessness to educate Napa residents about the causes and extent of homelessness in Napa and its effect upon persons living on the street.”
Amendment No. 5 to Agreement No. 170266B decreases the annual contract maximum by $7,052, updates the scope of work to remove the one-time Napa County ITS data integration project implementation services, and revises the HMIS License fee structure. The data feed will continue to Napa County ITS.
Requested Action:
1. Approve and authorize Amendment No. 5 to Agreement 170266B with Bitfocus, Inc. decreasing the contract maximum from $255,242 to $248,190 and update the scope of work removing the completed Napa County Big Data Integration Project implementation service.
FISCAL 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? |
Fund 2030 Housing & Community Services Division 2030002 |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
This is discretionary in that there is no mandate to move forward with the data integration project or use Bitfocus as a vendor. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
Yes |
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Future fiscal impact: |
This will be included in future budgets, should there be a need for continued services. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
If this is not approved, the Housing & Community Services Department will not have administrative support to ensure the HMIS system is meeting regulatory requirements and the HMIS system will lack adequate user licenses |
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.