Fiscal Note
The proposed resolution amends an existing contract with Focus Counseling, Inc. to extend the contract end date from June 30, 2022, to June 30, 2023. The Common Council authorized the original contract as part of the City’s efforts to provide alternatives to persons experiencing unsheltered homelessness (RES-21-00770, File ID #68103). Funding for the contract is from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) allocation of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and is included in the Community Development Division’s (CDD) 2022 Adopted Operating Budget. CDD projects that $250,000 will be unspent at the end of the contract term. Extending the contract will allow the agency to continue services and maximize the number of individuals served. No additional appropriation is required.
Title
Authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to amend an existing contract with Focus Counseling by extending its term through June 30, 2023 to enable the continued provision of housing support services to participants in the City’s unsheltered response hotel shelter program.
Body
BACKGROUND
As part of an effort to find safer, and legal, alternatives last fall for persons camping in the City’s Reindahl Park, as well as other unsheltered locations, the Common Council authorized the use of ARPA funds to develop and implement a non-congregate shelter alternative for adults experiencing unsheltered homelessness. More specifically, Focus Counseling, Inc. was authorized to secure, arrange and pay for 35 hotel rooms at a designated hotel property in Madison, and provide meals, security and 24-hour on-site supportive services, including housing stabilization services. The contract was authorized through June 30, 2022, after which the use of the hotel would no longer be available.
Since the effort began, Focus Counseling has helped connect participants to housing opportunities but, until last month, had brought new participants into the program as people exited. As of mid-May, the...
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