Fiscal Note
The Community Development Division included $2,663 of ESG funds in the 2013 budget to pay for required homeless management information services (HMIS) provided by the State Division of Housing. The CD Division was recently informed by state Division of Housing staff that they will not be billing the City this year as a result of anticipated State program changes. CDD proposes to shift the use of these funds to assist the Homeless Services Consortium create a website.
Title
Approve the use of up to $2,663 in ESG funds to for the purpose of creating a Homeless Services Consortium website.
Body
The Homeless Services Consortium, which serves as the HUD-recognized Continuum of Care for Dane County, wants to create a website to provide information to consumers, service providers and the general public on issues related to homelessness. The city has been an active member of the HSC since its inception and would like to assist the HSC in developing this website. An HSC Website Committee has been formed and while some of the committee members have technical skills necessary to create a website, they lack the time and would benefit from outside assistance.
In the summer of 2012, CDD sponsored an ASPIRE Intern who created a template for a HSC website. The ESG funds would be used to pay a vendor for the work to supplement what was already created by the CDD intern.
In order to make efficient use of limited resources, the HSC, CDD and Community Action Coalition agree it makes sense to combine the planned HSC website with another website now being developed by Community Action Coalition in their role as the provider of coordinated intake and assessment services. CDD selected Community Action Coalition through an RFP process to provide the HUD-mandated coordinated services. In addition to a toll-free phone number, Community Action Coalition will create a website, danecountyhomeless.org, which will direct persons to the coordinated assessment program. A combined website will serve persons in a housing crisis as well as all those interested in learning more about the Homeless Services Consortium, its members and activities.
CDD currently has a contract with Community Action Coalition to implement the Dane County Housing Crisis Hotline. The Community Action Coalition IT staff member who is developing the Housing Crisis website is also a member of the HSC Website Committee. CDD proposes to amend the contract with Community Action Coalition to allow them to pay a vendor up to $2,663 in ESG funds for the purpose of creating a website that will meet the needs of the Homeless Services Consortium and the Housing Crisis Hotline.
WHEREAS, the City of Madison is an active partner with the Homeless Services Consortium and would like to support their efforts to further publicize the work of their provider partners and provide information on issues of homelessness in our community; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Housing and Urban Development now requires through the HEARTH Act (24 CFR part 578) that each Continuum of Care provide a coordinated or centralize intake and assessment process and has contracted with CACSCW to provide the Housing Crisis Hotline service including a website that would complement information available on an HSC website; and
WHEREAS, the Common Council has adopted a five-year Community and Neighborhood Development plan which identified homeless as a critical issues within the community and has accepted the Community Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in Dane County which includes goals and objectives that represent these activities.
NOW THERE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Common Council approve the use of up to $2,663 in ESG funds for the purpose of creating a Homeless Services Consortium website; amend the contract with Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, Inc. (CACSCW) to pay for services to create the website; and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into an amended agreement with CACSCW.