Fiscal Note
The City's adopted 2015 Operating Budget included a direct appropriation of up to $50,000 for "Day Shelter and Gap Services" as part of the budget's Miscellaneous Appropriations. This Resolution would re-appropriate $6,000 of that figure to the Community Development Division, for administration of appropriate contract services described herein. These funds will be used to reimburse the non-profit's actual expenses, and there is no net impact upon the City levy.
The 2015 Operating Budget would be amended thus:
Miscellaneous Appropriations: Day Shelter and Gap Services
$6,000
SxD: GN01-57421-971000
Munis: 29100-59121-00000
Community Development Division
($6,000)
SxD: SC01-79410-260000
Munis: 62112-59121-00000
Title
Approving the re-appropriation of $6,000 from Miscellaneous Appropriations to the Community Development Division for a contract with Porchlight, Inc. to provide homeless "Registry Week" coordination and implementation services; amending the affected sections of the 2015 Adopted Operating Budget as appropriate; and amending Porchlight's current Outreach Services contract to reflect the expanded scope and commensurable increase in budget authority associated with the provision of the additional services.
Body
BACKGROUND
The City has made a commitment to work with the national "Zero: 2016" campaign to assist local efforts to end veterans' homelessness by the end of 2015, and end chronic homelessness by the end of 2016. The City was selected through an application process to receive technical assistance from national "Zero: 2016" staff through webinars and personal contacts. A local "Zero: 2016" Committee comprised of homeless service providers has been created to plan and design the local efforts necessary to be successful.
One key component of the "Zero: 2016" effort is the need to assess every homeless single adult, whether sleeping in emergency shelters or on the street. Locally, homeless services providers have begun using a research-based instrument called the Vulnerability Index and Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT) to conduct these assessments. This instrument is designed to assign a numerical score for each person, based on that person's vulnerability. The scores are used to prioritize chronically homeless persons for HUD-funded permanent supportive housing units, when such units become available. This changes the local process for filling available housing units from a "first come, first served" approach to one that prioritizes housing for the most-needy and those who have been homeless the longest.
The process recommended by the "Zero: 2016" campaign is to conduct a "Registry Week" in which the community undertakes a large scale assessment effort of all homeless individuals. The Registry Week involves a highly publicized effort to train local volunteers in how to survey homeless persons and assess their specific situations using the VI-SPDAT.
The local homeless information management system, Wisconsin ServicePoint (WISP), currently reports that there are approximately 500 homeless veterans and chronically homeless adults in Dane County. The planning and implementation of a Registry Week is a very labor-intensive process that can best be carried out by hiring an external contractor to provide short-term assistance. With the help of "Zero: 2016" staff, City staff has developed a job description for a Registry Week Coordinator who will be charged with implementing this effort. The proposed $6,000 budget will be spent on wages and supplies for a coordinator (anticipate 300-325 hours). An employee of Porchlight Inc. is expected to be hired for this role; however, CDD staff will share in the supervision of the effort. An existing contract between the City's Community Development Division and Porchlight Inc. would be amended to authorize up to an additional $6,000 for the agency to hire short-term staff to coordinate the Registry Week project. The outcomes will be a coordinated registration and assessment effort that will produce a list of name-specific adults who have been assessed using the VI-SPDAT tool, and a prioritized list of chronically homeless adults and homeless veterans, thus improving the system by which they are moved into housing. The effort will also help to motivate and educate the public on issues and long-term solutions affecting homelessness. The proposed timeline calls for hiring a coordinator in March 2015 to begin orientation with "Zero: 2016" program staff; recruiting and training volunteers to conduct a Registry Week in April 2015; entering client-based information into WISP and collaborating with others to complete a prioritized list of veteran and chronic homeless adults in May 2015.
ACTION
WHEREAS, the Common Council has adopted a five-year Community and Neighborhood Plan that identifies homelessness as a critical issue within the community and outlines a set of strategies and priorities to address these problems, including providing outreach to unsheltered homeless persons and case management to those using emergency shelters, in efforts to connect homeless persons with housing; and,
WHEREAS, Community Development Division (CDD) staff work collaboratively with Dane County and the network of local non-profit homeless service providers to help homeless adults find stable housing; and,
WHEREAS, the City is committed to the "Zero: 2016" campaign's goals of ending homelessness among veterans by the end of 2015 and ending chronic homelessness by the end of 2016; and,
WHEREAS, "best practices" examples around the country support a strategy that utilizes a uniform assessment tool to evaluate the needs of individual homeless persons, and uses such assessments to influence how services are delivered;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor and the Common Council hereby approve the transfer of $6,000 to CDD to provide funding for a position to coordinate the City-wide homeless registration effort as described above, and the requisite amendment of the 2015 Adopted Operating Budget as detailed in this Resolution's Fiscal Note; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Common Council authorizes the Mayor and City Clerk to amend the City's existing Outreach Services contract with Porchlight Inc. to include services related to the coordination and implementation of a City-wide homeless registration effort, and to execute any agreements necessary to accomplish the purpose of this Resolution.