Fiscal Note
In 2013, the Community Development Division (CDD) budgeted a total of $74,997 (comprised of $57,728 in City levy funds plus $17,269 in Federal Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) funds) for a coordinated intake and assessment pilot program. However, following a Request for Proposal process, the estimated cost for an intake assessment pilot program is $146,900, with a contract to span from July 1, 2013 through December 31, 2014. Most of the contracted services administered by CDD are considered two-year contracts, assuming similar funding is available in each subequent year, subject to Common Council approval. 2014 represents the second year of the CDD contract funding cycle, and the assumption is that CDD will include in its 2014 operating budget the remaining contract funds of $71,003 (comprised of $57,728 in City funds plus $13,275 in Federal ESG grant funds). No additional appropriation is required in 2013, but Council will need to authorize funds in the 2014 CDD operating budget, subject to the normal deliberation process.
Title
Approve the use of $146,900 in City and ESG funds to contract with Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, Inc. for the purpose of providing coordinated intake and assessment services as a pilot program and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into an agreement with CACSCW.
Body
The Community Development Division (CDD) issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) on April 5, 2013 for services related to Coordinated Intake and Assessment - Providing Responses to Homeless or At-Risk Persons in Housing Crisis. Proposals were due May 6, 2013. The proposal is for the City to identify a non-profit agency that will provide information and referrals to persons experiencing a housing crisis and provide additional assessments for persons in the pilot program population - families and individuals who have been homeless less than six months.
The goals for a locally designed coordinated assessment system were created by a committee of Homeless Services Consortium agencies operating housing and service programs serving homeless and at-risk of homeless persons. The goals are: 1) Create an easier and more efficient way to serve persons in a housing crisis; 2) Prevent homelessness for persons at risk by providing resources to help them maintain their current housing; 3) Shorten the length of homelessness for households by early assessment of barriers and efficient use of resources to move households into permanent housing; and 4) Bridge any service gaps by providing advocacy as necessary and point of contact for individuals and families in a housing crisis.
WHEREAS, the Department of Housing and Urban Development now requires through the HEARTH Act (24 CFR part 578) that each Continuum of Care providing housing and services to homeless households and households at risk of homelessness design and implement a centralized or coordinated intake and assessment system to ensure that persons with the greatest need are being served; and
WHEREAS, members of the Homeless Services Consortium have been meeting for about a year to collectively design what a local coordinated intake and assessment would look like; and
WHEREAS, the CDD recommended and the CDBG Committee approved the selection of Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, Inc. through a RFP process; and
WHEREAS, the Common Council has adopted a five-year Community and Neighborhood Development Plan which identifies homelessness as a critical issue within the community and outlines a set of strategies and priorities to address those problems using community-based groups; and
Whereas, the Common Council has accepted the Community Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in Dane County which includes goals and objectives that represent of these activities.
NOW THERE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Common Council approve the CDBG Committee's recommendation to select Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, Inc. as the service provider for the Coordinated Intake and Assessment Pilot Program, enter into a contract in the amount of $146,900 of City and ESG funds and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to sign an agreement for services.