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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 08-17-2010 - 4lORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: August 17, 2010 Action Agenda , Item No. ~__ SUBJECT: Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Grant Update -Establish Three Time-Limited Positions DEPARTMENT: Social Services PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No ATTACHMENT(S): Grant Update INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Coston, 245-2802 Sharron Hinton, 245-2840 PURPOSE: To establish three time-limited positions funded by the HUD Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing (HPRP) grant. BACKGROUND: At its October 6, 2009 meeting, the Board of Commissioners accepted the HPRP grant award of $1 million from the State of North Carolina and approved asub-recipient contract with Housing for New Hope to implement the rapid rehousing component of the grant requirements. The contracted amount with Housing for New Hope is $482,933 from October 15, 2009 through August 31, 2012. The prevention component of the grant is administered by the Department of Social Services. On July 8, 2010, Housing for New Hope (HNH) submitted its notice to end its contractual arrangement with the County. According to the notice, the termination is due to the loss of staff and cash flow problems. HNH also contracts with Durham County and the State of NC for other HPRP initiatives. Although HNH has 12 clients in its current caseload, HNH has indicated that it would continue serving these individuals until either they have phased out of the program or the Department of Social Services (DSS) has identified a new vendor or a subsequent plan of action. Both the current case managers for the prevention and rehousing components are either at or quickly approaching their maximum caseload capacity. To ensure that the community needs are met and to avoid reverting these funds, DSS has reorganized the structure and proposing to administer all services internally. This structure includes hiring three time-limited staff funded by HPRP. These positions are now assigned as temporary. In addition to the new positions, the County contract should be revised to reflect the changes to include continuing case management of the current caseload and the amended budget. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The $1 million grant award supports the local efforts to prevent homelessness in the community. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board: (1) Establish three time-limited positions to assist in the implementation of the HPRP program; (2) Approve a revised sub-recipient contract with Housing for New Hope to maintain case management and services for the clients currently enrolled in the rehousing component upon contract review and approval by the County Attorney's Office; .and (3) Authorize the Chair to sign all relevant contracts. Orange County Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program Grant Update August 17, 2010 Background The Homelessness Prevention .and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP} is a HUD program created through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The purpose of HPRP is to provide homelessness prevention assistance to households that would otherwise become homeless -many due to the economic crisis -and to provide assistance to rapidly re-house persons who are .currently homeless. HPRP provides temporary financial assistance and housing relocation and stabilization services to individuals and families who are homeless or would be homeless but for this assistance. Orange County's HPRP Pro ram In October 2009, the Department of Social Services (DS5) was awarded $1 million to implement the grant over athree-year period. Since its inception, DSS has implemented the prevention component of the grant, providing emergency financial assistance for utility deposits and payments, security deposits, rent payments, moving costs, and case management to clients that qualify for the program. One full-time social worker has been dedicated to this function. Presently, there have been 127 referrals; intake has been conducted on 57 individuals; and there are 19 active cases. To date, the re-housing efforts have been implemented through a contractual agreement ~ . - , with Housing for New Hope. However, this vendor has indicated a desire to terminate the contract. As a result, DSS has proposed a reorganization of the HPRP program to incorporate all activities of the grant internally. Effective immediately, both the prevention and re-housing components will be administered by DSS. Housing for New Hope will continue case management of the 12 individuals currently enrolled by their agency, but they will not enroll any additional clients. To ensure service, the HPRP reorganization includes the hiring of (3) full-time, temporary/time-limited case workers to assist with the prevention and re-housing efforts. Due to the high demand for services, these individuals are needed to expedite resources as quickly and efficiently as possible.