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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-02-20; 6-a - Eviction Diversion Program and Approval of Budget Amendment #9-A 1 ORD-2020-011 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 2, 2020 Action Agenda Item No. 6-a SUBJECT: Eviction Diversion Program and Approval of Budget Amendment #9-A DEPARTMENT: Human Rights and Relations, Housing and Community Development and Criminal Justice Resources ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: None Annette Moore, (919) 245-2317 Emila Sutton, (919) 245-2490 Caitlin Fenhagen, (919) 245-2303 PURPOSE: To: 1) Approve the development of an Eviction Diversion Program in Orange County to help eligible Orange County residents avoid eviction, preserve tenancy, address substandard housing conditions and maintain the affordable rental housing supply; 2) Allocate funds to pay housing costs necessary to prevent imminent eviction and foreclosure, assist in securing affordable homes, and prevent homelessness; 3) Authorize staff to seek funding for the Eviction Diversion Program from the Towns, and donations from the communities and businesses; and 4) Approve Budget Amendment #9-A. BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 Pandemic has had a devastating effect on the global economy. In February 2020, Orange County along with Buncombe County led the state with the lowest unemployment rate of 2.9%. Because of COVID-19, Orange County's unemployment rate in March 2020 increased to 3.4%. With the increase in unemployment, staff have seen an increase in requests for food and housing assistance, particularly in the communities that cannot receive government assistance. The Orange County Housing and Community Development Department (OCHCD) in particular has seen the number of requests for emergency housing assistance through the Housing Displacement Fund more than quadruple in April (table below) and calls to the Housing Helpline (aka Coordinated Entry) have increased sharply from 250 in April to more than 650 in May. The Housing Helpline receives approximately three to five calls per week from residents specifically seeking legal counsel for a housing issue, and this number is rising. Finally, the Clerk of Court's Office has seen a dramatic increase in eviction filings and is adding additional court hearing dates to address this increase. 2 Eviction destabilizes the lives of families and has consequences for the entire community. Those most affected by evictions are the most vulnerable populations. Numerous studies show the negative impact of eviction on health, child development and achievement, and well-being.' There is also research showing that preventing eviction can reduce costs to the health care system, lower costs and reduce the burden on shelter and other emergency housing programs, ease the administrative burden on the courts, reduce job loss, reduce negative educational outcomes, and prevent the decline of communities that occurs when people are displaced.2 A 2018 study by the Philadelphia Bar Association found that if the City of Philadelphia allocated $3.5 million per year to fund counsel for eligible low-income tenants facing eviction, the city would save $45.2 million per year, a return of $12 for every $1 spent.3 Research also shows that housing assistance, such as that provided through the Risk Mitigation and Housing Displacement Fund, reduces hardship and increases economic opportunity for low-income families.4 The Risk Mitigation and Housing Displacement Fund currently, and the Eviction Diversion Program when in operation, will provide cost savings to the community, help stabilize and preserve the housing market in Orange County5, and most importantly help Orange County residents remain in their homes and avoid the negative impacts of eviction. The Departments of Human Rights and Relations and Housing and Community Development have been working toward bringing forward a proposed Eviction Diversion Program to the Board of County Commissioners since last year. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact on the community, there is a critical need for this program now. Eviction diversion programs were started around 2010 to address the number of evictions from the recession. The Human Rights and Relations, Housing and Community Development (HCD), and Criminal Justice Resource Departments, along with the Clerk of Court, the Chief Magistrate, Carolina Student Legal Services, NC Pro Bono Resource Center, Orange Chatham Legal Aid, Commissioner Mark Marcoplos and Jamie Paulen met to discuss the impending eviction crisis and potential solutions. The group determined an eviction diversion program would offer the best solution. The two most pressing issues are: (1) ensuring attorneys are available to meet the demand; and (2) identifying funds to enable tenants to stay in residence once they have demonstrated some financial capacity to meet rental obligations going forward and the landlord has agreed to let the tenant stay. Selected examples include: - Desmond, M. and Tolbert Kimbro, R. (2015). Eviction's fallout: Housing, hardship, and health. Social Forces, 94(1): 295-324. - Cookson, T., Diddams, M., Maykovich, X., and Witter, E. (2018, September). Losing home: The human cost of eviction in Seattle. Seattle Women's Commission and King County Bar Association. https://www.kcba.org/Portals/0/pbs/pdf/Losing%2OHome%202018.pdf - Butera, C. (2018, January 23). The burden of a late rent check can harm the health of both parents and kids. Pacific Standard https://psmag.com/social-justice/late-rent-payments-family-health 2 Stout Risius Ross. (2018, November). Economic return on investment of providing counsel in Philadelphia eviction cases for low-income tenants. Philadelphia Bar Association. https://www.philadelphiabar.org/W ebObjects/PBA.woa/Contents/W ebServerResources/CMSResources/Philadelphi a Evictions Report.pdf. 3 Ibid. 4 Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (2019, December 5). Research Shows Rental Assistance Reduces Hardship and Provides Platform to Expand Opportunity for Low-Income Families. https://www.cbpp.org/research/housi ng/research-shows-rental-assistance-red uces-hardship-and-provides-platform- to-e xpand 7 Urban Institute. (2020, April 14). "The Future Is Shared": Why Supporting Renters during COVID-19 Is Critical for Housing Market Stability. https://housingmatters.urban.org/feature/future-shared-why-supporting-renters-during- covid-19-critical-housing-market-stability 3 The second aspect is currently being addressed by HCD's Risk Mitigation and Housing Displacement (RM-HD) fund in helping to pay for arrears so low-income renters stave off eviction and remain in their housing. In order to meet the first need, legal counsel needs to be made available to tenants facing eviction. In most cases, low-income renters either represent themselves in court, or don't show up for their hearing, most often resulting in an eviction moving forward. Providing legal support and counsel will enhance greatly the existing work of HCD and RM-HD fund in paying arrears and will ensure that tenants remain in housing by having legal representation. The Orange County Eviction Diversion Program would bring together an Orange County temporary employed bi-lingual attorney, Legal Aid of North Carolina ("Legal Aid"), and pro bono attorneys to represent tenants in court and to act as in court mediators to negotiate agreements between tenants and landlords to avoid eviction. County staff are working with the 18t" Judicial District Bar and the NC Pro Bono Resource Center to assist with identifying local pro-bono attorneys, including bi-lingual attorneys, to meet additional community needs. Referrals to the program would come through the existing HCD and Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness' Housing Helpline (a.k.a "Coordinated Entry"). Every person who calls into the Housing Helpline goes through a needs assessment that is best practice and evidence based. In addition, outreach offering legal assistance will be made to every individual tenant with a summary ejectment hearing date. As noted, HCD staff will use funds the Board has already allocated for rental arrears for this project through the RM-HD Fund (the sub-fund called "Emergency Housing Assistance", formerly "Housing Stabilization Fund"). The Board approved a one-time transfer of funds ($100,000) from the Local Rent Supplement Program into the RM-HD Fund on April 7, 2020. Since that time, approximately forty thousand ($40,000) in emergency housing assistance has been utilized by Orange County residents experiencing a housing crisis through the Housing Helpline (a.k.a. "Coordinated Entry"). In FY19-20, over one hundred and fifty seven thousand dollars ($157,000) in assistance has been funded. The table below illustrates the increase in funding since January 2020. There are approximately $35,400* in Emergency Housing Assistance funds remaining, but with new requests coming in every day, this estimate changes daily — and sometimes dramatically. At this time, a large majority of requests are coming from low-income residents who have been out of work due to COVID-19 and business closures. The Urban Institute estimates that more than 5,000 Orange County residents lost employment due to COVID-19, and most of those jobs are in the food service, retail, and accommodation industries6, which make up a significant portion of the County's economic base.' Current Emergency Housing Assistance fund criteria is as follows. Full policies can be found here: https://www.orangecountync.gov/2359/Risk-Mitigation-and-Housing-Displacement Assistance is available to households in Orange County that (1) earn no more than 60% of the area median income (AMI)*, (2) can demonstrate urgent need for housing assistance, and (3) do not have adequate savings to cover their housing costs. To be referred for assistance, households must either: 6 Urban Institute (2020, April 24). Where Low-Income Jobs Are Being Lost to COVID-19. https://www.urban.org/features/where-low-income-mobs-are-being-lost-covid-19 Orange County Consolidated Plan. Market Analysis (MA-45): Non-Housing Community Development Assets. http://orangecountync.gov/DocumentCenter/View/10806/Orange-County-NC-Consolidated-Plan-Final-Draft?bid ld= 4 Be assessed through Coordinated Entry as at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness and who have identified safe, decent, and affordable housing OR Referred by various Orange County Departments and local service providers (e.g., Aging, Health/Family Success Alliance, Criminal Justice Resource and Social Services, Community Empowerment Fund, Interfaith Council, Compass Center, etc.) *Preference will be given to applicants earning under 50% ofAMl The Towns and County streamlined application and policies in April so that all Orange County residents can be assessed through the Housing Helpline process, which uses a research-based Coordinated Assessment process to connect people with community resources. One of these resources is the Towns' and County's Emergency Housing Assistance. Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro each have funds for emergency housing assistance. Prior to the coordination of these funds, access to the separate funds was not systematized, resident requests were not tracked across the County/system, and eligibility for each fund was disparate. Now, there is a coordinated intake system for requests and eligibility criteria are streamlined. Before streamlining, there were instances of residents not being eligible for Town funds living in the Towns' jurisdictions, so the County would cover these costs. OCHCD has established a reimbursement process with the Towns for eligible costs incurred from residents residing within the respective Town's jurisdiction. The amount incurred from each jurisdiction is recorded and tracked. This has been a fully collaborative effort between Town and County staff with the goal of lowering barriers and increasing access to emergency housing assistance funds. The fund offers one-time assistance per household, and there is a funding maximum of $2,000 per household. The average amount of assistance the fund provides is $1,297, so the additional $130k allocation could serve approximately 100 people. Thus far, OCHCD has only had one person to request assistance for a second time. However, this could become more common as issues with affordability and job security are ongoing. While the emergency housing assistance can keep someone from eviction for now, that person may not be able to afford their dwelling six months from now depending on employment, rent stability of the current housing, and other factors. However, keeping an eviction off someone's record is a powerful way to help them access housing in the future, as an eviction record can bar people from housing for years into the future. The need for ongoing flexible housing assistance is great. Based on the current data on cost- burdened renters, there are more than 12,000 Orange County residents in need of rental subsidy to keep their income to rent ratio affordable. OCHCD, in partnership with the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness (and through initial staffing support from DSS), is providing case management to eligible Orange County residents in need of ongoing rent assistance through the County's Housing Help Rapid Re- Housing program, which provides rent assistance and case management for roughly 20-25 Orange County residents. OCHCD is also leveraging the Housing Choice Voucher program by implementing existing Orange County Housing Authority preferences for people experiencing homelessness and people impacted by natural disaster (to include the pandemic) to obtain longer term rent assistance through a Housing Choice Voucher. This month OCHCD began mailing HCV applications to people meeting the preference definitions with the goal of issuing 75-130 additional vouchers in 2020. All of these programs will work in tandem with the Eviction Diversion Program to help address the growing need, exacerbated by this pandemic, for affordable housing in the County. 5 Emergency Housing Assistance (January 1 - May 27, 2020) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Amount Hhlds Amount Hhlds Amount Hhlds Amount Hhlds Amount Hhlds Application and other Fees $300 1 Security $1,850 3 $775 1 $2,335 3 $500 1 Deposits Utility Deposits $552 3 $489 3 Rent $5,964 3 $5,344 5 $6,669 4 $25,090 27 $51,479 49 Utilities $11 1 $691 3 $215 1 $1,335 5 $1,140 4 Hotel Stays $1,241 3 $1,999 9 $22,307 11 $2,003 2 Misc. Housing Costs* $100 1 TOTAL $8,376 ** $8,050 ** $11,219 ** $48,732 ** $56,012 ** *E.g., bed/mattress in order to move into a unit **Some beneficiaries received multiple types of assistance, so the sum of the beneficiaries in the table above does not total number of unique households assisted. The total number of unique households assisted is 107. The average amount of assistance per household is$1,237, There are additional potential CARES Act allocations that can help replenish the fund to include Emergency Solutions Grant funding and Community Development Block Grant funding from the Town of Chapel Hill. The County Manager recommended to the Board CARES Act funds allocations for housing resources as follows: Amount Purpose $42,950 Eviction Diversion Temporary Legal Assistance $50,000 Housing Voucher Incentives $50,000 Short Term Rental Assistance $100,000 Risk Mitigation and Housing Stabilization fund $100,000 Foreclosure Prevention The Personal Responsibility And Work Opportunity Act of 1996 ("PRWORA") (8 U.S.C. § 1621(b)(2)) precludes nonimmigrants and undocumented immigrants from receiving federal public benefits. These classifications of immigrants are eligible for public health benefits, emergency services, and program identified by the United States Attorney General as necessary for the protection of life and safety. An exception to the PRWORA nonimmigrants and undocumented immigrants is for "short term, non-cash, in-kind emergency disaster relief." Nonimmigrants and undocumented immigrants would be eligible for the eviction diversion programs legal resources under this exception. PRWORA prevented federal CARES Act from providing benefits to nonimmigrants and undocumented immigrants. Nonimmigrants and undocumented immigrants who pay taxes, using an individual taxpayer identification number ("ITIN") instead of a social security number, did not receive stimulus funds nor did they receive unemployment benefits. However, HUD has provided guidance that under the "protection of life and safety" exception Rapid Re-Housing funds are not subject to PRWORA Immigration-based restrictions. So any funds received for Rapid Re-housing could be used for nonimmigrants and undocumented immigrants. However, consideration must be given to providing Rapid Re- housing funds to undocumented immigrants seeking to obtain citizenship when it is not known the affect receipt of those funds may have on the Public Charge Test. 6 Staff is requesting the following: 1. An allocation of Social Justice Reserve funds to finance the Eviction Diversion Program — Funds allocated would pay for 50% of a one-year salary and benefits for a temporary bi- lingual attorney, trained in eviction diversion and pro bono legal services. (The other half of the salary and benefits would be paid by the CARES funds.) The attorney would not only assist with development the program, training of pro bono attorneys and case management, but also would perform bi-lingual legal services for the Eviction Diversion Program and mediation of Housing Helpline calls prior to residents reaching court proceedings. The hiring of a temporary bi-lingual attorney trained in eviction diversion would overcome the obstacle of not only Legal Aid's income limit threshold but also its inability to serve undocumented persons. 2. An allocation of the Social Justice Reserve funds to the Risk Mitigation and Housing Displacement Fund to pay rent and mortgage arrears to assist nonimmigrants and undocumented immigrants and continue to prevent eviction and foreclosure. 3. An allocation of Social Justice Funds to Legal Aid of North Carolina for surge assistance with eviction cases and to assist with mediation in court proceedings. 4. Authorization to seek funding from the Towns, and donations from community residents and businesses to fund this Program — While the Towns have their own emergency housing assistance funds that are streamlined with the County's emergency housing assistance fund to follow the same referral and application process, additional funds will be requested specifically to provide support to the Eviction Diversion Program. Donations from the private sector as well as from community residents could also help bolster existing resources and services provided through this program. County staff is currently solidifying the details of this program. However, on June 1, 2020 when the Courts open, staff would like to have the resources in place to get started assisting people. Currently, there are about 90 evictions pending. OCHCD has already reached out to the tenants and landlords to try and avoid those evictions. Staff is receiving more calls each day, and with this program, the County can begin to allay some County residents' fears of eviction. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Budget Amendment #9-A provides for the appropriation of $187,950 in available Social Justice Reserve funds in the following manner: • Forty-Two Thousand Nine Hundred Fifty dollars ($42,950) for Temporary Employment for a full time staff attorney to provide legal and case management services; • One Hundred Thirty Thousand dollars ($130,000) for the Risk Mitigation and Housing Displacement Fund, and • Fifteen Thousand dollars ($15,000) for Legal Aid of North Carolina to increase assistance during surge of cases. With this appropriation, there would be $12,050 funds remaining in the Social Justice Reserve for FY 2019-20. SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goals are applicable to this item: • GOAL: FOSTER A COMMUNITY CULTURE THAT REJECTS OPPRESSION AND INEQUITY The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race or color; religious or philosophical beliefs; sex, gender or sexual orientation; national origin or 7 ethnic background; age; military service; disability; and familial, residential or economic status. • GOAL: ENSURE ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY The creation and preservation of infrastructure, policies, programs and funding necessary for residents to provide shelter, food, clothing and medical care for themselves and their dependents. • GOAL: CREATE A SAFE COMMUNITY The reduction of risks from vehicle/traffic accidents, childhood and senior injuries, gang activity, substance abuse and domestic violence. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: There is no Orange County Environmental Responsibility Goal impact associated with this item. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board: 1) approve the development of an Eviction Diversion Program in Orange County; 2) approve Budget Amendment #9-A appropriating $187,950 from the Social Justice Reserve for the Program; and 3) authorize staff to seek funding for the Eviction Diversion Program from the Towns, and donations from the communities and businesses.