Interoffice Memorandum
DATE: August 16, 2024
TO: Mayor Jerry L. Demings and County Commissioners
FROM: Carrie Mathes, CFCM, NIGP-CPP, CPPO, C.P.M., Manager II, Procurement Division
CONTACT: Isabelle Klier-Graham, Manager, Mental Health and Homelessness
Division
PHONE: 407-836-3187
SUBJECT: Approval of Contract Y24-2400, Providing Funding for Long-Term Housing Security and Services for Unhoused Persons, Federal Subrecipient Agreement
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approval of Contract Y24-2400, Providing Funding for Long-Term Housing Security and Services for Unhoused Persons, Federal Subrecipient Agreement, between Orange County and S.A.L.T. Outreach, Inc., for a federal subaward in an amount not-to-exceed $500,817.78 for a two-year term.
Further request Board authorization of delegation of authority to the Procurement Division Manager or designee to execute such Federal Subrecipient Agreement on a form approved by the County Attorney’s Office and Risk Management Division. ([Community and Family Services Department Mental Health and Homelessness Division] Procurement Division)
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PROCUREMENT:
This Subaward was issued from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (the “Recovery Fund” or “Federal Award”) allocation received by the County on May 18, 2021.
The project’s goal is to get unhoused residents of Orange County into stable housing and end homelessness. The Subrecipient will provide services to unhoused persons residing in Orange County including, but not limited to, showers and laundry, in an effort to build relationships and transition clients into case management services and mental health counseling with an ultimate goal of getting clients into stable housing and ending homelessness.
The subaward period of performance is upon contract execution through September 30, 2026.
REMARKS:
In accordance with the Code of Ordinances, Part I, Chapter 17, Article III, Section 17-286 - Application and Exclusions, agreements between the Board and nonprofit organizations are excluded from competitive procurement requirements.
Pursuant to the Final Rule, the County has broad flexibility to identify and respond to pandemic impacts and serve populations that experienced pandemic impacts beyond those uses and populations enumerated and presumed eligible by the Treasury. In determining whether a program or service is an eligible use to respond to the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the County must:
A. Step #1: Identify:
1. A COVID-19 negative economic impact
The COVID-19 emergency caused a substantial increase in families and individuals losing employment, losing housing, and suffering from other detrimental impacts including social, emotional, mental, and physical health distress. Research demonstrates an increase in the number of families and individuals affected by COVID-19. As one of the many consequences of COVID-19, housing insecurity has increased resulting in an increase in the number of individuals seeking homelessness services and housing assistance.
and
2. A class of individuals harmed by the COVID-19 negative economic impact
Residents of Orange County that are low-income, defined as having a household income of 185% or less of the most current federal poverty guidelines or who have otherwise suffered due to:
1. A financial COVID-19 related impact; and
2. Homelessness or imminent risk of homelessness.
Residents of Orange County with household incomes above 300% of the most current federal poverty guidelines shall not be considered members of the Impacted Class without prior written approval of the County Agreement Liaison.
B. Step #2: Design a program that addresses or responds to the identified impact or harm.
The Subrecipient operates a mobile drop-in center for people experiencing homelessness. The Subrecipient provides services through the use of trailers and vehicles including showers with a shower trailer, laundry with a laundry trailer, and clothing and hygiene products with a change trailer. Subrecipient also offers food, haircuts, storage services, mail services, and charging stations. Through these essential services Subrecipient builds trust and relationships to transition people to case management, mental health counseling, and spiritual care services which help end homelessness for people. In 2023, Subrecipient served 3,089 different people with 80,000 services and resources, and 27% transitioned to case management.
Subrecipient’s case management team helps guide people through an often-fragmented homelessness services system to help end homelessness. Subrecipient completes a comprehensive assessment, discovers the unique needs of each person, refers to other organizations to get needs met, and sets follow-up appointments to encourage completion. Subrecipient connects people to medical services, detox services, employment, social security, ID services, and more. If there isn’t an organization that can meet the clients’ needs, then subrecipient will step in to meet the needs of that person. In 2023, subrecipient case managers helped over 50% of their clients take the next step toward ending their homelessness and helped 77 different people end their homelessness. Subrecipient shall provide the services described herein to the homeless residents of Orange County, pursuant to this Agreement.
The subrecipient shall provide a mental health counselor and a psychiatrist to work with the uninsured in Bithlo working with Transformation Village. The subrecipient shall help people overcome their addictions, process their trauma, and help them move along the continuum of care into safe, stable housing.
Overall, in 2023, after receiving services from the Subrecipient, 312 people transitioned into housing, and approximately 25% were people for whom subrecipient case managers ended homelessness.
The Subrecipient shall provide the following outcome data to the County on a monthly basis:
1. Number and demographics of unduplicated homeless individuals engaged.
2. Number of homeless individuals entered into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) for housing resources.
3. Number of events where a mobile unit was out and accessible in the community for the month.
4. Number of homeless individuals referred to other services, including, but not limited to, legal, identification needs, food pantry etc.
5. Number of individuals receiving case management services from the Subrecipient.
6. Number of individuals that transition to permanent and/or bridge housing after receiving services from the subrecipient.
The subrecipient shall maintain a 90% successful HMIS registration for all homeless clients seeking housing that utilize a mobile drop-in unit and complete the tasks detailed above.