Alameda County Housing and Community Development Department

Transcription

1 Alameda County Housing and Community Development Department Request for Proposals Fiscal Year 2014 Rapid Re-housing/Homeless Prevention Activities On July 29, 2014 the Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved a transfer of funds from Residual Property Taxes ( Boomerang funds) into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund administered by HCD. The Board approved a total of $3.9 million of One-Time Boomerang funding to support a new Rapid Re-housing Program, with the funds coming over two fiscal years: FY14/15 ($2 Million) and FY15/16 ($1.9 Million). The Board also adopted policies to govern the new program. As established by the policies, 15% of the allocation will be set aside for administrative costs, 10% of the project funds will be used for homeless prevention activities, and 90% will be used for rapid re-housing activities. For this initial release of funds, the administrative funds will be shared between HCD and the selected contractors. By adopted policy, the funds are allocated across the county into four regions. The regional distribution of the initial release of funding is shown in the table below: Geographic Breakdown of Available Boomerang Funds Total Project Admin North County (Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville, Albany) $680,000 $652,435 $27,566 Mid County (Alameda, San Leandro, Hayward, unincorporated county) $190,000 $182,298 $7,702 South County (Union City, Newark, Fremont) $100,000 $95,946 $4,054 East County (Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore) $30,000 $28,784 $1,216 Total $1,000,000 $959,463 $40,538 HCD is conducting a Request for Proposals (RFP) process for an initial $1 million of the FY14/15 project funding and associated share of administrative funds. Available funding for Rapid Re-housing and Prevention activities is $1,000,000 Funding will be available for a eighteen month contract period beginning June 1, 2015 and ending November 30, HCD will be convening a bidder s conference/rfp informational meeting. This meeting will be

2 held: Tuesday, February 24, am-Noon 224 W. Winton Ave. Room 160 Hayward, CA This meeting is not mandatory but potential applicants are highly encouraged to attend. Applicants must specify which geographic region(s) they are applying for. Applicants may apply for more than one geographic region to serve. If applying for more than one region, applicants must submit a separate application for each region that they are applying for. Provide one original and two copies of each proposal, including Attachments A-C. Proposals must be received at HCD, 224 W. Winton Avenue, Room 108, Hayward, CA 94544, no later than 4:00 p.m. on March 11 th, Postmarks are not acceptable. Faxes or s will not be accepted. Proposal Evaluation Process HCD staff will review proposals based on the ranking criteria described below and make recommendations for funding to Alameda County Housing and Community Development Advisory Committee (HCDAC) for recommendation to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. Applicants will be expected to attend the HCDAC meeting May 12, 2015 and be prepared to make brief presentations on their proposals. Contracts for funding will begin June 1, No expenses incurred prior to the contract start date will be eligible for reimbursement. If you have any questions regarding the requests for proposal, please contact Michelle Starratt at (510) or at michelle.starratt@acgov.org.

3 TARGET POPULATION The target population for rapid re-housing activities are homeless families and Individuals in Alameda County who are able to become self sufficient with short or medium term rental assistance and supportive services. Up to 10% of program funds may be used to benefit households at risk of homelessness in order to prevent homelessness. For all households, the target Population is extremely low-income households (35% AMI or below), however, households at or below very low-income (50% AMI or below) may also be eligible. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES Rapid Re-housing/Prevention includes short- and medium-term rental assistance, case management, housing navigation and flexible funding (see Attachment D for more detail on eligible activities and program policies). Eligible activities are the same for rapid re-housing and prevention. Rapid re-housing activities are those delivered to literally homeless (HUD definition) households. Prevention activities are those delivered to at-risk of homeless households. Staff salaries related to carrying out rapid re-housing and homelessness prevention activities above are eligible. Up to 7.5% of the project costs can be used for administering the grant. Note: Applicants must provide BOTH Rapid Re-housing and Prevention activities. Content of Proposal Rapid Rehousing/Prevention Activities Attached is a proposal checklist, proposal submittal form and a ranking criteria breakdown. The request for funds should include a detailed description of how the organization would utilize Boomerang funds. The response should also include all of the information about the organization requested on the checklist on the cover page of the proposal. The following items must be included in the response: 1. The amount of Boomerang Rapid Re-housing/Prevention funds being requested in the proposal, including which geographic regions the applicant is requesting funding. 2. A brief history of the organization, including the philosophy and goals of the organization as they pertain to providing eligible Rapid Re-housing/prevention activities to the homeless. Describe past experience of providing rapid rehousing and prevention activities and how these previous programs performed in relation to the outcomes established by the EveryOne Home Outcomes Initiative. 3. A detailed program description, including the proposed population(s) to receive Boomerang Rapid Re-housing/Prevention (e.g. families, single men, single women). Also describe how populations from all jurisdictions of the geographic region indicated will be served.

4 4. The proposed capacity of the program for both point in time and over the program year, including a breakdown of where in the County clients identify as their place of residence. In particular, please provide the following information: a) what percentage of residents are proposed to be served from each geographic region; b) the number of residents to be served in each region; and c) the proposed average length of stay for all residents in the program. If you have provided these activities in the past year, provide this information from the last program year. 5. Describe the agency s utilization of the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). Include a data quality report for the last calendar year. 6. The type of services proposed to participants of the program (e.g. housing search and placement, rent arrears, case management, mediation legal services, credit repair). 7. The process and procedure used by the organization to ensure confidentiality of victims of domestic violence. 8. A description of program staffing, including number, staff positions, duties and experience as they relate to this grant. 9. A budget detailing how requested Boomerang funds would be spent, indicating amounts requested for eligible activities by line item. Please provide this budget for the program year. (A sample budget form is attached as part of the proposal.). The grant year for enrolling clients in the program is June 1, 2015 through November 30, The contract period may be extended in order to fully serve clients in the program. 10. A copy of the current organizational budget and a year-end audit or financial statement for the ending within the past 12 months. 11. A copy of the latest year-end program report providing program statistics. 12. A description of how this funding will be used in conjunction with other rapid re-housing funding and how Boomerang funds will leverage these efforts.

5 Proposal Review Criteria for Boomerang Rapid Re-housing/Homeless Prevention Activities The following criteria will be used to rank proposals and make recommendations for funding: 1. Benefit to Regional Distribution Areas: Maximum of 10 Points For Rapid Rehousing activities, applicants must show how they will ensure that activities benefit the region(s) of the County for which they are requesting funding (north, south, mid and/or east) and describe how they will document this. For Prevention activities, applicants must show how they will serve residents of the geographic region(s) for which they are requesting funding. For both activities, applicants must show how they will serve all jurisdictions located in the region(s) for which they are requesting funding. 2. Need for Program and Funding: Maximum of 20 Points a. Program Need: Maximum of 10 Points Activities that provide excellent documentation and justification of the target population(s), target population s needs and how the services provided relate to the target population s ability to obtain and/or retain permanent housing will be awarded the maximum of 10 points. b. Funding Need: Maximum of 10 Points Agencies must address how the funding will be used in both the activity being requested and in the overall agency budget. 3. Program Design: Maximum of 10 Points The program will be evaluated in terms of: 1) its impact on the identified need and meeting proposal goals; 2) its outreach, engagement and staffing plans; 3) ability to augment existing programs to begin serving households immediately after contract execution. 4. Experience: Maximum of 20 Points The experience of the applicant, including the length of time in business and successful experience in undertaking projects of similar complexity as the one for which funds are being requested will be evaluated. Specifically, experience in administering Rapid Re-housing and Homeless Prevention programs, including, but not limited to, administering monthly rental subsidies, housing location and stabilization services, and landlord mediation. 5. Performance: Maximum of 25 Points The applicant will be evaluated in terms of its past performance in relation to any local, state or federal funding program, including performance in meeting the goals and benchmarks established by EveryOne Home s Outcomes Initiative. The past performance will refer to attainment of objectives in a timely manner and expenditure of funds at a reasonable rate in compliance with contracts. Compliance with contracts will include but not be limited to submission of reports and adherence to the scope of services.

6 6. Leveraging/ Securing Other Funding/Services: Maximum of 10 Points Points will be awarded based on the applicant s ability to leverage boomerang funding with other related funding and programs which the applicant agency currently administers. 7. HMIS: Maximum of 5 Points Points will be awarded based on program participation in HMIS and the quality of the data submitted.

7 ATTACHMENT A BOOMERANG RAPID RE-HOUSING/PREVENTION PROGRAM Request for Proposal Checklist 1) Amount of Funds Requested by Geographic Region/Benefit to Region 2) History of Organization/Experience 3) Program Description and Population Served 4) Capacity and Clients Served 5) Description of Services Provided 6) Insurance of Confidentiality 7) Description of Staff 8) Budget, by Each Activity and Region, for Program Year 9) Current Organization Budget and Most Recent Annual Financial Statement 10) Most Recent Annual Program Report 11) Leveraging Description 12) HMIS Data Quality Report

8 ATTACHMENT B BOOMERANG RAPID REHOUSING/PREVENTION PROGRAM PROJECT PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL FORM Alameda County Housing and Community Development Department 224 W. Winton Avenue, Room 108 Hayward, California ************************************************************************ Please answer each question as completely as possible, document all data sources and use additional pages to answer questions as needed. Applicant Name: Mailing Address: City/Zip Code: Primary Contact Name: Contact s Telephone: Contact s Address: Agency Director: Signature: Board President: Signature:

9 ATTACHMENT C BOOMERANG RAPID RE-HOUSING/PREVENTION PROPOSED BUDGET GRANT YEAR June 1, 2015 THROUGH November 30, 2016 Name of Contractor: Geographic Region: Line Item Rapid Re-housing Prevention Total Total

10 ATTACHMENT D Alameda County Affordable Housing Trust Fund Policies Including Policies for Residual Property Tax ( Boomerang ) Funded Programs Adopted July 29, 2014 Policy Area Policy for Boomerang Rapid Rehousing Program 1. Purpose Establish a third account within the Trust Fund specifically for boomerang funds for Rapid Rehousing Program. a. The purpose of the Alameda County Affordable Housing Trust Fund Rapid Re-housing Program is to prevent and end homelessness by providing shortterm tenant-based rental assistance and housing navigation and case management services to homeless and at-risk individuals and families in Alameda County. 2. Project Selection Policies A. Targeting a. Homeless families and Individuals in Alameda County who are able to become self sufficient with short or medium term rental assistance and supportive services. b. Up to 10% of program funds may be used to benefit households at risk of homelessness in order to prevent homelessness. c. Target Population is extremely low-income households (35% AMI or below). d. Households at or below very low-income (50% AMI or below) may also be eligible. e. Priority target populations (e.g., veterans, families, domestic violence, or transition aged youth, etc.) may be determined as part of Request for Proposals.

11 B. Term of Restrictions Not Applicable C. Length of Assistance D. Types of Development a. Assistance is to be provided for the shortest time needed to stabilize the household in housing. It is anticipated that most households will be stabilized after no more than 12 months of rental assistance. b. Periodic assessments will be conducted to determine ongoing need and level of assistance. c. Extensions of rental assistance may be granted for up to a total of 24 months of assistance. d. Case management services may continue for up to six months after rental assistance ends. Not Applicable E. Use of Funds a. Rental Assistance Rental assistance is the payment of rental subsidies (or back rent owed in relation to homeless prevention) to landlords. b. Housing Navigation Housing Navigation includes services and financial supports that assist the household to find, apply for and obtain permanent housing appropriate for the household. c. Case Management Case Management includes services to assist the household in finding and accessing other services and supports they need in order to maintain housing, such as employment, alcohol and drug services, mental health services, accessing mainstream benefits, etc.

12 d. Flexible Funds Allow for Flexible use of Funds for other eligible activities, including expenses related to security deposits utility deposits, move-in expenses, transportation related to obtaining housing, and related services and supports. F. Maximum Rent Levels G. Tenant Portion of Rent a. Maximum rent level will be set based on HUD standards, adjusted by unit size, rent reasonableness and Fair Market Rent (FMR). b. Limited exceptions may be granted by the Director of Housing and Community Development in exceptional circumstances. a. Tenant portion of rent will be a sliding scale, based on the tenant s income and unit rent. b. Periodic income certifications will be performed by case managers to recalculate tenant rent. H. Geographic Distribution a. Funds will be used to benefit the target population throughout Alameda County. b. To ensure Countywide benefit, the Board will adopt a geographic spread formula with allocations of funds made to four regions of the County: North (Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, Piedmont), Mid (Alameda, San Leandro, Hayward and a proportion of the Unincorporated County), South (Fremont, Newark, Union City) and East (Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton and a proportion of the Unincorporated County). c. Initial allocations may be adjusted after an annual review, based on usage patterns and need.

13 I. Leveraging a. When feasible, funds will be used to leverage or match other sources of rapid re-housing funds related funding, including funding programs that may require a local match. 3. Project Selection Process a. Program operators will be selected using a Request for Proposals (RFP) process administered by the Community Development Agency s Housing and Community Development Department (HCD), with recommendations made to the Board of Supervisors for contract award, after review and recommendation by the Housing and Community Development Citizen s Advisory Committee. b. RFP parameters and points within those set by these program policies will be reviewed by the HCDAC and public comment taken prior to issuance of the RFP.

14 4. Annual Review a. HCD will prepare an annual review of the Trust Fund program for submittal to the CDA Director. This review will include the number and demographics of households assisted, geographic distribution, results relative to established outcome measures. The review may also include proposed changes to the program policies. b. Primary outcome measures will include the number of households obtaining permanent housing and remaining stably housed for a minimum of one year. 5. Payment and Return of Funds a. Funds to be deposited in the Fund as part of annual County budget process, per amount and/or formula adopted by the Board of Supervisors. b. Interest earned on funds deposited into the Trust Fund are credited to the Fund and are used only for Trust Fund purposes. 6. Administration a. The Trust Fund is administered by CDA s Housing and Community Development Department b. HCD will recommend to the CDA Director program operators to be funded based on adopted policies. (All contracts for funding come to BOS for approval.) c. HCD will work to maximize the leveraging of other sources of affordable housing finance, and to ensure that all fees paid into the Trust Fund are committed in a timely manner.

15