TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
George Gabriel, Assistant to the City Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Quarterly Update on the City’s Homelessness Initiatives Including: Consideration of a Resolution Approving Amendment No. 2 to the Agreement with Harbor Interfaith Services Extending the Term an Additional Year and Increasing Maximum Compensation by $80,200 for Budgeted Housing Navigation and Case Management Services (City Manager Moe).
(Estimated Time: 30 Mins.)
A) RECEIVE REPORT
B) ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 23-0155
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Receive the report detailing various efforts and initiatives staff is undertaking regarding homelessness; and
2. Adopt Resolution No. 23-0155 approving Amendment No. 2 to the agreement with Harbor Interfaith Services which extends the term for an additional year and increases maximum compensation by $80,200 for budgeted housing navigation and case management services.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
If City Council approves the amendment to the agreement, sufficient funds are available for expenditures in this fiscal year. Future years will be budgeted accordingly.
BACKGROUND:
The City has taken an active role in addressing homelessness both strategically and regionally. In doing so, the City is doing everything possible to assist homeless individuals in obtaining the services needed while respecting their rights. Over the past three years the City of Manhattan Beach has taken the following actions thus far:
• Approved the “Five-Year Plan to Address Homelessness in our Community” that created goals that align with the County of Los Angeles’s objectives;
• Appointed a Homelessness Liaison responsible for homelessness initiatives and concerns;
• Participated in the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Counts to assist with understanding the size and scope of homelessness. Fifteen individuals were counted in Manhattan Beach in 2020 (down from 41 individuals in 2018 and 21 in 2019);
• Created a Homelessness Task Force of 11 residents and stakeholders to assist in: 1) developing a proposal to obtain County Measure H funds, and 2) conducting community outreach/education on homelessness;
• Increased the number of mental health clinicians provided by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health available to the Manhattan Beach Police Department to address mentally ill homeless individuals;
• Created a “Homeless Outreach” unit in the Police Department, across daytime and graveyard shifts, to specifically address homeless calls for service;
• Created and distributed a Homeless Resource Guide and card that summarizes a variety of resources and phone numbers to refer to for residents and those experiencing homelessness;
• Received a $330,666 grant from the County of Los Angeles to offer case management and coordination services to homeless individuals in the cities of Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Manhattan Beach.
• Executed a City Homelessness Plan Implementation Grant (i.e. South Bay Beach Cities Homelessness Project) contract with the County of Los Angeles that provides homeless coordination, case management and trainings in the beach cities of Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo.
• In conjunction with the above grant, developed specifications in order to obtain proposals from qualified service providers to assist in moving people off the streets into interim and permanent housing. As a result, awarded a subcontract to a qualified homeless services firm, Harbor Interfaith Services (HIS), to provide:
o A full-time Homeless Coordinator/City Liaison to leverage the cities’ fiscal and administrative resources to systematize, coordinate and help oversee multi-sectoral homeless efforts to enhance and expand regional access to services.
o The development of internal city-level homelessness response protocols and beach city regional response;
o Tailored training material and instructors to lead training sessions with staff;
o An annual homelessness stakeholder roundtable/community meeting;
o Two full-time Homeless Outreach Housing Navigator to assist homeless individuals and families by getting individual “document ready;” and make successful referrals to interim housing, treatment centers, and permanent housing.
• Approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Manhattan Beach, the City of Redondo Beach and the City of Hermosa Beach to implement the South Bay Beach Cities Homelessness Project for homeless coordination, housing navigation and training services;
• Developed a regional response document that focuses on the South Bay Beach Cities outreach response by creating a singular outreach process, identifying the role of key city departments/leads, establishing outreach protocol for persons experiencing homelessness, and providing a contact list of homeless services providers;
• Promoted the Los Angeles Homeless Outreach Portal (LA-HOP) web-based portal to make it easier to request coordinated county services for homeless individuals and ensure constituents can easily submit requests for homeless outreach;
• Conducted community and staff trainings to learn about the local response and partnerships forming to support people experiencing homelessness;
• Explored the use of homeless court services with the City of Redondo Beach and the Los Angeles County District Attorney;
• Approved an agreement with Harbor Interfaith Services for dedicated homeless case management and housing navigation services to Manhattan Beach in the amount of $66,390. Thereafter, the City Council approved an amendment extending for an additional year for a total contract award of $139,020 (a modification to this agreement is being considered by the Council in this report);
• Approved an agreement with Emotional Health Association (doing business as SHARE! Self Help and Recovery Exchange) for housing placement services in the amount of $19,320; Thereafter, the City Council approved an amendment increasing the number of beds for two to five for a total contract award of $38,020;
• Applied for a second round of County Measure H grant funding with the South Bay Cities Council of Government (SBCCOG) and was awarded $216,000 in grant funding for two outreach workers to service the cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and El Segundo;
• Sent a letter to Governor Newsom in support of the proposed framework for the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program which would use the judicial system to compel people suffering from severe mental illness and/or addiction into treatment and, for those who are unhoused, into housing; and
• Received approval from all respective City Councils and the SBCCOG to execute a Memorandum of Understanding to provide the following outcomes as a result of the $216,000 grant award:
o 50 unduplicated clients serviced in outreach;
o 30 unduplicated clients added to Coordinated Entry System;
o 30 unduplicated clients receive case management services;
o 20 unduplicated clients housed in interim housing; and
o 8 unduplicated clients permanently housed.
DISCUSSION:
On a quarterly basis, the City provides an update to the City Council and community on homelessness initiatives staff that has undertaken as well as regional developments. For the purposes of this report, efforts will focus on those relevant since the last quarterly update on June 6, 2023. Below is a list of those updates.
Contract Amendment and Manhattan Beach Outreach Metrics
Following Council’s action to approve an agreement with Harbor Interfaith Services for dedicated housing navigation/case management services in November 2021, the Outreach Services Worker was assigned to Manhattan Beach in January 2022 and began working at the Police Department in February 2022.
The Outreach Services Worker has now completed 1 year and 10 months of service as the City’s dedicated resource. On a daily basis, she typically has 2-4 interactions with homeless individuals and actively manages approximately 10 clients who are interested in services. On a monthly basis, Harbor Interfaith Services provides an individualized report to Manhattan Beach (see attachment) that summarizes key metrics and progress toward goals outlined in the contract.
In summarizing her reportable metric work, the following information reflects data from January 2023 - October 2023 and is summarized below:
• 375 interactions with homeless individuals (including repeat interactions with the same individuals);
• 83 unique clients assisted;
• 18 clients case managed (regular engagement centered around a housing plan);
• 40 clients assisted with document production or enrolled with benefits;
• 19 clients placed into interim housing;
• 5 treatment program referrals attained; and
• 10 stable housing placements.
To continue and build upon the work Outreach Services Worker has accomplished, City staff has prepared an amendment to the original agreement. The proposed amendment revises the following terms:
1. Extends the agreement for an additional year until December 1, 2024;
2. Increases the maximum compensation by $80,200 for a new maximum compensation of $219,219 as well as an increase in reimbursable expenses to $10,000;
3. Replaces the Scope of Services to revise target outcomes that reflect attainable goals; and
4. Replaces the Fee Schedule in accordance with fees set in the new maximum compensation referenced above.
The agreement ensures that the City will have access to a case manager/housing navigator that will be exclusively dedicated to serving the City of Manhattan Beach’s homeless population and will not be a shared resource amongst other cities. The housing navigator/case manager will also assist homeless individuals in Manhattan Beach and conduct business Monday - Friday, 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM. However, hours may be flexed to conduct outreach in early/late hours or attend important meetings as needed. Additionally, the City will continue to provide suitable working space on City premises for the housing navigator/case manager to conduct necessary business and work in close coordination with the City’s homelessness liaison and the Police Department.
Beach Cities Regional Outreach Metrics
The City also has a grant funded contract with Harbor Interfaith Services with the beach cities of Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and El Segundo. The SBCCOG administers the grant on behalf of the County of Los Angeles. Beginning in January 2022, Harbor Interfaith Services provided reports to the beach cities (see attachment) and the SBCCOG that summarizes key metrics and progress toward reaching goals outlined in the contract.
In summarizing HIS’s reportable metric work across all four cities, the following information reflects data from January 2022 - October 2023 and is summarized below:
• 1,211 interactions with homeless individuals (including repeat interactions with the same individuals);
• 356 unique clients assisted;
• 350 clients case managed (regular engagement centered around a housing plan);
• 81 clients assisted with document production or enrolled with benefits;
• 14 clients placed into interim housing;
• 13 treatment program referrals attained; and
• 35 stable housing placements.
Outreach Requests on GoReach App
In Fall 2022, the City deployed a new “Homeless Outreach” category within the City’s mobile application, “Reach Manhattan Beach.” The application and service category now allows citizens to request services for homeless individuals in need of resources. Since the category’s unveiling to the community, 292 requests have been sent to the City and outreach teams comprised of Police Department officers, County mental health clinicians and the dedicated Harbor Interfaith Services case manager have been deployed depending on the nature of the outreach request.
SHARE! Collaborative Housing
As reported at the June 6, 2023, City Council meeting, staff reported that the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG) has committed to funding up to five beds for the City and offering the entire region SHARE! beds for use at approximately $350,000.
As promised, the SBCCOG and SHARE! executed an agreement that provided up to 30 families or individuals housing with a provision that ensures five beds are reserved for the City of Manhattan Beach. Beginning on September 2023, the City’s contract with SHARE! expired and the began relying on the SBCCOG for services. Since September 2023, the SBCCOG has funded housing for four individuals experiencing homelessness in Manhattan Beach.
Homeless Court
Since March 2021, the City Council has been exploring the possibility of adding homeless court services by engaging with the County District Attorney, or contracting with the City of Redondo Beach for homeless court and prosecution services. Thus far, the City has been unsuccessful in providing these services as the County District Attorney has not provided the legally required authorization to execute an agreement with the City of Redondo Beach.
As a City with demonstrated interest in adding homeless court services, the City of Manhattan Beach indicated support for Governor Newsom’s CARE Court proposal (which passed the state legislature) at the April 5, 2022 City Council meeting. In accordance with this framework the County of Los Angeles may be required to enact homeless court services for the City of Manhattan Beach. The City continues to await guidance from the County and looks forward to collaborating.
In the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 City Council Work Plan, Council added a Work Plan item aimed at creating a homeless court diversion program. Recently, the City amended the agreement with the City’s legal counsel, Richard, Watson and Gershon to add prosecution services. Doing so allows the City with a prosecutorial tool to pursue homeless court services with a City Prosecutor. In the coming months, staff will work with the City Attorney and City Prosecutor to explore options regarding how the City can mirror homeless courts in an informal pre court filing format.
Status of Grants/Expenses and SHARE! Agreement
Throughout the City’s response to homelessness, the City has utilized a combination of Measure H grant funding and general fund dollars. Below is summary of the homeless funds broken down by funding source, initiative, amount authorized/award and amount expended.
Measure H Grant Funds
Beach Cities Outreach Navigators Grant Round 1 - $330,665 (Expended $312,994)
Beach Cities Outreach Navigators Grant Round 2 - $216,000 (Expended $111,831.80)
General Fund
Dedicated Outreach Navigator - $139,020 (Expended $102,851.53)
SHARE! Collaborative Housing - $38,220 (Expended $36,512)
CARE Court
As mentioned in the background section of the report, the City supported the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program sponsored by the Governor. Thereafter, the CARE Act was passed by the State legislature and on December 1, 2023, Los Angeles County will implement the CARE Act. Beginning that day (12/1/2023), qualifying individuals or entities can petition the Superior Court of Los Angeles County to help connect eligible individuals to a broad array of services, including mental health and housing services. Staff is currently reviewing individuals that may qualify for a petition and can participate in a CARE Court opportunity.
Future of Measure H
Council will recall that Los Angeles County voters approved a countywide ballot measure on the March 7, 2017 ballot which imposed a 10-year, ¼ cent sales tax to help fund housing and support services for the homeless population throughout the County. With the upcoming expiration of Measure H scheduled for March 2027, Los Angeles County stakeholders have been discussing the future of homeless housing and service funding. In recent weeks, various cities in LA County were recently made aware of a draft ballot initiative circulated by United Way of Greater Los Angeles (United Way), a non-profit organization that advocates for programming addressing poverty and inequity within the county. As proposed, the draft initiative would affect how cities would receive funds generated by the measure. On October 30, 2023, the SBCCOG drafted a letter (see Attachment) conveying various concerns associated with draft measure. While the measure has not been finalized, the City will be watching future revisions to the measure as it could impact grant funding the City may receive in the future.
Future of Homeless Count
On January 25, 2023, approximately 30 volunteers gathered at the Joslyn Community Center to conduct the 2023 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count in Manhattan Beach. This year, the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority (LAHSA) did not release city-level data due to an imprecise extrapolation process. The County uses an extrapolation method (i.e. conversion factor) based on a sampling approach for each type of dwelling such as cars, vans, campers, tents, makeshift shelters, etc. The conversion factor allows LAHSA statisticians to estimate the number of homeless individuals within a vehicle or dwelling when it is unknown how many individuals are located in vehicles, tents, or makeshift shelters. However, it should be noted that the unofficial number of unsheltered persons the night of the count amounted to nine individuals. While the number of unsheltered persons counted (9) remained the same as the prior year’s calculation, the unofficial number of vehicles counted significantly increased from the prior year.
The 2024 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count in Manhattan Beach is scheduled for Wednesday, January 24. At this point, it is unclear whether official city level results will be released. To provide a more accurate level of data, the SBCCOG is currently exploring contracting with the City of Redondo Beach’s contractor, CityNet, to provide a regional homeless count that provides accurate and detailed data on the homeless population. Attached to the report is the City of Redondo Beach 2023 Homeless Census Comparison Report. Should this endeavor by the SBCCOG progress, staff will update the City Council.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Receive the report detailing various efforts and initiatives staff is undertaking regarding homelessness; and
2. Adopt Resolution No. 23-0155 approving Amendment No. 2 to the agreement with Harbor Interfaith Services which extends the term for an additional year and increases maximum compensation by $80,200 for budgeted housing navigation and case management services.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has approved the agreement as to form.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 23-0155
2. Amendment No. 2 - Harbor Interfaith Services
3. Manhattan Beach Outreach Program Outcomes
4. Beach Cities Outreach Program Outcomes
5. SBCCOG Letter Regarding United Way Draft Measure
6. City of Redondo Beach 2023 Homeless Census Comparison Report
7. PowerPoint Presentation