BOS Afjenda Date: November 2,2004
Agenda Item No. 28

County of Santa Clara
Office of the County Executive

o

Office of Affordable Housing
Housing and Community Development

CE03 110204

Prepared by: Marjorie Matthews
Director, Office of
Affordable Housing

Lynn Terzian
Management Analyst
Submitted by: Jane Decker
Deputy County Executive
DATE:

November 2, 2004

TO:

Board of Supervisors

FROM:
Peter Kutras Jr.

County Executive
SUBJECT:

Report Back Regarding Proposed Members of the Plomeless Task Force and Work Plan for a 10-Year
Plan to End Chronic Homelessness in Santa Clara County and Direction to the Office of Affordable

Housing to Negotiate a Contract with Allied Survey Research for a Countywide Homeless Census and
Survey.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

Consider the following recommended actions:

Board of Supervisors: Donald F. Gage. Blanca Alvarado. Pete McHugh, Jim Beall, Liz Kniss
County Executive; Peter Kutras Jr.
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BOS Agenda Date; November 2,2004
Agenda Item No. 28

Possible action:

a.

Approve the appointment of the Homeless Task Force members to create a 10-Year
Plan to End Chronic Homelessness in Santa Clara County and authorize the Board
Chair to send letters of invitation to the Task Force members.

b. Approve the

proposed Work Plan for the 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness in

Santa Clara County.
c.

Delegate authority to the Office of Affordable Housing to negotiate a contract with Applied Survey Research
(ASR) with a term expiring June 30, 2005 and a maximum compensation limit not to exceed $167,900,for
signature by the Chair of the Board and participating cities following approval by the County Executive and
County Counsel as to form and legality.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

There will be no impact on the General Fund as a result of these actions. Costs for preparation of the 10-Year Plan to
End Chronic Homelessness are estimated at $35,000 and will be funded by the Affordable Housing Fund (Cost Center

1174, Fund 0196). The homeless count and survey is estimated to cost $167,900 and will be funded jointly by the
County and the participating cities. The County's share of up to $10,000 will be funded by the Housing Bond Fund (Cost
Center 1169, Fund 0208) as approved by the Board on June 8, 2004.
REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

On October 5, 2004, the Board of Supervisors authorized the formation of a Task Force to work with the Office of
Affordable Housing to develop a 10—Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness in Santa Clara County. The Board
directed the Administration to report back in 30 days with a proposed list of Task Force members and a Work Plan.
The following is the Administration's response to that Board direction:
Proposed Task Force Membership

The Task Force will be co-chaired by two members of the Board of Supervisors. The proposed membership includes a
broad representation of government, community and service groups, business, labor, funders, and individuals familiar
with issues relating to homelessness in the County. In addition, the Task Force will identify other members of the
community to participate in one of six Working Groups to study a specific topic regarding homelessness. Public
hearings and/or focus groups will be utilized to encourage even broader participation by the public. Attachment A is a
full listing of the recommended Task Force membership.
Proposed Work Plan

At the first meeting, the Task Force will receive an overview on the problem of homelessness and be asked to review
and approve the Work Plan, which will include the formation of six Working Groups. The full Task Force will meet
three or four times. The Working Groups, which will be chaired by members of the Task Force, will have separate

Board of Supervisors: Donald F. Gage, Blanca Alvarado, Pete McHugh, Jim Beall, Liz Kniss
County Executive: Peter Kutras Jr.
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BOS Agenda Date: November 2,2004
Agenda Item No. 28

meetings to focus on six core areas addressing homelessness:

Assessment of Homelessness in the County

Discharge Planning to Prevent Homelessness

Permanent Housing with Supporting Services

Housing for Emancipated Youth

Access to Mainstream Benefits and Employment

Revenue Strategies

Each Working Group will develop a number of strategies with action steps to carry them out. The planning process will
not be a search for an unlimited number of ideas, but rather an effort to reach agreement on the core actions that will
make the greatest difference in the County of Santa Clara. The final report and recommendations will be presented to the
Board in April of 2005. At that time, the Board will be asked to adopt a Resolution to end chronic homelessness in the
County of Santa Clara within 10 years by implementing actions recommended by the Task Force.
The non-profit firm HomeBase will provide consulting services to guide development of the 10-Year Plan during the
six-month effort for an amount of $35,000. The contract will be administered by the Office of Affordable Housing.
Services will include orientation of Task Force members and coordination of meeting dates. They will provide

appropriate written materials, aid in the development of agendas, provide written summaries of all meetings, and
produce the final report.

HomeBase consultants have had extensive exposure to County homeless issues, including participation in preparation of
the County's 5-Year Plan on Homelessness, coordination of the annual McKinney-Vento Grant Application, and
assistance to the Santa Clara County Collaborative on Affordable Housing and Homeless Issues. HomeBase has unique
knowledge about the state of homelessness in Santa Clara County and is very familiar with policies and funding
opportunities at the federal level.
Homeless Count

An essential component of the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness is a valid countywide homeless count. In addition to
a count, a comprehensive survey of at least 1,800 homeless individuals will be obtained from a number of geographic
areas in the County. Accurate information about the number and needs of the homeless is necessary to plan an effective
response to this social problem. It will also enable the County to make accurate assessments of progress made over the
next ten years.

Board of Supervisors: Donald F. Gage, Blanca Alvarado, Pete McHugh,Jim Beall, Liz Kniss
County Executive; Peter Kutras Jr.
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BOS Agetida Date: November 2,2004
Agenda ttem No. 2i

A valid count of the homeless is of particular importance when competing for federal funds. The last time the County
did a survey of the homeless population was in 1999. That count extrapolated information from a non-scientific
sampling of the homeless population and was not a valid point-in-time study. Last year the County was unsuccessful in
receiving funding from the federal Interagency Council on Homelessness. Every jurisdiction that did receive funding
had conducted a recent valid homeless count.

The County Homeless Coordinator has been working in collaboration with the City of San Jose Homeless Coordinator to
seek a qualified consultant who can perform the count in a timely manner, and to explore the cost. An initial informal
survey by the City revealed a limited number of firms with the specialized expertise required to perform a valid count
and the availability to do the work this winter. Ofthe three firms contacted,(Applied Survey Research (ASR), the
Action Council, and the Center for Applied Sociology) the Action Council has never completed a lull survey on a
community the size of Santa Clara County, and the Center for Applied Sociology was not interested in participating.
ASR is a highly respected research firm based in Watsonville that has conducted counts in several counties throughout
California, including Monterey, Contra Costa, San Bernardino, and Riverside. ASR has specialized expertise in
gathering information and synthesizing the information to create a detailed report which will be vitally useful to the
County's efforts to end homelessness. The four counties referenced above were contacted by the County Homeless
Coordinator about the quality and cost of ASR's work in this field. All four reported the work to be of high quality and
that the costs charged were reasonable.

Preliminary estimates indicate the cost of the survey and count will be up to $167,900, depending on the level of city
participation, and will include:

A shelter count of all emergency shelters, transitional housing, hospitals,jails, and other facilities that may
house homeless individuals on a temporary basis;

A point in time enumeration of homeless individuals not in the above facilities;

Surveys of at least 1,800 homeless residents from a number of geographic areas;

Individual city and town counts for participating jurisdictions.

A December timeframe is anticipated for the count and survey, with results available to the County and cities by
February, 2005. Data availability within this window of time is a critical concern to the cities, who are responding to a
federal requirement to update their individual 5-Year Plans. The ability to use current data in these updates is a key
factor in the development of a cost sharing plan for the cost of the count. All 15 cities have been asked to share the cost
of the study proportionate to each jurisdiction's population.The County's share of $9,591 will be funded from the
Housing Bond Fund, as approved by the Board on June 8, 2004. To date, 10 cities including San Jose have responded
affirmatively. A proposed cost sharing schedule among the County and cities is attached to this transmittal. If the Office
of Affordable Housing is unable to secure full funding for the count through participation of all cities, the scope of work
and cost will be reduced to reflect the lower level of participation so that individual jurisdictions do not incur higher

Board of Supervisors: Donald F. Gage, Blanca Alvarado, Pete McHugh,Jim Beall, Liz Kniss
Counb' Executive: Peter Kutras Jr.
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BOS Agenda Date; November 2,2004
Agenda Item No. 28

costs.

It is recommended that authority be delegated to the County Executive or his designee to negotiate a sole source contract
with ASR to conduct the countywide homeless count. The justifications for the sole source, per the Board's contracting
guidelines, are the highly specialized nature of the contractor's prior experience, the unique qualifications to prepare a
count for a county of this size, and the critical timing of a count and survey in December, which would not be possible if
a full request for proposals is issued. The Office of Affordable Housing will administer the contract and invoice the
participating cities for their share of the cost.

BACKGROUND

On October 5, 2004, the Board of Supervisors authorized the formation of a Task Force to work with the Office of
Affordable Housing in developing a 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness in Santa Clara County. The Board
directed the Administration to report back in 30 days with a recommended Task Force membership and Work Plan.
CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE ACTION

Without a 10 year Plan to End Homelessness in Santa Clara County, the County will not have a long term planning
document to address the problem of homelessness in the County and will not be competitive for federal funding for
homeless programs.

ATTACHMENTS

•(Transmittal submitted on Oct 26, 2004 1:20:27 PM - PDF Version)
• 10-Year Plan Proposed Task Force (Miscellaneous)

• Homeless Count and Survey Cost Sharing Table (Miscellaneous)

Board of Supervisors: Donald F. Gage, Blanca Alvarado, Pete McHugh, Jim Beall, Liz Kniss
County Executive; Peter Kutras Jr.
5