Item 10-A
Council Meeting: September 14, 1999 Santa Monica, CA
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Transmittal of the FY1998-99 Annual Review of the City=s Coordinated Plan for Homeless Services and Recommendation to Hold a Public Hearing
INTRODUCTION
This report transmits the FY1998-99 Annual Review of the City
=s Coordinated Plan for Homeless Services and recommends the City Council hold a public hearing on the Plan pursuant to Municipal Code Section 2.69.030.BACKGROUND
The Public Safety Initiative (now Municipal Code Section 2.69.010 through 2.69.030), adopted by City Council in September of 1994, required the City to adopt a plan to coordinate services to homeless individuals and to report on the effectiveness of this plan annually. The City
=s Coordinated Plan for Homeless Services was adopted by City Council in May of 1995 as part of the City=s Consolidated Plan, a multi-year planning document required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This report transmits the FY1998-99 Annual Review of the City=s Coordinated Plan for Homeless Services and Related Issues.In connection with the annual review and pursuant to Municipal Code Section 2.69.030, a public hearing is required to gain input on:
Notice of this public hearing has been sent to City Boards and Commissions, the Chamber of Commerce, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, Santa Monica College, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), City-funded organizations, and other relevant community groups. A display ad was placed in the
AOur Times@ section of the Los Angeles Times on August 26, 1999.DISCUSSION
As detailed in the attached FY1998-99 Annual Review of the City
=s Coordinated Plan for Homeless Services, the City continued to implement its coordinated homeless services in compliance with goals detailed in Municipal Code Section 2.69.010. Program outcomes for FY1998-99 indicate high achievement in housing placements despite a 35% increase in demand for services over last year, primarily attributed to the impact of welfare reform. Of the 1,942 persons enrolled in City-funded programs, 547 obtained transitional housing (a 55% increase over last year); 344 obtained permanent housing (25% more than last year); 176 obtained temporary jobs (a 32% increase); and 367 obtained permanent employment (a 27% increase). Not represented in these figures are the in-depth efforts of the network of rigorously challenged outreach workers, case managers, sobriety and mental health counselors, vocational trainers and job retention specialists who not only assist the homeless in attaining these benchmarks of self-sufficiency, but also help them maintain these goals once they are achieved. Recognizing that the success of a $2.2 million coordinated homeless services system ultimately rests on the skills and networking ability of a highly diverse and widely dispersed staffCthe outreach and intake workers, security staff, counselors and case managersCthe City provided sixteen hours of intensive training between September 1998 and February 1999 to sixty-five front line staff from eleven City-funded agencies providing homeless services, most of whom had never before met face to face. The improvement in this year=s number of job and residential placements, despite the large increase in people seeking services and the dwindling supply of affordable housing, may in part reflect the enhanced coordination among front line workers. If nothing else, meeting the challenges posed by welfare reform highlights the need for skilled and appropriately compensated staff to do the demanding work they are expected to perform.FISCAL/BUDGETARY IMPACT
On June 23, 1998, the City Council approved City funding of homeless programs for FY1998-99 in the amount of $1,727,416. Funding for FY1999-00 was adopted on June 22, 1999, in the amount of $1,761,993. This represents a basic 2% cost of living increase for all service providers.
RECOMMENDATION
City staff recommends that the City Council accept this report and hold a public hearing to gain input on the FY1998-99 Annual Review of the City
=s Coordinated Plan for Homeless Services.Prepared by:
Barbara Stinchfield, Director, Community and Cultural Services Department
Julie Rusk, Human Services Manager
Tracy Scruggs, Human Services Supervisor
Joel Schwartz, Homeless Services Coordinator
Human Services Division
ATTACHMENT: FY1998-99 Annual Review of the City
=s Coordinated Plan for Homeless Services (September 1999)FY1998-99 Annual Review
City
=s Coordinated Plan for Homeless Services and Related Issues
Overview
This report provides an overview of the effectiveness and cost of service delivery to homeless persons by City-funded social services. Additionally, the report discusses the computerized case management tracking system. Attachment I of this report summarizes how the City complies with the stated goals of Municipal Code Section 2.69.010. Attachment II provides an overview of homeless funding since FY1993-94. Attachment III includes comments submitted by Santa Monica homeless service providers regarding the City
=s Coordinated Plan.Effectiveness and Cost of Delivery of Services
Homeless services in Santa Monica are based on a
Acontinuum of care@ model characterized by the following components: outreach, emergency assistance (i.e., food, clothing, showers, laundry, lockers, mailing address), intake and assessment, emergency shelter, case management and employment services, transitional housing, permanent housing and aftercare. These components work together to assist a homeless individual or family in moving off the streets and into permanent housing and employment. Case management and other supportive services are provided throughout the continuum of care as depicted below:CONTINUUM OF CARE MODEL
< Day Services -< Assess- -< Shelter -< Housing -< Housing -< Services < Food |__________________________________________| |______________|Out- Emergency/ Intake & Emergency Transitional Permanent Aftercare
reach -
< Clothing | | < Showers Coordinated Case Management <Job Retention < Lockers <Intake and Assessment <Support Groups < Mailing Address <Benefits Advocacy (e.g., GR, SSI) <Counseling < Crisis Intervention <Mental Health Services <Mentoring < Information/Referrals
<Health Services
<
Drug/Alcohol Intervention<
Money Management<
Job/Skills Training<
Employment Search Assistance<
Employment Placement<
Housing Search Assistance
In FY1998-99 the City supported eleven agencies including Chrysalis, CLARE Foundation, Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center, New Directions, Ocean Park Community Center, Salvation Army, St. Joseph Center, Step Up on Second, Upward Bound, Westside Food Bank and the YWCA. Each agency
=s Program Plan, included in the City=s Grantee Agreement, specifies how delivered services will address this continuum and effectively assist homeless individuals to obtain greater self-sufficiency. Each agency is required to monitor the effectiveness of service delivery by generating regular progress reports from a computerized case management system and evaluating client outcomes. City staff monitors the delivery of services and clients= progress toward self-sufficiency through site visits and regular review of reports.The following table summarizes homeless participant and program outcomes during FY1997-98 and FY1998-99.
FY97-98 No. Served |
% Placed |
FY98-99 No. Served |
% Placed |
% increase/ <decrease> |
|
| Total SM Program Participants |
1,441 |
--- |
1,942 |
--- |
35% |
Placements in permanent housing |
276 |
(19%) |
344 |
(18%) |
25% |
Placements in transitional housing |
352 |
(24%) |
547 |
(28%) |
55% |
Placements in emergency shelter |
811* |
(56%) |
605* |
(28%) |
<25%> |
Placements in permanent employment |
288 |
(20%) |
367 |
(19%) |
27% |
Placements in temporary employment |
133 |
(9%) |
176 |
(9%) |
32% |
* The data collected for placements into emergency shelter includes the total number of placements at the City-funded shelter SAMOSHEL, plus the number of placements into other emergency shelters. It does not include those already in shelters at the beginning of the year.
<
In FY1998-99, of the 1,942 persons enrolled in City-funded programs, the number of placements in transitional and permanent housing (891) substantially increased over the previous year (628), and the number of placements in temporary and permanent employment have also increased (543 as compared to 421 last year). These achievements may not seem as dramatic when compared, as in the chart above, as percentages of the total population served, since there was a 35% increase in homeless clients seeking services connected to case management.From the high numbers of those entering the system and the diminishing numbers of those receiving emergency, transitional and permanent housing, there is a significant attrition rate of those who enter the continuum of care. The outcomes indicate high attrition rates at two important junctures: 1) from the point of enrollment to placement into emergency shelter, and 2) from placement into emergency shelter to placement into permanent housing. Service providers attribute these attrition rates to problems including mental illness, chronic substance abuse or other disabilities experienced by over half of the population served, as well as the inadequacy of resources to address these problems. A further obstacle is the disappearing supply of affordable housing in Santa Monica.
<
In FY1998-99, a total of 605 homeless persons received emergency or temporary shelter. Of the 605 shelter placements, 452 (75%) were placed at SAMOSHEL, the City-funded shelter. While the number of placements in emergency shelter decreased 25% this year, this decrease reflects less turnover in the 20-day emergency shelter phase of the SAMOSHEL program and more stability in its 6-month residential money management program.In FY1998-99, a total of 71 (16%) homeless persons who received shelter at SAMOSHEL successfully obtained permanent housing while in the program. An additional 273 homeless persons obtained permanent housing through coordinated case management and referrals to other agencies. Thus, while the percentage of homeless people served who were able to obtain permanent housing decreased slightly from 19% of the total last year to 18% this year. The actual number of people housed this year rose by 25%.
In FY1998-99, a total of 547 (26%) homeless persons obtained transitional housing. The majority of them continue to participate in City-funded programs, working and saving money to obtain permanent housing.
In FY1998-99, of the 1,942 persons enrolled in City-funded programs, 367 (19%) obtained permanent employment, and 176 (9%) found temporary employment. It should also be noted that many homeless persons who participate in City-funded programs have full- or part-time jobs prior to enrollment. Furthermore, agencies have reported that enrolling non-working participants in structured job-training programs, rather than placing them in employment as on-the-job training, has led to greater job-retention rates for those who receive an offer of permanent employment.
While the goal of each City-funded program is to break the cycle of homelessness through a well-coordinated network of services, there are still gaps in the continuum of care. A review of the 145 recommendations in the 1991 Santa Monica Task Force on Homelessness: A Call to Action, which provided much of the background for the Public Safety Initiative, reveals that the City has been successful in fully or partially implementing 88 (61%) of its recommendations. The remaining 57 (39%) point to the gaps in the system, such as no services available to the unsheltered homeless after 4:00 p.m. any day, or at all on weekends, or generally on holidays. Furthermore, shelters such as SAMOSHEL close during the day for lack of sufficient funding. Since 57% of the homeless at SAMOSHEL need assistance in overcoming disabilities which may present obstacles to entering the work force, and since at least another 25% are trying to maintain sobriety as a first step toward stabilization, it is an undermining gap in the system that such shelters cannot provide daytime rehabilitative activities.
Cost of Services
In FY1998-99, the City budgeted $1,727,416 to fund homeless services. In addition, the City acted as a fiscal agent and lead agency for a $430,780 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which included the expansion of the computerized case management tracking system and the provision of supportive services. In FY1999-00, the City budgeted $1,761,993 to fund homeless services. In addition, the City will administer $430,780 in HUD funds for year three of the system expansion. Every dollar of City funding leverages $2.66 of non-City funding.
Consistent with Municipal Code Section 2.69.010, and in an effort to ensure that each component of the continuum of care exists in balance to address the divergent needs of Santa Monica
=s homeless population, City funds have increasingly supported longer-term employment services and case management linked to housing. In FY1997-98, City funding for employment services and case management linked to housing represented 79% of all City funding for homeless services, compared to 26% in FY1993-94. Attachment II provides an overview of homeless funding since FY1993-94.Computerized Case Management Program
In FY1998-99 the City expanded the use of its automated case management system (ACMS) from eight to ten agencies. The computerized system provides tracking and reporting on client demographics and services delivered. Since its initial implementation in January of 1996, City staff has evaluated system reports and computer user problems, which typically have included inaccuracies in reporting data and the need for extensive user training of a complex system. A working group composed of agency staff and system administrators has met monthly to evaluate more user-friendly computerized systems and has recommended a change from ACMS to a system called ClientTrack. On June 22, 1999, the City Council authorized staff to proceed with that recommendation, and contract negotiations with the ClientTrack vendor (Data Systems International) are presently underway.
Funding to operate the ACMS system through October of 1999 is committed from HUD. A renewal grant for FY 1999-2000 and FY 2000-01 was awarded by HUD to the City of Santa Monica in December of 1998, which included renewal of funding for the computerized case management system.
Agency Comments
As the attached comments by the service providers indicate, the issue of how the City
=s funding cap on homeless services leaves visibly unmet needsCespecially those of the mentally ill, the dual-diagnosed and homeless youthChas been discussed in a variety of community meetings throughout the year. Since the service providers themselves are among the first to feel the gaps in the existing system, their attached comments provide some insight into the areas where more work is needed to help the homeless achieve stability. (See Attachment III, Agency Comments.)Conclusion:
Program outcomes for FY1998-99 indicate a significant increase in the number of homeless people seeking services, yet also show high levels of achievement through a complex but coordinated network of multi-agency staff working with limited resources. City staff will continue to assess service delivery effectiveness, the impact of the City
=s homeless population on other residents, and the future impact of welfare reform. Through a community profile and needs assessment which Human Services Division will be conducting through the Fall of 1999, it is anticipated that a more comprehensive analysis of the needs of the community will be elicited. As a result of that profile and assessment, staff will recommend or institute changes for improvement, if warranted, as a part of the FY2000-01 CD plan.Attachment I
Compliance with the Public Safety Initiative
The Public Safety Initiative requires the City to implement a coordinated plan for homeless services in compliance with the following seven goals. City-funded programs are addressing these goals as described below.
:
Goal #1- Effectively assist homeless individuals in returning to a self-sufficient status.Homeless services effectively assist individuals in achieving self-sufficiency through housing and employment. The chart in Attachment II highlights the amount of funding targeted toward helping program participants obtain housing and employment in FY1998-99.
:
Goal #2- Monitor the progress of individuals receiving services.City staff and service providers monitor the progress of individuals receiving services through the automated case management system (ACMS) and regular site visits.
:
Goal #3- Eliminate duplication of services.Through the use of ACMS and improved service coordination, duplication of services has been substantially reduced and nearly eliminated.
:
Goal #4- Emphasize long-term solutions to homelessness by combined housing, counseling, and job training.The coordinated computerized network of Chrysalis, CLARE, Didi Hirsch, New Directions, Ocean Park Community Center, Salvation Army, St. Joseph Center and Step Up on Second together offer long-term solutions to homelessness by providing services which combine housing, counseling, job training and placement.
:
Goal #5- Provide non-housing services for approximately the same number of homeless individuals as can be temporarily sheltered in the City.Given the nature of homelessness and the crisis of affordable housing in the community, City-funded programs provide non-housing services for a greater number of homeless individuals than can be temporarily sheltered in the City.
:
Goal #6- Prevent an increase, and wherever feasible, reduce expenditures relating to homeless services.The City has sustained an effective level of services without substantially changing its budget. The FY 1999-00 budget includes a 2% COLA over FY 1998-99.
:
Goal #7- Impose reasonable time limits on the provision of services to the same individuals.City-funded organizations impose varying time limits on the provision of services to the same individuals, from six months at SAMOSHEL and SHWASHLOCK, to a range from nine to eighteen months at longer-term transitional living programs.
