REPORT TO SHASTA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

BOARD MEETING DATE:  February  28, 2017
CATEGORY:  Regular - Health and Human Services-7.

SUBJECT:

SiLK Consulting Group as the new Redding/Shasta Homeless Continuum of Care Coordinator

Supervisorial District No. :  All

DEPARTMENT CONTACT:  Richard Kuhns, Psy.D Director (530) 225-5160

STAFF REPORT APPROVED BY:  Richard Kuhns, Psy.D Director fo Housing/Community Action Programs

RECOMMENDATION

Approve the recommendation of the Redding/Shasta Homeless Continuum of Care Executive Board in moving forward with SiLK Consulting Group as the new Continuum of Care Coordinator.

SUMMARY

The Redding/Shasta Continuum of Care is a planning network of government agencies, non-profits, faith-based organizations, and individuals with an overseeing Executive Board that develops and implements a comprehensive plan for providing services to decrease homelessness. It was the unanimous decision of the Redding/Shasta Homeless Continuum of Care (CoC) Executive Board to recommend the selection of SiLK Consulting Group of Orland, California, to be the CoC Coordinator. The leader of SiLK, Suzi Kochems, has more than 18 years’ experience working with public and private agencies in the areas of grant writing, program development, contracts, and strategic planning. She served for 12 years as Dos Rios CoC administrative coordinator and nearly two years as the Nevada/Placer/Roseville/Rocklin CoC Coordinator. She also has extensive experience in CoC processes such as federal funding applications, Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS), website development, coordinated entry, and policies dictated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

DISCUSSION

At its meeting on September 6, 2016, the City Council conceptually approved a “path forward” for the Redding/Shasta Homeless Continuum of Care and directed staff to work with its counterparts at the County of Shasta on implementation. The path forward included: 1) designating the County of Shasta as the lead agency for the CoC through at least March 2017; 2) contracting with Northern Valley Catholic Social Service (NVCSS) to perform key responsibilities of the CoC during the current fiscal year; and 3) contracting with an individual or a non-profit organization to serve as the full-time CoC Executive Director.

Since then, Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency has contracted with NVCSS, which successfully oversaw preparation and submission of the annual CoC funding application to HUD. It also oversaw the homeless Point-in-Time Count (PIT) in January 2017. City and County staff drafted a Request for Proposals for the position of Redding/Shasta Homeless CoC Coordinator and, in November 2016, received three proposals. After thorough review by the CoC Executive Board, two finalists were chosen and interviewed by the CoC Executive Board. The CoC Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating activities of the CoC, which encompasses the County of Shasta, City of Redding, and six other northern California counties: Del Norte, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Sierra, and Siskiyou. One such activity is collaborating with the CoC Council, which includes more than 30 organizations that provide services to the homeless. The group meets monthly. As the CoC Coordinator, SiLK will be responsible for coordinating and seeking out grant funding, including the annual collaborative funding application, state Emergency Solutions Grants, and others. She also will coordinate the PIT as necessary and participate in research and selection of an HMIS system for CoC stakeholders.

ALTERNATIVES

The Board may decline to approve the CoC Executive Board’s recommendation and advise the Executive Board to reopen the application process.

OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT

This recommendation has been reviewed and approved by the City of Redding City Council. The County Administrative Office has reviewed the recommendation.

FINANCING

If approved by the Board of Supervisors, SiLK and the City of Redding will execute a Professional Services Agreement through December 31, 2017 in the amount of $48,575. The City of Redding will use its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) adinistrative funding along with funding from the McConnell Foundation to exercise the agreement. The agreement may be extended for an additional one-year period at the discretion of the CoC Executive Board and the funding agencies.

There is no additional General Fund impact with approval of this recommendation.