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COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
Inter-Departmental Correspondence
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County Manager’s Office
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DATE:
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October 9, 2008
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BOARD MEETING DATE:
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October 21, 2008
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SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:
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None
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VOTE REQUIRED:
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Majority
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TO:
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Honorable Board of Supervisors
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FROM:
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John L. Maltbie, County Manager
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SUBJECT:
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Appropriation Transfer Request – Samaritan House bridge funding for Safe Harbor
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RECOMMENDATION:
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Approve an Appropriation Transfer Request transferring $70,000 from General Fund Non-Departmental Reserves to The Human Services Agency (HSA) to maintain the current level of service for the Samaritan House contract operations at Safe Harbor through January 2009.
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VISION ALIGNMENT:
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Commitment: Offer a full range of housing choices
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Goal 9: Housing exists for people at all income levels and for all generations of families.
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This action contributes to the commitment and goal by providing emergency housing and social services for homeless individuals.
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Performance Measure(s):
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Measure
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FY 2007-08
Actual
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FY 2008-09
Target
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Number of participants
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receiving emergency
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shelter and/or transitional housing (unduplicated) based on funding
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400
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400
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Percent of eligible clients
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entering transitional
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housing and successfully connected to eligible benefits within six months
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N / A
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60%
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BACKGROUND:
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During the September 2008 budget hearings, the Board requested that HSA work directly with Samaritan House in determining the appropriate bridge funding required to maintain the current level of service at Safe Harbor at through January 2009.
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HSA and Samaritan House will prepare a safety net assessment for the mid-year budget review that will include a discussion of ongoing, sustainable solutions that may include programmatic as well as funding alternatives.
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DISCUSSION:
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Samaritan House operates the Safe Harbor Shelter. Safe Harbor provides emergency shelter and transitional housing for homeless men and women, as well as case management services. Samaritan House has been engaged in providing shelter services in San Mateo County for a number of years and has partnered with HSA to develop a year-round, service-enriched program at Safe Harbor.
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In FY 2007-08, Samaritan House indicated to HSA a need for one-time bridge funding in the amount of $100,000 to cover operating expenses; HSA approved that request, increasing the total contract to $545,394, which is nearly half of Samaritan House’s annual operating budget.
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In FY 2008-09, Samaritan House requested a second bridge funding amount of $138,000. Following discussion with Samaritan House, and in the context of the structural budget deficit facing San Mateo County, HSA decided to restore the contract to the FY 2007-08 level before bridge funding, but including a 3% Cost of Business Increase (COBI), which resulted in a total FY 2008-09 Samaritan House contract amount of $448,065.
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These funds will be used to maintain the current level of services at the Safe Harbor Shelter while HSA and Safe Harbor review the services and their cost benefit to the consumer, as well as possible alternatives to better align with client outcomes.
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FISCAL IMPACT:
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This ATR appropriates General Fund Reserves on a one-time basis to provide bridge funding covering the period from July through January 2009. The ongoing costs will be presented to the Board at mid-year review.
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