TITLE
title
APPROVE CONTRACT FOR HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING TASKFORCE CONSULTATIVE AND FACILITATION SERVICES
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SPONSOR
sponsor
Victor Isler, Assistant County Manager for Successful People
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BACKGROUND
background
Guilford County, in cooperation with the Cities of Greensboro and High Point and the Guilford County Continuum of Care, established a Homelessness and Housing Task Force in Fall 2022 to address the issues of homelessness and housing in the community. Goals for this county-wide, cross-jurisdictional and cross-sector effort including the development of a broad strategic framework for a comprehensive system of care and service delivery, to promote increased probability of housing stability for those experiencing homelessness, and to proactively implement strategies to address the impact of limited affordable housing. The Task Force recognized the need for subject matter expertise in the areas of services for individuals and families experiencing literal homelessness; housing instability and housing assistance; Federal Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and State guidelines and funding opportunities around homelessness and service provision; and other related topics. It also recognized the need for an independent facilitator to assist the Task Force and County staff with the development of this framework including facilitating meetings and discussions, community engagement activities, and development of a strategic framework document that includes specific action steps, strategies, and performance and outcome monitoring for implementing the framework.
The County issued an RFP for these consultative and facilitation services in November 2022 and re-bid the RFP in January 2023 due to a lack of responses in the initial bid period. A total of five (5) proposals were received in response to the RFP. County staff worked with the Inter-Local Committee on Homelessness, made up of a combination of staff from the County and the Cities of Greensboro and High Point, to evaluate the bids and to recommend Corporation for Support Housing (CSH) as the vendor best able to meet the requirements of the RFP. Following that initial evaluation, County staff entered negotiations with CSH around cost and scope of work before bringing an amended proposal from CSH with minor modifications to scope and cost to the Homelessness and Housing Task Force for their review and affirmation of the recommendation which was given on May 17, 2023.
CSH will bring a consulting team with a broad array of knowledge and significant experience in homelessness and housing policy, financing and grants, facilitation, and strategic development including direct experience doing more localized projects in Guilford County community as well as in other communities nationwide. Specific deliverables of the work include 1) a project work plan and ongoing coordination through the entire process; 2) an analysis and inventory of existing community resources; 3) stakeholder engagement including the participation of persons with lived experience; 4) service delivery recommendations; 5) planning work groups around a cohesive system of care that builds on the needs and assets of the community; and 6) a strategic plan or framework that includes outcomes and indicators to support progress in implementation and continuous quality improvement.
The entire engagement and process is expected to take two (2) years with a planned July 2023 start and June 2025 completion and cost a total of $498,786 including up to $59,279 for travel expenses for in-person participation in and facilitation of meetings and community engagement events.
Funding for this contract will come from the $8 million in ARPA-enabled funds that have already been allocated to address Homelessness and Housing by the Board of Commissioners in 2022. As of June 15, 2023, a total of $3,202,452 has been committed to projects including CoC Partner Funding, Center for Hope and Healing, and the Erwin Montessori School acquisition. This contract will bring the total committed to $3,701,238, with $4,298,762 remaining uncommitted at this time.
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BUDGET IMPACT
budget impact
NO ADDITIONAL COUNTY FUNDS REQUIRED
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REQUESTED ACTION
requested action
Approve the contract, in substantial form, with Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) in the amount of $498,786 for a term of two (2) years starting on July 1, 2023, for consultative and facilitation services for the Homelessness and Housing Task Force.
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