Approve agreement with Yolo County Children’s Alliance in the amount of $35,836 through February 29, 2028 for the provision of rapid rehousing services through the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 5. (No general fund impact) (Morales)

Approve agreement with Yolo County Children’s Alliance in the amount of $35,836 from the date the contract is signed through February 29, 2028 for the provision of rapid rehousing services through the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Round 5.

With the passing of Assembly Bill 101 in 2019, the State enacted the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP) to provide funding to cities, counties, and local continuums of care to assist persons experiencing or at risk of homelessness throughout California. There have been several rounds of HHAP grant funding since then.

On or about September 29, 2023, the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC) announced the availability of HHAP Round 5 grant funding (“HHAP Round 5 Funding”). On or about March 27, 2024, the County, via the Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA), submitted an application for HHAP Round 5 funding.

On or about October 16, 2024, the County received notice that it was awarded an initial disbursement of HHAP Round 5 funding. HHAP Round 5 funding is a $1 billion block grant program supported through legislation enacted by AB 140 (Chapter 111, Statutes of 2021), which amended the California Health and Safety Code (see §50216 et seq.).

On or about April 3, 2025, the County entered into Agreement No. 25-28 (also known as State Agreement No. 24-HHAP-10026) to accept a disbursement of HHAP Round 5 Funding. The exact amount of funds allocated to Yolo County is determined by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Round 5 is designed to build on regional coordination developed through previous rounds of HCFC Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) and HHAP funding. Round 5 funds shall be used to continue to build a unified regional response to reduce and end homelessness informed by a best-practices framework focused on moving homeless individuals and families into permanent housing and supporting the efforts of those individuals and families to maintain their permanent housing.

Now, HHSA requests approval of this Agreement with Yolo County Children’s Alliance utilizing HHAP Round 5 funding to provide immediate financial assistance to Yolo County residents, individuals and families experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of homelessness, helping them secure permanent housing and stabilization. Services include:

1. Rental assistance and housing subsidies
2. Security deposit and move-in cost support
3. Application fee and utility payment assistance
4. Housing navigation, landlord mediation, and lease-up support
5. Service Coordination
6. Culturally responsive case management
7. Employment and health navigation services
8. Linkage to legal aid, benefits enrollment, and behavioral health services

If the agreement for these services is not approved, families and individuals will be at increased risk of becoming homeless and continuing to be unhoused.

County Counsel has approved this Agreement as to form.

The County of Yolo conducted a competitive process for the Local Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) Round 5 funding. The process was approved by the County and the Executive Commission during the week of March 24, 2025, with the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) released to HPAC members and affiliates on March 25, 2025.

Interested applicants were required to submit a mandatory Notice of Intent to Apply by April 1, 2025. A Q&A period was open from April 1 through April 13, 2025. Proposals were due to the County for pre-screening by 5:00 PM on April 14, 2025.

Between April 14 and April 18, County staff reviewed the proposals to determine if applicants met the threshold requirements and scored them based on minimum qualifications. On April 21, 2025, the top five proposals were notified of their advancement to the next round. These selected applicants were required to submit a PowerPoint presentation by April 24, 2025 for final review.

On May 1, 2025, the top five applicants presented their proposals to the Executive Commission to Address Homelessness. On this day, the Commission—consisting of one elected official from each of the cities of Woodland, West Sacramento, Davis, and Winters; one elected County Supervisor; and one elected representative from the Homeless Continuum of Care—voted unanimously to award funding to the Yolo County Children’s Alliance for Rapid Rehousing.

Performance Measures  
Performance Measures associated with this Agreement are included in Attachment A, Exhibit F. To date, services have not been performed and performance data has yet to be collected or analyzed. Performance data will be tracked and analyzed as specified in the Agreement.