Approve agreement with Environmental Alternatives dba EA Family Services in the amount of $410,735 for the period of November 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, for the provisions of transitional housing assistance for transitional aged youth. (No general fund impact) (Sullivan)

Approve agreement with Environmental Alternatives dba EA Family Services in the amount of $410,735 for the period of November 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, for the provisions of transitional housing assistance for transitional aged youth.

HHSA staff requests approval of this agreement (Agreement) with Environmental Alternatives dba EA Family Services (EA Family Services). The Agreement will be funded by transitional housing program (THP), housing navigator program (HNP), and housing navigation and maintenance program (HNMP) funds. The goals of THP are to provide a safe living environment, while helping participants develop the life skills needed to live independently; HNP aims to assist individuals, particularly those experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless, in finding and securing stable housing by providing comprehensive support throughout the process, including identifying available options, completing application, overcoming barriers to housing and navigating related social services to maintain tenancy; and HNMP assists young adults, primarily former foster youth, in securing and maintaining stable housing by providing support services and offering ongoing support to prevent homelessness once they are settled in a residence.

The Agreement is for the provision transitional housing services to young adults from 18 to 24 years of age in the community to secure and maintain housing (with priority given to those in the state’s foster care or probation system). EA Family Services will provide services, via a housing navigator, social workers, and case managers, to eligible youth to improve coordination of services and linkages to community resources within the child welfare system and the Homeless Continuum of Care, as well as provide engagement in outreach and targeting to serve those with the most severe needs. More specifically, EA Family Services will work with eligible youth to identify potential units and work through the rental process to assist youth secure and maintain housing. Additionally, the Agreement provides for trainings to County Child Welfare and Probation staff that may serve the eligible target population. EA Family Services will work to build a system of support to create regional partnerships and maintain a homeless services and housing delivery system, particularly for homeless youth.

Performance Measures included in this Agreement are as follows:
Performance Measures associated with this Agreement are included in Attachment A, Exhibit F (See Attachment B). This is a new agreement for these services, thus performance data has not been collected or analyzed yet. Performance data will be tracked and analyzed as specified in the Agreement.

County Counsel has approved this Agreement as to form.
General Services Department (GSD), Procurement Division

On July 10, 2024, General Services Department (GSD), Procurement Division, issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) on behalf of the Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) for transitional housing assistance for transitional aged youth. The solicitation was open for 29 days, (just over 4 weeks). On July 17, 2024, County offered potential bidders an opportunity to ask questions during a bidder’s conference.

The County received five (5) proposal(s) from this solicitation (see list below). GSD completed the initial screening of all proposals for responsiveness of the RFP. All proposals were deemed responsive per the RFP requirements. All five (5) proposals were moved forward to the Review Committee, comprised of three (3) HHSA County employees.

The Review Committee evaluated the proposals and determined that the proposal submitted by Environmental Alternatives dba EA Family Services met all the required qualifications necessary to successfully provide these services.  The review committee chose to move forward with the highest scoring vendor and on September 9, 2024, the County issued an Intent to Award letter.

Additional information regarding the Competitive Bid Process is provided below, including a summary of the solicitation evaluation criteria.

Evaluation Criteria Included in RFP

Proposals Received