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California State Auditor Logo COMMITMENT • INTEGRITY • LEADERSHIP

Homelessness in California
State Government and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Need to Strengthen Their Efforts to Address Homelessness

Report Number: 2017-112

Response to the Survey From —
Vallejo, Solano County CoC

 

HUD provides two lists of California Continuum of Care (CoC) key contacts: one for Northern California and one for Southern California.
You can find these lists at https://www.hud.gov/states/california/homeless/continuumcare.
  1. Enter the CoC number for which you are completing the survey.

    CA-518
  2. Enter the CoC name for which you are completing the survey.

    Vallejo, Solano County CoC


  3. Enter the organization within the CoC that you represent.

    Community Action Partnership of Solano, JPA (Collaborative Applicant)

  4. What type of organization do you represent?.







  5. How many staff (full-time equivalents) does your organization employ?

    0

  6. Does your organization provide homeless services directly for clients?


    CAP Solano JPA is the eligible entity for Solano County, responsible for overseeing the state's CSBG funding distribution. Additionally, CAP Solano receives ESG funding and governmental funding (and was recently conditionally awarded a $4.9 million grant through Partnership Health Plan of CA. CAP Solano is responsible for the administration and distribution of these funds directly to the service providers in Solano County. CAP Solano recently completed the development of "Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Forward Together, 5-Year Plan to Respond to Homelessness in Solano County. the goal is to improve system navigation, increase affordable housing stock, and create support systems to assist residents in maintaining housing. The JPA is comprised of all Solano County cities, as well as the County.

  7. Are you a direct recipient on your CoC's HUD application?
     
  8. Approximately what percentage of the funding your organization administers is from HUD for the CoC program?

    95

  9. If not your organization, is there another organization in your CoC that administers the majority of homeless services funding?




  10. Does your CoC conduct an unsheltered Point-in-Time (PIT) count annually? (Including those years not required by HUD)
     
  11. In which year did your CoC begin conducting an annual unsheltered PIT count?

  12. Why did your CoC decide to conduct an annual unsheltered PIT count?

  13. What funding sources do you use to conduct the annual unsheltered PIT count? (Check all that apply.)





  14. How did your CoC facilitate the annual unsheltered PIT count?
    (For example, did you increase the number of volunteers, or find additional funding?)

  15. Did your organization have any challenges in implementing an annual unsheltered PIT count?



  16. How has conducting an annual unsheltered PIT count affected your CoC's operations and/or outcomes? If you have any data or analyses, please share specific metrics.

  17. Why does your CoC not conduct an annual unsheltered PIT count? (Check * all that apply)







     

  18. Please elaborate on the reasons why your CoC does not conduct an annual unsheltered PIT count.

    we conduct an indepth comprehensive PIT count bi-annually, which costs approximately $50-70,000. This is a significant cost to the JPA, which tends to bear the costs. Additionally, area elected officials tend to use the numbers as a political platform, which causes dissension between cities and the County. (this takes away from the true intent of the count.


  19. What would cause your CoC to conduct an unsheltered PIT count in the years not required by HUD?

    additional funds to cover the cost. If we had the funds, we would come up a capacity plan to coordinate. We feel the PIT count is very important.



  20. What sources does your organization use to fund the HUD-required PIT count of unsheltered homeless? (Check all that apply)






     

  21. How much did your CoC's 2017 PIT count cost?

    2017 cost $65,000
  22. How many people did your CoC require to conduct its 2017 PIT count? (Staff, volunteers, and others)

    approximately 100 community volunteers and 30 homeless individuals

  23. How many of those identified in Question 22 were volunteers?

    all but approximately 5

  24. Does your CoC recruit volunteers for its unsheltered PIT count from organizations outside the homeless services community?



    Churches, homeless service providers, advocates, elected officials, youth organizations, homeless shelters, county health & social services, city staff, the county office of education, Travis Air Force Base and the contractor for CAP Solano JPA

  25. Please share your perspective on the reasons your CoC's unsheltered homeless population in 2017 did or did not change from that in its previous unsheltered PIT count.

    the count increased - we believe due to the improved methodology, planning, and more thorough outreach for the count than what was in place in 2015

  26. Has your CoC reallocated funding in the past?



    One of the awarded agencies in the collaborative application was no longer eligible to receive funds.

  27. How often does your CoC reevaluate final priority rankings for the HUD CoC Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), based on HUD priorities?




  28. How often does your CoC perform the following gap analyses?

    Housing gap analysis—every other year

    Funding gap analysis—every other year

    Service gap analysis—every other year

    Other (please specify)—coordination of services - ongoing

  29. In what year did your CoC perform each of the following for the first time, or leave the row blank if it is not applicable.

    Housing gap analysis
    unknown

    Funding gap analysis
    unknown

    Service gap analysis
    unknown

    Other (as you identified in question 27)

  30. Does your CoC employ specific strategies for identifying alternative funding for programs that are reallocated or do not receive HUD funding?




  31. Does your CoC have a strategic plan that integrates other publicly-funded programs that provide services, housing, and income supports to poor persons whether they are homeless or not (mainstream benefits and services)?



  32. Please provide a web address to your CoC's most recent strategic plan or email it as an attachment to CoCSurvey@auditor.ca.gov.

  33. When did your CoC complete its first strategic plan?

  34. How often does your CoC update its strategic plan?

  35. How has your strategic plan benefited your CoC?


  36. Why has your CoC not developed a strategic plan?

    CAP Solano JPA developed the plan, so it is not a CoC plan. CAP Solano JPA developed the 5-Year strategic plan (mentioned earlier) on behalf of the entire county.

  37. What grant-seeking or fundraising activities does your CoC engage in?

    none

  38. Are there any strategies or unique actions your agency takes that have strengthened your CoC?

    We created comprehensive bylaws that encourage goals and objectives, community collaboration, and expansion of the executive board to include cities and the county. We subcontract through the JPA with HomeBase, a professional agency experienced in addressing homelessness and grant writing. Through the JPA, we provide grant workshops to assist small nonprofit service providers in strengthening their grant applications, thus increasing their funding

  39. Please provide any information about these strategies or actions.
    Feel free to provide web addresses to any reports or email them as attachments to CoCSurvey@auditor.ca.gov.


    www.housingfirstsolano.org; www.capsolanojpa.org; http://homebaseccc.org/hb/index.php/blog/solano-county-strategic-planning

  40. If you have any additional perspective or concerns, please provide this information in the space below.
    For example, if you would like to share additional information regarding homelessness, services, or funding.


    CAP Solano JPA is very pleased with the creation of the Regional Plan to respond to homelessness. This will include participation (which has already begun) with our CoC, outside stakeholders, health care providers, policy makers, service providers, businesses and education experts in reducing homelessness and poverty. We are in year 1 of implementation. Please see the website: http://homebaseccc.org/hb/index.php/blog/solano-county-strategic-planning

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