Title:
Title
Approvals for Implementation of Pathways to Health + Home Program
End
FileID
File ID: 2019-01217
Location
Location: Citywide
Recommendation:
Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager or City Manager’s designee to: 1) transfer $1.323 million in General Funds (Fund 1001) from the Homeless Housing Initiative Multi-year Operating Project (MYOP) (I02000200) to the Whole Person Care MYOP (I02000900) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-20; and 2) execute Supplemental Agreement No. 8 to Agreement No. 2017-1528 with Sacramento Covered for extension of IT services through September 30, 2019, with an increased cost of $50,000 for a new total not-to-exceed amount of $1.375 million.
Contact: Emily Halcon, Homeless Services Coordinator, (916) 808-7896; Anira Khlok, Homeless Services Program Analyst, (916) 808-7948, Office of the City Manager
Body
Presenter: None.
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
3- Sacramento Covered IT Contract Supplement
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: In June 2017, the City of Sacramento was accepted into the State Department of Health Care Services’ (DHCS) Whole Person Care (WPC) program. WPC is a statewide Medi-Cal waiver program that allows communities to create a system of supportive services aimed to improve health outcomes and reduce utilization of high-cost services for vulnerable populations. In Sacramento, the WPC program is called the Pathways to Health + Home (Pathways) program and will support broader City strategies to reduce and prevent homelessness, by creating a robust system of outreach, case management and supportive services for those frequent users of health care, homeless services, and emergency services.
Pathways is currently in Program Year 4 which began on January 1, 2019 and ends on December 31, 2019. Program Year 5 will run from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. As of July 31, 2019, Pathways had 769 individuals enrolled and had served a total of 1,429 individuals through the life of the program. A total of 102,578 services, including outreach, navigation, care coordination, and housing support, have been provided to the community. Additionally, Pathways has housed a total of 376 individuals. Pathways is collaborating with over 20 health care, housing, and social service providers to ensure continuity of care for program enrollees.
Extending Information Technology (IT) Services
Staff recommends approval of Supplemental Agreement No. 8 to City Agreement 2017-1528 with Sacramento Covered for IT services to ensure that Pathways enrollee data, care coordination activities, and program outcomes continue to be monitored and tracked through September 30, 2019. The supplement increases the total not-to-exceed amount by $50,000 for a new total not-to-exceed of $1.375 million. Staff will return to Council seeking approval for a new MSA with Sacramento Covered for these services shortly.
Finally, Staff recommends approval of the transfer of $1.323 million (Fund 1001) from Homeless Housing Initiative MYOP (I02000200) to the Whole Person Care MYOP (I02000900) for FY2019-20 Pathways program costs. It is imperative that these funds are transferred into the Pathways program MYOP in order to maintain existing levels of service under the program including but not limited to, outreach and referral, data and IT, housing and hub activities. On June 4, 2019, City Council approved Resolution No. 2019-0248, permitting the City Manager or designee to transfer unobligated General Fund appropriations in existence in the Office of Homeless Services (02001201) on June 30 of each fiscal year to the Homeless Housing Initiative MYOP (I02000200), provided that the Office of Homeless Services has positive net year-end General Fund results. The Homeless Housing Initiative MYOP (I02000200) currently has an available budget of $2,009,774. Staff is now seeking transfer of $1.323 million from the Homeless Housing Initiative MYOP to the Pathways MYOP (I02000900) as this is a portion of local match required under the City’s application to the Department of Health Care Services.
Policy Considerations: The Pathways program aligns with the federal directive and City commitment that funding for addressing homelessness follow a “housing first” approach, which offers permanent housing as quickly as possible for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. In housing first programs, supportive services are offered (but not required as a condition of tenancy) to help people keep their housing and avoid returning to homelessness. This evidence-based approach is consistent with the strategies and funding priorities of the other public agencies working to end homelessness in Sacramento. Partnering with other agencies to leverage resources and improve livability is consistent with the City Council’s past actions and current direction.
Economic Impacts: None.
Environmental Considerations: The actions specified in this report do not constitute a
“project” under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because they are continuing administrative activities and amount to general policy and procedure making [CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(2)].
Sustainability: Not Applicable.
Commission/Committee Action: None.
Rationale for Recommendation: The Pathways program is an opportunity for a community to transform healthcare and housing systems serving vulnerable populations by aligning services and data through performance-based contracts. Transfer of $1.323 million in funds into the Whole Person Care MYOP will enable the City to continue providing much needed services to the community’s vulnerable populations.
Financial Considerations: Staff recommends transferring $1.323 million in General Funds (Fund 1001) from the Homeless Housing Initiative MYOP (I02000200) to the Whole Person Care MYOP (I02000900). There are sufficient funds in I02000900 to fund the supplemental agreement in this report, totaling an amount not-to-exceed $50,000.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): All the Pathways service partners are local businesses with established operations in Sacramento and have a history of serving Sacramento’s medically fragile and homeless populations.