City of Berkeley RFP FY2016-2017

Homeless Programs Supplemental Questionnaire

The City of Berkeley plans to fund a coordinated access system to provide a streamlined way for homeless people to access shelter, transitional and permanent housing and services. All HMIS intakes and assessments will be conducted by HCRC staff. By submitting this application, your Agency is agreeing to accept referrals for City of Berkeley funded services/housing exclusively from the HCRC.

  1. Housing Crisis Resolution Center

The City of Berkeley plans to fund a coordinated access system to provide a streamlined way for homeless people to access shelter, transitional and permanent housing and services. All HMIS intakes and assessments will be conducted by HCRC staff. By submitting this application, your Agency is agreeing to provide a range of services in a single physical location (also accessible by phone) with a goal of either providing or having an MOU with a partner agency to provide outreach and engagement services to homeless people who are not able or willing to access the physical HCRC.

Required HCRC activities are:

  • Conduct real-time HMIS intakes and data entry;
  • Provide triage to direct people who are not imminently losing their housing to community services, people who are imminently at-risk of DV to DV providers, and identify those who are literally homeless or at imminent risk of housing loss for further services;
  • Conduct diversion interviews to determine if a household can safely remain in place or move directly to other housing with a small amount of assistance (mediation, problem solving, one-time small amounts of direct financial assistance); provide diversion assistance if possible;
  • Conduct assessment of households not diverted to determine eligibility for existing programs (transitional housing, rapid re-housing and permanent supportive housing) and level of service need. Make referrals to fill program vacancies in accordance with prioritization and matching policies developed by the City and Berkeley and Alameda County CoC.
  • Operate an automated shelter reservation system for all participating shelter and transitional housing beds;
  • Conduct landlord outreach and recruitment, develop housing listings, create “how to” materials to help clients with housing searches, develop and offer workshops to help clients develop skills to secure housing (e.g. how to complete applications, how to find roommates, etc.)
  • Housing Location and Stabilization Services:
  1. Administration of financial assistance payments for rapid re-housing.
  2. Housing Navigator Services
  3. Light, Medium and High intensity Housing Case Management

Optional HCRC activities are:

  1. Outreach and Engagement to unsheltered chronically homeless people
  2. Some activities to be conducted by the HCRC are yet to be identified pending the result of the Countywide system redesign and the constellation of homeless services proposed under this RFP. Applicants submitting proposals for the HCRC agree to work with the City of Berkeley and Alameda County to integrate the HCRC with a future County system.
  1. HCRC Intake and Assessment Questions:
  2. Describe the location where you plan to provide services and the proposed hours of operation. What is the anticipated drop-in capacity on a daily basis? Is there sufficient space for a waiting area? Are sufficient private meeting spaces available for this program to conduct intake and assessments? Is there space for a Housing Resource area where clients can access information to assist with housing search and workshops can be conducted?
  1. Describe how you envision the HCRC will provide triage and conduct assessments and the level of staffing required. Based on your proposed staffing how many intakes and/or assessments do you expect to conduct eachday?
  1. Describe your experience working with households who are precariously housed to prevent them from becoming homeless.
  1. Describe your current experience handling walk-in clients and scheduling appointments.
  1. Describe your experience working with a chronically homeless population in a drop-in setting.
  1. Describe how your agency will conduct real-time HMIS intakes and assessments and what, if any, technological improvements will be needed. What technology infrastructure exists to support the program? Includeinternet connectivity and phone line capacity. What improvements will be needed if any to ensure real-time data entry? What are the expected costs of these improvements and how do you propose to fund them?
  1. Describe your agency’s experience is conducting assessments and matching clients to the appropriate level of service.
  1. Describe your strategy for minimizing or managing the “frequent users” who will likely make repeated requests for help after they have been assessed, told what they are eligible for (and that it is not yet available) and offered housing search resources. What will you say to them/offer them and how will you ensure this does not interfere with conducting new intakes/assessments and other needed client work?
  1. Describe your best estimate of the timeline necessary for operationalizing all HCRC components, from startup to full operation.
  1. HCRC Shelter Reservation/Agency to Agency Referrals Questions:

The HCRC will coordinate two shelter reservation periods (approximately at noon and 7 p.m.) Monday through Friday and at least one reservation period on Saturday and Sunday. The HCRC will also make referrals to other Berkeley funded agencies for services such as: case management, alcohol and drug treatment, benefits advocacy, domestic violence, legal assistance, and other services.

  1. Describe your experience in operating an automated reservation system for shelter and TH placements or plans for doing so. Describe in particular the placement process you would use and any technology you would employ?
  1. Describe your agency’s current practice for making referrals to other providers. How do you envision the referral process taking place at the future HCRC?
  1. HCRC Case Management Services (with people who are housed and unhoused)
  1. Describe your agency’s experience in providing case management using critical time intervention and progressive engagement models to people who are unsheltered or living in shelter and/or after they are housed.
  1. Describe your agency’s current capacity to leverage MediCal funding for services. How would you continue to leverage MediCal for services provided at the HCRC?How much in MediCalbiling do you expect to leverage that could be utilized to support HCRC operations?
  1. HCRC Housing Search and Placement
  1. Describe your agency’s experience in conducting outreach to and cultivation of landlords to develop an inventory of available or potentially available housing units.
  1. Describe your agency’s experience administering housing assistance payments, especially federal funds.
  1. Describe your agency’s experience in providing housing locator/navigation services.
  1. Describe what kinds of Housing Resources you envision providing at the HCRC. What kinds of workshops would you offer? What materials could you develop? How would you staff the HCRC so that every homeless person has some level of access to help with securing housing, even if they do not quality for case management or one-on-one help from a Housing Navigator?
  1. General Questions:
  1. If this proposal is funded, does your agency agree to participate in future CoC meetings regarding all aspects of Coordinated Assessment in Alameda County, share performance data with the City of Berkeley and Everyone Home, participate in any technical assistance and evaluation efforts by the City of Berkeley or Everyone Home?
  2. Some activities to be conducted by the HCRC are yet to be identified pending the result of the Countywide system redesign and the constellation of homeless services proposed under this RFP. Does your agency agree to work with the City of Berkeley and Alameda County to integrate the HCRC with a future County system?
  1. Homeless Targeted Outreach/Engagement:

(*Programs funded under this category will be expected to work collaboratively with City of Berkeley staff and staff of the HCRC to identify clients, and develop and implement strategies to connect chronically homeless people with housing.

  1. Describe your agency’s experience in providing targeted outreach and engagement services to people who are chronically homeless.
  1. Describe the proposed area where outreach will take place and the hours of operation.
  1. Explain your proposed strategies for engaging clients.
  1. Explain your agency’s current capacity to accomplish field intakes for clients (including use of tablet or other technology to enter client information directly into HMIS).
  1. Explain the agency’s capacity to bill MediCal for this service.
  1. Emergency Shelter

(*The City of Berkeley will provide funding ONLY for the operating costs of providing shelter. Case Management servicesat a shelter are not eligible for City of Berkeley funds. Please ensure your budget reflects this requirement.Shelter beds funded through this application must accept only those people who have reserved beds through the HCRC. Providers should expect that many of these will be people who have been assessed as having the most acute needs.)

Indicate your shelter’s current capacity in the table below:

Total / Single Men / Single Women / Families
Bed Capacity
  1. Indicate the number of beds reserved for other funders, and the number of beds available to the City of Berkeley for chronically homeless people as part of this application:

# Beds / Funder / Priority Population / Restrictions
City of Berkeley / Chronically Homeless / Referred through HCRC
  1. The City of Berkeley will no longer pay for case management in shelter. Describe the impact that this condition will have on the provision of services at your shelter, and your agency’s plan to reconfigure staffing:
  1. If this proposal is funded, does your agency agree to accept clients who have reserved bedsexclusively from the HCRC (for beds designated for City of Berkeley only)? Y / N
  1. Transitional Housing
  2. Indicate current and proposed bed capacity in the table below:

Total / Single Men / Single Women / Families
Current Bed Capacity
Proposed Bed Capacity
  1. Indicate the number of beds that will be reserved for other funders, and the number of beds available to the City of Berkeley for chronically homeless people as part of this application:

# Beds / Funder / Priority Population / Restrictions
City of Berkeley / Chronically Homeless / Referred through HCRC
  1. Explain the other funding sources used for this project and any requirements that attach to that funding.
  1. Describe your approach to providing housing-focused services, and particularly what strategies you use to support participants to secure permanent housing as rapidly as possible.
  1. Explain the agency’s current or future capacity to leverage MediCal funding for this service.
  1. If this proposal is funded, does your agency agree to accept referrals exclusively from the HCRC? Y / N
  1. Case Management Tied to Permanent Housing

(HCRC applicant would also apply here if proposing to conduct case management tied to permanent housing.)

  1. Indicate your agency’s current capacity to provide case management services to clients in permanent housing, and, if you propose an increase in this capacity, your future capacity in the table below:

# of literally Homeless Clients placed by your agency into Permanent Housing and receiving ongoing case management (this includes Shelter Plus Care) / # of Case Management FTEs / Total Cost of Case Management FTEs
Current
Future
  1. Describe your approach to providing case management, and particularly what strategies you use to support tenant stability and prevent loss of housing.
  1. Explain the agency’s current or future capacity to leverage MediCal funding for this service.
  1. If this proposal is funded, does your agency agree to accept referrals exclusively from the HCRC? Y / N
  1. If this proposal is funded, does your agency agree to participate in the Shelter Plus Care program Operations Board? Y / N
  1. Describe your agency’s experience in providing intensive case management services to people who are chronically homeless and medically fragile.
  1. Describe your agency’s implementation of “housing first” and “harm reduction” strategies in working with individuals who are active substance users and/or have a serious mental illness.
  1. Basic Needs Services

(*The City of Berkeley will fund meals for homeless people.)

  1. Explain existing or proposed outreach to the community in the neighborhood where meals are being provided to maintain positive relationships.
  1. Describe a typical meal. Explain the nutritional value of the meal provided and any current or planned efforts to improve the nutritional value.
  1. What was the cost per meal provided in FY2014?
  1. Describe the kind of engagement strategies you will employ to refer clients to other services needed, including making referrals to the HCRC for housing:
  1. Other Services: (choose AOD Treatment, Benefits Advocacy, Domestic Violence, or Other)
  2. Describe your agency’s experience working with clients who are chronically homeless.
  1. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SERVICES ONLY: Describe the servicesyour agency currently provides to homeless people experiencing domestic violence
  1. Describe how the services you are proposing help people secure and maintain housing.
  1. If this proposal is funded, does your agency agree to exclusively accept referrals from the HCRC for City-funded services? Y / N

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