Sponsor: Housing Stability
Title
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Minnesota Department of Revenue Local Homeless Prevention Aid
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Recommendation
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1. Accept the Minnesota Department of Revenue Local Homeless Prevention Aid five-year certified funding allocation (July 2023- December 31, 2028), with the first two installments from the totaling $2,477,234 in 2023.
2. Authorize the County Manager to create a Local Homeless Prevention Aid Project within the Housing Stability department budget.
3. Approve an increase in the personnel complement of the Housing Stability department by 2.0 Full Time Equivalent.
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Background and Rationale
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Local Homeless Prevention Aid (LPHA) was created by the 2021 Legislature to help local governments ensure no child is homeless within a jurisdiction by keeping families from losing housing and helping those experiencing homelessness find housing. Counties may use the aid to fund new or existing family and/or youth homeless prevention and assistance programs.
LHPA funds target unaccompanied youth in need of an alternative residential setting AND
families with children who are eligible for a pre-kindergarten through grade 12 academic program that are:
• Living in overcrowded conditions in their current housing.
• Paying more than 50% of their income for rent.
• Lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
Funding may be used to connect families with social services, provide rental assistance (which may exceed 24 months), and provide support and case management to improve housing stability (including housing navigation and outreach to families). In accordance with 2022 Minnesota Statute, section 477A.30 (<https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/477A.30>), funding for this program flows from the Minnesota Department of Revenue to county human service agencies in two installments each year. The first round of funding (totaling $10 million across all 87 counties in Minnesota) will be distributed on July 20, 2023, and the second half on December 26, 2023.
Allocations to counties are based on a formula specified in statute using data provided by the Minnesota Department of Education. The geographic distribution of the number of students identified by schools who meet the McKinney-Vento definition of homelessness is a significant factor in that formula. Funding appropriated for this purpose totals $20 million per year and is scheduled to sunset after payments in 2028 have been completed.
Through this funding, the Housing Stability department will be adding 2.0 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Housing Specialist positions. One position will be dedicated to working in partnership with schools assisting families with navigating housing programs and benefits. The other position will be devoted to assisting homeless youth.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☒ Well-being ☐ Prosperity ☒ Opportunity ☐ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
During April 2021 to March 2022, data from homeless shelters and street outreach indicate that 45% of the persons were Black or African American, 31% white, 5% American Indian, 9% Latinx, and 5% Asian (with 4% unknown and 9% multiple races). Children (17 and under) and their parents represent 30% of the homeless population in Ramsey County, a rate that has steadily increased since 2012. Youth of color are two times as likely to have experienced homelessness or high mobility than their white counterparts. LHPA funds help to ensure no child is homeless within local jurisdiction by keeping families from losing housing and helping those experiencing homelessness find housing.
Community Participation Level and Impact
The SHiP Collaborative (Stable Housing is the Priority) is comprised of a group of experts, community organizers, and frontline workers with lived experience that have organized counties in Minnesota to develop a Blueprint for Regionalization to prevent and end homelessness. Through their work over the last two years, the group has organized metro area counties in partnership with the Housing Justice Collective to develop a prevention-focused systems model that assists households through challenges to prevent homelessness and stabilize individuals altogether. SHiP has expanded its efforts and will soon be working in collaboration with other regions in Minnesota.
☒ Inform ☒ Consult ☒ Involve ☒ Collaborate ☒ Empower
Fiscal Impact
Every year, LHPA will be distributed in two tranches in accordance with Minnesota Statutes, section 477A.015. In 2023, Ramsey County will receive a total of $2,477,234 in two payments on July 20, 2023, and December 26, 2023. These funds will be accounted for in a new Local Homeless Prevention Aid Project. Housing Stability anticipates receiving approximately $2.5 millon annually through the life of this funding.
The department will use $400,000 annually to support two FTEs that will focus on internal navigation services. The remaining allocation will be distributed via competitive solicitation annually. The funding ends in 2028, and the department will address any FTE impacts at that time. The department will report back to the Ramsey County Board annually on impact, progress, and outcomes.
LHPA distributions represent new revenue not accounted for in the 2023 Housing Stability budget.
Last Previous Action
None.
Attachments
1. 2023 Local Homeless Prevention Aid Amounts