Sponsor: Housing Stability
Title
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Grant Award from the United States Department of Justice for the Byrne Discretionary Grants Program
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Recommendation
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1. Ratify the submittal of the grant application to the United States Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), Washington, D.C., 20531, for the Byrne Discretionary Grants Program in the amount of $2,000,000.
2. Accept a grant award and approve a grant agreement with the United States Department of Justice, for the Byrne Discretionary Grants Program in the amount of $2,000,000 for the period of upon execution of the contract through May 31, 2025.
3. Authorize the Chair and Chief Clerk to execute the grant agreement.
4. Approve a Joint Powers Agreement with the city of Saint Paul as a subrecipient of this grant award.
5. Authorize the Chair and Chief Clerk to execute the Joint Powers Agreement.
6. Authorize the County Manager to enter into agreements and execute amendments to agreements in accordance with the county’s procurement policies and procedures, provided the amounts are within the limits of the grant funding.
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Background and Rationale
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Members of the Heading Home Ramsey Continuum of Care <https://headinghomeramsey.org/> (HHR/CoC), for which the county serves as the lead agency, developed a proposal entitled Familiar Faces to serve adults in Ramsey County who are homeless and have frequent interactions with outreach teams and first responders including law enforcement, fire, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and hospital emergency departments. Without assertive and persistent outreach and engagement, these individuals are likely to continue to cycle through these costly and often disjointed public crisis response services.
To address the issue, HHR has determined that the creation of a stable place for individuals to shelter, that also has navigable access to assistance to help address immediate and long-term needs, with a goal of individuals getting out of crisis, better decision-making, compliance with outstanding legal issues, and access to medical services and housing with supports is imperative.
The Familiar Faces program will focus on a limited group of individuals experiencing sheltered or unsheltered homelessness - the majority of whom have diagnosed, self-identified, or undiagnosed mental health and/or substance use disorders, and who have had more than 10 contacts with law enforcement and other crisis services in the previous 12 months. These individuals will be identified by Metro Transit Police and its Homeless Action Team, the St. Paul Police Department (SPPD), St. Paul Fire Department (SPFD) EMS personnel, Regions Hospital, emergency shelters and other project partners including homeless outreach teams.
Ramsey County submitted a request for congressionally directed spending, also known as a federal earmark, for this project in the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act. Familiar Faces was included in the Act and was invited to apply for Byrne Discretionary Community Project Funding through the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice. That application was submitted on March 17, 2023, and approval was received on August 10, 2023.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☒ Well-being ☐ Prosperity ☐ Opportunity ☐ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
This program will serve a group of people with significant racial disparities compared to the County as a whole. Ramsey County’s 2023 Point-In-Time Count on January 25, 2023, found 368 unsheltered households, of which 353 were Adult Only households. 38.3% of these unsheltered households identified as Black or African American compared to just 12.9% of the county population; 8.9% identified as American Indian or Indigenous compared to only 0.8% of the county population; 3.5% identified as White compared to 59.6% of the county population.
Community Participation Level and Impact
Members of the Heading Home Ramsey (HHR) Continuum of Care developed the program proposal for consideration of a federal earmark and took part in developing a program model. HHR is a community-wide partnership of social service providers, housing providers, philanthropic partners, business, community, government, and citizens working together to end homelessness in Ramsey County. It is led by a 24-member Governing Board and a 25-member Steering Committee, and all meetings are open to the public.
☒ Inform ☒ Consult ☒ Involve ☒ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
This grant will be administered by Ramsey County Housing Stability Department (HSD). The total grant award of $2,000,000 includes $200,000 in administrative support funds, which will be used within HSD and are included in the 2024-2025 operating budget. The remaining $1,800,000 will be sub-awarded to the city of Saint Paul for service costs incurred over the term of the grant.
Last Previous Action
None.
Attachments
1. Department of Justice Award Package
2. Joint Powers Agreement - City of Saint Paul and Ramsey County for Byrne Grant Administration