SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT

Transcription

1 Agenda Item No: 3.c Meeting Date: June 20, 2016 SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Department: City Manager s Office Prepared by: Andrew Hening, Director of Homeless Planning and Outreach City Manager Approval: TOPIC: DOWNTOWN STREETS TEAM SUBJECT: RESOLUTION OF THE SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE DOWNTOWN STREETS TEAM FOR SERVICES IN FISCAL YEAR , IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $100,000 RECOMMENDATION: Adopt Resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into an agreement with the Downtown Streets Team to provide cleaning services on Downtown streets and sidewalks and in the City owned garages and provide employment training for Team members. BACKGROUND: In October 2012 staff presented recommendations regarding homelessness and the quality of life in Downtown San Rafael. The staff recommendations were developed from the work of the City Council subcommittee and a community stakeholders group. The City Homeless Action Plan provides a multipronged approach, with short-term and long-term strategies to address mental health, crime, fire danger, and affordable housing issues; to provide public education; and to assist those without housing to reintegrate into the community. The main points of the City s Plan are: Mental Health - Hiring of a mental health professional in the San Rafael Police Department, increased coordination among the service providers. (COMPLETED) Crime - Increasing Downtown foot patrol to three officers, creation of the Special Operations Unit consisting of a Sergeant position that oversees the work of the SRPD mental health professional, the Downtown foot patrol and the SRPD Ranger positions. (COMPLETED) Fire Danger - Increase the hours for the SRPD Ranger position, institute a zero tolerance policy for camping outside of the legally approved campsites in China Camp. (COMPLETED) Affordable Housing - Continuation of existing City programs. Adoption of the housing element which provides updated information on the community s housing needs and FOR CITY CLERK ONLY File No.: Council Meeting: Disposition:

2 SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 2 lists the sites available for housing. (COMPLETED) Public Education - Regular community meetings on the City s Homeless Action Plan and posting the City s Plan and plan progress reports on the City s website. (ONGOING) ANALYSIS: In addition to the accomplishments above, one of the City s strategies for helping homeless people reintegrate into the community is through the Downtown Streets Team (DST). The DST provides employment readiness experience through cleaning up Downtown. The DST program creates volunteer opportunities for homeless persons, in exchange for vouchers for food and/or housing. The model strives to rebuild lives and restore the dignity of the participants. DST has found that serving the community through work teams prepares members for permanent employment and housing. In San Rafael, approximately 25 Team Members volunteer on small teams throughout Downtown. These volunteers are managed by a staff person. Team Members volunteer for up to 20 hours per week in exchange for food and/or housing vouchers. The remaining 20 hours of the work week are reserved for job search activities, including a job search skills classes, soft skills coaching, and management training. The program is based on a ladder of success with participants graduating into leadership positions within the team. DST staff works with each team member to create customized workplans to remove barriers to housing, employment, and self-sustainability. DST has provided an excellent complement to existing services for the street population without duplicating efforts. Marin County has a variety of employment related services for lower income residents including Homeward Bound s New Beginnings Center, the Marin Employment Connection, and the Conservation Corps. However, some members of the street community are not ready to access those programs. DST provides a highly supportive program that helps participants become ready to access existing employment opportunities and programs while giving back to the community. With respect to performance, DST has been a huge success. As shown in the attached report (Attachment A), DST has provided an overview of their major accomplishments in San Rafael. DST s reporting template to the City for FY16-17 is also attached (Attachment B). While the City does not typically fund social services (such as those provided through the County of Marin), from 2013 until today, DST has been a much needed response to the increased negative pressures from homelessness in Downtown. Not only does DST provide valuable community service that keeps Downtown beautiful and inviting, it has also helped a multitude of homeless individuals get their lives back on track while simultaneously changing the conversation in the broader community about homelessness and those experiencing it. Given this success, it is very encouraging to see that the County of Marin is now DST s biggest funder, and they are working in partnership with DST and other cities in Marin like Novato to expand the program. This expansion of services into other communities besides San Rafael is a very positive step in the right direction. In addition to this annual contract for services in Downtown San Rafael, the City entered into a second, one-time contract with DST in December of That contract, in the amount of $25,000, is to provide cleaning services and outreach around Davidson Middle school for the 2016 calendar year. FISCAL IMPACT: The first, second, and third years of the project were funded by a joint effort of the City of San Rafael, the County of Marin, the Marin Community Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, and

3 SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 3 Marin General. The City also worked with the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce and Business Improvement District to provide funding opportunities for DST during this time. During FY15-16, the County of Marin entered into a direct contract with DST in the amount of $125,000. Marin Community Foundation concluded its three-year commitment to fund DST in the amount of $50,000 per year. Moving into FY16-17, the City has provided connections for DST to work directly with Kaiser Permanente and Marin General on future funding needs. The following table breaks down the contract amounts and contribution levels for FY13-14, FY14-15, FY15-16, and FY FY13-14 FY14-15 FY15-16 FY16-17 Budgeted DST Contract $272,000 $272,000 $172,000 $100,000 Marin General $100,000 $0 $10,000 $0 Kaiser $50,000 $30,000 $10,000 $0 County of Marin $25,000 $100,000 $0 $0 Marin Comm. Foundation $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $0 City's Contribution $47,000 $92,000 $102,000 $100,000 Importantly, as the City s contribution amount has increased, there have been commensurate increases in performance expectations on DST: FY13-14 FY14-15 FY15-16 FY16-17 Job Placements Number of Program Slots Volunteer Hours 8,700 12,000 12,000 15,000 Growth Metrics Community Engagement Updates Fundraising/Sustainability Updates OPTIONS: 1) Adopt the Resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into an agreement with the Downtown Streets Team in a form to be approved by the City Attorney. 2) Request changes to the resolution. 3) Reject the Resolution. X X X

4 SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 4 ACTION REQUIRED: Adopt Resolution. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment A Report from Downtown Streets Team on the program success metrics Attachment B DST reporting metrics to the City of San Rafael for FY16-17 Resolution with Exhibit A

5 Downtown Streets Team Impact Metrics (As of June 10 th, 2016) Overall Metric FY15-16 Target FY15-16 Actual Total since Launch Jobs Month Retention Rate 80% 70% Hours volunteered 12,000 14,333 42,822 Housing Growth Metrics (Collected through anonymous surveying of all Team Members in May 2016): Improved health outcomes Team Members with a mental health condition will seek out or remain in treatment Team Members who have had an interaction with law enforcement will have reduced or zero interactions after joining the team Improved sense of self-esteem and selfworth 88% 66% 78% 85% Qualitative Impact In the last three months alone DST San Rafael has engaged with the community in a number of different ways. In collaboration with the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce and the Leadership Institute we kicked off a Mythbusting campaign where over 50 business leaders and community members helped to clean East San Rafael and learn about the realities of homelessness and meet our wonderful Team Members.

6 To best ensure that we are responding to community needs when cleaning in the downtown needs to get done we have developed an easy mobile website. This website, dstclean.com, makes it easy to send a picture with some information on the location and we will do our best to clean up that area as soon as possible. With a camera phone and 60 seconds any community member can help Downtown Streets Team be responsive to areas that need it most in the Downtown. Additionally, we have also caught the guidance of an advisory board of local business and community members. One of the ways we support our Team Members is through providing spaces that address their emotional and mental well being. We have a regular intern from the Community Institute for Psychotherapy who offers counseling to several of our Team Members. This year our Team Members were invited to partake in a collaborative mural project with Dominican University. They worked for many weeks with students to conceive and execute a mural spanning more than 90 feet along Mission St. between B and C Street. Throughout the year we welcome students to volunteer alongside our Team Members. We have done several projects with Sir Francis Drake High School Students and most recently had a class from Marin Academy volunteer with us a few weeks ago. To build upon our progress, DST has started contracts with many partners in San Rafael including CPI Real Estate to keep the areas around Target and Home Depot beautiful and with Marin Clean Energy to keep its grounds pristine. On the horizon, DST is developing two projects to alleviate panhandling. The first is a donation campaign that uses refurbished parking meters to raise public awareness that money given to panhandlers can be better used towards helping the homeless when its given to an agency such as DST. Secondly, we are developing an ambassador program to handle outreach amongst panhandlers and meet other community needs. Finally, DST is looking to expand to meet the needs of cities and communities across Marin, beginning with Novato. By expanding in other communities in Marin, Downtown Streets Team is helping to tackle challenges beyond one community in Marin. This expansion will for a new case manager and the development of an Earnings Based Rental Assistance Program (EBRA) to help our team members in San Rafael and Novato with housing opportunities after employment through DST. Challenges/Roadblocks: One of the persistent challenges for our team members is suitable shelter when they need it before launching into new jobs. There seems to be more demand than availability of options to refer people to, especially in (but not limited to) the summer months.

7 Downtown Streets Team Reporting FY16-17 Metric Improved health outcomes Team Members with a mental health condition will seek out or remain in treatment Team Members with a substance abuse issue will seek out or remain in treatment Team Members who have had an interaction with law enforcement will have reduced or zero interactions after joining the team Improved sense of self-esteem and selfworth Notes July August September October November December January February March April May June YTD (Avg) Annual Target Achieved 75% Pending 50% Pending 50% Pending 50% Pending 85% Pending Metric July August September October November December January February March April May June YTD Annual Target Achieved New Jobs 0 Jobs Lost before 3 Months Net Jobs Lasting More than 3 Months Current 6 Month Retention Rate Notes Pending N/A 0 #DIV/0! 70% Pending Metric July August September October November December January February March April May June YTD Annual Target Achieved DST will provide cleanup services in San Rafael Notes 0 15,000 Pending Metric July August September October November December January February March April May June YTD Annual Target Achieved Improve community perceptions of men and women experiencing homelessness in Marin Notes Self-Reported Growth Metrics based on semi-annual anonmyous surveying Employment Outcomes Work Experience Outcomes Community Relationship Outcomes Earned Income Opportunity Qualitative evidence of improvements Metric July August September October November December January February March April May June YTD Annual Target Achieved Pending DST will work with local stakeholders to develop new earned income opportunities in San Rafael $0 $35,000 Pending Notes

8 RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION OF THE SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE DOWNTOWN STREETS TEAM FOR SERVICES IN FISCAL YEAR , IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $100,000 WHEREAS, on February 19, 2013, the San Rafael City Council authorized the City Manager to enter into an agreement with Downtown Streets, Inc. to implement a volunteer work experience program for homeless persons called the Downtown Streets Team ; and WHEREAS, the City has renewed the agreement for the operation of the Downtown Streets Team each year since 2013, and desires to continue the program in the fiscal year; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of San Rafael hereby approves and authorizes the City Manager to execute, on behalf of the City of San Rafael, an agreement, in an amount not to exceed $100,000 and in a form to be approved by the City Attorney, for services with Downtown Streets, Inc., dba Downtown Streets Team, to conduct the fourth year of a volunteer work experience program for homeless persons that incorporates the Scope of Services for Fiscal Year attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by reference; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this agreement will be supported by funds transferred to the Homeless Initiative Program and which have been appropriated in the fiscal year budget; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council hereby waives competitive bidding with respect to this agreement, pursuant to San Rafael Municipal Code Section (D), based upon the prior experience that the Downtown Streets Team has gained in performing similar services for the City since July 1, 2013, their ability to seamlessly continue such services for the City, and the lack of other qualified organizations that could effectively operate a similar program in the City. I, ESTHER C. BEIRNE, Clerk of the City of San Rafael, hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was duly and regularly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council 1

9 of said City held on Monday the twentieth day of June, 2016, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: COUNCILMEMBERS: COUNCILMEMBERS: ESTHER C. BEIRNE, City Clerk 2

10 EXHIBIT A SCOPE OF SERVICES FOR FISCAL YEAR Programs and Services covered under this contract: Operation of San Rafael Downtown Streets Team: A. Contractor will continue the Volunteer Work Experience Program, and will coordinate with the City of San Rafael on project specifics. B. Contractor will continue the Downtown Streets Team Workforce Development Program launched in 2013 in San Rafael. C. The program will create volunteer work experience opportunities for approximately (25) homeless persons (hereinafter Team Members ). D. Contractor will provide support services to assist Team Members in transitioning to permanent employment. Such services may include: job search classes and personalized job search support, employment development, developing internship placements, developing mentor opportunities, and case management for employment related activities. E. Contractor will support Team Members to graduate to other community programs, including assisting Team Members to join the Mill Street substance abuse program and graduating from Mill Street to New Beginnings. F. Contractor will work closely with case managers at partner agencies including Ritter Center, St. Vincent s, the Community Action Marin Care Team(s), Homeward Bound, and the Marin Employment Connection to assure services to individual Team Members are coordinated. G. Contractor will continue to strengthen the business advisory committee, initiated in 2013, to assist Team Members to develop marketable job skills. H. Contractor will conduct outreach to businesses in order to expedite hiring processes for Team Members. I. Contractor will provide monthly progress reports using a template provided by the City Downtown Streets Team Program Objectives: 1) Growth Metrics a. Contractor will work with the Director of Homeless Planning & Outreach to conduct semi-annual anonymous surveying to collect self-reported data from Team Members. i. 75% of Team Members will report improved health outcomes ii. 50% of Team Members with a mental health condition will seek out or remain in treatment iii. 50% of Team Members with a substance abuse issue will seek out or remain in treatment iv. 50% of Team Members who have had an interaction with law enforcement/the criminal justice system will have reduced or zero interactions after joining the team 2) Permanent Employment Placements. a. At least 25 Team Members will obtain permanent employment FY b. 100% of such Team Members will retain employment for at least three (3) months. c. 70% of such Team Members retaining employment for at least three (3) months will then retain employment for six (6) months. 3) Downtown Clean Up. a. Team Members will perform 15,000 hours of cleanup work in downtown San Rafael as directed by the CITY. b. Team Members will remove blight from the downtown San Rafael area as demonstrated by before and after photos. 4) Community Relations

11 a. Contractor will work to improve business and community perceptions of homeless persons. 5) Sustainability a. Contractor will secure $35,000 in new earned income opportunities to replace future financial liabilities from the CITY.