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California State Auditor Logo COMMITMENT • INTEGRITY • LEADERSHIP

Homelessness in California
State Government and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Need to Strengthen Their Efforts to Address Homelessness

Report Number: 2017-112

Response to the Survey From —
Lake County CoC

 

HUD provides two lists of California Continuum of Care (CoC) key contacts: one for Northern California and one for Southern California.
You can find these lists at https://www.hud.gov/states/california/homeless/continuumcare.
  1. Enter the CoC number for which you are completing the survey.

    CA-529
  2. Enter the CoC name for which you are completing the survey.

    Lake County CoC


  3. Enter the organization within the CoC that you represent.

    Adventist Health

  4. What type of organization do you represent?.







  5. How many staff (full-time equivalents) does your organization employ?

    250

  6. Does your organization provide homeless services directly for clients?


    Health Services (emergency department, wellness, etc.) Case Management Limited Transitional Housing for High-Utilizers of Public Services (ER, police engagement)

  7. Are you a direct recipient on your CoC's HUD application?
     
  8. Approximately what percentage of the funding your organization administers is from HUD for the CoC program?

    0

  9. If not your organization, is there another organization in your CoC that administers the majority of homeless services funding?




    North Coast Opportunities

  10. Does your CoC conduct an unsheltered Point-in-Time (PIT) count annually? (Including those years not required by HUD)
     
  11. In which year did your CoC begin conducting an annual unsheltered PIT count?

    2014

  12. Why did your CoC decide to conduct an annual unsheltered PIT count?

    To meet HUD compliance, understand the extent of our local homeless population, and in order to show need to increase funding opportunities.

  13. What funding sources do you use to conduct the annual unsheltered PIT count? (Check all that apply.)





    Local coalition member resources - in-kind, volunteer

  14. How did your CoC facilitate the annual unsheltered PIT count?
    (For example, did you increase the number of volunteers, or find additional funding?)

    We increased the number of volunteers and the number of PIT count sites. We also brought in service providers (spay, neuter clinic, vaccinations, free lunch provider) to incentivize participation in the counts. Better communication and incentives helped us see an increase of more than 100 additional people counted in 2017 than the year prior.

  15. Did your organization have any challenges in implementing an annual unsheltered PIT count?



    Each year, we look over what worked well and what needs improvement. The challenge is always finding the homeless encampments. We do have 1 cold weather shelter for the county, but space is limited. So outreach has been critical in the past year.

  16. How has conducting an annual unsheltered PIT count affected your CoC's operations and/or outcomes? If you have any data or analyses, please share specific metrics.

    The PIT count has helped us understand the scope of . We are a rural community, so finding homeless populations can be challenging. Now that we require PIT annually, we have been better able to engage this population year round. We are also able to add additional questions specific to our region to our PIT surveys in order to better understand our homeless population and their needs (i.e. How long have you resided in Lake County? Were you homeless due to a fire?)

  17. Why does your CoC not conduct an annual unsheltered PIT count? (Check * all that apply)







     

  18. Please elaborate on the reasons why your CoC does not conduct an annual unsheltered PIT count.


  19. What would cause your CoC to conduct an unsheltered PIT count in the years not required by HUD?



  20. What sources does your organization use to fund the HUD-required PIT count of unsheltered homeless? (Check all that apply)






     

    individual organization resources-materials, staff, in-kind

  21. How much did your CoC's 2017 PIT count cost?

    9200 conservatively (includes volunteer time and cash donations; excludes in-kind services or products and staff time)
  22. How many people did your CoC require to conduct its 2017 PIT count? (Staff, volunteers, and others)

    94

  23. How many of those identified in Question 22 were volunteers?

    86

  24. Does your CoC recruit volunteers for its unsheltered PIT count from organizations outside the homeless services community?



  25. Please share your perspective on the reasons your CoC's unsheltered homeless population in 2017 did or did not change from that in its previous unsheltered PIT count.

    Our numbers increased because of better administration and coordination than years prior. We had several sites set up throughout the counties with a lead volunteer at each site and survey volunteers.

  26. Has your CoC reallocated funding in the past?



  27. How often does your CoC reevaluate final priority rankings for the HUD CoC Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), based on HUD priorities?




  28. How often does your CoC perform the following gap analyses?

    Housing gap analysis—annual HIC

    Funding gap analysis—we have not in any formal way

    Service gap analysis—we have not in any formal way

    Other (please specify)—

  29. In what year did your CoC perform each of the following for the first time, or leave the row blank if it is not applicable.

    Housing gap analysis
    2015

    Funding gap analysis
    have not

    Service gap analysis
    have not

    Other (as you identified in question 27)

  30. Does your CoC employ specific strategies for identifying alternative funding for programs that are reallocated or do not receive HUD funding?




  31. Does your CoC have a strategic plan that integrates other publicly-funded programs that provide services, housing, and income supports to poor persons whether they are homeless or not (mainstream benefits and services)?



  32. Please provide a web address to your CoC's most recent strategic plan or email it as an attachment to CoCSurvey@auditor.ca.gov.

  33. When did your CoC complete its first strategic plan?

  34. How often does your CoC update its strategic plan?

  35. How has your strategic plan benefited your CoC?


  36. Why has your CoC not developed a strategic plan?

    Our coalition began in 2015 and we are currently developing our 5 Year Strategic Plan. Our first planning session was November 3, 2017.

  37. What grant-seeking or fundraising activities does your CoC engage in?

    Other than grants available through HUD or HCD, our CoC has not been active as coalition in seeking additional funding, although this is a priority for 2017. Individually, organizations are seeking funding for their own programs.

  38. Are there any strategies or unique actions your agency takes that have strengthened your CoC?

    We have added an AmeriCorps VISTA and one part-time coordinator (provided by Adventist Health Clear Lake) to help build capacity for the CoC, including the strategic plan and data gathering.

  39. Please provide any information about these strategies or actions.
    Feel free to provide web addresses to any reports or email them as attachments to CoCSurvey@auditor.ca.gov.


    We hope to provide more capacity building opportunities to member agencies. Organizational capacity has been an issue for agencies in our rural county.

  40. If you have any additional perspective or concerns, please provide this information in the space below.
    For example, if you would like to share additional information regarding homelessness, services, or funding.


    Lake County Continuum of Care began in 2014 and since then has struggled to because of lack of funding and staffing to support the coalition and its programs. Adventist Health Clear Lake is donating one part-time staff person with prior CoC experience (myself) to meet state and federal compliance, and to build capacity for the CoC so that it is able to stand. The goal will be to have governance, structure, annual calendar and funding processes outlined and turn-key by July 2019, when Adventist Health Clear Lake may step down as lead agency. Our hope is for the CoC to become a sustainable homeless coalition organization that is independent with a traditional 501(c) 3 status and board.

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