Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Claire Cunningham, Director, Human Services Agency
Subject: Agreement with Focus Strategies for Encampment Resolution Fund, Round 3 (ERF-3) Program Evaluation
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing an Agreement with Focus Strategies to conduct an evaluation of Encampment Resolution Fund, Round 3 (ERF-3) program delivery, for the term of October 7, 2025 through June 30, 2027, in an amount not to exceed $300,000.
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BACKGROUND:
In 2023, the Human Services Agency in partnership with the County Executive’s office spearheaded an application to the State of California seeking funding under the ERF-3 grant to secure funding to serve unhoused San Mateo County residents living in Critical Homeless Encampment Zones (CHEZ) identified through Caltrans and partner organizations. The ERF-3 grant targets 26 encampments throughout San Mateo County bordering US Highway 101, Interstate 280, Highway 1, and State Route 92 located in the cities of San Mateo, Burlingame, Menlo Park, South San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, and San Bruno with an estimated population of 211 unhoused residents.
The application was successful and on April 18, 2024, the California Department of Housing and Community Development awarded San Mateo County $14,134,200.12 to implement the ERF-3 program. This Board approved accepting the funds on June 25, 2024, with Resolution No. 080529.
The County has an interest in ensuring that its programs that serve the public are effective and efficient, and conducting evaluations provides actionable information on the efficacy of programs, increases transparency and accountability, and helps leaders make evidence-based decisions. Evaluations can be critical to understanding the populations served by the County’s programs and how to improve services, which is especially important for programs that address homelessness.
On March 31, 2023, the County Executive’s Office (CEO) issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to identify and select a qualified contractor to assist with the evaluation of government programs within the category of housing and homelessness. At the conclusion of the RFP, the respondent with the highest score was Focus Strategies. Subsequently Focus Strategies has completed several evaluations under contract with the County.
DISCUSSION:
The ERF-3 grant has allowed the County to assemble a package of multi-disciplinary services which connect people experiencing homelessness with needed services and housing planning. Evaluation services provided by Focus Strategies will assess what aspects of the interventions contribute most to accomplishing the program’s goals of ending homelessness, what best practices emerge and may be applied more broadly to the homelessness system of care, and what existing or missing resources are most pivotal for accomplishing the program’s housing goals. The evaluation will examine what factors contribute to acceptance or denial of services, the effectiveness of the ERF-3 referral pathways, and whether any aspects of the program disproportionately affect some subpopulations over others.
Adoption of this resolution would allow the Human Services Agency to contract with Focus Strategies to evaluate the implementation of the state ERF-3 grant and the services funded by the grant. The intention for this evaluation was identified in the grant application and the evaluation contract will be fully funded by the ERF-3 grant.
The agreement and resolution have been reviewed and approved by County Counsel as to form.
The resolution contains the County’s standard provision allowing amendments of the County’s fiscal obligation by a maximum of $25,000 (in aggregate).
TIMELINE AND PERFORMANCE MEASURE:
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Measure |
2025-2027 Targets |
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Quantitative and qualitative data collection; analysis of access to and effectiveness of ERF-3 outreach interventions, including interviews and/or focus groups, site visits, descriptive statistics, and other methods as deemed necessary. |
October 2025 - February 2026 |
|
Delivery of midpoint report with preliminary findings and recommendations with an emphasis on process improvements for immediate implementation |
March 2026 |
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Quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis of access to and effectiveness of ERF-3 housing interventions, including interviews and/or focus groups, site visits, descriptive statistics, and other methods as deemed necessary. |
April 2026 - May 2027 |
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Delivery of final report with findings and recommendations for review by the County |
June 2027 |
COMMUNITY IMPACT:
Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC ) populations are disproportionately impacted by poverty and housing instability throughout San Mateo County as in the rest of the County. The ERF-3 evaluation will make the homeless response system more equitable and inclusive by identifying any discrepancies in service access and results, and by making recommendations to address those disparities.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The term of this Agreement is from October 7, 2025 through June 30, 2027 in an amount not to exceed $300,000.00. Funding for this Agreement is provided by the state Encampment Resolution Funding 3 (ERF 3) grant. Budgetary appropriation for this agreement is included in FY 2025-26 Recommended Budget and in future budgets. There is no Net County Cost associated with this Agreement.