COMMITMENT • INTEGRITY • LEADERSHIP	View full PDF report View Selected Abbreviations
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 —
Long Beach 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-606
2. Enter the CoC name for which you are completing the survey.

   Long Beach CoC

   
   

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

   City of Long Beach, Department of Health and Human Services, Homeless Services Division

4. What type of organization do you represent?.
Joint Powers Authority
County government agency
City government agency
Non-profit
Other (please specify)





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

   23

6. Does your organization provide homeless services directly for clients?
   No Yes (If so, what types of homeless service programs does your organization provide?)
   
   

   The City of Long Beach is the lead agency for the local CoC and serves as a pass-through entity to 11 agencies who coordinate services citywide. Services include: outreach, supportive services, transitional housing, rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing services. Additionally, the City oversees ESG funding which funds outreach, emergency shelter and rapid rehousing projects. Further the City also leverages local funds to provide enhanced outreach, case management, prevention and rapid rehousing services in the city.

7. Are you a direct recipient on your CoC's HUD application?
   No 
   Yes
8. Approximately what percentage of the funding your organization administers is from HUD for the CoC program?
   

   77

9. If not your organization, is there another organization in your CoC that administers the majority of homeless services funding?
   Not applicable. My organization administers the majority of homeless services funding.
   No. There is not one organization in my CoC that administers the majority of homeless services funding.
   If yes, what is that organization?
   
   

10. Does your CoC conduct an unsheltered Point-in-Time (PIT) count annually? (Including those years not required by HUD)
    No (Skip to questions 17-19, and resume the survey on question 20.) 
    Yes (Continue on questions 11-16, and resume the survey on question 20.)
11. In which year did your CoC begin conducting an annual unsheltered PIT count?
    

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

13. What funding sources do you use to conduct the annual unsheltered PIT count? (Check all that apply.)
    City funding
    County funding
    HUD planning funding
    Private funding
    Other (please specify)
    
    

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

15. Did your organization have any challenges in implementing an annual unsheltered PIT count?
    No.
    Yes. If so, what were they and how did you overcome them?
    
    

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.
    
    

17. Why does your CoC not conduct an annual unsheltered PIT count? (Check * all that apply)
    
    Lack of funding
    Lack of volunteers
    Lack of internal capacity
    HUD does not require an annual count
    Annual variations in numbers are not enough to justify the expense of a count every year.
    Other (please specify)
     
    

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

    The HSD has a small administrative team, (9 staff) responsible for monitoring and coordination of the HUD CoC, ESG, various other programs and coordinating services citywide. The PIT planning process requires extra staffing hours, requiring overtime pay. The planning process, data processing and report out process totals 6 months out of the operational year. The division heavily relies on donations, volunteers and collaborative partner contributions in order to carry out the PIT.

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

    The HSD would consider doing a count in the non-required years if funding were available to contract a consultant team to manage the coordination of the event, data collection, reporting and analysis.

    
    
    
20. What sources does your organization use to fund the HUD-required PIT count of unsheltered homeless? (Check all that apply)
    
    City funding
    County funding
    HUD planning funds
    Private funding
    Other (please specify)
     
    

    Private donations for food and event supplies. Volunteer hours leading up to the PIT, the day of the PIT and follow up activities.

21. How much did your CoC's 2017 PIT count cost?
    
    $100,000 for direct and indirect staffing costs
22. How many people did your CoC require to conduct its 2017 PIT count? (Staff, volunteers, and others)
    
    

    420

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

    370

24. Does your CoC recruit volunteers for its unsheltered PIT count from organizations outside the homeless services community?
    No.
    If yes, from which organizations/communities (outside of homeless service providers) did you recruit volunteers for the 2017 PIT count?
    
    

    Faith based community, LGBTQ community, social service providers, city departments, local business community, bid improvement districts, Long Beach City College, California State University Long Beach, medical providers (Molina Health Care) and community constituents.

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.
    
    

    Long Beach experienced a 21% reduction in homelessness as compared to the 2015 PIT. Factors contributing to this reduction include; reallocation of transitional housing to rapid rehousing, new project based permanent supportive housing projects, increase in VASH allocation, effective street outreach network, interdepartmental coordination and a coordinated entry system that uses a housing first model.

26. Has your CoC reallocated funding in the past?
    No.
    Yes. If yes, please provide additional details or comments regarding reallocation you would like to share.
    
    

    The City of Long Beach DHHS was designated as a Unified Funding Agency (UFA) as of FY 2013, and as such assists the Long Beach CoC with determining the priority of submitted projects for inclusion in the Collaborative Application to HUD. HUD awards a master grant agreement to the City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services; projects administered by an applicant will be formalized in a contract between the City of Long Beach and the eligible applicant agency. The City of Long Beach has the following Reallocation Procedures in place to ensure that the Long Beach CoC improves its system performance and is more responsive to its needs: 1. Upon release of HUD's CoC Program Competition NOFA, projects eligible for renewal must complete the CoC Certification of Project Renewal form. On this form, projects may elect to voluntarily lower their respective amounts to free up remaining funds for reallocation. 2. Projects that, on average over the last 3 years, deobligate at least 8% of the project's total grant amount will make underspent funds available for reallocation. The amount of underspent funds these projects will need to make available for reallocation will be based on the lowest percentage of deobligated funds applied to that project's total renewal amount. 3. Projects that have not renewed at least once under the CoC Program will not be included in the reallocation process.

27. How often does your CoC reevaluate final priority rankings for the HUD CoC Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), based on HUD priorities?
    Never
    Every year
    Other (please specify)
    
    

28. How often does your CoC perform the following gap analyses?
    
    Housing gap analysis—Annually
    
    Funding gap analysis—Annually
    
    Service gap analysis—Annually
    
    Other (please specify)—Veteran specific through SSVF program
    
    
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
    2005
    
    Funding gap analysis
    2016
    
    Service gap analysis
    2012
    
    Other (as you identified in question 27)
    2016
    
30. Does your CoC employ specific strategies for identifying alternative funding for programs that are reallocated or do not receive HUD funding?
    No.
    Yes. (If yes, please share some strategies your CoC employs to identify replacement 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)?
    No. (Skip to question 36.)
    Yes. (Continue to questions 32-35 and skip question 36.)
    
    
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.

    See attachment-Long Beach 10-Year Plan Report

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

    2008

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

    Currently updating the strategic plan.

35. How has your strategic plan benefited your CoC?
    
    

    The issue of homelessness is very complex and had many contributing factors. In order to have a coordinated, strategic and well thought out approach to addressing the issues of homelessness a strategic plan is essential. The plan has benefited the CoC in the following ways: -Provided a view of the current resources -Identified gaps in the system -Identified the essential partnerships and roles of the CoC and community providers -Identities the current best practices and approaches to addressing homelessness -Identified the sub-populations and the most vulnerable and their unique needs -Identified the varied funding sources that support the CoC efforts -Formulated a plan that included measurable goals

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

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

    The LB CoC works to diversify its funding sources on an ongoing basis. Here are few examples: -The Mayor's Fund to end homelessness that is for gap funding purposes -The Rapid Response fund that support City Departments to address homelessness -LA County Measure funding -Hilton Foundation -Council of Governments -Homeless Veteran Initiative -LA County Housing for Health -United Way Collaborative Fund -State ESG

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

    Implementation of a City Interdepartmental Team that collectively addresses homelessness -Development of the HEART Team-fireman and paramedics who practice a cost avoidance model of outreach and engagement -outreach Work Group that comprises a multi-disciplinary Team that proactively responds to street homelessness in a coordinated and collaborative model. -Partnership between CoC, faith based community and business owners to bring together best practices on how to collectively address homeless. -Developing regional partnerships that strengthen all SPA areas and reduce duplication of services and increase capacity county wide.

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.
    
    

    Not at this time.

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.
    
    

    Not at this time.

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