Title
Agenda Item:
Health and Human Services Planning Committee Recommendations
Body
Issue:
Receive update on the work of the Thurston County Health and Human Services Planning Committee (HHSPC), and provide direction to the Council's representative and City Manager about the City's participation in the Committee.
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee. Councilmember Cooper has been representing the City Council on the planning committee.
City Manager's Recommendation:
Receive update and provide direction.
Staff Contact:
Steve Hall, City Manager, 360.753.8370
Steve Friddle, Community Services Manager, 360.753.8591
Presenters:
Jim Cooper, Councilmember
Don Krupp, Thurston County Administrator
Anna Schlecht, Housing Program Manager
Steve Hall, City Manager
Background and Analysis:
In late 2011, the City of Olympia, along with Tumwater, Lacey, and Thurston County began to explore options to replace the Human Services Review Council (HSRC) which has been in existence since 1982. The parties agreed to form a planning committee that was charged with making recommendations about a new countywide health and human services coordinating entity.
The planning committee has been formulating a new regional approach that would allow the County and its partner cities to pool resources and more fully leverage opportunities to strengthen and maximize the efficiency of social and human service investments. One of the goals is to create a better grant application process and evaluation tool that could more efficiently serve both the member jurisdictions and the not-for-profit agencies that provide many of these services.
As part of these discussions, the County has submitted materials to Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for consideration of becoming an Urban County entitlement community. At this time, the Urban County CDBG group includes the County, Lacey and Tumwater. There are discussions regarding Olympia and the cities of Yelm, Tenino, Rainer and Bucoda.
There are numerous policy issues to be determined by Council regarding both the replacement for HSRC and the potential impacts of a CDBG Urban County:
1. What should be in the mission, goals and scope of the new countywide health and human services coordinating entity?
2. What is the HSRC replacement plan?
3. What are Olympia's options with the County CDBG Urban County?
4. What are the impacts of potentially integrating CDBG, HOME and HSRC funding and governance?
5. What are the next steps?
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
Past HSRC grant recipient agencies are interested in knowing the future direction.
Options:
The purpose of this discussion is to:
1. Share with the City Council the current directions of the committee.
2. Discuss options that are available to the City for possible consolidation of funding sources and administration of social service dollars.
3. Provide direction to the Council's representative and City Manager about the City's participation in the Committee.
Financial Impact:
The 2012 budget includes $76,000 as part of the Human Service Review Council (HSRC) funding for social services. The City will also receive approximately $305,000 in new Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for program year (PY) 2012 (September 1, 2012 - August 31, 2013). The County is working with local cities to create a "CDBG Urban County" entitlement that could potentially receive $950,000 for PY 2013. The City can remain a separate entitlement community with local control of CDBG funds or may consider joining the Urban County CDBG Consortium and participate in regional governance of up to $1,255,000 in CDBG funds for PY 2013.