Department
Community Development
Requested Action (Identify appropriate Action or Motion, purpose, cost, timeframe, etc.)
title
Request approval to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding between Fulton County, Georgia, as the GA 502 Fulton County Continuum of Care (CoC) Collaborative Applicant acting through its Department of Community Development, and the Gateway Center, in the amount of $303,221.00, for Gateway to serve as the lead agency to work with the Fulton County Homeless Division and manage the county-wide assessment center offices located at 7741 Roswell Rd., NE, Atlanta, GA 30350 and 5600 Stonewall Tell Rd., College Park, GA 30349. The Assessment Center’s homeless coordinated entry work, which is outside of the City of Atlanta is 100% grant-funded. Effective upon approval through August 31, 2022. (APPROVED UPON ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT AGENDA)
body
Requirement for Board Action (Cite specific Board policy, statute or code requirement)
Official Code of Georgia 36-10-1 states that all contracts entered into by Fulton County with other partiers or persons on behalf of the County shall be in writing and entered on the Board of Commissioners meeting minutes.
Strategic Priority Area related to this item (If yes, note strategic priority area below)
Health and Human Services
Commission Districts Affected
All Districts ☒
District 1 ☐
District 2 ☐
District 3 ☐
District 4 ☐
District 5 ☐
District 6 ☐
Is this a purchasing item?
No
Summary & Background
Funding for this agreement will support the operations of the offices to provide the coordination and the delivery of homeless services for individuals and families who are at-risk of homelessness or are currently formerly homeless that resides in Fulton County.
Homelessness is a complex social issue with many contributing factors that cannot be easily or quickly solved by a single agency or organization. Solutions require both immediate and long-term strategies, and partnerships with County agencies, municipalities, community organizations, and individuals in the community. And per the provisions in the CoC Program interim rule at 24 CFR 578.7(a)(8) require that CoCs establish a Centralized or Coordinated Assessment System. HUD’s primary goals for coordinated entry processes are that assistance be allocated as effectively as possible and that it be easily accessible no matter where or how people present.
• Coordinated entry processes help communities prioritize assistance based on vulnerability and severity of service needs to ensure that people who need assistance the most can receive it promptly.
• Coordinated entry processes also provide information about service needs and gaps to help communities plan their assistance and identify needed resources.
The primary purpose of a coordinated assessment system is to provide rapid, effective, and consistent client to housing and service matches regardless of the client’s location within the CoC’s geographic area. The goal is to minimize time and frustration for people who need help; to maximize the use of the system (CoC and Fulton County) resources and to identify service gaps.
On May 19, 2021, Fulton County released a competitive application to select a GA 502 Fulton County Continuum of Care Coordinated Entry Services Lead Organization. To that end, the Gateway Center was the highest-scoring applicant. And on August 19, 2021, the Fulton County Continuum of Care voted to approve a recommendation for the Gateway Center to serve as the Lead Agency. The services of the Subrecipient shall be retroactive from September 1, 2021 and shall terminate no later than August 31, 2022 unless earlier terminated as set forth in this Agreement.
Scope of Work: The goal of Fulton County and the CoC is to transform Fulton County’s homeless system to effectively prevent and end homelessness. Accordingly, the alignment of the public and private resources/partners that fund and support projects in the homeless system are essential for the achievement of a comprehensive system. As the Lead Coordinated Entry agency, the Gateway Center will coordinate with the Fulton County CoC to continue the build-out of the County-wide problem-solving model that includes mediation services, housing stabilization assistance, housing relocation assistance, rent/utility assistance, employment services, mental health, and addiction, case management, services linkage, budget counseling and referrals for material assistance.
Community Impact: The Homeless Assessment Center will create a County unified approach to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring.
Department Recommendation: Approve the requested action.
Project Implications: None
Community Issues/Concerns: None
Department Issues/Concerns: None