Title
a. Receive a presentation on a proposed strategic planning effort to a recommendation and action plan to enhance the County’s response to homelessness by fully leveraging the opportunity of new funding through CalAIM; and
b. Provide direction as appropriate.
Presenter: Cindy Joerger, Management Analyst II
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Health, Housing, Homelessness and Human Services Committee:
a. Receive a presentation on a proposed strategic planning effort to a recommendation and action plan to enhance the County’s response to homelessness by fully leveraging the opportunity of new funding through CalAIM; and
b. Provide direction as appropriate.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
Under the Department of Health Care Services’ (DHCS) California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) initiative, California is seeking to integrate systems that deliver health, behavioral health and social welfare services to Medi-Cal members in recognition of the fact that a person’s health and well-being is driven not just by clinical factors, but also by social factors such as access to safe and stable housing.
The goals of the CalAIM initiative are to improve health care quality, access, and outcomes for Medi-Cal members. A cornerstone of the implementation of this initiative has been the roll out of new covered benefits, including an Enhanced Care Management (ECM) service for members with high acuity, complex needs, and an array of what are described as Community Support (CS) services, which address members’ health-related social needs. Seven of the fifteen planned Community Support services underscore the importance of helping people attain or sustain stable, appropriate housing.
The County of Monterey was awarded funding in October 2023 in the amount of $2,118,937 from the CalAIM Providing Access and Transforming Health (PATH) Capacity, Infrastructure Transition, Expansion and Development (CITED) grant program. A portion of the CITED grant is funding two Management Analyst II positions, in the Health Department PEP unit and the CAO Homelessness Strategies and Initiatives Division, to advance County efforts to effectively leverage the service delivery and funding opportunities for these new Medi-Cal benefits.
In a further effort to expand state-wide capacity to implement CalAIM, the PATH program also provides free consulting services, for entities who are or plan to become providers of ECM or Community Support services, through the Technical Assistance Marketplace (TAM). The CAO-HSI team is anticipating approval from the TAM administrators of a request to work with National Healthcare and Housing Advisors (NHHA) to develop a recommendation and action plan to enhance the County's response to homelessness by integrating ECM and the housing-focused CS benefits for Medi-Cal eligible individuals into the services we provide as county departments and with external partners.
The goals we have established for the consultancy include the following: 1) Enhance County Response to Homelessness; 2) Leverage CalAIM Funding; 3) Strengthen Cross-Sector Coordination; and 4) Create an Action Plan for Expanding Homelessness Services. The effort will unfold in three stages, starting with a review of who in the county network of departments is currently providing services for persons experiencing homelessness, then widening the discovery to include organizations with which we are partnering, and finally looking at the entire landscape of potential partners within the county-at-large.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Monterey County Health Department through its Behavioral Health Bureau, the County Department of Social Services, the Coalition of Homeless Services Providers and the Central Coast Alliance for Health have agreed to be represented on a Steering Committee for this effort, which the Homelessness Strategies and Initiatives Division will convene. Other County staff, and staff from community agencies with which the County partners to deliver services to persons experiencing homelessness, will be invited to provide input during the discovery phase of the project and comment on the findings and recommendations. The Board of Supervisors will receive a detailed presentation of the proposed Action Plan to Address Homelessness that will result from the planning process.
FINANCING:
There are no impacts on the General Fund. The total cost of the consulting services provided by National Healthcare and Housing Advisors will be covered by the CalAIM Technical Assistance Marketplace.
Prepared by: Cindy Joerger, Management Analyst II, CAO-HSI Division, ext. 5163
Reviewed by: Roxanne Wilson, Director, CAO-HSI Division, ext. 5445
Approved by: Deborah Paolinelli, Assistant County Administrative Officer, ext. 5309
Attachments: Presentation