Title
a. Receive an update on the expenditure report through August 15, 2021 (Attachment A) for the Virus Integrated Distribution of Aid Project (VIDA) Project, formerly known as the Community Outreach and Education Pilot Project (“Pilot Project”); and
b. Approve a budget of remaining unallocated County funds of $927,026, as submitted by the Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC) in Attachment B, to allow for CFMC to make grants to seven VIDA Project partners for a six-month grant period, effective October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. The seven VIDA Project partners include: Center for Community Advocacy, Lideres Campesinas, Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño (CBDIO), Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance (PVPSA), City of Gonzales, CHISPA and The Village Project; and
c. Approve and Authorize the County Administrative Officer, or his designee, to execute Amendment No. 2 to the Agreement with the Community Foundation for Monterey County for Virus Integrated Distribution of Aid Project (VIDA) Project, formerly known as the Community Outreach and Education Pilot Project (“Pilot Project”), adding 6 months, for a revised full term of January 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022, with no change to the not to exceed amount of $4,989,651.03; and
d. Approve and authorize the County Administrative Officer or Assistant County Administrative Officer to approve budget modification requests in accordance with the budget categories and line items previously approved by the Board on December 21, 2020, as outlined in Attachment B; and
e. Provide direction to staff as appropriate.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Receive an update on the expenditure report through August 15, 2021 (Attachment A) for the Virus Integrated Distribution of Aid Project (VIDA) Project, formerly known as the Community Outreach and Education Pilot Project (“Pilot Project”); and
b. Approve a budget of remaining unallocated County funds of $927,026, as submitted by the Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC) in Attachment B, to allow for CFMC to make grants to seven VIDA Project partners for a six-month grant period, effective October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. The seven VIDA Project partners include: Center for Community Advocacy, Lideres Campesinas, Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño (CBDIO), Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance (PVPSA), City of Gonzales, CHISPA and The Village Project; and
c. Approve and Authorize the County Administrative Officer, or his designee, to execute Amendment No. 2 to the Agreement with the Community Foundation for Monterey County for Virus Integrated Distribution of Aid Project (VIDA) Project, formerly known as the Community Outreach and Education Pilot Project (“Pilot Project”), adding 6 months, for a revised full term of January 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022, with no change to the not to exceed amount of $4,989,651.03; and
d. Approve and authorize the County Administrative Officer or Assistant County Administrative Officer to approve budget modification requests in accordance with the budget categories and line items previously approved by the Board on December 21, 2020, as outlined in Attachment B; and
e. Provide direction to staff as appropriate.
SUMMARY:
The Virus Integrated Distribution of Aid Project (VIDA) Project, formerly known as the Community Outreach and Education Pilot Project (“Pilot Project”) is a partnership between the County of Monterey and the Community Foundation for Monterey County focused on addressing the disparate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in low-income and Communities of Color. Using the community health worker model, the VIDA Project was initially implemented in collaboration with ten community-based organizations (CBO’s) focused on specific census tracts of the lowest quartile of the Healthy Places Index (HPI Census Tracts). The purpose of the VIDA Project is to raise community awareness and education, and provide system navigation to help community members access resources for adequate isolation and quarantine, and COVID-19 testing and vaccines.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, community-based organizations and grassroots community groups leaped into action to help address critical and urgent needs that evidently affected low-income and Communities of Color throughout Monterey County. Underlying conditions such as overcrowded housing, misinformation, language barriers, fear and mistrust of government exacerbated the disparate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The County Administrative Office and Health Department built upon an established partnership with the Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC) to develop a grantmaking process and manage the implementation of a coordinated public health response effort the Community Health Worker pilot project- later branded the VIDA Project. CFMC contracted with Community partners who possessed the expertise in outreach and education and were trusted messengers with strong relationships in communities whose workforce predominantly consisted of essential workers such as agricultural farmworkers, hospitality, restaurant and grocery store workers.
On December 21, 2020, the Board of Supervisors approved a $4,989,651 contribution to support the expansion and implementation of the VIDA Project. The ten partner CBO’s that initially received grants made possible by this contribution were: Building Healthy Communities (BHC), Mujeres en Acción, Center for Community Advocacy (CCA), Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño (CBDIO), California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA), Lideres Campesinas, City of Gonzales, CHISPA, Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance (PVPSA) and The Village Project.
Expenditure Report
As of August 31, 2021, the total expenditures for the Vida Project were $3,591,083.65. An additional amount of $471,540.35 in allocated funds is projected to support most CBOs through September 30, 2021. Attachment A includes a breakdown of expenditures by budget category and budget line items. A total of $927,026 remain unallocated.
Right-sizing Process
On June 22, 2021, the Board of Supervisors directed staff to assess for and begin a right-sizing process for the VIDA Project. On July 27, 2021, the Board of Supervisors received an update on the phased approach to the right-sizing process, which resulted in a 35% reduction of Community Health Workers (CHWs) across the ten CBOs who are partners of the VIDA Project, effective September 1, 2021. The right-sizing process included the analysis of outcomes in outreach, isolation and quarantine support provided based on data reports submitted by each CBO, review of vaccination rates in each region of the county, asset mapping of CBO expertise and reach in specific populations and language capacity. At its full-sized capacity, the VIDA Project CBOs collectively employed 126 CHWs, of which 101 CHWs were full-time employees. In early summer 2021, several CBOs began to release CHWs organically due to budget expenditures, performance and service quality reviews or CHWs accepting opportunities for permanent positions elsewhere. Upon completion of the first phase in the right-sizing process, a total of 82 CHWs remained employed by VIDA Project CBOs throughout the summer, between July 1, 2021 - September 30, 2021. Upon approval of the proposed six-month budget, a total of 18.5 CHWs (full-time employees), would remain in operation from October 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022.
Staff are currently in the second phase of the right-sizing process of a trained and ready to serve workforce of CHWs. At the end of September 2021 staff once again is reviewing the status of positive case rates and vaccination rates in the county and determining the specific community needs on which the VIDA Project will focus in the coming months. In this second phase of the right-sizing process, staff will consider additional factors, including the need to support community members who suffer from lingering effects of COVID-19, the potential need for boosters to the vaccines, the anticipated availability of vaccines for children under the age of 12, the potential reinstatement of mask mandates and increase in positive case rates due to surges from new COVID-19 variants, and the potential need to continue to educate the community on the importance of continued practice of safety precautions such as wearing masks and social distancing although vaccinated. Other factors for staff’s consideration may present themselves in the months ahead. The VIDA Project continues to pivot its strategies, based on community needs.
COVID-19 misinformation continues to circulate in communities through various methods, word of mouth and social media, to name a few. To counter misinformation and educate the community with accurate and scientifically supported data, it is imperative that the VIDA Project continue to focus on outreach and maintain a consistent presence at various testing sites to provide quarantine and isolation support, most especially during the surges in COVID-19 case rates. Successful outreach strategies such as workplace outreach and education in partnership with agricultural companies and contractors for year-round employees will help educate and inform the community about vaccines and boosters once they become widely available. A summer outreach campaign, which proved to be another successful outreach strategy, included door-to-door canvassing in HPI census tracts, hosted pop-up testing and vaccine clinics, and continuous presence at grocery stores. In the proposed six-month extension of the VIDA Project, CHWs will continue to develop outreach campaigns with the goal of increasing vaccination rates and will help community members who experienced challenges in accessing or navigating the MyTurn registration process, in addition to building upon the partnership with the California Department of Public Health Rapid Antigen Testing Program where trained CHWs will provide antigen testing.
Proposed Allocation of Remaining County Contribution
VIDA Project CBOs were asked to submit budget proposals to CFMC for a six-month period. The total amount of funding needed to operate in a six-month period is $1,957,954 which far exceeds the remaining unallocated County funds. Of the total County funding granted for the VIDA Project, $927,026 remains unallocated. CBOs were asked to further reduce the number of project personnel and arrived at a total amount of $957,436.28. There is a gap of $30,410.28 which will be leveraged with a grant awarded to CFMC by the Public Health Institute (PHI). After assessing for the level of the project’s capacity to meet community needs, it is recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve an allocation of $927,026 to fund a six-month period of VIDA Project operations to seven partner CBOs. An allocation breakdown is outlined in Attachment B. The seven part CBOs that would be funded by the County funds include: Center for Community Advocacy, Lideres Campesinas, Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño (CBDIO), Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance (PVPSA), City of Gonzales, CHISPA and The Village Project.
In efforts to leverage County funding for long term sustainability and continued right-sizing process, staff sought additional sources of funding. The Health Department received a two-year grant award from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for health literacy outreach and education, an aspect of the VIDA Project for a 2-year grant period. For the first six-months, this grant will augment County funds to support the right-sized capacity of the VIDA Project. After March 31, 2022, the grant funded work will be used to fund two VIDA Project CBOs for COVID-19 prevention messaging and outreach, testing, and vaccination strategy supports. Due to the scope of the federal grant, Mujeres en Accion and Building Healthy Communities will be funded by this grant for a more specific focus on strategic efforts to reduce health literacy challenges for community residents, continuing the use of CHWs for engaging with the community around health messaging and healthcare access, and offering trainings for county providers on reducing these challenges for patients, such as through improved, more equitable policies around health literacy practices.
CFMC Contract Amendment 2
On May 25, 2021, the Board of Supervisors approved the extension of the VIDA Project from June 30, 2021 to September 30, 2021 with no change to the do not exceed amount of $4,989,651.03. See Attachment D for Amendment 1.
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve this Amendment 2 with the Community Foundation for Monterey County to continue with management and implementation of the VIDA Project with no changes to the Scope of Work, for an additional six-month period, effective October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 with no change to the do not exceed amount of $4,989,651.03.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The VIDA Project is implemented in partnership with the County Administrative Office, Monterey County Health Department, Community Foundation for Monterey County, Building Healthy Communities (BHC), Mujeres en Acción, Center for Community Advocacy (CCA), Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño (CBDIO), California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA), Lideres Campesinas, City of Gonzales, CHISPA, Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance (PVPSA) and The Village Project. County Counsel reviewed and approved Board Report.
FINANCING:
Approval of this recommendation will not result in any financial impact. The funding source for the Board approved allocation of $4,989,650.00 is covered by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
CFMC has leveraged funding with private grants and contributions from the Packard Foundation for project management positions and the Public Health Institute for the amount of $30,410.28 allocated to VIDA Project partner CBO, included in the six-month period budget recommendation.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
Approval of this recommendation supports efforts to address the disparate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mark a check to the related Board of Supervisors Strategic Initiatives
X_ Economic Development
X_ Administration
X_ Health & Human Services
__ Infrastructure
__ Public Safety
Prepared by: Rosemary Soto, Management Analyst III, x5840
Approved by: Nick Chiulos, Assistant County Administrative Officer
Attachments:
Board Report
ATTACHMENT A: Expenditure Report VIDA Project
ATTACHMENT B: 6-Month Proposed Allocation
ATTACHMENT C: County-CFMC Fully Executed Agreement
ATTACHMENT D: CFMC Amendment 1
ATTACHMENT E: CFMC Amendment 2