News+and+Updates

= = =**Special Invitation: June 13th CD Committee meeting**=

Dear partners,

At the Community Development Commission, the summer is the season when we //revise and update the policies by which we conduct our competitive funding process//. I am writing to invite you to participate in this important process, beginning with the June CD Committee meeting next **Tuesday, June 13th, at 3:30 pm** in our hearing room.

Those of you who attended the March public hearing for Public Services funding heard about the painful choices that had to be made, and Committee members’ request for clearer priorities for making funding recommendations. The pain was worse this year because most of the impact of the reduction of State ESG funding (via changes in State rules) is now being felt. Additional reductions are scheduled to take place 3 years from now. This is not to mention some of the proposed cuts at the federal level that thankfully don’t affect us yet, but could affect us next year.

The Committee’s concerns, and the desire to plan for the current funding reductions and possible future ones, led to our decision to bring in a consulting team from HomeBase/The Center for Common Concerns ([|www.homebaseccc.org]) to help us plan for a future with less Public Services funding and new regulatory requirements that require adoption of a Housing First approach throughout our system of care. **The HomeBase team will be with us next Tuesday to begin exploring these subjects with the CD Committee.**


 * We invite you to participate in this discussion.** I’ve attached the 6/13 meeting agenda and the Memo that we sent to the CD Committee regarding this agenda item for your information.

If it’s not possible to participate this month, I also want to encourage you to attend any of the summer meetings that your calendar allows: July 11th or August 8th. There will be a public hearing September 12th on the hopefully-final funding policies. Our goal is to bring recommended policies to the Board of Supervisors in October, and opening the competition in late October or November. All meetings are at 3:30 pm in our hearing room. Lastly, we intend to bring these discussion to the CoC Board and membership meetings this summer—so we hope you will be able to participate in this effort one way or another.

Thanks for all you do,

Jenny Helbraun Abramson Homeless & Community Services Manager Sonoma County Community Development Commission 1440 Guerneville Road Santa Rosa CA 95403 (707) 565-7548 office (707) 321-8662 cell Jenny.Abramson@sonoma-county.org [] = = = = = = = = = = =**Homeless Services Planning Consultant - RFP**=

The Community Development Commission has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Homeless Services Planning Consultant. This project is designed to help the CDC reshape our funding processes in light of the recent and continuing funding reductions from State ESG, and in light of SB 1380, which became State law in September.

SB 1380 established a statewide Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council and requires that agencies such as the Community Development Commission, which administers state programs, incorporate the core components of Housing First in our system of care by July 1, 2019. You may find out more about this legislation here: [].

The RFP has been posted on our website at []. If you review the RFP you will see that the work plan requires significant input from community partners, and we hope that you will participate.

**October 12 - Notice of Funding Availability**
The Sonoma County Community Development Commission (SCCDC) requests proposals for activities/projects to receive funding from the following sources:

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Please contact the SCCDC staff member listed in the table below to request an application packet or to acquire additional information. The packet will contain the Sonoma County Policies, the FY 2017-18 Funding Application Process Timetable and application forms pertinent to the funding source and activity requested. Please review the Sonoma County Policies and application instructions carefully for important information on project/activity eligibility, and application procedures.======

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The provision of fair housing services is a specific federal requirement. Thus, the funding of these services shall be determined separately from other public services. The Commission is requesting proposals from capable non-profit agencies to provide fair housing services. The fair housing set-aside amount shall be up to $52,500, subject to adequate funding.======

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In the event that there are multiple proposals for providing fair housing services, the Community Development Committee will recommend one applicant to provide these services based on the following factors:======


 * 1) ======The capacity of the applicant to provide these services.======
 * 2) ======The degree to which a capable applicant can leverage additional funding sources to augment the County’s funding allocation.======
 * 3) ======Coordination with neighboring jurisdictions in the regional provision of fair housing services for optimizing efficiency and customer service.======
 * 4) ======Cost-effectiveness.======
 * 5) ======The degree to which the proposed services will overcome the effects of the fair housing barriers and issues as identified in the current Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice.======

__ All Housing, Capital and Micro-enterprise economic development proposals (**including** proposals initiated by the incorporated jurisdictions) must be submitted to the Community Development Commission by 5 p.m. on December 16, 2016. __// NOTE: For housing, capital projects, or micro-enterprise economic development proposals located within one of the incorporated areas of Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Sonoma and Windsor, applications must be reviewed and endorsed by the appropriate City/Town Council before submission. Therefore, in these situations, the applicant must contact Kirsten Larsen, Construction and Housing Finance Manager at (707) 565-7526 or ////Kirsten.Larsen@sonoma-county.org//// no later than November 1, 2016 to assure the proposal information is forwarded to the City or Town where the project will be located in order to allow sufficient time for City/Town Council action. //

__ All Public Service proposals must be submitted to the Community Development Commission by 5 p.m. on January 6, 2017. __ Eligible proposals will be considered for funding at several public hearings on February 28, March 13 and March 14, 2017. At the conclusion of the hearings, funding recommendations will be forwarded to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. **The Board will make final funding decisions on May 2, 2017.**

**SOCO ALERT SYSTEM is now active!**

 * SoCoAlert is a free emergency alert service provided by the County of Sonoma to advise people of emergency actions that should be taken in the event of an emergency or disaster. Until recently, the County was using a system that could only reach landline telephones. Due to an enormous drop in landline customers, not to mention the public’s reluctance to answer the home phone, we have replaced and thereby improved our capabilities. We can now send texts, emails, VoIP calls, TTY/TDD for hearing impaired, social media and of course, the plain old telephone. Please sign-up for this life saving service.**


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=**Technical Assistance PowerPoint**=

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 * The PowerPoint from the May 23, 24 Technical Assistance meeting can be accessed here. If you have questions about your contract, reporting requirements, or reimbursements please contact Chuck Mottern at** chuck.mottern@Sonoma-county.org.=====



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 * The Sonoma County Community Development Commission hereby gives notice of an Intent to Release a Notice of Funds Available (NOFA) for 2016-2017 Non-Entitlement State Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding. The NOFA will be released on or by April 13th, 2016.**=====

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 * __Eligible applicants for Non-Entitlement State ESG funding include non-profit organizations located in or operating projects within eligible Sonoma County service areas (City of Santa Rosa and City of Petaluma). Nonprofits located in or operating in outside of these service areas are not eligible applicants. Nonprofits must have attained their 501(c)(3) status at the time the funding application is submitted. Individual persons are not eligible to apply for ESG funding.__**=====

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 * Full details, including the application guidelines and funding policies, will be released with the application packet on or by April 13th, 2016. This notice can also be found on the Sonoma County Continuum of Care Wiki at:**=====

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 * http://sonoma-county-continuum-of-care.wikispaces.com/News+%26+Updates OR here.**=====

**Please contact Michael Gause, Continuum of Care Coordinator, with any questions at (707) 565-1977 or Michael.Gause@sonoma-county.org**
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