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DATE: |
October 19, 2021 |
16 |
SUBJECT
Title
AUTHORIZE A MODIFICATION TO THE COMMUNITY CARE COORDINATION FOR VETERANS PROGRAM TO INCLUDE VETERANS EXITING FROM ALL SAN DIEGO COUNTY DETENTION AND REENTRY FACILITIES AND AUTHORIZE AN AMENDMENT TO THE CURRENT CONTRACT FOR THE COMMUNITY CARE COORDINATION FOR VETERANS PROGRAM (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
On October 15, 2019 (03), the San Diego County Board of Supervisors (Board) approved the implementation of the Community Care Coordination for Veterans (C3V) program. The C3V program uses a peer support team to increase connections to services for veterans reentering the community and provides housing assistance, care coordination, and increased opportunities for vocational training to reduce veterans returning to custody. C3V was designed to provide services to veterans participating in the Veterans Moving Forward (VMF) program located within the Vista Detention Facility (VDF). However, due to COVID-19 safety protocols, jail operations were modified to comply with CDC recommended safety practices, resulting in a shift in population and new limits on the movement of individuals between facilities and/or programs. As a result of these safety protocols, some veterans in local custody are not housed in the veteran module at the VDF where the VMF program is offered. Therefore, there are veterans who could benefit from C3V, but are ineligible to receive these services under the current program design previously approved by the Board.
If approved, today’s requested action would accept the modification to the C3V program to allow veterans releasing from all detention and reentry facilities to be enrolled in the C3V program. Today’s action also requests the Board to authorize an amendment to the current contract for the C3V program to include referrals from all San Diego County detention and reentry facilities.
This item supports the County of San Diego’s Live Well San Diego vision of healthy, safe, and thriving communities by improving the lives of veterans to help increase self-sufficiency and reduce veterans returning to custody through comprehensive care coordination and access to safe and affordable housing. Additionally, this item supports the Board’s Framework for the Future by enhancing data collection to identify racial disparities to improve the health, social, economic, educational, and criminal justice circumstances of veterans.
RECOMMENDATION(S)
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
1. Authorize implementation of the Community Care Coordination for Veterans program to include veterans releasing from all Sheriff's Department detention and reentry facilities.
2. In accordance with Board Policy A-87, Competitive Procurement, and Administrative Code Section 401, authorize the Director, Department of Purchasing and Contracting to amend Contract No. 563491 with People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), to include referrals to the Community Care Coordination for Veterans program from all Sheriff's Department detention and reentry facilities; and to amend the contract as required to reflect changes to services and funding allocations subject to the approval of the Agency Director, Health and Human Services Agency.
EQUITY IMPACT STATEMENT
The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency demonstrates a commitment to equity by using data and impact assessments to guide the implementation of the Community Care Coordination for Veterans (C3V) program. To address issues of disproportionality, the C3V program design included input and collaboration from incarcerated and justice-involved individuals through focus groups. This lived experience voice helped shape the program design and community transition needs.
In addition, data collected in 2020 through a survey of the jail population was used to create a measurable performance goal to identify racial inequities to address disparities. According to this survey, approximately 25% of the population surveyed while in custody were experiencing homelessness at the time of their arrest, and 27% of the population experiencing homelessness identified as being Black/African American. This racial group represents a disproportionally higher percentage of people accessing homeless services as compared to the general population. Black/African Americans represent 5.5% of the county’s general population (per the US Census); however, they comprise 21% of people who are experiencing unsheltered homelessness and 30% of the sheltered population.
It is anticipated that this program will have a positive impact and equitable outcomes for people who are Black/African American, transition age youth, women, and people with disabilities by identifying and removing barriers to services, increasing engagement and participation in supportive community services, and reducing time spent in custodial settings. In addition to including a metric to identify racial inequities to address disparities, the evaluation of the program includes feedback from the participants.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action. There will be no change in net General Fund costs and no additional staff years.
BUSINESS IMPACT STATEMENT
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Details
ADVISORY BOARD STATEMENT
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BACKGROUND
The Community Care Coordination (C3) framework was adopted by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors (Board) on September 11, 2018 (06), to address the unmet needs of individuals who are homeless, have a serious mental illness, and are involved in the justice system. The C3 model includes intensive peer-led supportive services to provide comprehensive care coordination, system navigation, and access to housing. Participants are assisted with basic needs, like transportation, assistance accessing benefits, and healthcare. Services address both immediate housing needs and navigation to permanent housing opportunities. Barriers to employment are addressed through system navigation linking participants to mental health treatment, substance use treatment, vocational services, education, and job placement. The goal of C3 is to improve the participants’ quality of life, reduce the risk of returning to custody, and diminish the impact of unstable housing, untreated mental health, substance use, and physical health issues.
On October 15, 2019 (03), the Board approved the Community Care Coordination for Veterans (C3V) program to enhance the Veterans Moving Forward (VMF) program at the Vista Detention Facility, and program implementation began on November 2020. The C3V program design was developed with a multi-sectoral group of stakeholders including the Sheriff’s Department, a successful former VMF participant, the Veterans’ Administration, the Probation Department, and the County of San Diego (County) Health and Human Services Agency’s Department of Homeless Solutions and Equitable Communities, Office of Homeless Solutions, and Office of Military and Veteran Affairs. The C3V program uses a peer model that includes teams comprised of a case manager and peer support specialists. The program modification proposed here would enable veterans releasing from the VMF program, or any of the other Sheriff's Department detention and reentry facilities, to be supported in reintegrating back into their communities of origin throughout the region. The C3V teams provide 24-hour peer support; access to immediate housing for veterans identified as homeless or at-risk of homelessness; and connections to services, such as substance use and mental health treatment, as well as ensuring basic needs are met.
C3V was designed to assist incarcerated veterans participating in the VMF program at the Vista Detention Facility (VDF). However, jail operations and options for housing people in custody have been impacted by COVID-19, with limits on transfers of individuals between facilities and/or programs, in keeping with CDC-recommended safety practices. As a result, there are some veterans in local custody who may not be able to be housed in the veteran module at the VDF where the VMF program is offered. Therefore, there are veterans who could benefit from C3V but are ineligible to receive these services under the current program design previously approved by the Board.
Today’s recommendation would accept the modification to the C3V program and reinforce the Board’s commitment to support our local veterans. Additionally, today’s action requests the Board to authorize an amendment to the current contract for the C3V program to include referrals from all San Diego County detention and reentry facilities. The proposed modification addresses the issues that have arisen from the COVID-19 impact in the Sheriff's detention and reentry facilities and continues to support veterans as they reintegrate into the community, ultimately reducing the number of veterans returning to local custody.
This item supports the County’s Live Well San Diego vision of healthy, safe, and thriving communities by improving the lives of veterans to help increase self-sufficiency and reduce veterans returning to custody through comprehensive care coordination and access to safe and affordable housing. Additionally, this item supports the Board’s Framework for the Future by enhancing data collection to identify racial disparities to improve the health, social, economic, educational, and criminal justice circumstances of veterans.
LINKAGE TO THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO STRATEGIC PLAN
Today’s item supports the Building Better Health and Living Safely Initiatives of the County of San Diego’s 2021-2026 Strategic Plan by promoting the health and well-being of veterans who have been involved in the justice system by providing intensive care coordination services that are peer-led and person-centered, to connect them to housing, supportive services, and vocational training.
Respectfully submitted,
HELEN N. ROBBINS-MEYER
Chief Administrative Officer
ATTACHMENT(S)
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