Item 5: Social Services Framework — original pdf

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Social Services Framework Joint Inclusion Committee - February 26, 2026 Kerri Lang - Director, Austin Budget & Organizational Excellence Daniel Culotta - Assistant Director, Austin Budget & Organizational Excellence Agenda ▪ Context and Drivers ▪ Approach ▪ Input and Feedback ▪ Next Steps and Timelines ▪ Q&A and Discussion 2 Context & Drivers Background ▪ Drivers: ▪ The FY27 planned budget included $16.8M reductions across social services contract portfolio to balance ▪ Rather than making across-the-board cuts, ABOE is taking a data-driven approach to understand what we fund, how it aligns with community needs, and where efficiencies may exist ▪ What We’re Asking of the JIC: ▪ Help us understand which service areas are most critical to the communities you represent ▪ Inform the City’s prioritization process within the social services portfolio ▪ Provide feedback on our engagement strategy 4 Definitions • Social Services: Social services are coordinated programs and supports that help individuals and families meet essential needs and navigate social and economic challenges. These can include services related to education, healthcare access, workforce development, housing assistance, and income supports, and are intended to reduce disparities and promote stability and quality of life. A social service grant provides services to City residents or clients, rather than services to the City organization itself. • Social Services Contract: Pays someone to do something on behalf of the City that we would otherwise have to do; contracts are more rigorous and subject to procurement policy / contract law (Example: funding to a vendor to operate a City-owned homeless shelter) • Social Services Grant: Value-add with nonprofits, but not mandatory or obligated. Shorter terms, less formal authorization (Example: funding to a not-for-profit to provide workforce development programs directly to the community) 5 City of Austin’s Social Services Landscape Contracts and Grants Service Category Lead Department FY26 Budget Service Description Homelessness Services Homeless Strategy and Ops $34.9M Child & Youth Public Health / Econ Dev. $9.2M Basic Needs Public Health Crisis Response and Rehab Community Court and Public Health Behavioral Health Public Health Health Equity Public Health Workforce Development Economic Development Violence Prevention Public Health HIV Services Public Health Community Planning Public Health $5.8M $10.5M $4.3M $3.5M $2.7M $2.4M $580K $359K TOTAL $74.2M Emergency Shelter Ops, Marshaling Yard, Rapid Rehousing After-school (Prime Time), Early Childhood, Youth Development Food Access, Utility & Rent Assistance, Survivor Support Community Court Diversion, Homeless Case Management Mental Health and Substance Misuse Support Services prioritizing marginalized communities to address health disparities Job Training, Apprenticeships, "Ready to Work" Programs Gun Violence Prevention, Survivor Support Ryan White Part A Match, HIV prevention Stigma Index, Regional Planning contracts 6 Area Partners: Focus & Funding Partner Agency Primary Funding Focus Key Social Service Line Items (Est. Annual) Travis County Social Services & Capital Investment: Funds community- based service contracts, housing capital, and early childhood via dedicated tax Central Health Clinical Health & Medical Support: Focuses on healthcare delivery and medical respite • Mental Health Jail Diversion: $86M (Capital / Ops) • Supportive Housing Capital: $110M (SHIP Pipeline) • Child Care System: $96M (Prop A Tax & Scholarships) • Community Centers: 7 Locations (Direct Rent/Food Ops) • Opioid Response Contracts: Harm Reduction & Recovery • General Fund Service Contracts: $11.5M across 11 issue areas (Housing, • Youth, Workforce, Early Childhood, Basic Supports, Safety Intervention, etc.) Public Health ILA: $7.9M Public Health ILA (healthcare services, excluded from social services totals) • Healthcare Delivery System: $434M (CommUnityCare / Seton) • • • • • Primary Care Access: $103M (Clinics & Enrollment) Specialty Care (Psych/SUD): $30.1M (Integral Care) ACA Premium Assistance: $19.7M (Direct Insurance Aid) Post-Acute & Respite: $9.4M (Homelessness Contracts) Patient Navigation: $7.5M (Direct Staff) Integral Care Mental Health Authority: The LMHA for Travis County; braided funding via Local / State / Federal contracts. • Homeless Housing (PSH): $904K (HUD grants for "Fresh Start" & "Kensington") • • • • Substance Use Treatment: $405,000 (State HHSC grant) Zero Suicide Initiative: $400,000 (Federal SAMHSA grant) System Operator: 988 Lifeline, Psych Emergency Services, EMCOT Parallel Crisis Contracting: County ILA: $17.4M, some overlaps with City (e.g. EMCOT, Respite) 7 Approach Three Primary Optimization Levers The City's strategy for optimizing our social services funding portfolio is focused on three approaches: Partnership Reassessment Ensuring the right organization is responsible for each service area Funding Model Adjustment Grant and Contract Evaluation Ensuring City funding approaches and timing build resilience and fiscal efficiency Ensuring City-funded social services are strategically aligned, achieving outcomes, and meeting high performance standards 9 Benchmarking: Funding Model Comparison Peer Cities Austin 4-7 Year Strategic Horizon 1 Year Cycle Different municipalities employ varied funding cycles to manage social service contracts. The models have tradeoffs between administrative agility, federal alignment, and provider stability. Entity Cycle Model Strategic Approach Rationale Austin Annual Budget Cycle Adjusted annually Risks: funding inertia, instability, admin. burden Travis County Rolling Notice Of Funding Availability (NOFA) Cycles Targeted NOFAs by sector Sector-specific focus San Antonio 4-Year Cycle Year 1: 16-month contract to align w federal FY, Performance-based renewals Year 2-4 Administrative ease, stability Denver Houston Dallas Portland Federal (HUD Annual Action Plan) Rolling NOFA Cycles Mirrors HUD cycle (Feb-May) Federal cycle alignment, maximized drawdown potential Aligned w/Federal grant cycles, grants-first strategy, use grants for nearly all services Federal cycle alignment, shovel-ready projects prioritized, non-city funding source 2-Year Cycle 2-year award cycle Balance of impact measurement & agility Multi-Year (levy-aligned) Multiple (but not all) service areas funded with multi-year levies. Long funding horizons, operational stability 10 Contract Evaluation: A 3-Tiered Filtering Process Contracts Filter / Tier 1 • Identify non-discretionary spending defined by law or physical infrastructure needs • Pass / fail check • Efficiency & realignment by reducing overhead, duplication, & identifying alternate partners Filter / Tier 2 • Can this be streamlined, consolidated, or realigned? • ROI & criticality. Assess strategic alignment, burn rates, leverage ratios, and performance outcomes Filter / Tier 3 • Strategy and performance deep-dive Hierarchical approach ensures we secure essential services first, optimize administrative overhead second, and then address alignment and performance third. Optimized FY27 portfolio 11 Engagement Strategy ▪ Contract Partners (Vendors) ▪ Service delivery models, reporting requirements, outcome measures, and operational efficiencies ▪ City Leadership, Commissions & Committees ▪ Policy priorities, focus areas, and strategic direction. Equity considerations, community impact, and service gaps. The JIC is a key voice in this group. ▪ Department Partners ▪ Operational efficiencies, cross-departmental dependencies, and contract criticality. Department meetings began the week of February 16, 2026. 12 Input & Feedback Questions for the Committee 1 2 3 Priorities & Focus Areas: Which service categories are most critical to the communities you represent? What are the gaps in those critical service categories? Safeguards & Controls: How can we avoid system risks, safeguard equity, and protect historically underserved populations? Engagement: What feedback do you have for our engagement strategy? Please discuss with your represented Boards & Commissions and return a JIC recommendation covering the three elements above by March 31st. Service Categories → Homelessness Services → Child & Youth → Basic Needs → Crisis Response & Rehab → Behavioral Health → Health Equity → Workforce Development → Violence Prevention → HIV Services → Community Planning 14 Next Steps and Timelines Roadmap to FY27 Public Health Committee briefed Feb 4. JIC briefing Feb 26. Key milestones aligned to vendor budgeting cycles and City budget process. March May June July August October • Alignment sprints (APH, HSO, DACC, AED) • Capacity building, technical assistance support • City Council / Committee plan review & feedback • Notices of Intent issued (~5-month lead time) • Proposed budget, hearings • Budget adoption • Social services contract updates implemented • New FY goes into effect 16 Q&A + Discussion THANK YOU 18