Item 4: CSBG Report July 2020 — original pdf

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Community Services Block Grant Programmatic/Financial Report July 15, 2020 The Community Services Block Grant funds the delivery of services to low income Texas residents in all 254 counties. These funds support a variety of direct services in addition to helping maintain the core administrative elements of community action agencies. For the City of Austin, the grant provides funding for the delivery of basic needs, case management, preventive health and employment support services through the City’s six (6) Neighborhood Centers and the three (3) Outreach Sites. ◼ Basic Needs (food, clothing, information and referral, notary services, transportation, car safety education and car seats, tax preparation, Blue Santa applications, fans, Thanksgiving food baskets and other seasonal activities); ◼ Preventive Health (screenings for blood pressure, blood sugar including a1C, and cholesterol; pregnancy testing; health promotion presentations, coordination and participation in health fairs, immunizations, coordination of wellness activities, linkages to medical home providers and diabetes case management); ◼ Case Management (individual/family support counseling, advocacy, self-sufficiency case management, crisis intervention, linkages with employers, educational opportunities and training, and working with individuals on quality of life issues); ◼ Employment Support (intake, assessment and goal setting, job readiness training, job placement assistance, and job retention services) Expenditures 2020 Contract Cumulative % of Total Categories Budget Expenditures as of Personnel Fringe Benefits Other Total $693,764.20 $394,116.34 $14,225.46 $1,102,106 04/30/20 $251,331.14 $121,850.37 $140 $373,321.51 36.2% 31% 1% 34% 1 SRV 3O 4 4E 5 5B 5D 4C 4I 5A 5JJ 7A 7B 7D 7N Austin Public Health Report on PY19 Community Action Plan Transition Out of Poverty Goal Goal Achieved TOP Individuals who transitioned out of poverty 43 17 Success Rate% 40% MISSION: To prevent disease, promote health, and protect the well-being of our community. TOP 5 NEEDS: Housing; Health; Employment; Basic Needs; Education Report Date May 30, 2020 FNPI Outcome Description Target #Enrolled #Achieved Success Rate % Housing Households who avoided eviction Health and Social/Behavioral Development Individuals who demonstrated improved physical health and well being Individuals who improved skills related to the adult role of parents/caregivers 500 15 50 499 103 7 Service Description Number Served #Enrolled #Achieved Success Rate % Tax Preparation Programs Rent Payments Utility Payments Immunizations Food Distribution Case Management Eligibility Determinations Transportation Emergency Clothing Programmatic/Administrative Updates 193 339 98 0 7,308 24 189 0 0 1. Neighborhood Services Unit Vacancies – Top candidate accepted the Social Worker position for the new Montopolis Neighborhood Center (Montopolis Recreation & Community Center). Continue to work with the COA’s Human Resources Department to hire Community Workers, Administrative Associate and Nursing staff for the new Montopolis Neighborhood Center. 2nd round interviews in progress for the Rosewood Zaragosa NC Program Manager position. 499 81 5 100% 79% 71% 2 2. Neighborhood Services – Due to the City of Austin’s COVID-19 response and safety measures our Neighborhood Centers were closed to the public at 6pm on March 16, 2020. We continue to distribute Emergency Food boxes and process Emergency Rental & Utilities Assistance applications. We have activated an Emergency Food Helpline and an Emergency Rental & Utilities Assistance Helpline. 3. CARES ACT CSBG Funding - The Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs TDHCA) has awarded $1,497,736.00 to the Neighborhood Services Unit. These are CARES ACT CSBG funds with the purpose of assisting eligible clients with COVID-19 related needs such as rental assistance through July 31, 2021. We are working on the solicitation. 4. CSBG Discretionary Funding – We received an additional $53,905 from the Texas Department of Housing & Community Development (TDHCA) for rent assistance payments for eligible clients affected by COVID-19. We are in the process of contracting with Easter Seals of Central Texas to be our fiscal agent and process the payments. 5. Austin Energy Plus 1 Program – Serious illness, a recent job loss, or a pandemic can make it difficult for some customers to pay their utility bills. The Plus 1 fund helps by providing emergency financial aid to customers who are having a temporary problem paying their utility bills. The NSU continues to assist our clients with this funding source. We began expending 6. Neighborhood Center Improvements – The construction of the new Montopolis Recreation and Community Center continues to make progress. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the grand opening has been moved to “late summer 2020.” 3  4  Dove Springs Public Health Facility The City of Austin voters approved a proposition by Austin Public Health (APH) as part of the 2018 Bond Election to build a new neighborhood center with public health services. The Dove Springs Public Health Facility will house a fully staffed Neighborhood Center. The NC will be operated by APH staff including a program manager, community workers, social worker, and a full-time nurse. Services will include self-sufficiency case management, food pantry and other food distributions, assistance applying for benefits, health screenings, flu shots, clothes closet, referrals to other services, and baskets for special events like Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is a goal of the project team to incorporate as many green features as possible including solar panels, rainwater collection, pervious parking and sidewalks, grass-pave pervious fire lane, rain gardens and collection of condensate water. Council approved a resolution requiring that LEED-Silver certification is achieved using the latest applicable version of LEED. DSPHF Update: The facility has an official address: 5811 Palo Blanco Lane. Success Story This month I would like to highlight the work of one of the Neighborhood Services Unit (NSU) Crisis Intervention Team staff. This is in the Social Worker’s (SW) own words: 5 Referral via St. Vincent de Paul requesting assistance for client they saw. Adult female confined to wheelchair, lives alone, no longer employed after being involved in accident with uninsured driver. Was rendered disabled due to accident and told she was not eligible for disability. Would need advocate to assist with disability and other needs. Contact with Cl – St. Vincent de Paul has provided rental assistance for Jan. She is 78 yr. female on SSDI / Medicare who has been homebound for 1 year due to injuries from motor vehicle accident. She has not been able to recuperate physically & emotionally to the point where she can venture out of her home. She has been receiving financial support from her sons but this may come to an end due to their health / financial issues. When asked what could be done to help her / what is the one thing that would make it better for her…she responded: “Help me get out of my house. I need to interact with people.” Thru tears she explained that she has been trapped in her home due to the accident, limited mobility, chronic pain & fatigue and not having the proper walker. She has a standard folding walker (no wheels) but has been urged to get a “rollator walker with seat”. She has not been able to purchase it due to limited resources to pay her share of the DME. I mentioned that it would be a great idea to have her participate in the Senior Program available via SANC. She was not opposed to any service recommended to her. The issue was that she lived in fear that she could not have the strength to walk where she needed to be. She felt / believed that the solution was to get the “rollator walker with seat”. By the end of the day, I had located one walker via an Austin agency but this item was picked up at the last minute. A second walker was located at an agency in Round Rock. They would hold it for 48 hours. Cl had no way to pick it up. The Round Rock agency was contacted that I would pick up the walker and Cl was informed. Actions Taken to help Cl: 1. SW traveled to the Round Rock agency and filled out required paperwork to secure the “rollator walker with seat”. -Instructed on how to safely use new walker to get out of home / access services for plan of care SW enrolled Cl in HOPE food program & delivered HOPE food products. -Cl expressed that she has been in need of food. SW met with Senior Program Director @ South Austin Neighborhood Center (SANC) -Obtained intake paperwork to enroll Cl in senior program / filled out forms during home visit -Returned documents to SANC program director to complete enrollment -Cl will follow up with Senior Transportation Program to coordinate free ride to center Provided food distribution calendars -Cl informed on how / when / where to access food to reduce costs /expenses -Informed Cl that her family / others could take her to distribution events and get food as well Provided Medical Services calendar for Neighborhood Services Unit (NSU) Provided NSU program info 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 6