Title
Resolution to Approve the Human Services Funding Priorities for FY 10 and FY 11
Memorandum
Attached for review and approval is a resolution to approve the City of Ann Arbor General Fund human services and Urban County CDBG priorities for FY 10 and FY 11.
These priorities are being recommended by the Housing and Human Services Advisory Board (HHSAB) and have been adopted by the Urban County Executive Committee. Beginning in FY 10, the Urban County Executive Committee will administer the Urban County CDBG Human Service funds which includes the CDBG allocation historically received by the City of Ann Arbor. Recommended priorities include:
Increase Housing Stability
Reduce the incidence and onset of homelessness (Prevent Homelessness*)
Reduce the negative impact and duration of homelessness
Provide homeownership or permanent supportive housing** opportunities
Provide emergency shelter for those who are homeless
Increase Economic Stability
Provide access to quality, affordable childcare**
Assist persons with special needs to achieve and maintain maximum level of independence (Services to Seniors*) and (Persons with Disabilities*)
Provide employment training** or related services or transportation** to increase employment acquisition and maintenance
Increase Access to Health AND Well-being
Provide affordable primary and specialty medical, dental, pre-natal and mental health care, or substance abuse services for under or non-insured (Health Services*)
Provide emergency food and / or nutritional supplements
Increase Long-term Success of At-Risk Youth (Youth Services*)
Provide after school/summer academic enrichment activities
Provide job skills training
Provide opportunities for community involvement, civic engagement and leadership training
Background and Major Considerations
The Office of Community Development (OCD) is responsible for administering the City of Ann Arbor General Funds that focus on meeting the human service needs of Ann Arbor residents. The City has allocated this funding to local nonprofits since 1984, and the nearly $1.5 million distributed in FY 08 and FY 09 represented the largest single source of local funding to nonprofit agencies within Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County.
Historically, the City has established human service priorities utilizing an annual planning process in which public comment and participation were crucial in shaping the establishment and relative importance of the human service priority areas of housing, health, economic stability, and youth. The process for this funding cycle will continue to include public input and participation, and will be integrated with the priorities established by the Urban County, so that City General Funds can be most effectively leveraged and coordinated to create positive impact for City residents. Despite establishing integrated priorities, the City - and specifically City Council - will maintain full authority over the allocation of General Fund human service dollars.
Past priority setting - and resulting funding - identified specific allotments per priority/need area. For example, the most recent RFP issued by the City specified that 50% of the total funding pool was to be for housing, 20% for health, 20% for economic stability, and 10% for youth.
For the upcoming funding cycle, the Housing and Human Services Advisory Board (HHSAB) and staff recommends that Council adopt priority categories as in past funding cycles, without specific pre-defined proportions devoted to each. This approach enables Council to generally specify the community needs on which it seeks to impact, without applying arbitrary pre-defined dollar amounts to areas that are inextricably connected and mutually-influencing.
Indeed, determining specific ways to impact and measure quality of life is difficult, and determining the 'greatest need' in terms of human services is even more difficult. Each priority area is, ultimately, impossible to extricate from the others. An examination of recent research illustrates that housing, economic stability, health, and the well-being and development of youth are interconnected.
For example, researchers have demonstrated that "childhood socio-economic status" has an effect on the adult health outcomes of an individual. Additionally, youth aging out of foster care are "more likely to live in an unstable housing arrangement." A research briefing from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation confirmed that "adequate housing protects individuals and families from harmful exposure and provides them with a sense of privacy, security, stability, and control, it can make important contributions to health. In contrast, poor quality and inadequate housing contributes to health problems such as infectious and chronic diseases, injuries, and poor childhood development."3 Further, a study at Cornell University concluded that "hunger and poverty
significantly impair the academic and psychosocial development of school-age children and adolescents."4 In all of these instances, multiple priorities are affected-housing and economic stability, as well as health and youth.
Understanding that Ann Arbor residents and our non-profit community are facing these intersecting issues is critical for making effective and efficient funding decisions.
Summary and Recommendation
Staff recommends that Council approve this resolution to set the priority areas for the FY 10 and FY 11 General Fund human service funding. These priorities are consistent with those recommended by the Housing and Human Services Advisory Board, and adopted by the Urban County Executive Committee for Urban County-funded human services. Coordinating these two pools of funding through shared priorities will help to maximize the impact of City funds by moving non-profits from throughout the County away from isolation and fragmentation and toward increased cooperation and effectiveness.
*Denotes Urban County high or medium priority that is being integrated into the format historically used by the City
**Denotes Urban County high or medium priority that is identical to those historically used by the City
1 Moody-Ayers, Sandra, et. al. (2007) "Childhood Social and Economic Well-Being and Health in Older Age." American Journal of Epidemiology. 166(9):1059-1067. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2 Tweddle, Anne. (2007). "Youth Leaving Care: How Do They Fare?" New Directions for Youth Development. 2007(113): 15-31. Wiley Periodicals.
3 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation "Where We Live Matters for Our Health:The Links between Housing and Health." Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Issue Brief 2: Housing and Health, September 2008.
4 Katherine Alaimo, PhD, Christine M. Olson, PhD, RD, and Edward A. Frongillo Jr, PhD (2001). "Food Insufficiency and American School-Aged Children's Cognitive, Academic, and Psychosocial Development." Pediatrics, Vol. 108 No. 1 July 2001, pp. 44-53
Staff
Prepared by: Mary Jo Callan, Community Development Director
Reviewed by: Jayne Miller, Community Services Area Administrator
Body
Whereas, The City of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County Joint Office of Community Development is preparing for the FY 10 and FY 11 Human Services General Fund and HUD CDBG Human Services Funding cycle;
Whereas, The Ann Arbor City Council shall have authority over the priorities and allocation of City General Funds for Human Services;
Whereas, The Washtenaw Urban County Executive Committee shall have authority over the priorities and allocation of HUD CDBG Human Service funding;
Whereas, The Housing and Human Services Advisory Board (HHSAB) recommended and the Washtenaw Urban County has adopted priority areas with the intent of the establishment of one County-wide set of funding priorities;
Whereas, These priorities are consistent with past priorities of the City of Ann Arbor; and
Whereas, The HHSAB recommends that the FY 10 and FY 11 funding categories be the same as FY 08 and FY 09, which are Housing Stability, Economic Stability, Health, and Youth;
RESOLVED, That City Council approve the following Human Services funding priority areas:
Increase Housing Stability
Reduce the incidence and onset of homelessness (Prevent Homelessness)
Reduce the negative impact and duration of homelessness
Provide homeownership or permanent supportive housing opportunities
Provide emergency shelter for those who are homeless
Increase Economic Stability
Provide access to quality, affordable childcare
Assist persons with special needs to achieve and maintain maximum level of independence (Services to Seniors) and (Persons with Disabilities)
Provide employment training or related services or transportation to increase employment acquisition and maintenance
Increase Access to Health AND Well-being
Provide affordable primary and specialty medical, dental, pre-natal and mental health care, or substance abuse services for under or non-insured (Health Services)
Provide emergency food and/or nutritional supplements
Increase Long-term Success of At-Risk Youth (Youth Services)
Provide after school / summer academic enrichment activities
Provide job skills training
Provide opportunities for community involvement, civic engagement and leadership training; and
RESOLVED, That the City Administrator is authorized to take necessary administrative actions to implement this resolution.