Title
Information About Review and Decision-Making Process for Human Services Funding
Memorandum
Attached for your review is an outline of the human services funding process for City General Funds and Urban County CDBG Public (Human) Service funds to be utilized for the funding cycle beginning in July 2009 as a result of the City joining the Washtenaw Urban County.
The process is intended to coordinate funding priorities, contractor/nonprofit applications and interventions, and proposal reviews between the City of Ann Arbor and the Washtenaw Urban County. Decision-making authority will remain separate, with Council maintaining authority over City General Funds, and the Washtenaw Urban County maintaining authority over CDBG funds.
Historically, the City has planned and allocated human service funding separate from the rest of the public and private funding community. More recently however, City staff and elected officials have moved toward greater collaboration and coordination with other local funders, with the aim of maximizing the effectiveness and impact of City funds, and reducing the amount of duplicative work and effort for nonprofits applying for funding.
Some examples of these efforts toward greater integration and partnership with other local funders include: creation of a joint Office of Community Development between the City and County; the City’s participation in the Blueprint to End Homelessness Joint Integrated Funding pilot along with Washtenaw County, the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, and the Washtenaw United Way; the City joining Washtenaw County, the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, the Knight Foundation, the Department of Human Services, and the Washtenaw United Way on the Washtenaw County Funders’ Forum; and by joining ten other local jurisdictions within the Washtenaw Urban County.
Process Narrative
The attached Human Service Funding Process Flow Chart provides a pictorial representation of the following:
1) The City of Ann Arbor and the Washtenaw Urban County utilize public input and participation and nonprofit comment to establish general priorities related to human services needs;
2) Each jurisdiction agrees to devote resources within its control to alleviating the needs identified and prioritized;
3) The City and the Urban County coordinate efforts and streamline the Request for Proposals so that nonprofit applicants need to submit only one application for funding;
4) The City and the Urban County appoint a Joint Review Committee to evaluate and score applications based on pre-established and published criteria. (Review Committee members from the City will be appointed by City Council, and the Housing and Human Services Advisory Board has recommended that Council authorize the HHSAB to appoint these representatives);
5) Once the Joint Review Committee completes its reviews and scoring, resulting funding recommendations are made to City Council (for City General funds), and the Urban County (for Urban County CDBG funds).
Staff
Prepared by: Mary Jo Callan, Community Development Director
Reviewed by: Jayne Miller, Community Services Area Administrator