To: Board of Supervisors
From: DHHS: Public Health
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
title
Grant Agreement with Harm Reduction Coalition for the California Harm Reduction Initiative to Expand Harm Reduction and Support and Services for Fiscal Years 2020-23 and Supplemental Budget (4/5 vote required).
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RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Approve Grant Agreement with Harm Reduction Coalition for the period of Aug. 1, 2020 through June 30, 2023;
2. Authorize the Director of Public Health or a designee thereof to sign one original of the signature page of the agreement;
3. Authorize the Director of Public Health or a designee thereof to sign all future amendments and documents directly related to this grant agreement upon review and approval of County Counsel and Risk Management;
4. Direct the Clerk of the Board to return one copy of the certified board report to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) - Contract Unit; and
5. Approve a supplemental budget to supplement Fund 1175, Budget Unit 437003-Needle Exchange for fiscal year 2020-21 (4/5 vote required).
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
Public Health Fund (1175)
DISCUSSION:
The National Harm Reduction Coalition is the lead organization for the California Harm Reduction Initiative, also known as CHRI, supported by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Office of AIDS (OA). CHRI was established by the California Budget Act of 2019, which included $15.2 million to strengthen substance use disorder response by supporting staffing at syringe services programs (SSPs).
DHHS - Public Health - North Coast AIDs Project’s (NorCAP) Mobile Outreach has been awarded a CHRI grant of $337,500 over 3 years to expand harm reduction services and deepen linkage and engagement with other social service programs, specifically substance use disorder treatment services, by building upon local expertise, uplifting the voices and priorities of people who use drugs, and centering racial justice. Technical assistance is also a component of this grant.
A major barrier in our community, with respect to preserving harm reduction and deepening engagement and access to other social services, is stigma. NorCAP Mobile Outreach works with community-based champions to impact levels of trust within specific populations which experience health inequity due to poorer outcomes with hepatitis C virus (HCV), rates of substance use disorder, poverty, mental illness and homelessness. The two subpopulations targeted with this grant are: homeless (>60% of client encounters in 2019 were with people who identify as homeless); tribal members (>25% of client encounters in 2019 were with people who identify as Native American).
Funding will sustain the Mobile Outreach program which operates under Humboldt County Public Health’s North Coast AIDs Project to continue to serve rural areas and disenfranchised populations in the local community, work with the K’ima:w Clinic to develop their own program and partner with Department of Health and Human Services Healthy Moms (Humboldt County’s rate of substance use disorder in pregnant women is 3.7 times that of the rest of CA) and Humboldt County Transition Age Youth Collaboration. Three main goals of the project are to help clients get access to enabling services through linkages to care (Community Health Outreach Worker to Care Coordinators), provide syringe exchange services and free HIV and HCV testing to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and allow for a supportive community that allows people who use injection drugs to recover from their addiction; and overdose prevention education including Naloxone training and distribution. The primary geographic area to be served through this project Humboldt County and its outlying, rural, frontier areas to include tribal lands.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
This agreement with CDPH will allow DHHS-Public Health to be reimbursed up to $337,500 for the period of August 1, 2020 to June 30, 2023. Funding in the amount of $71,945 for year 1 of the agreement was not included in the proposed county budget for fiscal year (FY) 2020-21 and requires approval of the attached supplemental budget for Fund 1175, Budget Unit 437003 - Needle Exchange. The funding amount of $124,686 for year 2 of the agreement will be included in the annual budget process for FY 2021-22. The funding amount of $140,869 for year three will be included in the annual budget process for FY 2022-23. There is no impact to the General Fund.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
This action supports your Board’s Strategic Framework by creating opportunities for improved safety and health, providing community-appropriate levels of service, and protecting vulnerable populations.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Harm Reduction Coalition
CDPH
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Board may choose not to approve the recommendations, however it would result in a loss of both funding and services to the County.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Grant Agreement with Harm Reduction Coalition for FYs 2020-23
2. Supplemental budget - Fund 1175, Budget Unit 437003-Needle Exchange for fiscal year 2020-2021
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: N/A
Meeting of: N/A
File No.: 20-1474