BE IT RESOLVED, that Amendment 1 to Agreement A177727 with the Minnesota Department of Human Services to accept an additional direct allocation from the Housing Support fund for housing services for American Indians with severe substance use disorders and experiencing homelessness at the former Kateri Residence, during the period of October 1, 2018 through December 31, 2019, increasing the receivable amount by $214,209 for a new total receivable amount of $510,993, with annual cost-of-living adjustment on a portion of that amount, be approved; that the Chair of the Board be authorized to sign the Amendment on behalf of the county; and that the Controller be authorized to accept and disburse the funds as directed; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Human Services and Public Health Department receive a supplemental appropriation of $60,000 to the 2018 Human Services and Public Health budget, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that sponsorship and acceptance of grant funding for this program by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners does not imply a continued commitment by Hennepin County for this program when grant funds are no longer available.

Under the authority of Minnesota Statutes, section 256I.05, Subd.1a, paragraph b, Hennepin County's Human Services and Public Health (HSPH) requested a cost-neutral transfer of funds from Minnesota Department of Human Services' (DHS) Housing Support fund (formerly known as Group Residential Housing, or GRH) for this project, which was approved by the DHS Commissioner. This transfer is codified in an amendment to an intergovernmental agreement which allocates an additional $214,209 to Hennepin County annually to provide room and board and rehabilitative services for American Indians with substance use disorders of such severity that frequently risks the person’s physical safety and has resulted in a loss of permanent housing.

This additional allocation will be used at the former Kateri Residence at 2408 4th Avenue South for American Indian women, previously owned and operated by St. Stephen’s Human Services under the Housing Support program, and recently purchased by American Indian Community Development Corporation (AICDC) in order to directly respond to the crisis situation of the state’s largest homeless encampment, located in Minneapolis. The annual state fiscal year allocation will be equal to the base transfer of $214,209 plus annual cost-of-living adjustments to a portion of that amount, to be calculated annually by DHS using adjustments to the federal benefit rate. HSPH will create an expenditure contract with the AICDC to operate the program there to provide these services. AICDC operates several unique housing and service interventions for this population, including a detoxification facility under county contract at 1800 Chicago Avenue, and Anishinabe Wakiagun permanent supportive housing.

The original agreement (A177727) was approved by the Board on August 22, 2017 (Board Resolution 17-0328), for an annual allocation of $296,784. With this agreement, DHS agreed to a cost-neutral transfer of funds allocated to Hennepin County for use by AICDC to support American Indians with acute substance use disorders who are experiencing homelessness in their Kola Safe Haven housing. This allocation successfully created an efficient model for up to 18 people at any one time to safely exit unsafe homeless conditions and receive housing and multiple services in the Safe Haven.

This amendment will address the same identified problems, with the same model, anticipated outcomes and quality assurances as the previous Kola Safe Haven proposal, giving priority for some women and their family members in the camp. The total annual allocation with this amended agreement will be $510,993.

This additional GRH direct allocation will be new funding coming into the HSPH budget, so a supplemental appropriation of $60,000 to the 2018 budget is requested. This additional funding will be amended to the 2019 budget.