Item 11 - Agreement for Eviction Prevention Program with Families Forward, Inc.

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Eviction Prevention Program Agreement with Families Forward, Inc. November 19, 2024 Page 2 4 6 7 7 proposals by July 24, 2024. The City received one proposal from Families Forward, which was evaluated by a selection committee of four City staff. Following this evaluation, Families Forward was selected due to their extensive experience administering similar programs in the City and Orange County, their approach to addressing the needs of at-risk tenants, and comprehensive measures for verifying eligibility and ensuring proper use of funds. Families Forward will provide services to any individual or family from the City to prevent evictions, offering financial assistance for past-due rent payments for up to three months and up to 12 months of case management and supportive services, while prioritizing households and seniors in urgent need. The Program will evaluate annual income, risk of displacement, housing instability, household size, and heightened vulnerability situations (such as seniors on limited incomes) to ensure equitable support. Families Forward will provide a CARE Team model with comprehensive services through case managers, housing resource specialists, career coaches, and mental health therapists tailored to the individual needs of each household. Outreach efforts will leverage Families Forward’s existing presence in the City, partnerships with local agencies, and community events to ensure broad access to the Program. Families Forward estimates that the Eviction Prevention Program could serve 150 households or 387 individuals from the City (based on an average household size of 3.5 members). They anticipate that $568,476 of the funds will be available for direct rental assistance to these households, leading them to an average assistance cost of $3,790 per household. This estimate is based on recent patterns in rental assistance requests, including factors such as increased rates of eviction notices following even a single month of unpaid rent. By setting this average, Families Forward anticipates covering varying housing costs due to unit sizes, past-due amounts, and other needs. During the grant terms, Families Forward expects assistance to be disbursed as follows: Grant Quarter New Residents Served Expended Per Quarter Quarter 1 75 $77,500 Quarter 2 100 $220,000 Quarter 3 110 $385,000 Quarter 4 102 $568,476 Their approach includes tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure timely distributions, targeting a 95% success rate for housing retention six months post- assistance. Their Data and Compliance Team will maintain a monthly dashboard to monitor the progress on these KPIs and adjust spending if necessary. Families Forward was founded in 1984 as a community-based effort to house families experiencing homelessness. With offices in Santa Ana and Irvine, Families Forward serves both the Southern and Central Service Planning Areas. In the past year, Families Forward improved the lives of 14,325 people, preventing homelessness for 184 families, providing 23 families with bridge housing (safe and supportive housing, offering services and resources to help them regain stability), and offering prevention