2015+Continuum+of+Care+Competition

=2015 Sonoma County CoC Consolidated Application and Priority Listing=
 * 2015 Continuum of Care Program Competition**

The final drafts of the FY 2015 Sonoma County Continuum of Care Consolidated Application and Project Priority Listing are now available as of November 17th, 2015. The full application will be submitted by Wednesday, November 18th, 2015 to HUD.



=2015 Sonoma County CoC Consolidated Application and Priority Listing: Posting for Public Review=

The FY 2015 Sonoma County Continuum of Care Consolidated Application and Project Priority Listing are hereby posted for public review. The Continuum of Care Application is due on Friday, November 20th, 2015; however, we will submit the application on or before November 19th, 2015 at 4:59pm.

__Please note that this is a draft application and will be revised prior to submission.__ The Priority Listing, however, will not be revised. This does not include funds for the CoC Planning Grant.

FY 2015 Draft CoC Consolidated Application:

FY 2015 Draft Project Priority Listing:



FY 2015 Final Project Rating and Ranking:

If you have specific feedback on the Consolidated Application, please contact Michael Gause, Continuum of Care Coordinator, at (707) 565-1977 or at Michael.Gause@sonoma-county.org by Wednesday, November 18th at 12:00pm PST.

=New Project Selections for the 2015 CoC Competition Submission:= On October 27th, 2015, the Sonoma County Continuum of Care Board authorized the selection of a new Permanent Supportive Housing Bonus Project and two (2) new projects created from reallocated funds in the FY 2015 CoC Program Competition. The CoC Board also authorized placement of additional projects into Tier 2 in the FY 2015 Program Competition.

New Permanent Supportive Housing Bonus Project: Sonoma County Community Development Commission - Guerneville Permanent Supportive Housing
===Tier 2 projects: Sonoma County Community Development Commission - Coordinated Entry Expansion; Sonoma County Community Development Commission - HMIS Expansion=== The full report and scoring reports are below.


 * 2015 Continuum of Care Competition New Project Selection Report**


 * 2015 Continuum of Care Competition Bonus Project Scores**


 * 2015 Continuum of Care Competition New Projects from Reallocated Funds Scores**


 * 2015 Continuum of Care Competition Final Project Ranking:**

__**2015 Sonoma County Continuum of Care Local RFP - September 25th, 2015**__
The 2015 Continuum of Care Local RFP is now available and can be accessed below:

2015 Continuum of Care Application Detailed Timeline

10:00 am-12:00 pm, at Sonoma County Community Development Commission,1440 Guerneville Road, Santa Rosa || 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, at Sonoma County Community Development Commission,1440 Guerneville Road, Santa Rosa // This is a collaborative application. Those with e-snaps experience are expected toassist newer applicants. New applicants should obtain a DUNS number and SAMregistration prior to the session if possible ////. // || 10:00am – 12:00 pm at Sonoma County Community Development Commission, 1440 Guerneville Road, Santa Rosa || 3-Nov || Technical review/corrections, priority ranking & Consolidated Plan certifications ||
 * ** Date ** || ** Action ** ||
 * 18-Sept || NOFA for FY 2015 Funds Released ||
 * 25-Sept || Local Request for Proposals issued, including new funding availability and Renewal/Reallocation forms. ||
 * ** 29-Sept ** || ** Renewal and Reallocation Questionnaire Due to CoC Coordinator by 5pm ** ||
 * ** 30-Sept ** || ** MANDATORY Bidder’s Conference for NEW Projects **
 * ^  || ** Technical Assistance Session for Applicants: Introduction to //e-Snaps// **
 * ** 12-Oct ** || ** Technical Assistance Session for All Applicants: Project Applications in //e-snaps// **
 * ** 20-Oct ** || ** New and Renewal Project Application(s) due in e-Snaps, 11:59pm ** ||
 * 26-Oct || CoC Rating and Ranking Committee Review of New Project Applications ||
 * 27-Oct || CoC Board Final Approval of New Projects and Ranking and Ratings ||
 * 30-Oct || Publication of new project selections and Priority Listings//(earlier if possible)// on the CoC wiki at: http://sonoma-county-continuum-of-care.wikispaces.com/2015+Continuum+of+Care+Competition ||
 * 20-Oct –
 * 18-Nov || Final Submission (bonus points for early submission—final deadline November 20th) ||

Sonoma County homeless services providers are eligible for approximately $3.3 million through this competition. Renewal applicants may access their Project applications at this time. A local Request for Proposals for new permanent supportive housing projects to be created with bonus and reallocated fund will be released shortly as well as a detailed timeline with information on a bidder's conference and Technical Assistance sessions.
 * The 2015 Continuum of Care Program Competition opened on Friday, September 18th, 2015.**

You may view the full NOFA here: =[]=

Full applications for both New and Renewal Projects will be made in //e-Snaps//, HUD's electronic application system. You may access //e-Snaps// here: []

** Sonoma County Continuum of Care – Process for Reallocation and Making Cuts ** To create a pool of reallocated funds from which to create new projects, the Sonoma County Continuum of Care works through its Renewal Project Evaluation Process to make voluntary and involuntary cuts; and makes additional voluntary cuts during the NOFA period if new opportunities emerge. The Sonoma County CoC Evaluation Committee both prioritizes renewal projects for the CoC application, and identifies projects with capacity concerns for corrective action and technical assistance. Scoring is based on unmet housing need, alignment with 10-year plan goals, performance on HUD measurements, and grant management. Because of the scoring schema’s weighting by unmet housing need (a need which is overwhelmingly for permanent supportive housing), SSO and TH projects must perform exceedingly well to be approved for renewal. Projects are scored by the CoC Coordinator on a preliminary basis. The CoC Evaluation Committee meets to review preliminary scores and conduct a risk assessment to guide evaluation. A threshold for unconditional renewal is set at 75% of top score; projects scoring above the line are scheduled for monitoring visits only. Projects scoring below that line are invited to a meeting of the full CoC Evaluation Committee to discuss the challenges faced by the project and design a Corrective Action Plan. Known problems are described in the invitation and applicants are asked to address them and bring any other concerns to the Committee’s attention; under-spent contracts and other issues are noted for discussion and possible follow-up. At the meeting, applicants and the Committee together identify areas of improvement and what resources are needed to help the project improve its performance. Grantees have the opportunity to provide new information that sometimes raises their score above the unconditional renewal threshold. Through a summary letter recording the conversation and follow-up communications, over the course of 6 weeks each applicant is guided through a process of determining whether to submit additional documentation to revise scoring, undertake Corrective Action or to voluntarily release the project funding for reallocation. If corrective action plans and technical assistance are unsuccessful in improving project performance to the expected level over several years, or in particularly egregious cases (for example, serious concerns about grant management), the Committee has recommended reallocating funds without further corrective action. The Committee’s work is followed by a full report to the CoC Board, which reviews its work both in process and at the end of the designated period to develop Corrective Action Plans. The CoC Board makes the final decision regarding renewal with or without conditions vs. reallocation. // Note: // Since publication of the CoC Interim Rule in 2011, the Evaluation Committee has also reviewed each project’s continued eligibility under the new CoC regulation. If eligibility concerns emerge, these are discussed with the grantee even if the project scores above the threshold for unconditional renewal. Reallocations are made in the following situations:
 * 2015 CoC Process for Making Cuts and Reallocation**
 * 1) ** ** Reallocation via Renewal Project Evaluations **
 * ** Voluntary Cuts: ** Following discussion of performance and/or continued project eligibility, and applicant consideration of corrective action needed, the applicant may voluntarily opt not to renew and/or to seek continued funding from non-CoC sources.
 * ** Involuntary Cuts: ** In cases where the CoC Evaluation Committee records major concerns over several years, the Committee may recommend cutting the project without further corrective action. This decision must be confirmed by CoC governing body. Applicants may appeal the decision, and the appeal must be considered by the CoC governing body.

Upon HUD’s release of the annual NOFA, all provisions of the NOFA are reviewed. If the NOFA indicates further ways to maximize Annual Renewal Demand, renewal grantees are polled with a Renewal Intent to Apply Questionnaire, to confirm that they intend to apply for the full approved amount, or to indicate they are open to a reduction. Continuing discussion takes place with those agencies to ensure the reduction makes sense. **All cuts at this phase are voluntary.** In the FY2015 application, voluntary late cuts were made for the following reasons:
 * 2) ** ** Reallocation based on new opportunities identified during the NOFA Period: **
 * Through reading the FY 2015 NOFA we identified that a history of underutilized rental assistance funds in three (3) project-based rental assistance projects could be remedied by making a smaller request. The CoC Coordinator suggested this option to the grantee, who both enthusiastically agreed to reallocate a portion of project funds. The grantee was asked to estimate an amount it could workably release for reallocation across the three projects, which was accepted with thanks and without further discussion.
 * Another grantee had the two lowest scoring projects in the 2015 Evaluation Process, both of which scored above the 75% threshold. However, both of these projects are Transitional Housing Projects and the only remaining TH projects in the CoC. The grantee initially agreed to release the projects to be reallocated into a Permanent Supportive Housing project in Tier 2 in order to more closely align with HUD’s priorities for Permanent Supportive Housing. After more consideration, the grantee completely released the funds for either a PSH, SSO, or HMIS project(s) and elected not to apply for the funding and instead utilize the TH beds in other ways. These projects were reallocated into Tier 2 for new projects.
 * The combined reallocated funds comprised 68% of the necessary funding to be placed in Tier 2 in the FY 2015 process.
 * The Continuum of Care Board unanimously authorized reallocation of the two Transitional Housing projects with COTS on March 31st, 2015. This was disseminated publicly through the CoC Wiki and via email to the CoC Membership Listserv.
 * Reallocation of the 3 project-based rental assistance programs did not need to be authorized by the CoC Board; however, this was formally presented to the CoC Board on September 28th, 2015.



=**2015 Report on CoC Project Evaluations**= In the national competition, CoC's are scored on the quality of their annual evaluation and monitoring of the renewal projects submitted in the Continuum's collaborative package. In addition, annual evaluation allows the CoC to determine whether existing projects are addressing current needs, and to make adjustments in the system. Renewal project evaluations are used both to set a bar for high performance, and to select possible resources to be reallocated through the CoC application.

Report on the 2015 Evaluation Process: 

CoC Evaluation Final Scores



=**2015 Continuum of Care Evaluation Process**= The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that local CoC’s prioritize the projects submitted in our consolidated application. As in past years, project priorities will be generated by a scoring system, site visits and interviews by an impartial Evaluation Committee made up of local funders and former funder volunteers.

HUD recently indicated its intent to open its application period as early as April or May in 2015. Therefore the annual evaluation process will be on an expedited timeline, beginning immediately.


 * Please read the following instructions carefully:**

In 2015, at least nineteen (19) projects with contract end dates in 2016 will be up for renewal in the Continuum of Care competition. A list of renewal projects is attached. All of these projects have been conditionally awarded for the 2015-2016 contract year. Project scoring will take place in two phases:


 * 1) **Collection and Scoring** of performance data, background documents, project and agency monitoring questionnaires.


 * 1) **Site Visits** **and Interviews** will be scheduled for projects and/or agencies that require visits based on:
 * 2) Concerns following review of documentation and scoring;
 * 3) Concerns or corrective action plans in 2013 or 2014; or
 * 4) Projects renewing for the first time.

Projects that were renewed without conditions in 2014, and whose documentation presents no concerns, will be visited on a 3-year rotation. Please see the attached memorandum for full instructions on the 2015 CoC Evaluation Process: