Evaluation of city’s homeless services the first of its kind in SM
CITY HALL — In an unprecedented move, city officials plan to hire a consultant who will analyze Santa Monica’s success in battling homelessness.
The consultant will evaluate Santa Monica’s “Continuum of Care,” the multi-faceted approach whereby tax money is used to support social service groups that assist the city’s homeless population. City officials weren’t immediately available to say how much the consultant would be paid.
The City Council in 1991 appointed community members to a task force to develop recommendations on ways to fight homelessness. That effort resulted in a report entitled, “A Call to Action,” which laid out strategies that have become the blueprint for the development of homeless services in Santa Monica.
The report continues to guide City Hall’s homeless efforts, according to city staff. Servicing has centered around the “Continuum of Care,” which begins with outreach and emergency day services, and leads to case management, housing, jobs and post-service counseling.
The goals of the consultant’s evaluation will be to refine the city’s strategies for homeless services and to more effectively manage resources under its jurisdiction. The evaluation also will provide a tool for the city’s non-profit grantees to become better collaborators throughout the system, according to city staff.
More than 80 professional research and academic organizations were contacted to possibly become the potential consultant. They all were determined to have relevant experience in human service program evaluations.
Interested parties are expected to apply to City Hall by Thursday after which interviews will be scheduled with those judged to be most qualified for the job.
A short list of applicants will then be asked to submit proposals to a staff review team, leading to a final selection. The staff review team will consist of City Hall’s human services division, police and representatives from other departments who deal with homeless issues.
It’s anticipated the evaluation will be completed in the next nine to 12 months so it may be incorporated into the next cycle of grant funding, which begins in July 2007.
City Hall last week announced that former Los Angeles County Supervisor Edmund D. Edelman will work on contact for a year at a $200,000 salary to help bring regional cohesiveness to solving the regional homeless problem.
Edelman’s advocacy efforts are expected to center on the establishment of a mental health court, where by certain homeless individuals may be removed from the criminal justice system in exchange for their willingness to engage in treatment. He also will be charged with delivering more regional governance and a high level of leadership on the homeless issue.
Debate has raged for years in Santa Monica over how to deal with its homeless population, said City Councilman Kevin McKeown. However, the appointment of a homeless czar, as well as a program evaluation and expected changes within the system, show City Hall may be willing to put more resources toward combating homelessness, especially if the effort pays off.
“There have been historic sides among Santa Monicans over how best to resolve homelessness,” McKeown said. “This is being set aside and what we’re approaching is a new consensus on how and where to focus resources.
“I give a lot of credit to the community’s willingness to overcome compassion fatigue and pursue tough new polices that still treat homeless individuals with good will and dignity.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 14, 2005. Read the original PDF.