Drafter
Clerk 08/29/2011
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AN ORDINANCE relating to the development of a veterans and human services levy service improvement plan and annual reporting requirements.
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BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. The King County veterans and human services levy was passed in the primary election on August 16, 2011. The levy will provide an average of seventeen million dollars per year for six years. Fifty percent of the proceeds from the levy is dedicated to improving health, human services and housing for veterans, military personnel and their families, and fifty percent is dedicated to improving health, human services and housing for a wider array of people in need.
B. There is a need to provide continuing direction regarding the use of these funds to ensure the county's policy goals are reflected. The funds need to be invested strategically, not only adding or expanding services, but improving the overall capacity and results of existing services and systems.
C. The proceeds should be used primarily to prevent and reduce homelessness and unnecessary involvement in the criminal justice and emergency medical systems and increase self-sufficiency for veterans and vulnerable populations. This will maximize the positive impact on homelessness, public safety and health emergencies for the well-being of the veteran and nonveteran individuals and families at risk.
D. Following the approval of the veterans and human services levy in 2005, the King County council directed the creation of a service improvement plan, which was adopted by Ordinance 15632.
E. The service improvement plan for the 2005 through 2011 levy period needs to be reviewed, updated and approved to provide guidance for levy investments and to strategically invest the proceeds to achieve specific results. The updated service improvement plan for the 2012 through 2017 levy period will continue the work of the prior levy plan and maximize results by leveraging existing resources and by partnering with other entities.
F. King County has begun reviewing the service improvement plan and considering options for the future. It has conducted a series of meetings with key stakeholders to gather input on priorities.
G. The economic crisis continues to challenge individuals and families throughout the region, as high unemployment and foreclosure rates increase the need for housing and supportive health and human services.
H. The economic crisis has also impacted local government, and King County's general fund faces continuing challenges, including anticipated shortfalls in 2012 and 2013 in excess of twenty million dollars each year. As a discretionary expenditure under state law, the county's human service support from the general fund has been almost entirely eliminated and could face complete elimination in future years. Additionally, cuts to human services funding at the state and national levels are having damaging impacts on King County families in need.
SECTION 2. No later than October 7, 2011, the executive shall develop and submit for council review and approval by ordinance a service improvement plan for the investment of veterans and human services levy proceeds. The plan shall be developed as a six-year strategic service improvement plan that provides a basis for evaluating the results of levy expenditures in time to develop a levy renewal proposal for the ballot in 2017.
1. Reducing homelessness;
2. Reducing emergency medical and criminal justice involvement; and
3. Increasing self-sufficiency for veterans, military personnel, their families and other individuals and families in need.
B. The strategies, substrategies, activities and programs identified in the service improvement plan shall help to achieve these goals by:
1. Supporting veterans and their families to build stable lives and strong relationships;
2. Ending homelessness through outreach, prevention, permanent supportive housing and employment;
3. Improving health through the integration of medical and behavioral health services; and
4. Strengthening at-risk families.
C. To the extent possible, the veterans and human service improvement plan will support the goals of the King County Strategic Plan.
SECTION 4. The veterans and human services levy service improvement plan shall contain the following:
A. A description of the proposed strategies, substrategies, programs or activities, supported by levy funds, including specification of whether the strategies, substrategies, programs or activities are system improvements or direct services and whether the investment is ongoing or one-time. The description for each investment strategy, substrategy, program or activity shall identify the target group or groups to be served, and define and discuss goals, service improvement strategies and desired results, including how the investment or improvements will build upon and further develop existing resources;
B. An allocation plan for the levy funds that indicates the estimated resources needed for each of the proposed strategy, substrategies, programs or activities. The allocation plan shall separate fifty percent of levy proceeds for services aimed towards veterans and military personnel and their families from the remaining funds not specifically targeted to individuals and families with a military background. Within these two categories for the use of levy proceeds, the allocation plan shall show the projected use of levy funds for each of the strategies, substrategies, programs or activities broken down further by ongoing service versus one-time investments. The allocation plan shall also include:
1. For each year of the levy, an amount up to two million five hundred thousand dollars per year that may be set aside for housing capital , including funding of transitional housing for homeless youth and young adults;
2. For each year of the levy, at least two million dollars per year from the portion of the levy proceeds used for services for veterans, military personnel in need and their families that shall be expended on maintaining the expansion and improving current county veterans program services;
3. From total levy proceeds, at least two million five hundred thousand dollars from the portion of the levy proceeds used for services for veterans, military personnel in need and their families shall be expended on strategies, substrategies, programs and activities related to veterans justice programs including the veterans incarcerated program, veterans legal assistance, the veterans treatment court or other emerging veterans justice programs;
4. At least one million five hundred thousand dollars per year from the portion of the levy proceeds not specifically designated for services for veterans, military personnel in need and their families that shall be invested in early intervention and prevention programs that have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing dependency and criminal justice problems in the long run;
5. It shall be the goal to limit the county's administrative expenses for managing and administering the levy proceeds to five percent, excluding evaluation and board support expenses; and
6. A description of how the service improvement plan is in alignment with the county's equity and social justice initiative as defined and outlined in Ordinance 16948.
C. Implementation plans that shall describe:
1. How and when each specific strategy, substrategy, activities and programs will be implemented using what kinds of funds and service partnerships;
2. The types of performance contracting and performance measures that will be used;
3. How equity and social justice will be assured in the delivery of services; and
4. How services will be located and designed to maximize access by the populations in need.
SECTION 5. The executive shall ensure that the service improvement plan is developed as a collaborative effort between the departments of community and human services and public health, with specific involvement of the county's veterans citizen oversight board, the regional human service board and the council. In the process of plan development and revision, the executive shall also consult with the Committee to End Homelessness in King County, the appropriate juvenile and adult justice operational master plan oversight and working groups or their successors and the county's regional and subregional human services organizations.
SECTION 6. A. By June 30, 2012, and each year thereafter through 2017, the department of community and human services or its successor shall prepare and the executive submit to the council for review and acceptance by motion an annual progress report on the previous calendar year on the King County veterans and human services levy strategies, substrategies, programs and activities.
B. The annual progress reports shall include:
1. A description of services procured and delivered to date and the status of service and project and activity implementation;
2. An updated, detailed financial plan that includes:
a. the total actual and projected revenue and expenditures for the veterans and regional human services funds for each year of the levy and cumulatively for the life of the current levy
b. the total amount of funding expended to date by strategy, substrategy, activity or program;
c. the total amount of funding contracted to date by strategy, substrategy, activity or program;
d. explanations of all changes from the previous year's financial plan and changes from the projected budget; and
e. all levy operation and administration costs, including all full-time equivalents and term-limited temporaries supported by the levy, the number of contracts administered from levy funds;
3. Individual program statistics for by strategy, substrategy, activity or program;
4. The geographic distribution of levy resources across the county, including numbers of individuals served by jurisdiction;
5. A report or reports from the county's veterans citizen oversight board and the regional human service oversight board regarding their assessment of progress and any recommendations they may have for improvement of levy program operations and result;
6. Detailed explanation of any revisions to the adopted service improvement plan strategies, , activities or should any strategy or activity be eliminated or added, and should there be any changes to allocation plan's funding amounts for any strategy or activity greater than fifteen percent; and
7. An evaluation report that indentifies outcome and output targets and assesses performance by the county and its contractors strategy, substrategy, activity and program in meeting the identified outcome and output targets.
C. The annual progress reports shall each be filed in the form of a paper copy and an electronic copy with the clerk of the council, who shall forward electronic copies to all councilmembers.
SECTION 7. A levy service improvement financial plan, including the next year's projected allocations by service improvement strategy, substrategy, activity or program allocation for levy funds shall be submitted to the council with the budget for each year of the six-year levy period. The plan is subject to review and possible modification during the county's annual budget process.
each year of the six-year levy period. The plan is subject to review and possible modification during the county's annual budget process.