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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRevised RFP 2026 In Progress 07_23_26 (0002) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Funding for: HOMELESS RESPONSE SYSTEM OPERATIONS AND HOMELESS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS Section 1: Purpose of Request for Proposals 1.1 INTRODUCTION This RFP covers requests for funding for both homeless response system (HRS) operations and homeless and affordable housing capital development . 5386 and 1590 funds are available for the operation of homeless and affordable housing services. 1590 funds are also available for the construction of affordable housing units, including emergency housing, and first-year operations of these facilities. Additional criteria for eligible projects are listed below. Proposed projects must meet eligibility requirements under 2023’s Senate Bill 5386 modifying the distribution and uses of the homeless housing assistance surcharges in RCW Titles 36 and 84 and House Bill 1590 as codified in RCW 82.14.530. We estimate the available funding for this period to be approximately $xxx,xxx for 5386 Homeless Housing and Assistance (operating) funds; $xxx,xxx for 1590 Affordable and Supportive Housing development funds and first year operating funds; and $xxx,xxx for 1590 Affordable and Supportive Housing operating funds. Note that 1590 operating funds may be used for all housing-related services. 1.2 FUNDING PERIOD The HFB is requesting proposals for HRS Operations and Homeless and Affordable Housing Development Projects. Funding under this grant program is allocated for a 12-month period. The period of performance for services solicited under this RFP begins 1/1/2027 and ends 12/31/2027. Initial funding is not an assurance or guarantee of ongoing operational funding after the contract period. Proposers are cautioned not to assume a commitment of future funding based on the receipt of funds in prior years. 1.3 AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT, 1590 FUNDS The project must meet eligibility requirements under Senate Bill 5386 and House Bill 1590 and RCW 82.14.530 Funding for Affordable and Supportive Housing in accordance With House Bill 1590 and RCW 82. 14. 530 1. Development (and first year operations): A minimum of sixty percent of this fund must be used for the following eligible uses: a. Constructing affordable housing, which may include new units of affordable housing within an existing structure, and facilities providing housing-related services, solely for eligible households (as defined below); or b. Constructing mental and behavioral health-related facilities; or c. Funding the operations and maintenance costs of new units of affordable housing and facilities where housing-related programs are provided, or newly constructed evaluation and treatment centers. 2. Operations: The remaining proceeds shall be used for the operation, delivery and evaluation of mental and behavioral health treatment programs and services or housing- related services. 3. No more than ten percent of the proceeds may be used to supplant existing local funds. 4. For purposes of this provision, “eligible households” means persons within any of the following population groups whose income is at or below sixty percent (60%) of area median income (AMI): a. Persons with mental illness b. Veterans c. Senior citizens d. Homeless (or at-risk of being homeless) families with children e. Unaccompanied homeless youth or young adults f. Persons with disabilities g. Domestic violence survivors 1.4 HOMELESS HOUSING AND ASSISTANCE , 5386 FUNDS 1. In order to be eligible for services under these funds individuals served must: a. Be persons meeting the definition of homeless under the legislation and persons at-risk of homelessness such as: i. Persons being evicted within a week from a private dwelling unit or leaving an institution, such as a mental health or substance abuse treatment facility or a jail/prison, with no subsequent residence identified and lacking the resources needed to obtain housing. ii. Persons fleeing domestic or family violence with no subsequent safe residence identified and lacking the resources needed to obtain such housing. iii. Persons living on the streets or in emergency shelter but are spending a short time (up to 30 consecutive days) in a hospital or other institution. iv. Persons who would otherwise be living on the streets or in an emergency shelter. v. Households who are very low-income. 2. Eligible uses of these funds: a. Rental and furnishing of dwelling units for the use of homeless persons. b. Costs of developing affordable housing for homeless persons, and services for formerly homeless individuals and families residing in transitional housing or permanent housing and still at risk of homelessness. c. Operating subsidies for transitional housing or permanent housing serving formerly homeless families or individuals. d. Services to prevent homelessness, such as emergency eviction prevention programs including temporary rental subsidies to prevent homelessness. e. Temporary services to assist persons leaving state institutions and other state programs to prevent them from becoming or remaining homeless. f. Outreach services for homeless individuals and families g. Development and management of local homeless plans including homeless census data collection; identification of goals, performance measures, strategies, and costs and evaluation of progress towards established goals. h. Rental vouchers payable to landlords for persons who are homeless or below thirty percent (30%) of the area median income or in immediate danger of becoming homeless. i. Other activities to reduce and prevent homelessness as identified for funding in the local plan. j. Acquisition, construction or rehabilitation of housing projects or units within housing projects that are affordable to very low-income households. k. Supporting building, operation and maintenance costs of housing projects or units eligible to receive housing trust funds, that are affordable to very low-income households, and that require a supplement to income to cover ongoing operating expenses. l. Rental assistance vouchers for housing units that are affordable to very low-income households. m. Operating costs for emergency shelters and licensed overnight youth shelters. Section 2: Proposal Evaluation and Selection Process 2.1 PROCESS OVERVIEW The following procedure will be used to evaluate the proposals and select finalists. All complete eligible proposals received within the established deadline will be evaluated by the RFP Screening Panel–the Housing Fund Board (HFB). Proposals will be scored by each HFB member. The combined totals guide funding awards, and the HFB will approach the specific awards through a lens of equity, diversity and inclusion. There will be an opportunity to ask questions on the RFP before the submittal deadline. After submission and prior to scoring, the panel may ask technical questions after initial review of the proposal and prior to scoring. 2.2 PROPOSAL SCREENING PANEL The Housing Fund Board will be the RFP Screening Panel. All HFB members will disclose any potential connections and recuse themselves from any conflict of interest, not scoring any conflicted applications. Board service will be disclosed but is not per se a conflict. 2.3 PROPOSAL EVALUATION Applicants whose proposal is being considered for an award may be invited to make an oral presentation of their proposal to the HFB. The HFB will review responses to the questions in the three RFP application sections on project approach, impact, and budget and award points based on these responses. Each section is worth 10 points for a total potential award of 30 points per proposal. The HFB reserves the right to recommend funding for multiple contracts under this RFP or recommend funding for a portion of the requested amount at their discretion. Section 3: Instructions and Timelines 3.1 SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Proposal Deadline:xx/xx/2026 by 4pm All responses to this Request for Proposal should be submitted on the provided application form. Please submit an electronic PDF version of the proposal e-mailed to Carolyn Gallaway at carolyn@co.jefferson.wa.us. If electronic submission is not possible, please contact the County Administrator ’s office at 360-385-9100 for accommodation. The following should be in the email’s subject line: “Proposal – Affordable and Homeless Housing Funds.” It is very important that your application is complete, signed, is for an eligible activity, and conforms to all program requirements. Applications not meeting all the requirements will not receive consideration for funding. Proposals MUST be received by 4pm on xx/xx/2026. Late proposals will not be accepted. Submittals made in an incorrect format will not be considered. All responses to this Request for Proposal should be submitted on the provided application form. 3.2 PROPOSAL SELECTION TIMELINE Request for Proposal Timeline for Funds DATE ACTIVITY xx/xx/26 RFP to be posted on the County Website xx/xx/26 RFP first publication in local newspaper xx/xx/26 Questions from applicants at 2:30 PM Zoom Meeting: LINK xx/xx/26 RFP second publication in paper xx/xx/26 Proposals must be submitted by 4:00 PM xx/xx/26 Proposals opened and distributed to HFB xx/xx/26 Technical questions for applicants will be sent once with a return date of one weekday or during the October xx HFB meetings xx/xx/26 Presentation of proposals to HFB at Special Meeting at 2:30 PM xx/xx/26 HFB recommendations to the BOCC for approval November 2026 Contracts to County Prosecutor and Risk Manager for approval Note – All dates are subject to change 3.3 DEFINITIONS Definition of Area Median Income for Jefferson County Affordable housing program eligibility is always determined by household income. Each household's income is compared to the income of all other households in the area. This is accomplished through a statistic established by the government called the Area Median Income, most often referred to as AMI. The AMI is calculated and published each year by HUD. In Jefferson County, HUD calculates the Sixty Percent (60%) Area Median Income (“AMI”) for a family of four as $64,200. Sixty Percent (60%) AMI for an individual is $44,940. Link: https://www.huduser.gov/datasets/il/il2026/summary?year=2026&reporttype=county&states=53 &counties=5303199999&hmfa=METRO10180M10180 Definition of Very Low-Income Very-low income is defined as households with income between 30%--50% of AMI. In Jefferson County for 2026, this means $32,100–53,500 annually for a family of four. 3.4 GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS a. Complete all parts of the application form and answer all questions on the application. Incomplete applications will not be accepted and will not receive funding consideration. b. Be as specific as possible in stating goals, measures of success, objectives, expected results, deliverables, etc. It is expected that there will be considerably more requests for funds than there are funds available. Therefore, conciseness and clarity of description are essential. c. Any program receiving these funds must use them to provide services only within Jefferson County boundaries. d. Applicants that have received prior Affordable Housing and/or Homeless Housing and Assistance Funds must be current on all required reporting, including to state funders, to be eligible to receive funds. Applicants must submit a copy of their 2026 Annual Expenditure Report to Commerce, if applicable, as part of this requirement. e. Grantees will be required to submit a progress report midway through the grant period and a closeout report at the end of the funding period with their final invoice. Failure to submit timely reports/progress data will result in holding or non-payment of funds. These reports should include a comparison of outcomes to date with those initially proposed. A fiscal and programmatic monitoring visit may be conducted by the County during any project year. The provider will make all project-related documents and files available for review. f. Reimbursement of costs will be addressed in the grant agreement. g. Jefferson County reserves the right to negotiate additional terms to the grant agreement it deems necessary and appropriate to ensure compliance with funding requirements as outlined in 2023’s SB 5386, HB 1590, RCW 82.14.530, and RCW 82.14.540. h. Funding in previous years does not assure additional awards in this funding cycle. i. Applicants may submit multiple proposals. It is preferred that proposals be limited to either requests for funds for either capital development projects or operations projects/programs. 3.7 BUDGET INSTRUCTIONS Please use the attached budget templates. If you need additional space, you may insert rows. “Proposal” refers to the funds requested from these funds that will be applied to this specific project or program. Blank spaces are provided for additional categories. Justification for budget items must be specific, and that same specificity should be reflected in subsequent billings. A maximum 10% Administration fee is allowed for projects if needed, however, Administration fees are not allowed for Capital Projects. 2. Sample Contract: A sample contract may be found on Laserfiche at the following path: https://test.co.jefferson.wa.us/WeblinkExternal/Browse.aspx?id=10141412&dbid=0 &repo=Jefferson www.co.jefferson.wa.us – Jefferson - Board of Commissioners - Boards & Committees - Housing Fund Board - RFP 2026 3. Insurance Requirement: Awardees will be required to meet all the County’s insurance requirements, which are included as Attachment A to this RFP. APPLICATION Funding for: HOMELESS RESPONSE SYSTEM OPERATIONS AND HOMELESS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS Application Proposals must be RECEIVED by: xx/xx/26 at 4:00 PM Section 1: Applicant Information 1.1 APPLICANT INFORMATION Name of Project or Program: Area of County to be Served: Total Amount of Operating Funds Requested: Total Amount of Development Funds Requested: HMIS Project Number (if applicable): Name of Agency/Applicant: Federal Tax ID: Contact Person: Title: Address: City: State: Zip: Phone Number: Fax Number: Email: 1.2 CERTIFICATION Certification by Authorized Agency Representative (Board President, CEO, or another person authorized to bind the agency in a contract). Name of Authorized Agency Representative : Title: ● Applicant certifies that these funds will be used as described in this application unless a change has been mutually agreed upon between Contractor and Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners. Substantive amendment requests will also require the approval of the Housing Fund Board (HFB). ● Applicant certifies that the information in this application is true and correct. ● Applicant certifies that it has no outstanding obligations to the County with respect to housing funds. ____________________________________________________ _________________ Signature of Authorized Agency Representative Date 1.3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 4. Name of Project or Program: 5. Total Amount of Funding Requested: 6. Provide a brief description of the project or program: 7. Identify the specific eligible use(s) under 5386 and/or 1590 for which the Project or Program qualifies, as listed in sections 1.3 and 1.4 of the RFP. If you are submitting for both operating and development funds, please submit separate budgets for each. a. 5386 Operating Funds: b. 1590 Development Funds: c. 1590 Operating Funds: Section 2: Approach (10 Points) 1. Specify the project or program goals and expected outcomes. 2. Briefly describe how the project aligns with and contributes to the priorities, goals and actions of the 2025-2030 Jefferson County Homeless & Affordable Housing Services Plan. The Plan is available for viewing at https://www.co.jefferson.wa.us/DocumentCenter/View/23792/2025-2030-Homeless-Hou sing-Plan?bidId= 3. Describe any collaborations that informed the development of this project, including participation in Housing Fund Board and Continuum of Care activities. 4. Describe the engagement and participation of lived experts in this project’s development. 5. Provide a brief description of expertise and/or recent, relevant and successful experiences in delivering similar programs and/or projects, including ability, stability and resources to implement this project or program. Section 3: Impact (10 Points) 1. What services will be funded? 2. How many individuals by demographic will be served by these funds? Describe how this project supports the original target group or income level of your organization. 3. How does this project serve marginalized populations and address risk of harm and barriers to housing stability? What is your plan for continuous improvement in serving historically underserved populations? 4. Specify the measures of success by which the project or program will be assessed. 5. How would the project contribute to positive movement in Commerce’s Homeless System Performance Measures, including total project entries, length of time homeless, exits to permanent housing, returns to homelessness, and system prioritization? 6. For capital development projects, how does the proposed project demonstrate “serving the greatest need” as identified in Appendix D, Prioritization Criteria of Homeless Housing Capital Projects, in the 2025-2030 Jefferson County Homeless & Affordable Housing Services Plan. 7. For capital development projects, how many new units will be brought online? How many existing units will be preserved? Section 4: Budget (10 Points) 4.1 FINANCIAL READINESS 1. Is the Project or Program ready to use the funding now or are there actions to be taken before the Project or Program can begin? If so, what are those actions? 2. What other funds, donors, or community support are involved with the project? Identify other sources of funds that would be leveraged with the requested funds and/or how these funds will be used to leverage other funds. 3. Will the requested funds, including funds from other sources, fully fund the Project or Program? If not, how does the organization intend to fill the gap? 4. Describe your staffing plan for this project including how many people will be assigned to do this work and their availability? Will this project require new hires? 4.2 FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY 1. For capital development projects, how are the requested funds matched by operating funds going forward? Specify the degree of matching support. 2. Briefly describe your plan for financial sustainability of the Project or Program. 4.3 SCALABILITY 1. Is the Project or Program scalable if all funding requested is not recurred? How would the Project or Program be impacted? 4.2 BUDGET–FEASIBLE FINANCIAL PLAN 1. Identify whether you are a 501(c) (3), for-profit, PHA or government agency. 2. If applicable, include any additional information that is descriptive or helpful to explain any part of your proposed expenditures in your budget(s). 4.2 REQUIRED ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS Please attach the following items via email along with your RFP Application submission. 1. Please attach a current operating budget for the organization requesting the funding. 2. Also, if your organization is an HMIS participant, please attach a copy of your 2026 Annual Expenditures Report to Commerce. Applications without these documents may be deemed incomplete. 4.3 CAPITAL PROJECTS BUDGET 1. Budget Capital Budget for Real Estate Development Uses Financing Categories Estimate Basis of Estimate Total Acquisition Costs $ Construction $ Construction Fees $ Financing Fees and Charges $ Guarantees and Reserves $ Developers Fee $ $ Subtotal $ TOTAL $ 2. Funding Sources Financing Categories Estimate Indicate if Committed or Application has been made. If not made indicate date application is to be submitted Private Loan $ Jefferson County Funds $ Public Sources (State or Federal Funds) $ Foundations $ Donations $ Low Income Housing Tax Credits (indicate 9% or 4%) $ Historic Tax Credits $ New Market Tax Credits $ Gap (if any) $ TOTAL $ 3. Narrative: Please include any budget narrative that is descriptive or helpful to explain any part of your proposed expenditures in your capital budget(s). 4.4 PROGRAM OPERATING BUDGET 1. Operating Budget Program Operating Budget Budget Categories Program Proposal Justification Priority Salaries $ $ Benefits $ $ Rental Subsidies $ $ Utilities $ $ Insurance $ $ Food/Supplies $ $ Furnishings/Equipme nt $ $ Repair/Maintenance $ $ Transportation (explain) $ $ $ Subtotal $ $ Administration (10% max.) $ $ TOTAL $ $ 2. Staffing Budget If your Project or Program includes salaries and benefits, please list position(s) and number of full-time employees (FTE) to be paid by these funds (FTE should be that percentage of time the employee is dedicated to this Project or Program–for example 20 hour a week, part-time salary would be represented as 0.5 FTE): Position Salary Benefits FTE 3. Funding Sources All Funding Sources for the Program Funding Sources Awards 20XX Awards 20XX Indicate if Committed or Application has been made. Public Sources (State or Federal Funds) $ $ Private Donations $ $ Foundation Grants $ $ United Campaigns $ $ Other $ $ Other $ $ TOTAL $ $ 4. Narrative: Please include any budget narrative that is descriptive or helpful, to explain any part of your proposed expenditures. For instance, if you are requesting furnishings or appliances specifically for housing included in your Project or Program, what are the items you are requesting?