Department: Public Health Services
Department Head/Elected Official: Leah Barton ─ Interim Executive Director
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Grant
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): Connective
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by Public Health Services for approval to accept from Connective grant funds in the amount of $71,000, with no required match, for the Public Benefits Hub Pilot Program.
end
Background and Discussion:
The Public Benefits Hub Pilot Program aims to boost household economic stability across Harris County by increasing the residents’ utilization of public benefits. In Harris County, $1 billion in annual assistance goes unclaimed in part because of barriers in securing and maintaining public aid. The Public Benefits Hub provides technical tools and collaborative processes to efficiently determine eligibility for various benefits through a digital eligibility screener and personalized application assistance. Harris County Public Health has been recommended to receive grant funds to participate in the pilot program, expanding existing efforts to assist Harris County residents in seeking public benefits for which they are eligible.
Expected Impact:
Participation in the Public Benefits Hub Pilot will result in additional financial support for HCPH's Connect Team to help 750 households screen for public benefits, providing application assistance to at least 20% of likely eligible screened households, and following up with households to check on application outcomes. In addition, HCPH would be able to utilize Connective's innovative customer relationship management (CRM) system and call center technology to better track the benefits enrollment status of clients served and provide personalized support. Finally, the HCPH pilot program would be able to take advantage of Connective's screener and scheduling tool to help clients complete a public benefits eligibility screener to determine which public benefits they are eligible for and navigate the application process. This initiative will improve outreach and support to vulnerable, under-enrolled populations, boosting their overall household well-being.
Alternative Options:
The court could choose not to accept this grant award, which would impact the Connect teams’ ability to use the Connective eligibility screener and CRM to streamline and enhance their efforts in assisting vulnerable county residents with public benefits navigation.
Alignment with Goal(s):
_ Justice and Safety
_ Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
X Public Health
_ Transportation
_ Flooding
_ Environment
_ Governance and Customer Service
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
05/07/24 |
|
Application approved |
Location:
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
|
|
|
|
Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
|
|
Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
Existing Budget |
|
|
|
|
|
Grant |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Current Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
|
|
Grant |
$ |
$71,000 |
$71,000 |
$ |
|
. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
|
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$71,000 |
$71,000 |
$ |
|
Total Funding Request |
$ |
$71,000 |
$71,000 |
$ |
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
|
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: October 08, 2024
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): September 16, 2024
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Brandon Maddox, Director, Office of Planning and Innovation, Public Health Services
Attachments (if applicable): Notice of Award; Court Order from County Attorney's Office; Contract