HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 10/25/2011 - THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS CURRENT AND POTENTIAL FUT (2)DATE: October 25, 2011
STAFF: Ken Waido
Pre-taped staff presentation: available
at fcgov.com/clerk/agendas.php
WORK SESSION ITEM
FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT FOR DISCUSSION
The City of Fort Collins’ Current, and Potential Future, Involvement in Supporting the Provision
of Social Services to the Citizens of the Community.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Many lower income citizens of Fort Collins need help in achieving the most basic human needs of
food and water for survival and clothing and shelter for protection from the elements. But, there are
other human needs beyond those physiological needs for survival, including friendship and family,
health, employment, self-esteem, morality, and respect. When low income citizens lack the
financial resources to meet these needs, public support in providing affordable housing and social
services is especially important for survival and life enhancements. Most of the time, non-profit
agencies and organizations provide the needed housing and social services in the community with
the City of Fort Collins participating in a supporting role.
The City of Fort Collins has a history of allocating financial assistance to a variety of agencies and
organizations that provide the direct, hands-on social (public and human) services to lower income
people of the community. This work session will review what the City is currently doing regarding
supporting the provision of social services in the community. Information will be presented as to
the other entities currently involved in providing, or supporting social services, such as Larimer
County, the United Way of Larimer County, Poudre Valley Health Systems, the Poudre School
District, and Colorado State University. A review of what other communities are doing will lead
the discussion as to whether the City’s current involvement is adequate or not, and if the role is to
change, what additional actions should the City undertake.
GENERAL DIRECTION SOUGHT AND SPECIFIC QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED
1. Does Council have any comments or questions about what the City is currently doing in
supporting the provision of social services in the community?
2. Compared to what the City is currently doing under the priorities of the Five-Year Strategic
Plan 2010-2014 (Consolidated Plan), does Council want to consider maintaining, refocusing
and/or expanding the City’s efforts in supporting the provision of social services in the
community?
3. If Council wishes to modify the City’s current efforts, what additional strategies should be
added to the current program?
October 25, 2011 Page 2
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
The City of Fort Collins has:
1. An adopted human services policy (adopted in 1992)
2. A strategic plan regarding its role in the provision of social services in the community
(Five-Year Strategic Plan 2010-2014 [Consolidated Plan] adopted in July 2010)
3. A listing in the strategic plan as to the priority social services and affordable housing needs
of the community
4. An established competitive process through which the City makes decisions and allocates
financial assistance to social service agencies (the competitive process was established by
the City Council in January 2000)
5. A Land Use Code that regulates the location of various types of social services depending
upon their expected impacts and compatibility with surrounding uses
6. An involvement through participation in partnerships with other entities and organizations
to strategically address priority social service needs in the community.
These services will be discussed in various sections presented below in this Agenda Item Summary,
and included in additional background material in the Attachments.
Options to Expand the City’s Current Efforts in the Provision of Social Services
The roles municipalities could play in the area of providing social services in their communities fall
into the following four basic categories:
1. Funders
2. Regulators
3. Partnerships/Participants and Conveners/Leaders
4. Providers
The following list includes things the City could do within the above four basic role categories to
expand its current role in supporting the provision of social services in Fort Collins:
1. Create a central focal point for the City’s efforts
2. Review, revise, and re-adopt a City Social Services Policy.
3. Increase funding of social services.
4. Consider Code changes.
5. Consider transportation enhancements.
6. Increase intergovernmental and/or cooperation with other organizations.
The next few sections briefly discuss these options that the City could choose to follow in order to
expand its current efforts in supporting the provision of social services in the community.
Create a Central Focal Point for the City’s Efforts
Within the basic municipal role of Partnerships/Participants and Conveners/Leaders, the City could
create a central focal point for the City’s efforts regarding social services. There is no “one-stop-
shop” for information regarding City involvement in social services. Staff support and involvement
October 25, 2011 Page 3
is scattered throughout the organization, but is primarily centered either in the City Manager’s
Office and/or the Advance Planning Department’s Affordable Housing and Human Services Work
Group.
An expanded City role in social services could mirror the City’s efforts to deal with affordable
housing issues in the community. The table below lists what the City did to enhance its role in
affordable housing and lists parallel items that could be done to enhance the City’s role in social
services.
Affordable Housing Social Services
Created a new affordable housing planner
position within the Advance Planning
Department as the focal point for City’s efforts
regarding affordable housing.
The City could create a new social services
coordinator position as the focal point for City’s
efforts regarding social services. This position
could be a new staff person or assigned to an
existing staff position. If assigned to existing
staff, a rearrangement and prioritization of
current work programs would be necessary.
Created an Affordable Housing Fund to help
supplement federal grant programs that provide
financial assistance to affordable housing
programs and projects.
The City has already created a Human Services
Program Fund to help supplement federal grant
programs that provide financial assistance to
social service agencies and their programs.
Created new mixed-use zoning districts that
opened more areas to multi-family housing
development and offered a density bonus in a
lower density district if the development
contained affordable housing.
The City could evaluate the Land Use Code for
any limitations and barriers for the location of
offices, clinics, and facilities that provide social
services.
Established a set of development incentives to
entice the development of affordable housing in
the community including:
• Reduced the development review
application fee;
• Permitted priority processing of
development applications;
• Allowed affordable housing to be a
justification for the granting of
modifications to development standards
because the granting of the modification
would substantially alleviate an existing,
and described problem of city-wide
concern (the need for affordable housing);
• Reduced landscaping standards;
• Administrative Construction Fee Waiver;
and
• Delayed the collection of Development
Impact Fees until the issuance of
Certificate of Occupancy.
The City could evaluate and create a similar set
of development incentives that are appropriate
for social service providers.
October 25, 2011 Page 4
Review, Revise, and Re-Adopt a City Social Services Policy
Within the basic municipal role of Partnerships/Participants and Conveners/Leaders, the City should
review, revise, and re-adopt a social services policy (initially adopted in 1992). Much has changed
since the policy was initially developed and adopted in 1992. The community has recognized the
critical issue of poverty (e.g., the Pathways Past Poverty effort led by the United Way of Larimer
County) and the need for a focus on special issues (e.g., Homeward 2020 focus on ending chronic
homelessness). The City has a role to play in these efforts and needs a policy consistent within the
current context of the community’s climate towards social services. A revised policy would also
need to be written in the context of sustainability currently being emphasized by the City.
This option could also go beyond just the adoption of a new policy. A refined City social services
strategic plan that takes the required US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Five-
Year Strategic Plan (Consolidated Plan) to the next level could be a component of this option. This
refined strategic plan would add detailed policies, goals, and an Action Plan for social services in
a way similar to the way the Affordable Housing Strategic Plan added details for affordable housing
beyond what is included in the Consolidated Plan. This effort would involve a more detailed review
and analysis of best practices of what other municipalities are doing in dealing with similar
situations and issues being faced by the Fort Collins community.
It is important to note that a new social services policy, refined strategic plan, and implementation
actions could also lead to dealing with more clearly defined and focused issues of high priority at,
unfortunately, the expense of other issues. For example, increased focus on homelessness could
result in lowering support to job training efforts.
Increase Funding of Social Services
Within the role as a funder, the City could increase the financial resources it allocates to support the
provision of social services.
The City’s Affordable Housing Strategic Plan calls for the establishment of a dedicated, permanent
funding source for the Affordable Housing Fund instead of relying on General Fund Budget
allocations from the City’s bi-annual budgeting process. Options for the source of funding could
include a dedicated sales tax, impact fees, a dedicated property tax, etc. Public support, via a positive
vote in an election, would be required for approval of any tax increase. Additional public support
could be gained if the proposed source also included the sharing of revenue for the provision of
social services. For example, in addition to providing for the Affordable Housing Fund, revenues
would also be distributed into the Human Services Program Fund.
A joint funding source for the Affordable Housing Fund and the Human Services Program Fund
would help strengthen the interrelationships between affordable housing and social services. Many
social service issues can not begin to be solved until clients are placed into stable living situations.
This is known as the “housing first” model. Once a “home” is provided, then the physical or mental
problem can be more successfully treated. Such housing is called “supportive housing” and is,
again, a critical component to dealing with physical or mental problems.
Until the establishment of a permanent funding source, one option could be to refine the priorities
for funding from the existing Human Services Program Fund to only provide support to those
October 25, 2011 Page 5
agencies and organizations currently dealing with the most critical problems. This would result in
fewer, or no, dollars being available for allocation towards other issues.
Consider Code Changes
Within the basic municipal role of Partnerships/Participants and Conveners/Leaders, the Land Use
Code’s regulations and standards could be relaxed to allow social service agencies greater freedom
as to where their offices, clinics, facilities, etc., would be permitted to locate. Development review
processes, i.e., staff, Administrative (Type I), and Planning and Zoning Board (Type II) could also
be examined to see if certain uses really need to be subjected to the “higher” level of review. One
particular review, the change of use, may have requirements that create barriers to renovation and
redevelopment of properties. Building codes could be revised to permit certain variances or
exceptions to reduce or eliminate any burdens with the renovation of buildings for social service
offices, clinics, and facilities.
Consider Transportation Enhancements
Within the role as a social services provider the City could consider transportation enhancements.
Lower income people do not all work “nine-to-five” Monday through Friday jobs. Many work later
into evening hours and during the weekend when the Transfort bus system ceases operations. This
affects not only the journey to work, but compounds other travel needs such as access to child care,
additional education or training, etc. Enhancing transit hours of service operations would be helpful.
Transfort routes could be reviewed to evaluate how transit service assists in providing access to
social service locations.
Increase Intergovernmental and/or Cooperation with Other Organizations
Within the basic municipal role of Partnerships/Participants and Conveners/Leaders, the City could
increase involvement in regional social service efforts. Many of the issues social service agencies
are dealing with are not confined to individual municipal or county political boundaries. These are
regional issues and need to be addressed at a regional level. Some regional type efforts are under
way, such as the United Way of Larimer County’s Pathways Past Poverty. More could be pursued.
The City would need to be strategic with its resources (both financial and staff) in becoming
involved in efforts to deal with specific issues in the future. However, the City should generally
continue to participate and be a partner in many of these future efforts to be established to deal with
specific issues. If necessary, the City could become the leader and convener to organize other
governmental entities, organizations, and agencies to address future problems.
Roles of Municipalities in the Provision of Social Services
As indicated above, the roles municipalities could play in the area of providing social services in
their communities fall into the following four basic categories: Funders; Regulators;
Partnerships/Participants and Conveners/Leaders; and Providers.
October 25, 2011 Page 6
Funders
Many municipalities provide financial assistance to agencies which in turn provide social services
in their communities. The municipalities themselves do not provide any direct services to their
citizens; direct services are provided by the agencies to which the municipalities, and others, provide
the financial assistance. Funding for the financial assistance can come from federal and state
entitlement or other grants. Some municipalities also provide funding from the municipalities’ own
annual general fund operating budget.
Municipalities understand that preventive measures save costs as opposed to dealing with issues
later. Long-term costs can be reduced if communities enhance the effectiveness of social services
and place a greater emphasis on prevention, intervention, and intense rehabilitation. While initial
costs may seem high, the long-term benefits far outweigh the dollars spent.
Regulators
Municipalities have a multitude of regulations that are applied to the providers of social services in
their cities. Sometimes, well meaning codes and regulations designed to protect public, health,
safety, and welfare, have a negative effect on the provision of social services.
Examples of some municipal regulations include:
• Zoning ordinances – these codes dictate the type of use, geographic location, size and
appearance of buildings, e.g., offices, emergency homeless shelters, group homes, etc., and
can include mandatory minimum distance separations between certain types of uses.
• Building codes - regulate physical construction aspects of structures, or regulate
rehabilitation and renovation of existing structures.
• Other ordinances - regulate the size of group living arrangements by distinguishing between
related and non-related individuals using a definition of “family”.
• Various uses - require city registration and/or licensing in order to operate their services.
Partnerships/Participants and Conveners/Leaders
Municipalities will either formally, or informally, partner with other organizations to work
collaboratively to address specific social service needs in the community. Elected officials and/or
city staff members can be assigned, or volunteer, to participate on executive boards, leadership
teams, steering committees, etc. to address specific issues. Sometimes other organizations, usually
non-profits, take the lead with a City’s involvement being a lesser role in the partnership, or as a
participant. Conversely, municipalities can take the lead in addressing social service issues in their
communities. Municipalities can become the major conveners of the partnerships with other
organizations. Effective municipal leadership in social services thus becomes much more vital to
delivering excellent services which make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable people in their
communities.
October 25, 2011 Page 7
Leadership requires an understanding as to what groups exist in the community and the specific
challenges being faced by these groups that impact their ability to obtain a higher quality of life.
Obviously, different groups will have different issues and needs. Municipalities will need to
discover and understand what services are available to the citizens of their community and where
the major gaps are in social service provisions. This would likely require convening agencies,
organizations, and the people in need themselves as to what should be done to address a specific
issue or problem. Leadership requires financial resources to be devoted and staff assigned to do
research, communicate with stakeholders, develop strategic plans and implementation actions, etc.
Municipalities need to examine their own regulations to see whether they pose barriers, or contribute
negatively, to dealing with, or helping solve, identified issues. Municipalities will be required to
lead by example, to use their resources wisely, and learn from others.
Many municipalities develop a Five-Year Strategic Plan, to address the needs and problems of the
community. Some strategic plans are required, such as the Five-Year Strategic Plan (Consolidated
Plan) [see below] required by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, to maintain
eligibility for receiving federal entitlement grants.
Providers
The municipalities themselves can provide direct services to their citizens. Funding for the provision
of services can come from federal and state entitlement or other grants and/or the municipalities’
own annual general fund operating budget.
City of Fort Collins Human Services Policy
In August 1992, the City developed the following policy related to the provision of human services
within the community:
“The City of Fort Collins desires to continue its development as a city where all of
the people of the community will have an opportunity to live in a safe and healthy
environment. This environment includes the provision of essential and diverse
public services to safeguard the community’s human resources. The City of Fort
Collins considers meeting the basic human needs of families and individual citizens
as part of its purpose and therefore declares, as a matter of policy, that it does have
an appropriate role in the provision of human services to the citizens of Fort Collins.
The City will undertake appropriate and feasible actions to safeguard the
community’s human resources by identifying and supporting those human services
that confer a direct benefit of reasonably general character upon a significant
segment of the City’s population.”
The definition as to what is considered to be human services for the above policy is as follows:
“Providers of human services assist individuals and families in meeting their basic
human needs. Basic human needs include the following: food, clothing, shelter,
transportation, physical and mental health, information/education, crises/social
support, employment/income, dependent care, and recreation.”
October 25, 2011 Page 8
In 1992, the City recognized the following human needs: housing/shelter, food, information, crises
intervention, transportation, financial, education, health, employment, recreation, and dependent
care. Some of the means and programs the City had to deal with these needs included: providing
land/buildings to social service agencies; offered bus passes and Care-A-Van a para-transit system;
had a Police Service’s D.A.R.E. Program; provided an Activities Youth Center and an Adult
Literacy Program; provided CDBG funds; had a Fire Safety Education Program; offered recreation
activities at reduced rates for low-income people; and the Housing Authority provided subsidized
housing units.
Attachment 1 provides additional background material related to the development of the 1992
Human Services Policy.
City of Fort Collins as a Social Services Funder
Five-Year Strategic Plan 2010-2014 (Consolidated Plan)
The City of Fort Collins, like all municipalities that receive entitlement grants from the US
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is required to develop and adopt a five-
year strategic plan. The City’s Five-Year Strategic Plan 2010-2014, better known as the
Consolidated Plan, outlines how expected financial assistance from HUD in the Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) Programs will be
utilized to address the most pressing affordable housing, public service (human and social services),
and public facility needs in the community.
Goals in the Consolidated Plan include projects and programs that serve homeless, near-homeless
and low-income populations; address fair housing, and lead-based paint issues; overcome
institutional barriers to the production and/or preservation of affordable housing; and encourage
economic development and neighborhood revitalization.
On July 20, 2010, the City Council conducted a public hearing and adopted the City’s Five-Year
Strategic Plan 2010-2014 which contained the Priority Needs to be addressed for the five-year
period between 2010 and 2014. In terms of the priority public service needs, the Consolidated Plan
states:
“Priority Public Services Needs: In order to provide a suitable living environment,
the City of Fort Collins will:
1. Support and enhance Public Services that focus on providing basic services
to low-income individuals and families over the next five years using 15%
of CDBG funding and 100% of City Human Services Program funds.”
Attachment 2 provides additional detailed information on the Priority Needs as presented in the
City’s Consolidated Plan including priority needs for Housing, Homeless, Public Facilities, Non-
Homeless Special Needs, Special Needs (e.g., elderly, youth, etc.), and Community Development
Needs.
The Consolidated Plan, in addition to identifying the greatest public/human service, public facility,
and community development needs, establishes the funding priorities for a maximum of 15% of the
October 25, 2011 Page 9
available CDBG funds for public services. Attachment 3 presents Table 2B of the Consolidated
Plan which identifies the “Priority Community Development Needs” of the City by ranking them
as a High, Moderate, or Low Priority. The list of High Priority items include: acquisition of real
property, homeless facilities, child care facilities, health facilities, operating costs of homeless/AIDS
programs, handicapped services, transportation services, substance abuse services, battered and
abused spouces, employment training, child care services, rental housing subsidies, security
deposits, rehabilitation (both single-family and multi-familyunits),energy efficiency improvements,
acquisition for rehabilitation, and residential historic preservation.
If Council desires to change the City’s current efforts, new priorities could be added, or a more
focused list reducing the High Priority items could be made.
Human Services Program Fund
In 2006, the City initiated its own Human Service Program Fund which currently provides General
Fund dollars to support human service agencies to provide direct services to the citizens of Fort
Collins. Thus, the City helps fund human service agencies but provides no direct services itself. The
funds from the Human Services Program are combined with a limited portion of Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the US Department of Housing and Urban
Development (a maximum of 15% of CDBG funds can be used for “public” services by HUD
regulations) to create a pool of funds that are allocated to social service agencies through the spring
cycle of the competitive process. From 2001 to 2005, the City contributed General Fund dollars to
the Larimer County Health and Human Services Department for the Human Resources Grant
Program. The Human Resources Grant Program funds were allocated by the County and the City
distributed its own small portion of CDBG funds.
The amount of funding placed into the Human Services Program by the City Council is currently
determined through the City’s biennial Budgeting For Outcomes (BFO) budgeting process. The
annual funding amount has ranged from $332,000 (in 2006) to $540,334 (in 2011), which included
$150,733 of Keep Fort Collins Great (KFCG) funds.
The City’s Human Services Program is utilized to fund a variety of services, including but not
limited to, emergency shelter for the homeless, day care, job training, housing counseling, meals for
children and the elderly.
Attachment 4 provides a summary of General Fund allocations to the human services. A history of
the recipients of City financial assistance to social service agencies in presented in Attachment 5.
Stakeholder Coordination
City staff requested comments from non-profit agencies and other organizations in the community
regarding the City’s role in supporting the provision of social services in the community. Responses
back from these stakeholders indicated additional funding would be helpful. For example, the City
received a total of $950,000 of funding requests during the spring 2011 cycle of the competitive
process. The Human Services Program and limited CDBG funding would need to have almost $1
million available to allocate to fully cover the amount of recent requests.
October 25, 2011 Page 10
City of Fort Collins as a Social Services Regulator
The City’s Land Use Code defines various types of uses and regulates the location of these uses that
provide social services in the community. Many of the zoning districts in the city are mixed-use
districts which allow both residential and non-residential uses. However, the location of the
following social services are regulated by the Land Use Code:
1. Offices and clinics
2. Group homes
3. Shelters for victims of domestic violence
4. Long-term care facilities, including:
a. Convalescent centers
b. Nursing care facilities
c. Intermediate health care facilities; and
d. Independent living facilities.
5. Child care centers
6. Day shelters
The City does not regulate family care homes, provided they have obtained a license to operate from
the State of Colorado.
Attachment 6 contains more discussion on the Social Service Uses Regulated by the City’s Land
Use Code.
City of Fort Collins Partnerships/Participants and Conveners/Leaders in Social Services
Provision
The City is engaged in several partnerships with other entities that are attempting to address some
significant social issues in the community. Two examples discussed below are the Homeward 2020
and the Pathways Past Poverty efforts.
Homeward 2020 originally came out of UniverCity Connections with its focus on convening the
local community and catalyzing opportunities for positive change with a focus on three of Fort
Collins’ community assets: Colorado State University; the Downtown; and the Poudre River.
Homeward 2020 is a very specific initiative to end chronic homelessness in Fort Collins by the year
2020. The Homeward 2020 initiative became a reality, when the City of Fort Collins offered the
initial funding, with the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado serving as the formal
manager, fiscal agent, and legal supervisor for the Ten Year Plan.
In 2007, Census Bureau statistics showed a growing percentage of people living in poverty in
Larimer County. The United Way of Larimer County, the lead non-profit organization focused on
health and human service issues in the community, started a conversation about what could be done
to turn this trend around before poverty became too large of an issue to effectively address. In
collaboration with Colorado State University, Northern Colorado Economic Development
Corporation, Fort Collins Coloradoan, and other non-profit organizations, the Pathways Past
Poverty Initiative was created. Pathways Past Poverty is about providing a basic support system for
individuals and families to succeed. A basic support system in place for individuals and families
creates a more stable workforce in the community.
October 25, 2011 Page 11
According to data from the US Census Bureau’s 2005-2009 American Communities Survey (ACS)
5-Year Estimates, 19.6% of the people in Fort Collins are Below the Poverty Level. Since the
19.6% figure includes college students living in the city perhaps more telling figures are statistics
on the number of Families Below the Poverty Level. A Family is a household where there is a
relationship between the Head of the household and the other members of the household. According
to ACS data, 7.6% of all Families in Fort Collins live Below Poverty Level; 5.4% of Married-
Couple Families with dependent children under 18 years of age live Below Poverty Level; and
25.8% of Families with a Female Head of household (i.e., no husband present) live Below the
Poverty Level. The following table summarizes these statistics.
Categories Percent in Fort Collins
People Below the Poverty Level 19.6%
Families Below Poverty Level 7.6%
Married-Couples w/Children <18 years Below Poverty 5.4%
Families with Female Head on Household Below Poverty 25.8%
Additional background information about Homeward 2020 and Pathways Past Poverty is presented
in Attachment 7.
City of Fort Collins as a Provider of Social Services
The City helps fund non-profit agencies in their provision of a variety of social services but is not
a direct major provider of traditional social services itself. Perhaps the City’s most critical
contribution in the arena of providing social services is in transportation with the Transfort bus
system.
The Culture, Parks, Recreation, and Environmental (CPRE) Services Unit, for example, does not
provide traditional social services, however, it does occasionally provide venues for the provision
of some social services. For example, the Northside Aztlan Community Center will serve as a
location for meals to low income seniors and children, but the food is provided by the Food Bank,
or other non-profit agencies. CPRE also provides reduced, or waived, fee recreation classes or
access to facilities for low income people which helps people use services that are more recreational
in nature. Thus, many of the services provided by CPRE help people stay physically and
emotionally healthy and improve their quality of life, but are not traditional social services.
There are some City employee leave benefits available through the Human Resources Department,
such as the back-up child and adult care, and a referral services for counseling services through the
Employee Assistance Program. And several departments, including Police Services, work closely
with agencies and organizations that provide or support social services in Fort Collins.
Stakeholder Coordination
City staff requested comments from non-profit agencies and other organizations in the community
regarding the City’s role in the provision of social services. Responses back from these stakeholders
commented that the City should not become a provider of social services.
October 25, 2011 Page 12
Other Governmental Entities and Non-Profit Organizations Providing Social Services to
Citizens of Fort Collins
There are other governmental entities and non-profit organizations that either provide, or support
the provision of, social services to the citizens of Fort Collins. These include:
1. Larimer County
2. United Way of Larimer County
3. Poudre Valley Health Systems
4. Poudre School District
5. Colorado State University
More detailed information about these entities and organizations are presented in Attachment 8.
Presented below is a brief summary of their activities.
Larimer County
State law (CRS 26-1-115) requires Larimer County, and all counties in Colorado, to establish a
department of social services. There is no similar state law requiring municipalities to have a
department of social services and/or to provide any social services. The Larimer County Department
of Health and Human Services operates programs for low income, elderly, disabled and minority
residents, providing financial assistance for shelter, food and medical care. Individual and family
programs protect adults and children, help people to become employed and assist youth and families
in properly handling their family and community conflicts.
United Way of Larimer County
The United Way of Larimer County solicits monetary contributions from individuals, groups,
organizations, and businesses and allocates financial assistance to various non-profit agencies to
provide social services in Fort Collins. Many of the agencies that receive United Way funding also
receive financial assistance from the City’s Human Services Program and CDBG funds allocated
through the competitive process. While fund raising is an important aspect of the United Way of
Larimer County, the organization does much more than fundraising alone. They are a leader in
creating long-lasting changes by addressing underlying causes of the most pressing needs people
face in the community.
The United Way’s Pathways Past Poverty effort was briefly discussed above, with additional
information presented in Attachment 7. In addition to Pathways Past Poverty, the United Way of
Larimer County is a major referral service for social services in the community. United Way's 2-1-1
information and referral specialists are skilled professionals who assess callers' needs, determine
their options and best course of action by directing them to appropriate programs and services.
Poudre Valley Health Systems
Poudre Valley Health System (PVHS) is a regional medical hub whose outpatient services include
counseling services where licensed clinical social workers provide counseling to patients and
families.
October 25, 2011 Page 13
Poudre School District
In addition to providing education to children from Kindergarten through Grade 12, the Poudre
School District in the arena of social services also has Early Childhood Programs and a Department
of Child Nutrition that serves meals to students.
Note: A separate October 25, 2011, work session agenda item will address the issue of early
childhood education in greater detail.
Colorado State University
Colorado State University’s Early Childhood Center is the lab school for the Department of Human
Development and Family Studies Program. The Center offers a quality program for young children,
trains CSU students for careers in early childhood education, and child life specialists, and provides
opportunities for research related to children, families, and early childhood education.
Programs of Other Municipalities
Loveland
The City of Loveland’s approach to helping social service agencies is exactly the approach used by
the City of Fort Collins. Loveland uses Community Development Block Grant funds provided by
HUD to assist organizations in providing affordable housing and supportive services to persons with
low to moderate incomes. Loveland also has a Human Service Grant Program funded through the
City’s General Fund. The Fund provides grants to non-profit agencies for human services including
youth services, health care, childcare, domestic violence services, and employment assistance.
Greeley
The City of Greeley’s Urban Renewal Authority is the lead agency for the administration of the
City’s federal grant programs (CDBG and HOME). Greeley’s CDBG Program has focused on
“sticks and bricks” for affordable housing with very little provided for public services. What public
service money is provided goes to assist homeless and at-risk families to help them move from
homelessness to housing self-sufficiency.
Boulder
The City of Boulder approaches social issues from a broad community perspective, working with
non-profit organizations, school districts, higher education, and other local governments, to plan for
the future needs of Boulder residents and provide support for the community to meet current human
service needs. The City of Boulder has a Human Services Fund that annually distributes
approximately $2.5 million to community agencies in support of the Housing and Human Services
Master Plan. Awards are made once every two years on a competitive basis.
Longmont
The City of Longmont annually contracts with local non-profit agencies to provide services that
address designated human service needs in the Longmont community. Longmont uses only a limited
October 25, 2011 Page 14
amount of its CDBG funding for social services. Most funding for social services comes from
Longmont’s General Fund.
Colorado Springs
The City of Colorado Springs provides funding to local non-profit agencies for the provision of
human services to low and moderate-income persons in the community. City discretionary human
services dollars and CDBG funds help support programs that range from child care, to self-
sufficiency, to emergency care and shelter.
Attachment 9 provides more information about the programs of these municipalities.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 1992 Human Services Policy Background Material
2. Priority Needs from the Five-Year Strategic Plan 2010-2014 (Consolidated Plan).
3. Table 2B from the 2010-2014 Consolidated Plan – CDBG Chart of Eligible Activities to
Benefit Low-Income Areas and Low-Income Individuals and Families
4. Summary of Funding Allocations to Human Services
5. History of Recipients of City Financial Assistance to Social Service Agencies
6. Social Service Uses Regulated by the City’s Land Use Code
7. Homeward 2020 and Pathways Past Poverty
8. Other Governmental Entities and Non-Profit Organizations Providing Social Services to
Citizens of Fort Collins
9. Programs of Other Municipalities
10. PowerPoint Presentation
1
ATTACHMENT 1
1992 Human Services Policy Background Material
Purpose
Goal:
Strengthen community commitment to human services.
Objective:
Develop comprehensive policy statement that defines the City’s role and responsibilities
with respect to human and social services in the community.
Process
Assess City’s current human services involvement.
Define City’s current “de facto” human services policy.
Solicit ideas and comments from City boards and commissions, local agencies,
service clubs, organizations and major employers through presentations and
discussions.
Report community comments and policy options back to City Council.
Adopt policy.
City role and responsibility by charter:
“provide essential public services”
City mission statement:
“provide personalized quality community services”
Public service includes human services with resources allocated by City Council.
De Facto Policy
The City assists individuals and families (customers) in meeting their human needs. The
following customer categories are identified:
Age
Economic hardship[ Disability
Minority status
Jeopardy/risk factor
The City recognizes the following human needs:
2
Housing/shelter
Food
Information
Crises intervention
Transportation
Financial
Education’
Health
Employment
Recreation
Dependent care
The City allocates the following resources to meet the needs of the Human Service
customer.
Direct provision of City services/assets (general tax dollars)
Contracting for services
Redistributing federal tax dollars and grants
Regulatory mechanisms
Report Summary
Total City of Fort Collins Contribution for one year: $1,452,910
Administrative Services: $385,551
Land/Buildings
Tax Work-off
Mentor/Public Service Programs
Rebates
Bus Passes
Care-A-Van
Police Services: $82,101
D.A.R.E.
Santa Cops
Laramie River Valley Rendezvous
Northside Heat Basketball Camp
Cultural, Library & Recreational Services: $272,853
Activities Youth Center
Adult Literacy
3
Fee Reductions
Financial Assistance
Community Planning & Environmental Services: $445,740
CDBG Funds
Economic Opportunity Fund
Fee Exemption/Housing Authority
Access Ramps Program
Poudre Fire Authority: $66,294
Smoke Detector Program
Youth Fire Awareness Program/Counseling
Fire Safety Education
Boards and Commissions: Citizen and Staff Time
Disability
Status of Women
CDBG
Parks & recreation
Housing Authority
Human Relations
Senior Advisory
Human Resource Grant Program: $196,000
Human Services Allocation Techniques
Techniques Definition Examples
Direct
$949,691
Contacts with agencies,
allocation of General Fund
taxes, provision of City
assets.
Human Resource
Grant Program
Land/Buildings
Tax Work-off
Rebates
Bus Passes
D.A.R.E.
Santa Cops
Laramie River
Rendezvous
Northside Heat
Basketball
Activities Youth
Center
4
Recreation Fee
Reductions
Economic
Opportunities Fund
Fee
Exemption/Housing
Access Ramp
Program
REACH Program
Redistribute
$436,925
Allocation of Federal tax
dollars and grants
Care-A-Van
Adult Literacy
CDBG Funds
Regulatory Requirements by ordinance
or administratively
LDGS
Building Codes &
Standards
Anti-discrimination
Ordinance
Civil Rights Acts
American
Disabilities Act
Other Local Human Services
Agencies Involvement
Larimer County Health & Human Services $30 M
Fort Collins United Way $1.6 M
Poudre R-1 School District ??
Poudre Valley Hospital $4.6 M
Comparison Between Cities
1991 Funding to Human Services Programs
City 1-Year Funding 1991 Population Cost per Citizen
Fort Collins $1.45 M 89,000 $16.32
Boulder 2.6 M 84,000 30.34
Greeley .04 M 61,000 .60
Lakewood .5 M 126,000 4.26
Tempe, AZ .85 M 145,000 5.86
Eugene, OR .75 M 105,000 7.18
Cheyenne, WY .39 M 70,000 5.57
1
ATTACHMENT 2
City of Fort Collins
Five-Year Strategic Plan 2010-2014 (Consolidated Plan)
Development of the City’s Consolidated Plan included consultations with more than 60
local non-profit agencies, entities, and organizations who are actively involved in serving
low- and moderate-income persons and families in Fort Collins. The City’s Commission
on Disabilities, Senior Advisory Board, Women’s Commission, and the Human Relations
Commission, along with the Affordable Housing Board and the CDBG Commission,
were also consulted. Residents of Fort Collins were surveyed through a questionnaire
presented at several focus group meetings. An on-line survey was also available. Over
170 persons responded to these surveys, providing information that included: type of
housing and household size; age and current services received; services needed; and
barriers to receiving needed services. The City’s Affordable Housing Strategic Plan
2010-2014 provided input to address affordable housing needs, as did the Larimer
County Housing Needs Assessment, completed in 2009.
On July 20, 2010, the City Council conducted a public hearing and adopted the City’s
Five-Year Strategic Plan 2010-2014 which contained the following Priority Needs to be
addressed for the five-year period between 2010 and 2014:
Priority Housing Needs: In order to provide decent housing to Fort Collins
residents, the City of Fort Collins will improve the availability, affordability, and
sustainability of housing through the following:
1. Increase the inventory of affordable rental units through the production of new
rental units, or the acquisition and rehabilitation of former market rate units,
converting them to affordable housing.
2. Preserve affordable housing units by monitoring the status of existing affordable
units to maintain or add to the inventory.
3. Increase housing and facilities for people with special needs.
4. Provide financial assistance for first-time homebuyers.
Priority Homeless Needs: In order to provide decent housing and a suitable living
environment, the City of Fort Collins will:
1. Provide support and assistance to agencies and organizations that provide
permanent supportive housing.
Priority Public Services Needs: In order to provide a suitable living environment,
the City of Fort Collins will:
1. Support and enhance Public Services that focus on providing basic services to
low-income individuals and families over the next five years using 15% of CDBG
funding and 100% of City Human Services Program funds.
2
Priority Public Facilities Needs: In order to provide a suitable living environment,
the City of Fort Collins will improve the sustainability and availability/accessibility
of public facilities through the following:
1. Acquire, support and enhance Public Facilities which focus on providing basic
services to low-income citizens and families.
Priority Non-Homeless Special Needs: In order to provide a suitable living
environment and decent housing, the City of Fort Collins will:
1. Provide funding to projects that address housing and supportive service needs for
the elderly, persons with disabilities, at-risk/endangered teens and young adults,
victims of domestic violence, and persons with mental illness and/or substance
abuse issues.
Priority Special Needs: In order to provide a suitable living environment and decent
housing, the City of Fort Collins will:
1. Support and encourage housing and public service projects that directly address
the needs of special needs populations, including: the elderly/frail elderly, persons
with disabilities, at-risk/endangered teens and young adults, victims of domestic
violence, persons with mental illness and/or substance abuse issues, and persons
with HIV/AIDS and their families.
Priority Community Development Needs: In order to provide for economic
opportunity, the City of Fort Collins will improve the availability and sustainability of
economic development by the following:
1. Support, promote or expand development of the Fort Collins Urban Renewal
Authority (URA).
2. Remove severely blighted properties, especially to promote infill redevelopment.
3. Continue to expand use of tools for developments such as the Section 108 Loan
Program, Brownfields, and Economic Development Initiatives.
4. Use CDBG funds to leverage public and private funds.
5. Support, establish or expand programs that provide job training or career
development of low- and moderate-income persons.
6. Implement revitalization efforts in neighborhoods to improve housing and/or
economic development.
7. Promote or support sustainable energy resources.
1
ATTACHMENT 3
Table 2B
CDBG CHART OF ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES TO BENEFIT LOW-INCOME
AREAS OR LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES
Priority List
H: High, M: Moderate, L: Low
Eligible Activity 2010-2014
Acquisition of Real Property H
Disposition L
Public Facilities and Improvements (General) M
Senior Centers L
Handicapped Centers M
Homeless Facilities H
Youth Centers L
Neighborhood Centers L
Parks, Recreational Facilities L
Parking Facilities L
Solid Waste Disposal Improvements L
Flood Drain Improvements L
Water/Sewer Improvements L
Street Improvements L
Sidewalks L
Child Care Centers H
Tree Planting L
Fire Stations/Equipment L
Health Facilities H
Abused and Neglected Children Facilities M
Asbestos Removal M
Facilities for AIDS Patients L
Operating Costs of Homeless/AIDS Programs H
Clearance and Demolition L
Clean-up of Contaminated Sites L
Public Services (General) H
Senior Services M
Handicapped Services H
Legal Services L
Youth Services M
Transportation Services H
Substance Abuse Services H
Battered and Abused Spouses H
Employment Training H
Crime Awareness L
Fair Housing Activities L
2
Eligible Activity 2010-2014
Tenant/Landlord Counseling M
Child Care Services H
Health Services H
Abused and Neglected Children H
Mental Health Services H
Screening for Lead Paint Hazards L
Subsistence Payments L
Homeownership Assistance (not direct) L
Rental Housing Subsidies H
Security Deposits H
Interim Assistance L
Urban Renewal Completion L
Relocation L
Loss of Rental Income L
Removal of Architectural Barriers L
Privately Owned Utilities L
Construction of Housing L
Direct Home Ownership Assistance M
Rehabilitation, Single-Unit Residential H
Rehabilitation, Multi-Unit Residential H
Public Housing Modernization H
Rehab, Publicly-owned Residential L
Rehab, Commercial L
Energy Efficiency Improvements H
Acquisition for Rehabilitation H
Rehabilitation Administration M
Lead-Based Pain Testing and Abatement L
Code Enforcement L
Residential Historic Preservation H
Non-Residential Historic Preservation M
Commercial/Industrial Acquisition L
Commercial/Industrial Infrastructure Development L
Commercial/Industrial Building Acquisition, etc. L
Other Commercial/Industrial Improvements L
Financial Assistance to For-Profits L
Economic Development Technical Assistance L
Micro-Enterprise Assistance L
1
ATTACHMENT 4
Summary of Funding Allocations to Human Services
The table below provides a history of General Fund contributions to the County (2001-
2005) and Human Services Program (since 2006).
YEAR FUNDING AMOUNT
2001 $369,781
2002 $384,572
2003 $399,955
2004 $370,457
2005 $370,457
2006 $332,000
2007 $335,000
2008 $440,334
2009 $440,334
2010 $389,601
2011 $540,334*
*Includes $150,733 of Keep Fort Collins Great (KFCG) funds.
The City’s Human Services Program is utilized to fund a variety of services, including
but not limited to, emergency shelter for the homeless, day care, job training, housing
counseling, meals for children and the elderly, etc. Agencies and organizations receiving
funding include, B.A.S.E. Camp, Boys & Girls Club, Teaching Tree Early Childhood
Development Center, Catholic Charities, Crossroads Safehouse, Disabled Resource
Services, Education and Life Training Center, Food Bank, Neighbor-to-Neighbor,
Northern Colorado AIDS Project, Respite Care, Project Self-Sufficiency, Volunteers of
America, and the Women’s Resource Center.
Many of the social services supported by the City are closely linked to affordable
housing, with some actually being part of the affordable housing continuum, e.g.,
Catholic Charities’ “The Mission” homeless shelter and the Crossroads Safehouse for the
victims of domestic violence. Others either help low-income people better themselves
through education and job training, stay gainfully employed by providing day care for
their children in a secure and safe environment, or find and keep decent safe affordable
housing through housing counseling.
History of Recipients of City Financial Assistance to Social Service Agencies
Agency 2011 CDBG HSP 2010 CDBG HSP
B.A.S.E. Camp-Sliding Scale $57,000 $57,000 $54,200 $54,200
Boys & Girls Club $18,644 $18,644 $17,458 $17,458
CARE-Supportive Services $0
CASA-Harmony House $9,360 $9,360
CCN Seniors $11,331 $11,331 $7,000 $7,000
CCN Shelter $40,000 $40,000 $29,500 $29,500
Center for Family Outreach $0
ChildSafe $0
Consumer Credit Counseling
Crossroads Safehouse-Adv. $42,202 $42,202 $51,042 $51,042
DRS-ATI $28,442 $28,442 $22,010 $22,010
Elderhaus-Therapy Center $23,592 $23,592 $20,142 $20,142
Elderhaus-Vets Prog
ELTC-Emp Skills Training $19,483 $19,483 $17,500 $17,500
ELTC-Evening Class Childcare
ELTC-Job Access & Retention
Family Center-Sliding Scale $30,000 $30,000 $20,500 $20,500
Food Bank-Kids Café $21,000 $21,000 $21,667 $21,667
FCHC-Case Management
HOPE Center-Sliding Scale
HPI-Emerg. Rent Assistance $45,000 $45,000 $40,000 $28,516 $11,484
LCMH-Case Manager
LCMH-CDDT $14,000 $14,000
LCMH-Crisis Prevention
LCMH-Jail Diversion
LCMH-Murphy Center $0
Matthews House $27,639 $27,639 $0
N2N - Hsg Counseling $40,175 $40,175 $39,415 $39,415
N2N - Rent $25,000 $25,000 $20,200 $20,200
North. Colo AIDS Project $24,500 $24,500 $24,500 $24,500
PSD-305 Club Sustainability
PSD/CSU/PVHS-Core Center
Project Self-Sufficiency $22,000 $22,000 $28,500 $28,500
Respite Care-Sliding Scale $30,000 $30,000 $22,500 $22,500
RVNA-Home Hlth Care $35,000 $9,049 $25,951 $26,100 $26,100
SCELC-Sliding Scale
SCELC-Pre-School
Suicide Resource Center $3,000 $3,000
Turning Point-Em Ment Hlth Svcs $0
Turning Point-STEP
Turning Point-Volunteer Coord
UDCC/Teaching Tree $60,000 $60,000 $51,500 $51,500
United Way 2-1-1
VOA-Home Delivered Meals $29,200 $29,200 $19,500 $19,500
WRC-Dental Care Assistance $32,890 $32,890 $34,725 $34,725
Total $689,458 $149,124 $540,334 $567,959 $178,358 $389,601
Note 1 - A zero in the year column indicates applicant applied but did not receive funding
Note 2 - A grey area in the year column indicates the applicant did not apply that year
1
ATTACHMENT 5
Agency 2009 CDBG HSP 2008 CDBG HSP
B.A.S.E. Camp-Sliding Scale $60,831 $60,831 $48,000 $48,000
Boys & Girls Club $18,309 $18,309 $11,520 $11,520
CARE-Supportive Services
CASA-Harmony House
CCN Seniors $10,000 $1,000 $10,000 $10,000
CCN Shelter $37,856 $37,856 $43,546 $43,564
Center for Family Outreach $0
ChildSafe
Consumer Credit Counseling $0
Crossroads Safehouse-Adv. $51,542 $51,542 $45,000 $45,000
DRS-ATI $25,656 $25,656 $22,054 $22,054
Elderhaus-Therapy Center $23,592 $23,592 $21,202 $21,202
Elderhaus-Vets Prog $0
ELTC-Emp Skills Training $18,000 $18,000 $17,623 $17,623
ELTC-Evening Class Childcare $0
ELTC-Job Access & Retention $0
Family Center-Sliding Scale $20,000 $20,000 $20,000 $20,000
Food Bank-Kids Café $27,959 $27,959 $22,167 $22,167
FCHC-Case Management
HOPE Center-Sliding Scale
HPI-Emerg. Rent Assistance $40,671 $40,671 $40,000 $40,000
LCMH-Case Manager
LCMH-CDDT
LCMH-Crisis Prevention $0
LCMH-Jail Diversion
LCMH-Murphy Center
Matthews House $0 $14,000 $14,000
N2N - Hsg Counseling $39,915 $39,915 $39,375 $39,375
N2N - Rent $23,000 $23,000 $21,000 $21,000
North. Colo AIDS Project $29,500 $29,500 $25,000 $25,000
PSD-305 Club Sustainability $0
PSD/CSU/PVHS-Core Center
Project Self-Sufficiency $33,000 $18,837 $14,163 $30,000 $30,000 $30,000
Respite Care-Sliding Scale $25,000 $25,000 $38,000 $25,000 $19,400 $5,860
RVNA-Home Hlth Care $38,000 $35,000 $35,000
SCELC-Sliding Scale
SCELC-Pre-School
Suicide Resource Center
Turning Point-Em Ment Hlth Svcs
Turning Point-STEP
Turning Point-Volunteer Coord $0
UDCC/Teaching Tree $54,367 $54,367 $54,000 $54,000
United Way 2-1-1 $0
VOA-Home Delivered Meals $29,108 $29,108 $25,116 $25,116
WRC-Dental Care Assistance $35,223 $35,223 $29,040 $29,040
Total $641,529 $201,195 $431,334 $598,643 $158,587 $470,334
Note 1 - A zero in the year column indicates applicant applied but did not receive funding
Note 2 - A grey area in the year column indicates the applicant did not apply that year
2
Agency 2007 CDBG HSP 2006 CDBG HSP
B.A.S.E. Camp-Sliding Scale $35,506 $35,506 $33,815 $33,815
Boys & Girls Club
CARE-Supportive Services
CASA-Harmony House $0 $0
CCN Seniors $0 $0
CCN Shelter $31,357 $31,357 $42,158 $42,158
Center for Family Outreach
ChildSafe
Consumer Credit Counseling
Crossroads Safehouse-Adv. $40,900 $40,900 $36,400 $36,400
DRS-ATI $20,718 $21,718 $20,002 $20,002
Elderhaus-Therapy Center $20,400 $20,400 $16,920 $16,920
Elderhaus-Vets Prog
ELTC-Emp Skills Training $20,000 $20,000 $20,000 $20,000
ELTC-Evening Class Childcare
ELTC-Job Access & Retention
Family Center-Sliding Scale
Food Bank-Kids Café $14,719 $14,719 $15,472 $15,472
FCHC-Case Management $0
HOPE Center-Sliding Scale $0
HPI-Emerg. Rent Assistance $35,000 $35,000 $35,000 $35,000
LCMH-Case Manager $0
LCMH-CDDT
LCMH-Crisis Prevention
LCMH-Jail Diversion $0
LCMH-Murphy Center
Matthews House
N2N - Hsg Counseling $55,290 $55,290 $58,599 $58,599
N2N - Rent $15,000 $15,000 $15,000 $15,000
North. Colo AIDS Project $19,000 $9,160 $9,840 $19,000 $2,591 $16,409
PSD-305 Club Sustainability
PSD/CSU/PVHS-Core Center $0
Project Self-Sufficiency $22,000 $22,000 $18,000 $18,000
Respite Care-Sliding Scale $20,000 $20,000 $20,000 $20,000
RVNA-Home Hlth Care $25,000 $25,000 $25,000 $25,000
SCELC-Sliding Scale $20,000 $20,000 $18,000 $18,000
SCELC-Pre-School $10,400 $10,400
Suicide Resource Center
Turning Point-Em Ment Hlth Svcs
Turning Point-STEP $0
Turning Point-Volunteer Coord
UDCC/Teaching Tree $54,000 $54,000 $60,500 $60,500
United Way 2-1-1 $0
VOA-Home Delivered Meals $19,622 $19,622 $14,600 $14,600
WRC-Dental Care Assistance $24,511 $24,511 $18,098 $18,098
Total $493,023 $158,023 $336,000 $496,964 $164,964 $332,000
Note 1 - A zero in the year column indicates applicant applied but did not receive funding
Note 2 - A grey area in the year column indicates the applicant did not apply that year
3
1
ATTACHMENT 6
Social Service Uses Regulated by the City’s Land Use Code
In the discussion below, zoning districts will be described as either residential or non-
residential zones with no discussion of the many exceptions that may apply. The
following uses which provide social services are regulated by the City’s Land Use Code:
Offices and clinics are permitted in every non-residential zoning district.
Group homes are permitted in almost every zoning district. There are different maximum
number of residents and minimum separation requirements between a site location and
any other group homes for the various districts. There are two definitions regarding the
types of Group homes, a Residential group home (maximum of 8 residents) is a
residency operated as a single dwelling, and a Large group care facility (maximum of 20
residents) is a residential facility that offers facilities and services. Both definitions
contain the same following wording:
…licensed or operated by a governmental agency to provide special care or
rehabilitation due to homelessness, physical condition or illness, mental condition
or illness, elderly age or social, behavioral or disciplinary problems, provided the
authorized supervisory personnel are present on the premises.
Thus, the City’s Land Use Code basically, other than size of a facility, does not
differentiate as to the types of physical or mental issues for which residents need care or
rehabilitation in a group home setting.
Shelters for victims of domestic violence are permitted in almost every zoning district and
must follow Group home resident maximum and minimum separation requirements.
There are four different types of a Long-term care facility: 1) a Convalescent center; 2)
Nursing care facility; 3) Intermediate health care facility; and 4) Independent living
facility. Such uses are only permitted in the Mixed Use Neighborhood Districts
established by City Plan in 1997, the Downtown, Community Commercial Centers, and
Employment Districts, including Harmony Corridor.
Child care centers are permitted in almost every zoning district and are facilities for the
care of 7 or more children under the age of 16. Child care centers also include facilities
for children under the age of 6 that have stated educational purposes and are operated in
conjunction with a college or other types of schools.
The City does not regulate private Day care homes provided they have obtained a license
to operate from the State of Colorado.
A Day shelter is a facility that provides temporary daytime shelter for the homeless. Day
shelters are limited in location to non-residential districts.
1
ATTACHMENT 7
Homeward 2020 and Pathways Past Poverty
Homeward 2020 originally came out of UniverCity Connections with its focus on
convening the local community and catalyzing opportunities for positive change with a
focus on three of Fort Collins’ community assets: Colorado State University; the
Downtown; and the Poudre River. Within this effort, it was recognized that the high
concentration of homeless people in downtown Fort Collins was also a considerable
concern that needed to be addressed.
Homeward 2020 is a very specific initiative to end homelessness in Fort Collins by the
year 2020. This is a collaborative effort made up of support and leadership from the
business, government, and non-profit sectors in the community with a very evidence-
based, metric-driven approach. The Homeward 2020 initiative became a reality, when the
City of Fort Collins offered the initial funding, with the Community Foundation of
Northern Colorado serving as the formal manager, fiscal agent, and legal supervisor for
the Ten Year Plan. Since then, additional funders have stepped forward to leverage
support for the Ten Year Plan. City staff members serve on the Homeward 2020
Executive Board and Leadership Team.
In 2007, Census Bureau statistics showed a growing percentage of people living in
poverty in Larimer County. The United Way of Larimer County, the lead non-profit
organization focused on health and human service issues in the community, started a
conversation about what could be done to turn this trend around before poverty became
too large of an issue to effectively address. In collaboration with Colorado State
University, Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation, Fort Collins
Coloradoan, and other non-profit organizations, the Pathways Past Poverty Initiative
was created.
Pathways Past Poverty is about providing a basic support system for individuals and
families to succeed. A basic support system in place for individuals and families creates a
more stable workforce in the community. Material and social support can make the
difference between keeping and losing a job. Pathways Past Poverty is working to
accomplish this by focusing on:
Affordable housing
Childcare
Community awareness and support
Health and wellness
Transportation
As with the Homeward 2020 effort, city staff members are involved in various aspects of
the Pathways Past Poverty program.
1
ATTACHMENT 8
Other Governmental Entities and Non-Profit Organizations
Providing Social Services
Larimer County
State law (CRS 26-1-115) requires Larimer County, and all counties in Colorado, to
establish a department of social services which “shall consist of a county board of social
services, a county director of social services, and such additional employees as may be
necessary for the efficient performance of public assistance and welfare activities,
including but not limited to assistance payments, food stamps, and social services.”
There is no similar state law requiring municipalities to have a department of social
services and/or to provide any social services.
The same state law for counties requires the establishment of a "county social services
fund" which “shall consist of all moneys appropriated by the board of county
commissioners for public assistance and welfare and related purposes; all moneys
allotted, allocated, or apportioned to the county by the state department; such funds as are
granted to the state of Colorado by the federal government for public assistance and
welfare and related purposes and allocated to the county by the state department; and
such other moneys as may be provided from time to time from other sources.”
The Larimer County Department of Human Services has the following Mission
Statement:
To preserve and enhance the safety, self-sufficiency, and well being of low-
income and at-risk populations in Larimer County through delivery of state and
federally mandated benefit programs and services.
Thus, Larimer County operates programs for low income, elderly, disabled and minority
residents, providing financial assistance for shelter, food and medical care. Individual and
family programs protect adults and children, help people to become employed and assist
youth and families in properly handling their family and community conflicts.
United Way of Larimer County
The United Way of Larimer County solicits monetary contributions from individuals,
groups, organizations, and businesses and allocates financial assistance to various non-
profit agencies to provide social services in Fort Collins. Many of the agencies that
receive United Way funding also receive financial assistance from the City’s Human
Services Program and CDBG funds allocated through the competitive process. While
fund raising is an important aspect of the United Way of Larimer County, the
organization does much more than fundraising alone. They are a leader in creating long-
2
lasting changes by addressing underlying causes of the most pressing needs people face
in the community.
United Way of Larimer County works with various partners to support dozens of
programs and services that help people in the community by meeting basic needs,
creating opportunities for financial stability for families, and creating long-term solutions
to reduce needs now and prevent them in the future.
The United Way’s Pathways Past Poverty effort was briefly discussed above.
In addition to Pathways Past Poverty, the United Way of Larimer County is a major
referral service for social services in the community. The 2-1-1 Program is known as the
basic Community Connection to Services. If people need to know where to go for
clothing, food, rent, shelter, support groups, parenting, volunteerism, and other types of
community services, the can just call 2-1-1 for non-emergency assistance. United Way's
2-1-1 Call Center utilizes highly trained information and referral specialists who assist
the public and give answers regarding community services for the following:
Aging services
Disaster recovery
Donation referrals
Food, housing & utility assistance
Health & medical needs
Legal assistance
United Way's 2-1-1 information and referral specialists are skilled professionals who
assess callers' needs, determine their options and best course of action by directing them
to appropriate programs and services. Information and referral specialists provide
culturally appropriate support, intervene in crisis situations and advocate for the caller
and their unmet needs. Some needs go unmet due to a lack of resources, a caller's
ineligibility, or a lack of transportation.
It is easy for Health or Human Services providers to list their Agency in the 2-1-1
information and referral database. Inclusion in the database is free of charge.
Poudre Valley Health Systems
Poudre Valley Health System (PVHS) is a regional medical hub that includes Poudre
Valley Hospital, Medical Center of the Rockies, Mountain Crest Behavioral Health, and
the Family Medicine Center, and dozens of associated clinics and outpatient services.
PVHS provides health care and wellness services and products in Colorado, Nebraska
and Wyoming. Outpatient services include counseling services where licensed clinical
social workers provide counseling to patients and families at Poudre Valley Hospital and
Medical Center of the Rockies for a variety of psychological and social issues, including:
facilities and agencies licensed to
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provide skilled nursing and rehabilitation services;
home health agencies;
assisted living centers;
inpatient and outpatient behavioral health/counseling;
crises intervention;
advance directives;
counseling related to end-of-life issues;
substance abuse;
domestic violence;
stress management;
emotional support; and
referrals to community agencies, including mental health and substance abuse
services, and adult and child protection teams.
Referrals to services and resources in the community include those for housing,
including the Fort Collins Housing Authority, shelters, and safehouses, food,
transportation, and low- or no-cost medical and prescription services.
Poudre R-1 School District
The Poudre R-1 School District has the following vision and mission about its purpose:
Vision:
Poudre School District exists to support and inspire every child to think, to learn,
to care, and to graduate prepared to be successful in a changing world.
Mission:
Educate…Every Child, Every Day.
In addition to providing education to children from Kindergarten through Grade 12, the
Poudre School District in the arena of social services also has early Childhood Programs
and a Department of Child Nutrition that serves meals to students. These are summarized
below.
Early Childhood Programs
Parental, Infant, and Toddler Offerings - Prenatal families and children, birth to
age 3
Quality services and support is available to families and children who meet Early
Head Start eligibility requirements.
Services Offered
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Prenatal parent education support
Home visits
Education, hearing and vision screenings
Socialization opportunities through PACT (Parent and Child
Togetherness) events
Partnerships with local infant and toddler childcare centers
Preschool Offerings – Children, ages 3 to 5
Programs include:
Social/emotional skills development
Literacy and language development
Individualized academic plans
Individualized education plans
Services Available to All Families
Student screening and evaluations:
Age-appropriate child development screening
Hearing
Vision
Development Evaluation through Child Find
Family services and parenting education classes:
Parent classes
Male involvement program
PACT (Parent and Child Togetherness) events
General Education Development
English as a Second Language
Resources, services and community referrals/connections
Health and dental
Mental wellness
Food and housing
Child Nutrition
The Poudre School District’s Department of Child Nutrition provides safe, healthy,
nutritious, and well-balanced meals to the district’s students. All meals meet the
guidelines set forth by the US Department of Agriculture. Funding for the program
comes from the sale of meals and federal and state reimbursements.
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Colorado State University
Early Childhood Center
The Early Childhood Center is the lab school for Colorado State University's Department
of Human Development and Family Studies Program. The Center offers a quality
program for young children, trains CSU students for careers in early childhood education,
and child life specialists, and provides opportunities for research related to children,
families, and early childhood education. The Center is dedicated to working in
partnership with families to ensure a quality educational experience for their children.
The Early Childhood Center is licensed by the Colorado Department of Human Services
and is staffed with degreed teachers with extensive education backgrounds and
experiences.
Meaningful educational experiences are planned in a caring atmosphere to promote the
physical, social, emotional and intellectual growth of each child. Through the
encouragement of self expression, curiosity and explorations of his/her own world, both
at home and at school, the preschool age child will develop a healthy self image, a sense
of responsibility, helpfulness, and will learn problem solving and decision making skills.
The purpose of the Center is threefold:
Teaching - to involve graduate and undergraduate students in observation and
participation experiences with young children.
Service - to serve the needs of children and their families for a half or full day
enriched environment.
Research - to provide opportunities for research related to children, families, and
early childhood education.
The Early Childhood Center is moving to a new facility, the former Washington School
on South Shields Street.
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ATTACHMENT 9
Programs of Other Municipalities
Loveland
The City of Loveland’s approach to helping social service agencies is exactly the
approach used by the City of Fort Collins. Loveland uses Community Development
Block Grant funds provided by HUD to assist organizations in providing affordable
housing and supportive services to persons with low to moderate incomes. A minimum of
65% of CDBG funds are granted to agencies providing bricks and mortar projects; a
maximum of 15% of funds are granted for public service projects; and a maximum of
20% of the funds are set aside for program administration. Goals for the Loveland CDBG
Program are to:
Provide services to homeless persons in Loveland through shelter, case
management, transitional and/or permanent housing.
Create new housing and maintain existing housing opportunities for households
with low income.
Give funding priority to projects and activities that serve households earning 50%
or less of the area median income.
Implement and support the anti-poverty strategy by supporting agencies and
services that meet basic needs and provide tools for self-sufficiency to households
with low income.
Decrease poverty in the community by financially supporting services and
facilities that meet basic needs and provide self-sufficiency opportunities.
Loveland also has a Human Service Grant Program funded through the City’s General
Fund. The Fund provides grants to non-profit agencies for human services including
youth services, health care, childcare, domestic violence services and employment
assistance. The funds will be used to assist in meeting the needs of Loveland citizens
through services and projects that enhance stability, provide crisis prevention and lead to
self-sufficiency. Goals for the Human Services Grant Program are:
Financially support services such as those that provide food, shelter, physical and
mental health care as well as services that prevent crisis and assist in sustaining
independent living.
Support services that value diversity, foster self-sufficiency, treat people with
dignity, build self-respect, address issues of safety, and allow people to live free of
fear.
The following table summarizes the amount to funding available through the Human
Services Grant Program.
2
YEAR FUNDING
2006 $400,000
2007 $400,000
2008 $494,110
2009 $450,000
2010 $450,000
Greeley
The City of Greeley’s Urban Renewal Authority is the lead agency for the administration
of the City’s federal grant programs (CDBG and HOME) and implementation of the
Greeley’s Consolidated Plan. The Greeley Urban Renewal Authority is a division of the
City of Greeley’s Community Development Department.
Greeley works closely with the Greeley Housing Authority and local non-profit agencies
and organizations that provide services to the homeless and special needs populations.
The City promotes communication, cooperation, and collaboration among these groups
and, provides technical assistance to support non-profit agencies and organizations while
they pursue funding from local, state and federal sources.
Greeley’s CDBG Program has focused on “sticks and bricks” for affordable housing with
very little provided for public services. What public service money is provided goes to
assist homeless and at-risk families to help them move from homelessness to housing
self-sufficiency.
There is also a Greeley Youth Enrichment Program's whose purpose is to promote a
positive presence in the community that will result in a reduction of criminal activities
and provide recreational, educational, and cultural programs for Greeley youth and
citizenry. The community has both a role and responsibility to provide Greeley's youth
with a safe, friendly learning environment and to boost academic achievement
Greeley does not allocate any General Fund dollars to support social services.
Boulder
The City of Boulder approaches social issues from a broad community perspective,
working with non-profit organizations, school districts, higher education, and other local
governments, to plan for the future needs of Boulder residents and provide support for the
community to meet current human service needs.
The City provides:
information about and analysis of community social and human service issues;
development of community solutions to social concerns;
policy analysis and development;
surveys and assessments of needs, trends and best practices
3
technical assistance for non-profit organizations to build community capacity;
evaluation of city funding investments;
partnerships with community and government organizations to provide
comprehensive, coordinated, integrated human services; and
funding to non-profit organizations through the Human Services Fund.
The City of Boulder has a Human Services Fund that annually distributes approximately
$2.5 million to community agencies in support of the Housing and Human Services
Master Plan. Awards are made once every two years on a competitive basis. The City
supports programs and services consistent with funding priorities identified in the
Housing and Human Services Master Plan. Human Services Fund resources are
strategically invested to address specific community identified priorities by supporting
targeted programs rather than agencies or organizations. Through an emphasis on
measuring outcomes of services provided, the City expects to be able to report the results
and benefits of services it funds and, in time, show a measurable improvement in the
system of human services and quality of life in Boulder.
Child Care Subsidies
With funding from the City of Boulder and City of Longmont, the Child Care Subsidies
and Referrals Program, in partnership with the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program
(CCCAP), provides assistance in paying for child care to low income families.
Youth Opportunity Grants
Youth Opportunity Grants help provide cultural, educational, or recreational activities.
Youth Opportunity Grants are federal grants awarded to the City, and the rest of the
funding for youth opportunity and child care subsidies comes from City tax revenue.
Homeless Prevention
The Boulder County has a 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness and is organized around
six goals that are designed to have a significant impact on homelessness. Taken together,
these goals represent a comprehensive approach that addresses all facets of homelessness
by combining the development of a more efficient, effective and coordinated service
delivery system with the provision of needed services and housing options. These six
goals are:
1. Prevent individuals and families from becoming homeless.
2. Provide temporary shelter, alternative housing and supportive services for those
who are temporarily homeless.
3. Provide permanent housing with supportive services to meet the long-term needs
of chronic homeless individuals.
4. Develop and/or improve systems to support efficient and effective plan
implementation.
5. Promote public awareness and advocacy.
4
6. Implement an effective governance and staffing structure
Longmont
The City of Longmont annually contracts with local non-profit agencies to provide
services that address designated human service needs in the Longmont community. The
City of Longmont has transitioned to program funding (from general operating funding)
in order to align its process with the other funders. Longmont uses only a limited amount
of its CDBG funding for social services. Most funding for social services comes from
Longmont’s general Fund.
The City of Longmont funding can be used for programs and services that address the
following areas:
Stabilizing individuals and families to help them meet their basic needs: Examples of
services funded in this area include, but are not limited to:
Domestic violence, child and adult protection services
Emergency and transitional housing
Emergency food, clothing, and/or other temporary assistance
Health care (including dental and mental health services)
Ensuring that all residents have full access to services and resources: Examples of
services funded in this area include, but are not limited to:
Community outreach efforts that educate and/or link people with
services
Efforts that promote inclusion and culturally appropriate services
Legal services
Strengthening Children, Youth and Families: Examples of services funded in this area
include, but are not limited to:
Youth asset building
Prevention and intervention services for high-risk behavior
Parent education and support
Early education programs
Childcare for working parents
Supporting Self-sufficiency and Independence for Adults: Examples of services
funded in this area include, but are not limited to:
Support, employment, and/or training for people with disabilities
Transportation
Home-delivered and congregate meals
In-home services
Colorado Springs
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The City of Colorado Springs provides funding to local non-profit agencies for the
provision of human services to low and moderate-income persons in the community.
These activities are governed by the federal regulations for the Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) Program. City discretionary human services dollars and CDBG
fund help support programs that range from child care, to self-sufficiency, to emergency
care and shelter. Priority is given to non-profit agencies that provide the following
services:
Emergency Care and Shelter
Youth Services
Self-Sufficiency Services
For several years, the City has partnered with Pikes Peak United Way to create a
seamless application process for human service agencies. The process used to determine
funding for the nonprofit agencies consists of committees with representatives from the
City, United Way, the Non-Profit Center, the private sector, and the community at large.
These committees review all submitted proposals, attend agency presentations, and rate
the proposals based on relevant criteria. These ratings are then used to determine the
funding recommendations to City Council.
Homeless Program/Continuum of Care - Comprehensive Homeless Assistance Providers
The Comprehensive Homeless Assistance Providers (CHAP) is the focal point of
homeless assistance planning and service implementation in Colorado Springs. CHAP
coordinates homeless assistance activities and related supportive services; and acts as a
resource network and viable means of information sharing in the community. Each year
the City, Homeward Pikes Peak, and CHAP work together to update the Continuum of
Care for Homeless Services for Colorado Springs and make application for additional
grant funding under the competitive Continuum of Care process administered by the
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In addition, Homeward Pikes
Peak is the coordinating agency in charge of the development of the Ten Year Plan to
End Homelessness.
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1
October 25, 2011
City Council Work Session
Social Services Status and Scope
2
October 25, 2011 Work Session
PURPOSE:
• Review the City of Fort Collins’ current,
involvement in supporting the provision
of social services to the citizens of the
community.
• Determine the level of future
involvement in supporting the provision
of social services.
ATTACHMENT 10
2
3
DIRECTION SOUGHT AND SPECIFIC
QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED
1. Any comments/questions about what the City
is currently doing in supporting the provision
of social services in the community?
2. Compared to what the City is currently doing
under the priorities of the Five-Year Strategic
Plan 2010-2014 (Consolidated Plan), does the
Council want to consider maintaining,
refocusing, or expanding the City’s efforts?
3. If Council wishes to expand the City’s current
efforts, what additional strategies should be
added to the current program?
4
Roles Municipalities Play in the Provision
of Social Services in their Communities:
1. Funders
2. Regulators
3. Partnerships/Participants and
Conveners/Leaders
4. Providers
3
5
The City of Fort Collins has:
1. An adopted human services policy (1992);
2. A strategic plan regarding its role in the
provision of social services in the community
(2010);
3. A listing in the strategic plan as to the priority
social service and affordable housing needs
of the community;
4. An established competitive process through
which the City makes decisions and allocates
financial assistance to social service
agencies (2000);
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The City of Fort Collins has:
5. A Land Use Code that regulates the location
of various types of social services depending
upon their expected impacts and
compatibility with surrounding uses;
6. An involvement through participation in
partnerships with other governments and
organizations to strategically address priority
social service needs in the community.
4
7
City of Fort Collins as a
Social Services Funder
• Five-Year Strategic Plan 2010-2014
(Consolidated Plan) – adopted July 2010
– Required by the US Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD)
– Outlines how financial assistance from HUD
will be utilized to address the most
pressing affordable housing, public service,
and public facility needs in the community.
8
City of Fort Collins as a
Social Services Funder
• Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
Program
– Maximum of 15% of CDBG funds can be
allocated to Public Services
(approximately $150,000)
• Human Services Program Fund
– Funding has ranged from $332,000 (in 2006)
to $540,334 (in 2011, which included
$150,733 of Keep Fort Collins Great
funding).
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9
Funded Agencies
• Human Services Program funding supports a variety of
services; examples of funded agencies include:
– Boys & Girls Club
– Teaching Tree Early Childhood Development Center
– Catholic Charities
– Disabled Resource Services
– Education and Life Training Center
– Food Bank
– Neighbor-to-Neighbor
– Northern Colorado AIDS Project
– Project Self-Sufficiency
– Volunteers of America
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City of Fort Collins as a
Social Services Regulator
• The City’s Land Use Code regulates the location of uses
that provide social services in the community.
– Offices and clinics
– Group homes
– Shelters for victims of domestic violence
– Long-term care facilities, including:
• Convalescent centers
• Nursing care facilities
• Intermediate health care facilities
• Independent living facilities
– Child care centers
– Day shelters
6
11
City of Fort Collins
Partnerships in
Social Service Provision
– Homeward 2020
– Pathways Past Poverty
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City of Fort Collins as a
Provider of Social Services
• The City helps fund non-profit agencies
in their provision of a variety of social
services but is not a direct major
provider of traditional social services.
• The City does provide:
– transportation services
– recreation programs
– land/buildings
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13
Other Governments and Organizations
Providing Social Services in Fort Collins
1. Larimer County
2. United Way of Larimer County
3. Poudre Valley Health Systems
4. Poudre R-1 School District
5. Colorado State University
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Larimer County
• Required by state law (CRS 26-1-115) to
establish a department of social
services.
• Operates programs for low income,
elderly, disabled and minority
residents, providing financial
assistance for shelter, food and medical
care.
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15
United Way of Larimer County
• Solicits monetary contributions and allocates
financial assistance to various non-profit
agencies to provide social services in Fort
Collins.
– Many agencies also receive financial
assistance from the City’s Human Services
Program and CDBG funds
• Pathways Past Poverty
• 2-1-1 information and referral specialists
16
Poudre Valley Health Systems
• Outpatient services include counseling
services where licensed clinical social
workers provide counseling to patients
and families.
9
17
Poudre R-1 School District
• Early Childhood Programs
• Department of Child Nutrition
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Colorado State University
• Early Childhood Center is the lab
school for the Department of Human
Development and Family Studies
Program.
• Note: A separate October 25, 2011,
work session agenda item will address
the issue of early childhood education
in greater detail.
10
19
Programs of Other Municipalities
• Loveland
• Greeley
• Boulder
• Longmont
• Colorado Springs
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Programs of Other Municipalities
• Greeley
– Focuses on “sticks and bricks” for affordable
housing
– Very little provided for public services
• Loveland
– Approach is exactly the same as Fort Collins.
– Use CDBG funds and a Human Service Grant
Program funded through the City’s General Fund.
• Boulder
– Broad community perspective, working with non-
profit organizations, school districts, higher
education, and other local governments.
– Human Services Fund that annually distributes
approximately $2.5 million.
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21
Options to expand the City’s current role:
1. Create a Central Focal Point for the City’s
Efforts
2. Review, Revise, and Re-Adopt a City Social
Services Policy
3. Increase Funding of Social Services
4. Consider Code Changes
5. Consider Transportation Enhancements
6. Increase Intergovernmental and/or
Cooperation with Other Organizations
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DIRECTION SOUGHT AND SPECIFIC
QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED
1. Any comments/questions about what the City
is currently doing in supporting the provision
of social services in the community?
2. Compared to what the City is currently doing
under the priorities of the Five-Year Strategic
Plan 2010-2014 (Consolidated Plan), does the
Council want to consider maintaining,
refocusing, or expanding the City’s efforts?
3. If Council wishes to expand the City’s current
efforts, what additional strategies should be
added to the current program?
This could include a review of building codes
and regulations pertaining to renovation of
existing structures.