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Cowlitz County staff to sign preliminary certification for biennial consolidated homeless grant
Summary
Health and Human Services asked commissioners to sign a certification page to begin the two‑year Consolidated Homeless Grant process; budget and final contract will follow after the state legislative session.
Gina James, Cowlitz County Health and Human Services, told the Board of County Commissioners on April 16 that the county needs to submit a certification page to start the two‑year Consolidated Homeless Grant (CHG) process and asked the board to authorize Chairman Dahl's signature.
The certification is an initial step that signals the county's intent to participate in the CHG. James said the state will supply a detailed budget after the legislative session concludes and that a contract will follow once the state finalizes funding. The CHG funds include a combination of state appropriations and a portion of locally retained document recording fees that are returned to counties through the program.
The CHG supports the county’s Homeless Intervention Network (HIN) efforts and related activities; James said the county has used the CHG to cover coordinated entry contracts, point‑in‑time counts, and staff time spent on the local five‑year plan and task force work. She told commissioners the most recent two‑year contract she reviewed was about $4,500,000 (for the prior two‑year period) but cautioned that the state had withheld the current budget pending the legislative session.
Commissioners asked how the program’s reimbursement works; James said reimbursement is based on the county’s actual allowable costs and that eligible expenses are reimbursed at a percentage reflecting allowable costs under the grant. She confirmed the county’s practice of billing staff time for eligible administrative activities to the grant.
Commissioner Raider asked whether staff could begin the administrative steps now; James said she would send the certification page to the county and obtain Chairman Dahl’s signature so the county could complete this first step.
The board did not take a formal recorded vote in open session beyond directing staff to proceed with obtaining the signature page. James said the county will receive further budget detail and a contract later in the year after the legislature completes its work.
