San Antonio prepares $24.8M human services RFP; council debates minimum awards, crisis-nursery set-aside and outreach

City staff told the City Council on Tuesday they plan to issue a biannual consolidated funding solicitation for human-services delegate agencies with an estimated two-year contract value tied to roughly $24.81 million in FY25 baseline funding. The Human Services Department asked the council for input on several policy options, including a proposed $100,000 annual minimum award, a possible crisis-nursery set-aside and continuing designated funding for homelessness and youth programs.

Jessica (Department of Human Services) said the consolidated funding process — first implemented in 2005 — distributes competitive and designated awards to nonprofit partners that provide social services aligned with city priorities. The FY25 adopted budget included about $25 million for the process, which funded 52 agencies across 83 programs; staff estimate the FY26/FY27 cycle will reach more than 60,000 residents.

Key policy proposals facing council input included: whether to keep existing funding priorities, whether to continue about $9.7 million of designated funding for youth and homelessness (including the Haven for Hope campus and Center for Health Care Services), whether to raise the minimum annual…