OCPEH Leadership Team awards $44,000 ESG grant to RRH after IFC appeal

The Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness (OCPEH) Leadership Team voted Aug. 18 to award the full $44,000 Emergency Solutions Grants allocation to the county’s Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) program, after an appeal from IFC and spirited discussion about application scoring and allocation strategy.

Phyllis Portie-Ascott moved to accept the Funding Review Committee’s recommendation to give the entire ESG award to RRH; Catherine Fray seconded. Chair Donna Carrington, Blake Rosser and J. Aldave recused themselves from the vote. Kathleen Ferguson opposed; the remaining voting members voted in favor and the motion passed.

The committee that reviewed applications recommended the single award because total ESG funding fell from $98,000 last year to $44,000 this year, and because the grant rules limited shelter operations to a $26,000 maximum and set a $17,000 minimum for supportive services. Funding Review Committee chair Blake Rosser said splitting the smaller pot across programs would leave neither program with enough funds to operate effectively.

Danielle DeCaprio, OCPEH staff, described the trade-offs OCPEH considered if RRH received the full amount, saying the allocation would allow the program to "provide a minimum of 4 households, but probably 8," given current resource constraints.

Jackie Jenks, representing IFC, urged the Leadership Team to consider IFC’s request and described how prior ESG awards had been used. "IFC got a 0 out of 5 on different questions on the scorecard even though the questions were answered," Jenks said, arguing the low scores affected IFC’s competitiveness; she added that historically ESG funds supported utilities and pest control at Homestart.

Committee members and applicants raised concerns about the transparency and application review process. Members said IFC’s application lacked some budget detail that the Funding Review Committee considered necessary; Terri Buckner noted the application did not include enough detail for the committee to evaluate how funds would be spent. Several members discussed streamlining and clarifying the scorecard and ensuring future review committees avoid conflicts of interest.

The Leadership Team did not adopt any additional conditions or changes to the committee’s recommendation at the meeting. The motion record indicates Carrington, Rosser and J. Aldave recused; Ferguson opposed; all other voting members supported the award.

Next steps noted at the meeting included internal follow-up on the scorecard and application support: the FRC intends to consider holding a workshop next year to help applicants produce clearer responses and OCPEH leaders encouraged broader CoC participation in the review process.

The Leadership Team did not change the ESG allocation during the meeting; implementation details and reporting will follow through OCPEH processes.