Subject
title
Human Services Needs Assessment Report by Health Management Associates
end
Department
Housing and Community Development
Recommendation
The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) staff recommend that the Mayor and Council read Health Management Associates’ report and hear their presentation on the Human Services Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis with the expectation of later hearing from the Department of Housing and Community Development on a proposal for a strategic plan for meeting the human service needs of all Rockville residents, with a collective impact approach. The last time a Human Services Needs Assessment was done for the City of Rockville was 2006, when the demographics and economic client were different.
Change in Law or Policy
None
Discussion
The City of Rockville strives to ensure that human services for Rockville residents are accessible, effective, efficient, equitable, coordinated and of high quality. The overarching goal of the Human Services Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis is to assess human services availability and accessibility to Rockville residents, to assess residents’ human service needs, and to provide recommendations for how to best meet residents’ human service needs so that they may have success in striving for health, economic mobility, and self-sufficiency in home, school and community. The analysis and recommendations will help inform budgetary decision and resource allocation to meet the current and anticipated human service needs of Rockville residents.
Background
The City of Rockville residents receive safety net human services from Montgomery County for basic needs (housing, education, health care, and social welfare). These services are funded by the county, the state and the federal government. Through its Department of Housing and Community Development, the city augments the county safety net services to address human service needs that may be unique to Rockville residents, i.e. additional financial assistance, utility assistance, food and clothing distribution, language classes, education enrichment, health, and mental health. And the City of Rockville and the county provide grants to nonprofit community-based organizations to provide human services in the city and county.
Both during and now after the COVID-19 pandemic, access to human services has reached the forefront of social determinants of health and wellbeing. In FY 2022, Rockville’s Human Services Advisory Commission and Human Rights Commission wrote and administered a survey to address the Wellbeing and Needs of the Rockville Community. Access to health and human services as well as safety were addressed in the survey. While it was recognized that the City of Rockville does a good job providing for its residents, the results of the survey revealed the exponential increase in need for human services, i.e. financial assistance, vocational training, healthcare, mental healthcare, education enrichment, housing, childcare, food, and clothing. This survey and the increased human service needs of residents led to the opportunity to leverage American Rescue Plan Act and Opioid Litigation Settlement funding to conduct a Human Services Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis in the City of Rockville to determine if the city residents are able to access needed human services and how best may the city, county and nonprofit services be coordinated and collaborative with the goal of utmost efficiency and effectiveness.
Human Services Needs Assessment Report
The following includes language taken from the Executive Summary of Health Management Associates’ Human Services Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis Report:
The City of Rockville engaged Health Management Associates to conduct the Human Services Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis. Health Management Associates interpreted the city’s approach in the Request for Proposal as how best the city, in its regulatory and compliance role, may provide assistance to residents by making sure the services provided are best practices and that they are accessible, coordinated and not duplicative. The human services considered include income supports, financial assistance, vocational training, healthcare, mental healthcare, substance use services education enrichment, housing, childcare, food, clothing, housing, transportation, case management and navigation services. Health Management Associates report details the needs assessment discovery process and findings, and it outlines the recommendations for next steps that will enable the city to better align human services delivery with the needs of its changing demographics.
Health Management Associates’ assessment included engagement, review and analysis of primary and secondary data sources using a mixed methodology that included looking at publicly available data, reviewing reports and data sources provided by city staff, conducting key informant interviews and focus groups and administering a citywide survey. In addition, there was a review of national best practices for developing findings and actionable recommendations in response to the needs assessment. With their findings and recommendations, Health Management Associates provided a detailed SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis, which DHCD staff will use to develop a strategic plan on human service delivery for all Rockville residents.
The needs assessment discovery process identified four key gap areas:
1. Need for navigation services to enable residents to identify the services they need and how to access them (all segments of Rockville residents accessing services need these supports).
2. Need for additional behavioral health services including for mental health and substance use needs (all age demographics in need of mental health and substance use services are captured in this identified gap).
3. Lack of affordable housing that creates overcrowding and high rent burdens (particularly impacts low-income households and seniors on fixed incomes).
4. Need for the county to look at a unique cost solution for county residents living just outside the city limits in larger “Rockville” within Montgomery County, to access City of Rockville community services such as those offered by the Community Centers or the Senior Center that is not at the non-resident rate. DHCD staff will assist county staff on a county solution for this.
Mayor and Council History
The Mayor and Council supported the FY 2022 Survey of the Wellbeing and Needs
of the Rockville Community written and conducted by the Human Services Advisory Commission and the Human Rights Commission. See March 7, 2022 staff report and HSAC and HRC Survey Report attached. This survey was conducted during the pandemic and in the midst of the George Floyd protests to determine if Rockville residents felt that the city had cared well for them during the pandemic and if they felt safe in their community. The Mayor and Council then approved contracting for this Human Services Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis.
Public Notification and Engagement
A Human Services Needs Assessment Survey was advertised through the city’s channels and sent out by city nonprofit partners. It was open November 4, 2024 - December 21, 2024.
Boards and Commissions Review
The Human Services Advisory Commission had members on the Steering Committee for this needs assessment. The Steering Committee provided input on the interview and focus group guides, the survey content, design and outreach, and the report. They also promoted the survey to their constituents.
Procurement
Procurement put out an initial RFP with $83,000 of funding available that was due on April 21, 2023. Based on the proposals, it was determined that this request was under funded. A second RFP put out with $30,000 in additional funding was due on November 15, 2023. A contract was executed at the end of FY 2024.
Fiscal Impact
The cost of this assessment is $113, 000, of which $83,000 came from the General Fund and $30,000 came from the Opioid Litigation Settlement Funds.
Next Steps
Mayor and Council will read the report and hear the presentation provided by Health Management Associates. Staff from the Department of Housing and Community Development will take the findings and recommendations of Health Management Associates along with Mayor and Council input and the research the department has done on human service best practices through a collective impact lens to provide recommendations to the Mayor and Council on what initiatives to pursue and how to support a collective impact approach to providing coordinated, collaborative, effective and efficient human services to Rockville residents to support and facilitate their success in home, school and community.