Sonoma County awards grants for affordable housing, child care, homeless prevention

May 11—The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has approved $7.14 million in grant funding for projects ranging from affordable housing to affordable childcare.

The board unanimously approved grants for more than Tuesday as part of an annual cycle.

Why it matters: The grants are intended to support projects to help Sonoma County residents who are very low income, low income, moderate income or homeless. About 20 organizations will receive grants at the recommendation of the county's Community Development Commission.

Funding comes from federal programs run by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Project highlights:

* $2.4 million to a nonprofit organization called Mid-Peninsula the Farm to build 72 affordable units — called Summer Oaks — in Sonoma.

* $500,000 to the Sonoma County Community Development Commission for housing rehabilitation and earthquake resistant bracing systems.

* $486,051 to West County Community Services for homeless outreach, health and mental health services, and homeless prevention.

* $471,895 to Burbank Housing for 57 affordable housing units — called Dry Creek Commons — in Healdsburg.

* $375,000 to Homeless Action Sonoma for two projects called Home and Safe Center and Home and Safe Navigation Center.

* $270,956 to Legal Aid of Sonoma County for its housing justice program.

The process: Applicants seeking the federal funds must meet criteria laid out by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Rhonda Coffman, community development director for the commission, told the board Tuesday.

The Community Development Commission opened its annual funding cycle in December 2022. The process includes technical assistance workshops, one-on-one meetings to discuss proposed projects, a public hearing and application reviews before the final recommended projects are brought to the board, Coffman said.

"Once we recieve applications, staff review the applications for completeness and eligibility for federal guidelines," Coffman said. "Those are very difficult to meet."

Notable discussion at the board meeting:

Ahead of the board's Tuesday vote, executive directors from 4Cs Sonoma County, River to Coast Children's Services and First 5 Sonoma County — all nonprofits the support affordable childcare services — submitted a letter objecting to a grant proposal by a new childcare services business.

The Community Development Commission had recommended awarding $258,000 to WeeCare, a national childcare services company, for its BOOST program, which provides digital resources for local childcare providers. The funding would cover the cost of the program for 12 months.

On Tuesday, Melanie Dodson, executive director at 4Cs, said the county needed to take a closer look at the application, stating some of the local childcare providers WeeCare cited in its application did not plan to work with the company. Dodson also argued the funding would not benefit providers directly but instead cover WeeCare's overhead and internal costs to run the program.

"This is a very large 12-month investment for very little outcomes," Dodson said. "We do more of this with just under $200,000 and of course we're always looking to expand those dollars."

Dodson said 4Cs and River to Coast planned to apply for the grants in the next cycle.

WeeCare was the only applicant in its category this cycle, Coffman said.

Catherine Fuentes from WeeCare said the company has partnered with municipalities across the state and country including the State of California, Las Angeles and Cathedral City.

Fuentes said the BOOST program gives local childcare providers access to a digital curriculum library and helps track financial records and connect with a network of potential clients.

"This is not simple business coaching," Fuentes said.

Michelle Whitman, executive director of the Community Development Commission, said WeeCare provides a valuable service that can help address the county's shortage of childcare providers.

"We can all agree pretty emphatically that Sonoma County has a substantial need for more childcare providers," Whitman said. "We saw Wee Care's program as helping address that need."

The board ultimately approved the grant, but directed the commission's staff to ensure WeeCare collaborated with local service providers, including 4Cs.

You can reach Staff Writer Emma Murphy at 707-521-5228 or emma.murphy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MurphReports.

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