Applications to Open for Community Care Expansion Preservation Capital Projects Grant Program
Grants Will Provide $50,000 or More to Help Underfunded Licensed Residential Care Facilities with Improvements and Upgrades
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH), the Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) and Brilliant Corners are excited to announce the launch of the Community Care Expansion Preservation Capital Projects Grant Program, which will fund physical rehabilitation improvements for licensed adult residential facilities, residential care facilities for the elderly, and residential care facilities for the chronically ill located within the County. This grant program will provide a minimum of $50,000 per facility to eligible awardees.
Funding for the program is being made available through Assembly Bill (AB) 172, which established a state-wide effort to expand the state’s housing and care continuum, improve treatment outcomes, and prevent the cycle of homelessness or unnecessary institutionalization. In Los Angeles County, $55.5 million will be utilized to fund the Community Care Expansion Preservation Capital Projects Grant Program to help preserve licensed residential care facilities in need of critical repairs that may impact their licensing status, and health/safety related repairs or required upgrades, thereby potentially preventing facility closures which could result in exits to homelessness. LACDMH committed an additional $11.2 million of Mental Health Services Act funds toward this effort for a total of $66.7 million.
LACDA will administer and implement the program on behalf of the County and will partner with Brilliant Corners, with funding received from Cedars-Sinai and administered by the California Community Foundation, to oversee the required physical needs assessments to determine grant applicants’ capital improvement needs.
“This grant funding will make it possible for many residential care facilities to remain in operation by helping them make important repairs and upgrades to their buildings,” said Los Angeles County 4th District Supervisor Janice Hahn. “Otherwise, many of these much-needed facilities could face closure and put their residents at risk of homelessness.”
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors have voted unanimously on the motion, co-sponsored by Supervisor Hahn and 1st District Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, in favor of accepting state funds to implement this grant program.
“Los Angeles County has taken another step to keep our most vulnerable residents housed through this grant program,” said Supervisor Solis. “The preservation of residential facilities is critical to our efforts in combatting homelessness. When facilities lack the funding to fix repairs or maintain upgrades, the number of units and beds is at risk. To that end, we are leveraging every opportunity to keep individuals sheltered in a place they already call home.”
The funding will be targeted to facilities that have a critical gap in their financial ability to make needed repairs or upgrades, placing the facility at risk of closure or at risk of reducing the number of beds for qualified residents. The program will also fund repairs needed to ensure facilities are compliant with licensing and health and safety standards.
“This program provides a unique opportunity to stabilize the supply of residential care sites, a critical—and often overlooked—component of the housing support continuum,” said William F. Pickel, Chief Executive Officer, Brilliant Corners. “This is a prime example of the importance of public/private partnerships: a unique set of stakeholders—from government, to nonprofit, to philanthropy—have designed a program to support the continuity of these vital facilities, and to ensure that operators most at need for these targeted resources are reached.”
The application portal will open on January 22, 2024 and will remain open for six weeks, closing on March 4, 2024. Application-related trainings will be offered on January 17, 2024 for eligibility and scoring criteria and requesting a physical needs assessment report and on January 29, 2024 for the step-by-step application process. For more information, to register for these trainings or to apply during the application’s open period, visit https://www.ccecp.org/.
