The Housing and Community Development Department (HCDD) recommends Council approval of an Ordinance authorizing a Contract between the City of Houston and Home Builders Institute (HBI), providing up to $1,219,258.00 in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery 2017 (CDBG-DR17) funds for job training and education services to approximately 195 low- to moderate- income individuals who were directly or indirectly affected by Hurricane Harvey.
The goal of HBI’s Building Careers for Complete Communities Program (BCCC), is to increase education levels with construction education in carpentry and electrical skills training. Services include construction skills training, case management, career readiness, and job placement.
|
Category
|
Amount
|
Percentage
|
|
Program Administration
|
$130,635.00
|
10.71%
|
|
Program Services
|
$1,088,623.00
|
89.29%
|
|
Total
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$1,219,258.00
|
100%
|
CDBG-DR17 funds are providing 100% of the total project cost. HCDD conducted a Notice of Funding Availability for CDBG-DR17 – Harvey Public Services contracts for fiscal year 2020, with a one-year renewal option. HBI was one of the providers selected. The contract term is July 20, 2020 – June 30, 2021. This is their first Disaster Recovery contract.
*Hurricane Indirect Tie Back: Houston’s labor force was impacted by the hurricane causing over $125 billion in damage according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm impacted over 225,000 Houston businesses (Dun & Bradstreet) and over 25,000 area residents lost their jobs as a result of Harvey (US Dept. of Labor). Labor Market Information shows approximately 600 job openings in construction trades, including carpentry and electrical skills, needed for Houston’s rebuilding efforts. Job training services enable individuals to obtain employment, thereby increasing their financial independence and resiliency to withstand and recover from future disasters.
Fiscal Note:
No Fiscal Note is required on grant items.
This item was reviewed by the Housing and Community Affairs Committee on April 27, 2020.
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Tom McCasland, Director