• Existing licensed Adult Residential Facility (ARF), as defined in Title 22, section 80001(a)(5) of the California Code of Regulations; Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE), as defined in Title 22, section 87101(r)(5) of the California Code of Regulations; or Residential Care Facility for the Chronically Ill (RCFCI), as defined in Title 22, section 87801(r)(5) of the California Code of Regulations; located within Los Angeles County.
• Facilities that currently serve at least one “qualified resident” as defined by an applicant or recipient of Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) pursuant to Subchapter 16 (commencing with Section 1381) of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States and Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) section 12000 et seq., and an applicant or recipient of the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI) pursuant to WIC section 18937 et seq., who need the care and supervision that is provided by a licensed care facility that receives the grant. “Qualified resident” shall not include SSI/SSP or CAPI applicants or recipients who are receiving services through a regional center.
• Facilities that are in good standing with Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) or certify that the capital project funds will bring them into good standing, defined as licensees in “substantial compliance” with licensing statues and regulations per Title 22, sections 80001(s)(8), 81001(s)(8), 87101(s)(9), and 87801(s)(7) of the California Code of Regulations.
  
  For current standing, please visit: https://www.cdss.ca.gov
• Facilities that have a critical gap in their financial ability to make the needed repairs or upgrades, placing the facility at risk of closure or at risk of reducing the number of beds for qualified residents.
• Facilities that have completed the pre-application technical assistance training.
• Facilities that have served at least 1 LACDMH or Department of Health Services (DHS) Enriched Residential Care (ERC) or other LACDMH program (as approved by LACDMH) resident in the last 12 months (January 23, 2023 to January 22, 2024).
• Facilities vendored by regional centers are not eligible to apply.

In addition, facilities accepting program funds must meet the following conditions for five years post construction:

• Use funds in accordance with the eligible uses outlined in the “Eligible Uses for Grant Funds” section below.
• Agree to continue serving applicants or recipients of SSI/SSP and CAPI.
• Agree to prioritize referrals from LACDMH/DHS of qualified residents currently experiencing or at-risk of homelessness.
• Remain in good standing with CCLD.

Applications submitted will be reviewed for eligibility, scoring and ranking, and subject matter expert review. Applications that meet all eligibility criteria in Phase 1 will be scored utilizing a total 120-point system for Phases 2 and 3. Phase 2 will utilize a 100-point scale and Phase 3 will utilize a 20-point system.

Application Review Phase 1: Eligibility Criteria 

Applicant must meet all four (4) of the following criteria:

• Is the facility an ARF, RCFE or RCFCI? (Pass/Fail).
• Is facility CCLD license in good standing? (Pass/Fail).
• Is facility currently serving one (1) or more qualified resident? (Pass/Fail).
• Facilities that have served at least one (1) LACDMH/DHS Enriched Residential Care (ERC) or other LACDMH program (as approved by LACDMH) resident in the last 12 months (January 23, 2023 to January 22, 2024) (Pass/Fail).

Application Review Phase 2: Application Scoring

Phase 2 will assess the following items listed below using a 100-point scale:  

• Number of LACDMH/DHS ERC Residents (0-20 points).
• Percentage of LACDMH/DHS ERC Residents (0-10 points).
• Physical Needs Assessment: Property Useful Life Table – Overall Property Rating (0 – 25 points).
• High Priority Service Provider Area (SPA): Number of LACDMH/DHS Facilities (0-15 points).
• High Priority SPA: 2023 Homeless Count (0-15 points).
• “Need Tier Level” as identified by the County’s equity lens (0-15 points).

Application Review Phase 3: Subject Matter Expert Review

As Subject Matter Experts, LACDMH and DHS staff will score applications using a 20-point scale on the following criteria:

• Facility has demonstrated history of accepting high acuity clients with behavioral health disorders.
• Facility has demonstrated history of retaining high acuity clients with behavioral health disorders.
• Facility includes staff that are well-trained in and have demonstrated compliance with DMH/DHS ERC procedures.
• Facility accepts individuals that are homeless or at-risk of homelessness.

Subject Matter Experts will score applications as follows:

• Meets 1 criteria: 0-5 points.
• Meets 2 criteria: 6-10 points.
• Meets 3 criteria: 11-15 points.
• Meets all criteria: 16-20 points.

Application Review Phases 4 and 5:

Eligible applications will be ranked from highest to lowest score. Grant funding of no less than $50,000 per facility will be awarded to approved applications in descending rank order until total grant funding available is expended.

• Phase 4: A minimum of 10 grants will be awarded to top scoring facilities with a licensed capacity of six (6) or fewer residents.
• Phase 5: Remaining grant funds will be awarded to top scoring facilities with a licensed capacity of seven (7) or more residents.

Facilities must attest that they have not received assistance from other programs for the same purpose(s) as this grant program.

Grant funds can be applied to physical repairs and upgrades for a facility within its property line. The grants can also fund repairs needed to ensure facilities are compliant with licensing standards. The below list includes eligible repairs and upgrades; the Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) reserves the right to revise eligible items:

• Weather stripping repair.
• Outdoor activity space upgrades.
• Perimeter fencing.
• Delayed egress.
• Repairs to holes in walls.
• Signal system upgrade (e.g., egress and ingress systems, signals/alarms on doors, integration to personal emergency responses systems).
• Elevator repairs.
• Water damage repairs.
• Appliance upgrades.
• Furniture upgrades.
• Locked storage area upgrades.
• Fire protection upgrades.
• Fire alarm systems upgrades.
• Employee accommodations upgrades (e.g., break rooms).
• First aid supply upgrades.
• Window and screen repair and upgrades.
• Carpet and flooring upgrades.
• Interior paint upgrades.
• Roof repairs or replacement.
• ADA upgrades.
• HVAC repairs or upgrades.
• Repairs or upgrades to bedrooms, bathrooms and showers, common areas, kitchens (note: repairs or upgrades may not increase square footage of the facility).
• Seismic upgrades to applicable facility types with two stories or more.
• Solar panel purchasing, installation, and other upgrades that will reduce long-term operating costs.
• Other sustainable/green or energy-efficient building upgrades.

• Foundations for leased properties.
• Projects that would expand or create a new usable space that would increase the square footage of the facility.
• Provision of services.
• Operating costs. Facilities can apply for Operating Subsidy Payment (OSP) funds for operating cost needs. For more information regarding OSP, please email DMH_CCE@dmh.lacounty.gov.
• Any other rehabilitation item that LACDA deems unnecessary.

The application portal is expected to 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, at 10am (eligibility and scoring criteria, requesting a physical needs assessment report) and January 29, 2024, at 10am (step-by-step application instructions.).

Eligible Facility Operators who wish to apply must complete the Pre-application Technical Assistance training.

Facility Operators must apply to be considered for a grant. Facility Operators with more than one facility will be required to submit a separate application for each facility that they would like to be considered for a grant.

• A Physical Needs Assessment (PNA) report (including the PNAs provided through Brilliant Corners). A PNA report may be requested by emailing capitalprojects@ccecp.org. A PNA report is typically used to evaluate the viability of property to continue serving its intended purpose into the future. The PNA report will be prepared at no cost to the Facility Operator.
• If the Facility Operator (Licensee) is not also the Property Owner, then an Owner Participation Agreement (OPA) will need to be executed and submitted prior to the PNA report being commissioned. An OPA will be provided as part of the Pre-application Technical Assistance training on January 17, 2024, for the Facility Owner and the Facility Operator (Licensee) to sign.

• A copy of the facility CCLD license reflecting the facility address/location.
• IRS Form W-9.
• Execution of a grant agreement with LACDA.
• Property Owner and the Facility Operator (Licensee) shall sign a Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions Agreement that shall limit the use of the property for five (5) years post construction.
• Secretary of State Statement of Information and/or fictitious business name.
• Other documentation and verification deemed necessary.

Grant funds will be issued via payment directly to the contractors engaged to complete the rehabilitation of the facilities.

Please contact us by email at CCE: info@growamerica.org or call (626) 547-4048.

It is expected that the Facility responds to any communication efforts within two (2) days of receipt of a call or email. A facility’s failure to respond may constitute forfeiture of application.

If you are contacted regarding missing documentation, you will have 15 business days to provide the requested documents; otherwise, application will be deemed incomplete and application will be denied.

To meet the time and budget constraints associated with the program funding, the County, in its sole discretion, will determine the final scope of work to be performed on a grantee’s facility. The County will refer to the property’s PNA report and consult with the facility operator/owner to be informed of the critical repairs needed, yet County's final determination of type and extent of repair work to be performed will be guided by the County’s need to meet time and budget requirements of the Program.

The County reserves the right to delay or decline applications for facilities that have any compliance issues, whether evident by record of existing citations or discovered through direct observations by the County and LACDA staff. Such compliance issues can include but is not limited to Building Code violations for non-permitted additions or alterations to the building, and/or non-permitted use of the building per local zoning laws.

Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health - Grant Recipient and Lead Agency for the Program.

Los Angeles County Development Authority - Program Administrator.

Grow America - Grant Application Processing and Technical Assistance Provider.