THE HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT AND THE FAMILY SUCCESS ADMINISTRATION DIVISION RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTIONS.
This item supports the Commission Value of “[A]pproaching human services collaboratively and compassionately, with special emphasis on the most vulnerable,” and the Goal to “[D]eliver evidence-based services to the public, and connect customers and their family members, to sustainable support, with special emphasis on financial supports...” by providing assistance to Broward County residents with their emergency energy needs in times of hardship.
The Care to Share program is funded by charitable contributions received from Florida Power and Light (FPL) customers, employees, and shareholders. The program’s purpose is to help pay electric bills of those who face a financial crisis due to a recent loss or reduction of income or unforeseen expenses. Program funds are provided to the County by FPL and are paid back to FPL for customers’ electric utility services. Under this Agreement, Broward County serves the intermediary function of determining eligibility based on the FPL Care to Share guidelines. The Community Action Agency (CAA) administers this function and coordinates with services provided under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Federal Grant. CAA determines which households are eligible for assistance under LIHEAP, Care to Share, or both.
The Care to Share program may pay electric utility bills up to $500 per household during a 12-month period. This limit may be exceeded in special circumstances with FPL's approval. Normally the household must exhaust all other sources of funding before utilizing these funds. The income guideline is set at 150% of the federal poverty level, like LIHEAP, but CAA has the authority to document special circumstances to qualify a household that is above the guideline.
The Agreement does not guarantee a specific amount of funding since the amount of charitable contributions may vary. However, FPL estimates up to $1,000,000 may be available over the five-year term. Each quarter, FPL disburses contributions received to the County, and County holds those funds until they are expended for eligible customers.
There are no performance measures for the current contract which ends on December 31, 2018. From May 2007 to date, the County has received over $1.983 million from program contributions, and more than 4,000 residents have benefitted from the County's administration of Care to Share program funds.
The Office of the County Attorney has approved this Agreement as to form, and it is in FPL's format thus they will sign last, following Board approval. Most revisions suggested by the Office of the County Attorney were accepted, FPL, however, declined their request to clearly distinguish the Account Holder/Customer from the Applicant and to define “commitments” and “initial commitment setup date.” |