FY22 Community Projects Funding Disclosure

Rep. Harder has submitted funding requests for important community projects in California's Tenth District to the House Appropriations Committee.

Under guidelines issued by the Appropriations Committee, each Representative may request funding for up to 10 projects in their community for fiscal year 2022 – although only a handful may actually be funded. Projects are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments and eligible non-profit entities are permitted to receive funding. Additional information on the reforms governing Community Project Funding is available here.

In compliance with House Rules and Committee requirements, Rep. Harder has certified that he, his spouse, and his immediate family have no financial interest in any of the projects he has requested.

The projects are listed in alphabetical order below:

Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Project Name: Camp2Home
Requested Amount: $500,000
Project Sponsor: City of Modesto, 1010 10th Street Modesto, CA 95354
Project Explanation: The growing number of people experiencing homelessness in Modesto prompted the City to think critically about the needs of the homeless community, as well as the gaps in the current systems. A key gap the City identified was how individuals are supported in their effort to break the cycle of homelessness. This led the City to develop Camp2Home, a comprehensive pilot response to homelessness that includes moving an unsheltered individual out of homelessness and into employment and permanent housing. With an additional $500,000, the City in partnership with Stanislaus County Workforce Development, Downtown Streets Team, and the Salvation Army Emergency Shelter will be able to extend the job training, and employment pipeline for this program that has helped dozens of formerly homeless individuals secure employment.

Financial Disclosure: View Here

Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Project Name: City of Tracy Crime Reduction Program
Requested Amount: $254,470
Project Sponsor: Tracy Police Department, 1000 Civic Center Tracy, CA 95376
Project Explanation: The City of Tracy's Police Department is requesting funding to place fifteen new License Plate Readers (LPR) at all main entry and exit points of the city, major commercial areas, and "hot" intersections that have high traffic volume. The technology aids law enforcement officers in identifying leads, solving criminal cases, and reducing crime. Community Project funding for this project would help officers use their time on the job more efficiently, reduce costs to the City of Tracy by using vendors that also monitor city parks and traffic cameras, protect businesses and shoppers, and create partnerships between the Tracy Police Department and surrounding law enforcement agencies. In addition to LPR technology, the project would also implement additional traffic measuring devices that would provide information regarding the status of the city's infrastructure. Other installed sensors will measure air quality and sound pollution, feeding the information into a publicly shared website for the community.

Financial Disclosure: View Here

Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies
Project Name: Delta-Mendota Pipeline Project
Requested Amount - $22,000,000
Project Sponsor: Patterson Irrigation District, 948 Orange Avenue Patterson, CA 95363
Project Explanation: The Delta-Mendota Pipeline Project will expand Patterson Irrigation District's (PID's) capability to convey water from the San Joaquin River (SJR) to the Delta Mendota Canal (DMC) through matching its diversion capacity. The project's benefits are numerous: climate change resilience through the ability to match PID's water right diversion from the SJR to the DMC; placing surging flood flows into storage when water is available for diversion; and the capacity to introduce an additional 90,000 acre-feet of water per year (AFY) on average into the DMC that could satisfy refuge, groundwater recharge or irrigation demand depending upon time of year. This project would also enable the PID to facilitate transfers of water intentionally acquired by Reclamation for refuge purposes.

Financial Disclosure: View Here

Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Project Name: First Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center (FBHUCC)
Requested Amount: $301,053
Project Sponsor: First Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center, 2111 Geer Road Suite 510, Turlock, CA 95382
Project Explanation: The First Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center (FBHUCC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Turlock, California, that provides access to mental health services for those in Stanislaus and Merced Counties. The Community Project Funding request will help the FBHUCC to serve up to an additional 900 individuals, specializing in the care of the underserved Hispanic and youth populations, through the establishment of the Mental Health Access Project. To achieve their desired program expansion, the request for funding will allow the FBHUCC to hire one Spanish speaking licensed behavioral health clinician and one Spanish speaking administrative employee who will focus on the execution and operations. The Project will also create a publicity campaign to raise awareness about mental illness symptoms, decrease stigma which can prevent people, especially in communities of color, from accessing mental health services, and increase access to culturally-sensitive, trauma-informed treatment in Spanish. By providing early intervention and services for a population that has been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, the Mental Health Access Project will fill an urgent service gap and treat individuals before their needs get severe and require additional County care.

Financial Disclosure: View Here

Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Project Name: Manteca Station Rider Safety Improvement and Station Modernization
Requested Amount: $4,485,000
Project Sponsor: San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (SJRRC), 949 E. Channel St. Stockton, CA 95202
Project Explanation: The Manteca Station Rider Safety Improvement and Station Modernization project will bring much needed improvements to the existing Manteca Transit Center, which serves as a hub for local, commuter, and long-distance intercity bus services provided by Manteca Transit and San Joaquin Regional Transit District. This project will connect transit passengers to the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) Rail, a commuter rail service that runs from Stockton to San Jose. Incorporating the ACE service into the existing Manteca Transit Center will greatly increase the transportation options for residents of the highly disadvantaged area, made up of predominantly minority communities.

Financial Disclosure: View Here

Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Project Name: Mental Health Residential Facilities Bed Shortage Regional Partnership
Requested Amount: $4,000,000
Project Sponsor: Stanislaus County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services, 800 Scenic Drive, Modesto, CA 95350
Project Explanation: Stanislaus County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services is seeking funding to partner with San Joaquin County and Merced County on a joint initiative to address the significant shortage of mental health treatment beds for homeless individuals suffering from mental illness in the region. The Community Project Funding would enable all three counties to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment and analysis. This would include conducting a housing needs assessment to identify current capacity and system gaps, focusing on needs around the transitional enhanced board and care. This process would include an assessment and review of each counties' current budget structure, including Institution for Mental Diseases (IMD), administrative costs and an analysis of opportunities to reduce administrative costs through regional administrative infrastructure. The long-term goal of the assessment and analysis would be to determine if a board and care facility could be established that would be shared between the three counties. This project will help improve quality of life by providing a place to live for individuals who are homeless and experiencing serious mental illness where they could receive critical treatment services. There is a high demand for adult residential facilities beds in the Central Valley, and a limited supply. With an identified need for more beds, this will create job opportunities while addressing a critical need.

Financial Disclosure: View Here

Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Project Name: Parque Rio Development
Requested Amount: $9,000,000
Project Sponsor: Stanislaus Regional Housing Authority, 1701 Robertson Road, Modesto, CA 95351
Project Explanation: The Stanislaus Regional Housing Authority proposes building a 92-unit complex that will house 72 units for workforce housing and 22 units for seniors, known as the Parque Rio Development. Stanislaus County is experiencing a high demand for housing yet lacks the supply. This imbalance is creating a housing crisis that is affecting everyone in our community, from professionals to individuals experiencing homelessness. This project will benefit the local community not only by creating jobs by way of its construction, but also by helping to address the shortage of affordable housing in the area. The Parque Rio Development will provide much needed affordable workforce and senior housing options up to 120% of Area Median Income (AMI). With this funding, the Parque Rio Development will be able to increase the housing supply in one of the most underserved and underdeveloped areas in Modesto.

Financial Disclosure: View Here

Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Project Name: Stanislaus County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services Promotores/Community Health Outreach Worker Program
Requested Amount: $1,809,511
Project Sponsor: Stanislaus County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services, 800 Scenic Drive, Modesto, CA 95350
Project Explanation: Stanislaus County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services is requesting funding to expand and integrate the current Promotores/Community Health Outreach Worker program and Community-Based Mental Health Clinicians into local schools throughout Stanislaus County in order to assist students and families with mental health services. The Promotores/Community Health Outreach Worker program is comprised of highly-trained and trusted local community members who educate, empower, and advocate for community change in linguistically and culturally sensitive ways, with a shared desire to improve their communities so that all families may experience improved mental health outcomes. Currently, Stanislaus County citizens are facing significant mental health and substance use needs and the COVID-19 pandemic has only escalated those impacts. Thus, the overarching goal of this project is to provide a bridge from the schools to the Spanish-speaking and Latinx students and parents, and to identify appropriate behavioral health care if necessary. If awarded the Community Project Funding request, the agency will hire thirteen additional Promotores/Community Health Outreach Workers and five additional Mental Health Clinicians who will be placed in school districts across the County. This will double the size of the current team and further enable staff to provide specific, timely interventions to address emerging mental health needs of students and families through community-wide partnerships and presence within school-based mental health services.

Financial Disclosure: View Here

Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Project Name: Valley Link Sustainability Blueprint
Requested Amount: $5,000,000
Project Sponsor: Tri-Valley - San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority, 1362 Rutan Court, Suite 100, Livermore, CA 94551
Project Explanation: Valley Link is a new 42-mile, 7-station passenger rail project – that spans three Congressional Districts – at the center of one of the most economically significant megaregions in the world. It is a vital link that establishes rail connectivity between BART's rapid transit system in the Bay Area's Tri-Valley and the ACE commuter service in Northern San Joaquin County – linking nearly 500 miles of commuter and intercity rail with more than 130 stations in the Northern California Megaregion. This project will transform a new mega regional passenger rail line into a national model of environmental sustainability to equitably serve some of the state's most disadvantaged communities.

Financial Disclosure: View Here

Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Project Name: Youth Navigation Center (YNC)
Requested Amount: $500,000
Project Sponsor: Center for Human Services, 2000 W. Briggsmore Ave, Suite I, Modesto, CA 95350
Project Explanation: The Youth Navigation Center (YNC) is a one-stop center that anchors Stanislaus County's system of care to address youth (13-24-year-old individuals) who are in crisis, unstably housed and/or experiencing homelessness. Through the YNC, they will provide comprehensive wraparound services to youth in the County that helps intervene early, stabilize and divert young people from homelessness, connect individuals to educational and employment opportunities, and provide support as they transition to permanent housing. With this funding, the YNC will be able to conduct street outreach and engagement, work with youth on system navigation to develop housing and employment plans, provide emergency shelter as well as transitional housing, and connect youth with appropriate educational services. It is expected that these services will help approximately 600-700 individuals and work towards preventing youth homelessness in Stanislaus County.

Financial Disclosure: View Here