Extended agreement keeps Vista del Camino services funded for Scottsdale residents

By Melissa Rosequist
Twitter: @mrosequist_

An agreement between Scottsdale and Maricopa County will keep Vista del Camino as a local administrator for residential needs.

Scottsdale City Council on Aug. 25 authorized a new contract, the fifth amendment to an intergovernmental agreement with Maricopa County for the city’s Community Action Program. The CAP provides additional funding, including CARES Act funds related to COVID-19 that the county is allocating, and extends the IGA another six months.

Through this IGA, the Maricopa County Human Services Department designates Vista del Camino as the local CAP administrator, so the community center may continue to provide CAP funding to Scottsdale area residents.

The program is a mechanism that allows funding from several government sources to reach Scottsdale residents, specifically to address issues relating to poverty and the prevention of homelessness. The focus is on building self sufficiency, according to a city staff report.

Vista del Camino Community Center, 7700 E. Roosevelt St., provides a variety of services including assisting individuals; relieving economic and emotional stress; and preventing homelessness.

The partnership between the city and Maricopa County began in 1968, when the two entities informally began providing CAP funding at Vista del Camino prior to the center’s construction in 1973.

“Over the years, there were various attempts to formalize the agreement, however, since all applications for individual assistance are provided by county staff, the program continued in its informal operation until the requirements of HB 2008 added an additional layer of liability to the provision of public benefits,” the city staff report penned by Human Services Director Greg Bestgen stated.

The formal relationship with Maricopa County Health Services Department was inked in 2010.

With the CAP, available benefits for residents include:

• Utility payment;
• Utility deposit;
• Mortgage payment to prevent eviction or foreclosure;
• Rent payment to prevent eviction;
• First month’s rent payment for those experiencing homelessness; and
• Rental deposit payment for those experiencing homelessness.

The CAP function of Vista del Camino is staffed by four full-time human services specialists — also known as social workers — and one full-time supervisor.

Recently, six more employees were redeployed to Vista del Camino to assist with distribution of new CARES Act rent and utility assistance funding.

In addition to the employees who work with Vista del Camino, more than 30 regular volunteers provide ongoing support to the food bank and career center on site.

The IGA will now expire on Dec. 31, in accordance with the Maricopa County contract with the state of Arizona.

The IGA amendment also increases the agreement funding received from Maricopa County from $159,374 to $199,652 — of which $167,852 is AzCares funding Maricopa County is allocating.