OUR PROGRESS

Update: November 2024

Eliminate Homelessness

• Transformed lives by delivering over 4,538 affordable housing units since 2018, including 1,400 for homeless individuals, fostering housing stability, community, and lasting dignity for the most vulnerable members of our society.
• Alameda County opened California’s first Project Roomkey site, providing isolation for over 2,600 homeless individuals and transitioning more than 1,700 to permanent housing during the pandemic.
• Emergency federal and state funding brought hundreds of millions of dollars to assist landlords and tenants by paying back owed rent for those impacted by COVID-19, serving approximately 22,500 very low-income families, veterans, and those at risk of homelessness.
• The 2024 Homelessness Point-in-Time Count showed the first reduction in homelessness in over a decade, down 3% overall and 11% among unsheltered residents from 2022.
• The creation of the Office of Homelessness Care and Coordination (now Housing & Homelessness Services) by the Board in 2019 has marked a significant strategic shift in our approach to tackling housing and homelessness challenges. This change empowers the Housing and Community Development Department to concentrate on developing and preserving new affordable units, while Housing & Homelessness Services spearheads the mission to end homelessness. This maximizes our staff’s effectiveness to address immediate needs and lay the groundwork for sustainable solutions.

Healthcare for All

• Alameda County ranked in the top 2% of U.S. counties (#60 of 3,002) for lowest COVID-19 deaths (28.1 per 100,000) during 2020-2022, using equity-focused, data-driven strategies with community partners.
• By the end of 2022, 84% of Alameda County residents received at least one vaccination, compared to 69% nationwide.

Employment for All

• Spearheaded a project with 12 Initiatives and 40 changes to countywide Human Resources policies to tackle recruitment challenges, including a County Charter amendment, Employee Referral Incentive Program, and a new website that has increased public job views by 236%.
• Integrated the CalWORKs Partnership Services Trainee Program (CPSTP) into the County’s Temporary Assignment Pool (TAP) Program, providing a direct source of trained candidates from a 12-month internship for public and private job placement.

Eliminate Poverty & Hunger

• Since 2016, SSA has received and processed a 53% increase of CalFresh applications while consistently maintaining a processing timeliness rate above 95 percent.
• Invested and administered $50M to 28 Vendors with over 850 Partners to distribute 4.9 million prepared meals and 58 million pounds of food (the equivalent of 9 million bags of groceries) from September 2020 – March 2022 to residents experiencing food insecurity through the Emergency Food Distribution-Vendor Pool (EFD-VP) program. The program met the food and nutritional needs of home-bound seniors, youth, unhoused, medically vulnerable individuals, COVID quarantining individuals, immigrant populations, and other food insecure individuals and families.
• Beginning in March 2022, awarded $9M in grants to over 1,100 small and large licensed childcare providers.
• Through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, Earned Income Tax Credit, one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty programs, assists low- to moderate-income individuals and families in preparing their taxes and maximizing their tax refunds. VITA services were expanded to include preparation for Married‐Filing Separately returns and became a Certified Acceptance Agent (CAA) to assist clients in completing Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) applications for individuals without a social security number. The total number of individuals/families served from 2016-2023 was approximately 14,571, with tax refunds totaling over $25M.

Crime Free County

• The Alameda County Narcotics Task Force, a multi-agency law enforcement collaboration, conducted over 300 operations, resulting in the removal of approximately 115 firearms and illegal substances valued at nearly $22.5 million (street value).
• In fiscal year 2023-2024, the Probation Department invested over $224 million in prevention and intervention programs for “at-promise” and system-impacted youth, families, and adults. These programs included housing, mental health services, substance abuse treatment, education, employment, life skills training, and cognitive behavioral therapy, positively impacting more than 4,000 individuals and families.
• In fiscal year 2023-2024, the Public Defender’s Office successfully represented over 25,000 individuals and opened 24,000 new cases under the Holistic Criminal Defense Model. Holistic Defense Mitigation Specialists assessed nearly 320 clients, with nearly 90% of their treatment plans accepted by the court, and 85% of clients who received treatment did not recidivate.
• The District Attorney’s Office hired and trained a diverse cohort of victim-witness advocates, providing support to over 25,000 victims within Alameda County’s culturally diverse and multilingual community.

Accessible Infrastructure

• Cybersecurity threats have been mitigated through a robust cybersecurity framework featuring continuous monitoring, advanced threat detection, employee training, and multi-layered defenses. This approach ensures uninterrupted public services, safeguards sensitive data, and minimizes the potential for significant recovery costs.
• Every policy action by the board includes a Vision 2026 Goal as it ensures that strategic initiatives are aligned with the long-term development goals of the county.
• The Climate Action Plan earned the 2024 NACo Government Services and Operations Award.
• Over the past decade, the county has increased its production of renewable solar power to nearly 16% of its electricity needs, with the remaining supply being 100% carbon-free.

Update: May 2023

Climate Action Plan

• The Board adopted the Climate Action Plan for Government Services​ (PDF).
• Development of hybrid and telework strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of which 50% are attributed to commutes. ​
• Continue paper reduction strategies to reduce the waste stream and space needs. ​

Update: October 2022

Real Property Portfolio Management Policy

The Board Of Supervisors adopted by resolution the County’s Real Property Portfolio Management Efficiency, Effectiveness and Sustainability Policy and Implementing Procedures. (R-2022-489 – PDF)​

• County space utilization rate of no more than 200 gross square feet per person.​
• Minimization of tenant improvement expenditures.​
• Departments are encouraged to allow employees in appropriate jobs to make alternative work arrangements at alternate work locations and provide workplaces that may be shared by others.​
• All departments shall consider alternative workplace policies that will reduce operating costs associated with owned and leased real property, reduce space needs, and reduce emissions.​