County Of Santa Cruz

County Of Santa Cruz Health Services Agency, a division of Santa Cruz County government, receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient for homelessness services, behavioral health programs, and public health initiatives, with 70% of its recent awards as prime grants and 30% as sub-recipient pass-throughs from California state agencies. This is a U.S. local government entity operating as part of the County Administrative Office parent structure, competing for and receiving federal funding directly from civilian health and human services agencies rather than as a federal contractor.

The Health Services Agency's primary grant portfolio centers on homelessness response and supportive housing. The top customer by award count is the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, which accounts for 35 awards spanning annual Continuum of Care (CoC) Program (CFDA 14.267) grants. The most recent CoC award, effective March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027, carries $1.24 million and funds permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, transitional housing, supportive services, Homeless Management Information Systems, and homelessness prevention across Santa Cruz County. Prior-year CoC awards date to 2022. Beyond homelessness, the Health Services Agency holds grants from the Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for health center infrastructure and bridge access programs, and from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for behavioral health initiatives. A $2.1 million SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services grant awarded September 30, 2021, funded the "Healing the Streets" program, which delivered medication management, peer support services, and case management to people experiencing serious mental illness, substance use disorders, and homelessness across Santa Cruz and Watsonville, targeting a minimum of 300 participants annually over two years.

The Health Services Agency also acts as a sub-recipient on twenty-four federal grants passed through California state agencies, predominantly the California Department of Public Health and the California Department of Health Care Services. Sub-recipient awards cover immunization programs, vaccine-preventable disease prevention, mental health block grants (MHBG), substance abuse block grants (SABG), HIV/AIDS housing and supportive services, reproductive health and family planning, teen pregnancy prevention, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program services, opioid response, and traffic safety initiatives. These sub-awards, dating from 2022 through 2025, represent the county's role in implementing federally funded state programs at the local level.

Recent activity shows eight awards in 2025 and one in early 2026, following a lower-volume period in 2023 and 2024 (five awards each year) after a peak of eleven awards in 2022. Three awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months. Combined obligated dollars across all eighty awards total $178 million. The Health Services Agency serves fifteen distinct customer agencies across federal health and housing portfolios, with concentration in HUD's CoC Program and HHS's health workforce and behavioral health grant streams.