Dr. Robert Marbut to evaluate progress on homelessness initiatives

Just under a year and a half after Dr. Robert Marbut submitted 12 recommendations to help address homelessness in Sarasota County, he will return to evaluate the action plan’s progress.

Sarasota County and the city of Sarasota jointly hired Marbut in August 2013 for $40,300 to study homelessness in the region and develop recommendations and a strategic plan to address the issues found in his survey. In November 2013, Marbut presented the findings of his study and produced 12 recommendations to help elevate homelessness issues, which included a Come As You Are adult homeless shelter.

The Sarasota County commissioners directed staff to reach out to Marbut for a progress report during their March 20 budget workshop meeting. Wayne Applebee, director of homeless services for the county, said it’s common for other communities that have utilized Marbut's expertise to request a similar follow-up.

“They wanted to see if Dr. Marbut would come back in and evaluate where we’re at and give new ideas to get us back on track,” Applebee said.

Marbut will be addressing the progress of the 12 recommendations as a whole, but he’s not evaluating the city’s plan, Applebee said.

With this evaluation, Marbut will survey and interview community stakeholders, including homeless individuals, human service agencies, local governments and foundations, and hold two public forms to get general community input. Marbut will visit Sarasota twice at minimum during this process. After, he will send in a report June 12 and give a presentation to Sarasota County commissioners during their June 23 meeting.

The follow-up report card is not part of Marbut’s original contract. Applebee said staff has estimated a flat fee of about $17,000 to pay for the evaluation, which includes Marbut’s travel expenses.

Applebee said the county has made progress on most of the 12 initiatives, but said Marbut will probably highlight the lack of an established CAYA shelter and master case management system, as both of these initiatives address adult homelessness issues.

“He’ll find (the plan) completely operating on the family and children world, not on the adult side,” Applebee said.

The city and the county launched a joint search for a CAYA shelter last year, but the city stopped the search in July and the county followed suit in August. A master case management system is dependent on a CAYA shelter.