Working With a HUD Continuum of Care Presenters: Luella Sanders, Ph.D. Director of Community Impact, United Way of the Plains Chair, Wichita-Sedgwick County.

Working With a HUD Continuum of Care

Presenters:Luella Sanders, Ph.D.

Director of Community Impact, United Way of the PlainsChair, Wichita-Sedgwick County KS Continuum of Care Coordination Team

Paul Mireles Program Director, Thresholds – PATH Mobile Assessment Unit

Chicago, Illinois

HUD’s Concept of a Continuum of Care• A collaborative funding and planning approach

that helps communities plan for and provide… emergency, transitional, and permanent housing and other service resources to address the various needs of homelessness persons

• The group of community stakeholders involved in the decision making processes

Source: HUD Funding Opportunity No. FR-5415-N-172010: Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Program (Sept. 20, 2010)

• Authorized by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and administered by HUD’s Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs

• Since 1994, HUD has required each community to submit a single comprehensive Continuum of Care (CoC) application rather than allowing applications from individual providers in a community

• 449 CoCs nationwide

Source: HUD Debriefing Broadcast, 2009 Continuum of Care Competition, August 13, 2010

• To develop a long-term strategic plan and manage a year-round planning effort that addresses the identified needs of homeless individuals and households

• To prepare an application for McKinney-Vento CoC Homeless Assistance Act competitive grants

Functions of a CoC

Strategies to Fulfill the CoC Functions• Promote community-wide commitment to goal

of ending homelessness

• Provide funding opportunities to quickly re-house homeless individuals and families

• Promote access to, and effective utilization of, mainstream programs

• Optimize self-sufficiency among people experiencing homelessness

Source: J.S., Satterfield, D. Wildkress, P. Ehlen, C. Nagendra, L. Gillis (Sept. 2010). Framework and Themes: Overview of the CoC Program, a presentation at the U.S. Dept. Of Housing and Urban Development Conference--Flexible Resources, Data-Driven Solutions: Using HMIS and HEARTH to End Homelessness.

How a CoC Operates: CoC Application vs. CoC

• CoC application– Funding for eligible housing and services– Application submitted by a CoC Lead Agency

• CoC – Core group to ensure requirements for applying

are met – Engage community-wide stakeholders– Year-round planning process– Community education

For information on eligible activities and target populations : www.HUDHRE.INFO

Structure of a CoC System

Outreach, Intake and Assessment

Emergency ShelterTransitional Housing

Supportive Services

Permanent Supportive Housing

Permanent HousingPREVENTION

Models Within a CoC System (Ex. Housing First)

Outreach, Intake and Assessment

Supportive Services

Housing

Source: National Alliance to End Homelessness (www.endhomelessness.org)

Community Challenges• Minimizing fragmentation of systems of care

• Understanding prevalence of homelessness– Point-In-Time Homeless Count

• Last 10 days in January• Methodology

– Sheltered and Unsheltered

• Planning a community response– 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness

• Multiple Plans• Group consensus

Benefits of Participation in a CoC• Higher levels of shared knowledge about resources

available in communities & effective practices

• Proactive approach to program and service coordination

• Improved referral networks

• Development of new joint projects

• More cohesion than would otherwise have been possible.

Source : Continuum of Care 101, June, 2009. U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Office of Community Planning and Development.

What is HMIS? (Homeless Management Information System)

• HMIS is HUD’s response to a Congressional directive to capture better data on homelessness

• A locally administered, electronic data collection system that stores longitudinal person-level information about persons who access the homeless service system

• HMIS is intended to be a widely used community tool to assist in local planning efforts

Source : Continuum of Care 101, June, 2009. U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Office of Community Planning and Development.

Role of an HMIS Administrator• Ensure CoC access to reliable HMIS software

• Train end-users on system

• Provide other support for end-users

• Generate HMIS data quality reports

• Generate other HUD reports, such as the Annual Performance Report, the biennial Point-In-Time Count data, etc.

For information on HMIS : http://HMIS.INFO

Training Provided by HMIS Administrator• Privacy and Ethics• Data Security• Data Quality• Using HMIS Data Locally• Using HMIS Data for Assessing Performance• HMIS Software

• Basic Computer Skills Needed to Use the Software

Role of a State PATH Contact in the CoC

• In what ways do you think the CoC can help to ensure that services are coordinated and available to people with a serious mental illness who are homelessness?

• What strategies could State PATH Contacts use to support PATH service provider participation in their CoC?

Expanding PATH Services within a CoC• PATH funding/programs served as “catalysts” for

the development of an initial CoC plan in Chicago • Chicago’s homeless service delivery system, now

consisting of approximately 90 non-profit agencies, completely reorganized itself in order to implement the new strategies embodied in the “Chicago Plan to End Homelessness.”

• The first step was to restructure the service provision by agencies serving individuals struggling with homelessness, and to put in place a coordinated system.

Source: CAEH/Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness (Chicago’s CoC) and City of Chicago – Department of Family & Support Services (CDFSS), Chicago Plan - 2003.

• Thresholds – Mobile Assessment Unit (MAU) a PATH funded outreach & engagement service since 1990 preceded the formation of Chicago’s CoC

• Program Profile: MAU provides services to PATH eligible individuals via (2) citywide street outreach teams (1) shelter/library linkage team (1) CTA Subway Train outreach team and (2) Safe Haven residential sites

• PATH funding provided the “anchor” for expansion

Source/Background: Partnership to End Homelessness founded in 1999 and Chicago CoC founded in 2001 consolidated on December 22, 2006 to form CAEH

• MAU 1 (North Team) – 1990, original PATH funded service provided by (8) staff including Program Director, Office Manager/Dispatcher

• Chicago’s 1st city-wide “mobile” outreach, engagement, assessment and linkage team

• Expanded team to (10) staff in 1995 with HUD Supportive Services Only (SSO) funds

Leveraging PATH Funding and Chronology of Service Expansion

• Lawson YMCA Safe Haven – 1998, (10) staff, low-demand residential housing units (10 studios) funded by HUD, Supportive Housing Program – SHP (plus CSH/Hilton Foundation from 1998 – 03) and Chicago Department of Family Support Services (CDFSS from 2003 – 2010)

• MAU 2 (South/West Team) – 2000, (7) street outreach workers, funded by PATH

• Shelter/Library Linkage (SL Team) – 2000, (2) outreach workers, 1st service to provide on-site engagement, assessment and linkage services in a specific overnight shelter and in the Chicago Public Libraries, funded by Illinois Division of Mental Health (IDMH) and (CDFSS)

Source/Background: CTA Team news profile in Chicago Tribune, February 3, 2010; Schorsch, K., Shelter/Library Linkage Team media profile on CBS-TV, March 29, 2010; Williams, J.

• Austin YMCA Safe Haven – 2000, (9) staff, same model as Lawson YMCA Safe Haven funded by HUD – SHP and Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS)

• Chicago Transit Authority Outreach (CTA Team) – 2007, (6) staff, 1st and only known service that exclusively provides outreach, engagement, assessment and linkage to PATH eligible individuals on subway trains, funded by CDFSS

• MAU 1990 – Total Program Budget from PATH: $325,000 / Total Staff: 8

• MAU 2010 – Total Program Budget from all sources: $2,009,000 / Total Staff: 44

Source/Background: CTA Team news profile in Chicago Tribune, February 3, 2010; Schorsch, K., Shelter/Library Linkage Team media profile on CBS-TV, March 29, 2010; Williams, J.

PATH Compliance and Cooperation with the Local CoCChicago Alliance to End Homelessness has Implemented a

System Reorganization and these Requirements since 2006: – Citywide Coordination: With the creation of the Chicago

Plan, consumers, service providers, government partners and private philanthropy work collaboratively to make system improvements, establish best practices and hold each other accountable for implementing the Plan

– Unified Approach to Services: In order to be funded, all homeless services must conform to a set of program models consistent with the Plan’s goals

Source: CAEH 2010 ( www.thechicagoalliance.org )

PATH Compliance and Cooperation with the Local CoC (con’d)

– System-Wide Data Collection: All provider programs must participate in system-wide data collection methodologies including HUD Point in Time Analysis (Count) and Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)

– Agreed Upon Priorities: Though the Chicago Plan is a blueprint for ending all homelessness, housing chronically homeless individuals was one of the first priorities to be implemented

Source: CAEH 2010 ( www.thechicagoalliance.org )

Scope of Services Outreach, Intake and Assessment – MAU

Teams 1 & 2, CTA, SLT

Emergency Shelter – Overnight Beds

Transitional Housing – SRO’s , Interim

Programs

Supportive Services and Re-engagement –

All MAU Teams

Permanent Supportive Housing – Post Safe Haven units within

CoC network

Permanent Housing – Lawson & Austin

YMCA Safe Havens

INTERVENTIONS

Operational Process & Funding Sources Outreach, Intake

and Assessment –PATH, HUD (SSO),

CDFSS, IDMH

Supportive Services – All

funding sources

Housing – HUD (SHP), CDFSS

Source: National Alliance to End Homelessness (www.endhomelessness.org), Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness (CoC)

Addressing Community Challenges• PATH participation and leadership in all CAEH

(CoC) activities are essential and necessary

• Since 2006, MAU Staff have volunteered to lead:– Chicago’s Point-In-Time Homeless Count (2006 &

2008)– 100,000 Homes Campaign: Outreach Effort (2010)– Various Constituency Groups– Pilot programming such as CTA and SL Teams

Results of PATH Participation in a CoC• Higher levels of shared knowledge about resources

available in communities & effective practices

• Proactive approach to program and service coordination

• Improved referral networks

• Development of new joint projects

• More cohesion than would otherwise have been possible.

Source : Continuum of Care 101, June, 2009. U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Office of Community Planning and Development, Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness

Thresholds MAU “a CoC within a CoC”• PATH services provided in Chicago for 20 years• Introduced other providers to the practice of

outreach and engagement • Member of the original CoC in Chicago • Conceived and implemented the first CTA

Team in the nation• Still evolving to promote recovery and support

for individuals struggling with homelessness and mental illness…

Source/Background : Thresholds – Mobile Assessment Unit received the 2008 PATH Exemplary Practice Award for Leadership and Collaboration at the SAMHSA - PATH Grantee Meeting on November 24, 2008

Notes, Questions and Comments:

Thank You

For more information on Thresholds: [email protected] Paul Mireles, Program Director, Thresholds Mobile Assessment Unit, 4101 North Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL 60613 Tel. (773) 572-5436