Download - 1 National Alliance to End Homelessness National Conference July 17 – 19, 2006 Tapping into the Child Welfare System: the Allegheny County Experience

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National Alliance to End Homelessness National Conference

July 17 – 19, 2006Tapping into the

Child Welfare System: the Allegheny County

Experience

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Population: 1,250,867

29th Most Populous County (from more than 3,100 nationwide)

Persons served by DHS annually – Approx. 231,400

DHS Service Providers – 384 with 820 contracts for over 1,800 discrete services

Funding sources – 84 each with separate laws, regulations and reporting requirements.

DHS Budget – $827.7 million CYF Portion – $161.6 million

3,255 Families and 7,522 Children receiving CYF services (a/o 6/06)

2,601 children in out-of-home placement (a/o 6/06)

The Allegheny County Experience

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“Allegheny County once was a pathetic national disgrace. Today, it is a shining national model. Allegheny County is showing the nation that child welfare systems can be fixed, and it is showing the nation how to fix them.”

Richard Wexler, Executive Director, National Coalition for Child Protection Reform

(Source: CNN NewsNight with Aaron Brown. Aired: August 14, 2002)


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DHS Guiding Principles

All Services will be:

• High Quality

• Readily Accessible

• Strength-Based

• Culturally Competent

• Individually Tailored and Empowering

• Holistic


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Fundamental Tenets of DHS Child Protection is a community responsibility.

Strengthening Families creates a safer environment for children.• Build network of family supports/assistance• Correlation between neglect/abuse and parental stressors• Remove children only if absolutely necessary – removal is traumatic

Emphasizing services at the beginning of the service continuum:• Access to information and information sharing;• Pure prevention; and • Early intervention

Offer extensive range of prevention, early intervention, crisis management and after care services for families and individuals.


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DHS StructureExecutive Office

Program Offices• Area Agency on Aging• Behavioral Health• Children, Youth and Families• Community Services• Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities

Support Offices• Administration• Community Relations• Information Management


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How Homeless Individuals and Families Find A HomeHomeless

Individual or Family

Information

& ReferralStreet

Outreach

Health care for the

Homeless

Drop-in Center a/o

Soup Kitchen

Urban League

Child Welfare

Housing Options Available

Shelter Plus Care

ShelterSafe

Haven

Transitional, Bridge

or PennFree Housing

Single Room

Occupancy

Permanent Housing

for Persons

with Disabilities

Urban League Rental

Assistance through HAP, CYF or both


Homeless individuals and families may enter the system through one or more of these doors

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Continuum of Care in Service of Families

Type of Program

Number of Programs in CoC process

Units available for

Families

Beds available for

Families

Emergency shelters 7 72 168

Transitional Housing* 28 256 573

Permanent Housing for persons with disabilities

14 132 427

* Includes all Penn Free Bridge Housing, Bridge Housing and HUD Transitional Housing.


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Point-in-time Data for Adults with Children

Type of Housing Population Jan 2005 Jan 2006

Emergency shelter (60 day limit)

Adults 25 25

Children 33 49

Transitional Housing (2 yr. limit)

Adults 158 139

Children 256 224

Permanent Housing

Adults 90 264

Children 233 334


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Allegheny CountyHousing Assistance

Program (HAP)

• Listing of housing opportunities, The Urban League updates a list of rental listings through landlords and regular newspaper classified ads.

• Transportation assistance• Processing applications for rent and security

deposits• Mediating landlord/tenant issues• Assisting clients with paying breakage, repairs to

property, utility and arrearages so they can remain in the housing unit, counseling about money


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Urban League of Pittsburgh HAP Rental Assistance Program

• Provides assistance to low-income persons and families who are facing eviction for back rent, or needing first months rent and security deposit.

• Approximately $600,000 of the program’s $805,000 annual budget is used for grants for families.

• Over last seven years, ~947 grants of an average of $630 were made per year.

• 1,845 Adults and Children were served in Allegheny County in Fiscal Year 2004-2005 through the Rental Assistance Program


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Investment by Child Welfare

We work to prevent placement by investing Child Welfare dollars

• In HAP program and

• As “matching funds” to leverage dollars for Continuum of Care programs.


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Children, Youth and Families Housing Relocation Program

• Provides a housing assistance program for clients of Children, Youth and Families to deal with critical housing issues which might lead to placement of children in foster care

• Services include:– Rental Assistance, lease review,

tenant/landlord relations– Budget Counseling


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Children, Youth and FamiliesHousing Assistance Interaction

•Family’s needs assessed at call screening

•Homeless/Rental only issues are diverted to the Office of Community Services or the Urban League

•If the case is accepted for service because of other dependency issues, the caseworker works with the family to gather requisite rental/mortgage and financial information

•The caseworker and the family complete an application for Urban League Assistance

•The application and the situation are discussed with the Urban Leagues’ Housing Specialist assigned to that CYF Regional Office

•The Urban League’s Housing Counselor responds to the request within 48 hours

•The Urban League and CYF assist over 350 families per year with this program


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Total Families Receiving Urban League Housing Subsidy: FY2005

34%(75)

66%(148)

Families with no children in placement at time housing subsidy check was issued

Families with children in placement on date housing subsidy check issued


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Cost-Benefit Analysis of Urban League Rental Assistance Program -

Preventing Out-of-home placement

• 88.5% of families remained with no children in placement for at least 180 days after check’s issuance.

• The average savings of preventing out-of-home placement is ~$31.44 per $1* spent on subsidy.

• Estimated annual savings for 131 families* that remained intact is $3,141,000.

*based on an average family size of 2.36 children


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Cost-Benefit Analysis of Urban League Rental Assistance Program -

Re-unification vs. Out-of-home placement• 23% of families had children returned from

placement within 180 days of the check’s issuance.

• The average savings for re-unification efforts is ~$7.12 per $1* spent on subsidy.

• Estimated annual savings for 17 families* that reunited is $361,080.

*based on an average family size of 2.36 children


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Challenges

System Challenges• Housing for men with children• Housing for youths aging out of the CYF system• Resolving underlying issues that threaten

families’ self-sufficiency.

Individual-specific Challenges• Affordable housing in desired location• Problematic rental history• Criminal history• Underdeveloped housekeeping and life skills


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Contact Information

Marc Cherna, DirectorAllegheny County Department of Human

Services

One Smithfield StreetSuite 400

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

412-350-5705

[email protected]/dhs


Download - 1 National Alliance to End Homelessness National Conference July 17 – 19, 2006 Tapping into the Child Welfare System: the Allegheny County Experience

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