From LIGHT

Leading Innovation for a Green and Healthy Tomorrow

To CREATES

Coordinating Resources to Effectively Align and Transform Energy Services

Ken Strong, Deputy CommissionerBaltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development

A Stimulus for Change

• Summer 2009 – Baltimore receives $15.7 million stimulus weatherization

• Production goal - 2,400 units over 3 years

• 50% Deferral/Rejection due to

Roofing, heating, plumbing, lead paint, etc.

Navigating a Fragmented System

Client interested in weatherization

Mails application

Incomplete app, submits additional info

Submits information, app certified

Energy auditDeferred due to health & safety

Mail deferral letter

Client applies to repair program

Client goes through process with new program

Client reapplies for weatherization, starts over

Other underlying factors unaddressed (Financial distress, health issues, family problems, etc.)

Other underlying factors unaddressed (Financial distress, health issues, family problems, etc.)

Green, Healthy and Sustainable Seeds

• Movement led by Ruth Ann Norton and the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI)

• The Baltimore Energy Challenge is piloted by the Baltimore City Office of Sustainability

• Baltimore Green and Healthy Learning Network is formed bringing together:– non-profit organizations – government agencies– foundations

Network Development (funded initially by Living Cities)

GHHI Learning Network

• Mission statement & goals

• Establish standards for success

• Identify policy and programmatic barriers

• Establish working groups to address continuing issues

LIGHT Team

• Asset mapping program resources

• Individual case coordination

• Streamlined referral and case management

• Ongoing network and capacity building

LIGHT Organizational Development

• Stimulus weatherization ramp-up• Alignment of energy/lead/rehab services

under Division of Green, Healthy & Sustainable Homes

• Coordination of programs through centralized case management unit

• Integration of services across funding sources

• Clients screened for 50 various public and non-profit program services

Case Study – Ms. J• Multi-generational family with:

– High energy bills– Chipping/peeling paint with a young child in the house– Disabled senior citizen with a history of falls– No carbon monoxide or smoke detectors– Young adult currently unemployed– Unstable basement steps, electrical hazards, steps leading

to bilco door collapsed, masonry work needed– Clutter throughout the house

• Ms. J applies for weatherization. In the old system, she is immediately deferred service and that is the end of it.

The LIGHT Solution• LIGHT provides a structured path to navigate the different

services available to help keep someone strong and stable in their home.– Lead Abatement to address chipping/peeling paint– Office of Rehabilitation Services for structural defects– Weatherization Program for high energy bills– Johns Hopkins program: senior home repairs/nursing visits– City Office of Aging - home support services – Project Lightbulb (Civic Works) for CO and smoke detectors– Maryland New Directions for employment– Food voucher for immediate needs– Come Home Baltimore (volunteer veterans): de-cluttering

Funding and Partnership Development

Key Partnerships:

> Green and Healthy Homes Initiative

> Rebuilding Together Baltimore

> Civic Works

Key Funders

> Living Cities (getting started)

> Baltimore Community Foundation (fiduciary)

> Abell Foundation (benefits screening)

> BGE Foundation ($1 million-roofing/heating)

Transformative Opportunity

•Establishes $113.5 million “Customer Investment Fund” to address energy efficiency and assistance needs of low-income families in the BGE territory•Baltimore City wins $52.7 million in a four-agency partnership called CREATES.

February 2012 – Maryland Public Service Commission conditionally approves Exelon-Constellation Energy merger

CREATES TeamCoordinating Resources to Effectively Align &

Transform Energy Services

CREATES Model

Community Empowerment

• Community-based energy education

• Urban heat island mitigation

• Non-profit retrofits & upgrades

• Cogeneration

Case Management

EarnBenefits Services (23)

• Medical Assistance

• Food Supplement Program

• WIC

• Health Insurance/Benefits

• Child Care Subsidy

• Head Start/Early Head Start

• Temporary Cash Assistance

• Earned Income Tax Credit

LIGHT Services (36)

• Home repair

• Energy conservation

• Healthy homes

• Fall/injury prevention

• Foreclosure counseling

• Accessibility improvements

• Utility assistance

• Infant & maternal health

Energy Efficiency

• Targeted to mid-to-high energy users• Combines energy education and home retrofit

– Programmable Thermostat– Pipe insulation– SmartStrip Powerstrip– CFL & LED bulbs– Faucet aerator/low flow showerhead– Energy education materials

Energy Efficiency Plus - $20 million

• Leverages DOE Weatherization ($3 million) and State Empower MD ($16 million) – Heating system replacements inc. oil-to-gas– Weatherization enhancements– Energy efficient rehabilitation loans– Cool roofing– Health & safety– Coordination with non-profit partners

Reorganized Division of Green, Healthy & Sustainable Homes

Intake & Case Management

Lending

Field & Contractor Mgmt

Fiscal

• Certify eligibility for all Division funds• Underwrite for all loan dollars• Scope and assign all work•Centralized payment and invoicing

Lessons Learned

Lessons Learned

• Make Public/Non-Profit Partnerships Real– GHHI and Civic Works are now CREATES

contractors

– Rebuilding Together Baltimore receives grants to complement CREATES

• Embrace the Foundation Community– Civic Works won $1 million foundation grant for

fall/injury prevention in CREATES homes

– Foundations are building upon our comprehensive benefits programs

Lessons Learned

• Organizational Reform – Break Down Government Silos– Client Track working across four city agencies– City Housing designated “public health agency”– Coordinating water and energy conservation

• Streamline Applications, Assessments, and Contracting

Lessons Learned

• Develop Economies of Scale– Support affordable rental housing projects– Geographic & community-based concentration

• Invest in Measurements and Evaluation– Wego Wise for energy savings– State health for medicaid savings– University of Baltimore – community benefits

• Keep Your Eyes on the Prize