systems change in homeless services -...

SYSTEMS CHANGE

IN HOMELESS SERVICES

North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness

North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessnesssecuring resources encouraging public dialogue advocating for public policy change

919.755.4393 www.ncceh.org

Today’s Presentation

DV service providers and the homeless service

system need each other to end homelessness

How do we work together to make sure that

everyone in a crisis returns to housing?


Goals for Today

Understand the homeless service system and the

policies that govern it

Know who the key players are and how to partner


The ultimate goal is to resolve housing

crises quickly and safely.

Understanding current system changes

Redefining Priorities

We know how to end homelessness.

Affordable Housing

Appropriate Services

Adequate Income


System changes are informed from a

lot of sources.

Research & Data

Evidence-based Practice

HEARTH: McKinney-Vento Reauthorization

10 Year Plans, 100,000 Homes Campaign, Rapid

Results Clinics


Homeless programs and systems track program

outcomes to find interventions that work.

Chronic Homeless and Housing First Research =

Housing Plus Services is effective and cost-efficient

New research shows effectiveness of Housing Plus

Services approach for families with a lighter touch

Housing PLUS Services can work for all individuals

and families who experience homelessness

Difference = Length of Assistance


Using key interventions to end housing

crises.

Prevention/Diversion

Emergency Shelter

Transitional Housing

Rapid Re-Housing

Permanent Supportive Housing

HEARTH Legislation was enacted in

2009.


President Obama signed the

HEARTH Act on May 20, 2009.

It was the first significant

reauthorization of HUD’s

McKinney-Vento Homeless

Assistance Programs in nearly

20 years.

It required the U.S. Interagency

Council on Homelessness to

create a federal plan to end

homelessness.

“to establish a Federal goal of ensuring that individuals and families who become homeless return to permanent housing within 30 days”

HEARTH Act Purposes – Sec. 1002(b)

HEARTH Act defines the goal of the

homeless service system.

Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to

End Homelessness created in 2010.

FOUR GOALS:

Finish the job of ending chronic homelessness (now 2016)

Prevent and end homelessness among Veterans (work

continues in 2016)

Prevent and end homelessness for families, youth and

children (2020)

Set a path to ending all types of homelessness

www.usich.gov


How should we invest

our limited resources?


Homeless systems are asking

themselves hard questions.

HUD definition of homelessness narrows

focus to those most in need.

Housing First is preferred to a housing

ready approach.

Crisis Intervention Stabilization Housing-Ready

Housing as

Intervention,

Stabilize in

Housing

vs.

We want to make sure we are investing

wisely in outcomes.

Just enough,

not too much

LowNeed

Less Intense

More Intense

HighNeed

Need a system that is able to triage

and be flexible.

Coordinated Assessment means lots of

changes for communities.

Move away from agency/program-centric decision

making

Should we accept this household?

Agency specific assessments

Ad hoc referrals

Move toward system and client-centric decisions

How can our system best serve this household?

Standard forms, assessments

Agreed upon, coordinated referral system


Homeless systems are trying a new,

progressive engagement approach.

Prevention, Diversion and Light Touch

Case ManagementRapid Re-Housing

Permanent

Supportive

Housing

As intervention intensity increases, the numbers served decrease.

Homeless service systems need to focus on

being a housing crisis response system.

Objective 10: Transform homeless services to crisis

response systems that prevent homelessness and

rapidly return people who experience homelessness

to stable housing.

www.usich.gov


http://www.usich.gov/

Our current system centers programs

and services around shelter.

Emergency Shelter

Child Care/

Schools

Mental Health/

Substance Abuse

Services

Permanent Supportive

Housing

Family/ Social

Supports

Employment/ Education/

Disability Benefits

Physical Health Care

1. Experience housing crisis

2. Move from system to system

seeking support

3. Lose Housing

4. Enter Emergency Shelter

5. Address barriers to housing

while in the shelter or

transitional housing

Housing crisis resolution is the focus in

the new system.

Housing Stabilization

Child Care/ Schools Mental

Health/Substance

Abuse Services

Short-Term Rental

Assistance

Family/Social

SupportsEmployment/ Education/

Disability Benefits

Emergency Shelter

Permanent Supportive

Housing

Physical Health Care

1. Experience housing crisis

2. Reach out for support

3. Providers assess for housing risk

and make referral to housing

stabilization services

4. Based on client need, appropriate

services are provided (e.g. short or

long term rental assistance, wrap-

around services, landlord

mediation and housing search)

5. Client may need to stay at a

shelter while receiving stabilization

services

Three Key Performance Measures

Rare Prevent or divert new episodes of homelessness

Access resources without a shelter stay

Brief Reduce length of time while homeless

Reduce program length of stays

Increase exits to permanent housing

Non-recurring Reduce returns to homelessness

Focus on Housing Stability

Create access to resources without another shelter stay


Programs

Activities

Transitioning

Systems

Outcomes

Housing First

HUD is shifting was is funded and

encouraged.


The building blocks of systems in your community.

Understanding your Partner


A Continuum of Care (CoC) is a regional or local

planning body that coordinates housing and

services funding for homeless families and

individuals

Wide range of agencies and organizations

represented

Promotes community-wide commitment to ending

homelessness

Required group for applying for HUD Homeless funding

Continuums of Care form the backbone

of the homeless service system.


HUD has given CoCs increased responsibility.

• Governance

• System operations

• Coordinated

Assessment

• Written standards

• Performance

Expectations and

Monitoring

• Funding priorities

• Data Collection

for HEARTH

measures

• Designating an

HMIS Lead

Agency

• Identifying Gaps

in system and

addressing

• Funding Priorities

• Connecting to

mainstream

service systems

CoC Management Data CollectionSystem Planning

COC Functions


There are 12 CoCs in North Carolina.

The NC Balance of State CoC covers

79 rural counties.

The homeless service system has key

components that play different roles.

Emergency Shelter (ES)

Outreach

Transitional Housing (TH)

Rapid Re-housing (RRH)

Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)


Emergency Shelters face some unique

challenges.

NC Coalition to End Homelessness

System Flow

Making sure that people are able to be connected to

housing resources and programs to exit the shelter

system into housing

Prioritizing BedsUtilizing diversion so that people with other safe

places to go can utilize those resources.

Program Rules

Keeping program rules balanced to keep everyone

safe while not creating unnecessary barriers to

accessing help.

Transitional Housing programs are in

transition.

Programs can be redesigned to fit a new system:

Transition in Place Models

Reducing eligibility barriers

Reducing length of stay

Targeting specific populations as needed in the system

CoCs are looking at the role they want TH to play in their systems.


Rapid Re-Housing is a different type of intervention that

faces challenges in program design.


Flexibility

RRH works best when the program is able to provide

as little or as much assistance to secure permanent

housing.

Landlord

Engagement

Provides a crucial link to allow programs to serve

households with various barriers to getting and

keeping housing.

Program Eligibility

RRH programs often place eligibility requirements on

their program as a way to insure success. Research

shows RRH is effective with a number of different,

challenging populations.

Permanent Supportive Housing has some unique

challenges.


Eligibility

Requirements

HUD is encouraging PSH programs to utilize a

Housing First approach and decrease eligibility

requirements.

Lack of Turnover

Programs are looking at graduation models to

increase turnover in PSH programs for those who are

willing and no longer need the long-term services.

Opportunities for Partnership between Homeless

and DV service systems

Playing a Role in Ending Homelessness

DV Agencies are participating in

homeless system change.

Coordinated Assessment

Provides access for survivors to homeless services in

community through standardized referral process

Ways to participate where survivor information is

private

Creates stronger partnerships within the system




Rapid Re-Housing

As an alternative to long stays in shelter or transitional

housing programs

Integrated into the community for safety

National Alliance to End Homelessness Domestic

Violence Toolkit for RRH:

http://www.endhomelessness.org/pages/domesticviole

ncetoolkit


http://www.endhomelessness.org/pages/domesticviolencetoolkit



Creating Trauma-Informed Systems

Cross-training opportunities for DV and homeless system

to make sure services are provided in a trauma-

informed manner

Survivors are being served in both systems whether

identified or not

Shelters identify training as a need for frontline staff


Partnership in gathering data.

CoC and ESG agencies are required to input

information into Homeless Management Information

System (HMIS).

DV agencies are statutorily prohibited from

entering data onto HMIS.

DV agencies use comparable systems– Osinium

Working with communities to look at aggregate

data for the whole system


So where do we start?

Get plugged into your community’s CoC system:

CoC Contact for NC: http://www.ncceh.org/coc/

Regional Committees in NC:

http://www.ncceh.org/bos/regionalcommittee/

Check out resources on domestic violence and

homelessness:

National Alliance to End Homelessness:

http://www.endhomelessness.org/pages/domestic_violence

US Interagency Council on Homelessness:

http://usich.gov/issue/domestic_violence


http://www.ncceh.org/coc/

http://www.ncceh.org/bos/regionalcommittee/

http://www.endhomelessness.org/pages/domestic_violence

http://usich.gov/issue/domestic_violence

Let us know how we can support your

partnerships with the homeless system.


Emily Carmody, LCSWProject Specialist(919) [email protected]

NCCEH Webpage: www.ncceh.org

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