we count, california!
TRANSCRIPT
WE COUNT, CALIFORNIA! IMPROVING YOUTH INCLUSION
IN POINT-IN-TIME COUNTS NAEH – San Diego, CA – Feb. 20, 2015
Colette (Coco) Auerswald, MD, MS; Shahera Hyatt, MSW;
Jess Lin, MPH; Laura Petry, MSW; Brynn Jones, MSW
2013 PIT assessment
Current approaches to
counting unaccompanied
minors and TAY in the PIT
count
Best practices and
innovations in California
Barriers and
recommendations
http://cahomelessyouth.library.ca.gov
Hidden in Plain Sight
Number of CoCs Reporting n Unaccompanied,
Unsheltered Minors (2011 vs. 2013)
14 13
5
3
5
1
16
14
3 3
5
0
0 1-10 11-20 21-100 101-500 500+
2011
2013
Number of CoCs Reporting n Transition
Aged Youth, 18-24 (2011 vs. 2013)
30
0 1
2
6
1 1 0
3
7
17
9
3 2
Notreported
0 1-20 21-100 101-500 501-1000 1000+
2011
2013
We Count, California!—
Statewide Technical Assistance
PHASE I: Statewide Technical Assistance
Regional Convenings (April-July 2014
32 of California’s 41
CoCs participated
118 participants
across 7 convening
locations
Phase I-Regional Convenings
Team-building/promoting relationships between and within CoCs
CoC partners
RHY and other youth providers
McKinney-Vento liaisons
Tools and exercises for planning
Identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) to youth inclusive counting
Social Geography: Identifying partners, subgroups, and mapping
Count timeline and plan
Phase I-Evaluation: What was helpful?
Presenting a full spectrum of possibilities for
youth inclusion
Providing a space for networking and
collaboration within and between CoCs
Creating a space for dialogue/planning
about the upcoming count
Traveling to provide assistance in local
communities, particularly in rural areas
$2,000 seed grants to 23 communities piloting youth inclusive activities
Initiatives included:
Youth advisory boards
Stipends for youth enumerators
Reimbursing youth for participating in youth surveys
Social media campaigns to advertise counts to youth
Hosting events to draw youth to be counted
Sharing information back with the community
Phase I-Seed Grants
Phase I-Shared Materials
Google Group to share resources and questions as
they arise
Youth-friendly survey template for CoCs conducting
surveys as part of their counts
Brief
Youth specific
Inclusive of HUD, McKinney-Vento, and local definitions
To be aggregated and reported for CoCs across
California
Phase I – Youth Survey Template
HUD (PIT Count)
• An individual who “has a primary nighttime residence that is a private or public space not designed or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground”
Mc-Kinney Vento
• “Individuals who lack a fixed, adequate, and regular nighttime residence,” including… “Children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason” or “are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations”
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act
• A youth “for whom it is not possible to live in a safe environment with a relative and who has no other safe alternative living arrangement”
HUD (Transitional Age Youth)
• Is under the age of 25; meets another existing federal statute definition of homelessness; has not had a lease, ownership interest, or occupancy agreement in the past 60 days; has moved two or more times in the past 60 days; and is expected to continue in this state due to disability, substance use, abuse history, chronic physical or mental conditions, or having 2 or more barriers to employment
Local Definitions
Conflicting Definitions of Homelessness
2875 11078
269663
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
300000
Unsheltered PIT Count Sheltered PIT Count School Count
Homeless Minors in California, 2013
PHASE II: 1:1 Technical Assistance
1:1 Technical Assistance
2 communities chosen to receive:
$10,000 grant for dedicated staff time and count
activities
TA assistance from We Count, California!
Requests for:
Facilitating meetings with potential collaborators
Providing examples from other communities of youth-
inclusive count activities
Training guides and materials for volunteers
App-based survey tools
1:1 Technical Assistance: Yolo County
Yolo County
Mixed urban/suburban/rural community
Includes Davis (UC campus)
Challenges: Yolo/Sacramento crossover; unincorporated and rural land; few youth-specific providers
1:1 Technical Assistance: Yolo County
Collaboration with youth providers from non-
homeless sectors (library system, 211, Workforce
Investment Act)
Youth-specific survey conducted using iPads/tablets
Count activities:
Multi-day, survey-based count
Street outreach with youth and provider teams
Surveys at local service agencies
Surveys with students accessing food pantry at UC
Davis
1:1 Technical Assistance: Yolo County
Preliminary Impact:
Increased local awareness
Increased survey participation
Youth ambassadors and count
volunteers
Coalition-building with local
service providers
Partnership with local
McKinney Vento school liaison
and UC Davis school programs
1:1 Technical Assistance: Kings/Tulare
Kings/Tulare Counties
Over 7,000 square miles
Agricultural communities hard-hit by the drought
Challenges: limited reach/capacity; 66 school districts; few youth-specific providers
1:1 Technical Assistance: Kings/Tulare
Focus groups with migrant and CPS-involved youth
Social media campaign to promote count participation
Youth-specific survey conducted using iPads/laptops
Count activities:
Multi-day, survey-based count
Project Homeless Connect
Magnet events at local libraries
Street outreach with youth ambassadors
School district-led pilot count with migrant youth population
1:1 Technical Assistance: Kings/Tulare
Impact:
Increased local awareness
Partnership with local school district and pilot count of migrant youth
Increased survey participation
Social media profiles created
PHASE III: Structural Interventions
Phase III: Structural Change
Work with federal partners to:
Clarify HUD policies regarding the count
Advocate for a developmentally appropriate definition
of homeless youth
Work with local and state partners to:
Increase awareness of the scope of the problem
Employ numbers for advocacy and funding
Engage with media about the count and issues of youth
homelessness
Phase III: Structural Change
California-level reporting on counts by multiple
definitions: stop pitting numbers against each other
HUD PIT definition
McKinney-Vento numbers
Local numbers
Dissemination statewide and nationally
Engaging with local and national media outlets
regarding the count
Helping numbers better inform the conversation
Questions?
To access the Hidden in Plain Sight report, visit
http://cahomelessyouth.library.ca.gov/publications.html
To join our Google Group, visit:
tinyurl.com/WeCountCA
Email us at: [email protected]
Thank you!
Thanks especially to our California communities!