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Serving Homeless Families through
Coordinated Assessment
Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis
CCUSA Charlotte, North Carolina Oct. 3- 7, 2014
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Purpose
To provide insights on the development of a coordinated
assessment system that serves homeless families basedon the Coordinated Access to Housing and Shelterprogram.
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Learning Objectives
Basic understanding of coordinated assessment andthe HUD regulatory requirements
Understand operational practices and forms used byCoordinated Access to Housing and Shelter program
Increase knowledge in assessment planning andimplementation considerations
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CA Overview HUD HEARTH Act of 2009 codified into law a
homeless assistance planning process called theContinuum of Care (CoC).
CoC is designed to promote communitywidecommitment to the goal of ending homelessness
CoC interim rule, enacted into to law July 31, 2012,
requires that all CoCsimplement, A centralized orcoordinated assessment process designed to coordinateprogram participant intake, assessment, and provisionof referrals.
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CA Overview No CoCsare exactly alike.
No two coordinated assessment systems aredesigned, implemented, operated or managed the
same way. Single Point of Access (one door or
centralized) Multi-site Centralized Access (one/population
or many provider locations)Assessment Hotlines (such as a 211 ) No Wrong Door
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CA Overview Each community will ultimately develop a system
that fits the culture, resource picture, providercapacity, and client needs.
HUDs only requirements:
Covers the entire geographic area of the CoC
Easily accessible for people in need
Well advertised Must use a comprehensive, standardized
assessment tool
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Introductionto CA
Coordinated assessment systems may look different ineach CoC, but every system standardizes the process bywhich clients access, are assessed for, and referred toresources in the community.
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AccessProcess to
entersystem
AssessProcess to
determineclient needs
AssignProcess to
refer toappropriatehousing &
services
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Why Coordinated Assessment?
To improve our service provisions and
data accuracy and access
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Why Coordinated Assessment?Moving from a program centric system
to a client centric system
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Question most providers ask now:
Should we accept this individual/family into ourprogram?
Question CoC systems should be asking:
What housing and service assistance strategy is best foreach
household of the several services available?
United States Intera enc Council on Homelessness
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Without Coordinated Assessment
Eligibility & intake decisions were made by individualprograms
Each program had different forms and assessmentprocesses
Families in crisis required to go program to program,retelling their stories
Informal, unplannedreferral process between programs
Uneven information about shelter beds & housingopenings
Lack of community wide data on client need to makesystem planning decisions and funding recommendations
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With Coordinated Assessment Standard forms and assessment processes are used by
every program for every client
Community agreement on how to triage based onhousehold needs
Coordinated referral process across the CoCsgeographic area that is based on written standards foradministering programs
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With Coordinated Assessment
Dramatically lower the burden on consumers
Creates easier access to services
Improve and streamline referrals Prioritize and target more effectively
Improve system performance
Improve system communication and provider
collaboration
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What impact is the CoC trying to make?
Prevent and end homelessness
Increase well-being, stabilityduring and afteran episode of homelessness
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Success Indicators
Reduced length of time homeless Decreased recidivism (subsequent return to
homelessness)
Improved access/coverage (thoroughness in
reaching those who are homeless)
Overall reduction of those who experiencehomelessness
Job and income growth for those who arehomeless
Reduction in first time homeless
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Meeting HUD ExpectaionsSome Fundamental Approaches:
Match client needs to right program the first timereducerecidivism
Make sure PSH programs only serving the most difficultreduce the number of families that get stuck in the system.
Incorporate shelter diversion services to prevent as manyfamilies as possible from entering the shelter systemreduce repeat and first time homeless
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Meeting HUD Expectations Ensure law enforcement, hospitals, corrections,
churches, schools, treatment centers, etc. and allproviders within the CoC understands how and whereto refer peopleensure system is well advertised andaccessible
Make rapid exit from shelter into housing a prioritye.g. Incorporate acceptance & denial policies and atimeline to make referral decisions.
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Coordinated Access to Housing andShelter (CAHS)
Development & Implementation
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CAHS Background
CAHS is a collaborative effort Catholic Charities (lead organization)
YWCA St. Paul
Ramsey Co. Community Human Services
Woodland Hills Church
Serve Ramsey County families with dependantchildren
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CAHS Background
County Profile Total Population: 520,152 (2012 census)
Geographic Area: 155 sq. miles of land
Smallest & most densely populated county
in Minnesota
No Right to Shelter policy in Ramsey County.
Total of 105 shelter beds + church 5 families
2014 Point in Time count re: Families
Sheltered: Emergency 260 Transitional 499
Unsheltered:6
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CAHS BackgroundWith the demand for shelter far exceeding
the number of shelter beds:
Shelter diversion services are a criticalcomponent of the system: All families seekingshelter are immediately screened for
diversion, and again at various points of thewaitlist and assessment process.
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CAHS Background Funded by Family Homeless Prevention and
Assistance Program (FHPAP)
CoC Governing Board is responsible for providingoversight, accountability and, based on CAHS data,realignment of resources to better serve families and
close gaps in the system.
CAHS went live January 2, 2014
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CAHS in Operation
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Laying the Ground Work2011
Initial community sessions hosted by Ramsey County
Between 2012 - 2014
FHPAP Funding reallocated to CoordinatedAssessment and Diversion services
CC, YWCA selected to develop CAHS
System Mapping To determine number and types ofhousing available in the CoC i.e. RRH, THP, PSH
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Laying the GroundworkAssembled lead planning team, workgroups, committees
and subcommitteeso Timeline and go-live date establishedo Guiding Principles establishedo Assessment tools reviewed and selectedo Forms developedo Identify provider concernso Policies designed , for example:
o Assignment and Agency Latitudeo Communication Plano Client rights to refuse housing or shelter
o HMIS support needs identifiedo Diversion program designedo Client grievance policy designedo And much more.
Shelter length of stay extended25
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Laying the Groundwork
Obtained provider eligibility criteria
Developed comprehensive waitlist system
Created job descriptions, hired staff
Obtained client feedback
Established HMIS data sharing agreement
CoC Governing Board- finalized & approved policies
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Laying the Groundwork Train shelter and housing providers (CA 101)
Establish partnerships with special populations
Domestic Violence Shelters Veterans Parenting Youth
Bi-weekly housing provider meetings
Weekly shelter provider meetings
Monthly updates to CoC Governing Group
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Driving Principles Prioritize rapid exit from homelessness
Efficient and effective use of system resourcesfamilies are referred according to level of need
Ensure that clients who have been homeless thelongest and are most vulnerable have priorityassignments
All clients, including the hardest to serve, are served
Full provider participation Transparency and accountability throughout the
assessment and referral process
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Provider Concerns continued HMIS open system i.e. data privacy
Staff ability to provide correct and completeverifications
Prevent homelessness rather than waiting until
families need shelter and then divert.
What happens on day one? What message do we give?
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CAHS Forms Pre Screen/ Diversion screen
Shelter Screen / Diversion assessment
Initial assessment Comprehensive assessment
Referral decision tree
Scoring
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Referral Process Providers must accept 1 in 4 referrals per opening
All required provider verifications are provided by CAHS attime of the referral
Providers may interview the family before accepting, butmust make a decision within 3 business days
CAHS provides criminal &court eviction records obtainedthrough public records
Providers who must conduct their own background checksare able to take the time needed
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Referral Process Providers who must receive approval from PHA before
a family can be accepted are able to take the timeneeded to obtain clearance
Providers are expected to report program openings assoon as possible, ideally 30 60 days
Referrals that are refused will trigger a caseconferencing
Family will be put back on the waitlist if denied33
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CAHS Learning's First Six Months
HMIS functionality and reportingissues limited data managementcapacity-needed to maintainspreadsheets outside of HMIS
Needed a new waitlist system.Difficulty reaching those 0n the shelterwaitlist ,while the list rapidly grew.More on waitlist than there were inshelters.
Obtaining consistent and completeeligibility criteria more complex thanexpected.
Making sure PSH programs weren'tdenying hardest to serve families
Not having fully considered all thedata we wanted to collect before going
livemany times needed to go backand pull info from files.
Determining residency
Overlaps in Family, Youth and Singleadult services. Some families fit intomore than one category. Neededcollaboration.
Referring ineligible callersdrain onsystem resources (metro systemneeded)
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CAHS Learnings First Six Months
The majority of families in THP calledto be assessed for PSH. Needed toestablish a referral & assessmentprocess with THP providers.
Obtaining medical verifications,social security cards, and birthcertificates
Rather than holding separatemeetings, blending the housing andshelter providers plus assessors into onemeeting was much more productive.
Often a mismatch between those onthe waitlist and openings familiesstayed on waitlist while housingremained unfilled.
Clients unclear what to expect or whatthey should be doing in shelter oncethey were assessedneeded to improvecommunication.
Lack of available housing causedproblems for those with vouchers whocould not lease uporganizing acommittee to work on increasinglandlord involvement
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ConclusionWhile countless hours go into planning a coordinated
assessment system, there is an ongoing need tocontinue to modify services, policies and practices.
Coordinated assessment is not a fixed concept; it hasmany moving parts and is evolving all the time. Aneffective system must respond to emerging findingsand needs and changes in City, State or Federal
policies.
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Thank You!
Questions? Please contact:
June Jordan [email protected]
Aimee Barbeau [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]