Transcript Point in Time Counts - Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless

Point In Time
Count:
Focus, Feedback and Planning
Cathy ten Broeke, Director, MN Office to Prevent and End Homelessness
Amy Stetzel, Project Manager, MN Office to Prevent and End Homelessness
Dina Chou, MN Department of Human Services, Office of Economic Opportunity
Objectives
• Why do we do the PIT Count?
• Priority and Focus for January 2015 Count
• Structure for the Counts (sheltered and
unsheltered)
• Brainstorm additional questions (the
question bank!)
• Map out the Countdown to the PIT
Calendar
Why do the PIT Count?
• Critical source of data on the number and characteristics of
people who are homeless in the U.S.
o
o
Provided to Congress as part of the Annual Homeless Assessment Report
Main Source of data for Opening Doors: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End
Homelessness
• HUD requires Continuums of Care (CoCs) to count the number of
people experiencing homelessness in the geographic area that
they serve through the Point-in-Time count (PIT).
• Helps to understand the scope of homelessness and identify trends
 Target resources, Improve Services and Identify Gaps
• Data helps tell our story and make the case for more resources

Helps raise community awareness and political awareness
• MN’s Heading Home Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness uses
PIT data as it’s main data tool to measure meeting the goals laid
out in the Heading Home Plan.
Priority and Focus for
January 2015 Count
 Priority: Improving our current PIT count process across
the State by:
• Supporting our CoC’s
• Improving data consistency across the state
 Focus on collecting information on Veterans and those
who have been in foster care by:
• Asking the right questions
• Consistently implementing those questions across
the State
• Empower people with the right questions and right
implementation so we aren’t estimating our
numbers, but using accurate counts.
2015 Focus Questions
Veterans
(** the below questions are HUD questions currently in the unsheltered and sheltered PIT survey. We are
working with Wilder and MDVA to make sure the right Veteran questions are in HMIS and that we are
asking consistent questions across both the sheltered and unsheltered PIT surveys**)
1) Have you served in the United States Armed Forces
(Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard)?
2) (If “no” to above) Were you ever called into active duty
as a member of the National Guard or as a Reservist?
3) Have you ever received health care or benefits from a
Veterans Administration medical center?
Foster Care
1) Have you ever been in foster care?
Sheltered Survey
Only Emergency Shelters, Motel Voucher Programs
and Transitional Housing Programs
• For all providers in HMIS, we are working with
Wilder to see if they will be able to pull this data for
each CoC
o Wilder will conduct data quality checks in partnership with CoC
coordinators to make sure everything looks right and correct any
discrepancies.
o CoC coordinators will be provided with the final data to submit to HUD
• For all providers NOT in HMIS, you will:
1.
2.
complete the OEO Sheltered Survey online to report aggregate
program level data, AND
Ask each individual the Veteran Questions and Foster Care Question
a) What’s the best process for this?
Unsheltered Survey
• The SAME survey will be administered across the
State made up of this general survey format:
o HUD Required Questions
o 2015 Focus questions
o Additional questions you may choose to ask from the Question Bank (we
will create this bank together!)
• Each CoC will choose what questions they would
like to ask from the question bank and will finalize
their specific CoC unsheltered survey by November
• Working to establish a common data gathering and
analysis process.
o What works now?
o What would be helpful to you?
Question Bank
BRAINSTORM
 Doubled-Up: In the last 30 days and nights, including this one, how many nights have
you spent doubled up (staying in someone else’s house, apartment or room due to
economic reasons or because there was not a safe place or affordable place for you
to rent or buy on your own)?
 Youth/History: How old were you the very first time you were homeless, either with or
without your parents?
 Involvement in Juvenile System: Were you ever held for more than a week in a juvenile
detention center or other juvenile facility or camp?
 Education: What is the highest grade in school you have completed?
 Employment: Are you currently employed? (this includes temp work and selfemployment)
 Income: In the last 12 months have you received family welfare benefits in MN or
another state?
 Domestic Violence: Including today, have you ever lived in a battered women’s
shelter?
Countdown to the PIT Calendar
•
November:
•
December:
•
January:
•
February:
•
March:
•
April:
o Finalizing lists of programs in HMIS and not in HMIS
o Finalizing general individual survey, question bank questions, and each CoC’s
specific survey
o General Volunteer Training Presentation will be sent to CoC coordinators
o Webinar will go out to providers who are not in HMIS regarding how to
complete the OEO sheltered survey.
o PIT Count date = Thursday January 22, 2014
o Providers using HMIS should make sure HMIS data is updated through January
22nd
o Wilder will start pulling data from HMIS for sheltered survey
o Providers will work with Wilder to make sure HMIS data is accurate
o OEO will work with providers to make sure non-HMIS sheltered data is accurate
o Wilder, OEO and CoCs will work on data accuracy and quality
o Data will be finalized and reported to HUD
Feedback
• What is your biggest need when it comes to the PIT
Count?
• What do you think would most improve the PIT
count?
• How do you feel about what’s been proposed
here?
o Priority?, Focus?, Potential role of Wilder?
• Other questions?
Resources for YOU to
have right now!
• HUD Point-in–Time methodology guide!
https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/PIT-CountMethodology-Guide.pdf
National Alliance to End Homelessness Webinar this Friday on the 2015 PIT
count and homeless youth
http://www.endhomelessness.org/news/calendar/upcoming-webinarprepare-for-the-2015-point-in-time-count-enumerating-unshe
•
• Webinar: Preparing for your 2014 housing inventory and PIT counts
https://www.hudexchange.info/training-events/courses/preparing-for-your2014-housing-inventory-and-point-in-time-counts-webinar1/
• HUD Exchange Website: PIT survey tools
https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/3322/point-in-time-survey-tools/
Contact Information
• Cathy ten Broeke, Director, MN Office to Prevent
and End Homelessnes
[email protected]
• Amy Stetzel, Project Manager, MN Office to Prevent
and End Homelessness
[email protected]
• Dina Chou, MN Department of Human Services,
Office of Economic Opportunity
[email protected]