Transcript Indiana HPRP Training

Continuum of Care: Going for
the Gold
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C harl es W. C ol ey
N ebras ka Homel es s A s s i s t an c e
P rogram (N HA P )
DHHS
Nebraska Continuum of Care Network
What exactly is a “Continuum of Care?”
 Continuum of Care is a community and regional-based
process that provides a comprehensive and coordinated
housing and service delivery system
 The process promotes a coordinated, strategic planning
approach for programs that assist families and individuals
who are homeless and near homeless
 A Continuum of Care approach helps communities and
regions strategically plan for and provide a balance of
emergency, transitional, and permanent housing and service
resources to address the needs of people who are homeless so
they can make the critical transition from homelessness to
jobs, independent living, and permanent housing
 Seven Nebraska Continuum regions
Continuum of Care
Continuum of Care (C0C): History and Structure
 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) initiated the Continuum of
Care process in 1994
 Continuum of Care regions exist nationally and are
vital to homeless/near homeless service delivery
 In Nebraska, each of the seven Continuums has an
acting chairperson and regional governance
CoC Purpose, Collaboration, and Funding
 The Continuum of Care (CoC) is a set of
competitively-awarded programs created to address
the problems of homelessness in a comprehensive
manner with other federal agencies
 Other HUD formula funding streams also support
the Continuum of Care process: ESG, HOPWA, etc.
 The CoC structure mandates collaboration
Nebraska Continuum of Care Network
 Region I: Panhandle
 Region II: North Central
 Region III: Southwest
 Region IV: Southeast
 Region V: Northeast
 Region VI: Lincoln
 Region VII: Omaha
NHAP Funding by CoC Region
 Region I: Panhandle=$181,331
 Region II: North Central=$285,992
 Region III: Southwest=$271,353
 Region IV: Southeast=$487,844 (Ardith’s region)
 Region V: Region=$377,135
 Region VI: Lincoln=$395,888
 Region VII: Omaha=$580,000 (Erin’s region)
Nebraska CoC Network: History and Funding
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 The Nebraska Homeless Assistance Program was
established after the McKinney Homeless Assistance
Act passed in late 1986 and was signed into federal
law July 22, 1987
 DHHS NHAP funding=ESG+HSATF (Homeless
Shelter Assistance Trust Fund)
 66 NHAP grantees statewide
 State Continuum of Care Committee (a committee of
the governor-appointed Nebraska Commission
on Housing and Homelessness, or NCHH)
10-Year Plans to End Homelessness
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 Credit for the idea of a 10-year plan to end chronic
homelessness rests with the National Alliance to End
Homelessness (NAEH), a nonprofit organization based in
Washington, D.C
 The NAEH outlined the concept as part of a more ambitious
plan, introduced in July 2000, to end homelessness
altogether
 The goal caught the attention of then-Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) Secretary Mel Martinez, who
endorsed it in a keynote address at the NAEH’s 2001
conference
 Now in 2010, HUD continues to emphasize the importance
of 10-Year Plans
Nebraska’s 10-Year Plan
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 In October of 2003, a cross-section of stakeholders from
Nebraska attended a “Federal Policy Academy” in Denver,
CO.
 The Policy Academy was one of several in which all States
eventually participated
 The purpose of the Academy was to assist States in
developing "10-Year Plans to End Chronic Homelessness."
 Nebraska's resulting 10-Year Plan was titled Nebraska's
Action Plan for Increasing Access to Mainstream
Services for Persons Experiencing Chronic
Homelessness
10 Year Plan Successes
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 Nebraska's 10-Year Plan was unveiled in 2004 and
was formally adopted by the Nebraska Commission
on Housing and Homelessness
 To ensured continued implementation of the 10-Year
Plan, the Commission created a standing ad hoc
committee titled the "Ad Hoc Committee on
Ending Chronic Homelessness"
 The Ad Hoc Committee's membership included State
interagency personnel, nonprofit housing and
homelessness prevention service providers, and
representatives of various consumer demographics
10 Year Plan Successes
 5 years down, 5 years to go: midway point
 The Rental Assistance Program (RAP): rental
vouchers for consumers with severe mental illness
and extreme housing barriers
 NIFA developed a database on affordable housing
statewide, which was integrated into the system put
in place by Assistive Technology Partnership
(housing.ne.gov)
 Implementation of a common data system for all
grantees (HMIS/ServicePointe)
 Increased collaboration!!!!!
Ad Hoc Committee on Ending Chronic
Homelessness
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 Standing ‘ad hoc’ committee of the Nebraska
Commission on Housing and Homelessness ( both
Erin and Ardith are Commissioners)
 Future Ad Hoc Meetings: Participation needed
and welcomed
 10-Year Plan only successful through sustained
partnerships and collaboration
 First meeting of 2010: March/April
Ad Hoc Committee
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Commission (NCHH) and Ad Hoc
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10 Years Plans: A Summary
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 Part of a national model
 Will be featured at upcoming NAEH conference
 Best plans feature: outcomes (ex: units to be
developed), funding expectations, and points of
accountability (who will do what)
 10-Year Plans do NOT ‘just happen’ – they take
work, commitment, and the “Living Document”
mindset (incorporating HPRP, for example)
 There is much more to be done, but despite these
challenges, for the first time in two decades, communities
have a plan and homelessness is a problem with a clear
solution
Nebraska Continuum of Care Network
Final Thoughts
Questions????
 My contact information:
[email protected]
(402) 471-9200
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