HUD HOMELESS PROJECTS 2003 ANNOUNCED!

On December 22, 2003 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the Supernofa awards for DuPage County. DuPage received a total of $2,084,763 compared to $1,799,328 last year.

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING HAS CHANGED!
Please mark your calendars! The next Full Membership Meeting will be on March 25, 2004 at 10:00 a.m. at Metropolitan Family Services DuPage
222 E. Willow St., Wheaton, IL. (previously scheduled for February 26, 2004).

NOTICE OF FUND AVAILABILITY AND REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
HUD 2004 SUPERNOFA HOMELESS APPLICATION PROCESS

The Needs Assessment Committee is starting the application and selection process for HUD's 2004 Continuum of Care funding. The programs covered include the Supportive Housing, Shelter Plus Care, and Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy for Homeless Individuals (SRO) programs. We do not yet have any notice from HUD on the estimated amount of funds available to the DuPage County Homeless Continuum. Last year the DuPage Continuum received $1.1 million with an incentive amount up to an additional $750,000 for a new Permanent Housing project for homeless persons with disabilities. There are significant renewals in 2004 that will impact the ability to fund new activities other than a new Permanent Housing project. Applicants are encouraged to submit new Permanent Housing projects for consideration by the Needs Assessment Committee for the upcoming HUD 2004 Continuum of Care application.

Initial oral presentations of proposed projects will be held at the Needs Assessment Committee meeting on February 12, 2004 1:00 p.m. at Metropolitan Family Services in Wheaton. If you are interested in making a presentation, you must contact the Chairperson, Deb Darzinskis, by February 9, 2004. Her phone number is 815-723-3405 or email is ddarzinsksis@cc-doj.org.

All potential applicants must attend that meeting and all members of the Continuum are encouraged to attend! At this time, a timetable for the Supernofa Continuum of Care application process and application forms will be distributed to all applicants.

Written proposals of new projects will be reviewed by the Needs Assessment Committee at their meeting on March 18, 2004 1:30 p.m. at Metropolitan Family Services in Wheaton. Again, all members of the Continuum are encouraged to attend, not just the applicants.

FUNDING CRITERIA CHANGES

The Ranking System criteria that are used to evaluate both CDBG and HUD funded projects have been revised by the Grants Funding Committee effective in January 2004. Changes include:
" Participation in the CMIS system + 5 points,
" HUD funds requested are for housing activities (not supportive services) +10 points
" Benefit to low income persons (-5) points

These changes to the Ranking System criteria are in effect for the 2004 HUD Supernofa applications through the DuPage Continuum. The Continuum's Supernofa application forms have been revised to be consistent with these ranking criteria changes.

There is a revised Business Plan format and Cost Forms for the 2004 HUD Supernofa application process. These will be distributed via email to all members of the Needs Assessment Committee in February 2004. Please contact Peg White Lijewski, Continuum Consultant, if you are not on this committee and would like to receive these forms.

DUPAGE CLIENT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (CMIS)

In 2001, Congress established a national goal that every homeless Continuum collects unduplicated client level data by 2004. Beginning with the 2003 competition, all awarded projects must agree to participate in the local homeless client information management system. The DuPage Continuum client management information system (CMIS) went "live" in December 2002 using ServicePoint by Bowman. As of July 1, 2003 thirteen agencies are participating and entering real time data. These agencies include Metropolitan Family Services, Addison Township, DuPage PADS, Inc., Bridge Communities, Serenity House, NCO Youth & Family Services, People's Resource Center, Wheaton Youth Outreach, DuPage County Human Services, DuPage County Veterans Assistance Commission, Naperville Cares, and Catholic Charities. New agencies that are now online since December 2003 include World Relief, Wheaton Youth Outreach, YWCA, and Metropolitan Family Services.

Currently the system is converting from ServicePoint 2.5 to ServicePoint 3.2. Each agency administrator has been practicing on a secure test site for this upgrade. The target date for full implementation is April 1, 2004. ServicePoint 3.2 has better report capability. It also includes ScanPoint - which assists agencies in recording single service to large numbers of clients. There is a Users Group who meets monthly to iron out glitches and share tips. Switching to a co-hosted server system which will eliminate the need for any further updates to the hardware or software servers. This will reduce the yearly maintenance fee also.

Each agency has designated an agency system administrator who is the primary contact person and works with the DuPage County CMIS Administrator - Leslie Grevoy. For more information, please contact her at 682-6861

DUPAGE CONTINUUM - ENDING HOMELESSNESS

In February, 2003, the Continuum committed to joining the national effort dedicated to ending homelessness by 2010. Over the past 10 months, the membership has developed a written Plan to End Homelessness that outlines our approach, vision, beliefs, and goals for ending homelessness in DuPage County over the next ten years. This plan looks ten years into the future, with a new response to homelessness - one focused on ending it. Implementation of this plan is our next step.

The DuPage Plan to End Homelessness outlines broad goals in nine areas which need to be refined into objectives that are realistic and attainable. The Continuum leadership has engaged a professional management and training consultant, Cinda Rierson, to facilitate this process during a two day Strategic Planning Session. Cinda successfully facilitated the Chicago Plan to End Homelessness, understands the basic context, what we are trying to do, and how to move us to greater specificity and accountability.

By the end of the Strategic Planning sessions the DuPage Homeless Continuum will:

- Define measurable objectives for each of the nine components in the Plan
- Outline action steps for each objective that describe a specific result or outcome by a certain point in time.
- Assign responsible persons/organizations for each action step.
- Determine realistic and attainable time frames for each action step.
- Ensure that each action step defines the resources to be used for achieving it.
- Have clarity on next steps and expectations for the future.

The dates for the Strategic Planning Sessions are Thursday, March 25, 2004 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Thursday, April 15, 2004 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The location is Metropolitan Family Services DuPage, 222 E. Willow St., Wheaton, IL.

We hope you will make every effort to attend. We need your help in developing a comprehensive, proactive, community-wide, cross-system approach to solving homelessness.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT

On October 15, 2003 point in time data was collected from the DuPage Continuum's homeless service providers which included the inventory of beds available, the number of persons that night and the needs for housing which were not met that night. Data was collected on all beds within the emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, and permanent housing beds. A street count was conducted on that same date to assess the number of unsheltered homeless persons. The subpopulations within the sheltered and unsheltered populations were also assessed - including the number of chronically homeless persons and their housing needs.

The information from the Homeless Provider Survey and the Street Count were integrated into the 2004 HUD Housing Gaps Analysis Chart and the Homeless Populations and Subpopulations Chart.

The 2004 Housing Activity Chart profiles the inventory of all current beds and those that are under development with secured funding.

These documents were reviewed and approved by the Needs Assessment committee in January 2004. If you would like to obtain a copy, please contact Peg White Lijewski, Continuum Consultant.

Special thanks to Kathryn Nelson of the DuPage Federation for conducting the Homeless Provider Survey interviews and compiling the data.

Thanks also to Deborah Carr of NCO Youth & Family Services for coordinating the Street Count.

MAINSTREAM PROGRAMS

The Community Outreach Committee, with the assistance of Kathryn Nelson, has made great progress in establishing working relationships and procedures that will facilitate the enrollment of homeless persons with each mainstream program office in the DuPage Continuum. A memorandum of understanding has been signed with the Illinois Department of Human Services. Agreements are in process with the four service providers of the Workforce Development Board (e.g. DuPage Workforce Development Division office, IL Dept. of Employment Security, College Of DuPage, and Parent Alliance Employment Network) and the Veterans Administration. A meeting has been scheduled with the regional Homeless Liaison of the Social Security Administration.

"Making the Connection - A Guide to Mainstream Programs in DuPage County"

The DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform is conducting comprehensive training sessions for program staff on accessing public mainstream programs in DuPage County. The sessions contain practical information in an easy to understand format regarding the many programs available to assist low income persons, including homeless liaisons at all local offices, user friendly application tips, and client advocacy hints.

Each participant also receives a resource manual - "Making the Connection" containing valuable reference material. Three training sessions have already been held with attendance exceeding over 60 persons. The sessions are assisting non-profits, schools, faith based organizations, local governments, businesses and health care providers to identify their customers who may be eligible for mainstream benefits and know how to expedite the application process.

Due to the enthusiastic response to this training, the DuPage Federation will be sponsoring additional sessions throughout the next six months. We will be notifying all Continuum members via email. For further information, please contact Candace King or Kathryn Nelson of the DuPage Federation at 782-4783. You may also email them at cking@dupagefederation.org or knelson@dupagefederation.org.

DUPAGE CONTINUUM LEADERSHIP

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Last Updated July 26, 2009