HUD HOMELESS PROJECTS 2003

On May 20, 2003 the Chairpersons Forum of the DuPage Homeless Continuum of Care approved the following project priorities for the DuPage County 2003 Continuum of Care application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development:

The pro rata share of HUD funds available to the DuPage County Homeless Continuum in the 2003 application is $ 1,383,969. An additional bonus of $750,000 is available for a Permanent Housing project for homeless persons with disabilities for a total of
$ 2,133,969.

There were significant changes in the 2003 HUD Homeless funding program. These include: 1) The amount available for the incentive project can only include leasing, administration and operating costs - no supportive services costs. 2) a limit of $200,000 excess over the final pro rata share which can be awarded to the Continuum (excluding the incentive project 3) renewals must continue to provide detailed performance and budget information and are not automatically prioritized before new projects 4) Each Continuum must have a plan to meet HUD's national goal of ending chronic homelessness in ten years 5) HUD added ten points to a Continuum's application based on the amount of funds requested for housing activities, rather than supportive services 6) Fifteen points were designated for the Continuum's plan to have all homeless clients identified and enrolled in mainstream federal benefits programs, such as Medicaid, CHIP, Food Stamps, TANF, SSI, Workforce Development programs and Veterans health care programs. In order to ensure that the Supernofa application remains competitive, the DuPage Continuum is taking action to meet all the new requirements.

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING - MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Please mark your calendars for the next Full Membership Meeting on 11/05/03 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Metropolitan Family Services DuPage
222 E. Willow St., Wheaton, IL.

The focus of the meeting will be on Planning to End Homelessness and Permanent Housing. Our guest speaker will be Katrina Van Valkenburgh from The Corporation for Supportive Housing. She will speak on integrating the Housing First model into continuum planning and present a perspective on the National Alliance to End Homelessness Plan and the development of Permanent Housing. There will also be a
presentation by Carol Simler on the national conference " New Partnerships for Ending Homelessness" which was held in Washington, D.C. The DuPage Federation on Human Services Reform will provide information on "Untapped Resources for Permanent Housing Opportunities". A complete agenda will be sent to all Continuum members in October. Please join us for this informative and thought provoking session. Local legislators, DuPage County Board members, and members of the DuPage Housing Action Coalition are also being invited to this meeting.

CONTINUUM PLANNING STRUCTURE CHANGES

The DuPage Continuum of Care Planning Structure was modified on 3/11/03 based on recommendations from HUD. The former Leadership Committee (the Executive Committee of the Community Development Commission) was considered by HUD to be a duplicative planning process and not representative of members of the Continuum.

The new Leadership Committee of the DuPage Homeless Continuum is the Chairpersons Forum. The Chairpersons Forum consists of the chair of each of the 3 standing committees, the DuPage County Human Services Administrator, the Executive Director of the People's Resource Center and three at large Continuum members who do not represent a homeless provider. There is one designated leader of the DuPage Homeless Continuum that is the Administrator of the DuPage County Human Services Department. He also serves as liaison with the Executive Committee of the DuPage County Community Development Commission (CDC) and the Chairperson's Forum. The Executive Committee is informed of the activities of the DuPage Homeless Continuum.

The DuPage Homeless Continuum structure now consists of a Chairperson's Forum and three standing committees - Community Outreach, Grants/Funding, and Needs Assessment. The Needs Assessment Committee also has an active subcommittee for the CMIS system.

DUPAGE CLIENT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (CMIS)

In 2001, Congress established a national goal that every homeless Continuum collect 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. The DuPage CMIS system has three major modules: Resource Point, Client Point, and Shelter Point. Resource Point is the database for referrals, Client Point is the database for demographic and case management information, and Shelter Point is the database for agencies providing shelter. The DuPage C.R.I.S. (Community Resources Information System) has been downloaded into Resource Point. This allows agencies to make real time referrals.

ServicePoint is an Internet-based system whereby all agencies that provide services to the homeless, persons at risk, and low-income persons can enter and maintain client information. Each provider can enter (and modify as needed) basic client demographic data, case management information, referral history, and other information. Clients only have to provide their required information one time before accessing any services from participating agencies. The CMIS has installed special filters on confidential client information in order to accommodate confidentiality requirements under the new Health Insurance Portability and Protection Act.

The CMIS system is now in the process of converting to ServicePoint version 3.0. As of September 1, 2003 eleven agencies will be participating and entering real time data. These agencies include 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. Two other agencies will be in the second phase. These agencies are NAMI DuPage and DuPage Housing Authority. All thirteen agencies have completed the training to implement the system. 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

On July 9, 2003 the Chairpersons Forum adopted the Plan to End Homelessness as a statement of beliefs, values, and goals and a general approach for the DuPage Homeless Continuum in their effort to end homelessness. It is a Housing First approach. The next step in developing this Plan is to identify strategies and action steps to accomplish the goals. At the next full membership meeting, the Essential Components of the current plan will be reviewed. Continuum Committees and other appropriate groups will be designated to develop strategies and action steps and report at predictable intervals.

Carol Simler attended the "New Partnerships for Ending Homelessness" conference in Washington, D.C. on July 16-19 and presented the current DuPage Plan to End Homelessness. It was noted that it is an initial statement of beliefs and goals and will be modified and added to as strategies and action steps are developed. Each Continuum submitting a plan is recognized with a flag on the national Ending Homelessness map.

MAINSTREAM PROGRAMS

The Community Outreach Committee is continuing to establish working relationships and procedures that will facilitate enrollment of homeless persons with each mainstream program office in the DuPage Continuum. These offices include the Illinois Department of Human Services, Social Security, the Workforce Development Division, and the Veterans Administration. Memorandums of understanding with each mainstream program are being developed by the DuPage Federation. Liaisons with each of the mainstream programs are also being established. This information along with a list of community resources will be made available to all service providers as soon as they are finalized. A Social Security workshop for casemanagers is being planned for fall. The DuPage Federation is also planning a fall training session for casemanagers on the basics of all mainstream programs with representatives of all the mainstream programs.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT

The Needs Assessment Committee is establishing processes for conducting regular assessments of homeless clients and housing needs. They will be conducting an annual review of Homeless Prevention, Outreach, and Supportive Services. There will be an annual point in time inventory of beds available and persons housed in emergency shelters, transitional housing, and permanent housing. This point in time inventory will be coordinated with a street count to assess the number of unsheltered homeless persons. The number of chronically homeless persons and their housing needs is also going to be assessed in the coming year. The CMIS system will be an integral part of the Needs Assessment processes. This information will be integrated into the new HUD Housing Gaps and Homeless Subpopulations Chart and the Housing Activity Chart.

2003 FUNDING CRITERIA

The project ranking criteria that are used to evaluate both CDBG and HUD funded projects are being reviewed by the Grants Funding Committee. Potential changes may include participation in the CMIS system, increased emphasis on housing activities for HUD projects, and an increased emphasis on productivity and outcomes. If you wish to weigh in on these issues, please contact Phil Smith at 682-6918. The application forms will be revised to be consistent with any ranking criteria changes. Any approved changes to the Ranking System criteria will take effect for the 2004 HUD Supernofa application process and will not affect the 2004 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application process.

CDBG FUNDING

The Grants Funding committee will be evaluating the CDBG/ESG funding applications in the upcoming quarter. The Grants Funding Committee will review the scoring of all CDBG applications prior to final determination by the Community Development staff. There will be no opportunity for revising applications after they are submitted. Applicants will be mailed the instructions and application forms in August 2003. Applicants may request individual assistance in completing applications from the DuPage County community development staff by calling Mary Keating at 682-6917. There will not be an information meeting or workshop. These applications are due to the DuPage County Community Development Department by October 1, 2003.

MEETING CALENDAR

A new calendar of all Continuum committee meetings for the period from July 2003 through July 2004 is enclosed for your information.

DUPAGE CONTINUUM LEADERSHIP

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Last Updated July 26, 2009