PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO READ ALL THE MINUTES Continuum of Care
Meeting Minutes December 10, 2002
Jan Mitura opened the meeting and reviewed the minutes from the last meeting.
Ms. Mitura handed out the best practices- cities submitting applications information from the HUD website which was mentioned at the MDHA membership meeting.
She then reported that she had contacted Kathy Reid, of Texas Homeless Network as well as Linda Hadley of HUD. They discussed the best way to submit the application papers- separately with each agency attaching exhibit 1 or together. Ms. Hadley would not say which way was best. According to HUD, either way is equally competitive. Ms. Mitura said she would table the discussion until she had chance to speak with Ms. Reid and HUD further.
Ms. Mitura asked if there were any questions regarding the minutes. None were asked.
Ms. Boadicea White, of the City of Dallas, then spoke about the City's role as facilitor. She stated that although the MDHA VISTAs have been doing work on the Continuum of Care, it was still ultimately the City's responsibility as facilitator to see that everything was done properly. MDHA VISTAs would be working on the next count for winter. Regular meetings with the VISTAs and City were suggested. James Waghorne said that the VISTAs would be meeting with Dave Hogan and the Crisis Intervention Team. Mr. Waghorne also said Ms. White's office would be kept informed.
Involving Dallas County in the count process was discussed next. Troy Wynne, of the City of Irving said that the Irving Police were involved in helping with the homeless count but did not find anyone. Jennifer Morrison, of New Beginning Center, reported that the Garland Police were involved. Garland counted during the last census and gave its numbers to Dave Hogan. Mr. Waghorne proposed we use two ways to work with other cities: first, going through the local governments, and secondly going through all known local agencies.
The summer count had been completed and MDHA has announced January 20, 2003 as the winter count date.
Ms. Morrison had questions concerning the count reports. Mr. Waghorne replied that two reports were produced, one by the VISTAs which gave actual numbers and stastical projections, and another by the City of Dallas which was based on actual numbers only. Ms. White said that the City used actual numbers only, because that is what they were told to do (by HUD).
Ms. White then reviewed the Progress of the Continuum of Care.
Goal 1-Secure pledges from city governments (in Dallas County) to commit to developing a strategy to end homelessness. (read by Ms. White) Ms. White said that the Continuum of Care represents a short term plan based on past development and this planning will go towards the longer plan (10 year plan). Mr. Thompson wanted to know if any records regarding homeless prevention funds were kept. It was suggested the State of Texas may keep records and the City of Dallas which deals with CDBG funds may also keep records. Gaps analysis is done with the use of surveys. Suggestions for government contacts were made. Ms. Morrison said Roma Lewis with Garland Housing or Jim Slaughter with Neighborhood Development could be contacts. Troy Wynne said that James Spriggs of the Irving Chamber of Commerce might be interested in homeless issues. Barbara Van Der Loop of Irving should also be contacted. Mike Cantrell from Dallas County is currently on the MDHA Board. Ms. Mitura suggested that Paige Flink speak with them about involvement with MDHA.
Goal 2-develop a conceptual model with a balanced array of services. The plan to plan the 10 year plan lends to the conceptual model.
Goal 3-Contract with a local university or non profit to perform an assessment of low low income housing. Ms. White said that Karen Boudreaux is working on this goal. Karen Williams suggested Richard Scotch from UTD, who works with United Way help.
Goal 4- expand MDHA to include mainstream entities. Troy Wynne suggested getting the local school districts involved. Karen Williams told us that all cities above a certain population have a school liaison to the homeless community. It was proposed that a school representative be kept on the MDHA Board.
Goal 5- Heighten the knowledge and awareness of homelessness in order to change public conception. Ms. White reiterated that once the MDHA Board was together, people would fall in line. Ms. Mitura said that at Friday's MDHA membership meeting a Public Relations Committee was formed. The committee will include Susan Saunders, Ben Johnson, Clora Hogan, and Mark Gillman. At the membership meeting, it was put forward that we contact SMU or Dr. Dale Yeatts from UNT. Ms. Williams suggested that we set a kick off date for MDHA and Board members bring up MDHA in their newsletters.
Ms. Mitura asked for any New Business. Ms. Mitura then asked what the Committee would like her to discuss with Linda Hadley of HUD. Suggestions included going over the best COC practices, Dallas from a historical viewpoint, improving our process, and how to keep the suburbs committed and involved.
Meeting was adjourned.
COC minutes January 28, 2003
Jan opened the meeting with introductions.
Old Business. First on the agenda was a report from the MDHA VISTAs on the count. Kit Lowrance said that the count was at 4, 171 when he left his office that morning, and added that he had not gotten all the numbers in so the final total is unknown at the moment.
James Waghorne said that a count number should be ready for the February MDHA meeting along with a comparison to last winter's count (January 2002). Waghorne pointed out questions 2 and 13 on the survey as addressing the issue of Chronic Homeless as HUD defines it.
Jan Mitura reported that Troy Wynne, of the City of Irving would act as the HMIS (METSYS) system liaison. There are currently 19 agencies planning to use the system but presently there are only about 200 records entered. We have three goals, first to get agencies to actually use the system, second to get Dallas County Police on-line, and third to add new users. Melody Shatzer said that her group (ABC) had system and technical problems. Ms. Shatzer then asked if anyone had been successful with entering treatment plans and case notes. ABC Behavioral needs it for Shelter Plus Care data but hasn't been able to use it. Lee Hutchins said that the Stewpot, unsure if the system could be used to document people other than the chronically homeless, bought their own software and are using it internally with the idea that they could interface with the whole system later. Ms. Hutchins is unclear about the criteria for who gets entered into the system. The Stewpot has a mixed cliental of low income, homeless, disabled but in funded housing programs, etc. Jan Mitura suggested that Troy Wynne, Martha Blaine, and Debra Wood address training and education regarding the HMIS system to clarify the criteria for entering people into the system. James Waghorne then asked Ms. White of the City of Dallas why the Dallas County Police would be using the system. Ms. White responded that the police would like to use the system to check previous referrals and to make their own referrals to services. Jay Dunn, of the Stewpot, asked about the confidentiality clause concerning the HMIS system. He wanted to know how the information was going to be used. Melody Shatzer said that her organization uses its own confidentiality waiver at this time. Karen Williams said that agencies could keep private and public records in a separate data base then recommended the need to clarify the policy and procedures for using the system. Yvonne Butler suggested that a sub-committee be formed to focus on the HMIS system. It was suggested that Kris Manley, of Housing Crisis Center, and Donald Clemons, of Salvation Army and currently the biggest user of the system be appointed to the committee. Cliff Gay, a computer professional and representative of NAMI, volunteered to be on the sub committee as well. Jan said that the committee along with Wynne, Blaine, and Wood could meet to work on the project.
Karen Williams went over the planning calendar and the 18 Month Plan to End Homeless. She said that we covered most of this at the December MDHA meeting so she would not go over it in great detail. Ms. Williams added what had been discussed at the MDHA meeting concerning the 18 month plan. The plan to end Chronic Homelessness- Goal 1, the count was preformed on January 21, data currently being entered. Goal 2 needs clarification. Goal 3, Karen Boudreaux indicated that efforts were on schedule and encouraged MDHA to send someone to the Consolidated Planning meetings. Ms. White reminded everyone that the Consolidate Plan meetings were publicly announced at the last MDHA meeting and the schedule was also posted on the City of Dallas website. Ms. Shatzer said that MDHA needed a housing committee to meet with the City of Dallas Housing Department because their focus is not homelessness.
Goal 4, a group is working on it. The plan to address other (non chronic) homelessness- Goal 1, MDHA board must secure pledges. Goal 2 is on schedule. Goal 3, MDHA must establish an outcomes measures for inclusion in Exhibit 1 (part of the greater 10 year plan). Goal 4 is on schedule. Goal 5, a plan for this goal is needed from the Advocacy Committee.
Ms. Williams then talked about the planning calendar. She said that the calendar is based on the policy and procedures manual. We need to adjust the calendar to be able to bring things to the MDHA membership and Board. Jan Mitura, Ms. White, and Karen Williams will work on putting dates to the calendar. Ms. White suggested looking at the calendar and assigning people to deal with the tasks.
New Business. Peer Review. Lee Hutchins from the Stewpot and Lee Schimmel have been assigned the task of forming a peer review panel. On site visits to new agencies and an assessment of those agencies should be submitted by the peer review. Ms. Hutchins went over the criteria for selecting applicants based on the policy manual. Hutchins said that they would send out a self assessment form to all agencies. Keisha Ward of the City of Mesquite, Ellen Emmert, of the City of Garland, Jerell Daniels from Dallas County and Dorothy Masterson will be on the peer review panel along with Hutchins and Schimmel. Ms. White said that the City of Dallas would be sending out Letters of Intent. James Waghorne asked if the assessment form was sent out by the city yet. Ms. White said that it had sent out and agreed to email James a copy of last year's assessment form. Ms. White said the City would submit a "Gaps and Analysis" to MDHA after they got the count information. Waghorne said some service providers haven't turned in information yet. Ms. White agreed that it was hard to get service providers to cooperate if they weren't getting HUD money.
Ms. White announced that public meetings for the COC planning process have been set up. The first meeting would be March 13 at the Dallas City Hall at 2pm, the next meeting at the Day Resource Center March 20 at 3pm.
The COC Committee could ask MDHA's P.R. team to advertise the meetings. A facilitator for the public hearings hasn't been assigned yet. MDHA membership will take the matter to the Board. Karen Williams reported that we are behind in meeting our goals and need to be more structured. She also suggested that everyone read the HUD Strategic Plan (available on the web).
An additional meeting of the COC Committee was scheduled at Family Gateway for February 11 at 9 am.
Action task assigned to:
Homeless Count MDHA
Count data entry MDHA
Draft Count Report MDHA
Meet with CCGD about METSYS Troy Wynne and sub-committee
Send out Letter of Intent City of Dallas Send out assessment forms City of Dallas
COC Meeting Minutes
February 11, 2003
Jan Mitura opened the meeting.
Briefing of Applicants.
Karen Boudreaux began the meeting with a brief report on Monday morning's City Hall meeting for the HUD applicants. Ms. Boudreaux said she thought some issues concerning MDHA responsibilities needed to be clarified.
Housing vs. Services.
Ms. Boudreaux handed out copies of the HUD points given for the grant application package announced for 2003. She said that we had lost many points due to the COC requesting more funding for services than for housing. The COC needs to request funds for housing in an excess of 50% of the total requests, in order to be considered by HUD.
Ms. Yvonne Butler asked what were deemed services. Ms. Boudreaux replied that any non-housing was considered services. She also added that all the agencies that had applied requested funds for services, with the exception of ABC Behavioral and Shared Housing Center. Although many agencies requested funding for housing, the percentage of housing vs. services was still service request heavy. HUD counted that against us. HUD has begun to focus on housing and move away from funding services.
Ms. Boudreaux then asked the committee to look at the spread sheet of 2002 applicants. Of the renewals, 56.3% were requests for social services and 43.7% were requests for housing funds.
Ms. Boudreaux said that the renewals and LifeNet were funded for 2003.
Reviewing the Current COC
Ms. Boudreaux went on to say that MDHA VISTAs would be investigating COC practices and that she would review the 10 year plans of other cities. Boudreaux handed out New York's "Blue Print for Ending Homelessness" list of participants. The list was given as an example of the diversity she thought MDHA should be working to achieve. She said that participation from the greater Dallas community was clearly absent in the MDHA, noting that now MDHA has only non-profits and local Dallas County cities involvement. Ms. Boudreaux also gave us a list of CHDOs that should be participating in MDHA.
Ms. Boudreaux said that she would be sending a disc out to different MDHA members to review the current COC application. Ms. Boudreaux believes that there are people within the local agencies who have expertise in certain areas and that their input is necessary. Ms. Boudreaux cautioned against setting up yet another sub-committee to address this- direct action and participation are necessary to get the job done. Betts Hoover suggested that people work in pairs to review sections of the COC.
More detail is needed from every agency on how they use mainstream resources. Any use of mainstream resources must be thoroughly documented. Yvonne Butler reminded us that last year the mainstream services were listed and should be once again. It is also recommended that each agency document how they are directly using the services to link clientele up with housing.
Meeting with HUD
Ms. Boudreaux told us that there is no real procedure for complaints against HUD. ABC Behavioral Health did not get funded, and there is some uncertainty as to why this happened. The City did not agree with HUD on this issue. Melody Shatzer of ABC Behavioral Health added that HUD put new covenants out in April or May, which could create difficulties for some agencies.
Ms. Boudreaux stated that we needed to focus on the timeline, and each agency's relationship with HUD. She also said that she believed HUD would penalize agencies that did not apply for the SAMHSA/ Interagency Council's initiative for ending chronic homelessness grants.
It was also recommended that we give Linda Hadley, the local HUD representative, some sort of perspective on the local agencies in Dallas. HUD will be contacted for a meeting to discuss the situation in Dallas.
Community Support
Questions were asked regarding community wide participation. Ms. Boudreaux asked if anyone had attended a recent affordable housing conference, and no one present had. She also said that MDHA did not really have a representative at the Consolidated Plan meetings or the Mayor's Summit on Affordable Housing either. She believes that when people think of homelessness they tend think of service issues and not housing issues. This perception needs to change. Although most of the housing meetings deal with low income housing-discussion could be also directed towards low-low income housing. MDHA needs to lobby towards this goal.
It was suggested by Yvonne Butler that business leaders were willing to serve on the boards of shelters and smaller agencies, but hard to attract to MDHA because it was not clear to them the role they would have to take on.
MDHA needs a strong leader to move forward. Ms. Boudreaux said that the Mayor appointing a Homeless Czar was merely a rumor and that the Mayor had simply been asked to recruit a new president for MDHA. Ms. Boudreaux suggested approaching a County Commissioner, Senator Royce West, or Katherine Hodges to create community wide support and awareness. She recommended that MDHA members speak with their own contacts to get more people involved in MDHA.
Balancing Housing vs. Services Fund Requests
It was suggested that in order to deal with the service heavy grant package, MDHA ask agencies to make an assessment of their needs and possibly readdress their fund requests. Ms. Boudreaux said that she thought agencies could change the percentages by building up housing requests, while not cutting services. Ms. Boudreaux will be sending out an email to agencies asking them to concentrate on their applications. It was proposed that agencies look at their own budgets and a set formula be developed. A goal of 60% housing and 40% services seemed realistic to the committee. Ms. Jan Mitura asked who was in favor to recommend the 60/40 goal. All were in favor and the motion was passed to make the recommendation. It was generally agreed that this 60/40 goal would not count against agencies such as Vogel Alcove or Rainbow Days, which are 100% service organizations.
Ms. Boudreaux said that many government organizations and the Dallas Housing Authority were not applying for Shelter Plus Care grants because they were not able to come up with matching service grants.
METSYS Report
Ms. Mitura handed out an update on the METSYS system.
Yvonne Butler reported that Troy Wynne's group had met with Martha Blaine and Deb Wood about the METSYS system. She also reported that her agency, Housing Crisis Center had made entries which did not show in the system. Ms. Jacqueline West from the Shared Housing Center said that they were experiencing the same difficulties. She also remarked that it took up to 30 minutes to document one client on the new system. She wondered if an easier and shorter system could be developed.
Meeting Adjourned
Action:
Task assigned to:
Send email to agencies regarding housing vs. services requests
City of Dallas (Karen Boudreaux)
March 13, 2003
COC Meeting
Homeless Count Update- reported by James Waghorne
1) The Homeless Census Report is finished and it will be available online.
2) 5,181 people were counted in Dallas County on January 21, 2003.
3) There is an increase in the education level of homeless people, due to the economy.
4) A new website will be up and running next week.
5) The new website will include links to resources and comprehensive information.
Follow Up: Waghorne will announce the new website address to all MDHA members via email.
IDH Homeless grant- Dr. Melodie Shatzer
1) Dallas Urban League will be the lead agency for the Interagency Council grant.
2) Dallas Urban League will collaborate with Dallas MetroCare and the V.A.
3) Turtle Creek Manor will apply for the SAMHSA section of the grant
4) Jesse Aguilera- Keith Harlin is taking the lead in the writing of the grant.
Everything is going well.
Follow Up: none
Guest: Linda Hadley,
Fort Worth Regional Office,
US. Dept. of HUD
Ms. Hadley answered questions on these topics:
1) Technical submissions have been mailed out to agencies
a) Agencies need to send submissions to head office.
2) SuperNOFA
a) Ms. Hadley does not know when it will be available.
b) Applicants will have the same amount of time to prepare, no matter when the SuperNOFA comes out.
3) HUD awards in other cities
a) Ms. Hadley is not sure why other cities get more funding.
b) Speculations include: more homeless counted county-wide and politics.
4) Technical submission money categories
a) Ms. Hadley said that agencies will only get funding for what they submitted, but they can move funds around within that category.
5) Cost effectiveness guidelines
a) There are no set guidelines for cost effectiveness.
b) Each proposal is evaluated on its own merits.
c) HUD takes into account start up costs and acquisitions when assessing cost effectiveness.
6) Dollar Program
a) The HUD/FHA lease program: rents HUD proprieties for $1 to homeless service providers.
b) Ms. Hadley is not aware that the Dollar Program is still operating in the Dallas area, but she will check.
7) Enterprise Zones
a) Documenting agencies in enterprise zones could increase COC scores by 2 points.
8) Interagency Council Grant/ New Regional rep.
a) Ms. Hadley does not know if the Interagency Council grant will affect other grants.
b) A new regional Rep. has not been chosen.
9) SRO changes
a) Ms. Hadley does not know of any changes.
10) HUDs intensions
a) Ms. Hadley can not speculate on HUD Washington's future plans at this point.
Follow Up: Ms. Hadley will look into local Dollar Programs.
She is available to answer questions. Contact Linda Hadley at: Linda_T._ Hadley@hud.gov
Accessing Mainstream Resources
Mainstream Resource Agencies gave presentations about their organizations and programs administered.
1) Rosemary Ferlauto- Worksource Center, Pleasant Grove
a) Worksource Centers programs/services include: TANF, WIA, re-integration services- Project RIO for ex-offenders, V.A. employment services, Food Stamps, Job Corps, older workers program and paid transportation.
b) Eligibility requirements- clients must have documented - 20 hours per week job contacts or community service for able bodied people. A student under 19 years old who is still in high school will be eligible.
2) Steven Reaves- Texas Works, DHS
a) Texas Works programs/services: TANF, Food Stamps, employment services, Medicaid
b) Eligibility requirements- mandatory participation in CHOICES for people with children over 1 year old, documented hours in participation in work/training programs or employment.
c) Food Stamps- eligibility certification is now for 3 months. Beginning in April clients will be certified for 6 months.
d) TANF will be cut off- clients (including children) will be totally cut off after reaching the 5 year maximum. There is a September deadline.
e) New TANF clients will have time limits imposed based on their situation, which will range from 12 months to 3 years.
3) Gregory Ware- Texas Rehab
a) Referrals are made- only direct service is counseling and guidance
b) Most programs have a stable living requirement- eligibility for people in shelters is decided on a case by case basis.
c) Texas Rehab does not do treatment. Clients must have 30 days sobriety before their application is accepted.
d) Age requirement is 16 for students, 18 for non-students.
4) Gretta Mankins- V.A.
a) V.A. does outreach at Day Resource Center (also counselor for women vets- MTWF 8:30 am-4:30 pm, room 17)
b) Grants- V.A. grant 65% of cost for construction, rehab, and acquisition for Supportive Housing or service centers. There is a 35% match needed- grant does not cover operational costs.
c) Per Diem- priority given to grant recipients. Per Diem will cover operational costs. Program must serve 75% veterans.
d) Fort Worth always asks the V.A. to give them a letter of support for their COC.
e) V.A. is interested in working with vets who have families.
5) Bill Nix- DHS- LTC (long term care)
a) SSI, nursing homes, Medicaid
b) Illegal aliens get emergency treatment only.
c) DHS-LTC now doing phone interviews with clients.
6) Don Hendrix- TDCJ- Parole Division
a) Parole Division makes referrals to clients
b) Hendrix expressed the need to work together.
7) Seifu Yigezu- Dallas Urban League
a) Dallas Urban League has taken over the role of the Dallas Community Action Committee.
b) Programs include: job club (support and networking), seniors and community service programs, housing programs, emergency assistance.
Follow Up: None
Inventory of Existing Homeless Services- Boadicea White
1) Inventory of equipment- agencies should inventory all resources that could be shared among agencies.
2) Formal agreement among agencies to make referrals and assist each other- will be re-drafted.
3) MetSys system/ Documentation- MDHA needs the system running.
4) Information about MDHA for Mainstream Resources- will be sent to inform organizations about MDHA activities and mission.
5) Rosemary Ferlauto- suggested agencies get clients to sign releases- then mainstream organizations could give MDHA service providers the names of clients using their mainstream resources. Many mainstream resources do not know or ask if people are clients of the homeless service providers or not.
Follow Ups: Jan Mitura will ask Paige Flink to draft informational material about MDHA for Mainstream Resource agencies.
The City of Dallas will send MDHA agencies more detailed information concerning the inventory of equipment and the agreement.
Announcements
1) Jesse Aguilera- 10 year Plan committee meeting 9:30am Friday March 14, 2003
2) Dale McEowen- CHIP is going to be shut down, we need lobbying
Meeting Adjourned
COC March 25, 2003
Meeting minutes
Welcome/introductions- Jan Mitura
Old Business:
Mainstream Resources- Boadicea White, City of Dallas
1) Agencies need better documentation of mainstream resource use with more details. This is crucial.
2) Reminded each agency that they should submit inventories of resources they have and are willing to make available to other service providers.
Follow Up:
City of Dallas will prepare a letter to Mainstream Resources introducing MDHA concerns and have a councilmember sign it.
HMIS system subcommittee- Jan Mitura, Family Gateway
1) Klaire Powers contacted almost all of the agencies in the system.
2) A list of problems and questions has been compiled to be sent to CCGD.
Follow Up: Jan Mitura will send the report to CCGD.
Peer Review Panel- Lee Schimmel, Methodist Children's Home
1) Deadline is April 15
2) Multiple forms/programs- please do not wait until the last minute to send information to the panel-send a little at a time.
3) RFP ranking is based on HUD criteria.
4) Members of the panel do not receive HUD funding. Ms. Schimmel's organization, for example operates solely on private donations.
5) Criteria
a) Housing will be given highest priority. 1-35 points given to projects providing housing. A 40% service and 60% housing split was recommended by the COC. The COC would like to do even better than that if possible.
b) Leveraging money through private funds will also be important.
c) Administration and Financial Management will be reviewed- HUD wants to know the money is being well used. Using all funds and good audits will be essential to assessors.
d) Cost effectiveness of each project will be examined.
e) Past achievements and goal attainment will be assessed.
f) Needs/gaps in services will be weighed by the panel. An "only one of its kind" program will get extra points.
6) Two kinds of self assessment forms for this year- 1 for renewals, and 1 for new projects. One form per project must be submitted, i.e. 2 renewed projects must submit 2 renewal forms. The self assessment forms can be emailed.
Follow Ups: Contact Lee Schimmel for more information/ questions.
Lee Schimmel, Methodist Children's Home, 13140 Coit Rd., Suite 401, Dallas, 75240
Phone: 972-480-8772
Email: leejschimmel@yahoo.com
COC Policy and Procedures- Jan Mitura
Read pg. 28 of the COC Policy and Procedures manual.
Evaluation criteria will made available to potential applicants as part of the RFP packet. Criteria must include the potential number of points available under each item.
1. Component III: Final Scoring and Ranking
The Peer Review Team will present initial scores from the Agency Review to the Continuum of Care Committee. The Application Review Team will present initial scores from the Application Review to the Continuum of Care Committee.
The Continuum of Care Committee will review and recommend final ranking of project applications based on the scores of the Peer Review and Application Review Teams. The Continuum of Care Committee will forward the recommended ranking, as well as scores and background information from the Peer Review and Application Review Teams, to the MDHA Board of Directors.
The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance Board of Directors will review the recommendations of the Continuum of Care Committee and accept or revise the project ranking. Any Board member representing an agency seeking funds under the Continuum of Care grant may not participate in this process.
Upon final approval of the project ranking by the MDHA Board of Directors, the Facilitator will issue RFA Notification letters to all applicants.
A summary of the scores and comments will be available to each applicant.
2. Component IV: Grievances
Applicant agencies may appeal their ranking to the Board of the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA). The grievance must be submitted in writing to the Chair of the MDHA within seven working days of receipt of the RFA Notification letter.
The MDHA Board will conduct a hearing with the applicant to review their grievance. The MDHA Board will act on the grievance within seven working days of receiving the appeal. The MHDA Board has final word on the matter.
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New Business:
Appoint Application Review Committee- Jan Mitura
1) Barbara Van Pelt will get 6 people to work with her.
2) the Application Review Committee will assess grants.
Announcements
James Waghorne, MDHA
1) new MDHA website address: www. dallashomeless.org
2) new mass emailing for MDHA members at: mdha@mail.com
Pamela Turner, LifeNet
1) Health Fair. Saturday March 29 from 9am to 3 pm free health screenings will be conducted at 4500 Maple Ave., flyers announcing the Health Fair can be posted in agencies. Contact:pturner@lifenettexas.org
Boadicea White distributed MDHA committee meeting participation and attendance lists to be filled out by participants.
Next meeting April 22, at 9 am at Family Gateway
COC April 22, 2003
Meeting minutes
Welcome/Introductions- Jan Mitura
Old Business:
Peer Review- Lee Schimmel, Methodist Children's Home
1. The Peer Review Sub-Committee is set to work.
2. Ranking criteria will be applied to achieve the highest points possible.
a) Housing will be given highest priority. 1-35 points given to projects providing housing.
b) Leveraging money through private funds will also be important.
c) Administration and Financial Management will be reviewed- HUD wants to know the money is being well used. Using all funds and good audits will be essential to assessors.
d) Cost effectiveness of each project will be examined.
e) Past achievements and goal attainment will be assessed.
3. Ms. Schimmel suggested that MDHA needed to work on the METSYS (HMIS) System.
4. Housing vs. Services split- The housing vs. services split for new proposals is approximately 58% housing and 42% services. This is an improvement when compared with 47% housing vs. 53% services split from last year's COC application.
5. The COC had recommended a 60/40% split and it is generally agreed that MDHA needs to continue to improve this ratio.
6. Peer Review Committee Site Visits of new applicants should begin in about one week (April 28).
7. May 15 Application Review Team will start to work- therefore site visits should be finished before that date.
Follow Ups: Committee members will be notified via email as to next meeting time. Applicants will be contacted concerning Site Visits.
Contact Lee Schimmel for more information or questions:
Lee Schimmel, Methodist Children's Home, 13140 Coit Rd., Suite 401, Dallas, 75240
Phone: 972-480-8772
Email: leejschimmel@yahoo.com
Rating the Suburbs- Boadicea White, City of Dallas
1. Ranking of the suburban proposals was overlooked in favor of renewals last year. Ms. White called for a decision to be made as to how these proposals might be featured more prominently. Ms. Schimmel believes that suburban proposals would be ranked more fairly due to the criteria.
2. Pro Rata. MDHA needs to do more to encourage suburban participation in order to gain the pro rata funds which would be added to the general funds. The pro rata is a 7% increase of the total fund award for every city in the county that participates. Only two proposals from suburban cities have been submitted to the Committee, New Beginning Center of Garland and Brighter Tomorrows of Grand Prairie.
3. It was recommended that agencies begin to document work being done throughout Dallas County. Many organizations, such as Vogel Alcove, serve clientele throughout the whole county.
4. Letters of Support. In early June New Beginning Center will be making a presentation to the City of Garland. Elaine Emmert of the City of Garland made a motion that MDHA send a letter of support and acknowledges New Beginning's participation in the Dallas County COC, then expanded this motion to include formal support to other agencies that asked for such a letter and were working within Dallas County. The motion was passed.
5. Dr. Melodie Shatzer reminded the Committee that in keeping with the timeline, the review teams will be able to examine each individual application and offer recommendations to make them as strong as possible.
6. Dr. Shatzer then made a motion that strong consideration be made in favor of the suburban applicants all things being equal, in an effort to achieve balance. Karen Williams seconded this motion. The motion was passed.
Follow Up: The COC will draft a formal letter for the City of Garland for MDHA Board approval.
Application Review Update- Jan Mitura, Family Gateway
1. By May 15 Barbara Van Pelt will establish an Application Review panel of 6 participants which will include 2 formerly homeless representatives.
2. Members will be announced at the next Board meeting on May 1.
Follow Up: Jan Mitura will announce Application Review Team members at next MDHA Board meeting.
New Business:
Ten Year Plan Update- Jan Mitura
1. The Ten Year Plan sub-committee has reviewed the 4 goals of NAEH. The committee discussed the Goals established for the MDHA Planning Guide protocol and has suggested approaches to Tasks that could be worked on while efforts are being made to raise funds and hire the consultant.
2. At this point Committee members include: Chair Jesse Aguilera, Rep. Jesse Jones, James Waghorne, Dr. Melodie Shatzer, Jonathan Vickery, Bill Thompson, Danna Campbell, and Bennett Miller.
3. Efforts have been made to fund the Ten Year Plan project. Lee Schimmel and Bennett Miller have contacted several foundations concerning this issue.
4. The Ten Year Plan Committee will meet at 1pm on Friday at Dallas MetroCare, 101 N. Zang Blvd. Dallas, TX. Anyone wishing to participate may attend.
.
The Homeless Census- Boadicea White, City of Dallas
1. Ms. White asked the COC Committee whether or not the Homeless Count needed to be conducted once or twice a year. HUD does not require two counts.
2. Advantages/disadvantages. James Waghorne said that the advantages of the two counts were publicity for MDHA and the issues of homelessness and checking accuracy of the count. A strong disadvantage was that many agencies were unable or unwilling to participate in two counts.
3. It was suggested that Dallas look into the formula used by many cities nation-wide to calculate their homeless population. Mr. Waghorne recommended that Dallas County continue to do at least one count a year because the cities that use a formula still have to do counts occasionally- it would be best if Dallas County did not lapse in this effort.
4. A winter count would be more advisable. A cold weather count is more likely to be accurate because more people will be in the shelters and not outside.
5. Because HUD awarded Dallas County's COC top points for the Gaps Analysis, it was suggested that the City of Dallas continue the count using its current formula.
6. Dr. Shatzer made a motion for MDHA to conduct a winter count only. This was seconded by Lee Schimmel. The motion was passed.
Determining Priorities- Boadicea White, City of Dallas
1. Suggestions were made concerning whether priorities would need to be determined using public hearings or based solely on the data from the homeless census.
2. It was generally agreed that last year's public hearing accomplished very little.
3. The survey data collected during the January count indicated that the needs in Dallas mirrored those which are cited nation-wide. Namely, housing as the top priority and employment a distant second.
4. It was suggested that gaps in housing be addressed in addition to those in services. Cathy Brown suggested that MDHA assemble the data from various sources.
5. Dr. Shatzer said that outreach in Dallas County's COC was deficient and there was no system in place to address that problem.
6. There was discussion regarding the upcoming Bond issue on May 3. The Bond funding cycle is not known and funds may be dispensed over several years. The intake facility proposed in the Bond issue will be an element of the Ten Year Plan.
7. It was agreed that the Dallas Housing Authority needed to be encouraged to participate in MDHA and that the Housing Authorities of other cities in Dallas County be approached. DHA has recently awarded new vouchers to the disabled and will be dispensing more in the future.
8. Karen Williams made a motion that the process for identifying priorities, as outlined by Ms. White and with data from other available resources named during the discussion, be accepted by the CoC Committee for FY2003. James Waghorne seconded. The motion was passed.
Developing Goals and Objectivies- Boadicea White, City of Dallas
1. MDHA will post the 18 Month Plan to End Chronic Homelessness and Other Goals to Address Homelessness on the MDHA website: www.dallashomeless.org.
2. Please submit any suggestions concerning the Goals and objectives of the COC to Ms. Mitura or Ms. White.
3. New ideas will be presented to the MDHA Board on May 1, so suggestions should be sent by April 28.
Grant Review Team
1. A total of 35 proposals for this year's COC grant have been received by the City of Dallas.
2. All materials will be needed by the review team no later than June 16.
3. 8-10 people are needed to check applications.
4. July 15 is HUD Deadline- All materials must be ready at least one week before this date.
5. No materials may be added to the application after July 7.
Grant Application Team
1. Anywhere from 700 to 1000 pages will need to be numbered and organized.
2. Contact Ms. White about joining this team.
Follow Ups: Boadicea White will make a timeline for the Grant Review Team and Grant Application Team.
Anouncements:
1. Linda Hadley of HUD has asked the City of Dallas to remind all grantees to sign up for APR Training- if your organization is currently receiving HUD monies, this session is mandatory.
2. Interagency Council Initiative to End Chronic Homelessness- Greta Mankins announced that a collaborative grant has been submitted by the V.A., Dallas MetroCare, the Urban League, Parkland Hospital, Homeward Bound, Salvation Army and Turtle Creek Manor. This grant will make use of the Enterprise Zone (EZ) incentive from HUD. The Enterprise Zones are part of an initiative to encourage job creation and capital investment in areas of economic distress and to promote neighborhood revitalization in targeted areas.
3. Peer review Committee will be notified via email as to next meeting time.
4. The SuperNOFA can be accessed at : www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfw
Meeting adjourned
COC May 13, 2003
Meeting minutes
Welcome/Introductions- Jan Mitura
Current Status of the System- Martha Blaine, Community Council of Greater Dallas
1) HUD Requirement.
a) All communities need to have a working system by October 2004.
b) HUD was impelled to make this a requirement after the legislature called for hard data on the U.S. homeless population.
c) Dallas has been working on this system for several years. In 1999 Dallas chose its software.
2) Software.
a) At present there are 12-15 different HMIS systems available to the public.
b) HUD has done a study on all the software available which can be viewed at HUD's web site: www.hud.gov (Go to "search" to find the Office of Community and Planning Development page, then click on "Homeless Assistance" to find HMIS information.
c) MetSys was one of the top rated systems.
3) Entries. Currently there are 1,700 people in the system which is an improvement since February, when only 500 people were documented in the database.
4) More functions- can be added once people are using the system on line.
5) Confidentiality Problems- need to be worked out between agencies.
For more information please contact:
Martha Blaine
mblaine@ccgd.org
Community Council of Greater Dallas
400 North St. Paul, Suite 200,
Dallas, TX 75201
Phone: 214-871-5065
Fax: 214-871-7442
For technical assistance please contact:
Deb Wood
Community Council of Greater Dallas
Phone: 214-871-5065 x 269
Feedback (Questions) from the Agencies- Martha Blaine and Deb Wood
Q: What about clients who are staying at a shelter long-term? Promise House is not an emergency shelter where clients constantly leave and the form asks for the "date last seen". Do we enter information everyday? Won't that throw off the data? (Harriet Boorhem)
A: Also some campuses have a longer stay. That will have to be worked out. (Martha Blaine)
Q: Do law authorities have access to this information? (Boorhem)
A: No. The police do not have any access to this information. MDHA has to set up safeguards and polices to determine who they will allow to view this material. (Blaine).
Q: When a client has been referred to ABC Behavioral Health from some agency such as Salvation Army, we know they were there- but we can not access any information from Salvation Army. Why is this? (Dr. Melodie Shatzer)
A: That function has not been turned on yet. (Deb Wood).
A: Agencies first need to sign user agreements to determine who they will share information with and to what extent. (Martha Blaine).
Q: Parallel reports are not available yet? (Dr. Shatzer)
A: No, but it is a simple function which can be used internally as well as among agencies. (Blaine)
Q: Do we need to list all the agencies the client information could be released to -on the consent form? (Dale McEowen)
A: Yvonne Butler has the consent forms. (Blaine).
Q: I have used codes to identify clients in the past; can we use a numerical (or alphabetical) code in order to insure client confidentiality? (David Shelton)
A: Yes. The system already has built in coding functions. You can send encrypted email, give clients code names, anything you'd like to use. (Blaine)
Q: Can an organization that is not getting HUD funding sign up to be on the system? (Ray Bailey)
A: Yes. We can have a sub-set of data on HUD grantees. (Blaine)
Q: How do I know if someone is already in the system? We have clients from domestic violence shelters and organizations not participating in the database, how do we know if they are in the system? (Nicole Romero)
A: If you do not see any entry for the client- that means that you are the entry point and should create a file for them. The system does not take the same name twice. If they already have a file, you add on information. (Blaine)
Q: Can I put in case notes?
A: You can put in anything you deem necessary to make sure your client gets the service they need- you can send encrypted email to another caseworker in another agency. (Blaine)
Q: Is the MetSys system HIPAA compliant? (Dr. Shatzer)
A: Yes, it is technically. If you have Medicaid billing you will have more difficulties though. (Blaine)
Q: What is HIPAA? (Shelton)
A; HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which basically means that you can not divulge any client (patient) information- it's a privacy Act. Agencies can do simple things to help ensure their clients privacy such as: having quick loading screen savers, turning their computer screens away from public view, making sure documents are not left open on their desks and not gossiping about clients. (Blaine)
Q: What kind of browser do we need? (Oliver Rayzer)
A: You don't use your own system- we are using a terminal service. We back up the database daily 2 backups, 2 redundant backups actually 3 now. Each agency needs to backup all their own information regularly too. (Wood)
A: We also backup the 211. We are currently negotiating with METSYS to purchase more user licenses at a low cost- it's just like any other software- you need to buy software for every workstation in your agency. (Blaine)
Q: Will that include Tech support and upgrades? (Rayzer)
A: Yes. (Blaine)
Karen Boudreaux of the City of Dallas called for representatives from agencies serving special needs clients to discuss and clarify their confidentiality procedures and criterion. Ad hoc sub-committees were formed to address issues of confidentiality.
The following were chosen to act as chairs:
1) Substance Abuse and Mental Health- Betts Hoover, LifeNet
2) HIV/AIDS- Don Maison, AIDS Services of Dallas
3) Domestic Violence- Angela Bedford, Family Place
The Plan- Yvonne Butler
1) In 2001, the Community Council of Greater Dallas was given a 3 year grant from HUD to develop our HMIS system.
2) 25 agencies were to be using the system by January 2002. Presently, there are only 17 agencies in the system.
3) The COC called for the May 30 deadline to compel agencies to comply. HUD can penalize communities that are not working towards this goal.
The following agencies are participating in the system:
ABC Behavioral Health Family Place
Stewpot Dallas MetroCare
Dallas Life Foundation City of Dallas- Resource Center
Salvation Army AIDS Services of Dallas
Union Gospel Legal Aid of North West Texas
Shared Housing LifeNet
Vogel Alcove Promise House
Rainbow Days Housing Crisis Center
Family Gateway
1) Ms. Butler distributed 2 forms, a user agreement between agencies and a sample of a release form for client consent.
2) An outline of the policies and procedures manual is being drafted. Any suggestions regarding HMIS policy should be emailed to Ms. Butler at: ybutler@hccdallas.org.
3) Ms. Butler read the User Agreement Form.
a) She would like another agency to volunteer to assist the Housing Crisis Center and Community Council of Greater Dallas to put information together.
b) The forms have been reviewed from a legal standpoint. The forms are originally from HUD- MDHA simply needs to put their name on it.
c) There is a time-limit for consent.
d) The participating agency should keep the forms and send a copy to Community Council of Greater Dallas.
e) The user agreement should be signed immediately if possible. Anyone wishing to participate after May 13 must first sign the agreement before going online.
4) Deletion of names.
a) The question was asked what should be done about people wanting out of the system. Agencies should be able to delete names from their files while the name stays in another agency's files. To totally wipe out a record, at this point, agencies must contact Deb Wood at CCGD to do so.
b) Inactive files. CCGD will look into being able to count (census/ demographics data) people refusing to participate as well as how to maintain inactive files so that long term studies can be done using the system.
5) Ms. Butler then read the Release Form.
a) Ms. Boorhem suggested listing agencies that the client information could possibly be shared with on the back of the consent (release) form. Mr. McEowen added that in Ft. Worth not only do they list the agencies involved, but they give their clients the opportunity to cross out from the list any agencies they don't want getting their information.
b) Dr. Shatzer asked if Ms. Butler could email this form to each agency so that they could personalize it. Ms. Butler agreed.
c) Ms. Blaine added that it was necessary to add a HIPPA clause at the top of the page to inform clients about patient privacy.
d) It was suggested that the acronyms for MDHA and HMIS be spelled out for the clients' benefit.
Announcements:
1) Ms. Bedford-Walker will chair the ad hoc sub-committee on domestic violence which will meet after the next COC meeting on May 20.
2) The ad hoc sub-committee on substance abuse and mental health chaired by Ms. Betts Hoover will also meet after the May 20th meeting.
3) Ms. Blaine announced that information from the 211 referral system will be incorporated into a state-wide referral database which the public will soon be able to access on-line.
June 17, 2003
COC Meeting
Introductions/ Welcome- Jan Mitura
Peer Review Sub-Committee Update- Dave Kellogg
1. The committee has finished its work after reviewing each agency thoroughly. The proposals have been passed on to the Application review team, headed up by Ms. Barbara Van Pelt.
2. Karen Williams asked if the scores (ranking) were published. Ms. Boudreaux stated that the scores would be made public because agencies have a right to appeal to the MDHA Board according to the COC Policies and Procedures Manual (see p.28).
Follow Up: A list of scores as determined by the Peer Review Sub-Committee will be made available.
Developing Goals- Karen Boudreaux
Ms. Boudreaux asked who would take responsibility for developing housing units listed as a goal of Exhibit 1- within the 18 month time frame. She indicated that the grant must state this information.
1. It was decided that MDHA be given that responsibility, with 75 units as a realistic amount.
2. It was also suggested that the wording of the goal reflect the idea of "development" and not necessarily full ""occupation".
Grant Review Team- Boadicea White
This will be a lot of detail work making sure all the papers are adequate. Ms. White believes there will be enough volunteers to complete this task.
1. The grants need to be reviewed carefully. Some agencies have made technical mistakes- confusing support services and operational costs.
2. This Team will meet June 25 at 10am at 7AN in Dallas City Hall.
Grant Application Team- 8 to 10 volunteers are needed to assemble the grant package. This will be a lot of numbering of pages, photo- copying, etc.
1. This Team will meet July 9 at 10am at 7AN in Dallas City Hall.
Follow Up:
Contact Ms. Boadicea White for more information at: bowhite@mail.ci.dallas.tx.us
New Grants Submitted- Karen Boudreaux
Ms. Boudreaux said that she thought there would be no problem to do all the renewals. The city will meet with the agencies applying for new grants on June 17. The list of new grants follows:
a. ABC Behavioral- permanent housing, scattered sites for 45 people- 749,000
b. Dallas MetroCare Services- permanent housing, scattered sites, primarily child disabled household that have been evicted from other units, 10 families + 10 chronically homeless- 543,401 over 2 years
c. Salvation Army- project based transitional housing in own facility, for 20 people-292,931
d. Central Dallas Ministries- did not respond to the peer reviewer
e. Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas- 240,000 to serve 200-500 people
f. New Beginning- 377,989 for 10 units of scattered transitional housing for domestic violence victims
g. Brighter Tomorrows- 690,616 for 40 units of scattered transitional housing - domestic violence victims 20 units now
h. Turtle Creek Manor- 765,163 for 40 units
i. Family Gateway-. 295,272 for 22 units
Jan Mitura announced that new applicants will be giving 3 minute presentations to the MDHA Board on July 1.
[Note: The presentations have since been cancelled] The next MDHA Board meeting will take place at Dallas City Hall. The room has not been confirmed yet.
Ms. Mitura also announced that the Application Review Team will look the proposals over and make recommendations to the Board.
New Business:
Role of the COC Committee
1. Karen Williams suggested that a sub committee be developed to deal with the HUD grant. The COC is supposed to deal with community wide comprehensive care, not just focus on one grant. The COC Committee was spending so much time on the HUD COC that it did not encourage non-HUD grant seeking organizations to participate. Ms. Williams added that the COC Committee needs to follow up on other funding sources that are available for new projects that demonstrate that their services fill a gap in the continuum. Ms. Williams also suggested that the COC does a technical workshop as soon as the SuperNofa is announced.
2. Ms. White said that that sole responsibility of the COC Committee is to address the HUD grant. The COC Committee is actually a sub-committee of the Resources and Development Committee. Ms. White then went on to read the MDHA by-laws, stating that the power was in the hands of the MDHA Board.
3. Dr. Melodie Shatzer said that the role and function of the Membership, COC, other committees and MDHA Board needed to be clarified. Dr. Shatzer recommended that MDHA agencies should not do anything other than review the new agencies before the SuperNofa is announced that way agencies do not waste a lot of time and energy.
Strategy for the Chronically Homeless- Karen Boudreaux
1. Ms. Boudreaux spoke about the strategy in place for dealing with the chronically homeless: the 18 month plan and update on the 10 year plan that will be in Exhibit 1.
2. Ms. Boudreaux will use a plan suggested by Dr. Shatzer for dealing with the chronically homeless.
A. The DANSA SPNs (specialty provider network), including: ABC Behavioral Health, LifeNet, Dallas MetroCare Services, Adapt, Telecare, Turtle Creek Manor, plus: Homeward Bound, the V.A., and The Urban League will work collaboratively on the plan to deal with the chronically homeless.
B. The agencies involved will coordinate a stratagem with four main components:
1) Outreach- Including DRC, Crisis Invention Team
2) Identity and assessment
3) Monthly providers meeting
4) Assign responsible entity
Note: (Ms. Boudreaux added FYI)-The Dallas Housing Authority is applying for the ,000 bonus dollars. This is a Shelter + Care (permanent housing) program. They will provide housing solely for the chronically ill.
Announcements:
Troy Wynne announced that the City of Irving will be hosting a demonstration of the HMIS (METSYS) system on June 24 from 12-1:30pm. Deb Wood of the Community Council of Greater Dallas will be on hand to answer questions. The demonstration will take place at the City of Irving, 440 S. Nursery, Irving.
The next scheduled COC Meeting will be held on August 26 2003, 9am at Family Gateway
Submitted by,
Paula Melvin
Anyone wishing to obtain a copy of the COC Policy and Procedures Manual or the MDHA by-laws, please contact us at mdha@mail.com or phone: 214-560-2511 x 408.
Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance
Continuum of Care Committee
Meeting Minutes Aug 26, 2003
Dana Campbell discussed that MDHA is housed at the United Way and they are trying to hire an Executive Director.
The 10-year plan will be done by Deloitte and Touche who have worked on 10-year plans for other cities. There will be 4 meetings regarding the procedure Deloitte and Touche will be using.
Paige Flink talked about hiring a grant writer and discussed all agencies, including newer agencies that never received any funding before, to each pay a percentage of the fee for the grant writer.
o Discussed who to hire - someone who knows Dallas and the situations of Dallas.
o There was a discussion regarding the pros and cons of hiring a grant writer. Some of the agencies were concerned about the cost, but it was decided that in the long run it was the prudent thing to do. Hattie Johnson from the VA added that the grants are getting more difficult and it would be better to hire a grant writer. A vote was taken and the decision was unanimous for the hiring.
o The responsibilities of the Executive Director of MDHA were discussed as to whether that person would be writing the grants in the future. However, the Executive Director's duties would be mainly fundraising, trying to get MDHA moving ahead, marketing material to implement the 10 year plan. The Director would be working in community development and generally over-see the grant writing and the 10 year plan.
Exhibit 1 and the actions steps were discussed by Paige Flink.
1. Develop a comprehensive plan to end chronic homelessness in the Dallas Metro area.
2. Letter of intent to utilize the full funding available for prevention activities. Three letters to be done.
a. Sandra Conway City of Dallas.
b. Jennifer Morrison City of Garland.
c. Pam Coats City of Irving.
3. A. Set up panel to review discharge planning for medical facilities and the criminal justice system. City of Dallas EHS.
B. Develop an in-service training program for institutional use.
4. A. Require all new permanent housing applicants to set aside 50% of their housing units for the chronically homeless. Has been done.
B. Make the chronic homeless a priority population in existing permanent housing programs. Lifenet Betts Hoover
5. A. Provide legal assistance, financial assistance and case management to 200 chronically homeless persons who have been denied mainstream resources or need assistance in applying for benefits. Legal Aid of NW Texas, City of Dallas.
B. Expand training to VISTA volunteers to complete basic benefit application for clients.
6. Expand use of the METSYS HMIS to all jurisdictions in the MDHA area.
A. All HUD funded programs are on line.
B. Full implementation of Continuum of Care programs that are not HUD funded.
7. Connect 150 homeless people to employment that meets basic needs.
A. Work to ensure living wage plans implemented in MDHA area by local governments. MDHA Advocacy.
B. Develop employment programs for homeless persons within municipal and local workforce board.
8. Develop plan for affordable non-supportive housing for 100 families. MDHA Resource Committee.
The METSYS system was discussed and appropriateness of some of the questions asked was noted. This will be discussed when Martha Blaine is present at the next meeting. Some of the concerns were the cost, time and infringement of rights of the client.
November 20 is the dinner for the homeless veterans. November 21 is the Stand Down for everyone. It will be in the Exall Park behind Baylor Hospital. Hattie Johnson was requesting donations and volunteers.
Minutes prepared by: Linda Cahanin
_____________________________
Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance
Continuum of Care Committee
Meeting Minutes September 23, 2003
Martha Blaine discussed the comments submitted to HUD regarding HUD guidelines as to the data to be collected in the HMIS system. All data is part of direction to determine what homeless looks like and how to change the situation. Martha read off some of the questions/concerns that she had received.
o Who will have access to data and for what reason?
o This will not be put in data base of homeless people looks like a research project.
o How will data fit into requirements?
o Is it possible to decouple client's social security number?
o How are service providers to pay for the extra work in collecting information?
o Most of this information is also asked in APR, why put it in METSYS?
o Are service providers supposed to get all information if client only needs one particular service?
o Domestic violence concerned if victims can be tracked down.
o There were questions as to how the medical services have to deal with HIPAA.
Kit Lowrance discussed 2004 homeless census. Possibly there will only be two VISTAS, may not get more and may need help. Kit handed out a copy of last year's survey, asked it to be looked over and see if there is anything that needs to be added or deleted. Following questions/concerns were brought up. Please let Kit know by the second week in October if you have any questions/concerns.
o Previous count only one page, now two pages why so much information needed?
o Dave Kellogg suggested that instead of leaving the question as to why someone was homeless, there should be options to be checked off.
o Some surveys were filled out by homeless in shelters and some were filled out by surveyors on the street.
Danna Campbell, MDHA Chair, discussed the Mayor's Kickoff Press Conference for the 10-Year Plan being held September 24, 2003 at the Flag Room at City Hall starting at 9 AM. Following the press conference there will be an inaugural meeting at the United Way office. There will be three or maybe four meetings at the United Way office with Deloitte & Touche. There will be four committees and the schedule of meetings will be posted on the web site:
1. Outreach/Intake/Assessment
2. Prevention Strategies
3. Emergency Shelter/Transitional Housing
4. Low Income Housing
Betts Hoover passed out a new form for the different agencies to complete quarterly to identify the number of chronically homeless served. This form will keep track of all the services provided by the different agencies. The goal is to develop 150 units for chronically homeless.
o Make chronic homeless a priority
o Set aside 50% of new permanent housing.
November 20 is the dinner for the homeless vets. November 21 is the Stand Down for everyone. Hattie Johnson said that they are having meetings twice a month. They still need more donations and also people to participate in the Stand Down.
Three people are to review the METSYS Policies and Procedures Manual: Sally Daniels, Yvonne Butler and Betts Hoover.
The next meeting will be on October 28, 2003 at Family Gateway at 9 am.
Minutes prepared by
Linda Cahanin
Americorps*VISTA
