HEARTH AMENDMENTS TO THE MCKINNEY-VENTO ACT – PREPARING FOR A SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION

HEARTH AMENDMENTS TO THE MCKINNEY-VENTO ACT – PREPARING FOR A SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION Stacey Murphy Bridget Kurtt DeJong

HEARTH Overview Key changes introduced by HEARTH: • New CoC structure and governance • New program activities and requirements • One set of rules for SHP, S+C, and SRO Mod Rehab • New CoC performance outcomes

Where Your CoC is at In order to think through how your Continuum of Care is going to implement HEARTH, it is essential to understand where you’re at right now, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and how best to direct your energy and resources in the coming months.

Exercise 1: Preparedness Checklist Take the next 10 minutes to complete the brief CoC Preparedness Checklist.

Exercise 1: Readiness Checklist What are your Continuum’s strengths? Where are your biggest challenges? Which of the HEARTH transition issues do you think will be most beneficial (and/or difficult) for your community? WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR NEXT STEPS IN THINKING THROUGH WHERE YOUR CONTINUUM IS AT?

CoC Structure Governing body or central structure of current “Continuum of Care” will be replaced by “Collaborative Applicant” (or “CA”) and carry additional responsibilities. CA can receive 3% for added administrative/oversight activities. CA can add responsibilities and receive up to 6% as a “Unified Funding Agency” (or “UFA”)

Map of the Old to New System: Two Options Option 1: Option 2:

Collaborative Applicant • Collaborative Applicant: • Submits CoC application for all projects in its community • Is not required to be a legal entity • Can receive up to 3% of a community’s CoC grant to cover its costs • Conflict of Interest: No board member of a CA may participate in decisions concerning an award to her or her organization

Duties of a Collaborative Applicant • Submits a single application for the grant. • Designs collaborative process to apply for funding, • Evaluates outcomes, • Determines compliance with program requirements and selection criteria, and • Establishes funding priorities. • Participates in the Consolidated Plan. • Ensures operation of and consistent participation in HMIS. Summary: Much of what CoCs currently do, but with additional roles and responsibilities added.

Unified Funding Agency Becoming a Unified Funding Agency: • A CA can apply to serve as a UFA or • HUD can designate a CA as a UFA if • the CA has capacity • the change would serve the purposes of HEARTH

Unified Funding Agency • In addition to the CA duties, a UFA: • Receives and distributes funds from HUD • Requires each project to establish proper fiscal control and fund accounting procedures • Arranges for an annual audit of the financial records of each project

Unified Funding Agency A UFA can receive up to 6% of a community’s CoC grant to cover the administrative costs of performing these duties Summary: UFA takes on CA duties PLUS other key tasks related to grant management and oversight

Things to Think About: Geography • Improving partnerships with Con Plan bodies and Education Coordinator • Meeting additional data collection and outcome tracking requirements • Merging may increase competitiveness • Administrative capacity • UFA duties may require an economy of scale • Consider current grant administrators in community • Consider CoC mergers to achieve greater efficiency

Things to Think About: Current Stakeholders Changing roles Data driven Evaluation Monitoring Centralization (esp. UFA) Current authority or decision-making within the CoC

Exercise 2: CA/UFA Models Take the next 15 minutes to look at the different models for Collaborative Applicants and/or Unified Funding Agencies. If possible, fill in the entities who would play the particular roles in the chart. Do any of them make particular sense for your community? Is there a different model that would work better?

Exercise 2: CA/UFA Models • What work will your community need to do to become a CA/UFA? • Where are there blank spaces on your charts? • What barriers or opportunities are you anticipating? WHAT ARE YOUR COMMUNITY’S “TO-DO” ITEMS THAT EMERGE FROM THIS EXERCISE?

Potential Areas Needing Added Capacity • Each CA/UFA will need to be collecting more information than it does now • (Detail on new outcomes measures – pending regulations)

Potential Areas Needing Added Capacity: HMIS • HMIS will need to be more robust to meet data standards • HMIS oversee by CA/UFA – new roles and responsibilities for all parties • (Detail on new outcomes measures – pending regulations)

Potential Areas Needing Added Capacity: Grants Transition • Pre-HEARTH/McK-V, grants made through different programs with nonstandard requirements/structures. • HEARTH combines SHP, S+C, and Section 8 SRO Mod Rehab into one CoC program, with uniform requirements/activities. • Implication: Increased competition among local providers

Potential Areas Needing Added Capacity: Match Under HEARTH, CoCs must demonstrate 25% match for all activities except leasing and administration, which require no match. Match calculated on a Continuum-wide, not project-by-project, basis. Match can be provided via in-kind contribution when Memorandum of Agreement formalizes availability/relationship.

Exercise 3: Other Transition Issues Take the next 15 minutes to start to outline your HEARTH transition plan around each of these activities. Who can be the lead on these different activities? Where do you need more resources? What stumbling blocks can you identify? What solutions come to mind?

Exercise 3: Other Transition Issues What are your “To-Do” list items that emerge from this activity? What other information do you need to start your transition? Who else must participate in the discussion?

Questions? • Contact Stacey Murphy: 415-788-7961 ext 302 stacey@homebaseccc.org

HEARTH AMENDMENTS TO THE MCKINNEY-VENTO ACT – PREPARING FOR A SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION