Heading Home: Minnesota’s Plan to prevent and end homelessness

1. Heading Home: Minnesota’s Plan to prevent and end homelessness Cathy ten Broeke State Director Minnesota Office to Prevent and End Homelessness Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless Annual Conference September 15, 2014

2. Our Vision Housing Stability for All Minnesotans • Prevent and End Homelessness for Families with Children and Unaccompanied Youth by 2020 • Finish the Job of Ending Homelessness for Veterans and for People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness by 2015

3. 12 Priority Focus Areas 23 strategies 100 specific action items Heading Home: Minnesota’s Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness www.headinghomeminnesota.org

4. Heading Home MinnesotaProject Management update Amy Stetzel Project Manager Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless Annual Conference September 15, 2014

6. Minnesota’s Path toEnd Veteran Homelessness Eric I. Grumdahl Special Advisor on Ending Veteran Homelessness Minnesota Office to Prevent and End Homelessness Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless Annual Conference September 15, 2014

7. HEADING HOME: Minnesota’s Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness BECAUSE WE ARE POISED TO END VETERANS HOMELESSNESS IN THIS STATE… • We will aggressively focus on finishing the job by ending homelessness for Veterans on a Veteran-by-Veteran basis. Collaboration between the VA and other homeless service providers will ensure that each Veteran experiencing homelessness has the tools they need to become stably housed. • FOR VETERANS, ending homelessness means there are fewer than 100 Veterans experiencing homelessness in Minnesota, or that Veterans make up no more than 1% of the total homeless population, whichever is less.

8. Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness • Launched by First Lady Michelle Obama on June 4, 2014 • Over 200 Mayors, County Executives, and Governors participating to date • Intended to create opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and marshal local efforts linked to Federal resources • Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and seven Minnesota Mayors have joined

9. Minnesota’s Path to End Veteran Homelessness 47% reduction 3.3x acceleration

10. Key data points on Veteran homelessness Aging Cohort of Veterans Experiencing Homelessness (National) Chronic and gender distribution for Veterans experiencing homelessness in Minnesota Wilder Survey 2012

11. Registry + Regional Strategies = Acceleration

12. Outreach and identification flow CVSO, outreach worker, shelter, etc. identifies a homeless Veteran Subsequent outreach may yield willingness of the Veteran to add identifying data Identifying entity calls or faxes LinkVet with anonymous record data Identifying entity calls or faxes LinkVet to updateexisting record with identifying data Veteran is invited to join the Registry and sign a release of information No Yes LinkVet updates Registry with new information Identifying entity calls or faxes LinkVet with known information for Registry entry Veteran Registry Housing status changes identified since last run are conveyed to LinkVet Updates to Registry from team meeting are conveyed to LinkVet Data system flow Case management flow Regional lists are regularly run against key data systems (HMIS, HOMES, etc.) to capture housing status changes Regional list Regional team meets to assign unassigned Veterans and troubleshoot cases

14. Mainstream Systems Review Cathy ten Broeke State Director Minnesota Office to Prevent and End Homelessness Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness Meeting September 4, 2014

15. Heading Home Priority Focus Area #4 Identify, assess and improve key mainstream programs by each state agency that could prevent and end homelessness for families and individuals

16. How we Tackled the Goal External Opinion Research • Nine initial programs selected for review • Conducted interviews across the State • 10 cross-cutting themes and 50 program-specific opportunities were identified • Assessment of each theme and opportunity’s potential to impact homelessness and feasibility of implementation This External Opinion Research informed the: • Development of Foundational Service Practices Developed using National Research, Current Federal and State Guidelines, and Program Subject Matter expertise • Development of Priority Impact Areas

17. Priority Impact Areas Promising Opportunities Foundational Service Practices

18. “What’s hard for people who are housed is impossible for people who are homeless.”

19. Foundational Service Practices • Know the housing status of the people you are serving • Actively reach out to people experiencing homelessness • Limit requirements for in-person appointments at a particular location or office • Assist with the process of gathering required verifications or documentation • Allow for multiple methods to communicate about benefits and services

20. 2 Year Implementation Plan: Foundational Service Practices Year One • Self-Assessment by Agency • Current Status – both across agency and delivery networks • Identification of Barriers and Opportunities for Improvement • Plans for Improvement Year Two and on • Report out to the Interagency Council or the Senior Leadership Team on: • Progress on Implementation of the 5 Foundational Service Standards • How your Agency is Building on Successes and Improving Results

21. Priority Impact Areas 3 Priority Impact Areas 5 Accompanying Recommendations

22. Priority Impact Area #1: Advance a “first, get stably housed” policy. Recommendation A: Raise the MFIP grant and/or improve the way it is calculated Recommendation B:Support the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) Results Initiative and track whether parents served in results-focused counties are more likely to have housing-related activities and goals in their employment plans. The evaluators of the Results Initiative will explore whether helping parents address housing stability correlates with strong employment outcomes.

23. Priority Impact Area #2: Stabilize childcare for children in families experiencing homelessness. Recommendation A: Authorize childcare benefits for knowable, stable periods of time. Reduce the “in-out” cycling in childcare because of parent activity fluctuations. Recommendation B: Increase access to early childhood scholarships for children ages 0-3 experiencing the crisis of homelessness. Increase dollars available and/or target children experiencing homelessness.

24. As an Interagency Council, support the development of a bold Minnesota response to the $200 million dollar USDA SNAP E&T RFA that was just released to maximize access, continued connection, and impact for those SNAP recipients who are facing and already experiencing homelessness Priority Impact Area #3: Seize Federal funding opportunities for employment services.

25. Contact Information • Cathy ten Broeke, Director, MN Office to Prevent and End Homelessness • cathy.tenbroeke@state.mn.us • Amy Stetzel, Project Manager, MN Office to Prevent and End Homelessness • amy.stetzel@state.mn.us • Eric Grumdahl, Special Advisor on Ending Veteran Homelessness, MN Office to Prevent and End Homelessness • eric.grumdahl@state.mn.us • Alison Niemi, Housing and Homelessness Policy Specialist, Minnesota Department of Human Services • alison.niemi@state.mn.us