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Unified Shelter Model Mary Frances Kenion Suzanne Wagner March 13, 2019

Learn about the successful implementation of a Unified Shelter Model in Arlington County. Discover key practices, benefits, and outcomes, enhancing the shelter system to prioritize housing placement and improve outcomes for individuals experiencing homelessness.

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Unified Shelter Model Mary Frances Kenion Suzanne Wagner March 13, 2019

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  1. Unified Shelter ModelMary Frances KenionSuzanne WagnerMarch 13, 2019

  2. Agenda Introductions What is a Unified Shelter Model? Why Implement a Unified Shelter Model? Best Practices in Emergency Shelter Implementation of a Unified Shelter Model in Arlington County, Virginia Discussion

  3. What is a Unified Shelter Model?

  4. Why implement a Unified Shelter Model?

  5. Best Practices in Shelter

  6. History In 2008, the Center for Urban Community Services published Recommendations for Re-Designing the Emergency Winter Shelter In 2009, the Homeless Emergency and Rapid Transition to Housing Act (HEARTH Act) outlined administrative, planning, governance and performance requirements for the nation’s Continuums of Cares (CoCs) In 2010, Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness was presented to the Office of the President and Congress In 2014, Housing Innovations, LLC visited Arlington to learn about local priorities, programs and processes and meet key stakeholders in an evaluation of the extent to which current shelter models in the County were well aligned under the HEARTH Act and local and federal strategic plan goals

  7. HEARTH Act

  8. Opening Doors

  9. Crisis Response System Transformation

  10. Establish core purpose that drives all funding decisions, contracts, performance expectations, program activities, and policies and procedures

  11. Housing Focused Approach • Clearly establish housing placement as the primary responsibility for the shelter case managers • Establish a shelter diversion program • Limit shelter rules to a clear, brief list of containing only those rules that are both necessary and enforceable • Avoid rules requiring service participation • Align staff and client schedules to enable completion of housing focused case management • Expand exit options

  12. Housing Focused Case Management • Be timed strategically to conserve scarce resources • Focus on resolving the most critical barriers as quickly as possible • Create clear goals and time frames • Identify needed resources • Clarify roles of the client and the case manager • Track progress and make course corrections • Include supervisory review • Focus on the hardest to place • Include post placement follow-up

  13. Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) An approach to performance management, starting with the belief that any service can be improved, regardless of how effective it may currently be, and rely on data-driven decisions to inform continual, strategic efforts to make services better.

  14. Coordinated Access • Streamline access for those experiencing homelessness • Use a standardized assessment process to assess housing needs, preferences and vulnerability • Use assessment to target inventory of community housing resources and services for prioritization • Make referral to an appropriate intervention based on prioritization

  15. It’s hard work, but the benefits are far reaching • If you think you’ve involved all stakeholders, continue to search beyond who you already have at the table • Build out a schedule of ongoing training to maintain fidelity to the model and its implementation • Take your time during implementation • Connect with other communities before, during and after the changes • All staff may not be onboard with changes and it is okay to part ways

  16. Eliminated “waiting lists” for shelter • Reduced average shelter utilization to approximately 75% • Recidivism has decreased over a 3-year period from 25% to 16% • Exits to permanent housing increased from 17% in 2015 to 45% • Reached and sustained “functional zero” for Veterans • In the final stretch of reaching “functional zero” for chronically homeless individuals

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