Understanding Shelter Plus Care - From Development, to Implementation, to Best Practices

1. Understanding Shelter Plus Care - From Development, to Implementation, to Best Practices Jonda Clemings - COHHIO

2. Training Overview • S+C benefits & components • Documentation • Eligibility • Meeting HUD S+C milestones • Best practices

3. Training Objective • Leave with two best practices to: • Prepare for development of S+C program or • Improve implementation of S+C program

4. S+C Purpose The purpose of the program is to provide permanent housing in connection with supportive services to homeless people with disabilities and their families.

5. S+C Program Goals • Increase housing stability • Increase skills and/or income • Obtain greater self-sufficiency

6. Getting Your Program Together • Recruit participants • Assess participants needs; ISP • Locate housing • Administer rental assistance • Coordinate supportive services • Report on Progress

7. Starting Your S+C Project • Clarify and coordinate roles of grant administer and service providers; • Obtain housing for S+C participants; • Identify and engage eligible participants: and • Address landlord and community concerns about project.

8. From NIMBY to Acceptance • Emphasize benefit to the community • Provides income to support local landlord • In soft markets, the housing is being used that might otherwise have been vacant • Under SRO or PRA programs - can rehabilitate a unit and improve the neighborhood • Highlight the involvement of case managers in participant’s recovery plans

9. S+C Program Components • Tenant-based rental assistance • Sponsor-based rental assistance • Project-based rental assistance • Mod Rehab for Single Room Occupancy

10. Tenant-Based Rental Assistance

11. Sponsor-Based Rental Assistance

12. Project-Based Rental Assistance

13. Difference Between SRA & PRA

14. Mod Rehab for SRO

15. Grant Funding Basis • Easy math • Fair Market Rate (FMR) x # of units by bedroom size x 60 months = grant fund • SRO mod rehab - x 120 months • Renewal - x 12 months

16. Grantee • Direct recipient of HUD award • Legal entity accountable for grant • Responsible for communication with HUD • Must process funding requests timely • Monitored by HUD • May carry out project itself or with sponsor • Monitors sponsor • Maintains records

17. Sponsor • Provides the supportive services • Works with grantee • Makes requests for program changes • Assists with APR

18. Service Provider • Sometimes the same as sponsor • Provides some or all of services • Must keep documentation on participants

19. HUD • Program oversight • Funder • Reviews application • Monitors project • Technical assistance

20. HUD Access to Files Grantee, Sponsor, and Participants must allow HUD access to all case files related to housing, assessment of services needed and matching supportive services.

21. Memorandum of Understanding • Outlines responsibilities of each partner • Should start at application and be formalized at award • References to everything required by law, HUD, OMB

22. Memorandum of Understanding • Scope of work • Time of performance • Compensation & method of payment • Program income • Tenant selection criteria • Reporting & HMIS participation

23. Memorandum of Understanding • Record keeping & documentation • Termination • Include budget criteria • Include performance criteria • Should be updated annually

24. Benefits of S+C • Do what you do best • Quick turn around time • Flexible models • Capitalize on services & resources

25. Benefits of S+C for CoC • Housing activity - more points in the competitive application • Tailored to the maximum amount of funding (pro rata or special projects) • Easier to implement than SHP • Renewals funded outside of CoC

26. Supportive Services • Documentation is required to show that supportive services are provided • On-going assessments are required • Case/service/housing plans required

27. Housing First • Housing is a choice, not a placement. • Housing is a person’s home, not a residential treatment facility. • All people have a right to safe and affordable housing. • All tenants hold property leases and have the full rights and obligations of tenancy.

28. Housing First • Participation in services is voluntary and not a condition of tenancy. • Staff work to build relationships with tenants, particularly those who need assistance maintaining permanent housing. • Supportive services should be user-friendly and driven by tenants needs and individual goals.

29. Housing First Approach A housing first approach rests on two central premises: • Re-housing should be the central goal of the work with people experiencing homelessness, and • By providing housing assistance and follow-up case management services after one is housed, we can significantly increase the time that someone maintains housing and decrease the risks of further homeless episodes.

30. Harm Reduction • People deserve safe and affordable housing regardless of their special needs. • Services aim to help people reduce the harm caused by their special needs, e.g., substance abuse, mental illness, health-related complications.

31. Harm Reduction • Services focus on helping tenants stay housed by assisting with the management of the problems that interfere with their ability to meet the obligations of tenancy. • Tenants are encouraged to explore obstacles toward their goals in an open and non-judgmental atmosphere where they can contemplate costs and benefits of receiving treatment for their special needs.

32. S+C is NOT Section 8!!!!! • No criminal background restrictions required • No credit check/rental history required • Chemical addiction can be the only disability • No set HAP payment for all clients • No minimum rent paid by participants • Tenant cannot pay >30% of adjusted income

33. S+C is NOT Section 8!!!!!Continued • Admin costs must be earned • Reasonable rent only a standard • No portability beyond service area • No penalty in rent for those sanctioned under TANF • May only terminate for significant problems

34. Document Everything • Homeless & disability status • Housing inspection • Assessment of needs; services provided • Third party verification of income • Rent calculation; rent to owner • Damages & deposits • Admin costs • Basis for fund draws from LOCCS

35. Participant Eligibility • HOMELESS - lack resources to obtain housing • Severely disabled adults • Low-income households

36. S+C Homeless Status • Streets - places not meant for human habitation • Emergency shelter • Transitional housing - must trace back to streets/emergency shelter ** this was changed in 2005

37. Who is NOT HOMELESS • Paying > 30% of income • Living in overcrowded conditions • In substandard housing • Living with roommates or relatives • S+C to keep people in their existing home • In program/institution in which a discharge plan that must address housing

38. Who is NOT HOMELESSContinued • Leaving directly from prison • Wards of the state or those in foster care • Individuals in state psychiatric hospitals • Evicted or foreclosed upon persons • TH participants that did not come from streets or emergency shelter first

39. Documentation • All documentation should be: • Signed • Dated • Maintained in client files

40. Documenting Street Homelessness • Signed and dated letter from staff working with person on the streets OR • Self-certification statement and notes about your agency’s effort to confirm

41. Documenting Emergency Shelter Homelessness • Signed and dated letter from shelter on letterhead • Date of entry into shelter and • Residing in shelter for homeless

42. Documenting Transitional Housing Homelessness • Signed and dated letter from TH agency on letterhead • Date of entry into TH for the homeless • Homelessness prior to TH was ES or streets

43. Documenting Hotel/Motel Homelessness Must be in hotel/motel in lieu of shelter • Signed/dated letter on letterhead from agency paying for hotel/motel • Staying in hotel/motel paid by agency • Date of entry into hotel/motel • Homeless prior to placement (details of prior living situation)

44. Chronically Homeless • HOMELESS • 1 continuous year or • 4 episodes of homelessness in past 3 years • Unaccompanied adult • Disabled • Must come from streets or emergency shelter

45. Documenting Chronic Homelessness • Documentation of homelessness • Documentation of disability • Documentation of being unaccompanied • Documentation of length of homelessness • Signed/dated letter describing time(s) in shelter • Signed/dated letter describing time(s) on street

46. S+C Disability or Diagnosis • Serious mental illness; and/or • Chronic problems with alcohol, drugs or both; and/or • HIV+ or related diseases • Developmentally disabled • Physical disability • Traumatic brain injury (TBI) • Dual or multiple diagnosed

47. Documenting Disability • Target population documentation • Disability verification form • Statement of disability • Type of disability • Disability must be of indefinite duration; • Disability impedes ability to live independently; • Disability would be improved by housing & supports; OR • Developmentally disabled

48. Documenting Disability • Physician/psychiatrist’s • Name • License number • Signature/date

49. Who is Disabled • For families, the person with a disability must be an adult

50. Who is Not Disabled • Short-term illness/injury • Impairment does not impede independent living • Ability to live independently wouldn’t be improved with housing/services