Taking Charge: Effective Oversight Structures for Plan Implementation

1. Taking Charge: Effective Oversight Structures for Plan Implementation Barbara Poppe Executive Director Community Shelter Board www.csb.org Presented at National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2006 Annual Conference Ending Homelessness: Plan, Act, Succeed July 18, 2006

2. Section I • CSB model • History • Founders • Mission • Methods • Funders

3. Community Shelter Board • Created in 1986 to respond to growing needs of homelessness in Franklin County • "It is unacceptable for anyone in our community to go without food or shelter for even one night." Mel Schottenstein, CSB Founder

4. CSB’s Founders • Public/Private Partnership: • City of Columbus • Franklin County Commissioners • United Way of Franklin County • Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce • Metropolitan Area Church Council • ADAMH Board • The Columbus Foundation • Leo Yassenoff Foundation

5. Mission • CSB, by coordinating community-based efforts, fostering collaboration and funding services, assists families and individuals in Central Ohio to resolve their housing crisis.

6. collaboration with other systems raise and distribute money advocacy community education regarding homelessness assure accountability coordination with partner agencies practice fiscal conservancy continue research and data analysis for effective planning Organizational Methods

7. Revenue FY07 Revenue = $9,140,122

8. Community Shelter Board • 4 focus areas • Emergency Shelter • Housing • Prevention • Advocacy

9. Spending

10. Section II • Rebuilding Lives • Our community’s plan to address homelessness and end chronic homelessness

11. Rebuilding Lives Initiative • 1997 Community “charge” to assess homeless services for single men impacted by downtown economic development • “patchwork system of emergency shelters” • Scioto Peninsula Relocation Task Force • Data sources • Comprehensive Community Needs Assessment • Analysis of Best Practices • Analysis of CSB MIS • Review of national model programs

12. Typology Study • CSB undertook analysis of shelter stays that mirrored methodology developed by Dennis Culhane, Univ. of Penn. • Used CSB MIS data for 7,944 men using shelter system from 1994-1996 • Developed 3 “clusters” that grouped men based on cumulative length of shelter stay and number of shelter stays • Analyzed shelter usage for each cluster

13. Relationship of Length of Shelter Stay& Use of Shelter Services

14. A New Strategy - 1998 • Short-term needs -- Ensure basic emergency shelter during a crisis • Long-term needs -- Establish permanent housing with supportive services

15. Rebuilding Lives -- Policy Shift • Reconfigure emergency shelter system • Develop 800 units of supportive housing • Establish a Funder Collaborative • Create Good Neighbor Policies and Procedures • Institute a community relations plan

16. Section III • Implementation structures • Rebuilding Lives Funder Collaborative • Continuum of Care Steering Committee • Citizens Advisory Council • CSB staff and board

17. Rebuilding LivesFunder Collaborative • Purpose • Created in 1999 • Individual funding agencies pool their resources • Work toward mutually agreed upon goals

18. Role of the Funder Collaborative • Provide funding for capital, services and operations of supportive housing • Strategy • Program guidelines & standards • Underwriting criteria • Program evaluation, outcome measurement & reporting requirements

19. Role of the Funder Collaborative • Meet regularly to review, evaluate, and approve funding for individual projects • Provide access to other community resources

20. Responsibilities of Each Member of the Funder Collaborative • Members are institutions • Provide funding and other resources for supportive housing projects • Find additional resources for supportive housing • Participate actively on the Collaborative

21. Responsibilities of Each Member of the Funder Collaborative • Provide leadership to the community in order to assure the success of the Rebuilding Lives plan • Assure accountability for institutional decision follow-through • Follow through and work to assure that recommendations are supported by decision-makers

22. Rebuilding LivesFunder Collaborative • Members Affordable Housing Trust Corp. ADAMH Board City of Columbus, Administration Columbus City Council The Columbus Foundation Columbus Health Department Columbus Mayor’s Office Columbus Medical Assoc. Found. Columbus Metro. Housing Authority Community Shelter Board Corporation for Supportive Housing Franklin County Administration Franklin County Children Services Franklin Co. Dept. Job & Family Services Franklin Co. Office on Aging Franklin County MR/DD Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing Osteopathic Heritage Foundation United Way of Central Ohio Veterans Service Commission

23. Continuum of CareSteering Committee • Purpose • Annually prioritizes over $6,000,000 in funding from U.S. Department of HUD • Designs and coordinates HUD Continuum of Care grant application process for Columbus and Franklin County

24. Continuum of CareSteering Committee • Members • Local funders, government representatives, service providers, and consumers • Four seats represent local providers • Four seats reserved for homeless service consumers • Members represent a variety of organizations and interests

25. Continuum of CareSteering Committee • Members ADAMH Board City of Columbus Citizens Advisory Council Columbus City Council Columbus Metro. Housing Authority Columbus Coalition for the Homeless The Columbus Foundation Columbus Health Department Community Connection for Ohio Offenders Community Shelter Board Corporation for Supportive Housing Franklin County Board of Commissioners Franklin Co. Dept. Job & Family Services Legal Aid Society of Columbus Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing United Way of Central Ohio Veterans Administration Veterans Service Commission

26. Citizens Advisory Council • Comprised of people who have experienced homelessness • Council acts in advisory role to improve services for the homeless

27. Role of Citizens Advisory Council • Reviews plans and recommendations, including the annual submission to HUD • Offers advice about how to make programs and services more effective from perspective of the consumer • Discusses different topic at each meeting to build knowledge about homeless programs and build leadership skills, in order to be more effective advocates

28. Community Shelter Board • Leadership to implement the Rebuilding Lives plan • Convene the Funder Collaborative • Chair the Continuum of Care Steering Committee • Community relations • Advocacy

29. Community Shelter Board • 4 key products & services: • Resource development and investment • Service delivery, coordination and planning • Program accountability • Systems change and public policy reform

30. Community Shelter Board • Board of 20 • 4 seats: City of Columbus • 4 seats: Franklin County • 2 seats: Greater Cols. Chamber of Commerce • 2 seats: United Way of Franklin County • 1 seat: The Columbus Foundation • 1 seat: ADAMH Board • 1 seat: Metropolitan Area Church Council • 5 seats: at large

31. Community Shelter Board • Staff of 16

32. Section IV • Sustaining Public Will

33. Moving Forward Together • Success due to tremendous partnership between funders, providers, and neighbors • Community has mobilized • Community generated political will to support investment • Creativity and flexibility applied by funders, providers, and neighbors to overcome barriers to housing development.

34. What impact has occurred? • New investment from key stakeholders - City, County, ADAMH, CMHA, United Way • Pressure for public policy action and investment • Broad range of implementing agencies (board and staff) are informed and on board • High level of media attention and focus

35. What impact has occurred? • 3 new emergency facilities • 695 units of permanent supportive housing operational for men and women who have experienced long-term homelessness • Homeless men and women “rebuilding their lives” • Homeless families with children to be served by Commons at Chantry to open late summer 2006

36. Development Challenges • Real estate availability • NIMBY • Provider skepticism/criticism • Stable funding for substantial services and operations

37. Keys to Project Success • Project Development: • Good Neighbor Agreements • Diverse locations • Strong political and business community support • Strong developers and providers • Funding • Board, system and funder support and consistent leadership • Availability of local and federal funding • Creativity in securing funding sources • Housing First Program Model • Low-demand housing and voluntary services

38. Section V • Monitoring progress • Outcomes • Evaluation • Certification • Quarterly indicator reports

39. Program Outcomes • Benchmarks set by Board of Trustees • Included in annual agency contracts • Quarterly monitoring

40. Program Outcomes • Emergency Shelter

41. Program Outcomes • Permanent Supportive Housing [1] Turnover is monitored but not evaluated.

42. Evaluation • Program outcomes are compared to planned outcomes for the year (vary by system) • Data is mostly derived from HMIS • Programs are scored as: • High: no less than one not achieved • Medium: half or more achieved • Low: less than half achieved • Long-standing, unresolved issues could also lower rating

43. Certification • Expert review team conducts on-site visits • Full reviews every 3 years • Annual targeted reviews system-wide priority standards and agency/program specific standards

44. Certification • Data collection & HMIS • Evaluation • Consumer involvement • Good neighbor agreements • Facility standards • Safety standards • Security planning • Standards cover: • Organizational structure & management • Compliance with Federal, State & Local laws • Personnel standards • Fiscal administration • Program operations

45. Quarterly Indicator Reports • Key outcome variables • Issued to Board & Continuum of Care Steering Committee • Posted to www.csb.org

46. Section VI • Now what? • Rebuilding Lives Updated Strategy

47. Key components • Comprehensively review current shelter & supportive housing systems for adults and families • Identify successes and challenges in Rebuilding Lives initiative • Consider impact of homelessness on other systems, e.g. children & youth services, emerging populations, etc. • Compose a plan based on the current situation, data driven solutions, community input, and result affective programs

48. Charge • To plan for the our community’s future it is important to revisit and reassess Rebuilding Lives as well as plan and execute strategies for the family system • The City of Columbus, Franklin County Commissioners, and the United Way of Central Ohio formally charge the Community Shelter Board to lead Rebuilding Lives: An Updated Strategy to House Homeless Families and Adults

49. RLUS Steering Committee • Purpose • Consider research findings • Develop and approve strategies • Assure community input • Issue a final report and recommendations

50. Taking Charge: Effective Oversight Structures for Plan Implementation Barbara Poppe Executive Director Community Shelter Board www.csb.org Presented at National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2006 Annual Conference Ending Homelessness: Plan, Act, Succeed July 18, 2006