# Presentation: 783173

## Developing and Implementing a Plan to Increase Access to Mainstream Services

- Tracy D’Alanno
- Colorado Department of Human Services
- 303-866-7361
- _[tracy.DAlanno@state.co.us](mailto:tracy.DAlanno@state.co.us)_

## Developing a Plan

- Remember that plans can change
- Plan big and revise as you implement
- Pick no more than three to five priority areas for your state to tackle
- Each priority area will likely have several goals, objectives and tasks

## Developing a Plan

- Learn what’s hot!
- Ending Chronic Homelessness
- Developing Permanent Supportive Housing
- Accessing Mainstream Resources
- Developing and Implementing HMIS Systems
- Discharge Planning Across Public Facilities
- New & modified existing resources will likely follow hot issues

## Developing a Plan

- Moderate what’s hot with your priorities
- While “Ending Chronic Homelessness” may be the new Federal issue, are there other top concerns that you want to address?
- Increase in families with children?
- Improved coordination within and across the Continuums of Care in your state?

## Developing a Plan

- Practice Inclusive Planning – Expand your Committee
- Decision makers
- Worker bees
- Homeless providers
- State mental health, substance abuse, Medicaid, TANF, public assistance programs, employment and vocational services, etc...
- State and local elected officials
- Housing Authorities
- Department of Corrections
- Department of Education
- Department of Public Health and Environment
- State and Federal VA Representatives

## Developing a Plan

- Practice Inclusive Planning – Expand your Committee
- Identify who else needs to be at the table
- I used the existing Policy Members to brainstorm who they thought was missing.  Then we sent invitations from our Exec. Director with a packet of background information to invitees.
- Challenges
- Turf issues
- Time constraints
- Enrolling participation from persons who have the authority to make policy decisions

## Implementing the Plan

- Assign responsibilities
- Follow up
- Delegate
- Implement the quick successes, regardless of what priority they received
- Look for additional resources that support your goals

## Implementing the Plan:Things That Don’t Cost Money

- We sent letters to each county department of health and county department of social services requesting that they do the following:
- Identify a point person in their agency as the homeless contact
- Encourage them to look at ways to simplify access to mainstream benefits for homeless persons

**Education and Communication**

## Implementing the Plan:Things That Don’t Cost Money

- Worked with the various divisions within the Department of Human Services to require contracted agencies to include a discussion of how they were meeting the housing and service needs of homeless persons within required annual plans

**Incorporate Strategies and Issues in Existing Required Contracts & Plans**

## Implementing the Plan:Things That Don’t Cost Money

- The first cross-cutting interdepartmental programmatic policy developed by the department includes the following goal:
- The Department of Human Services will address the needs of its homeless consumers by taking responsibility for planning, policy development, administration, and coordination of activities related to homeless service delivery through appropriate program areas

**Execute New Policies**

## Implementing the Plan:Things That Don’t Cost Money

- Follow-up policy with education to divisions and units within the department
- Power point presentation at staff meetings, toy gimmicks, flyers and posting information on web sites or internal Intranet

**Execute New Policies**

## Slide 12

##  Implementing the Plan:Things That Don’t Cost Money

**Mainstream Service Coordination –**
- Established a Mainstream Service Committee
- Committee includes representatives from various metro area county mainstream community providers and homeless service providers
- Committee focuses on the planning and facilitation of quarterly networking events to take place in each of the seven metro Denver counties

##  Implementing the Plan:Things That Don’t Cost Money

**Mainstream Service Coordination –**
- Once every three months, an event is held that includes presentations from mainstream providers and homeless service providers that work in that county
- Current program and referral information is shared between public and private providers
- Concepts that have worked well in other counties and areas are shared
- Events include networking time to allow agencies to build relationships and share ideas that will improve homeless persons’ access to services

## Implementing the Plan

- Find a leader, someone interested in overseeing or guiding the process
- As more experts get involved, feel free to revise your plan
- In a tight fiscal environment – develop and implement strategies that lay the foundation for increasing resources when the budget improves

## Implementing the Plan – Establishing a Foundation for Future Resources

- Use your non-profit partners and committee members to conduct education and advocacy toward increased public investment in housing and services_ _
- We currently have requested dollars from a foundation that we would pass through to a non-profit agency who will then provide education and advocacy to the general public and the legislature for the development of a statewide housing trust fund

## Steal Ideas & Build on Current Activities

- You don’t have to reinvent the wheel
- Research what other states are doing and modify to meet your needs
- Coordinate your plan and activities with the Continuums of Care in your state

## How to Incorporate Your Efforts with Existing Efforts

- Partner your resources with agencies in the community.  Some examples:
- Project Based Assistance RFP to non-profit housing developers
- Coordinate your PATH dollars with agencies applying for Homeless Super NOFA funding
- Partner with your United Way to maximize and match resources

## How to Incorporate Your Efforts with Existing Efforts

- Partner your resources with agencies in the community.  Some examples:
- Identify the Continuums of Care in your state and coordinate your plans for:
- Discharge planning
- Access to mainstream services
- Ending chronic homelessness plans
- Co-location of services or simplified benefit application processes

## Example Discharge Strategy:

- Discharge Planning – See handout

## Outcomes – Increased Resources

- Grant application to Corporation for Supportive Housing to implement key Policy Academy strategies
- _Comprehensive Drug/Alcohol and Mental Health Treatment Systems for Persons Who are Homeless Grants:_ Colorado Coalition for Homeless, Denver, Colo. -- $599,642 -- to implement a range of culturally competent and integrated substance abuse treatment and mental health services, coupled with housing, health care and supportive services for homeless adults

## Outcomes – Increased Resources

**SAMHSA/HRSA Collaboration to Link Health Care for the Homeless Programs and Community Mental Health Agencies Grants:**
- The Mental Health Corporation of Denver, Denver, Colo., Recovery Connection -- $232,696
- Aurora Mental Health Center, Aurora, Colo. -- $199,970

## Outcomes – Increased Resources

- Focused HUD Grants:
- HUD Rental Assistance for Persons with Disabilities
- State of Colorado receives 400 rental assistance vouchers for Non-Elderly Persons with Disabilities Related to Certain Developments
- Supportive Housing & Homeless Programs 200 units = $1,001,099 &
- Colorado Division of Housing 200 units = $1,199,114

## Outcomes - Other

- Representatives from the State Public Health and Environment Department join Policy Academy Team.  Resulted in coordination between Policy Academy and new Department on bio-terrorism planning to include the unique needs of homeless persons.  Memo outlining issues and concerns is developed and distributed to local bio-terrorism planning efforts

## Outcomes - Other

- Homeless Management Information System Usage (HMIS).   Increased provider participation in the Computerized Homeless Information and Referral Project (CHIRP).    Project is expanded to Colorado Springs and some providers in rural parts of Colorado

## Outcomes - Other

- Mainstream Committee established monthly meetings and trainings distributed across the seven counties between mainstream providers and homeless providers.  Improved communication has resulted in homeless combined case management plans, increased TANF dollars to homeless providers for housing, simplified access to services, faster application processing
- CCH implements new health outreach vans from Stout Street

## Biggest Challenge

- Finding time to implement academy strategies while performing existing job duties
- Strategy:
- Requested foundation dollars to help staff the policy academy