# Presentation: 661372

## Improving Access to Mainstream Services for Homeless Families with Children

- Jointly Sponsored by
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- and
- U.S. Department of Labor

## OVERVIEW OF THE POLICY ACADEMY PROCESS

## AGENDA

**8:30-8:50    Welcome and Introductions**
- Participants
- Facilitator and Content Expert Roles and Responsibilities
- Review of Agenda
- Expectations for the Day
**8:50-9:30  Overview of the Policy Academy Process**
- Overview of the Process
- Vision
- Reality Assessment
- Action Planning
- Technical Assistance and Follow-up
- Roles and Responsibilities of State and Federal Partners
**9:30-10:15  Collaboration Exercise**
**10:15-10:30 Break**

**10:30-11:30 Discussion of Issues and Promising Practices**
**11:30-12:30 Critical Questions**
- Integrating Planning Efforts
- Working as a Team and Maintaining Momentum
**12:30-1:30 Working Lunch and Development/Revision of Vision Statement**
**1:30-2:30 Development/Revision of SWOT Analysis**
**2:30-2:45 Break**
**2:45-3:15 Identification of Technical Assistance Needs**
**3:15-3:30 Discussion of Next Steps **
**3:30-3:45 Wrap Up and Evaluation**

## Federal Sponsors

- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Administration for Children and Families
- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
- Health Resources and Services Administration
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Office of Community Planning and Development
- Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs

## Federal Sponsors

- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Homeless Veterans Programs, Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
- Health Care for Homeless Veterans, Veterans Health Administration
- U.S. Department of Labor
- Employment and Training Administration
- Veterans Employment and Training Service
- Office of Disability and Employment Policy
- Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives

## Collaborating Partners

- American Public Human Services Association
- Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
- National Association of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Directors
- National Association of County and City Health Program Directors
- National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
- National Conference of State Legislators
- National Governors Association
- National Head Start Association
- U.S. Conference of Mayors

## What is a Policy Academy?

- Process, not an event
- Technical assistance to help decision makers:
- Think through policy options
- Make existing systems and programs more effective and coordinated
- Design and implement new systems and programs

## What is the Purpose of This Academy?

- To develop a realistic, State/Territory-wide policy initiative (Action Plan) with the intent of:
- Increasing access to mainstream services for families with children experiencing homelessness
- Enhancing the linkages between services and housing
- Developing prevention strategies

## What are the Objectives of the Policy Academy?

- Bringing stakeholders together to focus on increasing access to mainstream services
- Enhancing coordination, collaboration, and integration among systems providing mainstream and targeted services for families with children experiencing homelessness
- Identifying and sharing evidence-based practices
- Identifying and coordinating resources and planning activities

## What’s Involved in the Policy Academy Process?

## Why a Policy Academy?

- Promote and integrate strategic planning efforts
- Provide opportunities to learn from other State experiences
- Establish/reinforce dialogue
- Build consensus among stakeholders and plan for change
- Provide technical assistance and develop local capacity

## How Many States/Territories Have Participated?

- 8 States/Territories participated in the first Policy Academy on homeless families with children; 10 will participate in the second
- 45 States/Territories participated in Policy Academies on chronic homelessness

## Family Policy Academy States

**Policy Academy #1**
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- Oregon
- Washington

**Policy Academy #7**
- Arizona
- Florida
- Iowa
- Maine
- Michigan
- New Hampshire
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Puerto Rico
- Tennessee

## Team Composition

- Required:
- Governor’s office
- Head Start
- Medicaid
- State substance abuse agency
- State mental health agency
- Primary health care services
- State housing agency
- Employment
- Veterans services
- State-level homeless services administrators or Continuum-of-Care contacts

- Optional:
- Homeless or formerly homeless persons
- Providers
- Faith-based and culturally-based agencies/ organizations
- Advocacy organizations
- Department of Education
- State social services
- Food stamp program
- State legislators
- Local, county, or city-level government representatives
- Corrections/criminal justice

## Potential Immediate Outcomes...

- Change the way things are done
- Get everyone on the same page
- Improve cross-agency and cross-state communication
- Create new collaborations and partnerships
- Integrate current planning efforts
- Provide mechanism to focus State/Territory efforts to address homelessness
- Change stereotypes and address stigma
- Learn about new approaches or evidence-based practices
- Increase access to mainstream services and resources

## Specific State Outcomes...

**Colorado** (PA2) sought previously untapped mainstream HUD resources; resulted in 400 rental assistance vouchers for non-elderly persons with disabilities
**Georgia** (PA2) is converting 30 vacant positions to new SSI eligibility workers who will be trained by Yvonne Perret and placed with service providers to increase access to benefits for people who are homeless
**Illinois **(PA1)** **Department of Health and Human Services is becoming authorized as a public housing authority so that they direct Section 8 vouchers to TANF families statewide.
**Maryland’s** (PA1) Governor issued Executive Order establishing Interagency Council charged with developing framework to address homelessness for incoming administration
**Nevada** (PA1) surveyed providers’ problems accessing mainstream programs resulting in immediate dialogue with state mental health administrators and joint problem-solving

## During the Site Visit

- Become familiar with the Academy process
- Coordinate and build upon planning activities
- Develop a common understanding of the issues
- Develop a common vision and draft SWOT analysis
- Begin to identify TA needs
- Formalize team processes
- Identify key points for Team Lead presentation

## During the Academy Meeting

- Interact with faculty and peers to:
- Maximize resources and expand capacity for systems change
- Adapt evidence-based practices
- Enhance collaboration and planning activities

## During the Academy Meeting

- Complete Team-related tasks, including:
- Present vision statement and State’s key issues and efforts (Team Lead)
- Continue developing Action Plans and identifying TA needs
- Receive feedback and TA from faculty and peers
- Report-out on Action Plan, priorities, next steps, and TA needs

## Following the Academy Meeting

- Finalize strategies (short- and long-range) and specific action steps
- Submit revised action plan within 60 days
- Receive Federal Planning Committee
- Prioritize and coordinate TA with HSR/PRA
- Implement the Action Plan (with TA)
- Submit two six-month progress reports

## Team Challenges 

- Building team consensus around Action Plan
- Integrating planning activities
- Identifying feasible strategies
- Presenting a clear message to influential policymakers
- Generating public and political will to support Action Plan
- Implementing the Action Plan through executive, legislative, administrative, and private sector (non-government) processes

## Team Tips

- Try to stay focused
- Develop and respect Team ground rules
- Encourage ideas
- Challenge your assumptions
- Highlight and explore your differences
- Differentiate between what you are totally committed to and what you can live with

## What Should Be Accomplished Before Arriving At The Academy Meeting?

- Circulate draft vision statement and SWOT analysis to all members of team for polishing
- Provide HSR with revised _vision statement_ and completed _SWOT analysis_ to be included in meeting packet
- Select team leader(s), timekeeper, scribe
- Review resource material

## THE ACTION PLANNING PROCESS

## Policy Initiative Framework(The Action Plan)

- The Vision (Your State/Territory Tomorrow)
- The Reality Assessment (Your State/Territory Today)
- Priorities/Goals (Gaps)
- Strategies with Potential (Tactical Plan)
- Action Steps (Work Assignments)
- Technical Assistance and Follow-up

## The Vision Statement(Your State/Territory Tomorrow)

- Provides a statement of purpose
- Presents a picture of your ideal future (independent of the current reality)
- Serves as a reference point for all future decisions
- Does not assume that the system will have the same framework that as it does today
- Specifically addresses issue of improving access to mainstream services

## What is a Vision Statement?

- A _**Vision Statement**_ is something that describes an ideal situation or goal that is beyond immediate grasp, but something towards which one reaches.
- It should grab people's attention and hearts; even if everyone doesn't agree with precisely what the vision actually means, it should be something that everyone "gets" and can rally around.

## What is a Mission Statement?

- A _**Mission Statement**_ is something that describes the work that you actually do to move toward the articulated vision.
- It is concrete, practical and precise.
- It gives the reader a sense of what the organization or group does on a day-to-day basis to make change happen.

## The Reality Assessment (Your State/Territory Today)

- Requires a review/inventory of:
- Key problems and issues in your State/Territory
- Previous policy actions taken to address these issues
- Current political environment
- Assesses your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
- Helps to identify resources at your disposal
- Provides context for your efforts

## Team Priorities/Goals (Gaps)

- Likely to be the “gaps” between your vision and the current reality
- Areas where you will focus your energy and resources in order to influence policy
- Form the basis for planning, policy-making and setting performance standards
- May be short-term and/or long-term

## Strategies with Potential(Tactical Plans)

- A plan to get from here to there
- The bridge between goals and actions
- Broad range tactics to affect change
- Often require State/Territory-wide or cross-agency efforts
- Should be directly related to your priorities/goals

## Action Steps(Work Assignments)

- Specific activities undertaken based on your strategy(-ies)
- Require action from specific individuals or entities (differentiate between what is within your control and what is not)
- Considerations
- Who is responsible for coordinating each action?
- Who is responsible for completing action?
- What resources are required?
- What is the timeline?
- Who will be affected?
- How will success be measured?

## Sample Goal: Build State-level Commitment and Leadership

_**Strategy 1.1**_:  Get/keep top leadership involved
_**Action 1.1.1**_: Take the message and seek support/direction from Legislators, Governor, Department Heads
- Seek Executive Order to support ICCHP –  Oct. 2003
- Request additional staff capacity – Nov. 2003
_**Action 1.1.2**_: Frame message for different audiences
- Identify and recruit partners from Federal Partners, Hospitals, Business Leaders, Local Governments, Homeless Coalitions, Housing Providers, Universities, etc. – Oct. 2003
- Conduct joint planning meeting with Policy Academy Team and new partners – Jan. 2004

## Visualizing the Action Plan

## Visualizing the Action Plan

## Technical Assistance

- Pre-Academy
- During the Policy Academy
- Post-Academy

## Pre-Academy Technical Assistance

- Pre-Academy site visit
- Resources provided during site visit
- Resources you share with each other
- Resources you may request before you come to the Policy Academy

## During the Academy... Content experts in the following areas will be available: 

- Cost savings
- Prevention
- Systems change and integration
- Treatment and service approaches
- Financing support in housing
- Housing (e.g., subsidies, trust funds, “Housing First,” financing and development, working with Public Housing Authorities)

- Disability benefits
- Veterans’ services
- Education
- Employment
- Medicaid
- Head Start
- TANF
- Food Stamps

## Post-Academy Follow-Up & Technical Assistance

- Once Action Plan is submitted (60 days following Academy), teams may request specific technical assistance
- PRA/HSR hold conference call with team leads to clarify and prioritize TA needs
- Teams submit two 6-month progress reports
- PRA/HSR continue to track and coordinate TA

## Technical Assistance...

- Available anytime...
- Written or internet-based materials
- Telephone consultation & referrals with PRA staff
- Policy Academy web site & bulletin board
- Specialized literature searches
- Available after Action Plan submitted
- Peer-based TA with other States
- Telephone consultation with Federal representatives
- Teleconference with content experts
- On-site consultation or training
- Additional on-site facilitation of State Team
- Be creative... if we can do it, we will try!