# Presentation: 425286

## Overview of the Homeless Policy Academy Initiative 

- Establishing Meaningful Outcome Measures and Optimizing Program Achievement: A Learning Community Workgroup
- November 30-December 1, 2006
- Houston, TX

## The Nature of the Problem

- The needs of people who are homeless cross the administrative boundaries established by existing funding streams
- Housing and service needs can be adequately addressed when those responsible for administering these services collaborate
- No single funding source or program will have the capacity or the energy to address the complex set of issues inherent in homelessness
- Mainstream resources, which can help address the issue, are underutilized

**Notes:**
We were speaking to the choir. 
Participants identified the need to bring other Federal agencies with programs could help to serve this population into the mix. 
National organizations include: 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 Officers, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, National Conference of State Legislators, National Governors Association, National Head Start Association and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.   These organizations helped us in many ways, including encouraging their constituents to persuade their State Governors’ offices to participate in the Policy Academies. 

## How Does the Policy Academy Initiative Help Address the Problem?

- States play a pivotal role in determining eligibility for accessing mainstream Federal and State programs
- Policy Academy activities are designed to help States think about new, collaborative approaches
- The Policy Academy Initiative is a **“results-based decision-making process”**—**not** an event—that focuses on:
- Promoting strategic decision making
- Creating and reinforcing relationships
- Improving access to mainstream resources
- Providing TA to support States’ efforts

**Notes:**
There is also increasing recognition that mainstream health, social service, and housing programs for poor and at-risk persons need to be included in our planning about responding to homelessness.  

State Teams are encouraged to consider how current policies and program resources influence the response to homelessness and how these services can be made more accessible for persons who experience homelessness. 

## What TA Needs are States Expressing?

## How Are We Addressing the TA Needs?

**Targeted State Technical Assistance**
- Web-based or written materials, peer-to-peer and expert consultation, team meeting facilitation, State Policy Academies or planning summits
**Learning Community Workgroups**
- Four, 1.5-day, peer-to-peer workgroup meetings focusing on youth, employment, transition planning, and data and outcome measures
- Follow up products and conference calls to encourage peer-to-peer sharing
**SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery (SOAR) Training**
- 24 States funded by HRSA, HUD, SAMHSA
- Provide States with targeted training on SSI enrollment and build upon States’ local infrastructures to sustain the training effort locally
**Policy Academy Web Site: www/hrsa.gov/homeless**

## What are the DLCW Objectives?

**Peer-to-Peer**

## What are the Meeting Components?

**Welcome, Introductions, and Overview**
**Plenary and Breakout Sessions**
- Establishing Meaningful and Achievable Measures and Optimizing Program Achievement through Data and Performance Measurement
- Promising Practices to Implementing Workable Data Outcome Solutions
**Peer-to-Peer Discussion Sessions**
**Reflections on Day One and State Strategy Sessions**
**Plenary: What are the Keys to Success and What Does It Take to Move Forward? **
**Topical Roundtable Discussions**
**Next Steps, Wrap Up, and Evaluation**

## Which States are Represented?

- Alaska
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Massachusetts
- Michigan

- North Carolina
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Vermont
- Virgin Islands
- Virginia

## What Systems/Constituencies do Participants Represent?

- Community-based
- Community Development
- State agency
- Faith-based
- Private sector
- Homelessness
- Housing
- Mental Health

- Primary Health
- Social Services
- Substance Abuse
- Research and planning
- Information systems
- Economic security

## State Responses to Pre-Workgroup Questions

*Summary*

## Current Data Collection

- HUD universal, homeless extent and homelessness reason, and program data elements
- Point-in-time survey data
- Length of stay in programs
- Housing inventory data
- Various demographic data
- Annual progress report data
- Variety of other programmatic data

## Current Reporting

- Basic demographic reports
- Unduplicated count reports
- Data quality reports
- Financial draw data reports
- Open record certification
- Program performance reports
- PATH annual reports
- HUD Annual Progress Reports for homeless assistance programs
- HUD Emergency Shelter Grant reports

## Top Desired Workgroup Outcomes 

- Strategies for how to:
- Increase participation in data collection/entry across agencies and the State
- Optimize HMIS data collection/reporting
- Use data for education and public awareness
- Use data more effectively in policy and decisionmaking
- Examples of other States’:
- Data collection system integration/centralization
- Analytical tools
- Barriers and challenges

## One Year From Now, States Want to Have... 

- Collaboration and Integration
- Data workgroup (Statewide and/or interagency)
- Integrated data across systems
- Use of data for performance improvements and gap analysis by all stakeholders
- Meaningful Data to Inform Policy, Programs, and Funding
- Completed, standardized reports with meaningful data
- Data effective for use with homelessness policy recommendations
- Cost benefit data

## Day One AM Breakout Session

- What are the key policy questions you are trying to answer?
- What data are you collecting to answer the questions?
- How are you collecting the data? How are you analyzing it?
- What are you learning from the analysis? How might it impact policy?

## Day One Afternoon Session

- Brainstorm outcomes you are trying to measure at the State level (i.e. key priority issues)
- Prioritize the top 3-5 issues that you want to walk through to identify the client, program, and system measures to address
- Walk through 3-5 examples

## Day One Summary:Using Data and Sharing Effectively

**Using Data to Evaluate Program Performance, Reporting, and Accountability **
- Establishing relevant indicators
- Establishing local benchmark definitions relevant to local need
**Sharing and Coordinating Data**
- Issues related to accessing and owning it
- Coordinating across different Federal/State/program requirements and reporting systems
- Sharing it across agencies where there are confidentiality concerns
**Working with Vendors**
- Ensuring flexibility to modify in house
- Ensuring accountability
- Considering self-hosting

## Day One Summary:Collaboration and Political Will

**Securing Leadership**
- Identifying lead agency
- Identifying champions** **
**Involving Partners**
- Determining who needs to be at the table
- Creating a process for working together to address policy issues (e.g., discharge planning)
- Creating and implementing a plan/strategy
**Securing Funding**
- Exploring Federal, State, private sources
- Sharing and learning from other’s experiences

## Day One Summary:Collaboration and Political Will

**Gaining Buy-in and Political Will**
- Getting programs and providers to view data and performance as a way of improving programs and not penalizing them
- Gaining support from the Legislature, Governor, etc.
- Collaborating with planning efforts (e.g. Interagency Council on Homelessness, Consolidated Plan)
**Publishing/Marketing Data**
- Using data as a catalyst to stimulate policy questions
- Using data to give advocates a voice
- Creating tools/templates
**Continuing Support for Efforts**
- Creating/enhancing peer support group
- Follow up from DLCW

## State Strategy Sessions

- What is your top data concern/issue?  What do you need to address?
- What are 2 ideas from DLCW that you would like to take back to your States’ Policy Academy/Interagency Council planning/implementation efforts?
- What are 2 things for which you would like more information?