Overview of the Homeless Policy Academy Initiative

1
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

2
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

3
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 processnot an eventthat
  focuses on
• Promoting strategic decision making
• Creating and reinforcing relationships
• Improving access to mainstream resources
• Providing TA to support States efforts

4
What TA Needs are States Expressing?
5
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

6
What are the DLCW Objectives?
Peer-to-Peer
7
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

8
Which States are Represented?

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

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

9
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

10
State Responses to Pre-Workgroup Questions

• Summary

11
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

12
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

13
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

14
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

15
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?

16
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

17
Day One SummaryUsing 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/progra
  m 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

18
Day One SummaryCollaboration 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 others experiences

19
Day One SummaryCollaboration 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

20
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/implementatio
  n efforts?
• What are 2 things for which you would like more
  information?