Author: 211OC

The Office of Care Coordination will be hosting a Housing First Training for Orange County Continuum of Care (CoC) providers. This training will provide essential tools and techniques for Housing First implementation in design and operation by program model, including street outreach, emergency shelter and/or housing provider. The training will cover the services and structures necessary to ensure successful housing placements, housing retention and long-term stability.

This training will be held in-person. Please find details below on the upcoming training to save the date:

Date: Thursday, November 17th, 2022
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

In preparation for the training, the Office of Care Coordination would like to encourage CoC providers and stakeholders to review the Housing First Assessment Tool developed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 

HUD encourages the use of the Housing First Assessment Tool implement and strengthen Housing First approaches. CoCs can use this tool to assess and measure a project’s progress in aligning with Housing First best practice standards, and an individual project can use this tool to identify what they are doing well and where improvements can be made. The Housing First Assessment Tool can be accessed here: https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/Housing-First-Assessment-Tool.xlsm 

If you have questions about the upcoming training, please reach out to the Office of Care Coordination at CareCoordination@ocgov.com

Bitfocus has  announce that the Data Analysis Tool will be upgraded on September 20, 2022. To review the changes, please refer to Data Analysis Release Notes. 

The update should be complete by 9 a.m. Pacific Time on 9/20/2022. Please note, the Data Analysis Tool will not be available from 7-9 a.m. PT while the update is taking place.

The Street Outreach Project Performance Report and the Goals and Outcomes Report have been posted!

Click here to view the reports.

For Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) grantees with Annual Performance Reports (APR)/Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Reports (CAPER) due to HUD on or after January 1, 2023, a new Consolidated APR/CAPER reporting format will go into effect, superseding all previous HOPWA APR and CAPER forms. The new form restructures, consolidates, and streamlines the annually reported data for grantees, increasing the usability of HOPWA performance data for grantees and HUD alike.

HUD’s Office of HIV/AIDS Housing (OHH) is sponsoring a webinar to introduce the new HOPWA performance report, the Consolidated APR/CAPER. The webinar is intended for all HOPWA grantees, project sponsors, and community partners. The orientation webinar will go over:

• The purpose of changing to the new Consolidated APR/CAPER
• The format of the Consolidated APR/CAPER
• The submission process for the Consolidated APR/CAPER
• A review of the data elements collected

Registration Instructions

Register for the webinar here

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with joining information.

Webinar Point of Contact

If you have questions about registration for this webinar, please contact morgan.cline@cloudburstgroup.com.

The Thinking Outside the Box Housing Webinar Series: Cross-Sector Strategies to Create Housing Opportunities for People with Behavioral Health Needs Leaving the Justice System was created by the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and their Technical Assistance (TA) provider, the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center. This series provides tools for meaningful collaboration with housing, behavioral health, and other key partners to fully leverage available funding to provide and develop housing for people leaving the justice system.

The next webinar in the series, Key Development Concepts and Housing Models for Justice System Leaders, will be held on July 21, 2022, 11:00am – 12:30 PM PDT. Participants must register for the webinar in advance by clicking here.

The recordings and materials from eight sessions of the National Human Services Data Consortium (NHSDC) Spring 2022 Conference are now posted.

The conference took place from March 29-30, 2022, and brought together human services data professionals from around the country to learn best practices, inspire one another, and make connections. The materials from the following sessions are available:

• Understanding the HUD 2024 Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Data Standards Process with the Technical Assistance (TA) Team
• Implementing Effective Contract Negotiation and Relationship Management Strategies 201
• HMIS Project Management and Annual Calendar of Expectations
• Using Data to Move Racial Equity Conversations Forward
• Workshop: You and Stella – Together Again
• How to Spend Down Emergency Solutions Grants – CARES Act (ESG-CV) Expiring Funds to Advance Your Data Analysis Efforts
• Designing an End to Homelessness with Stella Modeling
• Understand the Prioritization and Data Connection: Prioritization 101

View the Recordings

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) provides $5 billion through the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) to the 651 State and local Participating Jurisdictions (PJs) that qualified for FY 2021 HOME funds. PJs must use the funding to make targeted, strategic investments in housing and other assistance for people experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of homelessness, and other vulnerable populations.

HUD’s Office of Affordable Housing Programs (OAHP) is conducting a webinar on May 17, 2022 from 2:00 – 3:30 PM EDT to review the HOME-ARP requirements related to establishing preferences, referral methods, and allocation plan requirements. OAHP will introduce an updated sample allocation plan template designed to clarify requirements and provide useful tips and walk through new explanatory guidance on preferences, limitations, and referral methods.

Training Objectives
Participants will learn:

• The requirements in Notice CPD-21-10 for establishing preferences or limitations among the HOME-ARP qualifying populations and the required elements of a HOME-ARP allocation plan
• Permissible client referral methods and how they are affected by the use of preferences to address unmet needs or gaps in benefits and services experienced by the qualifying populations
• How to avoid pitfalls related to consultation, public participation, and the content of their allocation plans

Who Should Attend?
This webinar is designed for HOME PJs preparing to administer an allocation of HOME-ARP, Continuum of Care (CoC) partners, homeless service providers, local housing providers, and public housing agencies.

Register here for the webinar.

Training Point of Contact:
HOME-ARP Team | HOMEARP@hud.gov

A new resource, Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV): A How-To Guide for Public Housing Agencies, is now available on the HUD Exchange. The purpose of this guide is to:

• Provide an overview of EHV operating requirements
• Outline considerations for Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) in the design of their EHV programs
• Highlight best practices in program implementation

This guide is a helpful resource for PHAs, Continuum of Care (CoCs), and Victim Services Providers (VSPs) to understand key components of the EHV program including:

• Partnerships and referral processes
• Use of service fees
• Housing search requirements
• Application of EHV waivers and alternative requirements

You can view the guide here

This information was originally distributed via HUD.gov. HUD Exchange is redistributing the information for awareness.

Congress has found that the right of citizens to vote is fundamental and that it is the duty of the Federal, State, and local governments to promote the exercise of that right.[i] Accordingly, HUD is sharing information to support the public, specifically people experiencing homelessness, in understanding how to access this fundamental right.

People can vote without a permanent address, and homeless services providers can help through nonpartisan registration and get-out-the-vote efforts. It is important to be aware of local registration deadlines, some of which occur in February, to ensure the ability to vote. Many rules about voting are set by states, so check with counsel to ensure that all activities are compliant with local and state law.

To help more Americans exercise their right to vote, our partners at the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) created the following step-by-step voting guides for homeless providers and for people experiencing homelessness. Both are available in five languages:
Election Checklist for Homeless Service Providers
Voting Checklist for People Experiencing Homelessness

[i] National Voter Registration Act of 1993.