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HomeMy WebLinkAbout940317.tiff RESOLUTION RE: APPROVE 1994 EMERGENCY COMMUNITY SERVICES HOMELESS GRANT APPLICATION TO THE COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF LOCAL AFFAIRS AND AUTHORIZE CHAIRMAN TO SIGN WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, pursuant to Colorado statute and the Weld County Home Rule Charter, is vested with the authority of administering the affairs of Weld County, Colorado, and WHEREAS, the Board has been presented with a 1994 Emergency Community Services Grant Application to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs by the County of Weld, State of Colorado, by and through the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, on behalf of the Department of Social Services, with terms and conditions being as stated in said application, and WHEREAS, after review, the Board deems it advisable to approve said application, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, ex-officio Board of Social Services, that the 1994 Emergency Community Services Homeless Grant Application to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs submitted by the County of Weld, State of Colorado, by and through the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, on behalf of the Department of Social Services be, and hereby is, approved. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Board that the Chairman be, and hereby is, authorized to sign said application. The above and foregoing Resolution was, on motion duly made and seconded, adopted by the following vote on the 30th day of March, A.D. , 1994. ATTEST: Wa4414 BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WELD COUNTY, COLORADO Weld County Clerk to the Board / £\ 2 2 i i Webster, C irm BY: .�if/� t / Y U�c,���- Deputy Oerk to the Board Dale I . Hall, P iT /y L APPRO TO FORM: � c , R/ <y eO e Baxter ( �.�JL'f��Xi�G.� County ttorne e L. Harbert/ arbara J. Kirkmeyer 940317 ECSH 1994 APPLICATION A. SYNOPSIS 1. County: Weld County 2 . Contact Person: Name Judy A . crieon Title Director . Weld County Department of Social Services Address Per A Greeley , en S0632 Telephone 352_ 1551 ext C_2nn 3 . Chief Elected Official : Name W.H . Webster 4 . ECSH Amount Requested: $ 21 . 878 5 . ECSH Budget: Grantee Personnel Costs $ _ Grantee Operating Costs $ Grantee Subcontract Costs $ 91 R7R TOTAL ECSH BUDGETED $ 23,878 Grantee Personnel Position/s Funded (Name & % of time funded) Catholic Community Services Grantee Operating Costs Funded (by line item & amount) Grantee Subcontract Costs Funded (Name, Amount, Services Purchased) Catholic Community Services $3 , 600 Case Management Weld Information and Referral Service $10 , 000 a . Casemanegement b . Supplies c . . Fees and Administration (See Attachment A) 940317 ECSH 1994 Application - Cont. B. LOCAL PRIORITIZATION OF ACTIVITIES FOR WHICH FUNDING HAS BEEN. REQUESTED • Weld Information and Referral Service 1 of 4 Greeley Transitional House 2 of 4 Catholic Community Services 3 of 4 A Woman ' s Place 4 of 4 C. PROBLEM/NEED DESCRIPTION Catholic Community Services Northern The Project would provide eight hours per week casemanagement services for homeless families and homeless families and homeless singles staying at Guadalupe Center. An additional eight hours per week would be added to the 20 hour per week position which has recently been established through our migrant outreach program to provide casemanagement services for migrant families. The Migrant Casemanager will be based at the shelter so that services can be provided on site. The additional 8 hours provided by the ECSH grant would be directed to other families and singles at the shelter to assist them in breaking the cycle of poverty and moving on to stable employment, adequate housing and self-sufficiency. (See Attachment B) D. PROJECT IMPACT Catholic Community Services In 1993, Guadalupe Center provided shelter for 47 families. Due to the expansion, that number will more than double in 1994 and approximately 100 families will receive shelter. We will provide casemanagement services for 25% or 25 families in the funded year. .During 1993 we provided shelter for 541 singles. With the expansion that number will increase by 25%. We will provide casemanagement services for 30 singles or 5% of the singles staying at Guadalupe Center. The goal is to assist these people to move toward self-sufficiency, to access the services which ' will provide the support system they need to be independent, and to help them realize economic stability. It is our intent to assist them in moving out of the cycle of poverty and prevent future homelessness. Services currently in place in the community will „Joe a vital part of the casemanagement process as Guadalupe staff, clients and other service providers each play a part in the plan for change. Specialized services such as mental health, medical, educational, housing, food, financial management and others will be coordinated to assist the homeless people in reaching their goals of independence and self-sufficiency. (See Attachment C ) 940317 ECSH 1994 Application - Cont. E. DESCRIPTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT COORDINATION LOCAL GOVERNMENT COORDINATION The fundamental basis for coordination of services is currently in place. Through Weld County Information and Referral Service data management and case management programs, all service providers have been integrated into a coordinative effort to address the homeless issues of the County. Weld County Department of Social Services has been given the responsibility of the coordination of homeless activities. The purposes of coordinative measure are three-fold: • 1. To develop a process of review for applications submitted for homeless activity; 2. To establish criteria as a means of avoiding the duplication of homeless services; and 3. To evaluate the effectiveness of homeless services being provided in Weld County. In addition to the coordination of requests for funding through such programs as Emergency Shelter Grants and Emergency Community Service Housing, Weld County Social Services has the job of contracting for services, as well as the submission of all required reports. In support of the homeless activities, other activities, other agencies which provide support services are utilized heavily as referral sources. These agencies include Weld Mental Health, Social Services programs; including Aide for Dependant Children, Food Stamps, Low income Energy Assistance Program, and Jobs, Human Resources, Colorado Rural Legal Services, Consumer Credit Services, United Way, and Red Cross. Homeless service providers meet on a regular basis to discuss needs, services, and compliance with Weld County homeless program contracts. Homeless service providers communicate on nearly a daily basis regarding need of clients, referrals„ avoidance of duplication, casemanagement, and statistical data. Comprehensive data is reported to Weld County Information and Referral Services and Social Services monthly. (See Attachment D) Catholic Community Services Catholic Community Services is requesting funds for personnel to provide 940317 ECSH 1994 Application - Cont. SERVICE ELIGIBILITY CATEGORY Proposed Eligibility Service Provider ECSH Funds Activity Category* Name Allocated 1 2 3 4 5 6 Casemanegement 1 Catholic Community Services $3 , 600 Follow-up 1 Greeley Transitional House 6 , 571 Case Management Violence Counselling 6 A Woman ' s Place 3 , 707 Case 2'anagement _ 1 Weld Information and 10 , 000 Referral Service *1. Expansion of comprehensive services to homeless individuals to provide follow-up & long-term services to make the transition out of poverty. 2 . Renovation of buildings to be used to provide such services as listed in #1 provided that all procedures required under the National Historic Preservation Act are followed. 3 . Provision of assistance in obtaining social, maintenance, services & income support services for homeless individuals. 4 . Promotion of private sector and other assistance to homeless individuals. 5 . Provision of assistance to any individual who has received a notice of foreclosure, eviction, or termination of utility services, if (a) the inability of the individual to make mortgage, rental, or utility payments is due to a sudden reduction in income; (b) the assistance is necessary to avoid the foreclosure, eviction, or termination of utility services; and (c) there is a resonable prospect that the individual will be able to resume the payments in a reasonable period of time. 6. Provision of, or referral to, violence counseling for homeless children and individuals, and the provision of violence counseling training to individuals who work with homeless children and individuals. 94031'7 ECSH 1994 Application - Cont. ECSH RESOLUTION & CERTIFICATION The County of Weld , which is applying to the State of Colorado for funding through the Emergency Community Service Homeless (ECSH) Grant program from the U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, hereby assures and certifies that: - the amounts awarded under the ECSH program will be used only for the following purposes: Expansion of comprehensive services to homeless individuals to provide follow-up and long-term services to enable homeless individuals to make the transition out of poverty; Renovation of buildings to be used to provide such services; Provision of assistance in obtaining social and maintenance services and income support services for homeless individuals; Promotion of private sector and other assistance to homeless individuals; Provision of, or referral to, violence counseling for homeless children and individuals, and the provision of violence counseling training to individuals who work with homeless children and individuals; Services for the prevention of homelessness as defined in paragraph five of Eligible ECSH Activities contained in the Application Instructions for FFY 1994 ; - no amount received under this program will be used to supplant other programs for homeless individuals administered by the grantee; - political activities will be prohibited in accordance with subsection 675 (e) of P.L. 97-35 as amended (the Community Services Block Grant. Act) ; - there will be coordination of activities among all participating local governments and non-profit organizations funded by the State; - the contractor and/or its subgrantees shall develop fiscal control and fund accounting procedures necessary to assure the proper disbursal of and accounting of federal funds. 4M[1^1'7 ECSH 1994 Application - Cont. - the contractor and/or its subgrantees shall comply with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (USC 470 et seq. ) , as amended, requiring consideration of the effect of a project on any district, site, building, structure or object that is included in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. The County ensures the cooperation of its staff, the cooperation of its subcontractors, and the availability of all records to the Department of Local Affairs and the Office of the Secretary of Health & Human Services or his/her designee charged with monitoring or investigating theuse Jof the�j tfunds provided. Signed t y' /2( �1A1g�1 l_/ / Title Ciiairnan /py/oyl9 W .H .Name Webster l Date 1)2/,6/qy" 940317 Attachment A GRANTEE SUBCONTRACTOR COSTS FUNDED (NAME, AMOUNT, SERVICES PURCHASED) Woman's Place Childrens Coordinator $3,707 Greeley Transitional House 1. Staffing $5,733 a. Project Director b. Program Coordinator c. Case Manager 2. Operating Costs a. Utilities $300 b. Equipment and Supplies $313 c. Milage $225 Total Operating Costs $838 Total $6,571 940317 Attachment B The Casemanager will: -Provide information and referral for support services -Assist homeless clients in obtaining stable employment and permanent housing. -Spend 2 hours/2 nights per week working at the shelter one on one helping homeless clients develop goals and a plan for change. -Spend 1/2 day per week (4hours) working with homeless clients to help them through the community systems so they can become independent. -Work with other community agencies and organizations to coordinate and access services. -Maintain records on client progress and document outcomes. -Provide and document follow-up on clients after they have stabilized their employment and living situation. Greeley Transitional House The goal of this project is to empower families to attain their maximum level of self-sufficiency as they move from the Greeley Transitional House into permanent housing. For the purpose of this project empowerment is defined as having a sense of control over important events and actions in one's life and being in a position of power in which one can make change. Self-sufficiency is defined as the ability to function independently and self reliantly as possible within one's own parameters. This goal will be accomplished in the following manner: 1) Facilitate a minimum of 25 adult head of households in life skills group issues of self-esteem, self awareness, stability, responsibility, budget counseling and other educational topics related to self-sufficiency for the grant period. 2) Provide follow- up casemanagement for a minimum of 48 families completing the initial 30 - 45 day program. Case management will involve the establishment of trusting, collaborative relationship, information and referral, psychosocial support and encouragement, assessment of needs and desires, goal setting and advocacy. Utilize all community agencies and resources to aid in support of the enrolled family. Woman's Place A Woman's Place is requesting $3,707 to partially fund a position to coordinate the children's program. This would enhance our ability to serve the homeless families who cone to our safe house due to domestic violence in their homes. Homelessness caused by domestic violence is an inter- generational problem which is most effectively addressed by direct intervention with the children who are exposed to violence in their homes. The program we are proposing would give A Woman' s Place the capability to work with these children in a safe environment while enhancing their life skills. A multifaceted approach would include: 1) Individual crisis counseling with each child to work on issues generated by being part of a violent family system. 2) Family intervention and skill building for mothers and their children to improve communication and life skills, 3) Advocacy with schools and other agencies to obtain the best possible services for these children, and 4) Opportunities to participate in groups with other 940317 children of similar ages and experience. The combination of intervention strategies will enable children to gain understanding and control of their own lives and will increase their chances for escaping violent homes, the children's program coordinator would facilitate groups for non-resident children in local schools to offer them the option of living non-violently from the beginning of their adult lives rather than going into the cycle of violence and homelessness. Weld Information and Referral Service The Homeless Case Management Program will provide a holistic structured program targeted for families at risk of becoming homeless. The program will provide an assessment, plan of action, support services referrals, long term and short term goals, and a comprehensive case management system that will enable a family or individual to identify and resolve issues affecting their housing needs. The program will also provide financial assistance to families and individuals who are participating and enrolled in case management in the areas of rental and utility assistance. Types of services will include a single entry case management for social, health, and employment service linkages at-risk or homeless families and individuals. The program will prepare and provide client tracking and the monitoring of participation, program goals, and program outcomes. The overall goal is to prevent homelessness through the holistic approach of case management in meeting not only the immediate crisis of facing the homeless or at risk issues, but to meet the long term goal of maintaining housing and the responsibilities that go along with it; i.e. patenting, budgeting, employment, etc. Through various programs that Weld Information and Referral Service provides, such as the FEMA and Colorado Homeless Prevention, Weld Information and Referral Service is able to assist with foreclosure, eviction, and possible termination of utility services. These programs are specifically set up to target the at risk population or those transitioning out of shelters. The goals of these programs are to alleviate the family from facing not only the short term crisis of losing their home, or obtaining affordable housing, but also to help them obtain the supportive services they need to reach their long term goals as well. Weld Information and Referral Service publishes a directory that provides information about area Human Service providers. As part of the coordination, Weld Information and Referral Service will meet with as many agencies as possible to explain the directory, Weld Information and Referral Service's current programs, and how to access other information. 940217 IDENTIFY PROBLEM AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT Catholic Community Services Weld Information and Referral Service collects and maintains all shelter and homeless service statistics for Weld County. According to Weld Information and Referral Services 1993 statistics, 1,417 homeless individuals were provided shelter at the four shelters in the County, A Woman' s Place - 218, Greeley Transitional House - 199, Disabled American Veterans - 52, and Guadalupe Center - 948. In 1993, Guadalupe Center found it necessary to turn away 956 homeless people due to limited space. Guadalupe Center built an expansion which opened in February, 1994, and increased the number of beds from 20 to 40. During the month of February, over 800 nights of shelter were provided. The three new family rooms have been filled each night since they opened up. Our conservative projection is that we will provide 9,800 nights of shelter for 1,400 people in 1994 due to the additional beds available. Although Guadalupe Center staff and administration has always believed that on site casemanagement is imperative to producing positive outcomes with the homeless clients, we have never been able to generate the funding to pay for a casemanager. Clients are sent to Weld Information and Referral Services for casemanagement. According Weld Information and Referral Services 1993 report, Weld Information and Referral Services provided casemanagement services for 93 households (10 singles and 83 families) during that year. Casemanagement provided by Weld Information and Referral Services represents only 19% of the total households and 1.8% of single homeless staying in Guadalupe Center. Some of the homeless receiving casemanagement from Weld Information and Referral Services are not Guadalupe clients, so the actual percentages of Guadalupe people served is even lower. Statistics on outcomes for people receiving Weld Information and Referral Services casemanagement are not available. The projected 48% increase in the number of people to be served at Guadalupe Center in 1994, due to expansion, makes the need even greater. At this time only a very small fraction of homeless people being sheltered have casemanagement services available to them. There is a clearly demonstrated need for additional casemanagement services for people staying a Guadalupe Center. Greeley Transitional House The Greeley Transitional House can do much in 30 - 45 days to alleviate the immediate crisis, but that does not allow sufficient time to affect long term change. It is imperative that families have a supportive and encouraging environment when they leave Greeley Transitional House and move into permanent housing. Often these families return to the same environment and fragmented support system which attributed initially to their homelessness; without intervention in this environment, all the factors which led to homelessness are still present and the cycle may very well begin again. By creating a case management family support system, these families will not fall through the cracks of the system. Research supports the view that social supports enhance the health and well-being of children and their families, and the lack of social support contributes to many problems including family homelessness (bassuk st al. ,1990) . 940 317 The follow-up case management program has served 94 families since its inception October 1990. In 1993, 1086 visits were made by the caseworker, the total count at year-end follows: -55 families were self-sufficient, stable and not on any assistance programs. -38 families were on some type of assistance program but stable and working towards being self-sufficient and removing self from assistance program. -1 family is self-sufficient, not on any assistance but unstable. This continues to be a very important component of the Greeley Transitional House delivery of service. The follow-up case management family support system helps to empower the families to attain and maintain their maximum level of self-sufficiency. Needless to say, this remains a priority program for the community of Weld County aimed at prevention. A Woman's Place A Woman's Place houses approximately 150 children from violent families each year with another 150 receiving non-resident services. Violence in the home has both immediate and long term effects on children. The vast majority of children living in a household where their mother is physically abused are aware of or witness the abuse (Sonkin, Martin & Walter, 1985) . To compound the child's trauma, the adult male who is beating his female partner is typically also beating his children (Bowker, Artitell & McFerron, 1988) . The immediate cost to children (as well as adults) is the loss of a sense of safely. Children's behavior may "regress." They may get poor grades because they are unable to concentrate in school or do their homework. They may act out violent behaviors toward objects, animals, siblings and school mates. As adults, males from these homes are more likely to beat their female partners and children (Gelled & Cornell, 1990:Straus, etal. , 1981) than males who come from non-violent homes. Male children who witness the abuse of one parent by another are, as adults, 700 times more likely to beat their female partners (Straus, Gelled, Steinmetz, 1981) . Sixty-three percent of the boys between the ages of 11 and 20 who committed homicide, murdered the men who were beating their mothers (Lindsey & McBride, 1993) . According to the U.S. Department of Justice (1984) in the United States: A battering incident occurs every 15 seconds. Battering is the most under-reported crime. Adult-to-adult domestic violence is experienced by more than 15 million women, children and men each year. As domestic violence increases, families flee their homes, leaving jobs and schools behind. A Woman's Place would like to address this problem directly with children in an attempt to break the intergenerational cycle of violence and homelessness. 940.717 Weld Information and Referral Service IN 1992, 2,429 unduplicated individuals were either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. In 1993, 3,553 individuals were either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The number increased in 1993 by 1,124 or 32%. Of the 1993, 1,173 individuals, representing 779 households, were at risk of becoming homeless or were confronting acute housing issues. Client characteristics were as follows: 51% were families 49% were single 33 was the average age 2.4 was the average family size 655 were female heads of households 847 were male heads of households 17,958 total nights of shelter were provided 17.8 average stay for A Woman's Place 34.6 average stay for Greeley Transitional House 7.2 average stay for Guadalupe Center 12.4 average stay for Disabled American Veterans Weld. Information and Referral Service Case Management Demographics 93 households participated 89% were families (83 households) 11% were single (10 households) 31.2 was the average age 3.4 was the average family size 66% success rate (62 households) Of the 34% (31 households) that were not necessarily successful in case management, 55% (17 households) did find affordable housing and all were referred to at least two additional service providers; one being Employment Service of Weld County. The Weld Information and Referral Service' services to the homeless target population includes: homeless individuals or families that are not in a shelter (except Guadalupe Center) , that are at risk of becoming or actually homeless. These people must be willing to change their situation. We cannot make our clients do what they do not want to do, but we also cannot create a dependency on our agency by a client who wants, rather than needs, services. Funding is so limited that although we may not give a client what they want, we do our best to provide them with what they need, as our society dictates these needs. In Weld County, there are a number of agencies that provide services to the homeless population. However, each agency serves a specific target group: A Woman's Place - battered women and their children Greeley Transitional House - families who are employed or continuing their education to transition out of homelessness 940217 Disabled American Veterans - veterans Guadalupe Center - migrants, single individuals, and families Weld Information and Referral Service - addresses issues for homeless and at risk populations Weld Information and Referral Service will continue to work with other agencies to meet individual or client needs without duplication the services that other agencies are already providing. NOTE: Weld Information and Referral Service administers such programs as FEMA, GIA, HPP, and Weld Information and Referral Service Housing Service, these numbers reflect these programs. LAST CURRENT PROJECTED No. % No. % No. 1. Migrants 17 05% 50 07% 100 100% 2. Single males 49 15% 81 11% 121 49% 3. Single females 27 07% 42 06% 63 50% 4. Two Parent Households 120 33% 328 45% 378 15% 5. One Parent Household 166 45% 272 38% 322 18% 9402,17 Attachment C Of the 25 families who participate in casemanagement service, we project that all will have improved their living situation to some degree. At least 15 will have employment and acceptable living arrangements. All children of school age will be enrolled in school. All 15 families will be connected with devices which they need such as financial management, patenting classes, GED classes, etc. Of the 30 singles who will participate in casemanagement, 20 will secure employment and acceptable living situations. Greeley Transitional House A major benefit of this program will be the improved status of the families self-selecting to participate. Through participation in this program, families will gain the necessary skills to become more independent, self- reliant, self-sufficient and self-assured. This program has proven to be successful in decreasing the frequency that a family finds itself homeless as well as breaking the generational cycle of homelessness. As mentioned previously, homeless families lack a social support system, or at best have a fragmented system which they rely on. Through this program, families will be provided a functional support system and will be encouraged to develop their own support system. Families will also be encouraged to look at choices and alternatives available to them. Another benefit arising from this project will be the potential long term effects on the children within these families. The children will directly benefit from the exposure to a different role model (case manager) . A secure and responsible adult deals much more rationally with a child than an insecure and dependent adult. This program will provide the adults with a sense of security and self- responsibility that will, in turn, filter down to the children thus allowing them to grow into more secure and responsible adults. The homeless family lacks the "safety-net" provided by a social support system and also lacks coping skills, assertion skills, and self-esteem that is also provided by a good social support system. Without a social support system, self-sufficiency is difficult to obtain. This program will provide the social support system that can prevent a crisis and allow families to maintain and retain self-sufficiency. Below is a plan how this project will offer comprehensive ancillary services. Follow- up Casemanagenemt Program Goal: , To provide casemanagement (family support system) as families move from Greeley Transitional House into permanent housing to empower them to attain their maximum level of self-sufficiency. OBJECTIVE 1. Provide follow-up case management for families completing 30-45 day program. A minimum of 48 families will be selected to participate in a home- based case management family support system. ACTIVITIES Home visits to each family (lx weekly for the first month then frequency will be based on need) . 9I10‘117 • PERSON RESPONSIBLE Follow-up casemanager TIMEFRAMES 1. Weekly for the first month of an enrolled family and twice monthly thereafter or as need. OBJECTIVE 2. Continue to maintain 90% of families enrolled will attain and maintain self-sufficiency. ACTIVITIES Monitor statistical reports including: contracts, financial status, education, and employment as well as other family need. Contact log-documenting each contact and the outcome. PERSON RESPONSIBLE Follow-up Casemanager/Program Coordinator/Director Follow-up Casemanager/Program Coordinator TIMEFRAMES Weekly as well as summary reports are to be monthly. Daily OBJECTIVE Life Skills Group ACTIVITIES Enrolled Families Evaluations of progress. Utilize all community agencies to aid in support and needs of enrolled families. Monday and Tuesday evening support/educational groups offering a wide variety of life skills topics. PERSON RESPONSIBLE Follow-up Casemanager and enrolled families Follow-up Casemanager/Program Coordinator Follow-up Casemanager and other Professional Facilitator TIMEFRAMES Monthly and at the end of an enrolled families program. Qi62^4Pat On-going Weekly The project evaluation will look at the following four components: 1) number of clients served; 2) quality of service; 3) impact of service on client; 4) service program description. Data will be collected on the number of clients served as a means of determining if the stated objectives were attained. Monthly reports, based on information gathered from assessment tools, will be generated indicating the number of clients served per month, both in case management and life skills support group. These reports will also include information about the number of contact per month, the reasons for the contact, the amount of time spent per contact, the status of the client at the end of the month, and if the client is able to remain in their home and break the cycle of homelessness. This information will be tabulated and will be used to provide a complete description of the services provided, both as an evaluation measure and a means of dissemination information gained from the project. The assessment tools used to generate the above report will also be used as a means of measuring the impact of service. Each family will be given an initial assessment and then the same assessment will be repeated of a regular basis in order to evaluate improvement, decline or maintenance in status. Each individual client family program will be adjusted from these assessment to enable progress to occur. In addition to determining how well the client is performing, we also want to determine how well we are performing. To that end, we will also administer an assessment tool to assess how the client feels about case management and the life skills support group. We want to know if the client is happy with the service being provided and feels that the service is beneficial. It is not enough that we feel the client is making progress, the client also must feel that progress is being made. The information gathered from this project will be disseminated in several ways. A project description will be developed, outlining the creation of the project, the implementation of the project, and the success of the project. Also included in this description will be a profile of the clients, including number of contacts and length of contacts, types of issues most frequently problematic and the status of clients at the end of the project. This project will be described in a newsletter of the Colorado Coalition for the agencies desiring to replicate the project. All assessment tools and evaluation procedures will also be included in this description. In addition, a paper will be prepared describing the project and including recommendations for future directions for submission to appropriate journals. Also review Section E, #1. A Woman's Place This project will impact the overall efficacy of services at A Woman's Place by dealing with a part of the homeless population that is often ignored - the children. The impact on families of learning coping and life skills that are violence-free will be immediately evident as children improve their performance in school and begin to make other healthy choices in their lives. 9►40317 This project will provide an average of two to four counseling, advocacy and/or skill building contacts to each of 150 resident children at A Woman's Place during calendar year 1994. In addition at least four groups will be held to educate non-resident children about domestic violence and all of the resulting problems including homelessness. Weld Information and Referral Service The impact of the project will be to decrease homeless or at risk families or individuals in Weld County. In helping a family become self-sufficient, not only does it make a difference to the family or individual's lifestyle, but more importantly, it sets an example for the children to follow therefore alleviating cycles. Self-sufficiency also promotes community acceptance and participation. Goals for this program are to alleviate the family from facing not only the short term crisis of losing their home or obtaining affordable housing, but also to help them obtain the supportive services they need to reach their long term goals as well. Program objectives include: To be the source agency which has extensive information on housing issues and to provide exact knowledge of current landlord referrals in Weld County to service providers instead of each agency trying to compete against one another i.e. Continued Coordination of Services Lists of Landlords in Weld County Lists of Voucher Assisted Housing Low Income Housing Lists Housing Foreclosure Prevention in Weld County • Housing Counseling The anticipated, measurable outcomes of this project are as follows: 1. To promote a better understanding and awareness of Weld Information and Referral Service's services so clients may have ready access to shelter related services. 2. To promote case management services by soliciting 12 presentations to organizations and agencies who also deal with housing issues. 3. To provide 100 quality referrals to other agencies and organizations, such as A Woman's Place, Greeley Transitional House, Guadalupe Center, Job Service, Salvation Army, Social Security Administration, and Department of Social Services; therefore promoting client self-sufficiency. 940317 4. To assist a minimum of 45 clients in achieving self-sufficiency. 5. To assist a minimum of 40 clients in obtaining permanent, affordable, or subsidized housing. 94W317 i` tachment D casemanagement services on a very part time basis - 8 hours per week. They will continue to explore the possibility of other funding from foundations or corporate grants. We are increasing our efforts at fundraising and hope to have some fundraising monies available for casemanagement services. We believe that we will demonstrate in one year that the service we propose to provide will be effective and cost efficient and will produce desired outcomes. We are hopeful that this demonstration of success will generate additional funding. The CHAS states that the City of Greeley sees the continued support of emergency housing and transitional housing for the homeless and other persons with special needs as a priority. The intent is to move people out of shelters as quickly as possible and on to self-sufficiency. Guadalupe Center Casemanagement project will address this issue and begin to move in the direction of moving people out of poverty. The CHAS states that Weld County is committed to providing funds for shelter operational costs. The homeless population needing shelter is recognized as a need by the County as well as a need to move people out of poverty and on to self- sufficiency. The Guadalupe Center casemanagement project will address this issue and begin to move in the direction of moving people out of poverty. Catholic Community Services Northern - Guadalupe Center did not have an ECSH contract with the County during 1993 - 1994. Greeley Transitional House The Greeley Transitional House will apply to the Women' s Foundation, Monfort Foundation and Target to receive funding to leverage our request from ESCH. We have received funding from these resources in the past for this project and have a very positive relationship with these resources. We also have applied for ESG funding for this project under the category of Homeless prevention. This program remains to be a significant need with respect to breaking the cycle of homelessness within families of Weld County. Currently there are no other follow-up programs available in Weld County for the homeless families. This program will utilize all community agencies and resources to expedite the level of self-sufficiency with the enrolled family. This is level one priority for both the City of Greeley and Weld County. Both entities support emergency housing, transitional housing and support services for homeless families. A Woman's Place 940317 This project will impact the overall efficacy of services at A Woman's Place by dealing with a part of the homeless population that is often ignored - the children.• The impact on families of learning coping and life skills that are violence-free will be immediately evident as children improve their performance in school and begin to make other resources to build a comprehensive children's program in conjunction with the excellent programs already in place to serve battered women at A Woman's Place. If done effectively a large number of these children will not repeat the cycle of violence in their own lives. As the only domestic violence program and shelter in Weld Count, A Woman's Place will provide services to homeless domestic violence victims, according to the objectives of the City/County Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) . The children' s program will be an integral part of these services. Weld Information and Referral Service Even though funding on this project is based on a one year basis, additional funding will be pursed through other grants, i.e. United Way, State Prevention Monies, FEMA, as well as private funders, etc. When landlords insist on receiving payment before vouchers can be processed, the case manager will ask local churches to help with rental assistance. Our board and agency is committed to pursue funding for this program. Under the scope of CHAS, Weld Information and Referral Service has supplied information on the needs and the current available resources in Weld County. The Weld Information and Referral Service Case Management Program strongly emphasizes the goals of CHAS which focuses on "households at the bottom of the income distribution." These households are most likely to need assistance in obtaining adequate and affordable housing assistance because of the tight economy. People are in part-time or full-time employment with little, if any, benefits. These are the people that Weld Information and Referral Service is targeting to serve. The ECSH monies will enable Weld Information and Referral Service to provide services to these populations. Although housing is a big issue, it is not the entire issue. Numbers of families face issues, such as drug abuse, dysfunctional family, lack of employment, etc. Supportive services must be a part of the total housing plan. CHAS lists two major housing deficiencies; affordable housing and lack of migrant housing. The general scope of services contained in the 1993-1994 local contract between Weld Information and Referral Service and Weld County Department of Social Services consists of homeless services in accordance with the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 and the ECSH Grant to enable homeless individuals to make the transition out of poverty. The 1993 Contract included the following goals: A. Develop a quality and timely referral network by monitoring one hundred clients: 1. Identify the number of clients referred. See attachment A & Al 910.11 "Y Weld Information and Referral Service has made more than 100 quality referrals. 93 were clients enrolled in Case Management and measured by follow up activities. Although others were not enrolled in case management, they were assisted with addressing acute housing issues. See attachment A & Al See attachment A2 - acronym definition 2. Identify those receiving services within 30 days. All clients receive either a direct service or a referral to other agencies as they come in. 3. Identify barriers incurred in obtaining services. The major barrier in obtaining services is the lack of affordable housing for clients. We are currently looking at other avenues to help solve the issue of lack of affordable housing, i.e. Housing Coalition. B. Meet with housing service providers monthly beginning August 1993, through June 1994, to coordinate services. Our goals of establishing a common case management criteria fall under the same guidelines of share case management practices and finding common ground from each of our agency case management services. We meet monthly to discuss how we can best provide each other with the best documentation and reporting methods to improve reporting on the homeless and common clients. We continue to meet individually with agencies to better coordinate our case management services and to define strategies to meet our clients needs. We are currently in the process of working out details on case management for shelters for special cases, such as single mothers with very small children who are in dire need of case management, but cannot come to Weld Information and Referral Service during normal business hours. C. Monitor self-sufficiency achievements by short and long term goals over a nine month period. 1. Short term achievement goals for clients in the areas of: Training/Education See Attachment A & Al Employment See Attachment A & Al Subsidized & Unsubsidized Housing See Attachment A & Al D. Investigate the feasibility of establishing a Housing Foreclosure Prevention Program. Weld Information and Referral Service has learned, and is currently working with an existing non-profit community agency called Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Northern Colorado. The agency, among other things, assists individuals in prevention of housing foreclosures. 310317 E. Listing of landlords and rentals in Weld County: Weld Information and Referral Service tries to keep a current and updated listing of landlords and rentals for the purposes of determining vacancies and assisting clients in their search for housing. Weld Information and Referral Service also distributes listings of low income housing providers and landlords and apartment complexes that accept housing vouchers. Weld Information and Referral Service is continually establishing a current and updated copy of all housing lists. See attachments B, Bl, C, Cl, D, & E. 940;717 (111t;;;H3/4 . WELD COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY PnorvE(303)352-1551 Box P.O. Box A GREELEY COLORADO 80632 COLORADO TO: W.H. Webster, Chairman, Board of County Commissioners FROM: Judy Griego, Director, Department of Social Service SUBJECT: Emergency Community Services Homeless Grant Applicatr 199 DATE: March 29, 1994 ffI�JJ Enclosed for Board of Commissioner consideration is Weld County's Emergency Community Services Homeless Grant application for 1994. The application to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs requests $23,878 to support casemanagement services for Weld Information and Referral Service, Greeley Transitional House, A Catholic Community Services/Guadalupe Center and A Woman's Place. The State requests that the County prioritize the requests from the service providers to the County. The Homeless Housing Local Selection Committee consisting of United Way, Weld County, and the Weld County Homeless/Housing Task Force has prioritized the service providers in the above order. The program will provide casemanagement and counselling to homeless persons through subcontract with the service providers. Staff recommends your approval of the Emergency Community Services Homeless Grants application for 1994. If you have any questions, please telephone me at 352-1551, Extension 62OO. 940317 Hello