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HomeMy WebLinkAbout950597.tiffRESOLUTION RE: APPROVE APPLICATION TO COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF LOCAL AFFAIRS FOR EMERGENCY COMMUNITY SERVICES HOMELESS GRANT ASSISTANCE (1995) 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 an application to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs for Emergency Community Services Homeless Grant Assistance (1995), by and through the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, ex -officio Board of Social Services, commencing July 1, 1995, and ending June 30, 1996, with further 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 application to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs for Emergency Community Services Homeless Grant Assistance (1995) 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 29th day of March, A.D., 1995. ATTEST: Weld County Clerk to the Board BY: (1-4�J`7�E� Deputy Clerk to the Board APP: e - ' AS TO FORM: unty ttorney CL': �S BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WELQCOUNTY, CO..ORAPO L Dale K. Hall, Chairman Fxr:tiSFn Barbara J. Kirkmeyer Pro-Tem "Geor E. Baxter Constance L. Harbert FXCI ISFn W. H. Webster 950597 SS0021 ECSH 1995 APPLICATION A. SYNOPSIS 1. County: WELD COUNTY 2. Contact Person: Name JUDY A . GRIEGO Title Director of Weld County Department of Social Services Address 315 North 11th Avenue Greeley, CO 80631 Telephone 352-1551 Extension 6200 3. Chief Elected Official: Name Dale K. Hall 4. ECSH Amount Requested: $17,650 5. ECSH budget: Grantee Personnel Costs $ Grantee operating Costs $ Grantee Subcontract Costs $ 17,650 TOTAL ECSH BUDGETED $ 17,650 Please attach budget showing all revenues and expenditures for this program 6. Did your county also apply for Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) funds? If yes, for what activities? Operating Costs Homeless Prevention Essential Services Grantee personnel Position/s Funded (Name & % of time funded) NONE 950597 Grantee Operating Costs Funded (By line item & amount) NONE Grantee Operating Costs Funded (Name, Amount, Services Purchased) Weld Information and referral Service - $10,000 Administrative costs and Staffing for case management Greeley Transitional House - $2,500 Staffing for follow-up case management A Woman's Place, Inc. - $3,150 Staffing for violence counselling and case management Catholic Community Services/Northern - $2,000 staffing for case management B. LOCAL PRIORITIZATION OF ACTIVITIES FOR WHICH FUNDING HAS BEEN REQUESTED A Woman's Place, Inc. Weld Information and Referral Service Greeley Transitional House Catholic Community Services C. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT 1 of 4 2 of 4 3 of 4 4 of 4 Weld County's Emergency Community Services Homeless Grant Program for 1995 will continue to focus on case management for the at risk homeless and those families and individuals who are homeless. The project activities will be sub -contracted to the following service providers: Weld Information and Referral Service A Woman's Place, Inc. Greeley Transitional House Catholic Community Services (See Attachment A) D. PROJECT IMPACT Weld Information and Referral Service The purpose of the project is to decrease the homelessness for at -risk families and 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 of homelessness. Self- sufficiency also promotes community acceptance and participation. Goals for the program are to alleviate the family from facing not only the short-term crisis, but also to help them ,in obtaining the supportive services to reach long-term goals. (See Attachment B) 950597 E. DESIRED MEASURABLE OUTCOMES Weld Information and Referral Service The measurable outcomes of this program include: 1. To promote a better understanding and awareness of WIRS' services so clients may have ready access to shelter related services. 2. To promote case management services by soliciting 12 representations to organizations and agencies who also deal with housing issues (See attachment C) F. DESCRIPTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT COORDINATION Coordination of homeless services has been conducted through Weld County by the Weld County Department of Social Services. Through a two year process, each of the agencies which are included in this proposal participated in the activities of the Weld County Homeless/Housing Task Force. The Task Force was comprised of four committees: 1. Long -Term Housing Committee 2. Migrant Housing Committee 3. Transitional Housing Committee, and 4. Emergency Housing Committee (See Attachment D) SERVICE ELIGIBILITY CATEGORY Proposed Activity Eligibility Category* 1 2 3 4 5 6 Service Provider Name ECSH Funds Allocated Case Management 1 Violence Counselling 6 Follow-up Case 1 Management _ Case Management 1 Weld Information and Referral Service A Woman's Place, Inc. Greeley Transitional House Catholic Community Services/Northern $10,000 3,150 2,500 2,000 *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 01 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. 950597 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 payment issue 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 reasonable prospect that the individual will be able to resume the payments in a reasonable period of time. 6. Provision of, or referral to, violence counselling for homeless children and individuals, and the provision of violence counselling training to individuals who work with homeless children and individuals, and the provision of violence counselling training to individuals who work with homeless children and individuals. ECSH RESOLUTION & CERTIFICATIONS 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 counselling for homeless children and individuals, and the provision of violence counselling 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 1995; - 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); 950597 - 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 federal funds. - 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 designe charged with mo itoor' g ir or investigating the use of the funds provided. Signed ( Title Chairman Name Dale K. Hall Date 83/2 7/95. 950597 C. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT (CONTINUED) WELD INFORMATION AND REFERRAL SERVICE The Homeless Case Management Program will provide a holistic structured program targeted for families who are homeless or 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 to 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. parenting, budgeting, employment, etc. Through various programs that WIRS provides, such as; the FEMA, Emergency Shelter Grant Homeless Prevention and The Colorado Trust Homeless Prevention Program, WIRS 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. WIRS publishes a directory that provides information about area Human Service providers. As part of the coordination, WIRS will meet with as many agencies as possible to explain the directory, WIRS' current programs, and how to access other information. A WOMAN'S PLACE A Woman's Place is requesting $3,150 to fund case management services for ten families at a cost of $315 per family unit. This funding wouldenhancethe ability of A Woman's Place to serve the homeless who go to the safe house as a result of domestic violence in their homes. The shelter has found that homelessness caused by domestic violence is an inter -generational problem which is most effectively addressed by direct intervention with families who have been exposed to violence in their homes. The program proposed by A Woman's Place would provide the capacity to work with these families in a safe environment while enhancing their life skills and ability to access appropriate community services. A multi -faceted approach will be utilized by A Woman's Place and will include: 950597 1. individual crisis counselling with each woman and child to work on issues generated by being a part of a violent family system. 2. family intervention and skills building for mothers and their children to improve communication and life skills; 3. advocacy with the courts and other agencies to obtain the best possible services for these families; and 4. opportunities to participate in groups with other women and children who have had similar experiences. The combination of intervention strategies will enable families to gain understanding and control over their own lives and will increase their chances of escaping the cycles of poverty and violence. With intervention, women and children from violent homes are given the option of living non-violently rather than continuing the cycle of violence. Services included in the Counselling/Case Management Program are: Direct In-house Services Help with survival needs - food, other necessities, and safe shelter - both in the shelter and after leaving the shelter. Crisis support and intakes available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Legal advocacy and support for court appearances and restraining orders. short-term domestic violence crisis counselling and interventions. On -going assistance with parent/child issues and skills. Confidentiality for women and children. Advocacy and Referral Services for: Parenting skills (Child Resources and Education) Educational opportunities (Right -to Read, Aims Community College, University of Northern Colorado Long-term counselling (Weld Mental Health and Weld County Pro-bono Project) Food needs after leaving the safehouse (Weld Food Bank and Food Stamps) Legal Services (Colorado Rural Legal Services and local attorneys) Employment opportunities (Absolute employment and Weld Job Services) Child Care (Weld County Department of Social Services and local child care providers) Housing (Weld County Housing Authority, Greeley Housing Authority and federally privately owned federally assisted housing projects. CATHOLIC COMMUNITY SERVICES The project would provide four hours per week case management services for homeless families staying at the Guadalupe Center. The four hours provided by the ECSH grant would be directed to families in their efforts to break the cycle of poverty and permit them to move forward with self-sufficiency. The Program will provide: 1. Information and Referral Services assist homeless clients in obtaining stable employment and permanent housing 950597 2. educate the homeless families on community resources available to them in meeting their self-sufficiency goals. 3. maintain documentation of the client's progress and document outcomes. 4. 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 affordable 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 35 adult head of households in life skills group issues of self-esteem, self-awareness, stability, responsibility, budget counselling and other educational topics related to self-sufficiency for the grant period. 2. Follow-up case management for a minimum of 42 families completing the initial 30-45 day crisis program. Case management will involve the establishment of a 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 the support of the enrolled family. 950597 D. PROJECT IMPACT (CONTINUED) Weld Information and Referral Service The program objectives of Weld Information and Referral Service are 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 and reduce duplication of services. A Woman's Place This project will impact the overall efficacy of services at A Woman's Place by dealing onevery practical level. 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 families who have been victimized begin to•make other healthy choices in their lives. The case management component is a critical piece of the continuum of services needed by women and children who are leaving an abusive home. Without this component, victims would be less likely to remain violence free after they leave the safe house. The combination of counselling, case management, advocacy, referrals and follow-up can most effectively aid victims in their attempt to live violence free lives. Catholic Community Services In 1994 Guadalupe Center provided shelter for 119 families. Approximately 50% are migrant families who will be in the area a short time. Of the 60 local families served, 30 will be targeted for case management. Through ECSH funds, nine will receive case management services. The goal of the program is to assist the family to move toward self-sufficiency, to access services which will provide the support system they need to be independent and to help them realize economic stability with the intent of moving them out of the cycle of poverty and prevent future homelessness. Services currently in place in the community will be a vital part of the case management process as Guadalupe staff, clients and other service providers each play a part in the plan for change. These services will complement existing case management services in the community with attention to avoid duplication of services. 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. Greeley Transitional House A major benefit of this program will be the improved status of families self- selecting to participate. Through participation in this program, families will gain the necessary skills tobecome 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. 950597 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 alternative options 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't prevent crisis and allow families to maintain and retain self- sufficiency. On the attached page is a plan how this project will offer comprehensive ancillary services. 950597 Follow-up Case Management Family Support System Goal: To provide case management to families as they move from GTH into permanent affordable housing to empower them to attain their maximum level of self-sufficiency. OBJECTIVES 1. Provide follow—up case 1. management for families completing 30-45 day program. A minimum of 42 families will be selected to participate in a home —based case management family support system. . 2. Continue to maintain 90% of families enrolled will attain and maintain self—sufficiency. 3. Life Skills Group ACTIVITIES PERON RESPONSIBLE Home visits to Follow—up case each family ( lx manager weekly for the first month family is enrolled in program and then from there frequency will be based on need. 2. Monitor stastisticol reports including: contacts, education, and employment as - well as other family needs. 3. Log —documenting each contact and outcome 4. Enrolled families evaluations of progress 5. Utilize all TIME FRAMES Follow—up case 2. Case manager/ Program Director/ 'Executive Director Weekly for the first month of an enrolled family and twice monthly therafter or as needed. Weekly as well as summary reports are to be monthly. Follow—up case 3. Daily manager Program Director Follow—up case manager and enrolled families 4. Monthly and at the end of an enrolled families program. Follow—up case 5. community agencies manger to aid in support Program Director and needs of enrolled families. 6. Monday and Thursday evening support/ educational groups offering a wide variety of life skills topics. Follow—up case 6. manager and other professional facilitators On —going Weekly 950597 E. DESIRED MEASURABLE OUTCOMES (Continued) Weld Information and Referral Service 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. 4. To assist a minimum of 45 clients in achieving self-sufficiency. 5. To assist a minimum of 54 clients in obtaining permanent, affordable, or subsidized housing. 6. To facilitate one Case Management meeting per month with other agency Case Managers in Weld County to share and update case management and housing issues. A Woman's Place Inc. This project will provide an average of two to four counselling, advocacy and/or skill building contacts weekly to each of the resident women and children at A Woman's Place during 1995. At a minimum each resident will: 1. Be beyond the emotional crisis of the original battering incident 2. Be provided with the necessary referrals to support systems which will permit them to continue to make progress away from a violent family environment. 3. Have a safe and supportive housing during their stay 4. Be communicating in a non-violent manner with each other 5. Have basic non-violent problem solving skills. Catholic Community Services/ Northern The measurable outcomes of Catholic Community Services/Northern are as follows: 1. Nine families will be assisted through the case management program. 2. Eight of the nine will have employment and acceptable living arrangements. 3. All school age children will be enrolled in school. 950597 4. Eight of the families will be referred to the appropriate service to address identified needs such as financial management, parenting classes, and completion of GED. Greeley Transitional House: 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 disseminating information gained from this project. The assessment tools used to generate the above reports 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 on a regular basis in order to evaluate improvement, decline, or maintenance in status. Each individual client family program will be adjusted from these assessments to enable progress to occur. In addition to determining how well the client is performing, GTH also want to determine how well they are performing. To that end, they will also administer an assessment tool to assess how the client feels about case management and the life skills support group. They will determine if the client is happy with the service being provided and feels that the service is beneficial. It is not enough that GTH feels 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 Homeless and for agencies desiring to replicate such project. All assessment tools and evaluation procedures will also be included in this description. 950597 F. DESCRIPTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT COORDINATION (Continued) The recommendation which resulted from the efforts of the Weld County Homeless/Housing Task Force were to: 1. Create an interagency strategic planning body composed of. representatives from funding servicing agencies. This body would set annual goals, discuss and resolve common issues and seek out additional funding sources through a community grant writing approach. 2. Establish a standard referral procedure between agencies and create bilingual informative videos. 3. • Agree on seven basic client responsibilities and consider funding priorities for those agencies who meet these seven basic client responsibilities. 4. Enhance our current central source for client data to track clients through the system that would be maintained by Weld Information and Referral System. 5. Develop a shelter funding process that would be based on an "agency analysis grid". This approach would be a consistent program which would analyze agencies on a number of factors and provide incentives to increase efficient use of current resources; contain costs; produce favorable outcomes; and seek out additional funding sources. 6. Develop a case management funding process that would be based on an "agency analysis grid". The case management funding process would be based on eight key components as described herein. The mission of the Weld County Homeless/Housing Task Force was finalized in June, 1994. Since that time, the Inter -Agency Strategic Planning Committee was formulated and was successful in developing the funding formulas for shelter and case management for 1995. The Inter -Agency Strategic Planning Committee to work toward completion of the aforementioned goals during 1995. As a symbol of the Committee's dedication and commitment to creating a cooperative delivery system and staying focussed on the issues of homelessness in Weld County, members of the Inter Agency Strategic Planning Committee entered into a cooperative agreement. The Agreement states, "We are committed to addressing and solving homelessness in Weld County through clear and honest communication, collaboration, commitment to maximizing current community resources, common goal setting and quantifying our cooperation. 950597 Witch; E�Yc COLORADO WELD COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY 1,.-) n o. i PHONE (303) 352-1551 P.O. Box A GREELEY. COLORADO 80632 ^ i( CLERK TO T 1 52 TO: Dale K. Hall, Chairman, Board of County Commissioners FROM: Judy Griego, Director, Department of Social Services SUBJECT: Emergency Community Services Homeless Grant Appli DATE: March 24, 1995 Enclosed for Board consideration is Weld County's Emergency Community Services Homeless Grant application for 1995. The application to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs requests $17,650 to support case management services for A Woman's Place, Weld Information and Referral Service, Greeley Transitional House, and Catholic Community Services/Guadalupe Center. The State requests that the County prioritize the requests from the service providers to the County. The funding formula as developed through the Inter -agency Strategic Planning Committee, and approved through your Board, has been used as a basis to prioritize the service providers in the above order. The program will provide case management and counselling to homeless persons through Weld County subcontracts with the above service providers. The term of the grant is July 1, 1995 through June 30, 1996. Staff recommends your approval of the Emergency Community Services Homeless Grants application for 1995. If you have any questions, please telephone me at 352-1551, Extension 6200. 950597 Hello