In 2015, largely due to increases in their unsheltered homeless population, three communities, Seattle/King County, WA, Portland, OR, and the State of Hawaii officially declared a homelessness state of emergency (SOE); Los Angeles has also stated its intent to declare. This brief will describe the homelessness SOEs that have been declared since October 2015, note the national implications, and reflect on how other communities should view SOEs.
Category: Continuum of Care
NOFA Performance Measures Making You Nervous? Embrace Your Outcomes.
System performance outcomes make up 38 points of your HUD Continuum of Care Competition application this year. This means your performance now carries significant weight when it comes to determining your funding (more than ever before).
And while it may seem daunting to look at the numbers around your outcomes (or even downright scary), your outcomes will tell you what your vision should be for your system, and what kind of plan you should outline in your application. Here are ways you can reflect on your outcomes for HUD’s seven performance measures:
Don’t Forget to Demonstrate Partnerships in your NOFA Application
We’re still digging through HUD’s latest CoC Program NOFA to determine what CoCs should do to secure the maximum amount of federal funds to assist homeless people.
Today, we’re looking at all the incentives spelled out in the NOFA that encourage communities to develop partnerships. HUD will base about a quarter of the points in a community’s overall “score” on the CoC’s strategic use of resources. And by “resources” HUD doesn’t just mean the CoC funds HUD is awarding; it also means the array of funding resources CoCs can access through these partnerships.
Reviewing and Ranking Projects in the FY 2015 CoC NOFA
If you’re working on your application to the FY 2015 Continuum of Care competition, chances are you’re already well into your ranking and scoring process. This year’s CoC Program competition is extremely competitive. HUD will be awarding points to communities that have established a strong performance-based process.That’s why it’s essential that you have an excellent ranking and scoring process.
Last week we held a webinar featuring tips and strategies for designing a ranking process, reviewing project performance and reallocating resources to high-performing projects. Kelly King Horne of Homeward in Richmond, Va. shared her organization’s process and tools, as well as advice for navigating the sometimes fraught process of reallocation. Check out the recording of the webinar below. Below that, you’ll find even more information on designing a great performance-based ranking process.
Here’s How to Make Sure Your CoC Application is Housing First Focused
If you’re working on your application to the FY 2015 Continuum of Care competition you’ve probably noticed that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has placed a big emphasis on Housing First in this year’s Continuum of Care Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).
With this NOFA, HUD is acknowledging that program barriers that exclude people from receiving help, or prolong their homelessness, are not a smart investment. It’s doing that by heavily incentivizing a low barrier, Housing First approach that will ensure people with the highest needs are not denied the help they need.