FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY. The Commonwealth of Kentucky was hit hard by winter weather this week, and as President Obama and Governor Steve Beshear declared a state of emergency in Kentucky, the Governor also welcomed United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano to update him on continuing partnership to end homelessness in the state. Director Mangano also discussed with the Governor the impact on families of the "double trouble" of the mortgage/foreclosure crisis and job loss in the nation, underscoring the importance of Neighborhood Stabilization Program resources in the state to address the needs of Kentucky's poorest families. Pictured here are (left to right): Director Mangano, Governor Beshear, and Lexington Mayor Newberry.

Meeting in Lexington after a press conference on the weather emergency which left more than half a million residents without power, Governor Beshear and Director Mangano, with Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry and Kentucky Housing Corporation CEO Rick McQuady, affirmed the role of the Kentucky Interagency Council on Homelessness which met the day before in Frankfort, for its inaugural meeting (see related story). The Council, with strong continuing leadership from Kentucky Housing Corporation, will continue to implement Kentucky's strategy under Governor Beshear.

In their conversation, Governor Beshear and Director Mangano also identified the recalibration of the Kentucky Executive Order creating the Council as a priority for action. The Governor will move ahead with a new Executive Order that creates inclusive partnership and involves the business community in Kentucky's strategies. Governor Beshear has asked Rick McQuady of Kentucky Housing to lead this effort.

Governor Beshear has already taken action to mitigate the impact of homelessness and benefit families in Kentucky in his 2 years of office. In addressing the state's current budget issues, Governor Beshear proposed a plan to protect funding for education as well as the state's most vulnerable populations through Medicaid and mental health services, along with corrections beds in the state's prison system and state run juvenile justice facilities.

Since taking office, Governor Beshear has focused attention on access to mainstream resources and benefits for Kentucky's families and reducing use of emergency rooms by uninsured families, announcing an initiative to increase and sustain enrollment in the Kentucky CHIP program. The Governor's plan includes simplifying enrollment by eliminating face-to- face interviews and offering on-line access, shortening the application itself, and amending the denial process to allow followup and improvement of applications. To retain enrolled families, the Governor proposed a new grace period and individual followup to ensure enrollment is maintained.

New outreach initiatives for Food Stamps and meal programs are also part of the Governor's agenda, with new efforts to identify eligible families that include training employees at Federally Qualified Health Care Centers, free clinics, and local health departments to assist customers with application completion. Families who disenrolled from the program within the past year will be contacted and encouraged to reapply for benefits. Other steps include contacting the parents of every newborn in Kentucky with information about KCHIP enrollment, providing training to advocacy groups and other interested parties to assist applicants, distributing applications during back-to- school campaigns, and creating a list serve for all school districts and a message each school year from the Cabinet Secretary encouraging school staff to assist in identification and enrollment of children into KCHIP.

Earlier this month, Governor Beshear announced Kentucky's campaign to encourage more Kentuckians to apply for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), noting "The EITC is one of our best anti-poverty tools, and I want to make sure every eligible Kentuckian takes advantage of it and gets the money they deserve." Nearly 200 free tax preparation sites are part of the effort, serving 90 counties across the state where volunteer tax preparers have been trained and are IRS-certified to assist Kentuckians with their taxes and help them apply for the EITC.

Information about these sites, including addresses and phone numbers, is available on-line. In tax year 2005, Kentuckians filed more than 345,000 EITC claims for a total of $633.4 million in benefits statewide, but an estimated 20 percent of eligible workers still do not claim their EITC benefits. Governor Beshear noted the impact the EITC has on local economic growth. Nearly all of the funds from the credit, 97 percent, are infused into local communities.

Council National Team Leader Michael German also took part in the Kentucky events.

FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY. Convening their inaugural meeting this week in Frankfort, Kentucky's state capital, members of the Executive Committee of the Kentucky Interagency Council on Homelessness, chaired by Senator Gerald A. Neal and Rick McQuady, CEO of Kentucky Housing Corporation, welcomed United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano. Director Mangano has previously visited Kentucky on several occasions to affirm partnership with state leaders, jurisdictional 10 Year Planners, and business partners forwarding solutions to homelessness in the state. Pictured here are Director Mangano (left) and Mr. McQuady.

As CEO of Kentucky's state housing finance agency. a position he assumed one year ago after more than 20 years with KHC including as CFO, Mr. McQuady's leadership and commitment have been instrumental in the statewide initiatives of the last several years to develop and implement Kentucky's 10 Year Plan which was unveiled in 2006. KHC was central to the state's Policy Academy teams and the resulting 2005 launch of the Recovery Kentucky program to reduce chronic homelessness for drug and alcohol addicted Kentuckians.

Council partners present were Cabinet level officials, including the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, represented by Tom Beatty, Housing Coordinator for the Kentucky Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, who affirmed the importance of cost analysis and a housing focus for ending homelessness, and Jason Dunn of Community Based Services. Frankfort Commissioner Bill May, former Mayor of Frankfort.

At the Council meeting, Marlene Gordon of Louisville's Coalition for the Homeless presented the results of a cost study funded by Louisville Metro Government and released in 2008. The cost analysis reported on the use and cost of residential homeless services by over 7000 single adults during 2004-2005, and their use Metro Jail, Kentucky prisons, mental health services, substance abuse services, Central State Hospital, Healing Place, detoxification services, Phoenix Health Center, and University of Louisville Hospital. Further details on the study will be the focus of an upcoming enews story. Pictured here at the meeting are (left to right): Mr. McQuady, Director Mangano, and Commissioner May.

"We've answered one of the central questions of what we should do," indicated Director Mangano to the Council. "In fact the question no longer is what we should do, but how to do it. The central innovation of permanent supportive housing in a rapid re-housing strategy - that's the 'what.' How to generate and sustain the political will and resources is our question now. And State Interagency Councils are in the center of answering that question. They are focusing on answering the how and why through rapid dissemination of innovation, Ten Year Plans, and promoting state agency collaboration in the key areas of creating housing with support services and preventing homelessness."

Ms. Gerry Roll of Hazard provided an overview of the Council's work and presentations from the Executive Committee members included an update on the 2008 Point -In-Time Count by Davey King, a case study by Mary O'Doherty and an update on regional strategies by Eileen Dougherty. Members of the Council include: Administrative Office of the Courts, Central Kentucky Housing and Homeless Initiative, City of Ashland, Community Representative of Frankfort, Foothills Community Action Partnership, Governor's Office of Local Development, Hazard-Perry County Community Ministries, Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Kentucky Association of Housing Authorities, Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (Community Based Services and Mental Health and Substance Abuse), Kentucky Department of Veterans´ Affairs, Kentucky Domestic Violence Association, Kentucky Education Cabinet, Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC), Kentucky Housing Policy Advisory Committee, Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Louisville Metro Government - Office on Homelessness, Northern Kentucky Homeless & Housing Coalition, Phoenix Health Center (Health Care for the Homeless), Louisville Coalition for the Homeless, and Volunteers of America of Kentucky, Inc.

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY. On a day when Lexington, Kentucky Mayor Jim Newberry joined Governor Steve Beshear for the declaration of a state of emergency created by an extreme ice storm in the Commonwealth, Mayor Newberry also refocused his city's attention on the plight of the historic homeless.

In a meeting at City Hall with Mayor Newberry and Anthony Wright, Director, Mayor's Office of Economic Development for Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, and Kentucky Housing CEO Rick McQuady, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano, in Kentucky to meet with Governor Beshear and the Kentucky Housing Corporation, met with Mayor Newberry to update the Mayor on innovations that are creating results in reducing homelessness. Pictured above are (left to right) Mr. McQuady, Director Mangano, and Mayor Newberry.

With the Mayor's bookshelves filled with management and leadership books, including Jim Collins' Good to Great, and Larry Bossidy's Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, the conversation focused on the application of business principles and practices to strategic planning to reduce and end homelessness. The Mayor, Mr. Wright, and Director Mangano talked about the recalibration of the Plan which had been completed by his predecessor.

The leaders also discussed the utilization of new resources for the Department of Housing and Urban Development Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) which Lexington is applying for to bring remedy to the current crisis and to forward the goals of its Ten Year Plan. Subsequently the Mayor and Mr. McQuady discussed the statewide basis for resources (see other stories). Pictured here are (left to right): Mr. McQuady, Mr. Wright, and Director Mangano.

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY. Visiting Kentucky state and local jurisdictional leaders this week, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano met with Kentucky Housing Corporation CEO Rick McQuady, who leads the state's housing finance agency. KHC has been central to the development and implementation of Kentucky's 10 Year Plan, the encouragement of 10 Year Plans across Kentucky, and the adoption of innovations such as Project Homeless Connect. The leaders discussed the opportunity to recalibrate the state plan working with the Kentucky Interagency Council. Director Mangano and Mr. McQuady are shown here at the Council meeting.

CEO McQuady has more than 20 years' experience with KHC, which was created by the 1972 General Assembly as a self-supporting, public corporation of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and administratively attached to the Finance and Administration Cabinet. A portion of Kentucky Housing's funds are derived from the interest earned through the sale of tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds. From these proceeds, Kentucky Housing has advanced homeownership initiatives. KHC also operates through the receipt of fees for administering federal programs including rental assistance that makes safe, decent, affordable housing available to more than 27,000 low-income Kentuckians.

Other programs of Kentucky Housing include rental housing production financing. Kentucky Housing works with many partners across the state, including lenders, government agencies, nonprofit housing providers, builders, real estate agents, community organizations and developers, to create affordable housing opportunities through an array of programs and services.

The Kentucky Plan was developed at the behest of the Governor by the Kentucky Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Kentucky Housing Corporation, with input from 12 community forums across the state. The Plans aligns with 10 Year Plans in cities in Kentucky, including Ashland, Louisville, Bowling Green, Covington, and Lexington. An April 2006 Summit of Mayors and officials from across the state was convened to encourage 10 Year Plan commitments and to learn about the national partnership constellated by the Interagency Council for Director Mangano.

The Recovery Kentucky Initiative, a key result of the plan, was developed in response to survey data that showed a severe treatment access gap for addicted homeless and at risk individuals in the state. The Initiative was incorporated into Kentucky's 10 Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness announced by the Governor in 2005 and developed by the Kentucky Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Kentucky Housing Corporation. The Recovery Kentucky initiative is using an innovative combination of federal and state budget resources to support the construction and operation of ten residential substance abuse treatment centers to help persons who are homeless or at risk of homelessness because of substance abuse. The federal funds are all resources that are allocated to the state by formula each year and over which the state has discretion within broad parameters-- Low Income Housing Tax Credits, HOME funds, and Community Development Block Grant monies. Kentucky is choosing to use a portion of each of these resources to support this effort as well as state resources redirected from their corrections budget due to cost savings derived from this less costly alternative to incarceration.

While Kentucky's plan is focused on chronic homelessness, another key result of the plan is an initiative - Safe Havens - that directly benefit victims of domestic violence, homeless families with children and persons with serious and persistent mental illness.

WASHINGTON, DC. The United States Department of Justice has announced the availability of resources to support collaboration between the mental health and justice systems and improve the transition of reentering prisoners into the community.

The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program seeks to increase public safety through innovative cross-system collaboration for individuals with mental illness (MI) or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (COD) who come into contact with the criminal justice system. The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is seeking joint justice and mental health applications from eligible applicants to plan, implement, or expand a justice and mental health collaboration program. Applications are due March 12, 2009. Interested applicants should read the full announcement for details.

Award categories include planning, planning and implementation, and expansion grants. Applicants are limited to states, units of local government, federally recognized Indian tribes, and tribal organizations. BJA will only accept joint applications; each application must demonstrate that the proposed project will be administered jointly by a unit of government with responsibility for criminal or juvenile justice activities and a mental health agency.

The program encourages early intervention for these system-involved individuals; provides new and existing mental health courts with various treatment options; maximizes diversion opportunities for nonviolent system-involved individuals with MI/COD; promotes training for justice and treatment professionals; and facilitates communication, collaboration, and the delivery of support services among justice professionals, treatment and related service providers, and governmental partners.

Grant funds may be used to: plan, create, or expand programs that promote public safety and public health by providing appropriate services for system-involved individuals with MI/COD; plan, create, or expand specialized training programs for criminal justice and mental health and substance abuse treatment personnel; plan, create, or expand law enforcement strategies to provide response options that are tailored to the needs of people with mental illnesses; plan, create, or expand mental health courts, other court-based programs, pre-trial, and diversion and alternative prosecution and sentencing programs; and promote and provide mental health or COD treatment and transitional services for those incarcerated or transitional reentry programs for those released from a correctional institution. Grant funds must be used to support a target population that includes an adult or juvenile accused of a nonviolent offense who: Has been diagnosed as having a mental illness or co- occurring mental health and substance abuse disorder. Has faced, is facing, or could face criminal charges for a misdemeanor or nonviolent offense.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance's (BJA) Justice and Mental Health Collaboration State-Based Capacity Building Program (CBP) supports BJA's Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) by seeking a provider(s) to deliver resources and services to unfunded, eligible JMHCP applicants in an award up to $525,000. Applications are due March 26, 2009.

The primary goal of the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration State-Based Capacity Building Program (CBP) is to provide comprehensive resources and services to eligible but unfunded JMHCP applicants ("customers") in FY 2009. The CBP is expected to serve up to 200 communities from 30 states. BJA is seeking a CBP service provider with extensive national-level expertise to: 1) provide proactive, comprehensive, user-friendly services; 2) establish a national resource center to serve as the primary source of information on justice and mental health collaboration programs; and 3) implement strategies that include developing tools and resources such as distance learning, peer-to-peer consultations, and onsite, phone, and e-mail assistance to customers.

Applicants are limited to for-profit (commercial) organizations, nonprofit organizations, faith-based and community organizations, and institutions of higher learning with demonstrated expertise in assisting states with developing, implementing, and expanding adult or juvenile collaborative programs. BJA encourages organizations or agencies to apply who have expert knowledge of collaborative programs for individuals with mental illnesses or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders who come into contact with the criminal justice or juvenile justice system, extensive knowledge of brokering and developing assistance, and a willingness to work with other BJA service providers. For-profit organizations must agree to waive any profit or fees for services.

The Transition From Prison to the Community (TPC) initiative was launched in 2001 by the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) to bring the best of practical thinking and research knowledge to this issue. The goal was to articulate a comprehensive and strategic approach to transition that incorporates the lessons of evidence-based practice, emphasizes the importance of collaboration, and provides a practical tool for use by corrections agencies and their governmental and community partners. The TPC model was developed and NIC is now bringing to conclusion extensive implementation assistance to a first set of eight states.

The TPC Reentry Handbook (see "Background") provides a thorough record of that initiative and what has been learned so far. Building specifically on NIC's efforts to date, this new cooperative agreement award being sought will deliver TPC technical assistance to a new set of approximately six states and the provider, in conjunction with NIC, will continue to advance the model and develop products that can assist nonparticipating jurisdictions who have an interest in TPC implementation. Since a system change initiative of this scale and scope is complex and time consuming it is expected that new states will require TPC assistance for three years.

According to the announcement, "More is being learned each day about how states can more effectively manage the return of offenders to the community through a shared ownership of the problem and solutions involving numerous agencies and organizations. The best answers are found when there is a strategic system change initiative involving true collaboration between corrections, health and human services, employment services, and other agencies of government, community and faith based organizations. This appears to be a highly complex endeavor, but in reality its component parts are commonly known and achievable. The TPC model is designed to assist jurisdictions address necessary elements in a way that responds to their particular needs and interests."

WASHINGTON, DC. Resources for homeless veterans are newly available from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs under two program announcements. Current VA Grant and Per Diem Special Need Grant recipients can now apply to renew their resources with an estimated $10 million available for up to 35 awards, and applicants can seek funds under the Capital Grant component of VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program.

Special Needs Grants are due March 25, 2009. Homeless veteran populations served in the Special Needs program include women, including women who have care of minor dependents; frail elderly; terminally Ill; or chronically mentally ill.

An estimated $15 million is also currently available from VA for the Capital Grants component of VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program. The VA notice contains information concerning the program, funding priorities, application process, and amount of funding available. Applications are due March 25, 2009.

Resources can be used under VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program for eligible entities to: expand existing transitional housing projects; or develop new transitional housing programs. Supportive service centers will not be considered in this NOFA. Funding applied for under the capital grant component may be used for: remodeling or alteration of existing buildings; acquisition of buildings, acquisition and rehabilitation of buildings; new construction; and acquisition of vans (in connection with a new Grant and Per Diem grant project) for outreach to and/or transportation for homeless veterans.

In its notice, VA stresses that the agency considers this program an important part of its effort to end chronic homelessness among all veterans. It is important to be aware that VA places great emphasis on responsibility and accountability. VA has procedures in place to verify the completion of the capital grant as well as monitor services provided to homeless veterans and outcomes associated with the services provided in grant and per diem-funded programs. submit request for per diem payment to ensure this requirement is met.

Applications for both programs can be downloaded directly from VA's Grant and Per Diem Program Web page at: http://www.va.gov/homeless or at www.grants.gov

WASHINGTON, DC. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development has released preliminary details of the 2009 funding competitions for housing and community development resources. Two Federal Register notices and HUD training materials include further information on changes to the overall structure of the funding competition and important steps applicants will want to take in advance of future notices.

Key among the changes for this year will be the release of individual Notices of Funding Availability rather than the traditional SuperNOFA of many program opportunities. HUD has also published a list of proposed release times for the individual program notices. With the exception of the Homeless Assistance Grants competition which will be conducted through the esnaps system of electronic application, applications for other HUD competitive funds will be submitted through grants.gov, the federal on-line application site.

The General Section notice published by HUD provides policies and requirements for all programs including threshold requirements. Specific individual Program Sections will be released as they are ready for publication via grants.gov Grants.gov is using RSS Feed services to deliver information on funding opportunities.

The HUD announcement contains many details on early registration procedures, availability of updates, and frequently encountered problems. Interested applicants should read the entire HUD release for details. HUD will publish a separate notice to address the receipt of Continuum of Care applications in FY2009.

HUD is encouraging applicants to complete or update their registration in advance of HUD posting its FY2009 grant opportunities. HUD found that publishing an Early Registration Notice eliminates many last minute registration issues, and allows applicants time to ensure that all steps in the registration process have been correctly completed.

Applications in FY2009 will be rated on how well applicants propose outcomes to HUD's policy priorities, as well as the quality of evaluation and monitoring plans. The policy priorities also specify what specific data or outcome HUD is looking for applicants/grantees to achieve. HUD is also seeking to ensure through the funding competitions that programs result in the achievement of HUD's strategic mission. Grant applications submitted for HUD programs will be rated on how well they tie proposed outcomes to HUD's policy priorities and annual goals and objectives, as well as the quality of the applicant's proposed evaluation and monitoring plans. HUD's strategic framework establishes goals and objectives for the Department which include ending chronic homelessness and moving homeless families and individuals to permanent housing.

Estimated NOFA release dates include Homeless Assistance Grants (May-June 2009), Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (January-March 2009), and Section 202/811 (February-April 2009). A January 13 update from the Special Needs Assistance Program office noted that, pending approval of the new Administration, "Our office's timeline currently includes . . . announcement of the results of the 2008 Continuum of Care competition will be made in the next few weeks. "

WITH THIS ISSUE, the e-news presents information on resources to assist partners to end homelessness through opportunities presented by the McKinney- Vento Title V federal surplus property program. The Title V program operates through the collaborative efforts of four Federal agencies: General Services Administration, which makes determinations as to excess and available properties, Department of Housing and Urban Development, which collects information from Federal agencies concerning their unutilized, underutilized, excess and surplus properties and determines which are suitable for use to assist homeless persons and publishes the list each week in the Federal Register, Department of Health and Human Services, which provides Title V information to the public, reviews and approves applications, provides technical assistance in preparing Title V applications, coordinates the disposal of surplus Federal real property to qualified applicants, reports on the progress of the Title V program and its achievements, and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, which works with the Federal partners and regularly reports on properties and related resources.

Under the Title V program of the McKinney- Vento Homeless Assistance Act, federal surplus real estate - land and buildings - can be transferred to eligible non- federal applicants for purposes of homeless assistance. Properties identified as "suitable and available" are listed each Friday in the Federal Register. Properties listed as suitable/available will be available exclusively for potential homeless use for a period of 60 days from the date of the notice. Where property is described as for ``off-site use only'', recipients of the property would be required to relocate the building to their own site at their own expense.

Recently listed property that is available under the Title V program includes a former Social Security Administration building in Los Angeles, a federal building in Missouri, tracts of land in California and Michigan.

Title V of the Stewart B. McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (Title V) was enacted in 1987 to make suitable Federal surplus real property available to assist persons who are homeless. Title V authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to transfer declared suitable and available Federal surplus properties, to States, political subdivisions of the State, and private non-profit tax exempt organizations for homeless assistance purposes. HHS transfers property to approved applicants as no- cost public benefit conveyances.

In order to fulfill the Title V mandate, HHS provides Title V information to the public, reviews and approves applications for suitable and available surplus real property listed in the Federal Register, and recommends assignment of those properties from Federal disposal agencies to approved Title V applicants, ,provides technical assistance in preparing Title V applications, and advises applicants and potential applicants on the Title V disposal process, ,coordinates the disposal of surplus Federal real property to qualified applicants for homeless assistance purposes, implements an oversight and compliance program to ensure that Title V grantees fulfill the terms and conditions of transfer, and reports on the progress of the Title V program and its achievements.

Application information is available on-line from HHS. All applicants are reviewed on the basis of the following elements: services offered, need, implementation time, experience, and financial ability.

email: usich@usich.gov

web: http://www.usich.gov