FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY. Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, along with Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) Chief Executive Officer Richard L. McQuady, and Kentucky Interagency Council on Homelessness (KICH) Chair Kentucky Sen. Gerald Neal, this week announced the launch of Kentucky's Housing and Emergency Assistance Reaching The Homeless (KY HEARTH) Program, the Commonwealth's planned $18.5 million initiative to provide rental assistance and services to prevent people from becoming homeless and to help those who are experiencing homelessness. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness National Team Leader Michael German represented the Council. Governor Beshear is pictured here (center), with Mr. German (left) and Mr. McQuady (right).

"One of the roles of state government is to help care for vulnerable populations in times of crisis," said Governor Beshear. "Even in the face of revenue woes that have shackled state government, I have made it my mission to do exactly that - to help our Kentucky families survive this trying time." KY HEARTH will utilize anticipated recovery funds from President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program (HPRP). Kentucky Housing Corporation will administer the funding for the state. Louisville, Lexington, Covington, and the state have applied for direct allocations of funding from HUD. Nonprofits or units of local government are eligible to apply for funding from the state through a competitive process.

KHC also released the results of the statewide 2009 point-in-time count which was originally scheduled for January 29, 2009. Due to a massive ice and snowstorm that hit the state, many regions conducted part or all of the count on February 19, 2009. The weather and the rescheduling of the count by many areas to the later date are suspected to have had a major impact on the number of individuals included in the count.

In his two years in office, Governor Beshear has demonstrated both a continuation and a deepening of the commitment to prevent and end homelessness that has been at work in the state. Kentucky was recognized in 2006 with the Council's "Home for Every American" inaugural award for its state strategies and leadership, in which Kentucky Housing Corporation and the Recovery Kentucky treatment initiative have been key. The leadership and commitment of KHC's CEO Rick McQuady 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. Pictured here are (left to right): KFC Board Chair William Summers, Michael German, Governor Beshear, Rick McQuady, and KFC Board Member Porter Peeples.

Also in Kentucky this week, First Lady Jane Beshear and CEO McQuady traveled to Harlan County to open the Cumberland Hope Community Center for Women, the most recent addition to the Recovery Kentucky initiative, a center for women. The development is part of the joint effort by the Department for Local Government, Department of Corrections and KHC to build housing recovery centers across the state. As supportive housing developments, each center uses a recovery program model that includes peer support, daily living skills training, job responsibilities and challenges to practice sober living. In 2008 Governor Beshear established the Recovery Kentucky Task Force to ensure the continued effectiveness and success of the program, which results in reduced public costs to the state's justice and corrections system. The First Lady and Don Ball, KHC Board of Directors member, co-chair the task force. The First Lady is shown here (center) at the ribboncutting, with (left to right): Donna Hilman of the Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Rick McQuady, Mary Mosley of Cumberland Hope, Don Ball, and Michael German.

At the time of the January weather emergency, the Kentucky Interagency Council on Homelessness had just convened its inaugural meeting in Frankfort and new discussions were underway in the state focused on the recalibration of the Kentucky Executive Order creating the Council as a priority for action with the expectation of a new order that creates inclusive partnership and involves the business community in Kentucky's strategies. Housing solutions and new cost benefit analysis were also on the Council's agenda.

A two-year study conducted by the Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville and presented at the January meeting showed that it cost nearly $89 million over a two-year period to shelter and care for just over 7,000 single homeless adults. The study also showed that providing permanent housing to these individuals over the two-year period would have saved $6.4 million.

HONOLULU, HAWAII. As Hawaii celebrates the 50th anniversary of its statehood achieved in 1959, another state milestone was reported last week with the number of unsheltered persons down 25% this year from 2007 figures.

Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle, recognized with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness inaugural "Home for Every American" Award in 2006 for her leadership, partnership and investment, unveiled the state's plan to end chronic homelessness in 2004, noting that "Having people who are homeless, or on the street or in a shelter, goes against how we see ourselves." The Aloha State Plan includes as its guiding principles the ideas that homelessness is unacceptable and solvable, and that all sectors of society will benefit when people are housed. With Lt. Governor James R. "Duke" Aiona, Jr., the Governor has advanced legislative and budget proposals aimed at achieving these goals.

Over the past three years, the state has spent over $40 million to open emergency and transitional homeless shelters, especially on the Wai'anae Coast. The state estimates that shelters statewide now have about 1,261 units and 768 beds.

ALBANY, OREGON. Linn County, Oregon last week joined the growing number of Oregon counties that have launched 10 Year Plans to End Homelessness. Community leaders gathered for the unveiling of the completed "There's No Place Like Home . . .", at the Nazarene Church in Albany, the largest community of this county of 115,000 located in the heart of Oregon's historic Willamette Valley. The ceremony celebrating the completed plan was held just before the doors opened for Albany's third Project Homeless Connect, called "Heart to Heart," which convened at the Boys & Girls Club gym.

Heart to Heart was championed by Albany Police Captain Ben Atchley. "I was called upon to shut down a homeless camp a few years ago called 'Camp Boondoggle'. I knew it would be useless to just arrest people, so we started finding alternatives, listening to what they wanted and needed. Heart to Heart emerged as the beginning of a solution."

This proved to be a fruitful beginning as Captain Atchley was joined by then-Councilor (now Mayor) Sharon Konopa in championing the creation of a local 10 Year Plan. County Commissioner Roger Nyquist also became a champion, urging the communities of Linn County to move as quickly as possible towards a plan that would produce solutions. In March 2008, the Albany City Council approved a resolution to support the development of a 10 Year Plan to end chronic homelessness in Linn County.

Mayor Konopa not only champions the plan but has helped forge its strategies. "We have learned you just can't house people and walk away. I am convinced that in offering people services like budgeting and detox and mental health care, we can guide them back into becoming full members of our community."

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Regional Coordinator Paul Carlson and Oregon Housing and Community Services Deputy Director Rick Crager joined Mayor Konopa and Commissioner Nyquist in launching the plan. They both emphasized the importance of federal and state partnership with local government in seeking effective housing solutions to end homelessness.

The planning committee included language for a proposed resolution of support for the new plan, paving the way for other communities to join the partnership. The resolution has been adopted by Albany and the cities of Mill City, Gates, Harrisburg, Lyons, Tangent, Waterloo, Scio, Brownsville, Halsey, Idanha, Sodaville, Sweet Home, Millersburg, and Lebanon.

Pictured above are (left to right): Rick Crager, Deputy Director, Oregon Housing and Community Services; Linn County Commissioner Roger Nyquist; City of Albany Mayor Sharon Konopa; Council Coordinator Carlson; and Joanne Zimmer, 10 Year Plan Project Manager, Community Services Consortium. Pictured below are (left to right): Albany Police Captain Ben Atchley, organizer of the Heart to Heart event and community champion of the 10 Year Plan and Marilyn Smith, City of Albany, Heart to Heart organizer.

WASHINGTON, DC. $50 million in new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recovery resources is available to build the capacity of nonprofit partners to address the broad economic recovery issues in their communities, including helping low- income individuals secure and retain employment, earn higher wages, obtain better-quality jobs, and gain greater access to state and federal benefits and tax credits. Applications are due July 7, and interested applicants should read the full announcement for complete details.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families has announced two funding opportunities. The Nonprofit Capacity Building program will make one- time, two-year awards of up to $1 million to lead organizations that will use the funds to support other faith-based or secular nonprofit organizations. Lead organizations will collaborate with their selected grassroots organizations in distressed communities offering capacity building activities in five critical areas: 1) organizational development, 2) program development, 3) collaboration and community engagement, 4) leadership development, and 5) evaluation of effectiveness. Capacity building activities are designed to increase an project partners' sustainability and effectiveness, enhance their ability to provide social services, and create collaborations to better serve those most in need.

The State, Local and Tribal Government Capacity Building program will make one-time, two-year awards of up to $250,000 to state, city, county and Indian/Native American tribal governments. Governments will use these grants to strengthen nonprofit organizations and increase the nonprofits' involvement in projects that help turn the economy around. Grantees under the SCF State, Local, and Tribal Government Capacity Building program will help ensure that the information and services described in the ARRA reach disadvantaged and hard- to-serve populations.

SCF State, Local, and Tribal Government Capacity Building program grantees will use the funds in the following three areas: conducting outreach and education aimed at increasing the involvement of nonprofit organizations in the economic recovery; providing training and technical assistance aimed at building the capacity of nonprofit organizations to address the broad economic recovery issues present in their communities; and building the capacity of their State, local or Native American/Tribal government office or designee to better involve nonprofit organizations in the economic recovery.

SECRETARY SEBELIUS ANNOUNCES $81.7 MILLION FOR HEALTH CENTERS. As implementation of recovery act resources marked the 100-day milestone, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius discussed the Act's critical support for community health centers. Secretary Sebelius was joined by Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. and leaders from community health centers across the country.

Secretary Sebelius announced the release of $81.7 million to expand services offered at the nation's health centers. The grants are funded through the Health Center Program, which helped more than 17 million individuals last year by providing access to high quality, family-oriented, comprehensive primary and preventive health care. HRSA, an agency within HHS, oversees the Health Center Program, a major component of America's health care safety net. In a typical year, about 40 percent of health center patients have no insurance coverage.

ARRA provides $2 billion for grants to health centers over a 2-year period. $500 million will be used to support new health center sites and service areas, increase services at existing sites, and address spikes in uninsured populations. The additional $1.5 billion will be used to support construction, renovation and equipment, including health information technology systems, in health centers and health center controlled networks.

HHS has already awarded approximately $155 million in Recovery Act grant funds to support 126 community health center sites across the country. The 126 New Access Point (NAP) grants were awarded to applicants that were approved but unfunded in 2008. These grants will provide access to health center care for 750,000 people in 39 states and two territories.

HHS has also awarded $338 Million in Increased Demand for Services grants for health centers. Health centers will use these funds provide care to more than 2 million additional patients over the next two years, including approximately 1 million uninsured people. In addition, over the next two years, health centers will use the funds to create and retain approximately 6,500 health center jobs.

Non-Recovery Act grants awarded include $25.6 million to expand medical capacity at 54 existing health centers, helping an additional 230,000 individuals in 25 states receive primary health care services. The remaining $56.1 million will supplement all health centers' base grant awards to offset rising costs associated with maintaining current service levels.

WASHINGTON, DC. "President Obama has made it clear that homelessness among veterans is unacceptable," U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary and U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Chair Secretary Eric Shinseki said as he addressed the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans Annual Conference last week. "We have a moral duty to prevent and eliminate homelessness among veterans."

The conference, convened under the leadership of NCHV Executive Director Cheryl Beversdorf, also welcomed U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis as a speaker.

Secretary Shinseki also highlighted VA initiatives to assist homeless veterans, including:
Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Program: established in 1987 and now with 132 sites with extensive outreach, physical and psychiatric examinations, treatment, referrals and on-going case management services.
Domiciliary Care for the Homeless (DCHV) Program: From an original 13 medical centers, DCHV has grown to 2,000 beds at 40 sites today. Rehabilitative residential services are offered on VA medical center grounds or in the community to eligible veterans.
Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program: Authorized in 1992, it provides grants and per diem payments to help public and nonprofit organizations establish and operate supportive transitional housing and service centers. Today, VA partners with more than 500 community organizations and has authorized 15,000 beds through the GPD program.
Stand Downs for Homeless Veterans: 1-3 day events designed to provide homeless veterans and their families a variety of services. In 2008, more than 30,000 veterans and 4,500 family members received outreach services from Stand Downs aided by 24,500 volunteers.
Project CHALENG (Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups) for Veterans: Started in 1993, a nationwide initiative in which VA works with other federal, state, local agencies and nonprofit organizations to assess the needs of homeless veterans. The last estimate of the number of homeless veterans on any given night was 131,000, a reduction of over 47 percent from previous estimates of 250,000 used six years ago.

VA Director of Homeless Programs and Acting Council Director Pete Dougherty joined federal agency partners for a panel presentation on key developments and opportunities in federal programs.

NEW HOMELESS VETERANS RESEARCH CENTER LAUNCHED. Also at last week's conference, Secretary Shinseki announced that VA is creating a new National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans to develop, promote and enhance policy, clinical care, research and education to improve homeless services, so that veterans may live as independently as possible in a community of their choosing.

The center will be co-located with the VA Medical Centers in Philadelphia and Tampa with the support of host-site academic affiliates, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of South Florida.

Goals of the new center are to promote the development of policy and practice; support implementation of relevant research findings into clinical practice; provide education / training for VA and community partners and disseminate evidence-based and emerging best practices; and develop new empirical knowledge.

Two preliminary studies to be conducted by the new center include one that will focus on Evaluating Housing Programs for Homeless Veterans (University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute) to evaluate community-based housing services; define key features of the housing and associated services; determine criteria that measure these features; and conduct assessments to describe the housing options. A second study on Applying Administrative Data to Estimate the Prevalence of Veterans Among Homelessness Program Users and their use of VA- Funded Health Services (University of Pennsylvania ) will estimate the prevalence of Veterans among the homeless population and their use of VA-funded health services; identify characteristics of homeless program users reporting to be Veterans in the National Homeless Management Information System database; and collect program utilization data integrated with VA health data to examine health care utilization patterns and costs among homeless Veterans.

WASHINGTON, DC. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced the availability of over $13 million in resources for the Basic Center Program (BCP) of its Runaway and Homeless Youth Program. BCPs provide an alternative for runaway and homeless youth who might otherwise engage law enforcement or the child welfare, mental health, or juvenile justice systems. Each BCP must provide runaway and homeless youth with a safe and appropriate shelter, individual, family, and group counseling as appropriate, and aftercare.

The Basic Center Program funds community-based programs that address the immediate needs of runaway and homeless youth and their families. The central purpose of these programs is to provide youth with emergency shelter, food, clothing, counseling, and referrals for health care. Most Basic Centers can provide 15 days of shelter for up to 20 youth. There are exceptions for those jurisdictions that have different standards for licensing. The Basic Centers seek to reunite young people with their families, whenever possible, or to locate appropriate alternative placements.

Public and non-profit private entities and coordinated networks of such entities are eligible applicants under this announcement. Current BCP grantees with project periods ending on or before September 29, 2009, and all other eligible applicants not currently receiving BCP funds, may apply for a new competitive BCP grant under this announcement. Current BCP grantees (including sub-grantees) with one or two years remaining in their project period may not apply for a new BCP grant for the community they currently serve. Faith-based and community organizations are eligible to apply.

Applications are due July 13, and interested applicants should read the full announcement for complete details.

WASHINGTON, DC. "Back in the 1970s, it was thought that 'nothing works' to set offenders on the straight and narrow. But research and practice over the past 25 years have identified new strategies and policies that can make a significant dent in recidivism rates. Implementing these research-backed programs and procedures is called 'evidence-based practice.' " A new report from the Pew Center on the States may be focused on strategies to reduce recidivism - a key issue in preventing and ending homelessness - but it identifies a larger context that resounds with the frustration once felt on the issue of homelessness: low expectations, rising numbers, increased spending, and no reported reductions in recidivism or crime to show results.

The Pew Center on the States' Public Safety Performance Project offers key resources to states by promoting promising practices, offering expert assistance, encouraging cross-state learning and collaboration, and increasing the dissemination of innovations. The Center last year released a comprehensive "Policy Framework to Strengthen Community Corrections," which has now been followed by a brief entitled "Arming the Courts with Research: 10 Evidence-Based Sentencing Initiatives to Control Crime and Reduce Costs."

The report notes that 25 years of research have now "identified a series of policies and practices that can make substantial cuts in recidivism rates. Policy makers in several states have enacted reforms that help corrections agencies adopt these 'evidence- based practices' by providing fiscal incentives, clearing obstacles, enhancing their authority, and tracking their results." The policy framework document offers a unique and detailed tool that includes a menu of policy options with hyperlinks, including suggested language for legislation, executive order or court rules, research rationale and state examples.

Since state laws and public agencies differ, many of the resources include recommendations or ranges of time frames or benchmarks. For example, in the area of evidence-based practices, references include recommendations that require 75% of offenders be supervised in accordance with evidence-based practices within four years; 75% of state funds spent on programs and treatment be spent on programs that are evidence-based within four years; use of objective risk assessment tools to assign supervision levels and development of individual case plans; agencies to provide employees training on evidence- based practices; and setaside of a portion of agency funds for research on program effectiveness. Performance incentive funding for local jurisdictions and performance measurement are also addressed.

The Pew Center currently provides assistance on these issues to to Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont.

WITH THIS ISSUE, the e-news continues its coverage of the committed partnership of jurisdictional leaders achieving results in preventing and ending homelessness. Following are excerpts from the remarks of Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear at this week's announcement of Kentucky's recovery investment strategy.

"Since the creation of the state's Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in 2005, Kentucky has made great strides toward addressing the multifaceted issues of homelessness in the state. This program we're announcing today will add momentum to that effort.

"I appreciate the strong, committed partnerships that have enabled us to make positive impacts for this difficult-to-serve population.

"The Kentucky Housing Corporation will use its funds through a new program called Kentucky's Housing and Emergency Assistance Reaching the Homeless - or Kentucky's HEARTH . . . The acronym is deliberate. The word 'hearth' by definition is 'the fireside as the center of family life.' But the word also conjures strong images of peace, warmth, food, security and togetherness - everything one wants in a home.

"The results of a two-year study conducted by the Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville showed that it cost nearly $89 million over a two-year period to shelter and care for just over 7,000 homeless adults . . . This study, and many others like it, demonstrate that providing permanent, supportive housing is the best and most cost-effective way to solving homelessness. But it's not just cost- effective.

"It's also our moral obligation."

. . . As part of the HEARTH initiative announced this week by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, federal recovery resources targeted to prevent and end homelessness in Louisville will be coordinated by the city's Neighborhood Place - a partnership that also includes the state, Jefferson County Public Schools and Seven Counties Services and reaches families through the kind of one-stop centers encouraged by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness to support effective and expedited access to resources, and to concentrate - rather than dissipate - newly available targeted dollars.

Louisville's Neighborhood Places - 11 one-stop locations for accessible health, education, employment and human services - have been named one of the "Top 50" programs in the 2009 Innovations in American Government Awards.

"The Neighborhood Place concept was an immediate hit when we introduced it in 1993," said then Mayor Jerry Abramson. "Offering a single location, usually near a school, to get health care, job information, and other social services made applying for those services much easier for our citizens."

Neighborhood Places resulted from the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990, which established Family Resource and Youth Services Centers (FRYSCs) in or near schools to address social issues that hindered a student's academic performance. Educators noticed service gaps, long waits, and redundant requirements for families in need to access assistance. A joint effort among local service providers developed the Neighborhood Place as a convenient one-stop center for these families.

email: usich@usich.gov

web: http://www.usich.gov