Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland this week, the 34 Social Security Administration awardees in the $6.6 million Homeless Outreach Projects & Evaluation (HOPE) program in 18 states gathered to focus on outreach and supportive services to help chronically homeless people secure Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. The new initiative will support communities in meeting the Administration's goal of ending chronic homelessness by increasing access to a key mainstream benefit for persons experiencing chronic homelessness with severe and persistent mental illness, HIV, cognitive impairments, and co- occurring disorders. SSA estimates that the awardees will assist thousands of homeless people over the next three years, providing supports to ensure that Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) applications are completed faster and with higher success rates, allowing persons experiencing chronic homelessness to leave the streets, have a source of income, obtain health care coverage, and obtain employment. Pictured here are (left to right) SSA Office of Program Development and Research Project Officer Ed Beane, United States Interagency Council Executive Director Philip Mangano who gave the keynote address at the conference, SSA Office of Program Development and Research Lead Project officer Sally Zeller, and SSA Office of Program Development Director Paula Foster-Pierce.

Of the 34 awardees, 23 are using the "disability model" based on the University of Maryland presumptive disability approach, and 20 are expected to use representative payee services for recipients. 20 awardees expect to serve a pre-release population, and 14 are serving veterans. 22 awardees are targeting persons with serious mental illness, and 16 expect to serve persons with HIV/AIDS. Six of the grants went to faith-based organizations, and more than 50% of the grants had an employment services component.

Core objectives for the HOPE initiative include identifying homeless individuals who are potentially eligible for benefits and providing assistance that results in faster claim decisions and higher benefit approval rates for those who are eligible for disability benefits. Other SSA objectives includes conducting outreach activities to locate homeless individuals with disabling impairments, providing direct assistance to homeless individuals in the application process, assisting with finding necessary documentation, including proof of identity, financial records, and medical records, and assisting with needed examinations. Awardees are expected to maintain contact with claimants throughout the determination process and help individuals respond to requests for further information. SSA expects awardees to collaborate with and make referrals to other organizations to ensure favorable outcomes for persons being assisted, including working with agencies that provide supportive housing; mental health, substance abuse, and community-based health care; employment rehabilitation and job placement services; veteran's health benefits; and services to parolees and those in work-release programs.

SSA is collaborating with other Federal partners such as the Department of Justice on the "Going Home" prisoner reentry project and on the "First Step" CD project with the Departments of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development to provide support to case managers who work with people who are homeless and potentially eligible for SSI and SSDI benefits. First Step resources, including SSA information, can be found at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medicaid/homeless/firststep /index.html

With the start of the school year just around the corner for many of the nation's young people, the United States Department of Education has published a new resource to support the education needs of homeless children and youth. The Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program, authorized in 1987 under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, was reauthorized under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). U.S. Department of Education Secretary Rod Paige is shown here at the April 1 Interagency Council meeting at the White House, discussing his agency's initiatives.

The Department of Education's new "Non-Regulatory Guidance" is in a Question and Answer format that covers basic McKinney-Vento program background material, including questions newly added to this Guidance to address the following issues: eligibility for McKinney-Vento services of children awaiting foster care placement or displaced from their homes by a natural disaster, and provision of transportation services by the Local Education Agency (LEA) to homeless children attending preschool. In addition the Guidance covers fundamentals of the current program, school placement, enrollment and eligibility for service, transportation, and issues affecting homeless unaccompanied youth.

As described in the new Guidance, the principal differences between the current McKinney-Vento program and the predecessor program include the following:

• Express prohibition against segregating homeless students. The statute expressly prohibits a school or state from segregating a homeless child or youth in a separate school, or in a separate program within a school, based on the child or youth's status as homeless.
• Requirement for transportation to and from school of origin. The State and its Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) must adopt policies and practices to ensure that transportation is provided, at the request of the parent or guardian (or in the case of the unaccompanied youth, the liaison) to and from the school of origin. There are specific provisions regarding the responsibility and costs for transportation
• Immediate school enrollment requirement. If a dispute arises over school selection or placement, an LEA must admit a homeless child or youth to the school in which enrollment is sought by the parent or guardian, pending resolution of the dispute.
• Changes in "best interest" determination - LEAs must make school placement determinations on the basis of the best interest. of the child or youth. In determining what is a child or youth's best interest, an LEA must, to the extent feasible, keep a homeless child or youth in the school of origin, unless doing so is contrary to the wishes of the child or youth's parent or guardian.
• Local liaison in all school districts. Every LEA, whether or not it receives a McKinney-Vento subgrant, must designate a local liaison for homeless children and youth.

The McKinney-Vento program is designed to address the problems that homeless children and youth face in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school.Under this program, State Educational Agencies (SEAs) must ensure that each homeless child and youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as other children and youth. Homeless children and youth should have access to the educational and other services that they need to enable them to meet the same challenging state student academic achievement standards to which all students are held. In addition, homeless students may not be separated from the mainstream school environment. States and districts are required to review and undertake steps to revise laws, regulations, practices, or policies that may act as a barrier to the enrollment, attendance, or success in school of homeless children and youth.

The U.S. Department of Justice' Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI), has all the makings of a new way of defining interagency collaboration. Developed by DOJ's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and supported by the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), the effort is also supported by a range of federal partners: the U.S. Departments of Education (ED), Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Labor (DOL), and Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Social Security Administration (SSA). Funded in FY 02, SVORI is a collaborative effort that addresses both juvenile and adult populations of serious, high- risk offenders by preparing them for a successful return to their communities after having served in secure confinement in a state training school, juvenile or adult correctional facility, or other secure institution. Over $100 million was awarded to the 50 states, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.

DOJ's Reentry Initiative represents the development of a new approach for federal, state, and local agencies that assists state and local agencies in using existing state formula and block grants and redeploying and leveraging those resources to support all components of a comprehensive reentry program. Communities can develop and acquire knowledge that will help establish best practice models and expand current reentry strategies with training and technical assistance that will build community capacity to achieve successful reintegration for returning offenders. Key to this effort is the Resource Map developed by DOJ, which allows users to view information on federal, state, and local resources available for case management, domestic violence, education, employment, evaluation, housing, health and behavioral health care, and aftercare.

The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, in conjunction with its federal partners, will sponsor the first National Conference on Offender Reentry in Cleveland, Ohio on September 19-22, 2004. Stable housing is one of the cornerstones of a realistic offender reintegration plan, but released offenders can face financial, legal, transportation, and other barriers that adversely affect their ability to obtain housing. The conference is dedicating a track of sessions to address specific solutions to housing challenges. Sessions include Transitional Planning and Prevention of Homelessness; Public Housing Issues; and Access to Affordable Transitional Housing. There will be key representatives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) along with other public and private housing officials present to facilitate sessions and assist attendees. Free registration is available at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reentry/calender.html

Commitments to develop 10-Year Plans to end chronic homelessness are mounting up rapidly in the State of Texas in the last several weeks, and many are examples of multi-jurisdictional approaches. From the Gulf Coast to East Texas to Central and Border areas, cities and counties are newly committing to partnership and planning in this state of over 20,800,000 people, which is home to three of the nation's ten largest cities (Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio) and the largest number of counties of any state (254). On August 17, the Texas Gulf Coast City of Corpus Christi became the latest to adopt a strategic plan to end homelessness. "The Corpus Christi Seven Year Homeless Plan demonstrates that this city intends to act now", said Sally Shipman, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Region VI Coordinator.

Mayors in Plano and Collin County near Dallas have recently stepped up to support a countywide plan developed by Plano. In Southeast Texas, near the Gulf of Mexico and the Louisiana border, the communities of Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange, Rose City, Vidor, Port Neches, Nederland, and Groves each passed resolutions to develop a joint Southeast Texas plan. These Southeast Texas cities formed a coalition within the Southeast Texas Planning Commission to develop a tri-county plan in the area known as the Golden Triangle. Hardin, Orange, and Jefferson Counties, which make up the Golden Triangle, have also passed county resolutions to cooperate in the regional plan.

City Councils in the East Texas community of Tyler and the Central Texas community of Waco have also recently passed resolutions to develop 10-Year Plans. In far South Texas, the Hidalgo County communities of Edcouch, Donna, McAllen, Mercedes, Mission, and Weslaco have each adopted their own resolutions. Hidalgo County will soon consider a county level action to develop a plan. Pictured here is Dallas Mayor Laura Miller whose City Council approved final adoption of that city's 10-Year Plan in June, making it the largest southwestern city to finalize a plan. The Dallas Plan, developed by Mayor Laura Miller in partnership with Deloitte, the United Way, and the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, recommends more resources to engage people living on the streets and more supportive housing development.

IN ALASKA. More than 200 veterans enjoyed good weather as they attended the recent 12th Annual Stand Down at Camp Carroll on Fort Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, according to reports from the State of Alaska's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Fort Richardson occupies 25,000 acres located in Anchorage in south-central Alaska. The Alaska National Guard is the largest military tenant at the site, with facilities at Camp Carroll and Camp Denali. Pictured here is Army First Sgt. (Ret.) Bill Martin saluting a surprised Army Sgt. Brad Robinson, during a flag ceremony at Camp Carroll on Fort Richardson during Stand Down 2004 while Maj. Gen. Craig E. Campbell looks on. Robinson had just been presented the flag that had flown over Camp Carroll to honor Alaska's veterans that day. Sgt. Robinson is on leave from the Army after sustaining serious wounds while in Iraq this past April and plans to return to Iraq in September.

According to Charlie Huggins, the 2004 Stand Down Chairperson, "This program does what it is supposed to do - it gives veterans and their families a hand up when they need it. We bring veterans and the representatives of many federal, state, and local agencies together in one place - it saves time, energy, and avoids frustration for everyone, really. We always want to see as many of our veterans as possible at Camp Carroll. The importance of this program cannot be overstated - all veterans are invited." Partnership is amply demonstrated at the event, with over two dozen federal, state, and local agencies taking part, and numerous businesses, organizations, and individuals making contributions that add to the efforts of more than 250 volunteers each year.

Initiatives to address homelessness in the "North to the Future" State have been moving forward this summer, as Alaska's new interagency council on homelessness, created by Governor Frank Murkowski by Executive Order in May, convened its first meeting on July 7 in Juneau. United States Interagency Council Executive Director Philip Mangano keynoted the inaugural meeting and also met with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, who has committed his city of 260,000 to a 10-Year Planning process.

IN HAWAII. Following on her July announcement to the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce that she would create a planning process to end homelessness in the 50th state, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle, has moved forward with a meeting of the 80-person Affordable Housing Task Force of developers, property managers, bankers, business leaders, social workers and state officials. The Task Force, which met last week, focused on three key issues in housing development in the state: speeding the public approval process, funding, and the need for infrastructure, including streets, utilities, schools and parking. Governor Lingle last month called for a partnership among government, private sector, and non-profit organizations to create 17,000 additional rental units in the state over the next six years to meet a housing shortage and assist the state's estimated 6,000 homeless people.

Governor Lingle also recently met with the Mayors of Honolulu, Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui counties to discuss housing issues. Among the issues that Task Force members agreed on were: setting a state policy priority for housing affordability issues, making public land available for development, using the private sector to speed permit processing, seeking legislative support for public-private financing and development of infrastructure, achieving state-county construction budget coordination, creating incentives for landlords to preserve affordable units, and coordinating the access of available public and private sectors investments resources for housing.

Thanks to Specialist Kelsea Vandergriff, 117th MPAD, Alaska National Guard for this photo.

WITH THIS ISSUE, the e-newsletter continues its focus on innovative initiatives achieving results around the country. Friday, August 13 was far from an unlucky day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. That day marked the last day a homeless family was placed in a state funded motel used as shelter and demonstrated the results of several state initiatives and investments that brought in new partners and new expectations to its family shelter system. While just one year ago the state was spending in excess of $20 million for hotel placements for 599 families, the pilot projects and incentives instituted to change outcomes for homeless families demonstrate partnerships and investments applicable beyond Massachusetts.

Under the leadership of Lieutenant Governor and Interagency Council on Homelessness and Housing Chair Kerry Healey (pictured here) the state earlier this year sought to change its approach and set a goal of ending hotel use within 24 months. The August 13 landmark date, which far exceeded the timetable set by the state for itself, was reached by implementing several pilot programs aimed at achieving different results for families. "Today we are celebrating a significant achievement on the part of many state homeless staff whose work has ensured that homeless families have better options than they did a year ago. Because of their efforts, more than 1,000 children will be in a more stable environment when they begin school this fall, said Lt. Governor Healey. "This dramatic progress demonstrates that we are truly changing what it means to be homeless in Massachusetts. We're moving away from just managing shelters to addressing the issues of family homelessness head-on."

"Once again Massachusetts is demonstrating that homelessness yields to planful partnerships and innovative initiatives," said United States Interagency Council Executive Director Philip Mangano. "Lt. Governor Healey's Interagency Council and Commissioner Wagner's strategies have done away with the disgrace of welfare hotels."

The first step by the Commonwealth's Department of Transitional Assistance, responsible for the family homelessness programs, was to reverse the equation for families upon entry into motels. Much as good discharge planning begins on the day of entry to a system of care, DTA created a new approach based on the idea that, from the first day a family enters shelter, focus is on the day the family will exit. To do this, DTA implemented a new Self-Sufficiency Plan (SSP), a document spelling out all parties' responsibilities in addressing the family's barriers to obtaining and maintaining housing and completed for each family in emergency shelter. DTA and shelter staff were trained on the SSP, and the training itself helped form a partnership among DTA staff, shelter providers, and homeless families in planning for their exit from shelter.

With the SSP as a base, DTA then purchased additional shelter capacity using its lack of additional funding to shape collaboration with shelter providers to bring on additional family shelter capacity, with the understanding that a new shelter unit could not cost more than the current price of a hotel placement. Some units ended up costing less, and these collaborative efforts led to an increase of 148 rooms in FY 04. With additional shelter capacity in place, DTA commenced initiatives to change the "front door" of its system. Previously, when there was not space available for a family, a hotel placement would be used until a shelter unit opened.

On Cape Cod, DTA piloted a regionally-based approach to managing family homelessness from Provincetown up to Brockton. Networks were created across local DTA offices that leveraged community- based resources and open shelters that might not have been in the immediate community. This regional approach led to further dramatic declines in the number of hotel cases on the Cape. On the North Shore, DTA experimented with an intake/assessment model. Rather than being placed in hotels, families were put into a 30- to 45-day assessment shelter that helped identify their needs and barriers to housing. Again there was a dramatic decline in the number of families in hotels and the number entering the shelter system as roughly half of all families found alternatives to homeless shelters.

With the fiscal savings that resulted, the pressure was off of the state's family shelter account, and DTA explored investments to provide further assistance to families in shelter. Not only have these initiatives paid off, they've helped to better assist homeless families. Among them:

• DTA crafted Shelter to Housing (S2H), a one- time, $6000 placement bonus for housing providers who placed employed homeless families into apartments with a 12-month lease. Over 200 families have been placed in private apartments, further freeing up capacity and resources for other families.
• With its increased shelter capacity, DTA expanded hired 13 Intensive Case Managers (ICMs), who were put through several weeks of training on working with homeless families. They began visiting all remaining families in hotels on a daily basis, and their regular presence yielded a greater ability to place families in more appropriate settings as well as to ensure that the Self-Sufficiency Plan as on track.
• Along with the new ICMs came the Motel to Shelter (M2S) initiative focused on moving remaining hotel families into vacant shelter units. M2S efforts were augmented over the summer months in order to eliminate the disruption such moves would cause homeless children during the school year.
• With the Commonwealth's Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), DTA invested funds in a pilot program with local housing authorities (LHAs), which places homeless families for 6 months and then transitions them into regular LHA units. This initiative placed 10 families in FY04 and is on schedule to place an additional 100 families this fiscal year.
• A DTA survey showing nearly half of the longer- term families in hotels had some self-reported disability, with the most prevalent being a behavioral or mental health issue, lead to a partnership with the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership (MBHP). A targeted effort was implemented with local DTA offices on the North Shore to better serve families with behavioral/mental health barriers to obtain and maintain housing.. MBHP is a for-profit corporation that holds the state's managed behavioural health care contract and has worked on numerous homelessness related initiatives in Massachusetts.

"We have now developed not only new ways to address the immediate housing needs of homeless families, but also the long-term supports to help them become self-sufficient," said DTA Commissioner John Wagner. "Spending $6,000 to lease up a homeless family was much more prudent than spending the $18,000 that it typically costs to merely provide temporary shelter for that same family. In concert with the focus provided by the federal Interagency Council on Homelessness and the leadership provided by the Lt. Governor, the Department is pleased to be able to offer better options for those families."

FOR THIS ISSUE, the e-newsletter focuses on remarks given by United States Interagency Council Executive Director Philip Mangano at the Social Security Administration (SSA) Homeless Outreach Projects and Evaluation (HOPE) grantees' conference this week in Baltimore (see e-news story.)

"We are here today in part to acknowledge the commitment of the Social Security Administration to the federal partnership to end chronic homelessness in our country. Commissioner Jo Anne Barnhart has been resolute in her efforts to make the Social Security system more customer friendly and accessible and to ensure that those who are entitled to the benefit gain ready access. Deputy Commissioner Jim Lockhart has been highly responsive to the work of the Council and deeply committed to ensuring that these SSA outreach resources are put to work in support of the Administration's initiative to end chronic homelessness. And SSA staff are professionally and personally committed to your success in implementing these Cooperative Agreements, whose very nomenclature is in keeping with the intent of SSA in this process: cooperation."

"SSA is creating partnerships in these HOPE Awards. SSA has heard the call from the field, from those who serve and those who are applicants. And in these HOPE Awards, in that spirit of cooperative agreements, SSA's response is flexible, innovative, and customer-centric. These awards are important in the national effort to end chronic homelessness in the next 10 years. Increasing access to mainstream benefits and entitlements is an essential strategy of this Administration in accomplishing that mission. To insure that those who are on the streets of our country or long term in our shelters experiencing chronic homelessness will have a source of income, health care coverage, employment options, and links to housing."

. . . that the first Stand Down was organized in 1988 by a group of Vietnam veterans in San Diego. Last year there were 95 Stand Downs held in 39 states and the District of Columbia, with a total of 20,110 veterans (18,688 male/1,422 female), 2,717 spouses/companions and 1,830 children of veterans served. Pictured here is the recent East Bay Stand Down held in Dublin, California.

. . . that Stand Downs offer a wide range of services for veterans including health services, Social Security benefits counselling, Agent Orange information and counselling, Hepatitis C screening and testing, HIV/AIDS information and counselling, housing or shelter referral, mental health services, substance abuse services, transportation services, and more.

. . . that last year's 95 Stand Downs around the country reflect strong community partnership with over 13,660 volunteers taking part. 3,000 volunteers took part in the San Diego Stand Down alone. The average in-kind contribution was over $53,800 per event.