BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS. Cameron County, Texas last week became the latest jurisdiction to commit to a 10-Year Planning process to end chronic homelessness, when the Cameron County Commissioner's Court passed a resolution to forward a county planning initiative. Cameron County includes the communities of Brownsville, Harlingen, and Port Isabel. The county borders the Gulf of Mexico on the east and Mexico on the south.

Cameron County joins over 170 other cities and counties across the country that have responded to federal initiatives to end chronic homelessness. Of these, 26 are in state or territorial capital cities, such as Tallahassee, Florida, which was the most recent state capital to convene its first 10-Year Plan Task Force meeting. The Council's 10-Year Plan Toolkit and a list of cities and counties in the 10-Year Plan process is posted on the Council's web site at www.ich.gov.

As 2004 comes to a close, the current list of cities and counties engaged in 10-Year Plans to end chronic homelessness has more than doubled in the last twelve months. At this time last year, only 60 jurisdictional CEOs of cities and counties had launched 10-Year Plan processes. The original challenge to the U.S. Conference of Mayors made by United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano at the Mayors' January 2003 Meeting in Washington, D.C. and formalized at the June 2004 meeting, was for 100 mayors to commit to 10-Year Plans. The first 10- Year Plan that was endorsed by a jurisdictional CEO was the Indianapolis Blueprint, endorsed by Mayor Bart Peterson two years ago.

WASHINGTON, DC. If you're not regularly checking the web site of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, you may be missing key updates that can support your partnerships at the federal, state, and local level in initiatives to end chronic homelessness. In this issue of the e-news, we highlight some of the key on-line tools and resources made available by federal agencies to disseminate information on innovative initiatives, investments, and evidence-based practices to end chronic homelessness. If you didn't see these resources when they first were announced, you won't want to start the New Year without them in your toolkit. Links or subscription information are provided.

e-news. The Council's weekly e-news brings you information on federal resources, innovative initiatives to prevent and end chronic homelessness, and developing partnerships with state and local governments to establish State Interagency Councils and city/county 10-Year Plans to end chronic homelessness. Subscribe to the e-news by visiting www.ich.gov: you will find a subscription link on the bottom of the Resources section. Back issues of the e-newsletter are archived on the website.

FEDERAL RESOURCES LINKS. A regular feature of the e-news is a link to the weekly Federal Register listing of Title V surplus properties available to assist homeless people. See the left hand column of the Council's home page for the latest link to the Federal Register. Also in that location is a link to grants.gov, the federal one-stop for investment resource news.

INNOVATIVE INITIATIVES. More detailed information about Innovative Initiatives described in the e-news can be found under the INNOVATIONS tab on the Council's home page. See profiles on partnership, prevention permanent housing, and health care.

WASHINGTON, DC. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), led by Secretary and former United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Chair Tommy Thompson, has made available an array of on-line tools to support public and private sector partners in the federal initiative to end chronic homelessness. These resources join the 2003 HHS plan to end chronic homelessness, "Ending Chronic Homelessness: Strategies for Action," released in March 2003 by Secretary Thompson (pictured here at right).

As part of HHS's efforts to provide resources to states on strategies to inrease access to mainstream programs, two on-line tools are available. "Improving Medicaid Access for People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness: State Examples" and "How States Can Use SAMHSA Block Grants to Support Services to People Who are Homeless." Each gives specific insight into state-oriented strategies for meeting the needs of persons experiencing chronic homelessness. Within the array of mainstream programs, Medicaid is an especially important funding source which can cover many services that treat the underlying causes of a person's homelessness, including mental health services, prescription drugs, medical services, addiction disorder treatment, and case management. HHS's report focuses on three types of practices that have increased Medicaid access for people experiencing chronic homelessness: expanding eligibility using waivers authorized by Section 1115 of the Social Security Act (1115 waivers); assisting people leaving psychiatric facilities and correctional facilities (who are at risk of homelessness) to obtain Medicaid quickly; and simplifying the eligibility determination process. Access the report on line at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medicaid/homeless

"State Strategies to Support Services for People Who Are Homeless" includes approaches to make homelessness and housing issues a priority, develop a plan and build capacity, and implement and monitor a plan. Examples are provided from New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Ohio, and Washington. View the report on- line at http://media.shs.net/ken/pdf/

HHS's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) developed "Blueprint for Change" to disseminate state-of-the-art information about ending homelessness for people who have serious mental illnesses, including those with co-occurring substance use disorders. It offers practical advice for how to plan, organize, and sustain a comprehensive, integrated system of care designed to end homelessness for people with serious mental illnesses and/or co-occurring substance use disorders. Read the Blueprint at http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications

HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) hosts the information site for the federal interagency Policy Academy process. In 2004, the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs and Labor held a seventh Policy Academy through which states are offered expertise and peer- to-peer learning opportunities on maximizing availability and accessibility of resources for homeless persons to mainstresam programs. Five of the seven Policy Academies have focused on helping persons experiencing chronic homelessness access mainstream resources; the remaining two had homeless families as their focus. A National Learning Meeting was held in October 2004 to showcase innovative approaches the states have implemented, to provide additional opportunity for peer to peer technical assistance, and to determine what further assistance would be helpful to states in implementing their state plans. Visit the Policy Academy web site to see state plans: www.hrsa.gov/homeless

The Compassion Capital Fund is HHS's two-year old initiative in the Administration for Children and Families and a key component of the President's Faith-Based and Community Initiative. CCF helps faith-based and community organizations increase their effectiveness and enhance their ability to provide social services in communities across the nation. CCF has released four on-line guidebooks for faith-based and community organizations, as well as intermediary organizations. The new Guidebooks are:

• Best Practices: knowledge and information needed to be able to identify, validate, and promote best practices
• Establishing Partnerships: key elements involved in building capacity through effective partnership development
• Grant Acquisition: key concepts about effective federal grant research and proposal writing practices
• Grant Management: key concepts and elements required to manage Federal grants effectively

CCF also has available guides in PDF format on Outcomes Measurement, Revenue Sources, Sub-Award Management, and Technical Assistance. CCF Guides can be viewed on-line at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccf/

WASHINGTON, DC. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development this year forwarded two key resources available on-line to support public and private sector partners as they develop strategies to end chronic homelessness. Additional information on the Department initiatives can be found at www.hud.gov/homeless/index.cfm HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson is pictured here.

In December 2003, HUD announced the largest total award of Federal funds ever for homeless assistance in history - more than $1.27 billion awarded to over 3,700 projects nationally. Awards were made in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. In the 2004 competition, applicants were asked to describe local plans for conducting data collection for completing the 'unsheltered' population, including at least a biannual count starting with the 2005 competition based upon a one day, point-in-time study, preferably in the last week of January 2005. To help communities perform this census, HUD has published "A Guide to Counting Unsheltered Homeless People."

According to HUD, many communities have long understood the need to count, describe, and understand the homeless people who do not use shelters and are typically found on the streets, in abandoned buildings, or in other places not meant for human habitation. Unsheltered homeless people are an important subpopulation of homeless persons and their characteristics and needs must be accommodated within any strategy to reduce homelessness and help eliminate chronic homelessness. Collecting good baseline data about this subpopulation is essential to understanding the causes of homelessness and to designing effective responses, and can be used as a basis for comparison in future years.

The guide describes several methods for identifying, counting, and learning about homeless people who are unlikely to be found in shelters or in other residential programs within a local homeless assistance network. Information about these approaches was gathered from communities throughout the country, and examples of their methods are provided throughout the Guide. Examples of work sheets, timelines, survey forms and more from Boston, New York City, Denver, Philadelphia, Seattle, Atlanta, Long Beach, Broward County, Florida, Washington, and Kentucky are included.

Also this year, HUD released "Strategies for Reducing Chronic Street Homelessness" a national examination of community-wide approaches that are working in cities around the country. The report documents common elements in the strategies of seven communities that appear to maximize progress. Cities examined were Birmingham, Boston, Columbus, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego, and Seattle.

Each city profile answers the following questions:

• Does the community have a long-term plan for reducing/preventing chronic homelessness? What is its approach, and what are the elements? What led to this approach, and how was it identified? What needs of which homeless people does it address?
• How was the approach implemented? What challenges were encountered? What opportunities were used?
• How is the approach administered and coordinated? What is the role of each stakeholder?
• How is the approach funded? Do requirements of the funding sources create any barriers or promote any successes?
• Did implementation include efforts to reduce local resistance by including community members? How? How successful have these efforts been?
• Can the community document its progress, either by showing that the numbers of street homeless people have decreased or by showing that programs are accepting this population and helping them leave homelessness?
• How else do communities use data to bolster their case for making the investment to end chronic street homelessness?

The full report is available at www.huduser.org/publications/pdf/chronicstrhome less.pdf

WASHINGTON, DC. Effectively addressing reentry needs for men and women returning from prison is recognized as a key to homelessness prevention. DOJ's Reentry Initiative represents the development of a new approach 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.

The United States Department of Justice's Reentry Initiative, developed in partnership with multiple federal agencies including the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, Veterans Affairs, and the Small Business Administration, Social Security Administration, and White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, provides on-line resources to ensure that partners from all sectors can stay up to date with reentry developments, research, and innovations at the federal, state, and local level.

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.

JUSTINFO, published by the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), is a biweekly electronic newsletter with links to full-text documents. JUSTINFO and the NCJRS catalog (published bimonthly) cover new and emerging topics in the criminal justice field, including juvenile justice, victimization, substance abuse, law enforcement, courts, and corrections.

JUVJUST is an electronic newsletter published by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), which announces the arrival of new publications and other newsworthy events and offers updates on the latest juvenile justice information from OJJDP and the field. Subscribe to DOJ Reentry Resources by visiting http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reentry/welcome.html

WASHINGTON, DC. The United States Department of Labor's (DOL) Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (CFBCI) continues to create resources to support community partners and highlighting DOL's Ready4Work initiative, a partnership of business, faith, community, and criminal justice organizations. This year, CFBCI completed a series of national conference calls on reentry which highlighted barriers and opportunities for organizations working with this emerging population. Audio transcripts of the Center's three calls are posted for listening. In addition to the conference calls, DOL has posted print resources on prisoner reentry and the Ready4Work program. "Ready4Work: Business Perspective on Ex- Offender Reentry" providing proven business strategies for all partners in reaching employment goals for ex-offenders.

U.S Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary and U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Vice-Chair Elaine Chao (pictured here) announced Ready4Work awards this year, echoing President Bush's State of the Union declaration that "everyone deserves a second chance." Ready4Work is a three-year, $22.5 million program to assist faith-based and community programs that provide mentoring and other transition services for men and women returning from prison. The initiative represents investments by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Justice (DOJ) and a consortium of private foundations.

In August 2004 DOL announced a new $2 million grant program under DOL's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Youth Office to help teens aging out of foster care become employed and self- sufficient. The five grantees, each receiving $400,000, are the California Employment Development Department; Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs; New York State Office of Children & Family Services; Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, and the Texas Workforce Commission. Read about the awards at www.dol.gov/dol/audience/aud-homeless.htm

WASHINGTON, DC. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers a wide array of special programs and initiatives specifically designed to help homeless veterans live as self- sufficiently and independently as possible. Under the current leadership of VA Secretary and United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Chair Anthony Principi (pictured here), interagency partnership and awareness of VA resources and the needs of homeless veterans has been enhanced.

Ensuring that State Interagency Councils on Homelessness and city and county 10-Year Planning processes to end chronic homelessness are active and informed partners to VA and veterans serving organizations is a goal of the Interagency Council. VA's Homeless Veteran Coordinator Offices can provide state and local partners with information about the services for homeless veterans provided through the Veterans Health Administration. Services include outreach, case management, referrals to benefits counselors, linkage to health care, and housing assistance.

Project CHALENG (Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups) for Veterans is a VA program designed to enhance the care for homeless veterans provided by the local VA and its surrounding community service agencies. The guiding principle behind Project CHALENG is that no single agency can provide the full spectrum of services required to help homeless veterans become productive members of society. Project CHALENG enhances coordinated services by bringing the VA together with community agencies and other federal, state, and local governments who provide services to the homeless to raise awareness of homeless veterans' needs and to plan to meet those needs.

At the local level, VA medical centers and regional offices designate CHALENG Points of Contact (POCs) who are responsible for these requirements. These CHALENG POCs - usually local VA homeless center/project coordinators - work with local agencies throughout the year to coordinate services for homeless veterans. Each year Project CHALENG publishes a report summarizing the results of annual surveys of both local VA staff and community participants (local government, service providers, formerly and currently homeless veterans). These surveys ask for current perceptions of homeless veterans' needs, the degree of VA/community cooperation and collaboration in serving homeless veterans, and progress on local homeless veterans program initiatives. The most recent CHALENG report for FY 2003 is available on-line. The Report includes both VISN (Veterans Integrated Service Network) and Facility data. Also at the VA site is a web-based video on Project CHALENG: http://www1.va.gov/homeless.

FirstStep is an on-line tool that describes Federal assistance that may be available to homeless persons, reviews eligibility issues, and provides basic program features and information on where and how to apply for assistance. Its goal is to improve the range of services that can be accessed by homeless persons and speed the application process. VA Health Care and Compensation resources are accessible using FirstStep, as are programs of other partner federal agencies: HUD, HHS, DOL, and Social Security Administration.

Additional programs that may benefit persons experiencing homelessness are linked where possible. These include: Community Development Block Grant, Community Mental Health Services Block Grant, Community Service Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnership, Housing Choice Vouchers, Social Services Block Grant, Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant, Welfare-to-Work, and Workforce Investment. See FirstStep by visiting http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medicaid/homeless.

The VA Grant and Per Diem program is offered annually (as funding permits) by the VA to fund community-based agencies providing transitional housing or service centers for homeless veterans. Under the Capital Grant Component VA may fund up to 65% of the project for the construction, acquisition, or renovation of facilities or to purchase van(s) to provide outreach and services to homeless veterans. Per Diem is available to grantees to help off-set operational expenses. Non-Grant programs may apply for Per Diem under a separate announcement, when published in the Federal Register, announcing the funding for "Per Diem Only." For more information on the program, visit http://www1.va.gov/homeless.