Maricopa Regional Continuum of Care: April Newsletter

Maricopa Association of Governments sent this bulletin at 04/04/2023 09:28 AM MST
Maricopa Regional Continuum of Care
Maricopa Regional Continuum of Care (CoC) Newsletter | APRIL 2023

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CoC Funding Announced!  

On March 28, 2023, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the Maricopa CoC $36.3 million including two new projects. To learn more about the funding and to see the full list of projects, view the news release.  

 

CoC Board Membership Opening 

The Continuum of Care Board is currently seeking new members. The Continuum of Care Board plans for the region, convenes diverse stakeholders that address and are impacted by homelessness, and makes regional policy recommendations to local leaders. Perspectives currently underrepresented on the Board include Policy or Advocacy Representative; Funder Representative; and Community Seats. We continue to seek to diversify Board membership and invite anyone interested to apply. The application for the Continuum of Care Board will close on April 14, 2023, at 5:00 p.m.  

 

Learning Management System Launch 

Trainings from the CoC will soon have a new and improved home! In late March, MAG Regional Council approved a contract with WorkRamp, Inc. to provide the platform for a Learning Management System. This tool seeks to provide a streamlined and accessible learning environment with dynamic content and resources for the community. Implementation is currently in early development, and users will begin to gain access in the coming months. To connect further, please contact Dillon Belmont at dbelmont@azmag.gov.  

 

Arizona Department of Health Services Mobile Clinics 

ADHS' robust mobile vaccination and testing programs are free, and available to all Arizonans regardless of insurance status, or immigration status and are also available in-home to homebound Arizonans! Vendors will come to you without any additional support needed from your staff. They provide a COVID-19 Mobile Vaccination Program and LTCF Booster Vaccine Program, MPox Mobile Vaccination Program, and a COVID-19 Mobile Testing Program. If you have questions about any of the programs, reach out to Jessie Barbosa at jessica.barbosa@azdhs.gov. 

 

YMCA’s PHX350 Program Launch 

Valley of the Sun YMCA is proud to announce the opening of the new homeless youth drop-in center and residential program at the Lincoln Family YMCA, called PHX350. 

In partnership with the Arizona Department of Housing, this program will provide individuals ages 18-24 with access to daily drop-in center services, as well as access to 50 residential beds. The YMCA is providing wrap-around services and support services through a number of community partnerships in an effort to be a comprehensive destination for young people seeking shelter. 

 

Free File program with the IRS   

Taxes are due! The IRS offers the Free File program for qualifying individuals. Their website also includes resources and tools to help you avoid errors and master the process. Learn more here. 

 

 

PAST MEETINGS 

NEW! A complete description of each of the CoC meetings can be found on the CoC Committee Overview where you can learn more about the Committees, find out when they meet, or contact the appropriate MAG staff member.    

 

The Continuum of Care Board held Office Hours in March as an open space forum to discuss challenges related to the Continuum of Care. The next Office Hours will be held on June 12 and encourage community members to attend. In addition, the CoC Board approved new policies and data share agreements, reviewed the 2022 System Performance Measures submitted to HUD in February, and the 2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity scorecard. Lastly, the Board discussed the Learning Management System and next steps for the community as well as opened Board membership. If interested, please apply by Friday, April 14. In April, the Board will be reviewing and approving the CoC Strategic Plan. 

 

The Continuum of Care Committee reviewed the Systems Flow Dashboard and discussed how the data should be informing the work of the CoC Committee. They also continued to review System Performance Measures as well as reviewed and approved the 2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity scorecard. The CoC Committee reviewed and modified their mission statement, to be approved at the next meeting. 

 

The Coordinated Entry Committee (CEC) received the Coordinated Entry System (CES) Evaluation Report to review findings and recommendations. The finalized CES Evaluation Report will be available on the MAG website this week. The Coordinated Entry Committee (CEC), Lived Experience Committee (LEC), and Race Equity Committee (REC) will identify priorities in the upcoming weeks to begin the next phase. In addition, the CE Leads provided updates during the CEC meeting. The Family Housing Hub has 140 families on their shelter waitlist, a decrease of 39 families since the last report. The current wait time for shelter is still six weeks.   

 

The Data Committee (DC) spent March reviewing and providing input on the Strategic Plan, reviewing and approving the Data Share Policy, and using the new policy to review a data request from the Maricopa County Department of Health. In April, Data Committee will be reviewing more data requests, looking at instance of agency low data quality, and voting in new members to begin in May.  

 

The ESG Committee hosted Robyn Andrews from CSH, who continued the ESG training series with a presentation on match. The ESG Committee also reviewed and provided feedback on the Strategic Plan. In April, the group will receive a presentation from Robyn on ESG Reporting. Anyone interested in learning more on ESG reporting are invited to attend.    

 

The Lived Experience Committee (LEC) continues to gather feedback for the Shelter Bill of Rights (SBR). The Youth Action Committee and the Race Equity Committee provided input on the SBR in March. In April, MAG Staff will visit shelters throughout the region to gather feedback from current shelter residents and provide the information to the LEC before finalizing.   

 

The Local Jurisdiction Committee (LJC) discussed how diversion and prevention, two alternative housing interventions, can effectively leverage limited resources. Additional progress was made in refining the jurisdictional data report, with a final draft expected to move before the committee in April. LJC also reviewed the latest versions of the Data Sharing Policy and the Strategic Plan. This week, there will be an optional Office Hours meeting to discuss standard procedures for performance reporting. 

 

The Race Equity Committee is starting a workgroup related to workforce. If you are interested in participating in the workgroup, please reach out to Kelli Williams at kwilliams@azmag.gov. Further, the committee met in March for a working session to closely review the Strategic Plan and provide feedback. The May Racial Equity Partners training for the community will occur on Friday, May 26, 2023 at 2 pm via Zoom. The topic is, “Becoming an Antiracist.” Registration details pending.  

 

The Youth Action Committee reviewed and updated their charter and will be voting to approve the final version in April. The Charter includes membership structure, their mission statement, and Roles & Responsibilities.  

 

The Communications Workgroup reviewed the changes to the website and discussed a communication strategy throughout the Continuum of Care to ensure effective communication between members of the CoC, into the CoC, and out into the community. The group will be meeting in April to further review the strategy and discuss next steps.  

 

The Data Analytics Workgroup compiled key takeaways from the work the group has completed on Returns to Homelessness data and presented these findings during a larger working session. Providers, funders, and others working within the system provided feedback that will be used to form next steps and possible recommendations to be taken to Data Committee in May.  

 

The Emergency Shelter Workgroup met to understand the current process relating to shelter availability and how to better coordinate shelter for single adults. In response, the group created a flowchart to understand process and began coordinating shelter availability. The group will convene in April to determine how the process is working and how to bring additional partners into the coordination process.  

 

The Move On Workgroup welcomed Stephanie Crum from Solari to discuss potential HMIS workflow for the Move On Strategy. The Single Adults Coordinated Entry Housing Match Team met with Solari for workflow feedback and will bring the information to the group to determine the next steps. Public Housing Authorities and the Coordinated Entry leads will begin attending meetings to provide input on the development of the process. The workgroup is going to start creating training materials in the upcoming months.  

 

The Outreach Collaborative gave feedback on the Chronic Homeless Verification Letter (CHVL) and Disability Verification Letter (DVL) cover pages. The group decided to shift the meeting to a quarterly in-person meeting with working meetings in between. The working groups plan to continue to develop the Outreach Standardized Policies and Procedures. The group will present it during the next quarterly Outreach Collaborative for feedback. If you are interested in attending the workgroup, please reach out to Michelle Miguel at mmiguel@azmag.gov. 

 

The Public Housing Authority Workgroup (PHA) provided updates on the Emergency Housing Vouchers. Vanessa Carthell presented on the Move On Strategy and provided additional information to the PHAs. Scottsdale, Glendale, and HAMC will begin attending the Move On Workgroup in April to determine the next steps.   

 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 

 

Regular committee meetings have ended for the legislative session, which moves the focus for the remainder of the session to appropriation committee meetings and budget discussions. The three remaining Arizona Housing Coalition priorities (increasing the Housing Trust Fund, increasing the DES Homeless Coordination line-item, and expanding the State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit) will all become budget negotiations. 

 

Legislative bill updates include the following: 

  • SB1244, which would increase LIHTC from $4 million to $10 million after 2023, with $10 million in tax credits each calendar year through 2036, was amended with a strike everything amendment to be heard in House Appropriations on April 3rd. 
  • SB1117, the primary zoning reform bill, failed in its original form. SB1116, SB1163, and HB2536 are alternative zoning bills that are also designed to address current zoning limitations. SB1163 is on the House Rules agenda for April 4th and HB2536 has passed through Senate Rules and each party’s caucus.  
  • HB2649 was amended with a strike everything amendment and passed through Senate Judiciary Committee on March 30th. The bill addresses health and safety in encampments.  
  • SB1413 addresses the removal of encampments, and the Arizona Housing Coalition is opposed to the bill. The bill is on the House Rules agenda for April 4th. 
  • SB1585 addresses solutions to homelessness through funding for facilities. It has been the subject of many stakeholder meetings yet still carries some concerns around language for citations. 

 

The Arizona Housing Coalition leads the efforts to end homelessness and advocate for safe, affordable homes for all Arizonans. For any questions, please contact Joanna Carr with the Arizona Housing Coalition at joanna@azhousingcoalition.org, join the Arizona Housing Coalition, or get involved in their Advocacy Committee if you are a member.    

 

UPCOMING MEETINGS, TRAININGS, AND WEBINARS 

All CoC meetings and Events can be found on our Meeting and Event Calendar. If you are interested in attending and do not have a meeting invite, register on the event page or reach out to hsinfo@azmag.gov. 

 

ACESDV Prevention Series: Harm-Doers & Prevention: Register Here! 

April 4th from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM 

 

Zoning - Journalists Roundtable – AZ Housing Coalition: Register Here! 

April 5th from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM 

 

McKinney-Vento 101: Basic Requirements of the McKinney-Vento Act: Register Here! 

April 5th from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM 

 

AZ Housing Coalition’s Advocacy 101 Workshop: Register for Training! 

April 12th from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM 

 

Implementing a Complex Care Shelter: Opportunities and Lessons Learned: Register Here! 

April 17th from 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM 

 

The Intersection of Homelessness, Domestic Violence and Pets: Register for Webinar! 

April 24th 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM 

 

Maricopa HMIS Trainings: Solari Crisis and Human Services, the HMIS lead for the Maricopa Regional CoC, hosts a series of trainings each month for Homeless Management Information System users. Learn More and Register Here! 

 

PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITIES 

Click this link for open Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Requests for Qualifications (RFQs), Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), and Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO). 

 

RESOURCES 

 

Click this link for available service provider resources, including toolkits and definitions. 

 

NEW! Interested in reviewing the System Performance Measures and seeing changes over time? Check out the recently launched System Performance Measures dashboard!  

 

Click this link to view previous months’ newsletters.    

 

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