Maricopa Regional Continuum of Care: June Newsletter

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

Community Adopted Best Practices Office Hours 

Each year, the Maricopa Regional Continuum of Care reviews and updates our Community Adopted Best Practices. This year, we will be holding two office hour sessions to provide feedback. Thank you to those who participated in the May session. The second session will be held on June 8, 2023 at 2:00pm via Zoom. If you are interested in attending, please Register Here! 

Continuum of Care Office Hours 

The Continuum of Care is holding Office Hours for partners within the Continuum of Care to discuss challenges and solutions to addressing homelessness. The session will be held in a hybrid format on Monday, June 14 from 2:00 – 4:00 PM with an encouragement to attend in person. If you are interested in attending, please Register Here! 

Discover the CoC Learning Gateway 

The CoC Learning Gateway is a Learning Management System designed to support organizations with a myriad of trainings, best practices, and resources - over two dozen trainings are available to start, and more are on the way. 

Whether you are a funder interested in innovative housing practices or frontline staff seeking guidance on implementing diversion strategies with clients, the CoC Learning Gateway offers a range of opportunities. If your organization is interested in onboarding, complete the CoC Partner survey and access the system today! 

2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) – Coming Soon! 

The annual NOFO season is almost here. As we await further details from HUD, take a moment to review this year’s scorecards and Rank & Review policy on the CoC Funding webpage. Stay tuned for the announcement of a NOFO Kickoff Webinar when we learn more. 

Corporation for Supportive Housing Research Opportunity 

The Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) is partnering with Notre Dame’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) to design and implement rigorous evaluations focused on looking at how housing aligned with services helps individuals, families, and communities thrive. They are hosting a webinar tomorrow, June 6 at 10 a.m. to discuss the opportunity. Learn More and Register Here! 

PAST MEETINGS 

All CoC meetings and events can be found on the 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. 

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 reviewed and approved the Homelessness Trends Report, provided feedback on the Performance Standards, and elected a new Co-Chair, Rachel Milne. The Board will be reviewing the Charter in June and bring updates to the Board for approval.  

The Continuum of Care Committee received a presentation on the 2023 annual Point in Time Count and reviewed and provided feedback on the Performance Standards. The Committee also received a presentation from the Data Analytics Workgroup, which provided information on those who are returning to the system after having a positive exit. 

The Coordinated Entry Committee reviewed numbers of singles and families entering the system, the number of individuals who are experiencing domestic violence and entering coordinated entry, and the number of new access points. The committee also discussed and reviewed at length the work of the Coordinated Entry Assessment Workgroup. The order of prioritization for a new tool was determined to be:  

The Data Committee (DSC) reviewed more Data Requests from the community and voted to approve their charter. The group also discussed the committee’s 4 main priorities for 2023 and will begin forming smaller workgroups based off these priorities to create goals and make action plans. Next meeting will include a review of performance standards and a presentation from the Data Analytics Workgroup. 

The ESG Committee hosted Robyn Andrews from CSH, who completed the ESG training series with a presentation on Indirect Costs. The ESG Committee also voted on a few minor edits to their charter and had a discussion with MAG staff about the performance standards in development.  

The Lived Experience Committee reviewed their Charter and Mission Statement and discussed the Shelter Bill of Rights, which will be getting additional feedback from funders and shelter providers. 

The Local Jurisdiction Committee reviewed standardized tools that can support the services provided by jurisdictions and their partners. The committee also heard an update from the City of Phoenix regarding ongoing efforts to clean up encampments downtown.  

The Race Equity Committee provided feedback on the Performance Standards, discussed the Shelter Bill of Rights, and continued discussing the Move On Strategies work. In addition, Race Equity Partners held a training on Friday, June 2. If you were unable to attend, you can watch the training in the Learning Management System. Further, a Race Equity workforce workgroup is looking for membership. If you are interested in furthering the conversation about a more diverse workforce, from frontline to leadership, email Kelli Williams for more details: kwilliams@azmag.gov.  

The Youth Action Committee welcomed three new members and continues to work on the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project grant, which is due at the end of June. The YAC is writing a portion of the grant as well as reviewing the submission of the grant before submittal.  

The Communications Workgroup reviewed a proposed logo and taglines for the Continuum of Care. The group provided feedback for additional tweaks before approving the logo in the June meeting and getting feedback from additional Committees. The group will begin working through talking points for across the CoC, common responses to questions within the homeless system, and the role of the CoC in education.  

NEW! The Connecting to Housing Workgroup was formed to create better alignment between the Continuum of Care and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. The group heard a presentation from Sheree Bouchee with the Department of Housing to further understand LIHTC and the ways to provide feedback as well as apply for LIHTC funding. The group discussed next steps and who else should participate in the workgroup.  

The Connecting to Systems of Care Workgroup determined that they would like to focus on ensuring that organizations and agencies within the homelessness system are aware of one another and how to best refer in and out of each agency. If you are interested in joining this workgroup, please contact Haleigh Owens at howens@azmag.gov.  

The Data Analytics Workgroup presented key findings on their Returns to Homelessness analysis to the Committee during the May meeting. In June, the group will be providing a version of the findings presentation geared towards funders and will work on future priority brainstorming.  

The Emergency Shelter Workgroup continue to meet to review the coordination of singles shelter and how to best ensure individuals are able to access shelter when available. The group also reviewed the Shelter Occupancy dashboard and provided feedback for the Data Committee to consider. The workgroup will continue to provide updates on shelter availability and discuss how to best coordinate moving forward.  

The Move On Workgroup is finalizing the assessment and working with providers on next steps including updating the workflow, meeting with case managers to train them on the opportunity, and begin accepting referrals through Coordinated Entry. The group is also looking to add individuals who are in Rapid Rehousing to the pilot who meet the requirements.  

NEW! The System Flow Dashboard Workgroup was formed to create an open space for the HMIS team to present on the System Flow Dashboard. Attendees can ask questions, explore subpopulations, and have discussions on details of the dashboard. The meeting will occur on the last Tuesday of the month at 10:30 a.m. To attend, register on the Events Calendar.   

The Outreach Collaborative is currently undergoing a Contact List update. If you are interested in being part of the Outreach Collaborative, please contact Haleigh Owens at howens@azmag.gov.  

The Veteran Collaborative is currently undergoing a Contact List update. If you are interested in being part of the Veteran Collaborative, please contact Haleigh Owens at howens@azmag.gov. 

The Youth Provider Collaborative reviewed questions on the upcoming Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project grant and brainstormed responses to questions that required community input. The Collaborative also began a pilot with Civic Roundtable, which hopes to enhance communication among members of the Youth Provider Collaborative. If you are interested in becoming part of the Youth Provider Collaborative, please contact Haleigh Owens at howens@azmag.gov.  

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 

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

UPCOMING TRAININGS AND WEBINARS 

Click here to learn more about the CoC Learning Gateway and on-demand training opportunities, or check out the CoC Event Calendar for live events. 

The Intersection of Domestic Violence and Mental Illness: Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence – Learn More and Register Here! 

June 8th from 10 AM – 12 PM 

McKinney-Vento School Selection Rights: National Center for Homeless Education – Learn More and Register Here! 

June 14th from 11 AM – 12 PM 

Supporting the Education of Unaccompanied Students Experiencing Homelessness: National Center for Homeless Education – Learn More and Register Here! 

June 20th from 11 AM – 12 PM 

Increasing Affordable Housing on Arizona’s Tribal Lands, A Review of HUD’s Southwest Office of Native American Programs: MAG and Arizona Community Foundation – Learn More and Register Here!  

June 22nd from 10 AM – 12 PM 

All I've Lost: Addressing the Intersection of Grief & Domestic Violence: Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence – Learn More and Register Here! 

June 22nd from 11AM – 12:30 PM 

Medical Forensic Exams: Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence – Learn More and Register Here! 

June 28th from 1:30 PM – 3 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 infographics. 

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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