Maricopa Regional Continuum of Care: April Newsletter

CDC Issues Health Advisory on Increase in Global and Domestic Measles Cases and Outbreaks 

A message from HUD: “...Measles is highly contagious and almost entirely preventable through vaccination. Homeless service providers should be aware of this current situation, and partner with local public health providers to be informed about vaccine recommendations. 

The experience of homelessness places individuals at greater risk of exposure to a variety of infectious diseases, including measles, hepatitis A, tuberculosis, and influenza. It is essential for communities to be well versed in preparedness strategies and intervention measures and to work with key partners to prevent and control the spread of infectious diseases among people experiencing homelessness.” 

Visit HUD’s website to view their full message and available resources. Please contact MAG Human Services Director, Kelli Williams, for questions: KWilliams@azmag.gov.  

CoC Champion Named Woman of the Year 

Congratulations to Misty Gustafson, City of Chandler Homeless Programs Supervisor, who was recently named the 2023 Beth McDonald Woman of the Year! In addition to her tireless efforts for the city, she has also been a fierce advocate throughout the continuum. Thank you for all your hard work, Misty! 

Project Connect Tempe 

The next Project Connect is set to occur in Tempe on April 23rd! This pop-up event provides services to community members experiencing homelessness, and registration is now live. Providers can sign up here, and those interested in volunteering can click this link! 

THE ALL INSIDE INITIATIVE  

Waivers and Regulatory Relief:  

The All INside Initiative is a first of its kind initiative to support those experiencing unsheltered homelessness.  Ideally, an evidence-based practice like Housing First, where individuals and families experiencing homelessness are quickly connected to stable housing without preconditions, could be implemented efficiently.  At times, due to administrative requirements, access to housing itself may cause delays in implementing such an evidence-based practice.  The promise of ALL INside is to strive to “…identify opportunities for regulatory relief and flexibilities…”. 

Thankfully, the ALL INside team is continually learning throughout this Initiative.  Those lessons are being applied with waivers and regulatory relief activities.  For example, waivers or support for waivers are actively being pursued for the following ALL INside activities in Phoenix/Mesa/Maricopa:  support and streamline procurement (Office of Management and Budget), approve data sharing (Treasury), support previously approved Medicaid 1115 waiver (Health and Human Services), many HUD-related considerations, among other identified possible requests.  In fact, HUD has been and continues to be a great partner with this entire ALL INside initiative and is re-invigorating efforts to determine if there are other HUD-related waivers and/or regulatory relief to be considered. 

While these current requests are actively pursued, ALL INside would like to ask for and define future requests for waivers and regulatory relief.  A Survey Monkey link (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LSG9VHB) has been created which outlines the expectations: 1) Issue Title, 2) Problem, 3) Further Explanation, and 4) Specific Request (Funding Source, Regulation in Question, Benefit, etc.). 

So much more to come within the ALL INside waiver and regulatory relief space.  Looking forward to partnering with you in these efforts. 

To contact CAPT Forde, please reach him by email (kent.forde@samhsa.hhs.gov), phone (240-276-2096), or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kent-forde5555/).  

PAST MEETINGS 

A complete description of each of the CoC meetings can be found on the CoC Overview where you can learn more about the Collaboratives, find out when they meet and register for meetings, or contact the appropriate MAG staff member.  

The Continuum of Care Board heard from Capt. Kent Forde regarding the All Inside initiative and regulatory relief waivers, a legislative update from the Arizona Housing Coalition, and review of the NOFO scorecards. For questions: kwilliams@azmag.gov. 

The Continuum of Care Collaborative received a legislative update from the Arizona Housing Coalition as well as updates on the CoC Community Adopted Best Practices, CoC Written Standards, the CORES workgroup toolkit, and the newly started flex funding toolkit. The group spent the second half of the meeting beginning the process of action planning around their top 5 strategic plan items.   

The Coordinated Entry Collaborative continued its work developing a new assessment tool and conversations with AzHAC around options for evaluating this tool. CE Collaborative also continued planning other work for the year, in line with the CoC Strategic Plan, including an update of the CE Policies and Procedures. 

The Data Collaborative, in collaboration with the HMIS team, approved 3 new agencies to begin onboarding to HMIS and recommended a data request for approval. The group also heard updates on the annual Longitudinal System Analysis submission, the Homelessness Trends Report, and the HMIS governance transition project.  

The ESG Collaborative began planning work for the year, in line with the CoC Strategic Plan. This includes coordinating with other groups that are invested in updating operating standards for emergency shelter and Rapid Rehousing. 

The Lived Experience Collaborative discussed their goals for the year, including creating resource documents for those experiencing homelessness, increasing partnerships and volunteer opportunities to increase housing stability, and increasing storytelling and storytelling skills to both share about their experiences with homelessness and to teach others how to share their stories. 

The Local Jurisdiction Collaborative was led by Chandler on a discussion of the non-congregate shelter programs run by the jurisdictions, which identified a recurring challenge with family prioritization in Coordinated Entry. The group also reviewed the new Cross-System Referral Guide and the latest Homelessness Trends Report. 

The Race Equity Collaborative discussed updates to the coordinated entry assessment pilot and race proxy questions. The Outreach viewer standards project was reviewed. Further conversation about the categories of standards was requested. There is work underway to launch a professional development mentorship program within the CoC to further career opportunities.  

The Youth Action Collaborative planned out its efforts to increase storytelling skills among those experiencing homelessness within the region, which will include workshops and the development of a training course. The group also revised the language used to promote the youth resource guide and discussed the possibility of a youth resource fair. 

The Connecting to Systems of Care Workgroup is working to complete a toolkit for Rapid Rehousing Providers. This toolkit will help RRH providers understand ESG funding, provide talking points for connecting with non-ESG funders for flexible funds, and offer data points on RRH and flexible funding to aid conversations with funders. The workgroup will have a completed draft of this toolkit by the end of April. 

The Data Insights Workgroup continues to work with AzHAC to identify the best strategies to complete a comprehensive analysis on Returns to Homelessness using HMIS data.  

The Data Quality Workgroup met three times in March to discuss data quality priorities of the strategic plan and Data Collaborative. The group will continue working through strategy to address key system data quality need.  

The Emergency Shelter Workgroup will resume in the coming months with peer-to-peer learning on best practices in emergency shelter. The group will discuss public health topics including substance use. If interested in joining, reach out to Brian Gruters at bgruters@azmag.gov. 

The Move On Workgroup continued processing candidate referrals through Coordinated Entry, as well as discussing options for Public Housing Authorities interested in participating in the Move-On program. 

The Outreach Workgroup will resume in the coming months with a review of the first draft of regional operational standards for street outreach programs. If interested in participating in this discussion, reach out to Brian Gruters at bgruters@azmag.gov. 

UPCOMING MEETINGS, 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. 

Understanding the Impact of Economic Abuse on Survivors of Domestic Violence – Economic abuse is a prevalent dynamic in domestic violence, present in 99% of relationships where domestic violence occurs. It ranges from controlling access to funds to the misuse of credit, significantly affecting the communities we serve. It poses a barrier to long-term well-being and safety. Join ACESDV for an introductory three-part training series. Register Here! 

April 01, 2024, 02: 00 PM - 03: 30 PM | April 24, 2024, 02: 30 PM - 04: 00 PM | May 29, 2024, 02: 30 PM - 04: 00 PM  

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. 

Click this link to view previous months’ newsletters.    

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