Office of Family and Adult Homelessness Newsletter

Washington State Department of Commerce sent this bulletin at 05/01/2019 09:00 AM PDT

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May 1, 2019

Please forward to your sub grantees and contact your OFAH grant manager if you have any questions.

Updated Coordinated Entry Guidelines Released

Commerce released an updated version of the Coordinated Entry (CE) Guidelines in March. This version provides more “plain talk,” examples and clear prompts on whether a policy and/or procedure is needed to meet the requirements of each section. You can find the latest version of the CE Guidelines by visiting our OFAH webpage.

Along with the release of the guidelines, OFAH also provided a webinar to highlight changes in the requirements and answer questions. You can view the recording here.

New funding opportunities with the Office of Homeless Youth

The Office of Homeless Youth (OHY) is excited to announce the release of four Requests for Proposals to address youth and young adult homelessness across the state. (Note: All awards contingent upon final 2019-21 budget appropriations.)

OHY Core Program grants
Systems of Care grants
Anchor Community Initiative grants
Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program grants

For more information on OHY funding opportunities and how to apply, visit the OHY website here. First time applying for funding from OHY? Check out our OHY Procurement 101 Webinar here.

DSHS Mobile Community Service Office (CSO)

Did you know you can request a Mobile Community Service Office (CSO) visit in your service area? You can find schedules for east and west sides of the state and more information at this link. You can also follow its Facebook page for notices and messaging.

The Mobile CSO is on the road to reach new clients and improve customer service. Rural households who find the trip to their local CSO too far to travel may have services roll into their hometown. Department of Social and Health Services’ (DSHS) two 40-foot trucks transform into functioning offices - each vehicle includes a reception area, interview stations, and a sun shade for protection from the elements or extra space, and a mechanical lift as an option for access instead of the stairs.

Each Mobile CSO unit is staffed by experienced program specialists who are able to determine financial eligibility for the cash and food assistance programs. Specialists process new applications, reviews and changes for active cases; issue EBT cards and receive documents. Applications for the Child Care Subsidy Program will be forwarded to that unit for processing. The Mobile CSO specialists also determine eligibility for Medicare Savings Programs and Aged, Blind or Disabled Medicaid.

Myth vs. Fact

Myth: Housing and Essential Needs (HEN) rental assistance is a “light touch” intervention with little to no case management.

Fact: Like all Consolidated Homeless Grant (CHG) funding, HEN must serve clients using a progressive engagement service model. Some clients may only need a light touch while others may require more support.

See the CHG Guidelines Section 6.1.3 to learn more about the components of a progressive engagement model.

Women of Color in the Nonprofit Sector

“The nonprofit sector must make systemic changes to ensure a fair and supportive workplace environment for all nonprofit workers, particularly women of color.” - Race to Lead: An Initiative of Building Movement Project by Ofronama Biu Feb. 2019 p. 30

Working in the nonprofit sector can be both challenging and rewarding, but women of color may find it more challenging than rewarding. Race to Lead recently completed a 40-page report detailing their key findings of data collected from over 4,000 women of color with experience in the nonprofit sector. Read the full report and the important ways to turn the tide here.

Wish to learn more about skills and strategies to address structural racism and advancing racial equity? Check out these upcoming trainings provided by Race Forward: the Center for Racial Justice Innovation.

Balance of State Continuum of Care Corner

HUD recently released a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for a third funding round of the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP). The YHDP funds a variety of homeless housing activities for youth (defined as households where everyone is under 25), including some project types outside the traditional Continuum of Care (CoC) eligible activities.

Last year, the Balance of State submitted an application for every county in our CoC and awarded our CoC $4.6 million for our “rural” application, which covers just those 23 counties. This year, Commerce, as collaborative applicant, is applying only for the 11 counties that were not included as part of last year’s award: Asotin, Benton-Franklin, Chelan-Douglas, Cowlitz, Kitsap, Thurston, Walla Walla, Whatcom and Yakima. The grant application is due May 15 with an announcement of winners scheduled for mid-August.

How it’s counted: Wages, Income, Self-Sufficiency and Poverty

Read about a new way to define and understand the struggles of households that earn above the Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to afford a bare-bones household budget. ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed) offers a better way to count and understand income.

Determining how much income is needed for a family of a given composition - ranging from a one person household to a large family - in a given place, to adequately meet its basic needs without any public or private assistance can be done using this Washington state Self-Sufficiency Calculator.

Estimates for the cost of living in your community or region based on typical expenses can be determined using the Living Wage Calculator (from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Upcoming Training Opportunities

Stay tuned for an online calendar of upcoming training opportunities, events, and important deadlines. If you have a training you would like reviewed for the newsletter, please send details to danielle.rylander@commerce.wa.gov.

May	Date	Training	Location	Registration
	May 10	Monthly call with Pacific Northwest Excellence- Understanding the Organizational Profile	Webinar	Register here
	May 21	Trauma-Informed Care	Mason	Registration closed
	May 22	Trauma-Informed Care	Thurston	Wait list open
June	Date	Training	Location	Registration
	June 10	Monthly WSQA Call with Pacific NW Excellence	Webinar	Register here

Please forward to your sub grantees and contact your OFAH grant manager if you have any questions.

Megan Kendig megan.kendig@commerce.wa.gov
Julie Montgomery, julie.montgomery@commerce.wa.gov
Jessica Simon, jessica.simon@commerce.wa.gov
Kathryn Dodge kathryn.dodge@commerce.wa.gov
Sarah Harrison sarah.harrison@commerce.wa.gov

Stay connected with Commerce

About Commerce
Commerce works with local governments, businesses, community-based organizations and tribes to strengthen communities. The department’s diverse portfolio of more than 100 programs and effective public and private partnerships promote sustainable community and economic development to help all Washingtonians thrive. For more information, visit http://www.commerce.wa.gov. For information on locating or expanding a business in Washington, visit choosewashingtonstate.com.

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