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Home My WebLink AboutFMCoC Orientation Materials FinalHomebase | Advancing Solutions to Homelessness | fmcoc@homebaseccc.org 1 FRESNO -MADERA CONTINUUM OF CARE COC ORIENTATION MATERIALS WHAT IS A CONTINUUM OF CARE? A Continuum of Care (CoC) is a group of community stakeholders who plan a local response to homelessness. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides funding each year for homeless housing and services in each CoC, and an increasing variety of other state and federal resources are also being channeled through CoCs. The geographic area of the Fresno-Madera Continuum of Care (FMCoC) includes both Fresno County and Madera County. According to HUD, the CoC Program is designed to: • Promote communitywide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; • Provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, & State & local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals & families while minimizing the trauma & dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families, & communities by homelessness; • Promote access to & effective utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals & families; & • Optimize self-sufficiency among individuals & families experiencing homelessness. WHO IS IN THE FRESNO -MADERA CONTINUUM OF CARE? The Fresno-Madera CoC is made up of the following cross-sector stakeholders: - Non-profit homeless assistance providers - Victim service providers - Faith-based organizations - Local government agencies - Local businesses - Advocates - Public housing agencies - Local school districts - County Offices of Education - Social service providers - Mental health agencies - People who are experiencing homelessness or are formerly homeless - Hospitals - Universities - Affordable housing developers - Law enforcement agencies - Organizations that serve veterans - Agencies receiving local ESG funding - A legitimate consortium recognized by the FMCoC Board as a formal organized group that is addressing homelessness in the region - The FMCoC HMIS Lead agency, if not otherwise included above Homebase | Advancing Solutions to Homelessness | fmcoc@homebaseccc.org 2 The FMCoC is governed by its Governance Charter, which is available here. This document reviews the obligations and rights of CoC membership. It is recommended that all new CoC members review this Charter. The FMCoC General Membership meets monthly on the second Thursday of every month. Agendas, minutes and meeting materials are sent in advance of the meeting and the meetings are open to the public. Each non-conflicted Member in good standing receives one vote during the meetings. Each Member must not miss more than three regularly scheduled FMCoC General Membership meetings in a calendar year. • When an agency joins the FMCoC, the agency’s membership belongs to the agency as a whole and one person is nominated to attending meetings and vote on behalf of the agency. When an individual joins the FMCoC, the individual is the member and the individual has the right to vote and attend meetings. ROLE OF THE COC Planning: - Coordinate implementation of housing and service system - Prepare and submit a CoC application - Plan and conduct PIT count - Participate in Consolidated Plans - Consult with ESG recipients System Operations: - Establish performance targets, monitor performance, evaluate outcomes and take action against poor performers - Evaluate CoC and ESG project outcomes - Establish a coordinated entry system - Develop written standards for providing assistance The FMCoC Vision Statement is that all individuals and families facing homelessness in Fresno and Madera counties will have access to safe, decent, affordable housing with the resources and supports necessary to sustain it. The FMCoC uses this vision to evaluate CoC performance and guide the way recommendations are made by the FMCoC in support of federal and state funding for projects and programs. COC LEADERSHIP HUD requires each CoC to have a board that is representative of the CoC and the board structure is determined locally. The FMCoC Board of Directors is made up of the following representatives: Homebase | Advancing Solutions to Homelessness | fmcoc@homebaseccc.org 3 - Chair - Immediate Past Vice Chair (if not otherwise a Director) - Vice-Chair - Secretary - Treasurer - Collaborative Applicant (if not otherwise a Director) - Four regional representatives, including one from Fresno County, one from Madera County, one from the City of Fresno, and one from the City of Clovis (or 2nd largest city in the region). - Two Officers-At-Large, at least one of which must be homeless or formerly homeless. The FMCoC’s authority is divided evenly between its General Membership and its Board of Directors. Except as otherwise specified, both a majority vote of the Membership and a majority vote of the Directors is required to approve all substantive items of business. Board meetings are the first Thursday of every month. COC COMMITTEES New CoC members are encouraged to participate in CoC committees. The following is a list of active CoC committees: - Coordinated Entry Committee: meets at least once a month on a regular schedule. - Performance and Evaluation Committee: meets annually in April, May or June to review the HUD CoC Scoring Tools and Local Competition Policies. - HMIS Committee: meets monthly according to this schedule for 2020. The HMIS committee bylaws are here. COC ANNUAL TIMELINE • January – HIC/PIT takes a census of people experiencing homelessness and of the number of beds reserved for people experiencing homelessness. • April – System Performance Measures capture data on how well the system of care is functioning considered as a whole, across all of its agencies. • Early Summer – the Grants Inventory Worksheet (GIW) reconciles the list of grants that are eligible for renewal funding from HUD. • Late Summer – the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) asks projects to apply for new and renewal grants from HUD • October – the National Human Services Data Consortium Conference (NHSDC) brings together HMIS data professionals. • December – the Longitudinal System Analysis (LSA) collects long-term homelessness data. Homebase | Advancing Solutions to Homelessness | fmcoc@homebaseccc.org 4 FMCOC POINT IN TIME COUNT The Homeless Point-in-Time (PIT) Count is conducted annually and is a requirement to receive homeless assistance funding from HUD. The PIT Count provides a snapshot of the number and demographics of people experiencing homelessness in the region on a given night. This snapshot allows Fresno and Madera Counties to track trends concerning subpopulations, identify potential gaps in services, and inform future planning, which is important for the implementation of the strategic plan in Fresno and Madera Counties. The key findings from the 2019 PIT count were as follows: FMCOC HOUSING INVENTORY COUNT The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires each Continuum of Care (CoC) to conduct an annual inventory of housing dedicated for homeless people in each community, called the Housing Inventory Count (HIC), during the last ten days of January. The HIC report tallies the number of beds and units available on the designated night by project type, and includes beds dedicated to serve persons who are homeless in Emergency Shelter, Transitional Housing, and Permanent Housing. The category of Permanent Housing includes Permanent Supportive Housing (including HUD - VASH vouchers) and Rapid Re-housing. The key findings from the 2019 HIC were as follows: Homebase | Advancing Solutions to Homelessness | fmcoc@homebaseccc.org 5 COC FUNDING The FMCoC’s Collaborative Applicant for HUD funding, Lead Agency and Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) administrator is the Fresno Housing Authority. All recipients of funding that flows through the CoC must use a Housing First approach, which emphasizes placing individuals experiencing homelessness into housing quickly without preconditions, including criminal background, credit history, substance use, and without requiring participation in services as a condition to receiving housing or assistance. Additionally, all recipients (other than Victim Service Providers) must use the local HMIS to track client data. A Homeless Information Management System is a local information technology system used to collect client-level data and data on the provision of housing and services to people experiencing homelessness and those at risk of homelessness. The FMCoC uses WellSky as its HMIS database provider. HUD COC FUNDING Every year the federal government gives away over $2 billion to housing agencies through HUD to CoCs. In 2019, FMCoC received $10,662,667 in HUD CoC Program funding. CoC Program types for funding: Homebase | Advancing Solutions to Homelessness | fmcoc@homebaseccc.org 6 OTHER FUNDING ALLOCATED TO COC Other federal and state funding sources also flow through the CoC. Recently, this has included, but is not limited to: the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) from HUD, the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP), California Emergency Solutions and Housing (CES H) and Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention funds, from the State of California. These funding streams have enabled the FMCoC to open several new low-barrier triage centers that help provide both emergency shelter and housing case navigation for some of the region’s most vulnerable people. FMCOC COORDINATED ENTRY The Fresno/Madera Continuum of Care (FMCoC) operates a Coordinated Entry System (CES) that is intended to smoothly connect clients experiencing homelessness with access to the housing and services of their choice, based on eligibility and vulnerability. Several different providers contribute significant resources directly to the operation of the CES for FMCoC. All FMCoC-funded agencies contribute to the success of the CES by participating in case conferencing, by assisting with housing navigation, and by making and accepting appropriate referrals. The FMCoC also has a domestic violence-specific CES access point. Homebase | Advancing Solutions to Homelessness | fmcoc@homebaseccc.org 7 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES - SPM Introductory Guide - HUD Exchange Coordinated Entry page - HUD Exchange mailing list: Join at https://www.hudexchange.info/mailinglist/. - Continuum of Care interim rule, 24 CFR 578