Text: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, "Policy Academy for State and Local Policymakers Improving Access to Mainstream Services for Persons Who are Homeless: Focus on Homeless Families with Children." La Posada de Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico, November 26-28, 2001


Slide 1:

Improving Access to Mainstream Services for Persons Who Are Homeless: Focus on Homeless Families with Children

PLANNING GUIDE

Jointly Sponsored by
The Department of Health and Human Services
and
The Department of Housing and Urban Development

Slide 2:

What is the Planning Guide?

  • Guidance tool
  • Purpose is to help your team:
    • Prepare for the Academy
    • Develop your Action Plan

Slide 3:

Academy Stages

  • State preparation
    • Site visits
    • Pre-Academy assignment
  • Formal Policy Academy
  • Post-Academy Implementation (and technical assistance)

Slide 4:

State Preparation (Site Visits)

  • Familiarize teams with the Action Planning process
  • Discuss Academy format
  • Facilitate effective teamwork
  • Set teams in motion (Pre-Academy assignment)

Slide 5:

State Preparation (What Needs to be Done Before the Academy)

  • Formalize decision- making process/choose a leader
  • Develop a common vision
  • Begin to assess current reality
  • Identify key points for team presentation

Slide 6:

Working as a Team

  • Choose a leader
  • Establish tasks, time table, and timekeeper
  • Select a scribe
  • Develop team ground rules
  • Determine decision making process
  • Check-in and check-out

Slide 7:

Team Tips

  • Try to stay focused
  • Encourage ideas
  • Challenge your assumptions
  • Highlight and explore your differences
  • Differentiate between what you are totally committed to and what you can live with

Slide 8:

During the Academy

  • Teams “complete” Action Plans
    • State Presentations
    • State Delegation Meetings
    • Report-Outs
  • Feedback from faculty and peers

Slide 9:

Brief State Team Presentations

  • Share your initial vision statement
  • Identify key issues, circumstances, efforts in your state

Slide 10:

State Delegation Meetings

  • Continue developing Action Plan
    • Reaffirm team vision, priorities/goals
    • Formulate policy and program strategies
    • Assign specific action steps based on strategies
  • Confer “one-on-one” with faculty, peers

Slide 11:

State Report-Outs

  • Briefly outline Action Plan
  • Discuss how priorities may have changed (or been reinforced)
  • Elaborate on immediate next steps
  • Identify potential technical assistance needs
  • Solicit feedback from faculty and peers

Slide 12:

Following the Academy

  • Finalize strategies (short- and long-range)
  • Finalize specific action steps
  • Implement the Action Plan
    • Agree on a timeline
    • Develop benchmarks/outcome measures
  • Report on progress
  • Seek technical assistance as needed

Slide 13:

Team Challenges

  • Building team consensus around Action Plan
  • Staying focused
  • Encouraging ideas
  • Challenging assumptions
  • Highlighting/exploring differences
  • Differentiating between what team members are totally committed to and what they can live with

Slide 14:

Team Challenges (continued)

  • Identifying politically feasible strategies
  • Presenting a clear message to influential policymakers
  • Generating public and political will to support Action Plan
  • Implementing the Action Plan through executive, legislative, administrative, and private sector (non-government) processes

Slide 15:

What Should Be Accomplished Before Arriving At The Academy?

  • Draft vision statement circulated to all members of team for polishing
  • Revised Draft statement provided to HSR to be included in Academy packet
  • Leader selected