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

PROJECT OVERVIEW

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

Slide 2:

What Does Improving Access to Mainstream Services Mean?

Slide 3:

What is a Policy Academy?

  • Process, not an event
  • Technical assistance to help decision makers:
    • Think through policy options
    • Make existing systems and programs more effective and coordinated; and/or
    • Design and implement new systems and programs

Slide 4:

What’s Involved in a Policy Academy?

Academy Stages:

  • Pre-Academy work(including application and in-state meeting)
  • Formal Policy Academy meeting
  • Post-Academy implementation of Action Plan including provision of technical assistance and periodic progress reports
  • National conference to share progress, successes, lessons learned

Slide 5:

Why a Policy Academy?

  • Promote strategic planning
  • Provide opportunities to learn from other state experiences
  • Establish/reinforce dialogue
  • Build consensus and plan for change

Slide 6:

Purpose of this Academy

For your team to develop a state-wide policy initiative (Action Plan) that can be realistically implemented in your state to increase access to mainstream services for homeless families with children and the coordination of services with housing.

Slide 7:

Participant States

Academy I

Connecticut, Nevada, Illinois, New Jersey, Kentucky, Oregon, Maryland, and Washington

Slide 8:

General Team Composition

  • Senior-level policymakers from State agencies
  • State legislators
  • Local, county, or city-level government representatives
  • Regional health and human service officials
  • State/local advocates

Slide 9:

Key Leaders from Mainstream Programs and Services

  • Governor’s Office
  • Medicaid
  • TANF
  • Mental Health
  • Substance Abuse
  • State-level homeless services administrators or continuum-of-care contacts
  • Head Start/Project Directors

Slide 10:

Potential Outcome(s)

  • Executive Order(s)
  • Legislation
  • Budget proposals/funding mechanisms
  • Interagency agreements (Memoranda of Understanding Agreement)
  • Informal partnerships
  • Rules or regulations
  • Program standards/ guidelines (licensure requirements)
  • Task forces/Committees
  • Other

Slide 11:

Pre-Academy Meeting Objectives

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