Maryland Policy Academy Team:
Initial Report on
Mainstream Services for Homeless Families

Team Members

  • Kay Casstevens*
  • Mike Drummond*
  • Charles Henry*
  • Laura Howell*
  • Kathryn King*
  • Paula Lewis*
  • Denese Maker*
  • Lynda Meade
  • Dennis Nicholson*
  • Greg Shupe*
  • Harry Sewell
  • Jeff Singer*
  • Calvin Street*
  • Debbie Verbillis*
  • Linda Zang*

    *attended Policy Academy in Santa Fe

Vision Statement

We envision a Maryland where residents experience homelessness rarely and only for brief periods of time.


Guiding Principles

1) All Marylanders have access to

2) All homeless individuals and families have access to mainstream services as well as services designed to end the condition of homelessness.

3) Governments, civic agencies, faith communities, citizens, consumers, and advocates are all committed to the effective and efficient use of resources through collaboration and integration of services.

4) Marylanders seeking services are treated with dignity and actively participate in the decisions affecting their lives.

5) Education and outreach are key to increasing community awareness and accountability.

Priorities

The Policy Academy Team identified areas of priority with a view to the feasibility of short-term and long-term efforts. The areas selected as most amenable to action in the short-term were:

  1. Outreach and Education:
  2. Coordination across Agencies:
  3. Coordination of Case Management Services:
  4. Holistic Assessment:
  5. Assessment Screening Tool:
  6. Fatherhood Issues:
  7. Education Access:
  8. Training Case Managers:
  9. Hostile Environment/Customer Dignity:
  10. Vocational Services:
  11. Tracking Information (Short-term):
  12. Access to SSI:

Areas requiring more time and resources to implement were:

  1. Increased Funding for Eviction Prevention/Mortgage Assistance:
  2. Affordable Housing:
  3. Childcare:
  4. Increased Supply of Shelter Resources:
  5. Criminal History and effect on TANF/Food Stamps/Housing/Employment:
  6. Transportation:
  7. Living Wage:
  8. TEMHA benefit level:
  9. Increased supply of case managers:
  10. Co-occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues:
  11. Tracking Information (Long-term):
  12. SSI Supplement:
  13. Welfare Grants:

The Action Plan developed reflects categories where the Team believed immediate action would have the highest impact.

Action Plan

Goal One: Outreach and Education

To increase the utilization of existing programs, persons who are homeless, and those who work to assist them, must have access to key information about such services. Information must be made available through traditional and non-traditional avenues.

Strategy 1: Public Education Campaign

Outcomes:

Action Steps:


Strategy 2: Program Education

Outcomes:

Action Steps

Goal Two: Coordinating Agencies

To address the fragmentation of services, to increase the impact of current expenditures, and to seek resources for gap-filling services, coordination of programs at the state level is essential.

Strategy 1: Broaden the base of the Policy Academy Team and establish an Interagency Committee

Outcomes:

Action Steps:

Goal Three: Coordinating Case Management Services

A major point of contact between homeless people and the range of existing services is the case management system in place in many agencies and organizations. Unfortunately, the case managers often focus only on a narrow range of services defined by the agency in which they work. Comprehensive assessment of families, sharing of resources and information, and coordination of services among involved case managers is minimal.

Strategy 1: Create inventory of CM services and existing interagency interaction

Objective:

Action Steps:

Strategy 2: Benchmark Assessment Processes and Instruments

Objective

Action Steps

Key Challenges

Technical Assistance