TEAM OREGON DELEGATION 2002 WORK PLAN
HHS/HUD HOMELESS ACADEMY
November 26-28, 2001 Santa Fe, NM

VISION: Oregon’s children, youth, and families are at home in their communities, safe, warm, well-nourished, active, learning, and physically, emotionally, and economically healthy.

OBJECTIVE: Support current programs that respond to Oregonians coping with personal challenges (i.e., homelessness, mental health, A&D, unemployment, medical, etc.), and build upon/transform Oregon’s current social support system to create seamless strategy to help every Oregon family to thrive.

TARGET A: Policy - Make homelessness a priority policy issue with decision-makers.

ACTION ITEM	DELIVERABLES	STATUS
DESCRIPTION OF WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN TO ACHIEVE TARGET	PRODUCT OF ACTION ITEM	STATUS
1. Work with the Governor’s office to create an executive order to proclaim the prevention of homelessness as a state priority.	Executive Order on Preventing Homelessness
2. Serve as a reliable information source on proposed changes to homeless prevention and service programs during current budget reduction process and proposed FY 2003-2004 budget preparations.	Information sheet on budget cuts/proposed budgets developed and distributed
3. Support inclusion of homeless topics at conferences and encourage agency staff attendance/participation. Present to Oregon HeadStart Association (Feb 02) Present Homeless Policy Academy to state Homeless Conference (Apr 02) Oregon Poverty Conference (Nov 02)
	Session presented
	Session presented
	Session presented

TARGET B: Statewide Cohesiveness/Coordination/Integration - Coordinate/integrate all available resources to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of current social support, housing, education, workforce, and community development initiatives holistically serve customers.

ACTION ITEM	DELIVERABLES	STATUS
DESCRIPTION OF WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN TO ACHIEVE TARGET	PRODUCT OF ACTION ITEM	STATUS
1. Evaluate status of Social Supports Investment Work Group (SSIWG) process	Work Group Status Report presented to SSWIG Steering Committee
2. Link Team Oregon with existing homeless groups to integrate services and planning for homeless prevention.	Key homeless groups linked
3. Create a recommended basic set of multi-faceted screening/risk assessment questions for every agency and program to use that assures homeless questions are answered with first contact.	List of screening questions produced List distributed to linked groups
4. Design a protocol for the "no-wrong-door" approach to use for directing clients to housing resources. Use the Housing Stabilization program partnership (DHS, OHCS, CAP agency) as a model of multi-jurisdictional client case management.	Protocol published Protocol distributed to linked groups

TARGET C: Service/Client Engagement/Interface - Champion a customer oriented service delivery approach, one that holistically responds to clients needs and builds upon their strengths.

ACTION ITEM	DELIVERABLES	STATUS
DESCRIPTION OF WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN TO ACHIEVE TARGET	PRODUCT OF ACTION ITEM	STATUS
1. Develop tools and materials to increase all Oregonians awareness of program availability, rights and responsibilities.
Eligibility Estimator	Web-based Eligibility Estimator available statewide
Integrated, Web-based Information/Referral Directory	Web-based resource directory established and maintained
Housing Locator/Housing Centers	Five Housing Centers established and operating
One Economy’s Beehive	One Economy's Beehive linked to Governor's OEWW
Governor's Economic Wellbeing Website (OEWW)	Governor's Economic Wellbeing Website maintained and enhanced
Brochure/Publication	Brochure developed and made available to clients through linked partners
2. Explore feasibility of locating staff with housing expertise in each DHS Service Delivery Area office.	Report of findings and proposal presented to DHS Director for review and action.
3. Support inclusion of a continuum of supports for homeless families, children and youth in comprehensive local plans required by SB 555 for children and youth (0-18) services.	Report from local plan reviewers back to Homeless Academy Work Group

TARGET D: Education/Advocacy/Communications - Establish a specific communication/education/advocacy strategy for legislators, general public, clients, state agencies, and communities.

ACTION ITEM	DELIVERABLES	STATUS
DESCRIPTION OF WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN TO ACHIEVE TARGET	PRODUCT OF ACTION ITEM	STATUS
1. Support state efforts to improve data systems. Be thorough, link them and establish evaluation mechanisms, identify hard data needs.	Homeless Policy Academy Work Group represented in data linking work group.
2. Encourage the dissemination of information on best practices to state agency personnel and partner service delivery agencies.	Provide speaker and resource list to agency trainers.
3. Use the information from this initiative to inform our directors and others about the linkage between the lack of housing and all our other service efforts, for use in efforts to expand the supply of affordable housing.	Homeless Policy Academy representatives will provide regular updates to their department administrator/director.
4. Create an education package/strategy for Governor’s and legislative candidates on what is needed to improve the weak parts of the system, maintain the good parts, and bring together all aspects to achieve our team vision.	(See Target 1; same strategy, different audience.)
5. Create opportunities for cross training of staff across agencies and programs (i.e., Spring Homeless Conference, etc.). Make sure housing providers understand service systems and visa versa.	(See Target 1; same strategy, different audience.)

POSSIBLE FUTURE ACTION ITEMS

Statewide Cohesiveness/Coordination/Integration - Coordinate/integrate all available resources to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of current social support, housing, education, workforce, and community development initiatives holistically serve customers.

Research the feasibility and suggest possible alignment of available resources into a homeless prevention strategy. (i.e., Housing Stabilization, Emergency Assistance Rental Assistance, System of Care “4E” funds, Medi-Caid Case Management, HOME Tenant Based Rental Assistance, Energy Assistance Programs, MHO’s???, Energy Prevention, Physical & Mental Health Block Grant, McKinney & Title I Public Education K-12, Head, Start Family Advocates, Head Start Facility Funding (Relocate), Family Resource Centers, Churches, etc.)
Pursue alternatives for using existing and new resources for increasing the supply of transitional and permanent housing across the state. Example tasks may include the inventory, tabulation and cataloguing all state programs and provisions (i.e., programs, grants, tax deductions and credits, staffing) focused on assuring the physical, emotional and economic health of Oregonians; determining what dollars are now being used for emergency housing assistance that could be used to develop permanent housing or provide other services that prevent homelessness from occurring; investigating bonding authority guarantees and other activities of the CDBG program for homeless activities.
Use the cooperation between the DHS Data Integration initiative and OHCS OPUS project to link with other providers' client information systems to create a common registry for clients.
Pursue foundation support (regional and state) for implementation of integration efforts.

Service/Client Engagement/Interface - Champion a customer oriented service delivery approach, one that holistically responds to clients needs and builds upon their strengths.

Investigate how to develop service delivery capacity in geographic areas where lack of service capacity inhibits client access.
Support multi-disciplinary approach to addressing the problem of homelessness

TEAM OREGON DELEGATION 2002 WORK PLAN HHS/HUD HOMELESS ACADEMY November 26-28, 2001 Santa Fe, NM

TEAM OREGON DELEGATION 2002 WORK PLAN
HHS/HUD HOMELESS ACADEMY
November 26-28, 2001 Santa Fe, NM