Florida – NY Peer to Peer on Supportive Housing for Child Welfare Involved Families

BrowardCountyVisit_2Florida’s Broward County HEART Alliance team participated in a peer-to-peer visit in NYC this week, including a visit to Palladia’s Fox Point in the Bronx, with the purpose of exploring strategies to realize supportive housing in Broward County, discussing best practices for operating scattered site programs, and discussing ways that the child welfare system and supportive housing providers can collaborate.

The HEART Alliance is one of five grantees selected for the Administration for Children, Youth and Families Partnerships to Demonstrate the Effectiveness of Supportive Housing for Families with Child Welfare Involvement.  Through the Child Welfare Supportive Housing Resource Center, CSH is providing technical assistance, alongside the Center for the Study of Social Policy, to the 5 grantees nationally.

Click here to read more about the HEART Alliance and the Child Welfare Supportive Housing Resource Center.

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The Larry Itliong Village Grand Opening

On Friday, December 13 the Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) Community Development Corporation celebrated the grand opening of the Larry Itliong Village in historic Filipinotown – a 45 unit affordable and permanent supportive housing community for families and transitional age youth.

The Larry Itliong Village includes on-site supportive services as well as on on-site manager. The project was financed with a combination of private and public funding, including $1,341,000 from CSH.

Innovative Ideas, Fearless Leadership and Intentional Partnerships Spur Investment for Fragile Families

In any given conversation about funding services for the poor, it is not unusual to hear, “There are simply not enough resources to serve all of the people who need help.”   Since the recession, funding to meet even the most basic needs of families is rapidly vanishing.  We are told, at all levels of social service, public and private, that it is incumbent upon us to use the funding we have more effectively and efficiently. We are told that the way to do this is to be more innovative, creative, to collaborate.  However, most public funding streams are rigid and are not conducive to these ideas.

However, at the close of 2013, thirty-eight families are on their way to becoming stably housed because our massive public child welfare system, overseen by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), decided to do things a little differently. ACYF knew they could not do it alone, so they recruited the support of four philanthropic partners, Robert Wood Johnson, Annie E. Casey, Edna McConnell Clark and Casey Family Programs to help them create the flexibility and support necessary to test a new service paradigm in child welfare—supportive housing.

Five grantees, representing sixty-five + public and private partnerships nation-wide, are implementing family supportive housing, most, for the for the first time. Behavioral health, public housing, family court, local child welfare agencies, homeless shelters and others, are working across their systems, sharing resources and expertise with the goal of providing supportive housing to nearly 500 of our most vulnerable children and families by 2017. CSH along with the Center for the Study of Social Policy have teamed up to provide technical assistance to the grantees through the Child Welfare and Supportive Housing Resource Center.

We believe this initiative, prompted by the promising results of our Keeping Families Together pilot, is a great example of how an innovative idea, fearless leadership and intentional partnership can spur investment in more efficient and effective services for the most fragile families. In 2014, we look forward to more families becoming and staying housed under this initiative. We look forward to better outcomes for families next year and a better future for their children in the years that follow.

As 2013 closes, we are grateful to our public and private partners for their leadership and for the many inventive service providers across the country willing and able to stretch the limits of their work to achieve better results for kids and families.

NY Supportive Housing Industry Responds to New York Times Series

By now you have probably heard, if not read Invisible Child, a five-part series featured in the New York Times chronicling the story of Dasani. A homeless young girl living with her family in a city shelter, Dasani and her family face the many challenges homeless individuals and families across the country most deal with every day. Cycling between systems and unable to overcome barriers to safe, decent and affordable housing.

Our partners in New York have responded to spotlight the work that many providers are doing throughout the city to provide supportive housing for youth and families.  The three providers below are among a strong and dedicated community of supportive housing providers fighting everyday for children like Dasani.

Palladia, a supportive housing provider in the Bronx, offers the story of Zorina, a homeless single mother now thriving in supportive housing.

Broadway Housing Communities, a supportive housing provider in Harlem shared the story of the success children in the Dorothy Day Apartments have had, including Aishatu who will be attending Brown University in the Fall.

CAMBA tells the story of Ernestine Washington,  a one-time homeless mother who left the shelter with CAMBA's help and built a successful life for herself and her family. She now works with CAMBA and has committed the past 20 years of her life to helping other homeless families and individuals. Watch her story here.

CSH Uses Innovative Solutions to Create Real Community Change

Supportive housing solutions help build healthy communities by promoting the integration of public systems and coordinated care for individuals and families. Because supportive housing takes a holistic approach to improving lives of our most vulnerable people, CSH has the unique capability of tapping untraditional funding streams and resources for housing in order to spur stronger, healthier communities. CSH's work with the Corporation for National and Community Service's Social Innovation Fund (SIF), and the Administration on Children, Youth and Families are prime examples of this innovative work.

Because of the promising results of CSH's Keeping Families Together pilot in New York City, ACYF, made an unprecedented investment in housing. The investment funds five communities in Tennessee, Florida, Cedar Rapids, California and Connecticut to use supportive housing to stabilize families struggling with homelessness and who are involved in the child welfare system. These supportive housing demonstrations allow the lead organizations and the local collaboratives to create real change using customized pilots that are unique to their community.

As a SIF intermediary, CSH provides funding and support to grantees in four other communities Los Angeles, San Francisco, Connecticut and Ann Arbor, MI. to use supportive housing for the highest utilizers of emergency systems and health care services in their areas. These programs will reduce public costs, saving the communities money and stabilizing their population.

These two initiatives allow CSH to oversee the development of supportive housing with an understanding that community infrastructure must be created in order to achieve sustainability and stability for individuals housed and the community at large.

2014 Indiana Permanent Supportive Housing Institute Application

CSH is excited to announce its fifth Indiana Permanent Supportive Housing Institute. The 2014 Supportive Housing Institute will exclusively address ending homelessness for Veterans, families, and those experiencing chronic homelessness. This series will help non-profits learn how to navigate the complex process of developing housing with support services and is expected to reduce the time it takes to obtain funding for homeless housing by improving the planning and application process. Consideration will be given to both integrated housing (with 25% of the housing set aside for supportive housing) and 100% supportive housing developments. Please review the application by clicking on this resource.

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Saluting Quality Supportive Housing in Irvine, California

Irvine is one of the nation's largest planned urban communities, spanning 65 square miles throughout Orange County in Southern California. The Doria Apartments are an integral part of this community,  incorporating state-of-the-art design and providing high-quality workforce housing for 60 families with 10 homes set aside for residents with mental illness, including fully-funded, ongoing supportive services. Its Spanish colonial-style architecture integrates with the surrounding community and the development's rich colors and textures give residential character and warmth while creating a vision of a higher design standard for neighboring market rate, multifamily properties.

CSH has provided ongoing support and extensive technical assistance to Jamboree (owner), John Stuart Company (property manager), the County of Orange (which provided MHSA funding), and several other service providers throughout the county that are involved in the project. From a series of crosswalk meetings when the project broke ground, to regular meetings throughout the lease-up period and several months thereafter, CSH discussed all aspects of quality supportive housing with partners and explored how the Doria project team would operationalize quality supportive housing principles.

In November of last year, Doria Apartments was a finalist in the design category of the 2012 CSH Supportive Housing Quality Awards in California.

As a past grantee in CSH's Assuring Quality Initiative, Jamboree has embraced the need for significant and frequent communication among team members and have also spent a lot of time figuring out how property management addresses the unique needs of supportive housing. CSH commends Jamboree on embracing supportive housing principles, and integrating these principles into their entire housing portfolio.

CSH continues to work with Jamboree and partners as well as the housing authority (providing project based Section 8 vouchers) on Doria II, the second phase of the project which will begin leasing in October of this year.

 

 

 

 

Providing Alternatives Beyond Foster Care for Families

This guest blog post and Letter to the Editor is written by Deb De Santis, CSH CEO & President and Frank Farrow, Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) Director, in response to The Girls Who Haven't Come Home, an article published in the New York Times on July 6, 2013.

To the Editor:

Vernice Hill’s family fell through the cracks because the child welfare system alone is not well equipped to help families like the Hills stay together safely.  Earlier intervention, through family supportive housing, could have kept that family intact.

Supportive housing creates stronger environments for very poor families who struggle with complex problems.  It brings together services from child welfare, mental health, substance abuse, public assistance, and housing to support the entire family holistically, providing stability and averting crises that lead to the removal of children.

Recently, the federal government launched an innovative partnership with four private foundations that will test supportive housing as a way to preserve families while keeping their children safe.  We expect to see happier, healthier families and fewer foster care placements.

Foster care should not be our first choice.  We need to provide better alternatives for families like the Hills.

 Deb  Frank Farrow
Deborah De Santis Frank Farrow
President & CEO, CSH Director, Center for the Study of Social Policy
New York, N.Y. Washington, D.C.

Note: CSH and CSSP operate the Child Welfare & Supportive Housing Resource Center on behalf of the public-private Partnerships to Demonstrate the Effectiveness of Supportive Housing for Families in the Child Welfare System.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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National Evaluation Convening for ACYF-Funded Demonstration

Last week, The Urban Institute with CSH and the Center for Study of Social Policy (CSSP), held a 2-day national convening to design a national evaluation of the ACYF-funded demonstration project that is testing an intensive approach that pairs supportive housing with on-site case management and a comprehensive array of services for families experiencing repeated homelessness, substance abuse and mental health problems, and child welfare involvement.

Objectives of the convening included understanding local program models and evaluation designs, co-designing the national evaluation, gaining knowledge useful for building local implementation capacity and completing portions of Implementation Plan, developing working knowledge of demonstration site approaches, and building relationships with colleagues in other sites.

The convening was attended by roughly 60 participants including  Federal officials, national philanthropic leaders, and local child welfare, housing and social services representatives from the five national grantees of an initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Casey Family Programs, and the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.

At the event, Commissioner Bryan Samuels, Commissioner, Administration for Children, Youth and Families, US Dept HHS, made a presentation to the grantees, encouraging them to step out of their “comfort zone” and develop innovative supportive housing interventions for families with the most needs, and at-highest risk of repeat involvement in the child welfare, homeless, and other public systems.

Jennifer Ho, Special Advisor to the Secretary of HUD, Sean Donovan, also addressed the grantees. Jennifer inspired the grantees with her own account of developing and providing supportive housing to families with the most needs. Jennifer explained through the experience of case manager, the philosophy of supportive housing case management—to stay with tenants through their challenges, maintaining a strong focus on setting and meeting family goals, being flexible and doing “whatever it takes” to engage and support tenants.

Urban Institute is conducting a national, cross-site evaluation of the demonstration project. Funding for the national evaluation is being provided by the four philanthropic organizations: Robert Wood Johnson, Annie E. Casey and Edna McConnell Clark foundations and Casey Family Programs.
Both local and national evaluations include a process outcome and cost study. CSH and CSSP are providing technical assistance to the sites through the The Child Welfare & Supportive Housing Resource Center. The Resource Center provides and coordinates tailored, one-on-one expertise and services to help meet each site’s needs. In addition, the Resource Center will encourage and support peer learning among the five sites, building on local capacity and the experience of people working in the field.

 

 

CSH Supports the California Homes & Jobs Act

Everyone in California needs a safe and affordable place to call home. Rents and mortgages within the reach of working families is critical to maintaining California’s business competitiveness.  By working together to pass SB 391 we can build safe and affordable single-family homes and apartments for Californians in need, including families, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and people experiencing homelessness. A safe, secure home is essential for all Californians to live with dignity and safety; it is essential for children to succeed in school and in life. CSH, along with the bill sponsors Housing California and the California Housing Consortium continue to urge the passage of the bill this year.

Please click here for more information about the California Homes and Jobs Act of 2013.

The California Homes and Jobs Act of 2013 will:

  • Create 29,000 jobs annually, primarily in the beleaguered construction sector.
  • Help businesses attract and retain the talent that fuels California’s economy.
  • Generate an estimated $500 million in state investment and leverage an additional $2.78 billion in federal and local funding and bank loans to build affordable homes and create jobs.
  • Deploy these dollars in California communities through a successful private/public partnership model.
  • Get California building again to create affordable home options for all Californians.

To learn more about CSH and the California Homes and Jobs Act of 2013, and other California state policy priorities please contact Sharon Rapport, Associate Director, California Policy, or call (213) 623-4342, ext. 18.

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