COSCDC Program Managers Training Conference March 16, 2015 Washington D.C. Julie Smith Missouri Housing Development Commission

OVERVIEW Missouri Housing Development Commission ▫Community Initiatives (CI) Department Missouri Continua of Care (CoC) ▫Rural, Urban and Overall Challenges Missouri Balance of State (BoS) ▫Structure ▫Characteristics of a Large BoS CoC Coordinated Entry: BoS ▫Established Committees ▫Challenges ▫Successes Resources

Missouri Housing Development Commission MHDC is committed to strengthening communities and the lives of Missourians through the financing, development and preservation of affordable housing The Commission administers the federal and Missouri Low- Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) programs, the Affordable Housing Assistance Program Tax Credit (AHAP), federal HOME funds, and the direct funding of several housing assistance programs. Further, the Commission administers homeless assistance funds for permanent housing in an effort to end homelessness in Missouri. The Commission also provides advisory, consultative, training and educational services to non-profit housing organizations

Community Initiatives (CI) Department Role of CI: ▫To administer the state Housing Trust Fund, housing first program, state ESG funds and Missouri Balance of State Continuum of Care funds, including HMIS and planning dollars  Other initiatives:  Project Homeless Connect  Statewide Homeless Study  Special Needs Housing set-aside  Point-in-Time Count

Missouri Continua of Care (CoC) Eight CoCs ▫Balance of State ▫St. Joseph ▫Kansas City ▫Joplin ▫Springfield ▫St. Charles ▫St. Louis County ▫St. Louis City

Missouri Continua of Care (CoC) Rural Challenges ▫Many areas choose not to receive federal funding ▫Many areas don’t have formal services ▫Housing Stock Urban Challenges ▫Turf issues ▫Competitive Funding ▫Political Will Overall Challenges ▫Special consideration needed for counties residing in different CoCs that surround each other ▫Finding ways to work more efficiently with surrounding CoCs when funding is not available in specific areas

Missouri Balance of State (BoS) Structure ▫101 counties in 10 regions ▫MHDC lead agency ▫Governor’s Committee to End Homelessness serves as the governing body  Includes state agencies, federal agencies, and non-profit appointments Characteristics of a large CoC ▫Covers wide range of locations from small townships to small cities, and other more urban areas near the larger Continua ▫Relatively limited variety and number of services ▫Multiple regions with different identified barriers

Coordinated Entry: BoS Two committees working and coordinating Coordinated Entry Sub-Committee of Balance of State Committee ▫Reports to the Balance of State Committee and the GCEH ▫Includes the Department of Mental Health, Regional Leaders from the BoS Committee, Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, along with CoC and HMIS lead agencies ▫Charged with establishing set of principles and other guidance related to special populations Regional Coordinated Entry Pilot ▫Reports to Coordinated Entry Sub-Committee ▫Includes local providers from the pilot area ▫Charged with identifying and developing a standardized tool to be used in the BoS ▫Also charged with engaging non-funded service providers to participate

Coordinated Entry: BoS Challenges ▫Limited transportation available in rural areas ▫Reluctance of non-funded and faith-based agencies to participate in HMIS or other CoC events ▫Interactions with other metro continua, potentially crossing multiple HMIS vendors ▫Funding limitations ▫Service “dead zones” or locations without services ▫Larger cities vs. small townships existing within the Continuum ▫Access to technology in rural areas ▫Limited housing services available in rural areas ▫Acknowledging differences in communities

Coordinated Entry: BoS Successes ▫Pettis County pilot project: Sedalia Missouri  Community selected because of its mid-sized status with existing service coordination in Region Five ▫Consensus through regional meetings and the BoS Committee to take a regional approach ▫Working towards independent regions with guidance and standardized forms ▫One front door approach with CoC and ESG providers serving as entry points in rural areas ▫Special consideration for non-funded agencies to participate including alternatives to entering into HMIS ▫Extra focus on diversion and leveraging non-funded resources

Resources Community Initiatives ▫ Governor’s Committee to End Homelessness ▫ Missouri Continua of Care ▫

Contact Information Julie Smith Missouri Housing Development Commission 920 Main St. Suite 1400 Kansas City, MO Phone: