1. Ian Fletcher, OneHome Program Manager Jackie Hernandez, Grants Manager
OneHome ESG Workshop
Ian Fletcher, OneHome Program Manager
Jackie Hernandez, Grants Manager

2. Workshop Agenda
2:00-2:10 Introductions 2:10-2:30 ESG Eligible Participants and Activities 2:30-2:45 Written Standard Update 2:45-? OneHome Process Overview

3. ESG RRH Participant Eligibility Criteria
Criterion
Initial Certification
Re-Certification
CATEGORY 1: Literally Homeless OR
CATEGORY 4: Fleeing/Attempting to flee DV, lacks resources and supports, and literally homeless X
Income Evaluation for eligibility purposes
Need (amount and type of assistance)
Lacking Resources and Support Networks (“But For” Assessment)
From HUD’s Rapid Re-Housing ESG vs CoC guide
A RRH participant’s income one year after move-in date must be at or below 30% Area Median Income (AMI), and the household must meet criteria of the “But for” assessment in order to remain eligible for continued assistance.
NEW 2018 AMI Effective 04/01/2018!!

4. ESG RRH Activity Types and Eligible Costs
ESG RRH Activity Types and Eligible Costs
Rental Assistance
Housing Relocation and Stabilization Services
Financial Assistance
Services Costs
Eligible Costs:
Short-term rental assistance (up to 3 months)
Medium-term rental assistance (4-24 months)
Rental Arrears
*Rental Assistance can be project-based or tenant-based
Rental Application Fees
Security Deposits
Last Month’s Rent
Utility Deposits
Utility Payments
Moving Costs
Housing Search and Placement
Housing Stability Case Management
Mediation
Legal Services
Credit Repair

5. HUD’s Limitations on ESG Eligible Costs
Rental Arrears: One-time payment of up to 6 months of arrears. Rental arrears cannot be in collections and each month of arrears paid counts towards the participant’s total 24 months of assistance.
Security Deposit: Must be less than or equal to 2 month’s rent.
Utility Payments: Can pay up to 6 months in arrears, but cannot exceed 24 months total.
Moving Costs: Fees accrued must be after the program enrollment date, but can include up to 3 months of storage.
Housing Stability Case Management: Cannot exceed 30 days prior to participant’s lease-up.
All ESG eligible costs cannot exceed 24 months out of any 3-year period and should be paid to 3rd party vendors only (landlord, utility company, moving company, etc.)

6. Housing Relocation and Stabilization Services Financial Assistance
Applicable Requirements for Rental Assistance & Housing Re-Locations and Stabilization Services
 Standard
 Rental Assistance
Housing Relocation and Stabilization Services
Financial Assistance
Services
Fair Market Rent X
Rent Reasonableness
Housing Habitability Standards
Lead-Based Paint Requirements
Lease between the participant and landlord
Rental Assistance Payment Agreement between landlord and recipient or subrecipient
Maximum Amounts and Periods of Assistance (24-month cap in 3- year period)
Participation in HMIS
Prohibition of use with other subsidies
Recordkeeping and reporting requirements

7. ESG Policies & Procedures
ESG recipients and subrecipients should develop policies and procedures detailing:
Intake/Documentation of eligibility
Assessment and Re-certification
Service delivery for all types of assistance
Termination of assistance and grievance
Each project-level policy and process should reference and align with:
OneHome Policies and Procedures
Metro Denver CoC’s Rapid Re-Housing Written Standards 
Housing First Principles

8. Rapid Re-Housing & Housing First
Participants are accepted into the program regardless of poor rental history, lack of income, criminal history, substance use, mental health conditions, etc.
Termination Policy/Grievance Procedure from ESG Interim Rule: 
Written notice to participant containing a clear statement of reasons for the termination of their assistance
Must give participant the opportunity to present written or oral objections before a person other than the person (or subordinate of that person) who made or approved the termination decision
Prompt written notice of the final decision to the participant and providers may resume assistance to a family or individual whose assistance has been terminated

9. RRH Written Standards
Metro Denver CoC Written Standards are in the process of being finalized and approved by MDHI’s CoC Governing Board.
The purpose of Written Standards:
To determine and prioritize (along with OneHome team), which eligible families and individuals will receive ESG & CoC RRH assistance
To determine the amount or percentage of rent and utilities each program participant must pay
To determine how long a program participant will be provided with rental assistance and whether and how the amount of that assistance will be adjusted over time

10. ESG Interim Rule
"The HEARTH Act amendments to the McKinney-Vento Act contain provisions requiring coordination, collaboration, and consultation between Continuums of Care and ESG state and local government recipients. The Mckinney-Vento Act requires "collaborative applicants" under the CoC program to participate in the Consolidated Plan for the geographic areas they serve and analyze patterns of use and evaluate outcomes for ESG projects in those areas." 

11. HUD Regulations CoC Program interim rule & ESG Program interim rule
Prioritization Notice (prioritizing chronic homeless and other vulnerable populations in PSH)
Notice establishing additional CES requirements
Coordinated Entry Policy Brief – 2015
Identified qualities of an effective coordinated entry
Defined role for coordinated entry in the homeless assistance system
Coordinated Entry Notice – 2017
CES Requirements implemented by January 2018

12. Collaboration
CoC and each ESG recipient operating within the CoC’s geographic area must work together to ensure the CoC’s coordinated entry process allows for coordinated screening, assessment and referrals for ESG projects consistent with the written standards for administering ESG assistance.
Eligibility
Prioritization
Referral protocols
Service coordination
CE participation expectations
100% of CoC and ESG funded resources are managed via CES and CES Partner Agencies

13. Federal Strategy
Opening Doors which is the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness calls for an unprecedented level of collaboration between the public and private sectors in order to prevent and end homelessness. “The federal government needs leadership and support from faith communities, businesses, and philanthropy to inspire and energize Americans to commit to preventing and ending homelessness. Coordinated entry is a process developed to ensure that all people experiencing a housing crisis have fair and equal access and are quickly identified, assessed for, referred, and connected to housing and assistance based on their strengths and needs.

14. Metro Denver’s CES (Coordinated Entry System)
Regional Approach
Interagency Staff
Partner Agencies
CoC, ESG & Non-HUD Resources

16. Access
Locally, no wrong door approach Formal access points are in development Initial Screening in development Street outreach Mobile Assessor

17. Assessment The VI-SPDAT is not CES, it is a component of CES
Not a waitlist, not ‘your client’
Important not to VI-SPDAT everyone you encounter
Diversion
Literally homeless
Domestic Violence
Veteran
Important to try to help navigate the participant if they are identified for housing
ALSO it is important to connect participants to other mainstream resources whether or not they are prioritized for ESG RRH.

18. Current Prioritization Criteria Example –
VI-SPDAT Score Range + Dynamic Criteria
Individuals
Length of Time 3+ Years, Tri-morbid, Age+
Youth
Length of Time, Age-, mental health/substance abuse
Family
Length of Time 2+ years, unsheltered, Age of child-
Those identified as priorities go onto a Pre-Match list to try to gather documentation

19. Vacancies & Matches
ESG Provider notifies OneHome via Salesforce of a Housing Vacancy
Megan Morales - VOA Individuals & Youth
Ilyas El-Amin - CCH Families
Megan or Ilyas make eligible referrals for the vacancy based on prioritized participants on Pre-Match
ESG Provider assists referral participant into program & lease-up
Funded by multiple sources to take referrals via OneHome? (CoC + ESG)

20. Referrals & Eligibility
Focus is on accepting not rejecting
Process should be quick, with clear time frames for each party
Barriers are systematically identified and reduced
Housing First
The only eligibility for ESG RRH programs is that a household is literally homeless.

21. Housed, Now What?
Once leased up, ESG Provider updates participant status via Housing Outcome form in Salesforce Update participant status in OneHome database if housed in alternative programs Transfers & changes in stability

22. Probable Next Steps
1) Identify your budget plan and average cost per household to help predict vacancies. The expectation is that all ESG RRH funds are spent by the end of the grant year (we have plenty of people who need housing) 2) Reach out for initial referrals via Salesforce or by contacting Megan or Ilyas 3) Always over-communicate and respond to all inquiries from OneHome team or your Agency Liaison 4) We are learning as we go, nobody has all the answers, but will work together to make improvements and develop an effective homeless crisis response system 5) We will identify a ‘Go Live’ date and communicate to everyone with lead time

23. Opportunities to Connect
Community Design Team Quarterly April 19!
Veteran Meeting Monthly
Family Meeting Monthly
Youth Meeting Monthly
Regional Governing Council Monthly
Trainings + Cohorts + Affinity Groups, Oh My!

24. Funder Portfolio for Homeless Services
HUD CoC + Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) + Veterans Affairs (VA) + Other Federal (HHS, DOJ, etc.) + State of Colorado (DOLA) + City & County (x40, x7) + Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) + Private
Coordinating Referrals VIA