1. Continuum of Care: Going for the Gold
Charles W. Coley
Nebraska Homeless Assistance Program (NHAP)
DHHS

2. Nebraska Continuum of Care Network

3. What exactly is a “Continuum of Care?”
Continuum of Care is a community and regional-based process that provides a comprehensive and coordinated housing and service delivery system
The process promotes a coordinated, strategic planning approach for programs that assist families and individuals who are homeless and near homeless
A Continuum of Care approach helps communities and regions strategically plan for and provide a balance of emergency, transitional, and permanent housing and service resources to address the needs of people who are homeless so they can make the critical transition from homelessness to jobs, independent living, and permanent housing
Seven Nebraska Continuum regions

4. Continuum of Care

5. Continuum of Care (C0C): History and Structure
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) initiated the Continuum of Care process in 1994
Continuum of Care regions exist nationally and are vital to homeless/near homeless service delivery
In Nebraska, each of the seven Continuums has an acting chairperson and regional governance

6. CoC Purpose, Collaboration, and Funding
The Continuum of Care (CoC) is a set of competitively-awarded programs created to address the problems of homelessness in a comprehensive manner with other federal agencies
Other HUD formula funding streams also support the Continuum of Care process: ESG, HOPWA, etc.
The CoC structure mandates collaboration

7. Nebraska Continuum of Care Network
Region I: Panhandle
Region II: North Central
Region III: Southwest
Region IV: Southeast
Region V: Northeast
Region VI: Lincoln
Region VII: Omaha

8. NHAP Funding by CoC Region
Region I: Panhandle=$181,331
Region II: North Central=$285,992
Region III: Southwest=$271,353
Region IV: Southeast=$487,844 (Ardith’s region)
Region V: Region=$377,135
Region VI: Lincoln=$395,888
Region VII: Omaha=$580,000 (Erin’s region)

9. Nebraska CoC Network: History and Funding
The Nebraska Homeless Assistance Program was established after the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act passed in late 1986 and was signed into federal law July 22, 1987
DHHS NHAP funding=ESG+HSATF (Homeless Shelter Assistance Trust Fund)
66 NHAP grantees statewide
State Continuum of Care Committee (a committee of the governor-appointed Nebraska Commission on Housing and Homelessness, or NCHH)

10. 10-Year Plans to End Homelessness
Credit for the idea of a 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness rests with the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C
The NAEH outlined the concept as part of a more ambitious plan, introduced in July 2000, to end homelessness altogether
The goal caught the attention of then-Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Mel Martinez, who endorsed it in a keynote address at the NAEH’s 2001 conference
Now in 2010, HUD continues to emphasize the importance of 10-Year Plans

11. Nebraska’s 10-Year Plan
In October of 2003, a cross-section of stakeholders from Nebraska attended a “Federal Policy Academy” in Denver, CO.
The Policy Academy was one of several in which all States eventually participated
The purpose of the Academy was to assist States in developing "10-Year Plans to End Chronic Homelessness."
Nebraska's resulting 10-Year Plan was titled Nebraska's Action Plan for Increasing Access to Mainstream Services for Persons Experiencing Chronic Homelessness

12. 10 Year Plan Successes
Nebraska's 10-Year Plan was unveiled in 2004 and was formally adopted by the Nebraska Commission on Housing and Homelessness
To ensured continued implementation of the 10-Year Plan, the Commission created a standing ad hoc committee titled the "Ad Hoc Committee on Ending Chronic Homelessness"
The Ad Hoc Committee's membership included State interagency personnel, nonprofit housing and homelessness prevention service providers, and representatives of various consumer demographics

13. 10 Year Plan Successes 5 years down, 5 years to go: midway point
The Rental Assistance Program (RAP): rental vouchers for consumers with severe mental illness and extreme housing barriers
NIFA developed a database on affordable housing statewide, which was integrated into the system put in place by Assistive Technology Partnership (housing.ne.gov)
Implementation of a common data system for all grantees (HMIS/ServicePointe)
Increased collaboration!!!!!

14. Ad Hoc Committee on Ending Chronic Homelessness
Standing ‘ad hoc’ committee of the Nebraska Commission on Housing and Homelessness ( both Erin and Ardith are Commissioners)
Future Ad Hoc Meetings: Participation needed and welcomed
10-Year Plan only successful through sustained partnerships and collaboration
First meeting of 2010: March/April

15. Ad Hoc Committee

16. Commission (NCHH) and Ad Hoc

17. 10 Years Plans: A Summary Part of a national model
Will be featured at upcoming NAEH conference
Best plans feature: outcomes (ex: units to be developed), funding expectations, and points of accountability (who will do what)
10-Year Plans do NOT ‘just happen’ – they take work, commitment, and the “Living Document” mindset (incorporating HPRP, for example)
There is much more to be done, but despite these challenges, for the first time in two decades, communities have a plan and homelessness is a problem with a clear solution

18. Nebraska Continuum of Care Network

19. Final Thoughts Questions????
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