Greater Hartford CAN Pre-Implementation 6/11/14

Greater Hartford Coordinated Access Network

Meeting Notes

 June 11, 2014

In Attendance:

Steve Bigler- CRT

Crane Cesario-DMHAS

Joel Cox- Town of Enfield Social Services

Roger Clark- Immaculate Conception Shelter and Housing Corp.

Brenda Earle- Dept of Housing

Fred Faulkner- The Open Hearth

Rosemary Flowers- My Sisters’ Place

Lou Gilbert- Immaculate Conception Shelter and Housing Corp.

Mary Gillette- Mercy Housing

Ruby Givens- Hewitt- Salvation Army Marshall House

Matt Morgan- Journey Home

Amina Musa- Journey Home

Pieter Nijssen- Tri-Town Shelter

Roxan Noble- Chrysalis Center/YWCA

Heather Pilarcik- South Park Inn

Lionel Rigler- City of Hartford

Iris Ruiz- Interval House

Dave Shumway- Immaculate Conception Shelter and Housing Corp.

Josephine Wilson- Salvation Army Marshall House

Tamera Womack- My Sisters’ Place

1. Review of the statewide CAN meeting:

                    I.            Focusing on marketing, education and training is vital for CAN to be successful. State departments need to talk to each other about the changes.

                  II.            2-1-1 will refer a person to local Coordinated Access Networks if they are 14 days or less from homelessness.  People can only access Rapid Rehousing by being literally homeless.

·          So then we essentially have two groups: those who need shelter immediately, as in tonight and those who need shelter soon, within the next few days

·         Response: Everywhere is having the same issue, how to create a CAN that will meet the needs of both populations without a huge influx of people going to shelter.

·         We will be using the VI-SPDAT as an assessment tool so that will let us know the client’s needs. The case managers will have to have a tactful skillset while doing the assessment to know what is best for the client even after using the VI-SPDAT. A statewide diversion tool will be sent to us.

                                                               i.      This diversion tool will be done at assessment. Negotiation and mediating will be a part of the diversion done at assessment.

                III.            Housing lists are too long? If people already waiting how will the CAN assessment help if it is just populating what people need?

·         Look at this process like a funnel, everyone will be referred to what is most appropriate for them so ideally there will not be so many people waiting. UHA will be modified to include the VI-SPDAT. Based on eligibility and need, people will ideally be able to quickly move into the types of services that they need.

·         Individual housing lists may not be necessary after the VI-SPDAT goes live (if eligibility lines up with VI-SPDAT) because people’s needs are being met more quickly; one community list may replace multiple waitlists.

·         Three days before each CAN’s go live date there will be a training on ECM

·         The CAN template is being modified around diversion. We will see the new changes when they are made available. HOT Team was also discussed and how differently they will be working in different regions of the state

·         A new workflow will be sent illustrating which points in the workflow will certain assessments happen. Some communities have urged that they want as many tools as possible, so (the state team) is providing them.

2.        Last week’s meeting success and scheduling for the CAN assessments.

As a GH CAN we have agreed to have each agency sign up for four hour blocks. At our last meeting we were wondering how much of a notice should 2-1-1 give before scheduling last minute appointments.  We also agreed as a community to have clients scheduled at a specific time for their appointments so they are not waiting all day.

·         Response: Give 2-1-1 up to an hour before your time block is to begin to update. You will be there anyways so there should not be too much attention focused on which client is there or not

3.       Immediate Needs

·         In Waterbury, one shelter has stepped up and will take anybody with immediate needs for that night. The next available business day the person will be assessed and referred to where they are recommended to go.

                                                               i.      Our agreed upon protocol for someone with immediate needs:

If someone presents at your door and it is too late to call 2-1-1 for an intake that day, then you can enroll them into your shelter and in HMIS. The next day, the shelter will call 211 to ensure client is scheduled for an assessment. After they speak to 2-1-1, 2-1-1 will also have their data in HMIS. After their assessment you can exit them from your shelter if they are referred or diverted elsewhere.

                                                             ii.      When someone is in your shelter calling 2-1-1 to get an assessment appointment how long will the phone call be?

a.       Response: 5-10 mins. at most

·         Start counting how many people show up at your shelters that do not have a bed.

                                                               i.      Length of stay policies is what drives many new intakes at shelter. If we increase the length of stay policies then people won’t be shuffling around from shelter to shelter so frequently

                                                             ii.      Brenda: Talked to Russ about data collection to see how much churning there really is. We will look into HMIS to find out this information.*

                                                            iii.      Reiterated that while there needs to be a length of stay policy we essentially are in charge of what that number may be. DOH does not have an exact number of days for Length of Stay that they prefer, they just require each shelter to have one. Maybe there should be a follow up meeting with all the executive directors to discuss what we should do in regards to Length of Stay policies.

                                                           iv.      Most of the shelters have an extension policy. Length of stay is not a hard and fast exit after the client has reached their maximum amount of days. Depending on how the client is progressing and what they are working towards they could continue their stay.

a.       Discussed male clients that are doing shelter rounds. As soon as their LOS is up at one shelter, they start their length of stay at another. Emphasized that this is a specific population and the VI-SPDAT will be able to successfully assess their needs.

*= data

                                                             v.      Coordinated Access Networks will push towards a rapid exit and a housing first approach. Lengths of stay will hopefully be reduced because there will be more successful exits.

·         **What should shelters do if we need someone to leave our shelter for non-compliance? Should they then call 2-1-1 to access shelter?

                                                               i.      Response: Will ask New London because they have had a similar situation recently. Will also bring it up at statewide meetings.

·         Should shelters be expected to take clients that are banned from their shelters?

                                                               i.      No, it is understood that CAN will not be able to help everyone but we are trying to help as many people as possible.

·         We have a lot of undocumented clients, those that need child care and/or daycare. If these clients are able to find work, they are only working part time and don’t have enough to pay rent at their own place. Will there be more housing vouchers?

                                                               i.      Response: Yes. In the state’s new budget, CT has allocated $600,000 for Rapid Rehousing and the federal government has increased ESG money which is used for Rapid Rehousing.

                                                             ii.      For individual men, finding roommates is becoming more common in the state, as another option some agencies are master leasing. There are ways to creatively house people.

·         A question that has come up on the statewide level is do clients needs photo ID for CAN assessments?

                                                               i.      The answer is no, but for referrals housing programs may need documentation, for admission later.

·         In previous GH CAN meetings earlier in the year, we reached a consensus that for all individual males with immediate needs in GH CAN, Immaculate Conception Shelter and Housing Corp. would receive all 211 referrals and would work with other shelters to place people. This would eliminate the need for clients to contact all the shelters.

                                                               i.      While the previously mentioned Waterbury shelter is able to take in anyone needing shelter, Immaculate only takes men needing shelter and especially has more capacity during the winter no freeze.

                                                             ii.      Finalized protocol for a male with immediate needs:

a.       If a client shows up at a shelter, needing a bed that night you will take him in if you have an open bed. If you do, you will call 2-1-1 at the next available time.

b.      If you do not have an open bed at your shelter, the shelter will call around until you find a place for them at another shelter.

                                                            iii.      All outside referring agencies will call 2-1-1 first, which will then call Immaculate if an individual male is looking for shelter immediately

                                                           iv.      2-1-1 will call Salvation Army Marshall House is willing to receive referrals from 2-1-1 for immediate needs for families and individual women

4.       What do we do if all the shelters are full?

·         In the case of individual men, that’s rare. Someone is going to have to take them in. The individual men’s shelters usually are able to accommodate someone needing shelter.

·         During the no freeze Immaculate should be able to accommodate all single men needing shelter. During the other months, Immaculate always cannot accept more people.

·         What about those who have gone missing along the way to other shelter? Will 2-1-1 have data on them?

                                                               i.      Yes 2-1-1 will be able to track the data on turnaways. Will send the client’s information to  Immaculate where the information could be passed on to outreach teams so they could follow up with them

                                                             ii.      If there is ever a time when all shelters are full and person walks-in, Immaculate and Salvation Army Marshall House will maintain a turn-away list.

                                                            iii.      How do we make sure they aren’t duplicates? What identifying information should we ask? Name and last four numbers of social?

a.       Can duplicates be captured on HMIS?

5.       Transportation is a huge need. We need to think about how to offer resources to those that need to travel to access shelter.

                                                               i.      Even an amount as small as $1,000 is enough

a.       Tri-Town used $3,000/ year to buy bus tokens with a previous grant from a local synagogue

                                                             ii.      Some communities are utilizing local United Way to have money for transportation related costs

6.       **Due to the push to end veteran’s homelessness there are a lot more resources available to house veterans. Will 2-1-1 flag veterans?

·         CRT has three veteran programs and they would like to be able to increase their efforts

·         Response: Yes, they will be flagging in HMIS, Brian Roccapriore from CEEH is working on it.

(**= Future Topics to discuss)

7.       The Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence is sponsoring a lethality screening in the Hartford this summer. 500 officers will be involved in Hartford and 24 surrounding towns to carry out these screenings. If a person screens high, they will need shelter. Interval House is usually full. So there may be an increase in all the client referrals to the homeless shelters around the area. The target start date is July  1^st.

8.       What is our CAN going to do in regards to late adolescent/youth?

·         The Hearth Act says you cannot refuse entry to a child regardless of age if they are with their parents

·         South Park Inn cannot accommodate children under a year old because of the dorm style setting

9.       Next meeting Agenda Items:

·         Schedule for  CAN planning process, with calendar specifics

·         Slots for assessment location

·         Update on Outreach

·         Transportation

·         Data Collection