Members-Only Youth Count!: Point-in-Time Homeless Count Webinar March 21, 2014

Welcome! Paul Curtis Executive Director California Coalition for Youth  There will be a question/answer session at the end of the presentation. Feel free to type your questions in the chat box during that time, and they will be answered in the order received.

Agenda:  Welcome & Introductions  Legislative & Policy Update – Kim Lewis  Hidden in Plain Sight: Improving Youth Inclusion in Point-in-Time Counts – Colette Auerswald  Questions & Discussion  Closing Remarks Next webinar date

Legislation We’re Watching: High Priority MeasureSubjectCCY PositionStatus AB 1733 (Quirk-Silva) Public Records Fee Waiver SUPPORT4/1/14 – Hearing in Asm. Health AB 1806 (Bloom) Pupil Services: Homeless Children and Youth SUPPORT3/26/14 – Hearing in Asm. Education AB 2001 (Ammiano) Homeless Youth Dependency Proceedings STRONG SUPPORT 3/13/14 – Referred to Asm. Human Services and Judiciary

Legislation We’re Watching: High Priority MeasureSubjectCCY PositionStatus SB 970 (Yee) Juveniles Solitary Confinement SUPPORT4/8/14 – Hearing in Sen. Public Safety SB 1296 (Leno) Juvenile TruancySUPPORT4/8/14 – Hearing in Sen. Public Safety TBD RESOLUTION California Runaway & Homeless Youth Month SPONSORTo be introduced in April

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: IMPROVING YOUTH INCLUSION IN POINT-IN-TIME COUNTS CCY Webinar – March 21, 2014 Colette (Coco) Auerswald, MD, MS – UCB School of Public Health

Collaboration between the California Homeless Youth Project and the UC, Berkeley School of Public Health

Hidden in Plain Sight Assessment  Goals:  Describe current approaches to counting unaccompanied minors and TAY in the PIT count  Describe best practices and innovations in California  Describe barriers  Recommendations  Methods:  Review of data from CoC reports in 2011 and 2013  Interviews with 31 CoCs and 5 consulting groups conducted in early 2013.

The Numbers: Unsheltered Minors and TAY, 2011 vs Minors YEAR TAY YEAR No count ,000 1,

The Numbers: Unsheltered Minors and TAY, 2011 vs Minors YEAR TAY YEAR No count ,000 1,

PIT Count Numbers: 2011 vs Homelessness Reports -

Youth Numbers: 2011 vs Homelessness Reports -

Findings: Methods for youth inclusion Minimal changes Changes to planning processes Changes to count methods Youth- specific counts

Findings: Methods for youth inclusion Minimal changes Include unaccompanied minor and TAY categories in PIT count.

Findings: Methods for youth inclusion Include youth providers in PIT count planning: Minimal changes Changes to planning processes

Findings: Methods for youth inclusion Collaborate with McKinney-Vento school liaisons: Minimal changes Changes to planning processes

Findings: Methods for youth inclusion Include youth in PIT count planning Minimal changes Changes to planning processes

Findings: Methods for youth inclusion Minimal changes Changes to planning processes Changes to count methods Include youth service providers and youth themselves as enumerators. Incentivize youth participants.

Findings: Methods for youth inclusion Minimal changes Changes to planning processes Changes to count methods Include youth-inclusive or youth-specific, flexible enumeration routes, times of day, or survey sites: “We targeted areas that youth knew specifically were more likely to find homeless youth.”

Findings: Methods for youth inclusion Minimal changes Changes to planning processes Changes to count methods Include youth-related survey questions in PIT count interviews

Findings: Methods for youth inclusion Minimal changes Changes to planning processes Changes to count methods Youth- specific counts Implement many of the changes described, and Conduct a dedicated, youth-specific count

Findings: Youth-Specific Barriers  Hard to identify  Sub-groups of youth

Findings: CoC-related barriers  Limited integration of youth service providers  Geographical factors  Winter weather conditions

Findings: Methodological Barriers  Wariness of statistical methods  Concerns about ability to compare results over time  Inexperience with counting TAY

Findings: Structural Barriers  Lack of funding  Limited provider capacity  Concerns regarding reporting obligations  Concerns regarding implications of increasing numbers  Conflicting definitions of homelessness

Recommendations: Policy  Clarification of the goals and outcomes of the PIT count on a federal and local level.  Assurance that increases in PIT count numbers related to efforts to conduct more youth- inclusive counts will be praised, not penalized.  Recognition that standardized PIT count methods may lead to systematic undercounting.

Recommendations: Policy  Expansion of the PIT count definition of youth homelessness.  Coordination of definitions and data systems for the homeless across federal level programs.  Funding PIT count efforts overall and youth- specific efforts in particular.

Next Steps: Technical Assistance and Structural Change

Technical Assistance Project: Three phases  Phase 1:  Technical Assistance for all CoCs.  Phase 2:  One-on-one technical assistance for two CoCs.  Phase 3:  Structural interventions informed by study findings.

Convenings: Spring 2014  8 day-long regional convenings  CoC’s, partnering youth agency(ies), and school liaisons.  Travel costs reimbursed.  Stipends as needed to support attendance.

Convenings: Spring 2014  Logistics and Materials for training, promotion, and enumeration.  Moving one step along the continuum  Engaging youth  Engaging local partners  RHY providers and other youth providers.  McKinney-Vento liaisons.  Other youth serving agencies  Leveraging resources  Support for enumeration using multiple definitions of youth homelessness

Seed Grants  Seed grants for youth-specific counting initiatives  Examples of potential initiatives:  Youth advisory boards  Stipends for youth enumerators  Reimbursing youth for participating in youth surveys  Advertising counts to youth  Hosting events to draw youth to be counted  Sharing information back with the community  Other practices as determined by communities

Standardized survey  For CoC’s conducting a survey, development of an instrument that will be:  Brief  Inclusive of HUD and McKinney-Vento definitions  Compatible with HMIS  Standardized across CoC’s (for data aggregation)

One-on-One Technical Assistance  Provision of intensive technical assistance to two mid- to-low-resource communities for the 2015 PIT count.  Goals:  To serve one rural and one mixed site.  Support local capacity for improving count practices.  Share ongoing work with larger community.

Structural Change  Working federally to:  Clarify HUD policies about the count  Broaden the data that can be reported to federal partners  Working with legislators to:  Prioritize youth counts  Increase awareness of the scope of the problem  Working with local CoCs and advocates to:  Employ numbers for advocacy and funding

We need you!! Youth cannot be counted without the collaboration of those who work with them! Jess Lin, MPH UCB School of Public Health Laura Petry, MSW ’14 UCB School of Social Welfare Coco Auerswald, MD, MS UCB School of Public Health Shahera Hyatt, MSW California Homeless Youth Project

Thank you!  To access the full report, visit html html  Coco Auerswald, MD, MS:  Shahera Hyatt, MSW:  Jess Lin, MPH:  Laura Petry:

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Thanks for joining!  Save the date – next members-only webinar scheduled for mid to late April. (Members Only)  Feel free to Paul Curtis at with any questions we didn’t address during today’s  If you have any ideas for webinar topic(s) you would like covered in the next webinar, please let us know!