1. Virginia Balance of State
3.11 Creating Effective Governance Models for Reducing Homelessness in Your Balance of State CoC
Nichele Johnson Carver, MS
July 24, 2018

2. The Department of Housing and Community Development(DHCD) is the lead support agency (collaborative applicant) providing staff to the various committees and work groups.
Assoc. Director Homeless and Special Needs Housing (1)
CoC Program Coordinator (1) – main focus BoS (not only responsibility)
Program Manager (1)
Program Administrators (3)
HMIS- Homeward (HMIS for 4 CoC in VA)
Intro – the DHCD team
Collaborative Applicant/Planning/HMIS
DHCD performs a variety of functions such as performance monitoring, engagement and education of stakeholders, submission of the HUD funding applications, and HMIS administration in collaboration with Homeward

3. Discuss the uniqueness of the 38 independent cities (only 41 independent cities in the country and all of Virginia’s cities are independent)

5. To reduce the length of homelessness
State Policy
Federal Requirements
Goals:
To reduce the length of homelessness
To reduce the number of new cases of homelessness
To reduce the number of individuals returning to homelessness
Virginia’s Housing Policy Agenda
Purpose of the Housing Policy Agenda:
Identify & implement actions to enable quality, affordable housing which will strengthen families and communities and foster economic growth

6. Approach to ending homelessness
State Policy Changes
System Transformation
Funding Changes
Technical Assistance

7. DHCD funding
Community Based Funding Application – combination of Federal (ESG) and State homeless funding*
Panel Review of the 27 applications
Negotiations with each community for which agencies we will fund
Contract with individual organizations based on the application, review, and negotiations
* HUD CoC funding is not included in this process
Our application season How they are doing as a system boils down to individual projects
Purpose of negotiations
To discuss funding recommendations
To discuss proposed activities
To discuss proposed grantees
To clarify information presented in the application

8. Virginia Balance of State
73 Counties and Cities
500 miles from most western county to most eastern county of the BoS
Census: 1.5 million
2018 Point-in-Time (preliminary): 718
Persons in households w/out children: 421
Persons in households w/ children: 297
Unsheltered: 165
Veterans: 36 (4 CH)
Chronic Homeless: 38
LPG Range: 5 to 147 (Average 60)
Comprised of 12 local planning groups

9. Local Planning Groups Requirements:
Have Governance Policies, a Board, Committees, and Standards that align with the BoS CoC.
Have open meetings at least every other month, and publish notices of their meeting agendas and minutes
Elect Steering Committee and Sub-Committee representatives
Conduct Point in Time (PIT) and Housing Bed Inventory Chart (HIC) at least annually (provided to collaborative applicant)

10. LPG requirements cont.
Submit Annual Performance Reports (APR) to HUD (where applicable)
Participate in HMIS (if applicable) and adhere to the BoS’s HMIS Policies and Procedures maintained by Homeward
Use system level data (HUD and state) to make LPG decisions
Support the priorities established by the BoS CoC aligning with state and federal policies

11. BoS Governing Board
Balance of State Steering Committee - The CoC Steering Committee is the lead decision-making body and board responsible for planning for the use of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) CoC resources and coordinating these funds with other relevant resources in the jurisdiction.

12. Steering Committee Responsibilities
Providing overall direction and leadership
Making all formal decisions of the CoC
Strategic planning and goal setting
Approving the selection of the Monitoring and Selection Committee (Ranking Committee)
Monitoring and evaluating both system wide and individual program performance
Establishing priorities for and making decisions about the allocation of CoC resources
Disseminating information to all members of the local planning groups
HMIS, Data, and Performance Committee
Uniformed/Coordinated Assessment System Committee
Services Coordinating Committee
Monitoring and Selection Committee (Ranking Committee)
Each LPG has either a centralized or multiple coordinated access points that cover entire geography
In addition to access points, each LPG has one phone number where persons can access services
The Vulnerability Index - Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT) is the common standardized assessment tool (Approved Spring 2015)

13. Crater Area Coalition on Homelessness (CACH)
Three homeless service providers
Nine communities represented in the local planning group
Includes the independent city of Petersburg

14. Petersburg
Prominent during the Civil War – there was the battle of Petersburg
After the War many free blacks settled there because it was one of the only safe spaces in VA
Population of 76% AA

15. Petersburg
Crime rate is 95% higher than rest of VA Median household income is 51% lower than rest of VA Graduation rate is 14% lower than rest of VA
This is not an exhaustive list of the struggle

16. Petersburg Pilot Project
Housing Stability for Chronically Absent Homeless Students
Partnership of: The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, Petersburg City Department of Social Services, Petersburg City Public Schools, and St. Joseph’s Villa
Available Services (provided by St. Joseph’s Villa):
Housing stabilization case management
Resource referral and follow-up
Landlord mediation
Housing location assistance
Short-term rental and utility assistance
Host home support (including financial)

17. nichele.carver@dhcd.virginia.gov Housing Program Manager
Nichele J. Carver
Housing Program Manager
(804)