1. Ending youth homelessness in Austin, Tx
Lyric Wardlow
Member, Austin Youth Collective
Erin Whelan, LPC-S, LCCA
Senior Division Director of Housing
Lifeworks
Ending Youth Homelessness in Austin, TX

2. Role of young people in policy, planning and practice
Austin Youth Collective to End Homelessness
Authentic Partnership with youth
Adultism – understanding privilege and how that impacts decision making
Coordinated Community Plan Engagement
Co-Authorship on publication “Child Care in Practice”
Decision Making Opportunities
2 seats on the Membership Council
Equal decision making with YHDP Leadership Council
Create a youth centered approach to system planning
Centering the voices of young people with lived experience in the process
Authentic Partnerships with youth
Community Plan Engagement
Co-Authorship on publication “Child Care in Practice”
Adultism – understanding privilege and how that impacts decision making
Decision Making Opportunities
2 seats on the Membership Council
Equal decision making with YHDP Leadership Council (wanted separate group)
Create a youth centered approach to system planning
Centering the voices of young people with lived experience in the process
Building Awareness in the Community
#haveyouseenus
Austin Community College Consultation
Community Collaboration
Dell Medical School Class
AYC member trained to completed Coordinated Assessment
Perspectives in Ending Youth Homelessness In Austin, TX

3. Role of young people in policy, planning and practice
Austin Youth Collective to End Homelessness
Building Awareness in the community
#haveyouseenus
Austin Community College Consultation
Authentic Partnerships with youth
Community Plan Engagement
Co-Authorship on publication “Child Care in Practice”
Adultism – understanding privilege and how that impacts decision making
Decision Making Opportunities
2 seats on the Membership Council
Equal decision making with YHDP Leadership Council (wanted separate group)
Create a youth centered approach to system planning
Centering the voices of young people with lived experience in the process
Building Awareness in the Community
#haveyouseenus
Austin Community College Consultation
Community Collaboration
Dell Medical School Class
AYC member trained to completed Coordinated Assessment
Perspectives in Ending Youth Homelessness In Austin, TX

4. Role of young people in policy, planning and practice
Austin Youth Collective to End Homelessness
Community collaboration
Dell Medical School Class
AYC member trained to completed Coordinated Assessment
AYC Initiatives
Authentic Partnerships with youth
Community Plan Engagement
Co-Authorship on publication “Child Care in Practice”
Adultism – understanding privilege and how that impacts decision making
Decision Making Opportunities
2 seats on the Membership Council
Equal decision making with YHDP Leadership Council (wanted separate group)
Create a youth centered approach to system planning
Centering the voices of young people with lived experience in the process
Building Awareness in the Community
#haveyouseenus
Austin Community College Consultation
Community Collaboration
Dell Medical School Class
AYC member trained to completed Coordinated Assessment
Perspectives in Ending Youth Homelessness In Austin, TX

5. Priority strategies

6. In 2018 yhdp funds expanded our continuum
Diversion – RARE – LifeWorks will work within Child Protective Services, State and County Juvenile Justice, and local school districts to create housing pathways for youth in transition so they do not fall into homelessness. Permanency Through Outreach and Rapid Transitions (PORT)- BRIEF - A transitional facility with rapid links to Rapid Re-Housing that will divert youth from downtown adult shelters and put them on the fast track (less than 30 days) to Rapid Re-Housing. Rapid Re-Housing – NON-RECURRING – Scale a model that provides temporary assistance, apartment location, and workforce support so youth access permanent housing and the skills/income to sustain it.
Diversion – connection to permanent supportive connections to prevent entry into the homeless system
PORT – TH/RRH Joint project; 15 beds
Rapid Rehousing Plus – provides a longer runway for youth with up to 36 months of rental support and 42 months of case management
Operationalizing the USICH criteria and benchmarks (RARE, BRIEF, and Non-Recurring) with projects (5 criteria)
Austin has had the benefit of having YHDP $ to do this work, but current projects could be used to operationalize the criteria

7. Partnerships
Continuum of Care Organization – Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO)
Service Organizations – LifeWorks, Caritas of Austin, SAFE Alliance, Front Steps, and many more….
Public Systems – Integral Care, City of Austin Housing Authority, Austin Independent School District, Department of Family and Protective Services, Travis County Juvenile Justice, Local Government
Other – Texas Network of Youth Services, Texas Appleseed
Facilitated a planning process that was centered on an authentic collaboration between the CoC lead agency/community convener, service providers and young people.
Strong lead partnership between the RHY provider and the CoC lead. Step up and lead in collaboration
Worked hand in hand to design a plan to prevent and end youth homelessness and confronted controversial topics along the way. That includes housing first for youth, definitions of homelessness, working across systems  
Success with both local government support for the match and private philanthropy – both foundations and individual contributors.  I think the key on this one is that we have engaged several entities a “learning partners” not just transactional funders.  There is philanthropic appeal in solving a community problem collaboratively, not just adding more services.  There is also strong philanthropic interest in being part of the learning journey. 
Creating a System Response To End Youth Homelessness in Austin, TX

8. System Cost projections
Started by looking at what would have the biggest impact and then funded what would have impact by thinking about this work and the planning for it in terms of the “end goal” of building a sustainable system that houses all youth experiencing homelessness
We needed to start somewhere in terms of the number of youth entering the homeless system over time, how much it cost to provide services over time and started to put together figures on how much it would cost our community. Assumptions might not be accurate, but our thinking had to be more strategic than just “needing more money”
The resource planning continues to be an iterative process for us as we learn more about the youth on the by-name list; the strategies and resources needed to help youth persist and succeed in housing; and the changing trends of youth entering the system.
Perspectives in Ending Youth Homelessness In Austin, TX

9. Still Figuring out
Collaboration with School System, Child Welfare, and Juvenile Justice
Scaling up Rapid Rehousing
Continuous Quality Improvement
Launched all 3 projects in October.
We continue to figure out how to work with schools, child welfare, and Juvenile Justice to keep youth from becoming homeless and build diversion efforts that interrupt homelessness early and keep youth from needing long-term assistance.
How to make a gigantic investment in RRH work for youth. Utilizing Housing Specialist, relationships with landlords, realtors license, same CM from outreach to housed, settings goals for ramp up and enrollment
What actual CQI looks like in a community process- not just for programs for youth. How does USICH criteria and benchmarks work fit in?
Creating a System Response To End Youth Homelessness in Austin, TX

10. Data & Evaluation: Where We Are
Over the past 12 months:
We built out the local data elements in HMIS and trained program staff in their collection
We developed comprehensive screening and assessment tools to assist diversion staff in identifying potential natural supports and identifying opportunities for supporting such placements
We began participating in the USICH pilot project, identified opportunities for strengthening the benchmarks tool, and reorganized our community plan to align with the federally defined criteria
We are partnering with CSH and A Way Home America to develop dashboards to monitor our progress
Our collaborative undertook an initiative to contact all youth on the By-Name list to determine actual housing needs.  Approximately half were reached, and the data collected resulted in significant learnings about the needs of youth on the By-Name list and the characteristics of youth who self-resolve.
We developed a progressive engagement tool to standardize our approach to rental assistance
We launched our comprehensive local evaluation to better understand the implementation of the three projects, their evolution over time, and their impact
Across the community data and evaluation not just LifeWorks
Not just program outcomes, but more broad

11. Data & Evaluation: Where We’re headed
Our local metrics are being used to drive continuous quality improvement efforts at the program and systems level
Our revised community plan will go through the formal approval process
Our community is committed to advocating for meaningful metrics for ending youth homelessness
Key learnings and recommendations for practice will be submitted for publication to support other communities and contribute to the broader literature
We will continue to leverage our data in innovative ways to support ongoing learning and program refinement
Austin remains a wiling partner and resource for other communities interested in engaging in meaningful local evaluation

12. Lessons Learned
When engaging the public systems, finding the right champion within the system is key. 
Normalize mistakes and decide how to learn and grow from them
Bullet 1:
They need to be at a high enough level to enact decisions; close enough to the work to make sure it gets done; and above all, highly motivated around this issue.  Also, it helps if they have enough tenure and stability in the job to see the work through.
Bullet 2:
We are all in uncharted waters, and the more we embrace this as a learning journey, the more successful we will be.
Creating a System Response To End Youth Homelessness in Austin, TX

13. Want to learn more? Lyric Wardlow Member, Austin Youth Collective
Erin Whelan, LPC-S, LCCA , Senior Division Director of Housing and Homelessness Services
LifeWorks
Creating a System Response To End Youth Homelessness in Austin, TX