ANNUAL REPORT

Interagency Council for Coordinating Homeless Programs

(ICCHP)

November 2001 – November  2002

The Interagency Council for Coordinating Homeless Programs (ICCHP or Council) is an advisory group originally created by executive order in 1992 to advise the Governor and the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on issues affecting persons who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The Council is charged with providing recommendations for joint and cooperative efforts to better meet the needs of the homeless residents of North Carolina. The ICCHP is staffed by the Office of Economic Opportunity within the NC Department of Health and Human Services. 

The ICCHP consists of 28 members who are appointed by the Governor and represent non-profit agencies serving the homeless, county and city government, the private sector, the state departments of Administration, Commerce, Correction, Cultural Resources, Health and Human Services, and Public Instruction, the Community Colleges System, the NC Housing Finance Agency and the North Carolina General Assembly. A seat on the Council is also reserved for a representative of homeless and/or formerly homeless persons.  A current ICCHP membership list is attached.

In addition to its appointed members, the Council also benefits from the participation of a number of agencies and organizations that attend Council meetings as “interested parties.”  The representatives of these parties provide valuable input to the Council in its deliberations and often supply staff assistance with Council sponsored or endorsed activities.  Current interested parties include representatives of the Office of Citizen Services, Division of Aging, and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, all of the Department of Health and Human Services, the NC Coalition against Domestic Violence, the McAuley Institute and the Greensboro Field Office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Homelessness in North Carolina

Generally in discussions about homelessness, the question arises as to who, exactly, is homeless.  The most common definition (based on the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act) says that this

term includes only those persons who are literally homeless – that is, on the streets or in shelters – and persons who face imminent eviction (within a week) from a private dwelling or institution and who have no subsequent residence or resources to obtain housing.  Homeless service providers in North Carolina find that this definition works well in large, urban areas but can be problematic in rural areas, where homeless persons are more likely to live with relatives in overcrowded or substandard housing.  Many people experience homelessness and housing distress in our small towns and rural areas. Homelessness is most pronounced in rural regions that are primarily agricultural; regions whose economies are based on declining extractive industries such as mining, timber, or fishing; and regions experiencing economic growth -- for example, areas with industrial plants that attract more workers than jobs available, and areas near urban centers that attract new businesses and higher income residents, thereby driving up taxes and living expenses.  A lack of decent affordable housing underlies both rural and urban homelessness. Single homeless persons age 18 and over make up the largest subpopulation of the homeless population in the State.  Indeed, 64% of the persons served by the State’s Emergency Shelter Grants Program grantees

 in state fiscal year 2000-01 were single adults age 18 or over.  Of the almost 30,693 single adults age 18 or over served during this period, 70% were male and 30% were female.  Contrary to public opinion, homeless service providers report that a majority of the single persons served are employed either in full-time or part-time permanent positions or in temporary or labor pool situations.   

 Of the over 5600 homeless families served by FY 2001 Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) Program grantee organizations, the overwhelming majority were headed by females.  Of the 17,141 members of these served families, 61% -- or 10,484 -- were children ages birth to 17 years. 

How can homelessness be ended?

Most obviously, homeless persons are in critical need of permanent affordable rental housing.  If homelessness is to end in our state, more housing must be made available to poor and low income people. Based on the federal minimum wage of $5.15/hour, a household earning minimum wage can pay no more than $268 per month for housing before becoming cost burdened. Moreover, according to the 2000 Census, over 130,000 North Carolina households receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), with a mean annual income of $5,747 (or $479 per month).  Households receiving the mean SSI payment can thus afford to pay no more than $143 per month for housing expenses.  Unfortunately, North Carolina has very little safe housing available that rents for less than $200 per month – the 2000 Census identified just over 52,000 housing units renting at this level (5.6% of the entire state’s rental housing stock).  And there has been no production of rental units affordable to this income category by the mainstream resources (CDBG, HOME, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, etc.).  Because of this, rental assistance plays a crucial role in the provision of housing affordable to extremely low-income households.  Homeless and special needs housing and service providers have been very vocal for many years about the need for rental assistance funds to provide housing for persons with incomes below 30% of area median income, particularly those who are homeless or have special needs.  However, this need has not received the attention or funding from the State’s major housing funders that it deserves.

Most low-income households live marginally, paying a large portion of their incomes for housing expenses, and are, therefore, at extreme risk of homelessness. Housing is generally considered to be affordable when a household pays no more than 30% of its gross monthly income for rent or mortgage and utilities. Households paying more than this percentage of income for housing are considered to be cost burdened. By this measure 20% of all households in North Carolina, or almost 650,000 households, are cost-burdened according to the 2000 US Census.

Individuals released from various institutional facilities, without adequate discharge planning, constitute another substantial at-risk population.  During the 2000 Census, 106,659 persons were living in correctional facilities, mental hospitals, juvenile institutions, or other institutional settings.  The majority of those institutionalized (59,421) were under 65 years of age.  The state does not require adequate housing arrangements as a precondition of release in most cases.  The homeless shelters in North Carolina receiving funding through the Emergency Shelter Grants Program (ESG) report only on the number of persons who state that release from prison is the cause of their homelessness (see chart). Our data collection methods must be further refined to assess the impact of institutional discharge policies upon persons who are homeless or at risk of becoming so. 

 Identifying and addressing the causes of homelessness are important to prevent this living situation for those threatened with homelessness and to assist those households currently homeless.  Yet historically, the State of North Carolina has placed a low priority on addressing the needs of today’s homeless population and preventing other families and individuals from becoming homeless. The HUD-funded Emergency Shelter Grants Program, administered by the Office of Economic Opportunity, is the only program specifically targeted to serve homeless persons currently administered by the State of North Carolina.

Council Activities and Accomplishments in FY 2001-02

The member agencies and organizations of the Interagency Council for Coordinating Homeless Programs have worked diligently over the last year to improve coordination and cooperation among not only state agencies and departments offering services for homeless people, but also between local and statewide nonprofit organizations and units of local government.  The various member agencies of the Council have recommitted themselves to the original purposes of the Council and to the development of an effective state policy which, if not completely eliminating homelessness, will drastically reduce its incidence in North Carolina.  A summary of the Council’s most notable activities during the past year is provided below.

Fifth Annual North Carolina Conference on Homelessness

The Council sponsored its Fifth Annual North Carolina Conference on Homelessness on November 29-30, 2001 at the Jane S. McKimmon Center in Raleigh. The Conference was attended by approximately 300 persons from across the state representing non-profit homeless service providers, government agencies, the faith community, the homeless/formerly homeless and community volunteers.  Phillip Mangano, the former President of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (and now Executive Director of the Federal Interagency Council on Coordinating Homeless Programs), served as the Conference keynote speaker.  The Conference featured 24 workshops on such topics as supportive housing development, education for homeless children and youth, faith-based initiatives, housing funding sources, case management, services for the mentally ill and/or substance abusing homeless person and nonprofit management. 

Council Planning Retreat

Throughout 2001-2002, the Council members learned a great deal from each other and established an effective and cooperative communication network.  This asset was further developed during the Council’s day-long planning retreat, held April 19, 2002.  At this retreat, members considered a number of current issues important to our efforts to end homelessness and identified three key opportunities:

1. Rapidly shifting federal policies require the State to respond proactively to protect the interests of our homeless community. This requires rapid and well-deliberated responses.  However, since existing homeless assistance resources are currently housed in a variety of State agencies, responses are slowed and sometimes disjointed. Several state agencies have independent planning processes which can and do affect services and programs for homeless people, i.e.: the Consolidated Plan, the State Mental Health Plan, Social Services Plan, etc. All too often, these plans are created without considering the needs of persons who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
2. Current State and federal resources must be targeted appropriately to effectively address homelessness and additional state resources must be dedicated to ending homelessness once the budget improves.
3. Creation of the best possible Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) to meet the federal mandate requiring recipients of HUD homeless assistance funds to develop and initiate such as system as a condition of continued funding by 2004.

Council members agree that the State’s current response to homelessness is inadequate and fosters an acceptance of poverty and homelessness as socially allowable.  The State must provide the funds and manpower to develop a strategy to end homelessness in North Carolina rather than to just manage it.

Shifting Federal Policies

HUD requires states and localities to create a written plan to access federal homeless assistance funds.  This plan must show strategies for reducing by 50% the number of chronically homeless persons over a 5-year period. Currently HUD’s McKinney-Vento dollars are tied to a planning model that asks communities to manage a continuum of care system (North Carolina has 27 “regional” continuums of care representing only 48 of our 100 counties).  HUD also requires that 30% of the Department’s homeless funds be used to provide permanent supportive housing for disabled homeless persons.

In addition, efforts to block grant McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance funds to states and local governments have been ongoing, with legislation introduced in Congress each year. The State must position itself to use funds cost effectively and to ensure proper targeting and distribution of limited available resources, particularly for our rural communities.  Block granting could also result in a beneficial consolidation of state-level administration of homeless assistance programs within one department, reducing administrative costs and freeing up more funds for homeless service and housing providers.

Current State and Federal Resources

North Carolina could realize significant cost benefits by adopting more proactive strategies in dealing with the issues surrounding homelessness.  In fact, money that is currently available through HUD and other federal sources is being “left on the table” and subsequently lost to other states.  The Council needs to create opportunities to influence the funding decisions made by both legislators and state agencies.  One key strategy is to better target existing funds and/or redistribute current resources.  For example, ways to redirect mainstream funds such as Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), Mental Health Services, etc., should be considered.

The state should commit to specifically targeting a percentage of existing mainstream program funds to persons below 30% of median income.  The State must also access all available federal funds. Mainstream budget items in various departments must be designated for a concerted and coordinated effort to end homelessness.

Statewide Data Collection

Lack of reliable data on the State’s homeless population has hampered efforts by State and local governments to design effective housing and service programs for the population.  Although championed by the state’s Interagency Council on Coordinating Homeless Programs (ICCHP) in the past, a comprehensive statewide count of homeless persons in North Carolina has never been conducted.  HUD’s recent mandate for a statewide homeless management information system promises to be critical to the State of North Carolina.  Currently the State has a fragmented system of data collection which impedes efforts for a statewide system.  Also, data from local systems with different platforms and data variables may not be compatible with an aggregate process.

Coordinated and Comprehensive Response

The State of North Carolina currently responds to homelessness through a fragmented system of offices and programs. The Council affirms the need for a more coordinated system of effort at the state level.  Whether a single section or office on homelessness and/or housing should be created or not should be examined.  We cannot forget, however, that visibility, commitment and priority of effort are needed immediately as a basis for a concerted effort to coordinate strategies and efforts to end homelessness throughout the State.

Four work groups were established to advance the work of the Council during the coming year in the areas previously discussed.  These work groups are listed below:

• Work Group on Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS)
• Work Group on Balance of State Continuum of Care Application Strategies
• Work Group on Joint Policies and Coordination among State Agencies.
• Work Group on the Conduct of a Cost Benefit Analysis of Homeless Service Delivery Models

These work groups will report to the Council on their activities during regularly scheduled meetings during 2002-2003.

Quarterly Meetings

Since November of 2001, the ICCHP held quarterly meetings on January 9, 2002, July 10, 2002 and October 9, 2002.  The following is a brief summary of these quarterly meetings.

January 9, 2002

• Members were informed that a new executive order creating the Council was signed by Governor Michael Easley on November 28, 2001. The order reduced the number of NC General Assembly members on the Council from eight to six – three from the NC Senate and three from the NC House of Representatives – and the number of representatives on the Council representing the homeless/formerly homeless from three to one. 
• Members were briefed on the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), a HUD initiative to address a Congress mandate that HUD ensure that communities receiving McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance funds collect a variety of data on homeless persons.  By compiling local data, HUD believes that it can develop accurate data on the number and characteristics of homeless persons nationally.  Ramifications of this unfunded mandate for homeless service providers in North Carolina were discussed by Council members.
• Reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth (ECHY) was announced. Under the reauthorization, school districts will have increased responsibilities to insure that homeless children are provided with appropriate and equal educational opportunities.  Specifically, North Carolina school districts must:
  • Allow children who are homeless to stay in the same school they attended when they were permanently housed or the last school they attended, if that is the choice of the parent or guardian. Transportation to the school must be provided to the homeless student by the school district if such is needed.
  • Enroll students who are homeless immediately, even if they do not have the papers normally required for enrollment.
  • Appoint a “liaison” to ensure access to education and support services, identify students in homeless situations, and disseminate notice of educational rights.

• The Department of Health and Human Services and the NC Housing Finance Agency announced a new partnership to encourage the inclusion of “special populations,” including persons with disabilities and homeless persons, in Tax Credit projects. 

July 10, 2002

• Martha Are, President of the NC Coalition to End Homelessness (NCCEH), reported on the “Summit on Homelessness” held May 31, 2002 in Raleigh. The NCCEH is a statewide non-profit organization which advocates for the needs of homeless persons and homeless service providers in North Carolina.  Over 180 persons attended the Summit on Homelessness which was funded by a grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.  Participants were engaged in conversations about how our State can move forward in creating a “North Carolina Plan to End Homelessness.” The Summit promoted participant commitment to Housing First, Housing Plus as the basis for the North Carolina plan. Housing First refers to a strategy based on moving people who are homeless into permanent housing as quickly as possible.  Housing Plus recognizes that for many of these persons, appropriate permanent housing is housing with support services attached.  Together, the Housing First, Housing Plus strategy can dramatically reduce the number of persons and families experiencing homelessness.  The NCCEH and the ICCHP will work together to gather stakeholders to develop a North Carolina Plan to End Homelessness.
• Council members were provided with a list of FY 2002 Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) Program contractors. A total of 110 nonprofit organizations and three units of local government operating 135 facilities and service programs for homeless persons in 54 counties were eligible for funding under this federal program. Funding amounts ranged from $7,000 to $42,000 and may be used to pay facility operating costs, provide services to clients and conduct activities to prevent homelessness. Total ESG funding to be distributed for FY 2002 program support is $2,208,750.  The ESG program is administered for the State of North Carolina by the Office of Economic Opportunity, Department of Health and Human Services.
• Council members were informed that the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services had initiated a new Integrated Payment and Reporting System (IPRS) which allows the assignment of a separate tracking number to each homeless person admitted to substance abuse services. This new system will allow the Division to collect a true count of services to the homeless for the first time. 
• Members of the Council were informed of the efforts of the NC Department of Correction to improve the preparation of offenders for reentering and remaining in the community as law-abiding, productive citizens and, thus, reduce the incidence of homelessness among ex-offenders. Based on the success of the JobStart prison-to-work transition program field-tested at five pilot sites, the Division of Prisons adopted a system-wide policy and procedure requiring all prisons to develop and implement a standard operating procedure for insuring a baseline of transitional planning and preparation for each offender due for release within twelve to eighteen months from each facility.

October 9, 2002

• Richard Visingardi, Director of the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services provided the Council with an overview of the State’s plan to reform mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse services and answered questions from Council members regarding the implications for homeless persons with persistent disabilities including mental illness and substance abuse.  Mr. Visingardi stressed the need for input from homeless service providers in community health plans.  He also acknowledged the need to improve discharge planning capabilities of mental health programs and the prison system.
• Council members were informed that the State had been chosen to participate in a Homeless Policy Academy to be sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Veteran Affairs. The purpose of the Academy is to assist states in the development of a plan to enhance access to mainstream services for persons who are homeless.  A team of ten persons representing various state agencies, nonprofit homeless service providers and local government will represent North Carolina at the Academy which will be held in January of 2003.

Council Plans for 2002-2003

• The Council will sponsor its Sixth Annual North Carolina Conference on Homelessness on December 3 and 4, 2002 at the Jane S. McKimmon Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.  The conference theme will be “Ending Homelessness One Person at a Time:  A Tool Box for Change.”  It is anticipated that approximately 300 persons will attend the conference which will feature 24 workshops on topics of interest to homeless service and shelter providers.  Special events will include homeless service provider exhibits, an evening event featuring the work of artists who have been influenced by their relationships with homeless people and a participant networking dinner. 
• The Council will continue its collaboration with the NC Coalition to End Homelessness to promote and encourage the development of a ten year plan to end homelessness in North Carolina. 
• The Council will continue its efforts to examine and recommend changes in the State’s approach to homelessness including developing a more coordinated and, possibly, centralized approach to the administration of programs and services for the homeless people of the state. 
• In 2003, Council quarterly meetings are scheduled for January 8, April 9, July 9, and October 8.

MEMBERS

INTERAGENCY COUNCIL FOR COORDINATING HOMELESS PROGRAMS

Member                                                          Representing

Linda Povlich, Chairperson                                                               NC Department of Health and Human Services

Martha Are                                                                            NC Coalition to End Homelessness

Andy Atkinson                                                                       County Government (New Hanover County)

Dr. Bert Bennett                                                   Division of Mental Health, Developmental                                                                                                                       Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, DHHS 

Loretta Braswell                                                                   City Government (Rocky Mount)

Arthur Clark                                                                           NC Department of Correction

Sue Perry Cole                                                                     NC Association of Community Development

                                                                                                     Corporations, Inc.

Senator Charlie Smith Dannelly                                       NC Senate

C. William Dowse                                                                                NC Housing Finance Agency

Representative Beverly M. Earle                                      NC House of Representative

Cynthia Floyd                                                                       NC Department of Public Instruction

Debra King                                                                           Community Alternatives to Supportive Abodes, Inc.

Senator Eleanor Kinnaird                                                  NC Senate

Sam McLean                                                                       Program Consumers

Representative Paul Miller                                                                NC House of Representatives

Dennis Parnell                                                                     The Healing Place of Wake County

Senator Eric Reeves                                                           NC Senate

Cleveland Simpson                                                            NC Department of Commerce

Leanne Smith                                                                      NC Department of Cultural Resources

Sillar G. Smith                                                                      NC Community College System

Lane Sarver                                                                          Private Sector

Constance Stancil                                                              NC Low Income Housing Coalition

Leslie Starsoneck                                                                               NC Department of Administration

Representative Edith Warren                                            NC House of Representatives

Dr. Jean Williams                                                                                Women’s Center of Wake County, Inc.

Robert Wayne Williams                                                      Office of State Budget and Management

               Interested Parties                                   Representing

Ashley Bell                                                                            Boards and Commissions, Office of the Governor

Julia Bick                                                                              Office of the Secretary, DHHS

Marche Clark                                                                       NC Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Jodi Hernandez                                                                   Division of Aging, DHHS

Gloria Winston Holloway                                                   The McAuley Institute

Michael Leach                                                                    Office of Citizen Services, DHHS

Andrea Schmidt                                                                   Department of Housing and Urban Development

Georgia Steele                                                                    Division of Vocational Rehabilitation

Council Staff

Janet Jacobs McLamb                                                          Office of Economic Opportunity, DHHS