2024 Fall General Meeting: Recap

The LA BOSCOC hosted a General Meeting for the full CoC membership on November 18, 2024. We were thrilled to have 65 individuals representing organizations from across the LA BOSCOC’s 5 regions in attendance either virtually, or in person in Baton Rouge. For those who weren’t able to make it, we look forward to seeing you at the Spring General Meeting! In the meantime, below is a brief recap:

LA BOSCOC UPdate

CoC Manager (Carrie Patterson) presented on the work of the CoC over the past year and some initiatives we have coming up, including:

  • FY2024 CoC Program consolidated application which included 8 new projects which, if funded, would add 435 new Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid ReHousing beds across our 5 regions.

  • Looking forward:

    • Coordinated Entry System Evaluation

    • Racial Equity Evaluation

    • HMIS System Administrator RFP

    • Increased engagement with State and local partners

Regional Board Representative Updates

Attendees heard updates from all five regions about local considerations and activities around Coordinated Entry, new partnerships, trends in their respective areas, and more.

Committee Updates

Attendees heard about policy updates in progress from the Domestic Violence, Membership and Rules, Written Standards, and Coordinated Entry Committee Chairs. The Chair of the Coordinated Entry Committee (Laura Martinez) and the HMIS Specialist (Toni Jones) presented data that quantified all the hard work done toward ending homelessness in our catchment area over the past year. We also heard updates about the ongoing work of the Youth and Veterans Committees.

If you’re interested in joining a committee, please reach out to CoC Coordinators Brett Burns (bburns@lhc.la.gov) or Andrew Dietz (adietz@lhc.la.gov) to learn more.

Survey Results

We solicited feedback from attendees about the CoC’s performance, service gaps, and priorities for the future. See results here.

The LA BOSCOC announces approved Consolidated Application for FY2024 CoC Program Competition

The LA BOSCOC Board voted on Friday, October 25th to approve the FY2024 Consolidated Application for submission to HUD. The Consolidated Application consists of a CoC Application and a CoC Priority Listing. Click the links below or visit the FY2024 Funding Page to review the CoC approved documents:

FY24 CoC Application

FY24 CoC Priority Listing

New Project Funding

Six new competitive projects submitted through the Local Competition and two new non-competitive projects approved for inclusion by the Board will be submitted to HUD for funding consideration. The accepted projects are (grouped by region and alphabetical order):

Competitive new projects

Calcasieu Parish Police Jury’s Rapid Rehousing Project FY2024, which will provide short- to medium-term rental assistance and supportive services via the rapid rehousing project type to households in the Calcasieu Region.

Education and Treatment Council’s Joint TH & RRH Project for Youth, which will provide transitional housing and short- to medium-term rental assistance and supportive services via the joint TH/PH-RRH project type to youth (18-24) households in the Calcasieu Region.

Start Corporation’s Partners in Health and Housing Baton Rouge Expansion, which will expand an existing project that provides long-term rental assistance and supportive services via the permanent supportive housing project type to additional households in the Baton Rouge Region.

Start Corporation’s Start RRH for Baton Rouge, which will provide short- to medium-term rental assistance and supportive services via the rapid rehousing project type to households in the Baton Rouge Region.

Start Corporation’s Starting Over Expansion 2024, which will expand an existing project that provides long-term rental assistance and supportive services via the permanent supportive housing project type to additional households in the Houma Region.

Start Corporation’s Starting Point Expansion 2024, which will expand an existing project that provides long-term rental assistance and supportive services via the permanent supportive housing project type to additional households in the Houma Region.

Non-Competitive new Projects

Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s Domestic Violence RRH - Expansion, which expand an existing project that provides short to medium-term rental assistance and supportive services via the rapid rehousing project type to individuals fleeing domestic violence.

Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s Domestic Violence Coordinated Entry, which will provide additional supportive services to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Coordinated Entry for individuals fleeing domestic violence via the supportive services only - coordinated entry system project type.

On behalf of the Scoring Committee and the LA BOSCOC Board, CoC staff would like to extend our deep appreciation to ALL project applicants. The CoC Program project application process can be challenging, and we are profoundly grateful to have so many organizations with the interest, investment, and dedication to ending homelessness required to engage with the process.

Renewal Project Funding

All projects that requested renewal funding were selected to receive full funding for those requests.

Project Feedback

CoC staff are happy to provide applicants with a comprehensive breakdown and assessment of their score to refine future project applications. If you are interested in scheduling a time to do so, please reach out to cpatterson@lhc.la.gov.

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FY 2024 CoC Program Consolidated Application Draft Posted for Public Comment

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Overview

The LA BOSCOC is seeking public comment on its Consolidated Application for the Funding Year 2024 (FY 2024) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Competition.

The CoC Consolidated Application contains two parts:

  • The CoC Application, which includes narratives and other information about the CoC;

  • The CoC Priority Listing, which includes ranking and funding information about projects being submitted to the Competition.

Accessing the documents

The draft of the CoC Consolidated Application can be accessed through the links below.

How to provide public comment

Please submit public comments by email to Carrie Patterson, Continuum of Care Manager at cpatterson@lhc.la.gov

CoC staff will be making minor corrections and updates over the next two days. Public comments will be accepted through 10AM CST Friday 10/25/24

The LA BOSCOC Board will be voting to approve the Final Consolidated Application on Friday 10/25/24. See the agenda here

LA BOSCOC General Meeting: November 18, 2024

Overview

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC) will host its second full membership meeting of the year on November 18, 2024. This meeting will be held at 2415 Quail Drive in Baton Rouge with a virtual attendance option to ensure accessibility for everyone throughout our geography.

At the meeting, organizations and individuals will learn about current and upcoming efforts across Louisiana to end homelessness, including opportunities for collaboration and funding.

The LA BOSCOC is Louisiana’s largest federally recognized coalition to end homelessness. It serves 22 parishes across the state, including East Baton Rouge, Calcasieu, Terrebonne, and all their surrounding parishes. For more information about the LA BOSCOC and its service area, please visit its website at https://laboscoc.org/

An agenda will be published to the LA BOSCOC’s Events Calendar the week before the General Meeting.

Scheduling

Date: November 18, 2024

Time: TBD

Meeting Link: TBD

Agenda: TBD

Good Standing

Please note that organizations in the LA BOSCOC’s geography that may seek homeless housing and services funding from a variety of sources, including the Continuum of Care (CoC), are required to attend at least one of the LA BOSCOC’s two semiannual General Meetings in order to maintain Good Standing.

Questions?

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Carrie Patterson, LCSW, CoC Manager at cpatterson@lhc.la.gov

FY2024 Local Competition Informational Webinar: Save the Date

LHC will host an informational webinar for its FY 2024 CoC Program local competition on Tuesday, September 3rd from 10a-12p.

This webinar will provide both an overview of the FY 2024 CoC Program NOFO and critical information for potential project applicants. If you do not attend the live webinar, you may view the webinar materials which will be published on the FY24 CoC Program local competition funding page here.

Meeting link: Here

Additional call in information about the webinar can be found on our Events Calendar

FY 2024 CoC Program Local Competition Documents Now Available

Overview

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC), on behalf of the Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC), opened its local competition for funding available under the Funding Year (FY) 2024 Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on August 28, 2024. Project applications for funding through this local competition are due to LHC no later than 4p CST September 23, 2024.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its FY 2024 CoC Program NOFO on July 31, 2024. The CoC Program funds eligible organizations to provide housing and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness, including people fleeing domestic violence.

Through its local competition, the LA BOSCOC expects to make approximately $28 million available, including approximately $3.4 million for new projects.

The LA BOSCOC welcomes and encourages applicants that have not previously received CoC Program funding to apply.

The LA BOSCOC will publish all information about its local competition on its website and via its email distribution list. Click here to subscribe to the LA BOSCOC’s email distribution list.

Local Competition documents

Today the LA BOSCOC published several key documents for its local competition. These documents may be updated as a result of HUD publications. They are:

LCADV DV Bonus - RRH and SSO-CE - Request for Proposals

The Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (LCADV) will be soliciting proposals from applicants wishing to be selected as a subrecipient for the LCADV DV bonus funding available through the FY2024 CoC Program Competition. The LA BOSCOC will publish documents regarding this funding on the FY24 funding page as soon as they are available.

Reminder: FY 2024 CoC Program local competition webinar

LHC will host an informational webinar for its FY 2024 CoC Program local competition on Tuesday, September 3rd. This webinar will provide both an overview of the FY 2024 CoC Program NOFO and critical information for potential project applicants.

Information about how to join the webinar will be posted on this website.

About the LA BOSCOC

The LA BOSCOC is Louisiana’s largest coalition to end homelessness. It serves more than half of Louisiana’s geography, including more than 20 parishes and the cities of Baton Rouge, Houma, and Lake Charles.

For more information, please contact Brett Burns or Andrew Dietz, Continuum of Care Coordinators, at bburns@lhc.la.gov or adietz@lhc.la.gov.

LA BOSCOC Board Decision: HMIS Compliance Letters

At a regularly scheduled meeting of the LA BOSCOC Board held on June 4, 2024, the Board voted unanimously to restrict the issuances of Letters of HMIS Compliance to LA BOSCOC Members in Good Standing. You can review the minutes from the Board meeting here.

To be in Good Standing, organizations must meet the following criteria or be granted a Good Standing Waiver by the LA BOSCOC Board:

  • General Meeting Attendance: Organizations must attend one of the most recent two LA BOSCOC General Meetings.

  • Regional Meeting Attendance: Organizations must have attended two of the most recent four regional meetings in their region.

  • Committee Participation: Organizations must join and meet the participation requirements of at least one Committee or the Board.

  • Point in Time (PIT) Count: Organizations must have participated in the most recent annual PIT Count.

Please reach out to CoC Coordinators Brett Burns (bburns@lhc.la.gov) or Andrew Dietz (adietz@lhc.la.gov) if you have questions about Good Standing.

National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) Materials

It was wonderful to see so many folks from across the state at the training provided by LHC’s Compliance Department on implementing NSPIRE - the new unit inspection standard that takes effect on Oct. 1 of this year. For your convenience, the CoC is making available a variety of resources to assist in the transition to NSPIRE below. If you have questions about the transition, please reach out to CoC staff and we will do our best to assist you.

Transition to NSPIRE PPT

NSPIRE Deficiencies PPT

NSPIRE Life Threatening Deficiencies PPT

NSPIRE Checklist

Commonly Missed Items

NSPIRE Website

NSPIRE Standards in Full

2024 Annual Call for Membership

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC) is Louisiana’s largest coalition of organizations and people dedicated to ending homelessness. We serve more than 20 parishes, including East Baton Rouge, Calcasieu, and Terrebonne, and we have more than 100 member organizations, including many of the state’s largest housing and homeless services providers.

YOU are invited to become a member. Membership is free and carries no obligations.

Click here for more information about the LA BOSCOC, including which parishes we serve.

Membership Benefits

LA BOSCOC members enjoy the following benefits:

-Funding Opportunities: LA BOSCOC members are the first to know about funding opportunities for organizations to create new housing and services for people experiencing homelessness.

-Training and Technical Assistance: the LA BOSCOC provides a wealth of training opportunities (both individual and group) at no charge to members.

-Shaping Local Policy: the LA BOSCOC creates local policies and procedures for programs serving people experiencing homelessness in your area. Members shape those policies and procedures by providing everything from new perspectives and input to actual policy language.

-Data and Education: the LA BOSCOC is the primary assessor of data and trends related to homelessness in your area. Members can request everything from specific data points to group presentations from CoC staff.

Joining the LA BOSCOC

Click here to register as a member of the LA BOSCOC.

Membership is free and carries no obligations.

For more information about the LA BOSCOC or membership, email Carrie Patterson at cpatterson@lhc.la.gov.

Project Self-Assessment: Housing First and the Equal Access Rule

LA BOSCOC projects should perform regular self-assessments to ensure they provide high quality services that are consistent with current best practices. To help projects to identify their strengths and areas for growth, we are hosting HUD-developed project self-assessments on our website.

Linked below are two assessments: HUD’s Housing First Assessment and Equal Access Assessment Tool.

The Housing First Assessment evaluates the fidelity of projects’ implementation of the Housing First model as defined by HUD.

The Equal Access Assessment Tool evaluates projects’ compliance with the Equal Access Rule.

All LA BOSCOC projects are strongly encouraged to complete these assessments and use the results to inform your project implementation, policies, and planning for the future.

LA BOSCOC General Meeting: April 15, 2024

Overview

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC) will host its first full membership meeting of the year on April 15, 2024. This meeting will be held virtually to allow CoC members throughout our geography to easily attend.

At the meeting, organizations and individuals will learn about current and upcoming efforts across Louisiana to end homelessness, including opportunities for collaboration and funding.

The LA BOSCOC is Louisiana’s largest federally recognized coalition to end homelessness. It serves 22 parishes across the state, including East Baton Rouge, Calcasieu, Terrebonne, and all their surrounding parishes. For more information about the LA BOSCOC and its service area, please visit its website at https://laboscoc.org/

An agenda will be published to the LA BOSCOC’s Events Calendar the week before the General Meeting.

Scheduling

  • Date: April 15, 2024

  • Time: 10 AM to 12:00pm

  • Meeting Link: Here

  • Agenda: Here

Good Standing

Please note that organizations in the LA BOSCOC’s geography that may seek homeless housing and services funding from a variety of sources, including the Continuum of Care (CoC), are required to attend at least one of the LA BOSCOC’s two semiannual General Meetings in order to maintain Good Standing.

Questions?

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Carrie Patterson, LCSW, CoC Manager at cpatterson@lhc.la.gov

Draft Governance Charter 4.2 Posted for Public Comment

Purpose

Per HUD, CoCs are responsible for regularly reviewing and updating their Governance documents. CoC staff have drafted an update of the Governance Charter (Governance Charter v. 4.2) and presented the draft to the CoC’s membership during the March Monthly Meeting held March 11, 2024. You can make public comments by submitting them to CoC Coordinators Andrew Dietz (adietz@lhc.la.gov) or Brett Burns (bburns@lhc.la.gov). The deadline for public comment is 4p Friday, April 12th, 2024.

A vote to ratify the updated Governance Charter will be held at the virtual General Meeting on April 15. All CoC members in Good Standing are eligible and encouraged to participate in this vote.

What’s New in v.4.2

A detailed list of updates can be found in Appendix A of the Governance Charter V.4.2 draft linked below.

Some highlights:

  • Made formatting changes to increase assistive technology accessibility

  • Edited language to be more person centered/up to date

  • Codified subpopulation Working Groups as Chartered Committees

  • Clarified existing policies/practices around Good Standing, Board votes, and Open Meeting policies

If you have any questions about the Governance Charter v.4.2, please contact CoC Manager Carrie Patterson at cpatterson@lhc.la.gov.

Governance Charter V. 4.2 Draft for Public Comment

LA BOSCOC is awarded more than $29 million in FY2023 CoC Program funds

On January 29, HUD released the CoC Program awards for Funding Year 2023 (FY2023). We are excited to announce that the LA BOSCOC was awarded $29,125,849- 100% of the funding request included in our CoC's FY2023 Consolidated Application! These awards reflect all awards made under the CoC Program for FY2023.

These awards ensure that CoC Program funded projects that currently operate within the CoC can continue to provide their crucial resources to our most vulnerable neighbors and that our CoC is able to support newly funded projects that aim to bring highly needed housing and support resources into underserved communities within our CoC. 

Highlights:

  • $25.38 million of renewal funding for CoC funded projects across the LA BOSCOC.

  • $1.41 million of new funding to expand existing projects, including:

    • $684,488 for Rapid Rehousing survivors of Domestic Violence in rural areas;

    • $731,676 for Rapid Rehousing in the Baton Rouge Region;

  • $1.13 million of new funding to provide Permanent Supportive Housing for people with disabilities experiencing homelessness

Fund Availability: 

The LA BOSCOC does not have any information at this time regarding when FY2023 funding will become available to projects. All agencies who are direct recipients of HUD CoC Program funding should be on the look out for official notification of funding award availability.

See FY2023 LABOSCOC Awards by Project.

The LA BOSCOC announces approved Consolidated Application for FY2023 CoC Program Competition

The LABOSCOC Board voted on Monday, September 25th to approve the FY2023 Consolidated Application for submission to HUD. The Consolidated Application consists of a CoC Application and a CoC Priority Listing. Click the links below or visit the FY2023 Funding Page to review the CoC approved documents:

FY23 CoC Application

FY23 CoC Priority Listing

New Project Funding

Three new projects are being submitted to HUD for funding consideration; one competitive project submitted through the Local Competition and two non-competitive projects approved for inclusion by the Board. The accepted projects are (in alphabetical order):

(Competitive) Easterseals’ BOSCOC PSH 2023 project, which will provide long-term rental assistance and supportive services via the permanent supportive housing project type to additional households in the Baton Rouge Region.

(non-Competitive) Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s (LCADV) Domestic Violence RRH - Expansion project, which will provide expand an existing project that provides short to medium-term rental assistance and supportive services via the rapid rehousing project type to individuals fleeing domestic violence. This project will expand LCADV’s existing domestic violence RRH project to serve participants in the St.Bernard/Plaquemines, Natchitoches/Sabine, and Calcasieu Regions.

(non-Competitive)Louisiana Housing Corporation’s RRH Expansion project, which will expand an existing project that provides short to medium-term rental assistance and supportive services via the rapid rehousing project type to households in the Baton Rouge Region.

On behalf of the Scoring Committee, CoC staff would like to extend our deep appreciation to ALL project applicants. The CoC Program project application process can be challenging, and we are profoundly grateful to have so many organizations in our CoC with the interest, investment, and dedication to ending homelessness required to engage that process.

Renewal Project Funding

All projects that requested renewal funding were selected to receive full funding for those requests.

Project Feedback

CoC staff are happy to provide applicants with a comprehensive breakdown and assessment of their score to refine future project applications. If you are interested in scheduling a time to do so, please reach out to cpatterson@lhc.la.gov.

FY 2023 CoC Program Consolidated Application Posted for Public Comment

Overview

The LA BOSCOC is seeking public comment on its Consolidated Application for the Funding Year 2023 (FY 2023) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Competition.

The CoC Consolidated Application contains two parts:

  • The CoC Application, which includes narratives and other information about the CoC;

  • The CoC Priority Listing, which includes ranking and funding information about projects being submitted to the Competition.

Accessing the documents

The penultimate draft of the CoC Consolidated Application can be accessed through the links below.

How to provide public comment

Please submit public comments by email to Carrie Patterson, Continuum of Care Manager at cpatterson@lhc.la.gov

CoC Staff will be making minor corrections and updates over the weekend. Public comments will be accepted through 10AM CST Monday 9/25/2023.

The LA BOSCOC Board will be voting to approve the Final Consolidated Application on Monday 9/25/23. See the agenda here.


Rural Budget Line Item (BLI) Information

The FY23 NOFO has introduced the option for New Projects to request funds under the “Rural” BLI. These funds have some unique eligible activities, like paying for short term emergency lodging. Applicants interested in serving the following parishes may be eligible to receive funds under the Rural BLI:

FY2023 Local Competition Informational Webinar: Save the Date

LHC will host an informational webinar for its FY 2023 CoC Program local competition

Tuesday, August 7th. 12p-2p

Zoom Link

This webinar will provide both an overview of the FY 2023 CoC Program NOFO and critical information for potential project applicants. If you do not attend the live webinar, you may view the webinar materials which will be published on the FY23 CoC Program local competition funding page here

Additional call in information about the webinar can be found on our Events Calendar

FY 2023 CoC Program Local Competition Documents Now Available

Overview

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC), on behalf of the Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC), opened its local competition for funding available under the Funding Year (FY) 2023 Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on August 2, 2023. Project applications for funding through this local competition are due to LHC no later than 4p CST August 28, 2023.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its FY 2023 CoC Program NOFO on July 5, 2023. The CoC Program funds eligible organizations to provide housing and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness, including people fleeing domestic violence.

Through its local competition, the LA BOSCOC expects to make approximately $24 million available, including approximately $1.7 million for new projects.

The LA BOSCOC welcomes and encourages applicants that have not previously received CoC Program funding to apply.

The LA BOSCOC will publish all information about its local competition on its website and via its email distribution list. Click here to subscribe to the LA BOSCOC’s email distribution list.

Local Competition documents

Today, the LA BOSCOC published several key documents for its local competition. These documents may be updated as a result of HUD publications. They are:

LCADV DV Bonus - RRH - Request for Proposals

The Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (LCADV) is soliciting proposals from applicants wishing to be selected as a subrecipient for the LCADV DV-RRH funding available through the FY2023 CoC Program Competition.
The LA BOSCOC has published the following documents on the FY23 funding page in addition to the FY23 CoC Program local competition documents:

Reminder: FY 2023 CoC Program local competition webinar

LHC will host an informational webinar for its FY 2023 CoC Program local competition on Monday, August 7th. This webinar will provide both an overview of the FY 2023 CoC Program NOFO and critical information for potential project applicants.

Information about how to join the webinar will be posted on this website.

About the LA BOSCOC

The LA BOSCOC is Louisiana’s largest coalition to end homelessness. It serves more than half of Louisiana’s geography, including more than 20 parishes and the cities of Baton Rouge, Houma, and Lake Charles.

For more information, please contact Carrie Patterson, Continuum of Care Manager, at cpatterson@lhc.la.gov.

FY 2023 Project Applications available in e-snaps

Project Applications now available!

HUD has made the FY2023 CoC Program New and Renewal Project Applications available in e-snaps. Please follow this link to get started! e-snaps

HUD has also published the FY2023 Detailed Instructions Guides among other resources at the CoC Program Competion page here.


HUD has not released its e-Snaps Navigational guides yet, but we expect they will soon. In the meantime feel free to use the FY22 e-Snaps Navigational guides as a reference to begin working on your project applications.

FY22 e-Snaps Navigational guide: Renewal Projects
FY22 e-Snaps Navigational guide: New Projects

Please remember that project applications will need to follow the instructions in the LA BOSCOC Local Competition Request for Proposals (RFP) when that document is available. LA BOSCOC will publish that document on this website here.

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care is dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness in Louisiana. We believe all people are entitled to safe, stable, and secure housing. We are committed to working with stakeholders across our geography, in different professional circles, and from every background to create a Louisiana in which no person lives in fear of homelessness.