FY18

FY 2018 CoC Program Funding Awards

Overview

The LA BOSCOC is pleased to announce new and renewal funding for Continuum of Care (CoC) Program projects for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018.

The full list of projects can be found here under LA-509: https://www.hudexchange.info/onecpd/assets/File/2018-louisiana-coc-grants.pdf

Congratulations to every organization that received funding! This funding recognizes that you submitted competitive grants to fund necessary, exceptional projects. The LA BOSCOC looks forward to working with all of you this coming year and in years to come!

Project Awards by Type

Renewal Projects

All renewal projects submitted received full funding.

In addition, those projects that provide housing tied to fair market rent values received small increases (above what was requested) to compensate for changing fair market rent values.

In total, the LA BOSCOC received $16,786,308.

New Projects

All new projects submitted under the Permanent Housing Bonus received full or nearly full funding. One of two projects submitted under the Domestic Violence Bonus received full funding.

In total, the LA BOSCOC received $1,093,851 in new funding (excluding planning project funding).

Those projects are:

DV Coordinated Entry Access Point - St. Bernard/Plaquemines

Organization: St. Bernard Battered Women’s Place
Funding Amount: $100,000
Project Type: Coordinated Entry
Service Area: Plaquemines/St. Bernard Region
Project Description: Funding for Coordinated Entry activities, including access, intake, assessment, and diversion, for people fleeing domestic violence in St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parish.

HMIS Expansion

Organization: Louisiana Housing Corporation
Funding Amount: $77,178
Project Type: HMIS
Service Area: LA BOSCOC
Project Description: Additional funding for the LA BOSCOC’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), the statewide database of information and services for people experiencing homelessness. This expansion project primarily funds another full time staff person to provide monitoring and technical assistance to the LA BOSCOC’s growing roster of HMIS-compliant organizations.

HP Serve RRH for Individual Youth

Organization: Empower 225 (formerly HP Serve)
Funding Amount: $231,470
Project Type: Rapid Re-housing
Service Area: Baton Rouge Region
Project Description: This project provides short- to medium-term scattered site rental assistance to 12 single-person households of youth experiencing homelessness aged 18-24. It also funds 20 hours/week of street outreach to better identify youth experiencing homelessness and to connect them with resources, including diversion case management.

Louisiana Housing Corporation-RRH Expansion

Organization: Louisiana Housing Corporation
Funding Amount: $242,787
Project Type: Rapid Re-housing
Service Area: Baton Rouge Region
Project Description: This project provides short- to medium-term scattered site rental assistance (estimated at 9-12 months of assistance for each household) to 5 single-person households and 3 families of people experiencing homelessness, focusing on families, people with mental illness, and people experiencing chronic homelessness. It also funds 40 hours/week of street outreach to connect the project’s target population with resources, including diversion case management.

Partners in Health & Housing for Baton Rouge

Organization: Start Corporation
Funding Amount: $297,588
Project Type: Permanent Supportive Housing
Service Area: Baton Rouge Region
Project Description: This project provides open-ended, scattered site permanent supportive housing to 20 single-person households of people living with severe and persistent mental illness who are experiencing chronic homelessness. It also funds 20 hours/week of street outreach to connect the project’s target population with resources, including diversion case management.

TPCG Rapid Re-housing

Organization: Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government
Funding Amount: $144,828
Project Type: Rapid Re-housing
Service Area: Houma Region
Project Description: This project provides open-ended, scattered site permanent supportive housing to 5 single-person households 8 families of people experiencing homelessness. It also funds 20 hours/week of street outreach to connect the project’s target population with resources, including diversion case management.

CoC Program Consolidated Application and Project Priority List Published

Overview

The LA BOSCOC has published its Consolidated Application and Project Priority List for the FY 2018 Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

The LA BOSCOC will accept public comments on the Consolidated Application and Project Priority List through 12 PM CST (noon) on Friday, September 14.

You can submit comments to Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at 225-242-1388 or glevine@lhc.la.gov.

Documents

The Consolidated Application can be downloaded here: https://laboscoc.org/s/y61ocr9qbgbxbpv1zzuwmtxrnyt0dh

The Project Priority List can be downloaded here: https://laboscoc.org/s/jxdnh32yer2jhslebyox68ltvxa8c3

CoC Program Project Ranking

Overview

The LA BOSCOC has released its Project Ranking for the FY 2018 Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

The NOFA requires each CoC to rank its projects in order of funding priority and separate them into two Tiers: Tier 1 and Tier 2. HUD prioritizes funding to all Tier 1 projects nationwide before funding Tier 2 projects.

For more information about the LA BOSCOC’s scoring, rating, and ranking methodology, please refer to the Project Rating, Ranking, and Selection policy here: https://laboscoc.org/fy18-coc-program-competition

Information about Project Performance

Following the end of the FY 2018 CoC Program Competition, CoC staff will provide feedback for all new and renewal projects that met all LA BOSCOC Threshold Criteria in the following ways:

  • During the LA BOSCOC General Meeting on October 9, 2018, CoC staff will give ‘big picture’ feedback: areas where projects generally performed well or need improvement and changes that CoC staff intend to implement in subsequent years to improve the scoring process;

  • Following the LA BOSCOC General Meeting, the LA BOSCOC will release scoring sheets for each project that was scored, including information about how each project scored compared to other comparable projects in the CoC;

  • CoC staff will schedule site visits to discuss scoring and performance with any projects/agencies that submitted an application and that are interested in further information, including how to improve their performance in subsequent years. CoC staff plan to schedule these site visits between October 2018 and February 2019 and estimates each visit will last approximately 2 hours.

Documents

The LA BOSCOC’s Project Ranking for the FY 2018 CoC Program NOFA can be found here: https://laboscoc.org/fy18-coc-program-competition

FY18 State ESG NOFA - Question II.A.1

Overview

The FY18 State ESG NOFA asks (under II.A.1, Proposal Narrative Instructions - General Narrative):

1. Identify any performance objectives that are tracked within your CoC that you can apply to the proposed projects set forth.

2. Describe your CoC's strategic planning goals and objectives. How will ESG funds be used to support those efforts?

Regional applicants for State ESG in the LA BOSCOC are encouraged to use the following information as a starting point to address these elements.

Performance Objectives

The LA BOSCOC's performance objectives are codified in two places: (1) its Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures and (2) its CoC Program Scoring Tool Detailed Instructions.

Coordinated Entry

The LA BOSCOC's Coordinated Entry System (CES)'s performance objectives are to make homelessness:

  • Rare: every year, first time homelessness from all sources except natural disasters will decline by 10% from the previous year;
  • Brief: mean length of time (LOT) homeless will be 20 days or fewer, AND every year, mean LOT homeless will decline 10% from the previous year;
  • Non-Recurring: in a given year, returns to homelessness from permanent housing (i.e. returns to homelessness within 24 months) will be 10% or fewer AND returns to homelessness within 12 months will be 5% or fewer.

These objectives are intentionally aspirational and based on national standards for high-performing communities.

CoC Program Scoring Tools Detailed Instructions

The LA BOSCOC's Scoring Tools Detailed Instructions outlines the LA BOSCOC's metrics for assessing its funded CoC Program projects and defines performance objectives for each metric. These metrics were chosen because they underpin the success of both individual projects and the CoC as a whole in ending homelessness.

They are:

  • % of Participants Exiting to or Maintaining Permanent Housing: to receive full points, a project must ensure 90% of its participants exit to/maintain permanent housing -- OR, if the project serves victims of domestic violence, ensure 80% of its participants exit to/maintain permanent housing.
  • % of Participants Exiting to Shelter/Streets/Unknown: to receive full points, a project must ensure it exits 5% or fewer of its participants to emergency shelter, to the streets, or to an unknown location.
  • % of Participants Who Increased Employment Income at Exit: to receive full points, a project must ensure 25% of more of its participants increased their employment income at exit.
  • % of Participants Who Increased Non-Employment Income at Exit: to receive full points, a project must ensure 25% of more of its participants increased their non-employment income at exit.
  • % of Participants Who Had Non-Cash Benefits at Exit: to receive full points, a project must ensure 25% of more of its participants was receiving 1 or more non-cash benefits at exit.
  • Utilization Rate: to receive full points, projects must have a bed utilization rate of 90% or higher on the date of the most recent Housing Inventory Count (HIC).

LA BOSCOC Board Votes - Week of 8/30/18

Overview

The Board voted by email during the week of August 30, 2018 on the following issues related to the FY18 State ESG NOFA:

  • Good Standing waivers for all organizations that provided sufficient justification (approved 8-0);
  • Good Standing waivers for all organizations that did not provide sufficient justification, including those that provided no justification or did not apply in the specified form and/or timeframe (denied 0-5);
  • Using Good Standing waivers from the FY18 State ESG NOFA to fulfill the same criteria for the FY18 CoC Program RFP (approved 5-0).

Voting Corpus

  • Nicole Sweazy, Louisiana Housing Authority (chair)
  • Antiqua Hunter, Louisiana Department of Education
  • Eric Gammons, HMIS Lead
  • Addie Duval, Baton Rouge
  • Brooke Guidry, Houma
  • Tarek Polite, Lake Charles
  • Mitzi Harris, Natchitoches/Sabine
  • Gail Gowland, Plaquemines/St. Bernard

FY18 State ESG - Baton Rouge Request for Proposals and Application

St. Vincent de Paul of Baton Rouge, as the FY18 State ESG regional applicant for the Baton Rouge Region, has released its Request for Proposals (RFP) and application for State ESG funds.

You can find the RFP and application here: https://svdpbr.org/notice-for-esg-including-2018-plan-rfp-application

Applications to the Baton Rouge Region's RFP are due July 30, 2018.

LA BOSCOC Board Outcomes - 7/11/18

Overview

The Board met by phone on 7/11/18 to review and approve the Request for Proposals (RFP) and scoring tools for the Funding Year 2018 (FY18) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Competition. It also voted to approve an HMIS-comparable database for projects that serve victims of domestic violence and to approve opening a limited set of HMIS data to the other CoCs in the State of Louisiana.

Attendance

  • Nicole Sweazy, Louisiana Housing Corporation
  • Eric Gammons, HMIS Lead
  • Homeless Experience Representative
  • Brooke Guidry, Houma
  • Tarek Polite, Lake Charles
  • Gail Gowland, Plaquemines/St. Bernard
  • Randy Nichols, Membership and Rules Committee (non-voting)
  • Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager (non-voting)
  • Clay Boykin, HMIS Specialist (non-voting)

FY18 CoC Program Competition

The Board voted to approve the RFP and all other documents posted here: https://laboscoc.org/fy18-coc-program-competition

The Board also voted to approve up to $100,000 in funding for a Coordinated Entry (SSO-CES) project hosted by St. Bernard Battered Women's Program, which for the last year has served as the sole Coordinated Entry access point in the Plaquemines/St. Bernard Region and the sole Coordinated Entry access point operated by a domestic violence (DV) service provider. These funds will be made available from the LA BOSCOC's total DV Bonus amount of $466,959, and any funds not claimed by this project will be added to the LA BOSCOC's competitive DV Funding Pool of $366,959 as described on Page 5 of the RFP.

HMIS-Comparable Database for DV Providers

DV service providers funded by the CoC Program, the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program, and by certain other funding sources are required to use an HMIS-comparable database instead of HMIS (ServicePoint).

The Board has approved the Domestic Violence Service Providers Working Group's proposal that the LA BOSCOC require that DV service providers use EmpowerDB as their HMIS-comparable database. This requirement will go into effect January 1, 2019, and will be retroactive for all participant data collected during contract periods beginning before January 1, 2019 and extending into January 1, 2019.

The LA BOSCOC will release a formal policy to this effect once the language has been vetted by the chairs of the HMIS Committee and Domestic Violence Service Providers Working Group.

You can find more information about EmpowerDB here: https://www.empowerdb.com/

HMIS Data Visibility

The Board has voted to make certain HMIS data elements visible to all other CoCs in the State of Louisiana.

This change was proposed during the most recent statewide Homelessness Working Group meeting. Currently, a given participant's data is only visible to organizations within the CoC where they presented for services. If a participant traveled to another part of the State, they would be required to provide their information again, and the new CoC would be unable to view the housing and services that participant had previously received. 

The representatives of each CoC that was present at the Homelessness Working Group meeting agreed to propose to their Boards that the following data elements from their CoC's participants be made visible to other Louisiana CoCs:

  • Participants' first and last name
  • Last four digits of participants' social security number
  • Entry and exit dates for participants' HMIS service transactions

All participant data will continue to be protected by HMIS releases of information and confidentiality agreements, which are implemented statewide by the Louisiana Services Network Data Consortium and are identical for all Louisiana CoCs.

Plaquemines/St. Bernard - Request for Proposals for FY18 State ESG

Overview

Below, please find the Houma Region's announcement of its request for proposals (RFP) for State Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding for Funding Year 2018 (FY18)

Notice of Request for Proposals

St. Bernard Battered Women’s Program, Inc., as the regional applicant for the Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care, St. Bernard/Plaquemine region, is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a homeless services grant as part of a collaborative application with SBBWP for a State ESG Homeless Services grant.

RFP packages will be posted and available for download on the www.StBernardBWP.org website on Monday, July 16, 2018.

Consideration for project funding under the Regional Applicant Plan will require submittal of a completed RFP package by July 30, 2018 at 4:30 PM.

HMIS Compliance Certification - State ESG FY18

LA BOSCOC projects that are applying to receive funding under the State Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program for Funding Year 2018 (FY18) are required to submit an HMIS Compliance Certification from the LA BOSCOC.

This requirement applies to ALL projects applying for funding: both Regional Applicants AND their sub-recipients.

To request an HMIS Compliance Certification for your project, including to certify that your project will begin using HMIS before the project period starts, please use the following form: https://goo.gl/forms/l0R2vN9dFvW6AWLp2

All HMIS Compliance Certification requests are due by 4 PM on Tuesday, July 31. 

The LA BOSCOC will issue all HMIS Compliance Certification no later than 4 PM on Friday, August 17.

Letters of Certification - State ESG FY18

LA BOSCOC agencies that are applying to receive funding under the State Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program for Funding Year 2018 (FY18) are required to submit a Letter of Certification from the LA BOSCOC.

This requirement applies to ALL agencies applying for funding: both Regional Applicants AND their sub-recipients.

To request a Letter of Certification for your agency, or to request a Good Standing waiver for your agency, please use the following form: https://goo.gl/forms/HXuLtZk5TVnRJksT2

All Letter of Certification requests are due by 4 PM on Tuesday, July 31. 

The LA BOSCOC will issue all Letters of Certification no later than 4 PM on Friday, August 17.

 

Baton Rouge Region - Public Meeting and RFP for FY18 State ESG

Overview

Below, please find the Baton Rouge Region's announcement of its public meeting and request for proposals for State Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding for Funding Year 2018 (FY18)

Notice of Public Meeting

St. Vincent de Paul of Baton Rouge (SVDP) announces a public meeting to consult with the public on priorities for the most urgent community needs for the homeless for the forthcoming 2018 regional applicant plan. This meeting is part of the SVDP response to the Louisiana Housing Corporation Request for Proposals for Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) services in the Baton Rouge region. SVDP also invites the public to send comments by email to regionalapplicant@svdpbr.org.  Public Meeting: Monday July 9, 2018, 6-7:30 PM at the Carver Branch Public Library 720 Terrace Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70802.

Notice of Request for Proposals

St. Vincent de Paul of Baton Rouge, as the regional applicant for the Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care, Baton Rouge region, is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a homeless services grant as part of a collaborative application with SVDP for a State ESG Homeless Services grant. Request for Proposals (RFP) packages will be posted and available for download on the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Baton Rouge website at https://svdpbr.org/  on Monday July 16, 2018. Consideration for project funding under the Regional Applicant Plan will require submittal of a completed RFP package by July 30, 2018 at 4:30 PM.

 

FY18 CoC Program NOFA Now Available

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has released the Funding Year 2018 (FY18) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

You can read the NOFA, including “a full list of new, changed, and highlighted information,” here: https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/5719/fy-2018-coc-program-nofa/

The LA BOSCOC will release details about its local competition for these funds over the next few weeks. 

If you have questions about the CoC Program NOFA, please contact Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

Emergency Solutions Grant Funding Now Available

Overview

The Louisiana Housing Corporation has released the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Funding Year 2018 (FY18).

ESG funds projects that serve people experiencing homelessness. ESG is an annual formula-based funding source distributed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to states and certain entitlement areas.

Click here to access the full ESG FY18 NOFA.

The application period began June 5, 2018; applications are due August 31, 2018.

What does ESG fund?

ESG funds the following project types:

  • Street Outreach
  • Homeless Prevention
  • Emergency Shelter
  • Rapid Re-housing

For more information about these project types and eligible costs, refer to 24 CFR Part 576 or https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/esg/.

How much funding is available?

Funding is allocated by formula to each Continuum of Care (CoC) in Louisiana, and to each Region of the LA BOSCOC. Each CoC and Region receives funding in proportion to the size of its homeless population. (Homeless population is reported during the January 2018 Point in Time Count.) All CoCs/Regions are eligible to apply for at least $50,000 regardless of their homeless population.

ESG funding by LA BOSCOC Region is as follows:

  • Baton Rouge Region: $148,430
  • Houma Region: $50,000
  • Lake Charles Region: $67,697
  • Natchitoches/Sabine Region: $50,000
  • Plaquemines/St. Bernard Region: $50,000

In addition, the Louisiana Housing Corporation is offering a $300,000 grant to fund one Homeless Prevention project dedicated to reducing the number of people who exit Department of Corrections custody into homelessness. For more information, see page 20 of the ESG FY18 NOFA.

Who can apply?

Each Region will submit one Regional Application through its Regional Applicant. Regional Applicants will consist of one or more project applications that fund one or more organizations.

Regional Applicants were elected by member organizations in attendance at the June 2018 LA BOSCOC General Meeting. They are as follows:

  • Baton Rouge Region: St. Vincent de Paul of Baton Rouge (contact: SVDP BR)
  • Houma Region: Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government (contact: Kelli Cunningham)
  • Lake Charles Region: Calcasieu Parish Police Jury (contact: Tarek Polite)
  • Natchitoches/Sabine: Project Celebration (contact: Mitzi Harris)
  • Plaquemines/St. Bernard: St. Bernard Battered Women's Place (contact: Gail Gowland)

Both private non-profit organizations and units of local government, including cities and parish governments, are eligible to apply. Please contact your Regional Applicant if you would like to receive funding through the ESG FY18 NOFA.

Every agency that wishes to receive ESG -- either as a regional applicant or sub-recipient -- is required to attend the following information session:

ESG Mandatory Information Session
June 27, 2018
9:30 AM to Noon

Louisiana Housing Corporation
2415 Quail Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70808

If you plan to attend the information session, please send your RSVP to Aimee LeBlanc at aleblanc@lhc.la.gov.

Questions?

Please email your questions about the ESG FY18 NOFA to Winona Connor, ESG Program Manager at the Louisiana Housing Corporation, at wconnor@lhc.la.gov.

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.