Major LA BOSCOC Website Updates!

Overview

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC), Louisiana’s largest coalition to end homelessness, has just launched a major update for its website. Read on for more information!

Event Calendar

The LA BOSCOC now has a dedicated events calendar!

This calendar includes information about training events and meetings that are open to the general public, including:

• Regularly scheduled meetings: weekly web meetings, quarterly regional meetings, semiannual general meetings

• Periodic meetings: CoC Board meetings, CoC Committee meetings

• Training events: one-time training events like last week’s “Better Serving LGBTQ+ Participants” by Louisiana Trans Advocates; seasonal training series like Summer 2021’s “Housing Case Management as a Profession” by TAC

Going forward, most events will NOT be announced via an Outlook calendar invitation; the official record of upcoming tevents will be maintained on the LA BOSCOC’s event calendar.

(Events will still be announced primarily by the LA BOSCOC’s mailing list. Visit our home page to subscribe!)

Report an Outreach Need

From the home page, you can click a button to Report an Outreach Need. This information is passed directly to homeless services staff in your area who are trained to respond to outreach requests. They will triage your outreach request and respond as soon as possible.

Anyone can make an outreach request, including CoC members, community partners, people experiencing homelessness, and any other member of the public.

You can also click here to report an outreach need.

Emergency Housing Vouchers

Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs) are a new kind of voucher funded by HUD under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act. They're similar to Section 8 vouchers, but with a big twist: they can only serve people experiencing homelessness, including people fleeing domestic violence.

The LA BOSCOC is creating best practices with its EHV implementation and tracking its progress. Click here to see where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going.

…and more!

The LA BOSCOC’s website has been significantly overhauled, and almost every part of the site is different. Spend a little time with it; you might be surprised at what you find!

PIT Count 2021: Unsheltered Count Canceled; Sheltered Count as Normal

Overview

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC) has requested and been granted an exemption from all unsheltered Point-in-Time (PIT) Count activities for January 2021.

The LA BOSCOC will not conduct an unsheltered count in January 2021 or collect/release any of the associated data about people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.

The LA BOSCOC will conduct and release data about the January 2021 sheltered PIT Count as usual.

Background

The PIT Count is a single night census of people experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires Continuums of Care (CoCs) to conduct the PIT Count on an annual basis in late January.

Historically, the LA BOSCOC has been a strong participant in and proponent of the PIT Count; every year, the LA BOSCOC’s data quality, estimated percentage of people counted, total paid staff participants, and total volunteer participants has increased. (You can find data from the LA BOSCOC’s 2018, 2019, and 2020 PIT Counts here: https://laboscoc.org/data)

On November 16, 2020, HUD released its “2021 HIC and PIT Count Updates for CoCs” mailing, which allows CoCs to request exceptions from unsheltered PIT Count requirements for January 2021.

CoC staff met with more than two dozen critical PIT Count stakeholders and with the LA BOSCOC Board to determine how the LA BOSCOC should engage the January 2021 PIT Count, and the response was unanimous: due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing challenges presented by the most active and second-deadliest storm season on record, the LA BOSCOC should not conduct an unsheltered PIT Count.

On November 30, 2020, CoC staff submitted the LA BOSCOC’s request to HUD for a complete exemption from the January 2021 unsheltered PIT Count.

On November 30, 2020, HUD staff responded and granted the LA BOSCOC’s exemption request.

Questions?

Please submit any questions about the January 2021 PIT Count to Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

Released: Self-Certification of Homelessness Form (Version 1.0)

Overview

Purpose

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC) has released its Self-Certification of Homelessness Form (Version 1.0).

This form can be used with participants to self-certify their homelessness status.

Note that using this form is optional; while this form was developed in partnership with technical assistance and LA BOSCOC service providers and, when used correctly, meets the standards of self-certification, projects are welcome to continue using comparable forms at their discretion.

Accessing the document

Click here to download the Form.

LA BOSCOC Board Meeting: Friday, November 20, 9 AM to 9:30 AM

Overview

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC)’s Board, which is its primary governing body, will meet Friday, November 20, from 9 AM to 9:30 AM.

The primary agenda item will be a request to cancel the unsheltered count portion of the January 2021 Point in Time (PIT) Count in response to anticipated HUD guidance on the PIT Count.

Click here to access the agenda.

How to Join

When: Friday, November 20, from 9 AM to 9:30 AM

Where: by phone; see the agenda for details

Released: January 2020 (FY 2019) Point in Time Count Data

Overview

Purpose

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC) has released the results from January 2020 (FY 2019) Point in Time (PIT) Count.

The PIT Count is a CoC-wide census of people experiencing homelessness; the goal of the PIT Count is to determine, on a single night in January, how many people are experiencing homelessness in the CoC. The PIT Count covers all five of the LA BOSCOC’S Regions to the extent possible given local geography and homeless service provider capacity.

Outcomes

Sheltered homelessness increased 24%, from 376 to 465 people. This increase was primarily the result of Baton Rouge’s largest emergency shelter significantly increasing its total bed capacity and increased participation in the PIT Count by previously non-participating emergency shelters and transitional housing projects.

Unsheltered homelessness increased 30%, from 217 to 283 people. This increase could be attributed to several interconnected factors, most significantly that the LA BOSCOC switched from paper surveys to an app based counting methodology, which eliminated an annual data loss of up to 20%. In addition, Baton Rouge saw a large increase in volunteers, which increased the total number of hotspots canvassed, and Lake Charles experienced a natural gas boom that priced many low-income families out of its housing market.

Overall homelessness increased by 26%, from 593 to 748 people.

Methodology

On the night of January 27, 2020, the following activities were conducted:

• An unsheltered count of known and likely locations where people experiencing homelessness could be found; this was performed by both volunteers and paid homeless services staff;

• A sheltered count of participating emergency shelters and transitional housing projects.

In addition, for the week after January 27, supplemental surveys were conducted with people experiencing homelessness who accessed services through emergency shelters, drop-in centers, and other resource centers to determine where they were living on the night of January 2017.

While FY 2019 saw the LA BOSCOC’s first increase in overall homelessness in its history, and while that reflects general trends in unsheltered homelessness both statewide and nationally, it is also the result of the LA BOSCOC’s most accurate and comprehensive PIT Count to date due to significant improvements in survey technology and a record number of volunteers of the January 27 unsheltered count.

Accessing the document

Click here to view the January 2020 (FY 2019) PIT Count data.

Released: Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures (Version 2.2)

Overview

Purpose

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC) has released its Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures (Version 2.2).

This version incorporates changes that were approved by the Board on October 6, 2020, as well as the full text of the Coordinated Entry COVID-19 Supplement, which is now deprecated.

A list of changes in Version 2.2 can be found on page 41. Notably, this version temporarily removes the Intervention component of CES for the Houma Region, which at this time is able to move the majority of participants rapidly from its CES Prioritization List to housing.

Accessing the document

Click here to download the policy.

Public Comment: Self-Certification of Homelessness Form

Overview

Purpose

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC) is seeking public feedback on its draft LA BOSCOC Self-Certification of Homelessness form.

The published version of this form will be made available to service providers to assist them with documenting participants’ self-certifications of homelessness.

Note: this form will not be mandatory; service providers who prefer their existing forms are welcome to keep them.

Note: this form is the first piece of what CoC staff intend to be a larger toolkit for documenting homelessness, including forms, best practices, and other guidance.

Accessing the document

Click here to download the form.

How to provide public comment

Please submit public comments by email to Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

Public comments will be accepted through 4 PM on Tuesday, October 13, 2020.

Street Outreach and Prevention/Diversion/Intervention Training Series

Overview

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC), in partnership with OrgCode Consulting, is pleased to announce a Street Outreach and Prevention/Diversion/Intervention Training Series focused on equipping case managers, outreach workers, and program managers with the practical tools to implement and conduct effective street outreach, homelessness prevention, diversion, and rapid resolution (or “intervention”).

Each session is independent; you can register for one or both. Both sessions will be presented by Erin Wixsten from OrgCode.

Each session in the series is FREE and open to any organization in Louisiana that is interested in attending.

Session #1: Homelessness Prevention, Diversion, and Rapid Resolution

When: Thursday, November 5, from 9 AM to noon CST

Where: online via webinar

Description: “Diversion is about saying “yes” to helping households navigate a safe alternative to shelter that is appropriate to their specific circumstances through an investment of staff time that have specific problem-solving skills and access to flexible resources to put the solution into action. There are nine steps to an effective diversion practice, with each step progressing more deeply into resolving the current housing crisis while concurrently determining if shelter access will be required. In this session we will examine how to best provide prevention services, implement diversion, and promote resiliency and self-sufficiency in ensuring if a person does become homeless, they do not remain homeless for long. Among the topics covered: problem-solving mindset; flexible problem solving and financial supports; maximizing resiliency; setting up where and when to conduct diversion; how to focus on rapid resolution with those that cannot be safely and appropriately diverted; and, data that matters to diversion, prevention and rapid resolution.”

How to register:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7614855105125755148

Session #2: Impactful Street Outreach

When: Thursday, November 12, from 9 AM to noon CST

Where: online via webinar

Description: “The focus of this three hour course is how to have an impact in street outreach such that people can move from being unsheltered to having a place to call home. Among the topics covered: safe and respectful engagement; understanding unsheltered homelessness; distinguishing contact driven outreach from housing-focused outreach; clarifying the role of outreach; interface with law enforcement; the service orientation for effective outreach; assessing encampments; and, measuring outreach.”

How to register:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7026058931870347788

Questions

If you have any questions, please contact Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

Public Comment: LA BOSCOC COVID-19 Interim Policies and Procedures (Version 1.1)

Overview

Purpose

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC) is seeking public feedback on its draft updated LA BOSCOC COVID-19 Interim Policies and Procedures (Version 1.1).

This version update provides for the following:

• Removes the Intervention core component from the Coordinated Entry System (CES) for the Houma Region, as the Houma Region currently has sufficient beds to move the majority of people quickly from the CES Prioritization List into housing

• Allows the Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) to designate a non-congregate shelter (NCS) for the purposes of being a special population irrespective of whether LHC is funding the NCS

• Reduces the time between being added to and removed from the CES Prioritization List from 180 to 90 days while adding a requirement that LHC or its designee attempt to recontact anyone removed in this way and referring them, as appropriate, to an Access Point for reassessment and readmission

• Other changes as specified in the document

Note: this document will continue to be updated as additional guidance and best practices emerge.

Accessing the documents

Click here to download the draft LA BOSCOC COVID-19 Interim Policies and Procedures.

How to provide public comment

Please submit public comments by email to Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

Public comments will be accepted through 4 PM on Thursday, October 1, 2020.

Rapid Re-Housing Training Series -- All Sessions Now Available

Overview

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC), in partnership with the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) and the Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC), is pleased to announce a Rapid Re-Housing Case Management Training Series focused on developing the practical knowledge and skills necessary to successfully implement a rapid re-housing project.

This series is FREE and open to any organization interested in developing its rapid re-housing toolkit.

Session #1: Intake and Housing Search

When: Thursday, August 13, from 10 AM to noon CST

Where: online via webinar

Description: Session #1, “RRH Case Management Practice – Intake and Housing Search,” will focus on building your case managers’ care rapid re-housing skill set to help people quickly move to housing. The goal is to provide your staff with the tools they need to provide high quality housing case management.

Register: Register in advance for this meeting: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEkdOqvpz0rHdSujyr4blO44RC4_ZAJZ_Gv

Session #2: Service Provision

When: Monday, August 31, from 10 AM to noon CST

Where: online via webinar

Description: Session #2, “RRH Case Management Practice – Service Provision,” will focus on building your case managers’ care rapid re-housing skill set to help people get connected to resources and work towards housing stabilization. The goal is to provide your staff with the tools they need to provide high quality housing case management.

Register: Register in advance for this meeting: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIkfu-uqDkpHNPI-PIC6e218VxpNm-vi7tL

Session #3: Q&A and Closing

When: Thursday, September 24, from 10 AM to noon CST

Where: online via webinar

Description: Session #3, “RRH Case Management Practice – Case Closing,” will focus on building your case managers’ care rapid re-housing skill set to help people successfully exit the project with a housing plan and resource connections. The goal is to provide your staff with the tools they need to provide high quality housing case management.

Register: Register in advance for the meeting here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcvdO-pqTgjHtWU7zl_qY0M7svK6-VCTPN9

Questions

If you have any questions, please contact Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

Board Outcomes - August 4, 2020

Overview

The Board met by conference call on August 4, 2020, for its scheduled bimonthly meeting.

Attendance

Voting Attendance

Winona Connor, Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC Seat) [Chair]

Laura Hasenstein, Louisiana Department of Health (LDH Seat)

Mariah Wineski, Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (LCADV Seat)

Weston Schild, Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless (HMIS Lead Seat)

Addie Duval, Start Corporation (Baton Rouge Seat)

Gail Gowland, Family Violence Program of St. Bernard (Plaquemines/St. Bernard Seat)

Tarek Polite, Calcasieu Parish Police Jury (Lake Charles Seat)

Non-Voting Attendance

Victoria Johnson, Louisiana Housing Corporation [Secretary]

Randy Nichols, Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless [Ethics Officer]

Gordon Levine, Louisiana Housing Corporation [CoC Manager]

Aundrea Braniff, Louisiana Housing Corporation [Coordinated Entry Specialist]

Carrie Patterson, Louisiana Housing Corporation [CoC Coordinator]

Josh Dean, Louisiana Housing Corporation [CoC Coordinator]

Keneisha Keener, Volunteers of America - Greater Baton Rouge

Kat McGraw, Empower 225

Gloria Winchester, AmeriHealth

Chris Nichols, Options Foundation

Outcomes

Waiving the Good Standing Requirement

The Board considered a proposal to suspend the Good Standing requirement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposal’s details are as follows:

• The Good Standing requirement will be waived for all organizations through December 31, 2020;

• Organizations will not be required to meet the Good Standing requirements through December 31, 2020;

• As of January 1, 2021, all organizations will be considered to be in Good Standing (i.e. past attendance records, etc., will be wiped clean for compliance purposes); organizations will be required to maintain Good Standing going forward rather than regain Good Standing going forward.

The Board voted to approve the proposal (4 in favor, 3 opposed, 0 abstaining).

Suspending Board Elections

The Board considered a proposal to suspend Board seat elections in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposal’s details are as follows:

• Any Board seats that are due for an election in 2020 will have their elections suspended through December 31, 2020;

• Elections will resume their schedule according to the LA BOSCOC Governance Charter in 2021 unless further delayed by action of the Board.

The Board voted unanimously to approve the proposal.

Minutes

For more information, including discussion topics which did not receive a vote, please refer to the meeting minutes.

Rapid Re-Housing Training Series -- Session #1: Case Management Practice

Overview

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC), in partnership with the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) and the Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC), is pleased to announce a Rapid Re-Housing Training Series focused on developing the practical knowledge and skills necessary to successfully implement a rapid re-housing project.

This series is FREE and open to any organization interested in developing its rapid re-housing toolkit.

Session #1: Case Management Practice

When: Thursday, August 13, from 10 AM to noon CST

Where: online via webinar

Description: Session #1, “Case Management Practice,” will focus on building your case managers’ care rapid re-housing skill set. The goal is to provide your staff with the tools they need to provide high quality housing case management.

How to register

Register in advance for the meeting here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEkdOqvpz0rHdSujyr4blO44RC4_ZAJZ_Gv 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the meeting.

Questions

If you have any questions, please contact Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

Public Comment: Coordinated Entry COVID-19 Supplement and Participant Triage Tool

Overview

Purpose

The LA BOSCOC is seeking public feedback on its draft LA BOSCOC Coordinated Entry COVID-19 Supplement and Participant Triage Tool (PTT)

The LA BOSCOC Coordinated Entry COVID-19 Supplement makes several significant changes to the existing Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures, including:

• Replacing the VI-SPDAT with the PTT;

• Clearly delineating which participants should be referred to Permanent Supportive Housing projects and which should be referred to all other projects, including Rapid Re-Housing projects;

• Shifting the participant referral order from focusing almost exclusively on assessment tool scores to focusing first on prioritized populations, then on assessment tool scores.

The PTT was developed by CoC staff in partnership with several technical assistance providers. It replaces the VI-SPDAT and is intended to benefit the Coordinated Entry process in the following ways:

• The PTT is shorter, meaning it requires less time from both staff and participants;

• The PTT is simpler, meaning its scoring is easier and more transparent to both staff and participants;

• The PTT focuses on questions that are specifically relevant to the LA BOSCOC, ensuring that participants are only asked for information that will contribute to meaningful triage among the CoC’s homeless population.

Accessing the documents

Click here to access the Coordinated Entry COVID-19 Supplement.

Click here to access the Participant Triage Tool.

How to provide public comment

Please submit public comments by email to Aundrea Braniff, Coordinated Entry Specialist, at abraniff@lhc.la.gov and to Laura Martinez, Coordinated Entry Committee Chair, at laura.martinez@startcorp.org.

Public comments will be accepted through 4 PM on July 13, 2020.

Public Comment: LA BOSCOC COVID-19 Interim Policies and Procedures

Overview

Purpose

The LA BOSCOC is seeking public feedback on its draft LA BOSCOC COVID-19 Interim Policies and Procedures.

These Policies and Procedures (P&P) provide additional guidance and modify existing policies and procedures, including the LA BOSCOC Written Standards and LA BOSCOC Coordinated Entry Policies and Procedures, for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency.

Note: this document is likely to be frequently updated as additional guidance and best practices emerge.

Accessing the documents

Click here to download the draft LA BOSCOC COVID-19 Interim Policies and Procedures.

How to provide public comment

Please submit public comments by email to Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

Public comments will be accepted through 4 PM on March 31, 2020.

Meetings for the week of March 23

Overview

The following CoC meetings have been scheduled for this week. Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are conference calls and can be accessed as follows:

Phone: 1-877-223-6370
Code: 414-157-5810

Schedule

Monday

• LA BOSCOC General Meeting: 10 AM to 11 AM

Tuesday

• HMIS Committee Meeting: 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM

  • Topic(s): COVID-19 information sharing

• Lake Charles Regional Meeting: 2 PM to 3 PM

• Houma Regional Meeting: 3 PM to 4 PM

Wednesday

• Board Meeting: 10 AM to 11 AM

  • Topic(s): COVID-19 information sharing

• Baton Rouge Regional Meeting: 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM

Thursday

• Lake Charles Regional Meeting: 2 PM to 3 PM

• Houma Regional Meeting: 3 PM to 4 PM

Friday

• Baton Rouge Regional Meeting: 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM

LA BOSCOC awarded more than $20 million in CoC Program funding

Overview

On March 13, 2020, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $20,125,458 to the Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC) under the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program.

This amount includes approximately $18 million of new and renewal funding announced earlier this year and an additional $2,132,676 in renewal funding for the Louisiana Permanent Supportive Housing Initiative (LAPSH) project.

The LA BOSCOC received 100% of the funding it requested, including full funding for all new and renewal projects.

These awards reflect all awards made under the CoC Program for Funding Year 2019 (FY 2019).

For more information about the previously awarded amount, please refer to the LA BOSCOC’s previous announcement here: https://laboscoc.org/news/2020/1/15/la-boscoc-awarded-18-million-under-the-coc-program

Funding Availability

The LA BOSCOC does not have any information at this time regarding when as-yet-unreleased CoC Program from FY 2018 or FY 2019 will become available. Funding availability is subject to HUD’s timing and discretion.

Interested in CoC Program funding?

The LA BOSCOC expects the FY 2020 CoC Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) to become available in Q3 2020. Organizations interested in funding are strongly advised to begin planning their applications now. For more information, please contact Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov or 225-242-1388.

Public Comment: LA BOSCOC New and Renewal Project Scoring Tools - FY 2020

Overview

Purpose

The LA BOSCOC is seeking public feedback on its draft New Project Scoring Tool and Renewal Project Scoring Tool for the upcoming Funding Year 2020 (FY 2020) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Local Competition.

The FY 2020 CoC Program Local Competition will be used to select and rank new and renewal projects to submit to the FY 2020 CoC Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

Note that these drafts are based on the LA BOSCOC’s best projections about the FY 2020 CoC Program NOFA and will not be finalized until the NOFA is released. These drafts will be adjusted as needed to ensure projects are scored in concert with the NOFA and competitive at the national level.

CoC Program Funding

The CoC Program is the single largest competitive grant in the federal government. Last year, it funded more than $2.2 billion nationwide into projects dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.

The LA BOSCOC anticipates being eligible to apply for more than $20 million in FY 2020, including approximately $1.5 million in new funding.

For new projects, the CoC Program will primarily fund housing and supportive services for people experiencing literal homelessness or fleeing domestic violence. The CoC Program does not fund emergency shelter.

Changelog

Overview

The following is a condensed list of the most significant changes from last year (FY 2019). It is not intended to be a full list of changes. CoC staff encourage you to read the Tool(s) in their entirety as appropriate.

Changes to Both Tools

• “Evidence-based approach” language removed from the Definitions section and from all questions; in questions where a data-driven approach is appropriate, more specific data questions have been added, while in others, specific requests for data have been removed entirely

• The New Project Supplement and Renewal Project Supplement have been removed; applicants will no longer be required to submit anything other than their project applications to the LA BOSCOC

• Added a threshold criterion, “Equal Access,” which explicitly states that all projects must comply with HUD’s Equal Access in Accordance with Gender Identity Final Rule (2012) and Equal Access to Housing Final Rule (2012); while some of this was previously included in the “Eligible Populations” threshold criterion, the “Equal Access” criterion is both more comprehensive and more clearly signals the CoC’s commitment to serving all people according to their gender, regardless of their gender, and without separating families

• Clarified that domestic violence service providers are required to use an HMIS-comparable database, not “projects that serve people fleeing domestic violence”

• The “Low Barrier” threshold criterion has been replaced by the “Housing First” threshold criterion; this reflects (1) the CoC’s commitment to the Housing First model and (2) the LA BOSCOC’s expectation that the low barrier model from the FY 2019 CoC Program NOFA will be reverted to the Housing First model from the FY 2018 CoC Program NOFA

• Projects no longer receive points for targeting specific subpopulations (i.e. youth, veterans, people experiencing chronic homelessness); by placing general population projects on an equal footing with target population projects, the LA BOSCOC hopes to generate more umbrella projects that can react to evolving needs within its geography

• Questions about monitoring now include LA BOSCOC findings as well as HUD and OIG Audit findings

• Bonus points are now awarded for organizations that send at least one staff member to attend at least one CoC-sponsored training in the last year; the CoC expects to make a free, CoC-sponsored case management training available in May 2020

• Bonus points for “Staff Sustainability” have been removed due to liability concerns

New Project Scoring Tool Changes

• Under “Community Need,” projects are no longer asked to project their outcomes (projects share and are assessed by HUD on common outcomes including exits to permanent housing, increases in income, etc.)

• Multiple narratives now more clearly stress that projects must have a clear, well-developed plan to increase participant income

• “Outreach” has been removed, as asking projects to project their participant in their Region’s outreach network during the project application phase is beyond what many applicants could reasonably project

• “Homeless Services Experience” has been rewritten to put first-time applicants on more even footing with existing recipients

• “Point in Time Count” and “Housing Inventory Chart” have been removed to put first-time applicants on more even footing with existing recipients

• Full points for hiring an outreach worker now requires 1.0 FTE (up from 0.5 FTE)

Renewal Project Scoring Tool Changes

• Scoring thresholds for “Percentage of Participants Exiting to or Maintaining Permanent Housing” and “Percentage of Participants Exiting to Shelter/Streets/Unknown” have been raised due to renewal projects almost universally clearing the scoring thresholds in FY 2019

• Project type-specific criteria that were forecasted in FY 2019 will be included in FY 2020

• “APR Timeliness” simplified

• “Funding Request Timeliness” removed

• “Monitoring Results” is now worth 6 points (up from 2) and has two scoring thresholds (up from one)

Accessing the documents

Click here to download the New Project Scoring Tool.

Click here to download the Renewal Project Scoring Tool.

How to provide public comment

Please submit public comments by email to Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

Public comments will be accepted through 4 PM on March 6, 2020.

Board Meetings - Bimonthly Schedule, February 28

Overview

Going forward, the LA BOSCOC will adopt the following practices for its Board meetings:

• All regularly scheduled Board meetings will be announced via the LA BOSCOC website at the beginning of each calendar year at https://laboscoc.org/meetings

• All intermittently scheduled Board meetings will be announced at least one business day in advance (at least 5 business days in advance when practicable) via the LA BOSCOC email distribution list

• The agendas for all Board meetings will be released via the LA BOSCOC email distribution list at least 1 business day in advance (at least 5 business days in advance when practicable)

• The minutes of all Board meetings will be posted on the LA BOSCOC website as soon as is practicable after each meeting here: https://laboscoc.org/meetings

• Agendas and minutes will be maintained online for one calendar year, then removed from the LA BOSCOC website but retained thereafter by CoC staff for public review upon request

All LA BOSCOC Board meetings will continue to be open to the public except for those times when the Board enters executive session pursuant to LA Rev Stat § 42:16.

LA BOSCOC Board Meeting - February 28, 2 PM to 3 PM

The Board will meet by phone on February 28 from 2 PM to 3 PM. Its proposed agenda includes the following items:

• REVIEW: LA BOSCOC Board meeting structure pursuant to Louisiana’s “Open Meeting Law”

• REVIEW AND VOTE: monitoring extension request from Empower 225

• REVIEW AND VOTE: PIT Count participation from Options for Independence

LA BOSCOC General Meeting: April 1, 2020

Overview

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC) will host its first full membership meeting of the year on April 1, 2020, in Baton Rouge.

Organizations and individuals are invited to the meeting to learn about current and upcoming efforts across Louisiana to end homelessness, including opportunities for collaboration and funding.

The LA BOSCOC is Louisiana’s largest coalition to end homelessness. It serves 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 at least one week in advance to the LA BOSCOC’s email list. To be added to that list, please contact Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at the information provided below.

Scheduling

• Date: April 1, 2020

• Time: 9 AM to 11:30 AM

• Location: Hilton Conference Center | 201 Lafayette Street Baton Rouge, LA 70801

Good Standing

Please note that organizations in the LA BOSCOC seeking homeless housing and services funding from a variety of sources including the Continuum of Care (CoC) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Programs are required to attend at least one of the LA BOSCOC’s two semiannual General Meetings.

This is the only General Meeting that will be held in person. The next General Meeting (est. October 2020) will be held via webinar.

Questions?

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Gordon Levine, Continuum of Care Manager, at 225-242-1388 or (by preference) glevine@lhc.la.gov.

Upcoming Board Elections

Overview

Several LA BOSCOC Board seats will be up for re-election in 2020.

Elections will be held during the following local meetings per their currently posted schedules. (If the meeting times change, the elections will move with them.)

For more information about the Board election process and the duties of the Board, please refer to the most recent version of the LA BOSCOC Governance Charter.

Election Schedule

Lake Charles

• Date: March 10, 2020

• Time: 10:30 AM to noon

• Location: Allen P. August Multi-Purpose Annex @ 2000 Moeling Street Lake Charles, LA 70601

Plaquemines/St. Bernard

• Date: May 4, 2020

• Time: 10 AM

• Location: 9069 W. Judge Perez Drive, Chalmette, LA

Houma

• Date: July 16, 2020

• Time: noon to 2 PM

• Location: First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall @ 6109 Highway 311 Houma, LA 70360

Baton Rouge

• Date: November 12, 2020

• Time: 10 AM to noon

• Location: 2415 Quail Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70808