Job Opportunity: Coordinated Entry Specialist

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC), as the collaborative applicant (i.e. lead agency) of the Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC), is hiring a Coordinated Entry Specialist.

Click here to read more about the position and apply via the state civil service website.

The LA BOSCOC is 'Louisiana’s largest coalition to end homelessness. On an annual basis, it funds more than $20 million in housing and supportive services for people experiencing homelessness through dozens of projects and subrecipients. LHC serves as the LA BOSCOC’s managing staff, ensuring that the LA BOSCOC’s member-agencies are equipped to succeed in preventing and ending homelessness.

The Coordinated Entry Specialist’s primary responsibilities include:

• Overseeing the LA BOSCOC’s Coordinated Entry System, which is the LA BOSCOC’s process for intake, assessment, triage, and referral of people experiencing homelessness;

• Managing the LA BOSCOC’s Continuum of Care (CoC) Program-funded Coordinated entry grants, which together total more than $1 million annually;

• Coordinating the Baton Rouge Street Outreach Network, a street outreach and case conferencing working group dedicated to connecting people experiencing unsheltered homelessness with the resources they need to quickly return to housing;

• Refining the LA BOSCOC’s Coordinated Entry System by continuing to develop its policies and procedures, applying and reapplying for relevant funding, and expanding the LA BOSCOC’s knowledge of new and best practices by engaging other high performing CoCs.

In addition to the requirements posted on the civil service website, the right candidate will demonstrate a drive for public service, a passion for serving marginalized populations, and an interest in working with complex systems. Previous experience working with CoCs or in homeless services is a plus but not a requirement; we welcome applications from anyone open to learning and growing with the position.

Note: this position is a reposting; if you are still interested in being considered for this position, you must apply again.

Please direct any questions to Gordon Levine, CoC Manager, at glevine@lhc.la.gov.

CDC Continues Eviction Moratorium Through July 2021

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has extended the existing eviction moratorium through July 31, 2021. (The previous moratorium was due to expire June 30, 2021.)

The eviction moratorium is intended to prevent the eviction of renters during the COVID-19 pandemic who are unable to make rental payments.

Per the CDC’s information release, this is intended to be the final extension of the moratorium.

For more information, please visit the CDC’s eviction moratorium page: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-eviction-declaration.html

For access to free, civil legal aid to low-income people throughout southeast Louisiana, including the Baton Rouge, Houma, and Plaquemines/St. Bernard Regions, please contact Southeast Louisiana Legal Services: https://slls.org/

For access to legal services on a sliding scale based on income in southwest Louisiana, including the Lake Charles Region, please contact Southwest Louisiana Law Center: https://louisianalawhelp.org/organization/southwest-louisiana-legal-services

Tropical Cyclone Three information

Tropical Cyclone Three is expected to impact Louisiana today (Friday, June 18) and tomorrow (Saturday, June 19). It is expected to be a local event, and its primary impacts are expected to be outside the LA BOSCOC’s geography.

At this time, and to the best of the LA BOSCOC’s knowledge:

• No emergency weather shelter has currently or is expected to be stood up by any state agency;

• No emergency weather shelter has currently been stood up by any parish (we have no information about whether any might be planned);

• None of the LA BOSCOC’s federally funded shelters, including St. Vincent de Paul of Baton Rouge and the Family Violence Program of St. Bernard, are planning to stand up any additional emergency shelter beds in response to this event.

If the LA BOSCOC receives any information about emergency weather shelter being stood up in the LA BOSCOC’s geography, we will send a follow-up email with further details.

Anyone experiencing unsheltered homelessness who is concerned about the upcoming weather event should be encouraged to contact their local Coordinated Entry Access Point to request services.

Click here for a list of Coordinated Entry Access Points, including their locations, contact information, and hours of operation.

Announcing our Summer Training Series: Case Management as a Profession

Overview

The Louisiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (LA BOSCOC), Louisiana's largest coalition to end homelessness, is committed to fostering professional growth opportunities for its members.

As part of that opportunity, the LA BOSCOC is pleased to announce its FREE summer 2021 training series: Case Management as a Profession.

This three part series will equip case managers with the foundational knowledge they need to succeed in providing high quality services to participants.

Session #1: Housing Case Management Practices

Facilitator: Jenna Espinosa, TAC (biography)

Target Audience: Case managers of all experience levels

Training Series: Case Management as a Profession (part 1 of 3)

Overview: This training will cover the basics of professional case management practices. Topics will include service planning and action step implementation, resource brokerage and when to refer to specialized service providers, how to support person-centered services, and more.

Register: click here to register

Session #2: Basics of Motivational Interviewing

Facilitator: Jennifer Ingle, TAC (biography)

Target Audience: Case managers of all experience levels

Training Series: Case Management as a Profession (part 2 of 3)

Overview: This training will introduce motivational interviewing as a case management tool. Content will include how to "meet people where they're at" while still providing the support and resources necessary to achieve housing stability. Attendees will learn about the Stages of Change model and increase their capacity to provide ongoing, effective case management services via motivational interviewing techniques.

Register: click here to register

Session #3: Basics of Trauma-Informed Care

Facilitator: Jennifer Ingle, TAC (biography)

Target Audience: Case managers of all experience levels

Training Series: Case Management as a Profession (part 3 of 3)

Overview: This training will assist attendees in developing or improving their delivery of trauma-informed case management services. Many of our participants are recovering from or actively experiencing trauma. Attendees will learn how to engage with participants and help participants navigate systems of care in ways that limit their vulnerability to traumatization.

Register: click here to register

Questions?

For questions about the training series, please contact Carrie Patterson at cpatterson@lhc.la.gov.

For technical questions about registering for a session, please contact Melany Mondello at mmondello@tacinc.org.

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.