MINUTES
Kentucky Interagency Council on Homelessness
Executive Committee Meeting
September 10, 2012
A meeting of the Executive Committee of the Kentucky Interagency Council on Homelessness
(KICH) was held Monday, September 10, at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time, at the Crowne Plaza
Hotel, Louisville, Kentucky.
Members present:
Michael Brown, Secretary, Justice and Public Safety Cabinet
Ken Lucas, Commissioner, Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Richard L. McQuady, Chief Executive Officer, Kentucky Housing Corporation
Eric Friedlander, representing Audrey Haynes, Health and Family Services Cabinet
Bill Riggs, representing Joseph Meyer, Education Cabinet
Gerald Neal, State Senator
Vicki Goins, representing Mary Lassiter, State Budget Director
Members absent:
Sonja Cox, Personnel Cabinet
Susan Dixen, Governor’s Office
Laurie Dudgeon, Administrative Office of the Courts
Mike Hancock, Transportation Cabinet
Ruth Ann Palumbo, State Representative
Frances Alvis, Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky
Steering Committee Members Present:
Thomas Beatty, Health and Family Services
Jason Dunn, Health and Family Services
Joseph Hamilton, Louisville Metro Government
Natalie Harris, Coalition for the Homeless, Louisville
Lisa Howard, Department of Corrections
Mike Hurysz, Northern Kentucky Area Development District
Barry Johnson, Green River Area Development District
Davey King, Kentucky Housing Corporation
Rosemary Luckett, Kentucky Housing Corporation
Pat Puckett, proxy for Eric Perez, Transportation Cabinet
Maria Price, St John Shelter, Louisville
Jamie Watts, Robley Rex VA Medical Center, Louisville
Brenda Weaver, Kentucky Housing Corporation
Jennifer Weeber, Hazard-Perry County Community Ministries
Others Present:
Brigid Adams, Department of Corrections
Tricia Byrd, Family and Children’s Place, Louisville
Wade Jordahl, Family and Children’s Place, Louisville
Shawn Ford, Adanta Inc., Somerset
Richard McClain, Kentucky Housing Corporation
Executive Committee Meeting
September 10, 2012
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The meeting was called to order by Chairman Gerald Neal.
The Executive Committee considered the minutes of the previous meeting held October 11,
2011. Upon motion duly made by Eric Friedlander and seconded by Richard L. McQuady, the
minutes of the meetings were approved.
Noting that the Executive Committee members had their backs to the audience, Chairman Neal
recommended different seating configuration for future meetings.
Chairman Neal advised that he would not be able to stay for the full meeting because of another
obligation; therefore, the Executive Committee would address VI. Discussion on purpose of
future meetings in order to improve engagement on the agenda, since he had requested this
item be on the agenda.
Chairman Neal acknowledged that economic conditions had created a strain on the Executive
Committee’s ability to meet twice a year as originally written in the bylaws. It had not caused
problems for the Steering Committee to hold fewer meetings. Chairman Neal recognized the
cost issues, but said he felt it was important to meet more often than once a year and advocated
for two meetings per year. Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) provides staff support for
KICH.
Mr. McQuady, KHC chief executive officer, expressed KHC’s support for KICH and that KHC
staff could support holding two Executive Committee meetings a year. He has been concerned
about impending changes to federal tax reform and the need for KHC to be better prepared to
address them financially. He agreed that the Steering Committee is doing well, and homeless
programs are demonstrating effectiveness. The Commonwealth is creating permanent
supportive housing opportunities. Mr. McQuady expressed he had concerns about the
effectiveness of prevention programs, but the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing
(HPRP) stimulus program proved successful. He felt that it was important for the Steering
Committee to be able to provide information more frequently to the Executive Committee. He
expressed his support for having two meetings of the Executive Committee each year and said
that KHC has the capacity to accommodate this.
Richard McClain added that the current bylaws were amended to allow for additional meetings
as necessary, so the bylaws would not have to be changed.
The Executive Committee discussed the importance of holding two meetings a year and that it
will help keep members engaged and focused on the cause. Mr. McQuady stated that staff will
send minutes and notes to the Executive Committee to keep members informed. Chairman
Neal asked for more aggressiveness by staff when trying to get responses from members and
expressed his gratitude to Mr. McQuady and KHC for their support of the KICH. Chairman Neal
and Mr. McQuady acknowledged the network of partners across the state and the work they do.
Vice Chair Natalie Harris continued the meeting, so Chairman Neal’s exit would not disturb the
meeting.
At the request of Ms. Harris, attendees introduced themselves.
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September 10, 2012
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Davey King provided an update on the Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness. He noted that
KICH greatly appreciates all of the work of partners across the state in continuing progress
toward the goal of ending homelessness. He also noted that several gaps and barriers remain,
including insufficient supply of housing, inadequate funding for services, and the need for
improved discharge planning, which will be a common theme of presentations throughout the
meeting. Mr. King described elements of the strategy for moving forward and drew attention of
the committee to examples of accomplishments in recent years. A copy of the updated plan is
attached hereto as Exhibit A and made a part hereof.
Upon motion duly made by Mr. Friedlander and seconded by Mr. McQuady, the goals of the
2012 update were approved.
Chairman Neal asked that the KICH Data Subcommittee provide updates to the Executive
Committee on a quarterly basis for the purpose of monitoring homelessness trends and
progress. Mr. King said that he would take this task to the Data Subcommittee at its next
meeting.
Ms. Harris introduced Rosemary Luckett to provide a report on discharge planning. Ms. Luckett
noted that there have been numerous changes with homeless programs funded by the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The primary funding source for
homeless services is the Continuum of Care (CoC) program. This program brings in
approximately $18 million for programs across the state through a national competitive
application process. One scoring category where scores are lagging is discharge planning,
which helps to ensure that individuals are not being discharged from corrections facilities,
mental health hospitals, or foster care into homelessness. In order to help preserve these CoC
funds for Kentucky, it is important that discharge planning improves and barriers to housing are
reduced.
Brigid Adams, re-entry branch manager, Department of Corrections, noted the department
manages 13 prisons and supervises approximately 42,500 offenders, who are housed in
prisons, local jails, halfway houses, and home incarceration. With regard to discharge planning,
re-entry coordinators in each prison provide life-skills training and help to address re-entry
barriers. Corrections staff begin working with clients 12-18 months prior to their release from
prison. Local jails start 3-6 months prior to release to prepare the pre-parole progress report.
Home incarceration starts 12 months prior to release. Halfway houses have case management
staff. Through its attempts to place ex-offenders in appropriate housing, the department has
encountered various barriers, including limited housing availability, unemployment, a lack of
education, mental health issues, healthcare needs, financial instability, transportation, family
concerns, and public perceptions. The department offers various resources for ex-offenders
and staff: a re-entry hotline (the first in the nation), task forces, documentation Web site with
pre-release community resources, took-kit newsletter (for staff), and a homeward bound
newsletter (for offenders). Ms. Adams noted that the ratio of re-entry coordinators to offenders
varies by institution. For example, the facility in LaGrange has two re-entry coordinators, each
with 100-150 offenders, and the New Directions program is limited to 25 at a given time.
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September 10, 2012
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Mr. Tom Beatty, branch manager for the Department for Behavioral Health and Developmental
and Intellectual Disabilities (DBHDID), discussed discharge planning for persons leaving mental
health hospitals. Most return home, but others return to another facility or to a jail; 5 percent are
discharged to homelessness. Hospitals do try to find a place for individuals leaving to live, but
encounter many barriers. Hospitals must follow specific criteria for involuntary hospitalization.
When those criteria are not present, the hospital must discharge the patient even if suitable
housing has not been identified. Hospitals can find themselves in a position of having to find
housing within three days of discharge, but three days is not a lot of time for a hospital to find a
home and make arrangements for the patient. All patients are informed of living options in the
community. Contract hospitals are asked to make appointments with community mental health
centers (CMHC) within 14 days of a patient’s discharge. Patient documentation is sent to the
CMHCs. Transportation is a major barrier for patients to get to case management
appointments. The hospitals are attempting to address this. Eastern State has designated
discharge planning staff to provide transportation. If this is successful, it could be replicated
elsewhere. The Homeless Prevention Pilot Project (HPPP) has a case manager who can take
patients to find housing, which is helping remove this barrier.
Mr. McClain, presenting on behalf of foster care staff from the Cabinet for Health and Family
Services (CHFS), spoke about discharge planning for youth who age out of the foster care
system. Independent living coordinators and cabinet social workers begin developing a
transition plan 45 days prior to their 17th birthday. There are a variety of state-funded services
youth can access. 1) They can recommit to the state foster care system with one year after
they turn 18 years of age and can stay within care up to age 21. 2) They can receive a tuition
waiver for any state institution of higher education, to be used within four years after graduation
from high school. In addition, there are other tuition assistance programs that cover other
expenses. 3) They are eligible for federal independent services–life skills programs–like
Education Training Vouchers through the Chafee Room and Board program, which can provide
living expenses while in college. They can provide up to six months of rental assistance,
security deposits, and other financial assistance to provide transitional housing. This assistance
can be extended up to an additional six months or to age 21. KHC administers the housing and
lease-up process of the Chafee program. Rental security deposits, utility security deposits and
income-based rental assistance are provided. In addition, once a participant leases into a unit,
they are eligible for Household Setup Funds that provide for furniture and other supplies. There
is also a Chafee Mentoring Program administered through Murray State University. A Chafee
Leadership Council comprised of young adults who have previously aged out of care exists to
provide input into improving the transition process. They sponsor two youth conferences each
year. The cabinet is required to provide outcome data through a National Youth in Transition
Database. Kentucky currently surveys all 17-year-olds. There are plans for follow up with 19year-olds next month. Twelve independent living coordinators across the state provide
oversight to the transition process including case management education resources, etc.
Mr. Wade Jordahl, homeless prevention program manager of Family and Children’s Place in
Louisville, presented information concerning the HPPP. The program began in June 2005 with
the adoption of House Bill 376 (Kentucky Act 194A.735). The project offers assistance, on a
voluntary basis, to persons exiting prisons/jails, mental heath facilities, and foster care.
CHFS/DBHDID developed the project guidelines and offers insight for implementation of the
program. The project provides intensive case management in two areas of the state: the
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September 10, 2012
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Adanta/Lake Cumberland Region and Jefferson County. There are three primary objectives to
the program: 1) Offer discharge planning in both rural and urban areas. 2) Provide access to
housing and services through a single agency in each area. 3) Prevent 88 percent of the
participants from becoming homeless.
The outcomes of the program have been very positive. Data collected shows the participant’s
destination at program exit is as follows: 46 percent into permanent housing, 39 percent into
other types of housing, 6 percent reenter into an institution, and 9 percent into temporary
housing (family/friend, transitional housing, shelter). This data is from the onset of the program.
There are some data quality issues, for instance there is a smaller percentage of response for
2011.
There are estimates that the 2010 cost savings to the state was $370,800, with $46,800 coming
from prisons and $324,000 from mental health participants. This results in over a 284 percent
return on investment since the cost of the program is $100,000 per year. The case managers
for the program are Tricia Byrd, Family and Children’s Place in Jefferson County, and Shawn
Ford, Adanta, Inc. in the Lake Cumberland area.
The Executive Committee discussed the expansion of HPPP.
Mr. McQuady asked how the program is funded. Ms. Harris responded that the original intent
was for the project to be funded from all three areas where the participants originate
(corrections, mental health and foster care), but the entire $100,000 budget annually since 2005
has come from DBHDID. If the program were to be expanded, Lexington, Bowling Green, and
Covington are the areas with the next largest reentry populations.
Mr. Riggs asked what the original enabling legislation included and if it provided for future
expansion. Mr. Beatty responded that annual reports on the program are given to the
Legislative Health and Welfare Committee. The legislature provided funds for 2004-2005 from
the DBHDID budget, and the department has included the same funding from its general budget
each year thereafter. The original idea was that the project was a pilot program in anticipation
of future expansion if it was successful. The current budget for the project has been cut to
$96,800. Mr. Riggs asked if expansion would mean fewer resources for existing regions. Mr.
Beatty said any expansion would add resources to additional regions. Ms. Harris added that
any expansion would include requesting additional funding to serve any new regions. Mr.
Jordahl expressed the concern that currently the case managers cannot serve other areas
where there is a need due to budgetary restraints. Mr. Riggs observed that the legislature
would not deal with any new budget allocations until 2014 because of the state budget cycle.
He was not in favor of creating things we cannot fund. Mr. McQuady asked if there would be a
way for KHC as a corporation to provide $400,000 to the Affordable Housing Trust Funds
(AHTF) and dedicate $100,000 to expansion. He stated that the AHTF requirements are
provided in statute but KHC could be willing to go to legislature to seek changes or additions.
Mr. Friedlander asked if KICH voted to expand the program, what are the possibilities of getting
the funding into the budget. These would be general fund dollars. Is there another way to look
at it, perhaps a partnership with KHC/CHFS using Chafee funds?
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September 10, 2012
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Ms. Harris stated that the program has been well received by the legislature. She offered her
opinion that you make your case and find a sponsoring legislator. If the legislature just needs a
vote of confidence, then KICH could do that. Ms. Harris asked if the motion should be changed
to include providing a presentation to the legislature. Mr. Riggs stated that it is important enough
to get on the agenda on the Health and Welfare Committee in 2013. Mr. Friedlander added that
it was important to ask for the additional funding. Ms. Harris asked if the presentation should
include the idea of a waiver program and, if so, was a waiver of six months or a year preferable.
Mr. Friedlander suggested that it could be for six months at the beginning and possibly
extended to a year if successful. Behavioral health is a small piece of the budget. Substance
abuse funding is quicker and larger. The idea dovetails nicely with the Affordable Care Act. Ms.
Harris summarized the conversation by saying that she thought a vote was not necessary but
that the HPPP staff had a direction in order to move forward.
Ms. Harris noted that the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing
(HEARTH) Act was adopted several years ago. Regulations have just been released by HUD,
and HUD is seeking comments on the CoC Program Interim Rule. There initially was a waiver
given to exempt rental assistance projects from the match requirement. With new regulations,
however, this activity was redefined as leasing, thereby requiring those project-sponsor
agencies to commit match dollars. Some advocates are trying to determine if the state can use
Medicaid assistance as match for this. She brought the committee members’ attention to a
letter in the packet from KICH asking HUD to revert this requirement.
Mr. McQuady asked for a clarification of leasing and rental assistance activities. Ms. Harris
responded that HUD is making a distinction between the two. If an agency is providing rental
assistance (i.e. making housing assistance payments to a landlord on behalf of a participant),
then that agency must provide match. If an agency is leasing units (under a master lease
arrangement with a property manager), then the agency does not have to provide match. Many
project sponsors are opting for no-match programs but this causes problems. Others opt to
lease, but this increases their insurance costs.
Mike Hurysz added that rental assistance must be administered by a public housing agency
(PHA) or unit of local government. This new requirement would mean that many project
sponsors would have to change their whole program. Mr. Friedlander asked if there was a way
to say this differently. The concern is that this could limit assistance to individuals. What KICH
is asking for is that the federal regulations be structured in a way that continues to support
flexibility with public/private partnerships and to eliminate match requirements to be able to
address homelessness. Otherwise, this puts a limitation on being able to serve homeless
persons. Mr. Hurysz noted that the programs have been highly successful for 13 years and
moved hundreds of persons to permanent housing. He advocates leaving the program as is.
Otherwise, the programs would have to move to PHAs or local government agencies. Mr.
Friedlander suggested documenting the value/cost. Ms. Harris pointed out that Shelter Plus
Care projects were required to provide a match and felt that HUD does not want to lose that.
Somewhere along the way, this provision got mixed up in the new regulations. She has
language for new wording to go into the letter.
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September 10, 2012
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Upon motion duly made by Mr. Friedlander and seconded by Mr. Riggs, the letter to HUD with
the changes was approved. A copy of the letter is attached hereto as Exhibit B and made a part
hereof.
Ms. Harris asked if any subcommittees had any further reports to make; there were none.
Ms. Harris asked if there was any other business. Mr. McClain encouraged the plan to
reactivate the KICH Public Will Subcommittee as one means to get information out to both the
broader community and media outlets across the state. Ms. Harris announced there is a
volunteer to fill one chair position for this subcommittee but there is a continuing need for a cochair.
Ms. Harris encouraged everyone to participate in the KHC Affordable Housing Conference at
the Crowne Plaza Hotel on September 11 and 12, 2012. Mr. McQuady stated that it will be a
great conference. During the conference, KHC will celebrate its 40th anniversary.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Davey King
Director of Specialized Housing Resources
Kentucky Housing Corporation