What You Need to Know About San Diego’s
Coordinated Assessment and Housing
Placement (CAHP) System
San Diego Housing Federation
May 21, 2015
Tricia Tasto Levien, Supportive Housing Director, tlevien@wakelandhdc.com

• Tom Theisen, 25 Cities Downtown San Diego
• Imelda McClendon, Regional Task Force on the Homeless
• Melissa Peterman, San Diego Housing Commission
• Rich Penksa, CSH
• Amy Gonyeau, Alpha Project

Presentation to the Housing Roundtable
May 2015

Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and
End Homelessness:
1. Prevent and end homelessness among
Veteran in 2015
2. Ending chronic homelessness in 2017
3. Prevent and end homelessness among families, children, and youth in 2020
4. Set a path to end all types of homelessness

Seattle
Portland
San Francisco
Las Vegas
Fresno
Los Angeles
Riverside
Phoenix
Tucson
San Diego
Honolulu
Denver
Houston
Detroit
Chicago
Boston
New York
Philly
Baltimore
Washington
Atlanta
New Orleans
Tampa
Orlando
Miami

All communities in Zero:2016 commit to…
…end Veteran homelessness
(no later than 12/31/15)
…end chronic homelessness for individuals
(no later than 12/31/16)
71 Communities, including San Diego, signed on

Without CAHP System With CAHP System
CAHP System
Courtesy of Chris Ko

Coordinated Assessment Housing Placement
Outreach to
ALL Homeless in the
Community
Applying a
Common
Assessment
Tool
Prioritizing
Based upon
Common
Assessment Tool
Housing
Navigation and Case
Conferencing
Matching with Choice
Performance Management & Communications Platform

• Housing program completes “Housing Matrix”
– Describes every requirement for housing program
• Housing program submits “Vacancy Form” as units become available
• Clients that meet all program requirements are matched to vacant units
• Client comes with all necessary documents
• Client has choice to move into vacant unit

Goal Outcome
Assessments
Housing Navigators
Matching
Chronic Placements
Veteran Placements
800
23
300
100
150
2217
31
60
40
44
Establish a
Sustainable
CAHP System
Most
Important
Goal
YES

Goal: Get 150 high acuity veterans and chronically homeless individuals ready for housing and of those 100 will be permanently housed by March 3, 2015.
241
Individuals
Matched Initiated
139
Individuals Housed
103
Household
Housed

Assessments
Housing Navigators
Referrals
Placements
Goal
250
10
107
40
Outcome
335
6.7
136
21

– We need to house 210 veterans County-wide per month to end veteran homelessness by early 2016
• 158 County-wide in April
• 175 County-wide in May
• 186 County-wide in June
– We need to house 35 downtown chronic homeless per month to end downtown chronic homelessness by end of 2016
• 20 downtown in April
• 25 downtown in May
• 30 downtown in June

• Transfer CAHP program to RCCC
• Integrate CAHP into HMIS System
• Expand CAHP County-wide
• Include Transitional Housing and other programs
• Continue momentum for CAHP becoming the sole system of housing the homeless
• Work with the community to increase front doors and supportive services

Contacts:
• www.housingsd.org
• Tom Theisen – tom.theisen@rtfhsd.org

San Diego Housing Commission
CAHP & Funders
San Diego Housing Federation Roundtable
May 21, 2015
Melissa Peterman
Director
Homeless Housing Innovations
San Diego Housing Commission
San Diego Housing Commission
19

SDHC ’ s Role in CAHP
Matching
Coordinated Assessment Housing Placement
Outreach to
ALL
Homeless in the
Community
Applying a
Common
Assessment
Tool
Prioritizing
Based upon
Common
Assessment Tool
Housing
Navigation and Case
Conferencing
Matching with Choice
Performance Management & Communications Platform
San Diego Housing Commission
20

San Diego Housing Commission
21
SDHC ’ s Role in CAHP
Matching

SDHC & CAHP
Housing First – San Diego
SDHC’s Homelessness Action Plan
SDHC – A Driving Force of the National Housing First Model
City of San Diego
5-Point Plan
1. Award Development Funds – Up to $30 Million
2. Commit up to 1,500 Federal Rental Housing Vouchers
3. Renovate Hotel Churchill – 72 Units of Permanent Supportive Housing
4.
Invest “Moving to Work” Federal Funds to Acquire Property
5. Dedicate SDHC-Owned Housing Units – 25 for Homeless San Diegans
San Diego Housing Commission
22

23
SDHC & CAHP
Housing First – San Diego
SDHC’s Homelessness Action Plan
1st Component
Award Development Funds – Up to $30 Million
•Over the next three years, SDHC will award up to $30 million to create
Permanent Supportive Housing or convert Transitional Housing to new
Permanent Supportive Housing.
•SDHC will award up to 300 federal rental housing vouchers in the first year.
• SDHC announced the first $10 million of these available funds on Nov. 12,
2014. Application process remains open through June 30, 2015.
• All Permanent Supportive Housing units created through this opportunity must be filled using CAHP.

24
SDHC & CAHP
Housing First – San Diego
SDHC’s Homelessness Action Plan
5th Component
Dedicate SDHC-Owned Housing Units – 25 for Homeless San Diegans
• SDHC has set aside 25 of its own affordable rental units year-round to temporarily provide furnished apartments for homeless individuals and families.
• This continuing commitment is an annual value of $348,000. Launched
January 1, 2015.
• Tenants will pay up to 30 percent of income they may have toward rent.
• Prospective tenants are identified in referrals from CAHP.

SDHC & CAHP
Contract Language Requirement
• Coordinated Assessment and Housing Placement System a. The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing
Act (HEARTH) and federal regulations require communities to utilize a common mechanism for individualized assessment and coordinated access to services when engaging homeless persons. b. At the discretion of SDHC, the service provider may be required to participate in the CAHP system and utilize the Vulnerability Index and
Service Prioritization Decision Tool (VI-SPDAT), or successor system replacing the VI-SPDAT, as the targeting mechanism to identify the most appropriate housing intervention for program participants.
San Diego Housing Commission
25

SDHC & CAHP
Other Funders
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• County of San Diego Housing and Community
Development
• Funders Together to End Homelessness – San Diego
• State of California Veterans Housing and Homelessness
Prevention Program
San Diego Housing Commission
26

HUD MANDATE

Coordinated Entry Policy Brief

CSH- LA Coordinated Entry System: FAQ
• CSH convened experts in the area of
Fair Housing to look at Coordinated
Assessment and its implications .
• Coordinated Assessment is new, and continues to expand!

CA & Tenant Selection
Is Coordinated Assessment consistent with federal regulations governing the HOME program’s tenant selection requirements?

CA & Tenant Selection
Will Coordinated Assessment require housing providers to eliminate their current waitlist?

Marketing Plan
Will Coordinated Assessment require changes to affirmative marketing plans?

NEXT STEPS
• CSH will continue to update on Coordinated
Entry
• HUD anticipates releasing further requirements and guidance

HUD Housing resources in San Diego
 CoC resources:
 SDHC resources : Housing First NOFA
 VHHP: One project in first round
 More to Come!
35

THANK YOU

Contact Information
Rich Penksa
Senior Program Manager
619.232.3194
Ext:4290 rich.penksa@csh.org
Simonne Ruff
Director
619.232.3194
Ext:4292 simonne.ruff@csh.org

Alpha Project’s Experience and Plans for the Future

Alpha Project’s experience with CAHP in its Rapid Rehousing programs
• Alpha has been involved in the CAHP system for a year and a half
• Experience with winter shelter and involvement generally speaking
• Challenges and successes (system’s change, lack of inventory)
Rapid Rehousing through CAHP:
• What is Rapid Rehousing? (scattered site throughout the City, Funding overview)
• Security deposit, rental assistance for clients to obtain permanent housing and become self sufficient and independent
• Assistance can be up to 24 months
• Housing first model (streets to permanent housing)
• Assessment scores between 5 and 9
Success thus far:
• Over 180 individual placements since November 2014
• Approximately 85% success rate
• Why? Landlord recruitment, client advocacy, accessibility to staff when issues arise, case management services, assistance with budgeting etc…
• Agreements that are reasonable for client assistance to build relationships with landlords
• Appropriate referrals once assessments are complete
• Non-enabling project overview

Alpha Square Overview:
• Blend of 4% and 9% tax credit
• 203 Units (2 managers units)
• Serving 30%-50% AMI
Target Population: homeless, at risk of homelessness, low income and those with special needs
On-Site Services and Amenities:
• Supportive services staff, including mental health, substance abuse, case management etc…
• On-site partnering organizations
• Computer Lab
• Commercial Kitchen/Dining Facility (job training and catering)
• 2 Retail locations (providing micro enterprise and job training opportunities)
• 2 Open space parks
• 2 community rooms
• All units fully furnished
• Underground parking

Tenant Selection Plan/Waiting list:
• Metro residents will relocate to the new Alpha Square Project(if they meet all qualifications)
• Currently all tenants at the Metro have been screened for eligibility (SHDC standards and others and all are technically by definition homeless and will “go through” the CAHP System)
• All clients will have a VI-SPDAT completed (25 cities assessment)
• We anticipate having approximately 20 to 30 vacancies once all are relocated, all dedicated to the CAHP system
• An interest list has been developed (see handouts) and we will be working with
Housing Navigators for placement
• A request for all clients scoring 10+ are being evaluated through the CAHP system, essentially becoming the wait list for tenant selection
• All vacancies and turn over units will be dedicated to the CAHP system
• Certain requirements are in place for selection (i.e. no sex offenders etc…)
• There are over 1,000 clients scoring higher then 10 in the CAHP system currently, therefore they are priority. This list is being compiled and will be ranked from highest to lowest need. This PSH project is and was built to meet those specific needs. PSH is not only affordable, it includes the on-site services needed to maintain housing and retain housing in an effort to end homelessness

Additional Info:
• Currently awarded 76 section 8 vouchers (homeless)
• Awaiting confirmation of additional vouchers
• CRF contracts already being negotiated, providing rental payments and 24/7 supportive services attached to each unit, we anticipate up to 25 (CAHP Placements as well)
• Alpha plans to develop more PSH units utilizing the CAHP system for placement
Fair Housing:
• Defer to prior presentation materials