To: Benton Franklin, Judith Gidlet; Benton Franklin, Robin Callow; Benton Franklin, Tracy Diaz; Building Changes, Charlie Corrigan; Building Changes, Katherine Cortes; Chelan Douglas, Cathy Mulhall ; Chelan Douglas, Phoebe Nelson; Chelan Douglas, Sally Taylor; Chelan Douglas, Stefanie Maugham; Clallam, Florence Bucierka; Clallam, Kathy Wahto; Clallam, Laurie Kross; Clark, Bridgette Fahnbulleh; Clark, Melodie Pazolt; Clark, Vanessa Gaston; Grant, Andre Cosby; Grant, Thomas Bonnington; Island, Gillian Haws; Island, Jackie Henderson; Island, Teri Anania; Jefferson, deForest Walker; Jefferson, Julia Danskin; Jefferson, Phillip Morley; King, Gretchen Bruce; King, Janice Hougen; King, Karen Spoelman; King, Scott Mingus; Klickitat, Linda schneider; Mason, Carolyn Malanowski; Mason, Debra Nielsen; Mason, Ione Siegler; Mason, Kim Klint; Pierce, Gary Aden; Pierce, Nola Renz; Pierce, Rae Anne Giron; Skagit, Stacy Miller; Skagit, Trisha Logue; Snohomish, Laura Clark; Spokane, Julie Driscoll; Spokane, Patrick Sstretch; Spokane, Tim Crowley; Thurston, Christina McVeigh, Community Youth Services; Thurston, Daniel Paterno, Community Youth Services; Thurston, Dwight Edwards; Thurston, Maureen McLemore; Thurston, Megan Burr, Community Youth Services; Walla Walla, Anne Higgins; Walla Walla, Lynda Bennett; Whatcom, Gail de Hoog; Whatcom, Greg Winter; Yakima, david Hacker; Yakima, Kim Tully; Yasutake, Bruce (COM) Subject: Notes on the 8/4/09 Bi-Monthly call August 5, 2009 Dear HGAP Grantees; Well, I managed to capture only the first 46 seconds of our call on audio. I must have pushed the “off” button by mistake. In any case, I’m very disappointed because there was some excellent discussion among the 17 attendees. If anyone took notes and would like to send them to me, I will post them. Here are my sketchy notes: 1. Tedd gave a good synopsis of where we are cuts-wise, and he will be sending out an e-mail later this week with the same information. We still don’t have a final decision. Tedd will have more news for you next week. You can’t carry funds over from contract to contract (but you can still move funds within the contract). If you have funds left over at the end of a contract we will recapture them. We can extend, eliminate, move money around, or do whatever we can to help you readjust your contracts after the cuts. We will still use benchmarks, adjusted after the cuts for the new contract amounts. 2. Bruce Yasutake gave a brief update on the HGAP Annual Reporting Requirements – if you have any questions please call him at 360-725-2984 or e-mail at bruce.yasutake@commerce.wa.gov. 3. Tom Bonnington from Northeast Columbia Community Action in Grant County had written in a question about a client who is next on the waiting list, who had applied as a single person and now has her husband (an ex-offender) moving in with her. The problem is that Tom knows this guy from when he was a correction officer and he has a reputation for being ultra-violent. Here’s Tom’s e-mail: “I have a situation with a client…or potential client. The client has been on our waiting list and is coming close to being next in line. We have found out that her husband, who we thought she was estranged from, has actually been released from prison this last week and is going to be in the home also. Normally this wouldn’t pose a huge problem except in this case I personally know this person from when I was a correction officer for Grant County. He is a very violent felon and has a history of physical abuse against women. In light of this, I have told Andre that under no circumstances will we put this family on the program because I am concerned for her safety. “ He has not abused her (yet). There was quite a bit of discussion about this situation. NCCAC does not have a policy that covers this problem and would like to come up with something. Here are a few pieces of the discussion: · Was she the only person screened? What is the screening that would exclude him? · Dump her off of the list. · It must be a fair and equitable process to avoid liability. · Lay out all of the program regulations and requirements and if he can’t agree to them all he would not be eligible. · Talk with DV agencies and find out what they do and what their policies are. · Offer them another option. · You can’t discriminate. · Consider the liability to other people in close proximity to their unit. · The police have put their concerns in writing and this should be enough to deny him assistance. Andre, do you want to add anything to this? Have you made a decision about how/when to serve violent ex-offenders? I could suggest something, but I feel like the grantees and other service agencies are the real experts, and you should base a policy on a suggestion that seems right to you. (Submitted to me for approval, of course.) My only comment is that you DO need a policy, and in it you will have to justify why you would treat these cases differently than others. How would you prove that he is a danger to himself or others? If anyone else would like to weigh in on this problem, please send your comments to me and I will post them. 5. Laura Clark from Snohomish County and Dave Hacker gave brief presentations updating us on their projects, including successes, challenges, and lessons learned. If anyone has notes on these excellent presentation please send them… I apologize to Laura and Dave for not having any notes from your presentations (I was too busy listening!). 6. Some upcoming events: Housing Washington (hosted by the Department of Commerce) 9/29-30 in Spokane. WSCH Ten-year Plan Forum 10/12 in Yakima; 10/19 in SeaTac. Washington Families Fund on Job Development 8/13 Affordable Housing Management Association of Washington Annual /Conference 8/20-21 Fair Housing – Landlord’s Perspective by the North Columbia Community Action Council 8/29/09 at 10:30 a.m. 7. Monitoring (We did not have time to cover this in the call. If you have any questions about monitoring, please contact me.) I am monitoring each grantee and at least one of their subgrantees (as applicable) at least once during the term of their contract. We have finished all of the 2006 contracts and almost all of the 2007 contracts. I first send out a letter announcing my visit and asking for completion of the attached desk monitor. The desk monitor is really a financial audit where you send me the back up for the reimbursements of a particular month. The on-site monitor is a personal visit to your offices to check for compliance with the HGAP contract and Guidelines. I send a copy of the on-site monitor tool about a week before my visit. You are not required to fill this out since we will be going over each question in the form. The tool will give you an idea of what we will be looking for. The programs reviewed so far are not perfect, but they are unprecedented pilot programs and errors are to be expected. But I am very concerned about the number of errors I am seeing in the area of program eligibility. There are only two criteria that applicants have to meet in order to receive a subsidy. They must have an income that is at or below 50% of HUD’s annual median income for the area; and they must be homeless according to the definition in the HGAP Guidelines. I see many client files where the eligibility documentation is missing or incomplete. Technically, you could be asked to repay any money that was spent on program participants who did not appear to qualify for the program. Please read the requirements for program eligibility in the HGAP Guidelines, especially the sections on documentation. This is what we expect to see in the files when we come out to monitor. (E..g., self-certification is RARELY acceptable.) On the other hand, I have been seeing some good case notes and well organized files. Some nice local forms have been developed and local Policies and Procedures are generally in good shape. There are guidelines for the minimum items that should be included in your policies and procedures in the HGAP Guidelines. Inspection forms and records, and copies of checks should be in the client files, or located where staff have easy access. Review the procedures for inspection and make sure the required documentation is in your client files. Thank you so much for participating in this call, and if you were unable to join us I hope you find these notes useful. Hopefully there will be more notes coming from other participants. All notes relevant to this call will be posted on the HGAP seb site. Sincerely, Jennifer Turin Manager, Homeless Grant Assistance Program (HGAP) WA State Department of Commerce (Formerly CTED) (360) 725-2942 New e-mail address: jen.turin@commerce.wa.gov Our offices are closed on Fridays. My office hours are 7:30 to 5:30 Mon-Thurs. I telecommute on Fridays from 7:30 to 11:30. "I am not the problem, but the solution. And...my name is not "Those People". -Julia K. Dinsmore, artist and voice of the marginalized