Strategies to prevent homelessness and how information software can measure the success of those strategies are among the topics participants will explore at the 2013 National Conference on Ending Family and Youth Homelessness.
The conference, which runs February 21-22, in Seattle, WA, is hosted by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Due to the overwhelming response for the conference, registration closed one month earlier than expected. However, a waiting list has been created in case there are cancellations.Conference presenters include representatives from HUD and other federal agencies who will discuss the implementation of the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act, also known as HEARTH.
The HEARTH legislation, which took effect in May 2009, spelled out changes in the area of homeless program management services. One of the changes under the HEARTH Act involved HUD replacing the Emergency Shelter Grants program with the Emergency Solutions Grants program to expand rapid re-housing and homelessness prevention. These components help individuals and families who are facing a housing crisis or who are already homeless to quickly obtain permanent housing.Conference presenters will also discuss HEARTH’s new regulations and the criteria for managers of homeless programs to receive funding from HUD. Funding will be based on how well a program performs and the success of its outcomes. Using custom HMIS/Homeless management information software/systems helps human service providers determine whether or not their efforts are successful. The software not only shows the number of homeless individuals and families being served, but it also shows the performance measures HEARTH now requires from service providers. HUD will not only look at the number of people being helped, but also such service outcomes as whether there was a decrease in the length of time people were homeless and whether the people who were helped ended up being homeless again.Presenters are expected to discuss the wide range of performance measurement strategies available and how to get the most out of Homelessness Management Information Systems. To make sure that their programs are on the right track, conference attendees will also learn how to determine whether their performance outcomes are meeting the standards set by the HEARTH legislation.
Also on the conference agenda is a session on how communities have benefited from rapid re-housing, which has decreased the number of family and youth homelessness in their local areas.The National Alliance to End Homelessness has been instrumental in the success of the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program, which so far, has prevented more than 1 million people from being homeless.
The HEARTH legislation, which took effect in May 2009, spelled out changes in the area of homeless program management services. One of the changes under the HEARTH Act involved HUD replacing the Emergency Shelter Grants program with the Emergency Solutions Grants program to expand rapid re-housing and homelessness prevention. These components help individuals and families who are facing a housing crisis or who are already homeless to quickly obtain permanent housing.Conference presenters will also discuss HEARTH’s new regulations and the criteria for managers of homeless programs to receive funding from HUD. Funding will be based on how well a program performs and the success of its outcomes. Using custom HMIS/Homeless management information software/systems helps human service providers determine whether or not their efforts are successful. The software not only shows the number of homeless individuals and families being served, but it also shows the performance measures HEARTH now requires from service providers. HUD will not only look at the number of people being helped, but also such service outcomes as whether there was a decrease in the length of time people were homeless and whether the people who were helped ended up being homeless again.Presenters are expected to discuss the wide range of performance measurement strategies available and how to get the most out of Homelessness Management Information Systems. To make sure that their programs are on the right track, conference attendees will also learn how to determine whether their performance outcomes are meeting the standards set by the HEARTH legislation.
Also on the conference agenda is a session on how communities have benefited from rapid re-housing, which has decreased the number of family and youth homelessness in their local areas.The National Alliance to End Homelessness has been instrumental in the success of the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program, which so far, has prevented more than 1 million people from being homeless.
For more information about the 2013 National Conference on Ending Family and Youth Homelessness, visit http://www.endhomelessness.org/news/calendar/national-conference-on-ending-family-and-youth-homelessness.
We’ll see you there!
