Missoula Red Tape

Remember the pet parade? I forgot a couple. I think it happened when I went on vacation, far away from the Missoula cold.

I was reminded the other day when I saw pictures of Commissioner Michele Landquist and her adorable little lambs in the newspaper. (Stay warm, little guys, so you grow big and we can eat you later! Pooh. I wish every edible animal looked like a warthog.)

Anyhow, I got some great photos from her and also a cat picture from Councilman Jason Wiener, and all those pics went un-posted. But it’s not too late, as you will see.

Wiener is one of the folks working on the plan to address homelessness in Missoula. I’ll call it the plan for homes, and it sounds like it’s more and more important in the eyes of HUD.

HUD isn’t going to be tossing money out blindly, in other words. Folks there want to know it’s actually making a measured difference and communities aren’t frittering it away.

Below is more information from Wiener. First, though, a picture of his Maine coon. If it’s the same one he had in 2007, his name is Itty Bitty Lincoln. If it’s a new cat, I don’t know the name.

Here’s some info on the HEARTH Act and its implications for the current funding that Missoula receives to deal with homeless and precariously housed populations. I have boldfaced some piece of the summary that particularly relate to the components of 10-year plans and how they will be used to allocate funding in the future:

From http://www.endhomelessness.org/files/2098_file_HEARTH_Act_Summary_FINAL_6_8_09.pdf

Incentives, Selection Criteria, and Set Asides

HUD is required to provide incentives for strategies that are proven to reduce homelessness.

These strategies include rapid re-housing programs for homeless families and permanent

supportive housing programs for individuals and families that experience chronic

homelessness. HUD can add additional proven strategies if there is research to support the

strategies and after a period of public comment. A community that has fully implemented a

proven strategy can apply for the incentive and use it for any other eligible activity, including

the prevention and re-housing activities allowed under the new ESG program. The amount and

specific nature of the incentives is not spelled out in the legislation and will be determined by

HUD.

Thirty percent of funding is for new permanent housing for individuals with a disabling

condition or families with an adult member who has a disabling condition. The requirement

does not apply to each individual Continuum, only nationally (for example, some Communities

can use 25 percent if others use 35 percent).

At least 10 percent of funding is for permanent housing activities for homeless families, which

include families with or without a member with a disability. This requirement overlaps with the

30 percent requirement. (For example, 25 percent of funding could be for permanent housing

for individuals with a disability, 5 percent could be for homeless families with an adult member

with a disability, and 5 percent could be for families without a member with a disabling

condition.)

In addition to the incentives described above, HUD will continue to use a pro-rata need formula

and selection criteria to determine funding. Within 2 years, HUD will be required to develop a

pro-rata need by regulation.

The selection criteria include the following factors:

• Performance: The previous performance of the community, including reductions in the

length of time people are homeless, reductions in homelessness recidivism,

thoroughness in reaching homeless people, reductions in the number of homeless

people, increases in jobs and income, and reductions in the number of people who

become homeless. For communities that use funding to serve people who are not

included in HUD’s definition of homelessness but are included in other federal

definitions of homelessness, performance also includes the degree to which those

families and youth avoid homelessness and live independently.

• Plans: The quality and comprehensiveness of a community’s plan to reduce

homelessness, ensure homeless children receive education services, and address the

needs of all subpopulations. Also considered is the extent to which the plan identifies

quantifiable performance measures, timelines, funding sources, and entities responsible

for implementation. For communities that intend to use funding to serve people who are

not included in HUD’s definition of homelessness but are included in other federal

definitions of homelessness, HUD will assess how the plan prevents homelessness and

helps families and youth live independently.

• Methodology: The methodology for prioritizing funding, including whether the process

uses periodically-collected information and analysis, considers the full range of opinions

in the community, is based on objective, publicly-announced criteria, and is open to

proposals from other entities that have not previously been funded.

• Other factors: Leveraging, coordination, and other factors that HUD determines are

important. For communities that plan to use funding to serve people who are not

defined as homeless by HUD but are defined as homeless in other federal statutes,

selection criteria include goals and outcomes for those populations, including the

degree to which the funding will prevent those families and youth from becoming

homeless and the degree to which it helps them achieve independent living.

*********

Jason Wiener, Alderman, Ward One

1238 Jackson St.

Missoula, MT 59802

(406) 542-3232

That’s it for now.

Oh, I forgot one more thing. Wiener is the new council person on TPCC, as you probably figured if you heard Councilwoman Stacy Rye resigned that post to concentrate on her new job as head of WORD. (Correction: I just looked at the council agenda for Monday night and Wiener hasn’t been confirmed by the full council, so his appointment isn’t final yet. I regret all errors but I mostly regret that I’m not in Mexico right now.)

– Keila Szpaller

Posted on February 25th, 2011 under Uncategorized • RSS 2.0 feed • Both comments and pings are currently closed