Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities

1. Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Georgia Housing Voucher and Bridge Funding Programs SFY 2013 A Year in Review

2. Settlement Agreement Requirements To provide Supported Housing and Bridge Funding to persons with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness. • Priority • those currently being served in the State Hospitals • frequently readmitted to the State Hospitals • frequently seen in Emergency Rooms • chronically homeless • and/or who are being released from jails or prisons.

3. 100 Served by July 1, 2011 Result: 122 122% of Goal 500 Served by July 1, 2012 Result: 637 127% of Goal 800 Served by July 1, 2013 Result: 1,002 127% of Goal % GHVP with “O” income 47% Monthly Program Payment $400,000 Average State Wide Rent $509.54

4. Referrals July 2011 July 2012 July 2013 # % # % #% Homeless 26 17% 357 47% 589 50% Intensive 61 41% 156 21% 187 16% Hospitals 11 7% 70 9% 196 17% Families 33 22% 67 9% 89 8% Prisons 0 0 % 3 0% 5 0% Other 20 13% 102 14% 104 9%

5. GHVP Status Report • Total Authorized for Housing 1,253 • Total Number Served 1,002 • Current Residential Placements 762 • Total Program Months 11,520 • Approved and Looking for Housing 79 • Number of Properties 350 • Number of Providers 45 • Number of Individuals Transferred to DCA HCV 55 • Number of Counties 74 • Hospital census decline from approximately 600 to <300

6. Performance Measures Housing Stability (#< 6 months Leaving/#> 6 months in Housing) 55/680 92% • DBHDD/HUD Standard 77% • Above (Below) DBHDD/HUD Standard 15% Reengagement (# Successfully Engaged/# of “Negative Leavers”) 32/155 21% • DBHDD Standard 10% • Above (Below) Standard 11%

7. Long Term Housing Stability SFY 2011 Program Participants 91 out of 118 77% SFY 2012 Program Participants 424 out of 517 82% SFY 2013 Program Participants 352 out of 376 94% SFY 2014 Program Participants 41 out of 41 100% Total Placed 908 out of 1052 86%

8. Bridge Funding • Providing funds for deposits, household necessities, and living expenses until the individual receives supplemental income. • 90 by 2011 Actual 122 136% of Goal • 360 by 2012 Actual 523 145% of Goal • 270 by 2013 Actual 383 147% of Goal

9. Bridge Funding % of Funds Total Spent • Provider Fee 23% $275,750 • Furnishings 26% $315,050 • Household Items 9% $108,274 • Utility Deposits 5% $ 59,900 • Security Deposits 8% $100,274 • 1st & 2nd Month Rent 23% $283,661 • Other 6% $ 72,331 Total $1,215,240

10. Keys to Success • Leadership, capacity, staff, and decision making authority at the regional level. • Referral system based on meeting the individual’s needs. • Development of a strong hospital discharge-planning infrastructure made up of hospital staff, regional DBHDD staff, and providers expediting housing placements.

11. Keys to Success • Strong coordination between PATH teams (People Assisting The Homeless) and ACT teams (Assertive Community Treatment) creating a seamless system of homeless outreach, service coordination, and housing (Atlanta including partnership with United Way) • Conducted regional trainings during the year to develop provider understanding of community housing resources and program administration.

12. GHVP’s Strategic Value As a “first in” resource, GHVP with it’s ability to quickly react and forge immediate cooperative relationships, can then bring other main stream resources (e.g. HCV) to bear, minimizing risk to those programs, or disrupting their more defined policies and procedures.

13. New Initiatives • Collaboration with the Department of Community Affairs to transition those on the GHVP to that agency’s Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. Initial commitment of 50% of all vouchers turned over during the next 2 years. 55 transferred with new coordinated effort to accelerate use. • Partnership with the Veterans Administration. Providing bridge funding to those with a VASH housing voucher to expedite full rental assistance resource utilization (19 to date). • Alliance with the City of Atlanta’s “Homeless No More” program to move high risk chronic homeless individuals into a GHVP supportive housing voucher (21 to date).

14. Future Challenges • Working with the Department of Corrections to create the necessary transition infrastructure to move those with SPMI from the prison system that require housing support and are ineligible for other forms of assistance. • Programmatic evaluation that measures GHVP’s impact on homelessness, hospital utilization, emergency room visits, and incarceration. • State wide cross agency data system to target resources and measure outcomes across agency silos. • Expanding supply of available 1 bedroom units.

15. Additional Resource Strategies (Supply) • Outreach to other Public Housing Authorities with rental assistance (PHAs) for a person with a disability preference. • Creation of preferences in existing tax credit properties • Outreach to existing PHA owned properties for preferences. • Outreach to existing USDA Section 515 properties in rural areas that have rental subsidies.

16. Implementation Strategies • “Mental Health First Aid” to property mangers to gain wider property owner acceptance of target population. • “Housing 101” training to providers to increase knowledge of other community resources. • Regional “Boot Camps” to bring wide range of stakeholders together to create unified streamlined local systems together.

17. Implementation Strategies • Encourage a Georgia Supportive Housing Conference to examine strategies annually. • Create prison and jail discharge planning infrastructure of transition specialists linked to DBHDD’s regional and provider network. • DBHDD and DCA to meet quarterly and report on effectiveness of reaching the DOJ goal and adjust committed resources as indicated. • Regular reporting to the wider advocate community and Georgia General Assembly on progress.