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2014 ALLIANCE WEBINAR SERIES – #5
Understanding and Strengthening the Intersection of Race,
Housing and Child Welfare
Monday, December 15, 20143:00 PM – 4:30 PM (Eastern Time)
ALLIANCE WEBINAR SERIES
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MISSION
The Alliance for Racial Equity in Child Welfare provides national leadership in support of
improved outcomes for children and families of color who are involved with this nation’s child
welfare system. The Alliance was established in 2004 as a national, multi-year effort to eliminate
racial and ethnic disparities in the U.S. child welfare system, and is guided by a coalition of
national partners, including parents, alumni and youth with experience in the child welfare system
and a host of national organizations, state and local leaders, judges, researchers and advocates.
GOALS
The work of the Alliance for Racial Equity in Child Welfare is organized around the achievement
of the following goals:
Expanding the field’s understanding and knowledge of the causes and consequences of
current outcomes for children and families of color in the child welfare system
Identifying, lifting up and promoting programs, policies, strategies and conditions that improve
those outcomes
Advancing a national policy agenda focused on improving access to supportive resources and
responsive systems, resulting in improved outcomes and well-being for children and families of
color
Alliance for Racial Equity in Child Welfare
Oronde A. Miller
(202) 371-1565
Center for the Study of Social Policy
1575 Eye Street NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
www.cssp.org
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RACE, HOUSING, AND CHILD WELFARE
National Center for Housing and Child Welfare
Ruth Anne White, Executive Director
December 15, 2014 CSSP Alliance for Racial Justice in Child Welfare
The National Center for Housing and
Child Welfare (NCHCW)
NCHCW links housing resources to child
welfare agencies to improve family
functioning, prevent family
homelessness, safely reduce the need for
out-of-home placement, and ensure that
each young person who ages out foster
care is able to access safe, decent,
permanent housing.
The NCHCW Approach
NCHCW makes the housing-child welfare connection on three key
levels:
Policy: Housing and child welfare policies must reflect the real
needs of families. For example, NCHCW revived $50 million in
funding for FUP so that child welfare can appropriately match
housing needs with services.
Program: Communication between systems is key. Bringing
system leaders together must result in resource-sharing across
systems for cw families and youth.
Practice: All workers must know about resources and have
access to them. NCHCW cross-trains front line workers and
improves relationships and access to housing resources.
Data and Recommendations from the GAO
Study (2007)
Housing and Overrepresentation
What the GAO Recommended
• The GAO suggested that Congress consider amending current
law to allow subsidies for legal guardianships in order to
“assist states in increasing the number of homes available for
the permanent placement of African American. (p.65)”
• The GAO recommended that HHS to encourage states to track
data and better understand the issue.
• The GAO noted that child welfare agencies should coordinate
“supportive services.”
• However, the GAO made no recommendations related to
increased access to affordable housing for birth families.
Services Matching: A Pragmatic Approach
Reducing Disproportionality through
Affordable Housing
What does HHS say about
service matching problems
In the 1997 National study of protective, preventive, and
reunification services delivered to children and their families
HHS reported that of poverty-related services, housing was the
most difficult for child welfare agencies to match for families
regardless of race. However, housing also presented the largest
disparity:
Among the 25% of Caucasian children needing a housing service,
only 35% received it. Among the 60% of African American
children who needed housing service, a significantly larger majority
(80%) failed to receive it.
Service Matching Problems according to HHS
National study of protective, preventive, and reunification services delivered to
children and their families (1997)
Housing Matters for Families
Housing affects families at each decision point in the child
welfare continuum. Children from families with housing
problems are:
More likely to be investigated by CPS (Culhane et al, 2004)
More likely to be placed in out-of-home care (Courtney et
al, 2004)
Longer stayers in foster care (Jones, 1998)
Thirty percent of children in foster care are there because of
housing problems (Doerre & Mihaly, 1996; Hagedorn, 1995;
Thoma, 1998).
Housing poses a special challenge for which cw workers are
uniquely ill-equipped (English, 2005).
Housing is Cost-Effective
A $20 million investment in FUP means that
more than 9,000 children can return home.
This will result in a savings of $134 million in
foster care expenditures. (Harburger and
White, 2004).
It costs approximately $53,500 to serve a
homeless young person on the street or in
residential treatment but supportive housing
for one young person costs only $5,300. (Van
Leeuwen, 2004).
How can CW begin to address
housing?
Acknowledge the difficulty that the lack of housing
tools poses to frontline cw staff.
Use state cw dollars to subsidize housing
Use Title IV-E flexibly to subsidize housing
Train cw workers on housing issues and resources.
Partner with housers to provide housing resources
and tools to cw workers.
Participate in conversations governing the
distribution of community housing resources.
Savings associated with
housing investment of Title IV-E
NCHCW 2012 Summary
Per child savings at 2BDRM Per child savings at 3 BDRM
$12,179 $10,054
Per family
savings 2BDRM
Per family savings at 3
BDRM
$32,885 $ 27,147
Additional Housing Resources
Community Action Programs
Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Grants
HOME
Low Income Housing Tax Credit
National Housing Trust Fund
City and State housing funds
State Housing Finance Agencies
Private Landlords
Public Housing Authorities – Section 8 and PH
Family Unification Program
Family Unification Program
Priority Codes for Youth Leaving Care
Housing Choice Vouchers
Project Based Section 8
Partnerships with Public
Housing
•FUP is a housing program for families and youth in
the child welfare system. At minimum, FUP
provides Section 8 vouchers to child welfare families
and youth aging out of care.
•FUP is a collaboration between Public Housing
Authorities and Public Child Welfare Agencies.
•FUP is a program designed to strengthen and
stabilize child welfare families.
Family Unification Program
(FUP)
Agency Partnership
Department of Children
and Families (child
welfare)
Supportive Housing
(IL Program)
State Department of
Social Services (DSS)
Local
Public
Housing
Authority
(PHA)
Young person/
Family
Landlord
Funding and referrals
Informal partnership
Housing assistance and
case management
Funding for Sec. 8 vouchers
Pays rent on time
Issues
voucher to
youth
Pays rent on time
Info and
cooperation
Pay a visit to the states that have made strides, learn from their mistakes and achievements.
Affordable housing dollars are flexible and families and youth in child welfare CAN BE PRIORITIZED - do not take no for an answer. Collaborations are the fastest, most efficient way to create a range of housing options.
Participate in your Community Continuum of Care
You can always contact the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare with questions or for training
Some final thoughts on where to
start
Contact information
Ruth White, MSSA
Executive Director
National Center for Housing and Child Welfare
4707 Calvert Road
College Park, MD 20740
(301) 699-0151
www.nchcw.org
Understanding and Strengthening the Intersection
of Race, Housing and Child Welfare: Major Policy
and Practice Strategies
Jasmine Hayes, USICH
December 15, 2014
www.usich.gov
Roles of USICH
Coordinates the Federal response to homelessness
Maximizes the effectiveness of 19 Federal agency partners
Shares best practices
Drives collaborative solutions
30
www.usich.gov
Opening Doors
31
No one should experience homelessness and no one should be
without a safe, stable place to call home.
The Plan set forth four bold and ambitious goals:
1. Finish the job of ending chronic homelessness by 2015
2. Prevent and end homelessness among Veterans by 2015
3. Prevent and end homelessness for families, youth, and
children by 2020
4. Set a path to ending all types of homelessness
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www.usich.gov
Themes of Opening Doors
32
1. Increase leadership, collaboration, and civic engagement
2. Increase access to stable and affordable housing
3. Increase economic security
4. Improve health and stability
5. Retool the homeless crisis response system
www.usich.gov
Homelessness among families
and children• No child should ever experience homelessness, the effects of
which are devastating to development, well-being, and educational outcomes.
• On a single night in 2014, 216,261 people in families—an estimated 67,613 households—were identified as experiencing homelessness.
• Of those families experiencing homelessness, nearly 60% of the family members were children under 18 years of age. Nearly one-third were over 24, and the remaining 9 percent were between 18 and 24 years old.
• The vast majority of families experiencing homelessness are headed by a single mother.
33
www.usich.gov
Needs and problems families
experiencing homelessness face
Many of the needs of families experiencing homelessness mirror those faced by low income families.
Low human capital (low educational attainment, minimal job histories, low incomes)
Partner violence and childhood abuse
Health and dental needs (more acute and chronic than general population under 45 years of age)
Mental health challenges (depression, anxiety, PTSD)
www.usich.gov
Comparison of families experiencing
homelessness and other low income
families
Majority of differences between families experiencing homelessness and other low income families have to do with resources and life stage.
Families experiencing homelessness compared to low income families:
Have fewer economic resources
Have younger heads of households
Are people of color, especially African-American
Have slightly higher rates of use of substances
Have more family separations, especially parent-child separations
www.usich.gov
Defining an end to family
homelessnessWorking together with our partners at the state, local, and federal level to strengthen the local crisis response systems, we will:
Ensure that no family is living unsheltered;
Shorten episodes of family homelessness by providing resources that enable families to safely reenter permanent housing as quickly as possible;
Link families to the benefits, supports, and community-based services they need to achieve and maintain housing stability; and
Identify and implement effective prevention methods to help families avoid homelessness.
36
www.usich.gov
Family Connection: Building
Systems to End Family
Homelessness
A resource to help communities and stakeholders build and implement an effective housing crisis response system for families.
37
www.usich.gov
Key Areas of Action
Four key strategy areas for Federal, state, and local action to end family homelessness:
1. Develop a centralized or coordinated entry system;
2. Ensure interventions and assistance are tailored to meet the unique needs of families;
3. Improve linkages to local mainstream systems to help families gain access to benefits, employment, and community-based services more quickly;
4. Develop and build upon evidence-based practices for serving families experiencing or at-risk of experiencing homelessness.
www.usich.gov
Coordinated Entry System
Provides prevention and diversion assistance including a combination of financial assistance, mediation, housing location and supports.
Provides temporary shelter with stabilization services. This may include school or early childhood care and learning, benefits, and health insurance.
Ensures safety for survivors of domestic violence.
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www.usich.gov
Mainstream and Public Systems
Coordinated Entry System
Prevention and diversion
TANF
Health/ Medicaid
Affordable housing
Workforce systems
Transitional housing
Shelter
Permanent Supportive Housing
Rapid Re-housingCoordinated Entry
Head Start/ECE
Schools
Person experiencing or
at-risk of homelessness
Child Welfare
Justice System
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www.usich.gov
Why a coordinated approach?
Increases and streamlines access to housing for households experiencing homelessness.
Matches the appropriate level of housing and services based on needs in a systematic and coordinated way.
Moves away from first-come-first-serve approach to one that is standardized and coordinated.
Provides the ability for families to be given access to the best options.
41
www.usich.gov
Connection to Mainstream
Resources
Targeted homeless resources are necessary but insufficient; leveraging mainstream resources is key.
Develop strategies to improve access to and coordination with mainstream housing, schools and early childhood education, workforce programs, and TANF and other non-cash benefits.
Engage, educate, and assist state and local partners to create better access for people experiencing homelessness.
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www.usich.gov
Targeted and Mainstream Programs
43
$5.08
$60.60
$503.00
$-
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
Federal Targeted HomelessPrograms
Federal MainstreamPrograms (Discretionary)
Federal MainstreamPrograms (Mandatory)
Bil
lio
ns
FY 2014
Medicaid (Projected)
SSI/SSDI (Projected)
HUD Housing ChoiceVouchers
HHS TANF
HUD PBRA
HUD Public Housing
HHS Head Start
DOL WorkforceInvestment Act
Combined TargetedPrograms
www.usich.gov
Tailored Intervention and
Assistance
Provide rapid re-housing assistance to the majority of families experiencing homelessness.
Increase access to affordable housing and help target resources.
Direct more service-intensive housing interventions like permanent supportive housing and transitional housing to the highest need households.
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www.usich.gov
Rapid Re-housing
What is Rapid Re-housing?
Housing search assistance
Help paying for rent
Housing-based case management
Service connections – particularly employment
What are the benefits of Rapid Re-housing?
Better economic investment: more families served
Families less likely to become homeless again
Number of families experiencing homelessness declines
Number of families in their own home within a month increases
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www.usich.gov
Permanent Supportive Housing
Prioritized for families with the most severe service needs
Preliminary evidence shows that PSH is most effective for families who experience multiple episodes of homelessness and have high service needs, such as families headed by people with disabling conditions and those with repeated child welfare involvement
Housing First permanent supportive housing models result in:
Long-term housing stability
Improved physical and behavioral health outcomes
Reduced use of crisis services
Notice of Prioritization
46
www.usich.gov
Transitional Housing
There may be a few families for whom transitional housing is appropriate.
o For example: A family seeking a clean and sober environment
Transitional Housing programs should focus on lowering barriers to entry for program participants.
Families should be offered choices in addition to transitional housing.
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www.usich.gov
Affordable Housing
Mainstream Housing Resources:
• Housing Choice Vouchers and public housing
• HUD Multifamily Programs
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www.usich.gov
Evidence Based Practices
Evidence and data is available on practices that improve the effectiveness of interventions that support families.
Enhancing services through implementation of evidence-based practice can lead to improved outcomes for parents and children:
• Trauma informed care
• Nurse family partnerships
• Pre-natal and infant care
• Early childhood education and school partnerships
We are committed to learning more about successful prevention strategies and what works best for who
49
www.usich.gov
Child Welfare and Housing: Partnerships to
Demonstrate the Effectiveness of Supportive
Housing for Families in the Child Welfare System
Target: Small population of high-need families – CW involvement, inadequate housing, multiple needs.
• Community-linked services, provided to families through local implementation of supportive housing services.
• Build upon and adapt supportive housing services designed to respond to complex needs of families with child protective services involvement in a multidisciplinary and ongoing manner.
• Evidence-based, trauma-informed services embedded into service structure to improve housing stability and engagement in supportive services.
Expected outcomes: a reduction in child welfare system contacts, reduction in child maltreatment, child removals, and foster care placements.
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www.usich.gov 51
Resources
Family Connection: Building Systems to End Family Homelessness
Core Components of Rapid Re-housing
Birth to Five: Watch Me Thrive! A Housing and Shelter Provider’s Guide to Developmental and Behavioral Health Screening
TANF IM
Housing First Checklist
www.usich.gov 52
Stay Connected!
Sign up for our newsletter at
usich.gov/signup
Join our online conversation.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/US-Interagency-Council-on-Homelessness/161277853932076
https://twitter.com/usichgov
http://vimeo.com/usichgov
www.usich.gov
For more information:
Jasmine Hayes, Policy Director
http://usich.gov/population/families
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The Homeless Children’s Playtime Project
Tashira Halyard, JD
Deputy Director
• Our mission is to nurture healthy child development and reduce the effects of trauma among children living in temporary housing programs in Washington, DC
• Founded in 2003, as a volunteer-led organization serving children living in homeless shelters in Washington, DC
• 18 weekly programs at five sites
• Last year we served 600 children and trained 465 volunteers
Who We Are
• Families experiencing homelessness in DC represent 54% of the total homeless population
• As of April 2014, 1 in 20 DCPS students was reported to be experiencing homelessness
• Nearly 43% of families who entered shelter last winter were headed by a parent 24 or younger– Nationally, mothers with a childhood history of foster care are
more likely to become homeless
• In DC, families have the right to shelter only when the temperature is freezing
• The city’s largest family shelter is full, housing 296 adults and 469 children
• 98% of the families we serve are African American
Family Homelessness in Washington, DC
Housing
costs
Sudden
Illness or
Emergency
Domestic
Violence
Incarceration,
separation, or
loss of
breadwinner
Mental
Illness or
Addiction
Eviction or loss of
housingDouble
up with
relatives
Hotel
Ride
bus all
night
Sleep
outside
Arrive in
shelter or
housing
program
Return to
unsafe
living
situation
Put possessions into storage
or face losing your things
Bring notarized letter to Virginia
Williams Resource Center,
certifying shelter eligibility
Put name on the waiting list for
emergency shelter – many
families return daily
Family separation; loss of
predictability, consistency, routine
Job Market
• By age 12, 83% of homeless children have been exposed to at least one serious violent event (National Center on Family Homelessness)
• A 2014 point in time survey revealed 44% of homeless families in Washington, DC reported a history of domestic violence (DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence)
• Children experiencing homelessness…• are sick 4x as often• go hungry at 2x the rate• 3x the rate of emotional & behavioral problems• 4x as likely to show delayed development• 2x the rate of learning disabilities• 2x as likely to repeat a grade, be expelled, get suspended from
school, or drop out of school
Challenges Homeless Children Face
When children are stressed…• Cortisol floods the brain’s hippocampus where learning occurs• When a child experiences strong, frequent and/or prolonged
periods of adversity, toxic stress can occur
The antidote to Cortisol is Serotonin
Serotonin is released through:• Physical activity • Laughter• Affection• Mastering new skills• Rest
Stress of Homelessness
• Brain science and experience tell us play is vital for children’s healthy development
• Early learning occurs through play– Social and emotional skills
– Executive functioning skills
– Academic skills: creative problem solving, language, math, memory, attention span, etc.
• Our playrooms provide children a dedicated space, time and attention to build resiliency
Why Play?
• Evening programs led by staff and a team of trained and supervised volunteers
• Serve children from infancy to high school• Mix between guided activities coinciding with
monthly themes and free play stations• Curriculum informed by childhood development
research and Common Core Standards• Refer families to supports and services• Parenting classes: ACT Parents Raising Safe Kids
curriculum
Playtime Project’s Model
• Programs are designed with children’s trauma histories in mind
• Instead of “what’s wrong with you”, ask “what happened to you”
• Playroom expectations: – Use positive language and give kids choices– Narrate play– Carefully plan transitions– Support youth in communicating their feelings– Enforce natural consequences– Assign buddies when children need 1:1 support
Trauma-Informed Playrooms
Questions & Discussion
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feature on the GoToWebinar control panel on
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Thank you for joining today’s webinar!
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