•COLUMBUS-MUSCOGEE / RUSSELL COUNTY CONTINUUM OF CARE GA-505 Mission, Purpose and Committee Descriptions.
MISSION
The MISSION of the Columbus Muscogee / Russell County Continuum of Care GA 505 (CoC) is to work to end the cycle of homelessness in the Columbus Muscogee /Russell County CoC through interagency collaboration, effective allocation of resources, increased access to immediate services, and development of new strategies. Using shelters, service providers and people experiencing homelessness as points of contact, we will identify the service and housing needs of people who are homeless or about to become homeless and create solutions needed to prevent homelessness and move people from homelessness to housing and self-sufficiency.

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PURPOSE
Promote community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness.

•Provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers and local governments to re-house homeless individuals and families rapidly while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families, and communities by homelessness.

•Promote access to and effective utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families.

•Optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

•COMMITTEES Board of the CoC

•(7 to 11 members elected from CoC membership), representatives from CoC Collaborative Applicant (lead) and HMIS lead, and representatives from each of the following four groups: 

•Government. 

•Nonprofit Homeless Service Providers. 

•Consumers and Advocates. 

•Community Stakeholders. 

•In addition, the board must always have at least one homeless or formerly homeless individual.

•COMMITTEES 

•Performance and Outcomes

•The Performance and Outcomes Committee will collaborate with the CoC Administrator, CoC-funded entities, and CoC Membership to:

•Review PIT and HIC data, conduct a gaps analysis, and make recommendations for Board approval the priorities to be used in ranking requests for CoC funding.

•Establish performance targets appropriate for population and program type in consultation with recipients and sub-recipients, then monitor recipient and sub-recipient performance, evaluate outcomes, and recommend to the Board actions to be taken against poor performers.

•Develop performance measures to evaluate Muscogee / Russell County ’s overall success in eliminating homelessness, using guidance available from HUD and making changes over time as necessary to incorporate new regulations or guidance available from state or local authorities.

•Evaluate outcomes of projects funded under CoC Program and provide outcome data to the Collaborative Applicant to report to HUD.

•Consult with state and local government agencies, homeless service providers, private funders, and other relevant entities and organizations to evaluate available resources and reach agreement about how those resources can be allocated most effectively to implement plans to eliminate homelessness.

•CoC Application 

•The CoC Application Committee will: 

•Work with the Collaborative Applicant to design and implement a collaborative process for developing a consolidated application for Muscogee / Russell County programs and projects seeking CoC funding.

•Review findings of the Performance and Outcomes Committee, the program priorities established by the Board, and the applications for new programs or projects, and make recommendations to the Board about which programs/projects to include in the annual CoC application, and rank projects for the application, suggest reallocation of monies from renewal projects.

•Develop and oversee operation of a grievance process for agencies whose applications for funding have not been selected by the CoC.

•Mainstream and Outreach 

•The Mainstream and Outreach Committee will work with Service Providers to: 

•Develop strategies and programs to improve connections between persons experiencing homelessness and mainstream services, especially in the areas of vocational training, employment and supportive services.

•Oversees education and outreach to the homeless population, as well as the general population through collaborative relationships and public education efforts.

•Updates the Board as to any areas of concern or gaps in services.

•HMIS / Data

•The HMIS Committee will work with the HMIS Lead to: 

•Develop, annually review, and, as necessary, revise for Board approval a privacy plan, security plan, and data quality plan for the HMIS, as well as any other HMIS policies and procedures required by HUD.

•Develop for Board approval and implement a plan for monitoring the HMIS to ensure that: A) Recipients and sub-recipients consistently participate in HMIS, B) HMIS is satisfying the requirements of all regulations and notices issued by HUD, C) The HMIS Lead is fulfilling the obligations outlined in its HMIS Governance Charter and Agreement with the CoC, including the obligation to enter into written participation agreements with each contributing HMIS organization.

•Oversee and monitor HMIS data collection and production of the following reports: A) Sheltered point-in-time count, B) Housing Inventory Chart, C) Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR), D) Annual Performance Reports (APRs).

•Landlord Engagement Committee

•The Landlord engagement Committee will work to:

•Oversee the recruitment and collaboration of landlords with community service providers to increase the availability of safe affordable housing.

•Improve tenant landlord relations.

•Increase the landlord knowledge of rental assistance and homeless prevention programs.

•Coordinated Entry (CES) Committee

•The Coordinated Entry Committee will work with the CES Lead to:
Develop, annually review, and, as necessary, revise for Board approval a plan to ensure that Homeless persons and persons at risk of homelessness are matched, as quickly as possible, with the intervention that will most efficiently and effectively end their homelessness required by HUD.

•Allow anyone who needs assistance to know where to go to get that assistance, to be assessed in a standard and consistent way, and to connect with the housing programs and services that best meet their needs.

•Ensure clarity, transparency, consistency and accountability for homeless clients, referral sources and homeless service providers throughout the assessment and referral process.

•Facilitate exits from homelessness to stable housing in the most rapid manner possible given available resources.

•Point in Time Committee

•The Point in Time Committee comes together during December and January each year to plan for and undertake the annual point-in-time count.

•The Point in Time Count will be a complete Count of all those experiencing homelessness to include Emergency Shelters, Transitional Housing and Unsheltered in accordance with HUD Guidelines.

•Lived Experience Advisory Committee

•Ensure that clients gain access as efficiently and effectively as possible to the type of intervention most appropriate to their immediate and long-term housing needs.

•Ensure that people who have been homeless the longest and/or are the most vulnerable have priority access to scarce permanent supportive housing resources.

•The Point in Time Committee comes together during December and January each year to plan for and undertake the annual point-in-time count.

•The Point in Time Count will be a complete Count of all those experiencing homelessness to include Emergency Shelters, Transitional Housing and Unsheltered in accordance with HUD Guidelines

•The lived experience committee will be comprised of individuals with live experience of homelessness.

•The committee will use their unique expertise to support planning and implementation efforts and to strategically target resources to increase housing placements, prevent homelessness, and improve our homeless system by advancing equity throughout.