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In November, 2001, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
and the US Department of Urban Development held it’s first in a series
of Policy Academies designed to help State and local policymakers improve
access to mainstream services for people who are homeless. The Policy
Academy was entitled, "Policy Academy for State and Local Policymakers.
Improving Access to Mainstream Services for Persons Who are Homeless:
Focus on Homeless Families with Children," and was held in Sante
Fe, New Mexico. The objectives for the Policy Academy included:
- Assisting state and local policymakers to develop an Action Plan
intended to improve access to mainstream health and human services
and employment
opportunities that are coordinated with housing for persons who
are experiencing homelessness;
- Creating and/or reinforcing relationships among the Governor’s office,
State Legislators, key program administrators, and stakeholders
from the public and private sectors;
- Providing an environment conducive
to the process of strategic decision-making; and
- Assisting State
and local policymakers in identifying issues or areas of concern
that may result in a formal request for technical
assistance.
Participation at the Academy was opened to all 50 States,
the District of Columbia, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
Each State
and/or territory interested in participating had to submit
an application which was then scored and ranked in order. Thirty-seven
States
and/or
territories
submitted applications.
Participating States in the first Academy included Connecticut,
Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon,
and Washington State.
In April, 2002, the second Homeless Policy Academy entitled, "Improving
Access to Mainstream Services for 'Chronically' Homeless Persons, Including
Individuals with Serious Mental Health and/or Substance Abuse Problems," was
held in Boston, Massachusetts. The US Department of Veterans
Affairs was added to the roster as a sponsor for this Policy
Academy. Participating
States included: Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire,
New York, and Puerto Rico.
In January 2003 a third Policy Academy, focused on chronic
homelessness was held in Atlanta, Georgia. Participating
States included:
Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri,
New Mexico,
North Carolina and South Carolina.
In May 2003, a fourth Policy Academy, focused on chronic
homelessness, was held in Chicago, Illinois. Participating
States include:
Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.
A fifth Policy Academy, focused on chronic homelessness,
was held in Denver, Colorado on October 27-29, 2003.
Participating States
included:
Connecticut, District of Columbia, Idaho, Nebraska,
Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Virginia, and Wyoming.
The sixth and final Policy Academy focusing on chronic
homelessness convened December 9-11, 2003 in Miami,
Florida. Participating
States and Territories
included: Delaware, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, North
Dakota, Ohio, Vermont, the Virgin Islands, West Virginia,
and Wisconsin.
A second Policy Academy focusing on families with
children who are homeless, Policy Academy 7, convened
January
27-29, 2004
in Miami,
Florida. Participating
States and Territories included: Arizona, Florida,
Iowa, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina,
Oklahoma,
Puerto Rico,
and Tennessee.
Two mini-Policy Academies for the Pacific Basin
focusing on individuals and families with children
who are
homeless convened
on April
13-16, 2004 in Pago Pago, American Samoa, and
on April 20-23, 2004 in
Tumon, Guam (with a team from the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands
participating).
An in-state Policy Academy focusing on chronic
homelessness convened April 28-30, 2004 in
Olympia, Washington.
Another is planned
for Springfield, Illinois in the fall of 2004.
In all, fifty-two States and Territories have
participated in at least one Homeless Policy
Academy. Of these,
forty-nine have
submitted
draft
Action Plans itemizing strategies to help
the homeless in their State or Territory access
mainstream services. As a result
of the success of the Homeless Policy Academies
and the desire to highlight outcomes and
lessons learned from these academies,
a National Learning Meeting will be held on October 7-8, 2004 in Arlington,
Virginia. The objectives of this meeting are to:
- Showcase innovative approaches that
States/Territories have implemented;
- Provide opportunities for peer-to-peer
technical assistance; and
- Renew the States’/Territories’ commitment
to fully implementing their action
plans.
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