Community Development Advisory Committee

CDAC MINUTES PUBLIC HEARING APRIL 12, 2011 6:30 P.M. Council Chambers Members Present: Les King, Demo Angelopoulos, Red McKeon, Ed Derr, John Mathieu and Lynn Norris Others Present: Gary Evans, Susan Goldman, and Linda Lee Smith Gary Evans opened the CDAC PY 37 Public Hearing at 6:30 p.m. with a brief overview on the procedures to follow for the evening. Norwich Police Dept. – $150,000 - Chief Fusaro and Captain Pat Daley They’re requesting funding to enhance the presence of police in at risk neighborhoods. Population is up 12% and their staffing is down 13%. They will be looking for additional funding from the City Council. This program is about safety and the quality of life in at risk neighborhoods. They had bicycle and foot patrols previously and would like to bring them back. Ed Derr asked if the target neighborhoods are based on the crime rate? Chief Fusaro said yes it is. They want do community policing and partner with other agencies. Captain Pat Daley said it would be intervention first, then building partnerships and the crime block watch. John Mathieu asked if this would add more police. Chief Fusaro stated they would not hire any new police but it would add police presence with officers that are already employed. John also asked if it would be part time? Chief Fusaro said that the proposal is for two officers a night, five nights a week. Les King asked if there would be a team? Chief Fusaro said that they need to have a cover for one officer. The cruiser patrol would also still be in the neighborhood. Les King asked if they did get this funding would there be an indicator like the crime rate? Captain Pat Daley said that there would be a 2% reduction in crime. Red McKeon asked how soon could officers start. The officers could be out there immediately after receiving funding. Lynn Norris asked would they be using the same two officers (a female and male would be nice) whereas the community could build a bond with them. Chief Fusaro said that overtime has to be given in such a manner because they are union. 1 UCFS - $25,000 – Nancy Cowser Nancy Cowser is requesting assistance with their gynecology practice. They opened in August with the response to the sudden closure of Norwich OBGYN services. It left 5,000 women without care and most were on Medicaid. They have brought on two physicians; one was an existing physician with the OBGYN and support staff. They purchased equipment from the office that closed. They have seen about 750 clients, 1600 visits, half are from Norwich. 70% Medicaid, 8-9% uninsured. They’re asking for funding to help uninsured low-income women who are without any resources. It would cost them $800 per client per visit. They’re asking for 60% of that - about $25,000. They have strategies to make the practice self-sufficient. They have a federal grant pending to become a grantee; if they receive the grant it would be for federal malpractice insurance coverage, and funding for the uninsured. The application presently is in jeopardy because of the federal budget situation. There was $600 million dollars cut from community health centers. If they get the grant they will add obstetrics. Les King asked if they track Norwich residents vs. other residents? Ms. Cowser said they track by towns and villages in Norwich. With the additional funding it goes beyond their sliding fee. 100% of poverty level pays nothing, 100%-200% of federal poverty they slide fees according to income. Ed Derr asked if this was for all areas. Ms. Cowser said their practice is beyond Norwich but this funding is specifically for 50 Norwich women who are uninsured. Ed Derr asked how they get referrals? Ms. Cowser said they screen all clients to see what their needs are because they work with close partnerships with TVCCA and others. Norwich Arts Council - $28,500 – Karen Beasley and Peter Liebert They’re requesting $28,000 funding for the creative placemaking and economic development through arts/culture/heritage programming. They have a series of classes connected with festivals. Thirty-five people have signed up to help out with specific projects. They stated they were very careful in following guidelines for the HUD regulations and 5-Yr ConPlan. They have $28,500 of their own money, and they need the CDBG monies as matching funds. They have added an educational element. They’ve had free dance classes and supplied shoes and instructions. This summer the Southeastern Connecticut Regional Youth Theater will rent the upstairs of Donald Oat Theater. They’re working on the downstairs gallery for classes. They are looking for sponsorship funds for children who will not be able to participate. Ed Derr asked how the dance classes benefit underprivileged children for the vision of the future? Karen Beasley said the point is to increase arts, theatre and 2 dance. Art is good to be around and it gives children options, and something else to do. Studies have shown that the study of music increases a child’s ability in math. In the past they’ve had after school and Saturday programs and would like to add them back again including a summer program. Les King explained that in their application there was little substance and it was hard to determine what they were buying. It states a series of classes, but what are the classes? Who is doing them? Where and when are they being done? What outcomes will we see? And, there needs to be accompanying budget sheets. It states festivals, multicultural, heritage tours, reenactments with trail walks and art showings, and free concerts. The committee needs to know when, where and what pertaining to the festivals. They are all separate items, and they are funded as separate events. A separate package needs to be submitted on each one along with information on how they will ensure the national objectives on LMI will be tracked. Les King asked in their application about underserved youths, and do they keep track. As they come through your program what process do they use to determine if they are underserved or if they meet the income requirements and if they are Norwich residents? Karen Beasley said they get recommendations from Norwich Social Services and the Norwich Public Schools (NPS). These are children who would qualify for programs and they were all referrals. Ed Derr suggested they could use the free and reduced lunch, which is how the NPS determine qualifications for income levels. Les King asked about the creative Placemaking project, it needs to be better defined to include the elements for the placemaking, and what the impact would be. Les King asked about the $28,500 matching grant mentioned in the application and if they had received that funding. Karen said yes they have $28,500 put aside, but they need the CDBG funding as a match for their funding. Karen said that she checked with the State and she could leverage State and Federal funds. Lynn Norris asked the rate of the share program would it be volunteer based? Do they have a list of those who are already willing to commit? Karen said yes, they are perpetuating bringing in additional people. Yes they do have volunteer teachers; with some their stipends are tiny. They are experienced. Lynn Norris asked if any part of the administration costs would be for police presence at the festivals. Lynn Norris reviewed Chief Scandariato’s application and was wondering if the two could partner the police presence for the festivals. Karen said that it hasn’t worked in the past. Big Brothers/Big Sisters - $4,000 – Joseph Petroff Joseph Petroff wanted to thank the CDAC for their $4,000 support last year, and 3 are asking for their continued support. They have exceeded their goal of 44 matches this year in Norwich. They started some seed programs with a bridge program in the schools, which is part of Twenty First Century grant. This is for a group mentoring program middle school to high school. Since September they have been successful in their matches - all but one match have been made into 1 on 1 matches. They also have a program for children of incarcerated parents, which is going very well. Lynn Norris asked where the volunteers come from? Joseph Petroff said most of their volunteers are from NFA, 10th and 11th graders and hope to keep them matched through 12th grade. Their community volunteers are mostly college students, young newlyweds, neighbors, and some retirees. They also do group recruiting at Sears. The managers work with Big Brothers/Big Sisters to help match them. The program has expanded into the middle schools where they have the Bridges and Sprouts Program. The Sprouts Program does involve community volunteers as mentors. Ed Derr asked if the 21st Century Mentors were coming from NFA to mentor the middle school? Mr. Petroff said yes. Ed Derr asked who chooses the NFA students. Mr. Petroff said the guidance counselors help to recruit. Ed Derr asked if the middle school students would be the low-income underserved populations in the schools? Are the NFA mentors also minority, low income underserved students? Mr. Petroff said they could be but he wasn’t sure. He said they fill out an application but there is no income for the students to fill out. Mr. Petroff said that they do check off the minority status as well as the ethnic identification. They could investigate into the income. Mr. Derr wanted to mention there are other schools in Norwich besides NFA and the middle schools. Mr. Petroff said they’ve been working with Norwich Tech. Mr. Derr wanted to mention other schools such as Thames River Academy, and Norwich Adult Ed has 16 and17year olds. Les King questioned the outcomes listed on their application because they were in a different format than the original application. He asked if it was possible to break out the numbers specifically for Norwich to see the trend. Mr. Petroff didn’t know and wasn’t sure on what format it was, but he could give the information they track for Norwich. Mr. Petroff will call the CD office and get the format with the numbers to the committee. Norwich Fire Dept. - $40,654 – Chief Scandariato and Captain Pat Daley Chief Scandariato wanted to thank the committee for their past support. He also brought the committee up to date on the work that has been accomplished at the Greeneville Fire House. The entire structure has been renovated. Heating and lighting systems are as efficient as technology will allow. They found quite a few problems with the past phase with moisture and water content damaging the structure itself and all has been remedied. This year’s phase is to continue to fix the downstairs southeast corner rear. Last year there wasn’t a plan by NPU to 4 move the gas facilities out of the back of the building. This year there is which will give them additional room. Upstairs they have accommodated better living quarters, but the upstairs living area wall structure needs to be repaired, finish the apparatus bay floor to be repaired, and the downstairs left hand southeastern corner small room that will be dedicated to any community group in the Greeneville area to use it as a meeting room. There is an ADA bathroom in the rear, which is part of the plan to use the downstairs as a community function room. The Greeneville Fire House is well lit, structurally sound, and energy efficient. Lynn Norris asked if they could be supplied with before and after pictures. All contractors that did the work, did before and after pictures. That will take a little bit to get but he would get them. EOC side had the equipment removed and brought to NPU. Above the ceilings was the only section that wasn’t lead paint abated. Chief Scandariato is going to continue to attempt to get funding from the City’s Capital account. Les King asked if the $40,000 funding request had an official estimate done? Chief Scandariato said last year there was when all the phases were done; this is a continuation of the funding estimate. Chief Scandariato said Mattern Construction provided him with a copy of the phase costs from last year that were not done, and it was submitted with the budget. Les King questioned if they were no longer asking for a storage room for the equipment. Chief Scandariato said they would not need it because the EOC has been moved. They moved that area into the community area. Les King said that if this project is approved it may still have to go out to re-bid. TVCCA - $30,000 – Lisa Shippee Lisa Shippee, Director of Housing Services is requesting funding for the shelter for homeless families. They’ve been operating the shelter since October 1989, which now is helping young parents with their children. They are working on a continuing the rapid re-housing program, with intensive case management and hoping for re-housing people within 30 days. They are seeking funding for the financial support which would include security deposit, first months rent and possibility of a shallow subsidy for a couple more months for people to get back on their feet. They did receive a grant a couple of years ago, which was extremely successful and strictly for Norwich families. They were going to serve 10 families and ended up serving 13, and all were housed. In addition they had the Eastern Connecticut regional grantee for the Federal Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Grant. It was part of the economic stimulus funding. Currently, people stay about 90 days. They are proposing an extremely structured sheltering program with their main goal is to get them the people re- housed back into the community. Les King asked if they would have case management attached to it so they 5 would get some financial education. Lisa Shippee said they are going to reduce the number of families they work with for a shorter time. They will have an intensive case manager, they will also partner with existing services, such as the Beyond Shelter Program at the Thames River Family Program which works with families exiting shelters helps them through the transition. There is also the Nash Shelter in Mystic called Housing Families First they serve as home-finders locate apartments and work with the landlords and provide support. Ed Derr asked what is their plan. They give first month’s rent, security deposit, and last month’s rent. There is also a shallow subsidy for a few months. He questioned where is the sustainability; and what is the plan to get the individual back on their feet and paying their own rent/bills. Lisa Shippee said it would depend on the family. The plan is tailored to each family. Some families need a little more support than 30 days; they may be a candidate for the Thames River Family Program where they would get two years of life skills and transitioning into independent living. They have many employed families part of this program is that there is a financial literacy case manager, that is a separate person from the intensive case manager who follows each family and they are required to attend financial literacy classes. They also operate the One-Stop employment center. Les King asked Lisa Shippee for an explanation of the chronology of the program because it was confusing to the committee. Lisa said that a family with a child under 18 are homeless and no other place to stay. They come into the shelter, intake and assessment are done with their strengths and barriers identified. They meet with the intensive case manager who provides an orientation to what is going to happen in the next 30 days. There is a specific timeline. They decide at that point to either say yes or no to continue. If yes, they move forward, within 30 days they are attending financial literacy classes, seeking employment, if they don’t already have it. They also seek other secured sources of income for them if possible. At the end of 30 days if the work of the team has not produced a plan that will sustain them independently living in an apartment in the community, then they will discuss other options such as the Thames River Family, another shelter, going to family or friends. The goal is to follow them for six months. Les King asked how they track Norwich residents? Lisa said they have a list of their last residence address and housing history and they track information to ensure monies go specifically to assist Norwich residents. Les King said it was a little confusing on their outcomes because it wasn’t in the format that they had requested. He asked how many were screened, how many came in, and how many went through their programs. They would like to take the information specifically for Norwich residents and submit it on the charts. So if they come into the shelter, go through training (and clarify what would that training be), how many expect to go to in, how many would opt out, and how many move into some kind of rental assistance from the shelter. The committee wants to see what percentages are working and what percentage remains housed for 90 days, 6 months to a year. Lisa Shippee said that she would get the updated information to the CD office. 6 NHS/Food Pantry - $10,000 – Jillian Corbin Janice Thompson wrote the grant and is the administrator coordinator for the food pantry but was not able to present due to a conflict. Jillian Corbin as a representative of one of the food pantries that benefits from the proposal made the presentation. Norwich Human Services plays a critical role in a lot of different social issues. One in nine people in Connecticut don’t know where their next meal is coming from. There is an estimate of 5,000 unduplicated people in Norwich that have gone to the food pantry. Just one food pantry would not be able to handle it. Some are open different days and times. They work collaboratively on a restricted budget and have over 300 volunteers. This funding is to be able to provide people with nutritional foods not available through other means. With the screening process, they may get someone who has just lost their job, in a crisis situation, or just need a bag of food. It’s a collaborative effort - they share information, resources and meet in different circles to discuss what could be done to make them self-sufficient. They are also eligible for renter’s rebates, energy assistance and free tax preparation. St. Vincent De Paul’s is going to pilot slightly different outcomes this year with a focus on tracking the improvement of those clients matched to a counselor. Ed Derr asked about connecting to other community resources, something they did in the past as a means to better track how successful clients are and what services they received. Jillian said they do coordinate but not formally. They have been working to formalize it. They do follow a limited percentage that have gone to other agencies and reaped their benefits. As part of the pilot, they are going to start collecting and tracking that information with how many have benefited. They work with the homeless and have tracked people for years. Ed also asked if they track people who come in that have youth in the public schools. Jillian said yes when they come in they keep track of who they are, how old, how many children, disabled, and what the employment level is. Ed asked if they keep track of what school the child goes to? Jillian said no. Ed said it might be a good idea to track neighborhoods. Ed said this would tell you what target areas you would be serving. Jillian said that they have their addresses so the mapping could be done, and it would identify the particular neighborhoods in Norwich. Les King said that the food and money is distributed to 8 areas. How do we know they are buying the right nutritional food? Jillian said that they pre-purchase the food and then receipts are sent to Norwich Human Services, and they see exactly what they’re buying. Les asked and Jillian said they never give money out to the participants. Les King was under the assumption that certain times of the year some people would get debits cards to buy their own food. Jillian thought it was a debit card given out at Thanksgiving time for a turkey. The pantries do not have freezers large enough to store the capacity of turkeys needed to be handed out. In previous years an estimate of a $20 gift card for the purchase of a turkey with restrictions has been given. Les King asked if they buy food in bulk, is it wholesale or retail. Jillian said most 7 food pantries buy in bulk. They purchase food through Gemma Moran Food Center where they get the lowest prices. Mr. Capono owns the locally owned ShopRite and they are instrumental at helping out. The pantries are all members of the Central Food Bank in New London, and go once a week for the allotment of food. It’s been their experience that some families go to more than one food bank. They don’t see it as a duplication of services. There are families that need food and more than one bag of food. They allow people to come once a week, others are once a month. John Mathieu asked for clarification on the “clients receive approximately 10 meals per person”. He wanted to know for how long they can receive it. Jillian said when they come, they receive a bag that is equivalent to 10 meals per person. If it’s a 5-person household they get a bag with 50 meals equivalent. Literacy Volunteers- $12,140 – Jerry Sinnamon- Chair of the Board Jerry Sinnamon is requesting $12,140 specifically to upgrade the Rosetta Stone Software because this next generation is much better in providing guidance to the learner in a very organized fashion. It allows them to become proficient much faster, and they can speak, read, and hear and compare it with their native speaker. The new software will allow them to do the assessments standardized on the computer. He told the committee they have about 1,000 adult learners, primarily individuals looking to learn English as a second or third language. Half of their learners are from the Norwich area. There is a major satellite office at Otis Library and previous block grants have been very helpful in establishing that satellite staffing and computer software. There also is one at the Haitian Baptist Church and Three Rivers. Les King stated it was his understanding that in order for participants to be successful its not how much time they spend in class or on the computer but how proficient they really are. Jerry Sinnamon agreed and stated that is how the software now measures progress, based on tested proficiency. Les King asked if they keep track of people after they leave or as they go through their program and do they measure if the client is getting different or better jobs? Jerry Sinnamon said that the outcomes from the people participating in this program could get jobs if they don’t have them, and also improve the jobs they have. Many immigrants have been trained in their native language and can’t get jobs because they don’t speak English. They start businesses and buy homes. It is an economic benefit to the individuals and an economic benefit to the community. Les King asked if they keep track of what nationality they are or what their native language is? Jerry Sinnamon said yes they do. Les asked if they have developed new indicators. Jerry said they have not but would look into it. It is relatively easy information to get. Les asked if they could send a copy to the CD office. Jerry said he would. 8 Les King said they are looking to track the different ethnic group information and the data that shows a trend in increases to their economic ability, stability, sustainability and helps the community. The volunteer tutors collect the data. Ed Derr asked do they supply any other information where other services may be available. Jerry said yes they do supply that information. In addition to teaching the language it’s to teach the culture as well. Norwich Adult Education -$15,000 – Mary Berry & Cheryl Egan Mary Berry explained ESOL as a continuation of a successfully funded program over the last three years. It’s a collaboration between Norwich Adult Ed and Madonna Place. It’s to improve the English language skills while addressing specific needs in the community. The students will learn English better, quicker and be able to apply it in a more realistic and integrated form. The focuses in this grant are about three things: 1. Participants will be equipped with personal and career information necessary for employment 2. ESOL residents will be able to access and utilize health, safety and community services 3. Parents will become actively engaged in their children’s education. They want to integrate this information into classes at Madonna Place where there is free childcare and adult education. Their goal is to serve 40 participants, requesting $15,000, which is approx. $375 per person to acquire English language and community development skills. Mary Berry wanted to thank the CDAC for recognizing especially ESOL education is community development and economic development. Les King asked if they track people after they leave Adult Education? Mary said that the State Adult Reporting System does, and they track for educational gains from year to year. It’s based on Social Security numbers and information from the Dept. of Labor. They do track it, but it’s four quarters after they have left the Adult Education. Les King wanted information when people leave the program in 6-9 months; and have they’ve changed jobs and got a better job increase. They don’t usually know unless a relative comes in for services as well. Mary also said that sometimes people engaged in the learning process get jobs and leave, and they keep track of those people. Ed Derr asked what percentage are prepared for employment? Mary said they have checklists that measure the preparedness level for employment compared to when they came. They leave with a resume, a portfolio of what kinds of personal job experiences they have had. Mary Berry said there are some differences between Literacy Volunteers and Adult Education is intensity and duration. In Adult Education they are talking more hours a week with certified teachers rather than conversational community 9 help by volunteers. Both Adult Education and Literacy Volunteers each send people back and forth. In Adult Education they get 6 hours every week in the evening of instruction and about the same at Madonna Place with a certified teacher and they will get some reading, writing, and grammar. Women’s Center - $10,000 – Catherine Zeiner Catherine Zeiner started by thanking the committee for their support over the past years. They are the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault provider for New London County and serve nearly 6,000 victims a year. This year’s application is for crisis intervention for Norwich residents. They have restored a support meeting that provides a weekly positive self-esteem group that now meets at Madonna Place. It was restored under PY 36 as part of continuation of the victim advocate in the Police Department. The center is currently finalizing details of a collaboration with Bethsaida. This will restore some walk-in services to be located at UCFS for a couple of days a week. Their goal is to restore a full time office with its own identity independent of UCFS. Previously there was a fulltime walk-in office, which closed in July of 2009 due to funding constraints. As a result, they served 200 fewer Norwich residents in the 12 months post the closing. It clearly demonstrated that the lack of a walk-in center created a barrier to access. They’ve had the partnership with the Norwich Police Dept. since 2004, the victim advocate law enforcement team, this funding has been slowly dwindling. The State loved their partnership the funding was supposed to end in 2006, and they keep funding them. This program is considered as a model in the State. Ed Derr asked how and where are this year’s funds would be used. Catherine said the plan would be to continue to sustain the walk-in services at UCFS. They are planning on starting with an advocate 2 days a week and hope to increase to 3 days a week. It depends on funding from a variety of sources. No one source is able to support the entire initiative. Les King asked if they could take last year’s data, compare it to this year’s data and present it in format to show the trend. Les asked them to contact the CD office to make sure it’s in the correct format. Les King asked if there is still a court advocate. Catherine said yes. The committee would like to see the information over the past years, especially when the advocate went from full time to half time (numbers dropped by 100) and to show that the numbers had dropped significantly, as well as when the office had closed (numbers dropped by 200). NHS/Hospitality Center- $52,437 – Lee-Anne Gomes Lee-Ann Gomes explained that this grant was written by the Norwich Community Care Team, which is a collaboration of agencies. They have been running a winter overflow shelter to protect Norwich homeless residents from November 1 – April 1, and this year stayed open until April 3 because of snow. It’s an 18-bed 10 facility for people with pervasive mental health and substance abuse issues. Last year they received $29,500 and $25,000 for cost for stipends for employees that staff the shelter. Some people work third shift. They pay them $10.00 per hour, 7:30 p.m. – 7:30 a.m.- $2,500; The typical heating costs for the Soup Kitchen equals $400-$500. The people that stay there eat dinner at the Hospitality Center, because the Soup Kitchen is not usually open for dinner. Volunteers come in to cook for them and it is an added expense for the host location (St. Vincent DePaul). Therefore, NHS covers the heating bills and it costs more than what is actually paid. This year they have added in two days worth of a social workers salary because NHS and City Manager’s proposed budget is looking to lose another caseworker. Lee-Ann said they screen people for the shelter, provide case management and house people for the winter. They help people obtain medical benefits, jobs, and entitlements if they are qualified. They are able to permanently house an average of 48-50% of this very difficult population of people, The stats for last season’s hospitality center housed 59% of the people that stayed with them. Some get their own apartment. They house people and they have shortened the shelter stays to 29 days. Demo Angelopoulos asked how they’d fund the Hospitality Center without CDBG funds because the committee is trying to get away from being a line item. Lee- Ann said that the portion of CDBG funds is about half of what it costs to run the Hospitality Center. It costs $46,000 a year to run it. Norwich Human Services writes a lot of other grants to get the rest of the funding. Some of the other funding they had earlier from the Charitable Trust was not eligible for funds anymore. This grant meets a lot of the goals included in the 5-year plan, and if they didn’t get funded through CDBG it would be very difficult to find other funding. Les King asked about the indicators that there were 22 people that applied through the SOAR program. On any of the programs for indicators do you keep track of how many applied versus how many were approved? Lee-Ann said yes. For the SOAR program this year 5 people were granted financial assistance and the grant runs until August 2011. A lot of people apply, enroll in SOAR to find out after getting medical reports they’re not eligible. Les said it would be interesting to see how many people applied and how many people didn’t get it. Lee-Ann said 79% people gain medical insurance. Les asked out of how many people and who pays for that? Les asked if a person spends a night in the Hospitality Center are they eligible for a special kind of insurance. Lee-Ann said that low-income people are eligible for SAGA medical insurance, and people who are disabled are eligible for Medicaid (Title 19). Les King said that indicators would be interesting to see how many total applied and what percentages were approved. Les said that it states 79% in application. Lee-Ann said that the PowerPoint presentation states 79% of the people that stayed with them for that year, 53 stayed one night or more. Les said it would be good one to chart. 11 Ed Derr asked about substance abuse and where people go for treatment? Lee- Ann said they go to SCADD, Stonington Institute, or any program in the State. They have an indication of who `gets into treatment; but the long term they don’t track, they probably could. The clients need to address their substance problems and if not they can’t stay at the Hospitality Center. Les King asked about employment training and if they track that info in any other grants as indicators? Employment and training is funded a different way, but she has the numbers and can provide them if so requested. Childcare Assistance - $15,000 – Lee-Ann Gomes NHS is requesting $15,000 for Childcare Assistance, which is a safety net that helps keep individuals employed or in a training program. The program will help pay childcare costs in the event a crisis arises and the parent is lacking enough funds to cover the cost. The income levels are not for clients at a “welfare” level. The grant is specifically for those times when a crisis arises and they are short on their childcare payment. The application originates with the childcare provider. They give from $600 - $1,200 depending on how much they need, as it’s need based. Les King asked what the cost per person was? Lee-Ann said she didn’t have an average but it ranges from $240.00 to $868.50. Some people need that one time payment to get over the hump, and others may have an illness and may only need 2-3 weeks worth of childcare assistance. It’s very difficult if they lose their slot. The lower amount is subsidized by Care4Kids and the higher amount is if you have no subsidy at all. Les King asked how is it determined who gets money and asks for an elaboration of “needs based”. Do they have a model? Lee-Ann said its needs based, but also first come first serve if they’re eligible. They have $15,000 to spend, they date the applications as they are received, and determine eligibility. They have turned people away if their application was incomplete or not a Norwich resident. It is also for male or female single parents. Norwich Works- $50,000 – Lee-Ann Gomes Lee-Ann Gomes explained this program helps people with any type of employment services and specifically to get them trained and earning at a higher rate of pay. They have many healthcare programs in the industry with expected to increase 218% by 2018. This year they are adding Pharmacy Tech. They are looking to double and triple someone’s salary if they are trained as a CNA or RN. If they are able to get into the RN Program at Three Rivers the program will help subsidize it. The funding is partially used for a halftime social worker who gets funded by summer youth employment program for the other part of his salary. They screen 12 160 people; some will be able to get jobs without training. Some are employed and need support services. They need the car based solution program because their car has broken down, need a referral, bus tickets to get to work; steel tip shoes, tools, uniform or equipment, which they fund. They estimate training approximately 30 people a year around medical training. It’s about $1,000 per person for training for CNA and RN. Les King asked if they keep track of the people after they leave? Lee-Ann said yes because they naturally will be coming back to them for other supports. Those people utilize their other programs such as for income tax preparation. They do phone the people they’ve trained to see if they are still in that field and employed for a month or two after. Les King asked if there are any requirements that the people have to stay and work in Norwich for three years? Lee-Ann said they could go wherever the jobs are but most of them own or rent property in Norwich. The Backus Hospital, the nursing homes, American Ambulance, EMT, Norwich are suited for these careers. Les King asked if there was any priority or if the training was with local money? Lee-Ann said that she would try and check. It may be a good idea to keep the trainers from the Norwich area rather than hire outside the community. Lee-Ann said that she thought it would be easy to track. Les King asked how many get jobs, there are indicators but it does not say how many? Lee-Ann said that of the 30 people who they trained, 25 would be hired as a primary indicator. 10-12 people under the third indicator will get a job by writing their resume, job referrals, calling employers for them without training. That is another 42 people that will get jobs. There are some other benefits to the program. They help 75% of the people that come in for the job/education program whether it’s getting bus tickets or soft services such as resume writing, advocacy to employers. Les King asked what happens if someone drops out of the program? Lee-Ann said it has happened. They try to screen to limit a high drop out rate. Everyone wants to get in the CNA Program. There are certain benchmarks that need to be achieved prior to enrolling in the program Ed Derr asked if Three Rivers does a partial reimbursement if they withdraw at a certain point? Lee-Ann said she was not sure. If they do, that money should go back into the program. Lee-Ann said that they have 5 people they are helping, and in their second year and they are all going to graduate. Les King asked if they had indicator numbers from last year, would it be difficult to get? Lee-Ann said that she could get them. Supportive Housing Services - $20,000 Lee-Ann told the committee that this grant supplements the work done at the 13 Hospitality Center. There are two outcomes. One is for people for SSI. When someone is disabled their disability needs to be documented medically in language that Social Security will understand and agree with it. The disability has to be matched up with the ability to work gainfully fulltime. It seeks to get people granted at the initial application for SSI, because the appeals process could take years. If someone gets on SOAR they can house them, and it brings federal revenue to our community. This year so far they have 5 people granted and they are not done with the grant year, which ends August 2011. Les King questioned that it looks like 50% of the grant money is going towards wages for Generations. Lee-Ann said it’s a contract they have with them. Lee- Ann said the other outcome is to house people with short term rent subsidies, or money for first month’s rent or diversion money. Diversion money is when someone is housed and they can’t pay $200 for their rent, it keeps them housed so they can stay in place. For an average of $213 they were able to house 15 people. This is diversion so they avoid a shelter. To get people out the shelters it costs $213, because people they deal with don’t pay full rents. They room with someone, have Social Security, and they need a little bit of money. The first month’s rent and security deposit is the hardest part for them, a lot of people who are working, are in their shelter, to get them housed it costs $213, which is money well, spent. Lee-Ann said that they have added a program this year called Short Term Rent Subsidies. Sometimes people need more than the one time $213 for 4-6 months in a row because they are waiting for SS check to come in, or because they are sick and out of work for six week and to be able to supplement his rent until he is able to get back on his feet. They asked to be able to subsidize up to four people up to $1,200 to see if this concept works. The Homeless Prevention Rapid Re- housing dollars they were given to TVCCA for Norwich had tremendous success with this model. People don’t necessarily need a Section 8 certificate, they just need a little bit of money for a short period of time to get over a hump. Les King asked if there was a maximum because in their application it states up to 6 months. Gary Evans said that he would check for sure but felt fairly confident that it was 3 months. Lee-Ann thanked them for their information. Les King said that the outcomes talked about where they are staying and not the progression of the person? Are there any other indicators of persons being stabilized, getting sustainable, work through the housing. Lee-Ann said that they could look at how long they’ve maintained their housing – that could be a behavior change. She said they could definitely follow the persons and what their progressions are. Adjournment Motion was made by Demo Angelopoulos, seconded by John Mathieu to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The CDAC meeting ended at 9:27 p.m. 14