Rallying a Community Around Child Homelessness

1Thaler McCormick, CEO, ForKids

ForKids: Our Mission

Breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty for

families and children

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Our Model

Housing Crisis Hotline

Housing SolutionsoEmergency shelter

oSupportive housing

oPrevention, rapid re-housing

Adult & Children’s EducationoEducational assessment, tutoring & school

advocacy

oGED & life skills

Critical Serviceso Intensive case management

oMental & physical healthcare

Housing, Education & Critical Services

ForKids Today

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Provides:oWrap-around and crisis services

to more than 200 families & over 400 children each day

oConnects over 13,000 households annually to services through our Regional Housing Crisis Hotline

95+ Staffo70+ Full-Time

$6.4M Operating Budget

Service Area

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“Full ForKids Model”◦ South Hampton Roads

Regional Housing Crisis Hotline

◦ Greater Hampton Roads (excluding Virginia Beach and Portsmouth)

ForKids ImpactIn FY15 (July 2014 to June 2015):

“Full Model”o We assisted over 1,050 people

325 families w/ 683 children

o 95% of families obtained a home•

Extended Programs

o We helped of 35,000 people ◦ Housing crisis hotline, holiday programs, aftercare support,

and Good Mojo in-kind goods

ForKids’ 25th Birthday

2008 2013 Change

Daily Service Capacity* 71 175 141%

Total Budget $2.3m $3.9m 70%

Community Fundraising $1.1m $2.0m 82%

ForKids @ 25

Bigger, stronger, more efficient

* Families

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Over 200 households request help each week

Over 10,000 in the last 12 months

ForKids @ 25

Emergency Shelter

Rent/Utility PaymentAssistanceDomestic ViolenceSheltersFood

Housing RelatedServicesClothing/Basic Needs

Health Care

Shelter51%

Rent/Utility Assistance

38%

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Our Concerns

1. Bad data caused a lack of awareness about the size and scope of the problem of family homelessness

2. Lack of affordable housing was a primary cause driving and perpetuating the problem

3. Homelessness was having a big impact on educational achievement, but know one knew it

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“Making housing more affordableto those who need help most is, with some exceptions, a

cause without powerful supporters.”

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25th Anniversary Commission

ADDRESSING THE LINK BETWEEN

AFFORDABLE HOUSING & THE EDUCATIONAL ADVANCEMENT

OF HOMELESS CHILDREN IN HAMPTON ROADS

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Frank Batten, Jr., Chair

Chairman & CEO, Landmark Media Enterprises, LLC

G. Robert Aston, Jr

Chairman & CEO, TowneBank

Kim W. Brown, D. Min.

Senior Pastor, Mount Lebanon Baptist Church

Joan Perry Brock

Community Volunteer

Harry Lee Cross, III

Owner and Managing Broker, Cross Realty

Helen Dragas

President & CEO, The Dragas Companies

D. B. “Bart” Frye, Jr.

Chairman of the Board, Frye Properties, Inc.

William E. Harrell

President and CEO of Hampton Roads Transit

Henry (Sandy) Harris III

CFA, CIC, Principal and Portfolio Manager of Palladium Registered Investment Advisors

Paul Hirschbiel

President, Eden Capital

Samuel T. King, Ph.D.

Superintendent, Norfolk Public Schools

Harry T. Lester

Community Leader

John Littel

Community Leader

Sheila Magula, Ph.D.

Interim Superintendent, Virginia Beach Public Schools

Alan Nusbaum*

Chairman S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co.

Anita Poston

Partner, Vandeventer, Black

James Roberts, Ph.D.

Superintendent, Chesapeake Public Schools

James Spore

City Manager, City of Virginia Beach

Judy K. Stewart, Ph.D.

Co-Founder, Virginia STEAM Academy

David Stuckwisch, Ph.D.

Superintendent of Portsmouth Public Schools

Jody Wagner

President, Jody’s Popcorn

Deran Whitney, Ed.D.

Superintendent, Suffolk Public Schools

Michelle W. Woodhouse, Ed.D.

Provost of the Fred W. Beazley Portsmouth Campus, Tidewater Community College

*The late Alan Nusbaum was a founding member of the Commission13

Commission’s Focus Areas

1. Data Collection: establish a unified method to identify homeless and highly-mobile children; link data systems to understand housing need

2. Affordable Housing: develop recommendations to expand the supply of safe, affordable housing

3. Educational Advancement: identify best practices that achieve high school graduation for homeless and highly-mobile children

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The Problem:

Lots of Sources, No Coordination

HUD ◦ HMIS (Homeless Management Information

System)

◦ PIT (Point-in-Time) Count

Department of Education (McKinney-Vento)

◦ Local School Systems

Central Intake Systems/Hotlines◦ ForKids

Data

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Data Disconnect

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

2010 2011 2012

Ho

me

less

Ch

ildre

n

Counting Homeless Children in South Hampton Roads

Schools

PIT

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2009/10 2010/11 2011/12

Homeless Students in VA 14,227 16,420 17,940

-

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

Gov. McDonnell: Family Homelessness DOWN 11% from 2010-2012*

26% Increase per school data

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Data Disconnect

* Based on PIT data

The Problem:

What do we know?

Local school systems are struggling with McKinney-Vento…

Homeless kids are struggling…

Education

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Students Identified as Homeless in Virginia

9,898

11,776

12,768

14,223

16,420

17,940 17,91418,367

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14

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Achievement Gap

All Students87% Economically

Disadvantaged Students**… Homeless

Students**73%

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

2013 On-Time Graduation

*Combined graduation rates for Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, &Virginia Beach.**Students identified as homeless/economically disadvantaged at least once in 9th - 12th grade.

Source: Virginia Dept. of Education, Virginia Cohort Reports, Class of 2013

91.2

7780.8

84.186.8

82.4

72.176.4 75.5 77.8

66.762.1

51.2

67.7 68.2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Chesapeake Norfolk Portsmouth Suffolk Virginia Beach

All Students Economically disadvantaged Homeless anytime

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Local Graduation Rates 2012

The Problem:Housing

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What is Affordable Housing?◦ Housing is “affordable” if a household is spending no more than

30% of its income on housing.

◦ @ $10,000/year (15% of AMI), affordable rent =$250

◦ @ $20,000/yr (30% of AMI), affordable rent = $500

◦ @ $32,500/yr (50% of AMI), affordable rent = $810

◦ Who are these people?◦ $8/hr worker, 29 hrs/week, 52 weeks ($12,064)

◦ $10/hr worker, 40 hrs/wk, 52 weeks ($20,800)

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Affordable Housing

# of Affordable & Available Rental Units for Every 100 Extremely Low-Income Renter Households*

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Lack of Affordable Housing

18 30 33 43 500

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40

60

80

100

Virginia Beach Norfolk Suffolk

*Source: The Urban Institute

TheCommission’s Work

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Housing Needs Study

Economic Impact of Childhood Homelessness Study

LOTS of research into national best practice models◦ Housing, education and data collection

Site Visits to:◦ A Child’s Place – Charlotte/Mecklenburg NC

◦ Columbus & Franklin County Regional Housing Trust Fund

◦ Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund

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The Commission’s Work

Themes

Dearth of Programs Targeted to Homeless Students with Results

Collaboration Between School Districts and Nonprofit Service Providers Essential

Best Lessons Come from Research and Work with Poor and At-Risk Students

◦ Reading proficiency by 3rd grade

◦ Prevention of summer learning loss

◦ Out-of-School Time (OST) programs

◦ Holistic approaches

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Education Research

The “Koch Report”

“Homeless Children in South Hampton Roads: Estimating the Costs to Society”

Dr. James Koch: Economist, Former President of Old Dominion University, Author of annual State of the Region Report

5 School Districts

Included in the 2014 State of the Region

Academic Performance of Norfolk Students based on Economic Status 2012-2013

Homeless Low Socioeconomic High Socioeconomic

Average Attendance 87.9% 92.8% 95.1%

AverageGPA

1.98 2.27 2.86

Average SOL Exams Passed

41.7% 54.8% 73.7%

Average Suspensions/Yr

1.18 .79 .13

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Dr. Koch’s Academic Findings

In Virginia Beach

15 DAYS LESS SCHOOL24% HIGHER FAILURE RATE

Attendance (Avg days)Homeless Students Lower Income,

Housed

136.3 151.1

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SOL PerformanceHomeless Students Lower Income,

Housed

Failed all 22.1% Failed all 17.8%

Dr. Koch’s Academic Findings

TotalsMedical & Health $ 8,007,070 Social Services & Housing $ 14,834,639 Education $ 5,603,100* Admin & Transportation $ 1,721,866 Penal System/Incarceration $ 219,816 Annual Lost Income $ 666,816 Totals $ 31,053,307 Average Cost per Student $ 20,060

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Dr. Koch’s Estimated Annual Costs of 1,548 Reported Homeless School Children

*Includes approximately $1.4 million in transportation expense

$31 Million

Each homeless child costs our community approximately $20,000 per year

Total cost of child homelessness for SHR annually: $30 million

“It would be less expensive for society to provide permanent housing for homeless families than to bear the high cost of homelessness and its long-term effects.”

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Dr. Koch’s Conclusions:

o MV identification is inconsistent among and within school districts

o Homelessness has measurable and prolonged impact on educational outcomes

o Data collection and services need to be centralized and coordinated regionally

o Family homelessness should be counted based on the McKinney-Vento (MV) definition

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Dr. Koch’s Conclusions:

Themes

Dearth of Programs Targeted to Homeless Students with Results

Collaboration Between School Districts and Nonprofit Service Providers Essential

Best Lessons Available Come from Research and Work with Poor and At-Risk Students

◦ Reading proficiency by 3rd grade◦ Prevention of summer learning loss

◦ Out-of-School Time (OST) programs◦ Holistic approaches

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Education Research

Five key system components

Identification: Homeless children must be consistently identified to assure their needs are met.

Information: Information must be easily accessible regarding opportunities, rights and services.

Coordination: Data collection & service delivery must be coordinated between the private, non-profit and public sectors to optimize resources, assure all children are served, and track results.

Transportation: Transporting children from temporary housing to their “school of origin” is an essential to educational stability.

Education: Most homeless and high mobility children need targeted educational interventions to meet their unique needs.

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The Education Research

The Consistent Theme: Economic Integration

Poor families are helped by environments – both neighborhoods and schools – where poverty is not concentrated.

Middle-class and well-off families are not harmed when poor families join their neighborhoods.

Housing Research

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Other Themes:

Poverty Headed to the Suburbs (transportation essential)

Regional Housing Plan an Essential First Step

Transit-oriented Affordable Housing Planning

Local Funding Sources are Needed for Affordable Housing

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Housing Research

• Provide flexibility to meet local goals

• Can address affordability needs at 15-30% AMI

• Can leverage other funding

Mapped a $10 Million HTF based on national best practices

Housing Trust Funds

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1. Coordinate regional data on housing and homelessness

2. Create public-private partnerships to deliver targeted services that meet the unique needs of homeless students

3. Educate the community about housing affordability & its impact on Hampton Roads

4. Develop a transit-oriented regional housing plan

5. Establish a regional housing trust fund

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Final Recommendations

Progress

“Our” Progress

Regional Data Collection

ForKids Pilot Project

Norfolk Housing Trust Fund

ForKids Advocacy and Community Education (FACE)

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Norfolk Housing Trust Fund

$1.4 Million

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Regional Data CollectionCore Data Working Group

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Co-Chairs: Jim Spore, Virginia Beach City Manager Tom Walker, President, WebTeks

Partners◦ Chesapeake Public Schools

◦ Norfolk Public Schools

◦ Portsmouth Public Schools

◦ Suffolk Public Schools

◦ Virginia Beach Public Schools

◦ 2 Regional Planning Agencies

◦ ForKids

Technology Consultants

Core Data Working Group

What’s ImportantThe End Goals

• Coordinated, targeted services for homeless children

• Good data to make community decisions

The Partners committed to the project

Core Data Working Group: Phase I

◦ Goal: Design data warehousing “architecture” that allowsexisting data systems to confidentially inform adisaggregated report on the housing needs of HamptonRoads

◦ Goal: Serve as starting point for ongoing cross-jurisdictioncoordination of services for McKinney-Vento children• Transportation• Holistic services• Resources

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Regional Data Collection

ForKids Pilot Project

Robust in-school support helps mitigate the impact of homelessness on learning

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School Based Pilot Program

Two NPS Elementary Schools: 72 students served in the 2014/15 school year

Staffing

1. Family Case Manager

2. Teacher

3. Instructional Assistant

Lesson Learned Highlights• Timely and and the right data are

critical for program assessment

• Transportation makes or breakseeverything

• Keys to partnering with public

schools Every school is unique

• “We are serving the most vulnerable in the most high-need schools.”

Year One Program Preliminary Results:

Attendance: 91.1% vs. 87.9 (Koch report) 5.8 days

Assessments:Reading 18% improved > 1 grade level

Math 50% Improved > 1 grade level

SOLs: Passed 47% vs. 41.7% Koch report

Mean GPA: 2.2 vs. 1.98 (Koch report)

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ForKids Educational Pilot

Note: Koch report data covers K-12 students.

1st year of new assessment results (reading & math):• 96 pre/post assessments completed• 4 non-school sites:

(2 Norfolk, 1 Chesapeake, 1 Suffolk)Average rate of increase:

1.6 grade levels in Math, 1.1 grade level in Reading• 30% increased >2 grade levels in Math• 26% increased >2 grade levels in Reading

respectively

ForKids Education Programs ‘14-’15

The Work Ahead

Transportation

Regionalizing of current efforts

Regional Housing Plan

Community Education

DISCUSSION

ForKids Advocacy and Community Education (FACE)

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ForKids 25th Anniversary Commission

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Thank You!!