OHFA Annual Plan - Ohio Housing Finance Agency

oles, so they create a contract between housing management staff and case managersto insure that they understand their distinct roles. They also meet regularly to understandeach others goals including budgets and outcome goals so they can come up withsolutions that address the needs of both and serve the client first. Other agencies addressthis same issue by focusing on housing or services and working together to provideboth through memorandums of agreement. Cleveland’s Housing First initiative has alsoinvested significantly in this critical area by engaging the services of successful New Yorkproviders, resulting in an operations manual that addresses the healthy tension betweenoperations and services.Jobs FirstAll successful permanent, supportive housing projects including those in Columbus,Dayton and Portland, Oregon show an increase in housing stability and a decreasein reliance on emergency rooms, detox programs, jails and respite care. However,employment has been less successful in permanent supportive housing nationwide oftendue to the fact that many tenants receive disability assistance and are not expectedto work. However, a new Jobs First program design is emerging and has been usedvery successfully by The Other Place and Goodwill in Dayton resulting in a 60 percentemployment rate at their 100 unit project, River Commons. Jobs First is a service modelthat seeks to engage tenants in employment from the moment they sign up for housing.It requires a dedicated Employment Manager working with tenants to make referrals tojobs and help coach them through difficult situations.Actions State Policy Makers Should Take To Address The GapsBased upon the research and experiences of the work group members, the following areactions recommended to address the gaps in developing more permanent supportivehousing in Ohio:1. Better coordinate existing state resources with Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB)to capture more FHLB money in Ohio for PSH development.Rationale: The FHLB of Cincinnati has invested in PSH extensively in Ohio. Unfortunately,the percentage of their funds for special needs housing (of which PSH is one type) isdisproportionately going to projects in two other states in their footprint. Based uponpopulation census, Ohio represents 53 percent of FHLB of Cincinnati’s footprint but is onlycapturing approximately 36.5 percent of FHLB of Cincinnati resources. 132. Facilitate an easier, coordinated process for access to multiple state resourcesthat fosters partnership with local organizations for PSH development andoperations.Rationale: Providers and local community leaders must apply to multiple state agenciesto access limited PSH resources. These applications are commonly on differing applicationdeadlines, requiring differing supporting materials. Monitoring and compliance follows suitwith one PSH provider in Columbus reporting three separate monitoring visits by threeagencies in one month to review the same project. ODOD and ODMH have a workablemodel for shared investment. This concept should be examined further for application andextension.3. Assist local Continuums of Care that have underutilized federal HUD McKinneyVento funds available for PSH.Rationale: In 2007 alone, approximately $4 million of federal McKinney-Vento fundswere left unapplied for and therefore lost to the state of Ohio due to local capacity andinadequate numbers of new PSH projects.11713Corporation for Supportive Housing, Ohio office analysis completed on FHLB of Cincinnati’s 2005-2008 awards. Contact CSH at614.228.6263.