The Hampden County Performance and Outcomes Committee and the CoC Application Committee met jointly on October 17, 2013.
Present: Karen Blanchard (Providence), Jeffrey Langlois (Providence), Jennifer Lucca (Samaritan), Lynne Wallace (WMNEH), Jay Levy (Elliot), Kathryn Buckley-Brawner (Catholic Charities), Dawn DiStefano (YWCA), Karen Dean (Hampden County Sheriff’s Dept.), Maria Perez (NNCC), Ann Lentini (Domus), Jesus Arce (Springfield), Gerry McCafferty (Springfield)
Performance Measures and Outcomes
The goal of this meeting was to orient these two committees to the work of the other. While the Performance and Outcomes Committee is concerned with the overall performance of the CoC, the CoC Application Committee is looking toward the performance of CoC-funded programs to see how each program contributes to or detracts from the performance of the CoC.
The framework for the orientation was a Performance Measurement chart that Andrea Miller created, which lists the HUD-defined CoC goals, along with the indicators used to measure movement toward the goals. This chart is a reminder for each of us of what we are collectively working toward.
As we discussed the goals of the CoC in relation to the performance of funded projects, we were reminded that we also need to be assessing the performance of projects that are not funded. While we have been collecting HMIS data for non-CoC funded projects, we have not paid as much attention to reviewing performance of these projects. Gerry agreed to provide data regarding outcomes for non-CoC funded programs at an upcoming meeting for review and analysis.
CoC Application
Gerry shared a chart that looks at the components of Project Renewal Evaluation. The task of the CoC Application Committee will be to use this information to create the criteria that will be evaluated as part of the application for project renewal and the standards that renewal applications will need to meet in order to be accepted for renewal. The group acknowledged that, to some degree, this work will need to be done now to define what will be necessary for next year’s renewals, in order to provide agencies with advance notice of the standards they must achieve.
As the group discussed performance indicators, and starting to look at performance standards, there was concern that the quantitative data misses the qualitative data. There is particular concern about making sure that we compare like programs–we need to recognize that some programs target a very hard-to-serve population, and these programs should not be penalized for not meeting performance standards that are not realistic for them. After discussion, we decided to address this in two ways. The first is to do some analysis of the programs, and see if we can distinguish between the level of difficulty based on factors like the percent of: chronically homeless, homeless direct from the streets or shelter, and existence of 2+ or 3+ disabilities. Gerry is compiling data to show these measures at a future meeting to determine if there are obvious places to separate programs into different groupings. The second way to ensure that we are not missing important information in program evaluation is to have providers meet with the evaluation committee to explain their program and answer questions. The CoC Application Committee members decided to incorporate this into the review process.
Next Meetings
The Performance Measures and Outcomes Committee will meet on Thursday, November 21, at 10:00 am at the Office of Housing, 1600 E. Columbus Ave., Springfield. Gerry will send an email to committee members setting a next date for the CoC Application Committee meeting.
