C.M.R. 99, 346, ch. 19 - HOMELESS SOLUTIONS RULE

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: 30-A M.R.S. §§4741 (1) and (18); §4766; §4994-A; 42 U.S.C. §§ 11301, et seq.

BASIS STATEMENT: This replacement rule repeals and replaces in its entirety the current Chapter 19, Homeless Solutions Rule, in order to: (i) revise and update language and definitions where appropriate; (ii) remove eligibility criteria from the rule and instead place it in the appropriate program guides; (iii) clarify language; (iv) encourage collaboration with Homeless Service Hubs; (v) provide discretion on HMIS data entry requirements; and (vi) update the compliance monitoring process to include risk based assessments.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Process:

Notice of Agency Rule-making Proposal (MAPA-3) was submitted to the Secretary of State for publication in the August 28, 2024 edition of the appropriate newspapers. Additionally, MaineHousing sent the proposed rule to Interested Parties on August 28, 2024 and published the proposed rule on its website on August 28, 2024. MaineHousing held a public hearing on September 17, 2024. The comment period was held open until Friday, September 27, 2024 at 5:00 PM.

Summary of Comments and Responses to Comments:

Comment: Cullen Ryan, Executive Director of Community Housing of Maine (CHOM) commended MaineHousing for carefully crafting the revisions to the Rule. Cullen noted that the language in Section 2, Eligible Applicants, that states Applicants for other Programs may be required to participate in the Coordinated Entry Process is problematic as for some programs it will not make sense to be part of Coordinated Entry. Cullen suggested removing that language from the Rule and relying on the Summary Section at the beginning of the Rule which was sufficient to address the concern.

MaineHousing's Response:

Coordinated Entry is both a HUD mandate for CoC and ESG projects and a best practice for homeless service systems. MaineHousing has been strongly encouraged by HUD and HUD Technical Assistance to incorporate more resources into the Coordinated Entry System. Because of this, MaineHousing believes the statement that applicants for other programs may be required to participate in the Coordinated Entry Process provides transparency around the potential requirement that access to program resources may be required through the Coordinated Entry System.

Comment: Rebecca Austin, Executive Director of Safe Voices, Jenny Stasio, Co-Executive Director of Through These Doors, Pamela Morin, Executive Director of Family Violence Project, Karessa Grenier, Operations and Program Development Coordinator of Hope and Justice Project, Susan Giambalvo, Executive Director of Caring Unlimited, Hanna Gregory, Housing Services Coordinator of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Francine Garland Stark, Executive Director of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, and the organization Partners for Peace requested that MaineHousing consider amending the proposed Rule to include the following revisions:

Section 1, Definitions

1) Retaining the definition for "Victim Services Provider" and defining it as "a private nonprofit organization whose primary mission is to provide direct services to victims of domestic violence." Victim Services Provider is a term that continues to be used by HUD and it is crucial to include a definition in the Rule as many agencies provide some level of service to people who are survivors of domestic abuse and violence, and including a definition will limit confusion regarding who is and who is not a Victim Services Provider.

2) Revising Section 1(L), "HMIS Data Standards" to remove the language that states "those serving survivors of domestic violence" and replacing it with "Victim Service Providers."

3)

MaineHousing's Response:

1) MaineHousing will add the definition of Victim Service Providers defined as "private nonprofit organizations whose primary mission is to provide direct services to victims of domestic violence."

2) MaineHousing will replace "those serving survivors of domestic violence" with "Victim Service Provider"

Comment: Rebecca Austin, Executive Director of Safe Voices, Jenny Stasio, Co-Executive Director of Through These Doors, Pamela Morin, Executive Director of Family Violence Project, Karessa Grenier, Operations and Program Development Coordinator of Hope and Justice Project, Susan Giambalvo, Executive Director of Caring Unlimited, Hanna Gregory, Housing Services Coordinator of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Francine Garland Stark, Executive Director of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, and the organization Partners for Peace also commented that the changes to Section 6, Funding, move several issues from being outlined in the Rule to being outlined in the Program Guide and Application. They expressed concerns that while the Homeless Solution Rule has a formal process to review and revise the Rule, MaineHousing's Program Guide and Application does not, and that the Program Guide and Application may be updated by MaineHousing without a formal process or consultation with program partners. They suggested that if MaineHousing needs flexibility in changing the allocation that it should be explicitly stated within the Rule and the Rule should include details on how the Program Guide and Application will be revised.

MaineHousing's Response: MaineHousing provides venues for feedback on our programs and practices and welcomes ongoing feedback through face to face and virtual meetings, email, phone calls, and other written communication which can be used to inform programmatic changes. Utilizing Program Guides and Applications to convey programmatic detail allows MaineHousing to be more nimble in its response to feedback and identified improvement areas.

Comment: Rebecca Austin, Executive Director of Safe Voices, Jenny Stasio, Co-Executive Director of Through These Doors, Pamela Morin, Executive Director of Family Violence Project, Karessa Grenier, Operations and Program Development Coordinator of Hope and Justice Project, Susan Giambalvo, Executive Director of Caring Unlimited, Hanna Gregory, Housing Services Coordinator of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Francine Garland Stark, Executive Director of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, and the organization Partners for Peace commented that Section 6(B) should include what factors are taken into consideration to determine funding eligibility.

MaineHousing's Response:

The Rule outlines factors taken into consideration when selecting applicants for funding in Section 6(D). There may be additional criteria outlined in Program Guides and Applications that is dependent on funding source and intention of said funding source. It is not always possible to have this information with enough lead time to go through a full rule making process to amend this list, and Program Guides and Applications are intended to provide that level of detail.

Comment: Rebecca Austin, Executive Director of Safe Voices, Jenny Stasio, Co-Executive Director of Through These Doors, Pamela Morin, Executive Director of Family Violence Project, Karessa Grenier, Operations and Program Development Coordinator of Hope and Justice Project, Susan Giambalvo, Executive Director of Caring Unlimited, Hanna Gregory, Housing Services Coordinator of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Francine Garland Stark, Executive Director of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, and the organization Partners for Peace also suggested that in Section 6(D)(i) -(iii), Mainstream Resources, should define the level of engagement needed by the Applicant, so that programs are best informed on how the selection process is conducted, and what is required of them.

MaineHousing's Response:

Because this Rule governs multiple funding sources, measurements of engagement may vary by program. It would not be feasible to list, for each program, detailed selection criteria given that these are often funding source, program intent, and climate specific. MaineHousing monitors subrecipients for compliance with many of these factors and shares results of that monitoring with providers, addressing concerns should there be any so that providers are aware of the measurement and their performance. Connection to appropriate mainstream resources for participants accessing funded programs should always be the goal to ensure those in need of services are connected to them.

Comment: Rebecca Austin, Executive Director of Safe Voices, Jenny Stasio, Co-Executive Director of Through These Doors, Pamela Morin, Executive Director of Family Violence Project, Karessa Grenier, Operations and Program Development Coordinator of Hope and Justice Project, Susan Giambalvo, Executive Director of Caring Unlimited, Hanna Gregory, Housing Services Coordinator of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Francine Garland Stark, Executive Director of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, and the organization Partners for Peace proposed a change to Section 7, Data Collection Requirements for Applicants, to add the bolded language:

* "In order to receive funding, eligible Applicants must do the following, unless prohibited by VAWA or other statute or not required at Maine Housing's sole discretion"

MaineHousing's Response:

MaineHousing will add the recommended language into the Rule.

Comment: Rebecca Austin, Executive Director of Safe Voices, Jenny Stasio, Co-Executive Director of Through These Doors, Pamela Morin, Executive Director of Family Violence Project, Karessa Grenier, Operations and Program Development Coordinator of Hope and Justice Project, Susan Giambalvo, Executive Director of Caring Unlimited, Hanna Gregory, Housing Services Coordinator of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Francine Garland Stark, Executive Director of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, and the organization Partners for Peace also commented that because MaineHousing could waive Data Collection Requirements as a component for eligibility for funding for one applicant while requiring all other applicants to comply, if MaineHousing anticipates a need to waive Data Collection Requirements, the general reason that might cause MaineHousing to consider a waiver of the Data Collection Requirements should be outlined in the Rule.

MaineHousing's Response:

MaineHousing waives data collection requirements in certain circumstances for entire programs rather than by applicant. In general, data collection is the expectation for funded programs and waivers would be based on programmatic factors as they arise.

Comment: Rebecca Austin, Executive Director of Safe Voices, Jenny Stasio, Co-Executive Director of Through These Doors, Pamela Morin, Executive Director of Family Violence Project, Karessa Grenier, Operations and Program Development Coordinator of Hope and Justice Project, Susan Giambalvo, Executive Director of Caring Unlimited, Hanna Gregory, Housing Services Coordinator of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Francine Garland Stark, Executive Director of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, and the organization Partners for Peace recommended changing the following language in Section 7, Data Collection Requirement for Applicants, in order to more accurately identify which agencies fall under the requirement for use of a comparable database:

* Victim Services Providers are required to have the capacity of a comparable database that collects client level data and provides aggregate, de- duplicated data to MaineHousing in electronic form

MaineHousing's Response:

MaineHousing will amend the language as proposed.

Comment: Rebecca Austin, Executive Director of Safe Voices, Jenny Stasio, Co-Executive Director of Through These Doors, Pamela Morin, Executive Director of Family Violence Project, Karessa Grenier, Operations and Program Development Coordinator of Hope and Justice Project, Susan Giambalvo, Executive Director of Caring Unlimited, Hanna Gregory, Housing Services Coordinator of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Francine Garland Stark, Executive Director of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, and the organization Partners for Peace also commented that reporting requirements and their frequency should be outlined within the grant agreement in order to ensure that programs have a complete and accurate understanding of reporting requirements prior to accepting the grant. They suggested changing Section 8(A), General Reporting Requirements, as follows:

* "An applicant who receives a grant ("grantee") must provide client data prescribed by MaineHousing in a form or forms prescribed by MaineHousing to centralized data collection systems prescribed by MaineHousing in the grant agreement."

MaineHousing's Response:

MaineHousing will amend the language as proposed.

Comment: Rebecca Austin, Executive Director of Safe Voices, Jenny Stasio, Co-Executive Director of Through These Doors, Pamela Morin, Executive Director of Family Violence Project, Karessa Grenier, Operations and Program Development Coordinator of Hope and Justice Project, Susan Giambalvo, Executive Director of Caring Unlimited, Hanna Gregory, Housing Services Coordinator of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Francine Garland Stark, Executive Director of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, and the organization Partners for Peace also commended MaineHousing for changing the monitoring requirement to be based on risk assessment or conducted at least once every three years in Section 9, Monitoring and Assessment for Applications, as this will alleviate the administrative burden.

MaineHousing Response: MaineHousing appreciates the support.

Comment: Rebecca Austin, Executive Director of Safe Voices, Jenny Stasio, Co-Executive Director of Through These Doors, Pamela Morin, Executive Director of Family Violence Project, Karessa Grenier, Operations and Program Development Coordinator of Hope and Justice Project, Susan Giambalvo, Executive Director of Caring Unlimited, Hanna Gregory, Housing Services Coordinator of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Francine Garland Stark, Executive Director of The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, and the organization Partners for Peace commented that the Homeless Solutions Rule should specifically name VAWA as a privacy law that would prohibit MaineHousing from requesting confidential records, in alignment with other sections of the Rule. The suggested edit is to add the following bolded language to Section 9(B):

* "MaineHousing may copy and examine all of a Grantee's records other than medical or other confidential client information protected by VAWA or privacy laws."

MaineHousing's Response: MaineHousing will amend the language as proposed.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: 30-A M.R.S. §§4741 (1) and (18); 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 11301 et seq.