Below are details regarding some additional items that will be discussed hopefully put to a vote at tomorrow’s MCOC Meeting.

Project Scoring and Ranking Results

All Projects were Scored using the New and Renewal Scoring Tools developed by the Project Committee and approved by the full MCOC. Projects were then Ranked according to the protocols approved by the full MCOC: Renewal Projects at the top, then “First Time” renewals, and then New Projects.  Please note that there were issues with the Monitoring and Scoring of the MaineHousing TBRA first time renewal project that will be discussed tomorrow. Please see the MCOC Project Ranking Chart below.

2017 MCOC Project Ranking spreadsheet for 9-21-17

MCOC Governance Updates

Our Governance was last updated in July 2017 after the Merger of PCOC and MCOC. Upon review, there are a few items that need to be added: 1) details regarding the Youth Committee; 2) the Process for Involuntary Reallocation (inadvertently left out of the last draft);  3) designation of this site (www.mainehomelessplanning.org) as the official MCOC web address. Here is a link to the Full Revised Governance, but please note the language specific to items one and two below.

MCOC Governance 2017

  1. Youth Committee – This committee, formally known as The Maine Homeless Youth Provider Group (MHYPG) is a Joint Standing Committee of the Maine Continuum of Care (MCoC) and the Statewide Homeless Council (SWHC).  It was formed in collaboration with several Maine agencies (DHHS, DOE & DOC) and youth serving organizations to address the need for a statewide strategy to meet the needs of youth who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, as well as to advocate for policy change to improve systems of care for those youth.  This committee is an action oriented group that collects, organizes, and shares information regarding all homeless youth in Maine.  We work to ensure that there is a system of services in place for youth who are identified as homeless or at risk of homelessness that follows best practices and meets federal and state standards of care.  We work to improve communication between provider agencies and coordinate care across the state so that youth have access to shelter, outreach and transitional living services.

    This Youth Committee exists to:

    1. Build awareness of best practices for serving homeless and at risk of homeless youth, and disseminate that information to provider agencies.
    2. Creating opportunities for youth voice to be present and/or represented in policies and decisions regarding systems, services and programs that directly impact their lives.
    3. Advocate for policies that improve access to resources for homeless and at risk of homeless youth.
    4. Create opportunities for coordination of services between state agencies and youth serving organizations.
    5. To serve as an expert resource on youth homelessness to the MCoC, SWHC and Maine State Agencies.
    6. Stay abreast of current national initiatives aimed at ending and preventing youth homelessness and advocate on a statewide level for the pursuit of resources to end and prevent youth homelessness in Maine.

2. Involuntary Reallocation
Involuntary reallocations include any renewal projects that are entirely eliminated by the CoC, or that have their possible renewal funding reduced by the CoC. The CoC may pursue involuntary reallocation for renewal projects for multiple reasons, such as unspent funds, repeated negative findings during the annual monitoring process, or scoring very low during the recent MCOC renewal competition.

Published by Scott Tibbitts