Res 2018-062/approving the recommendation of the San Marcos Commission on Children and Youth to allocate $50,285 in 2017-2018 Fiscal Year funding for 14 youth programs that contribute to implementation of the Youth Master Plan

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San Marcos Housing Authority Self-Sufficiency for Families and Youth –The SMHA Resident Services Program consists of four major initiatives: Youth Development Services, Elderly & Disabled Services, Self-Sufficiency, and Resident Organization. We work to improve quality of life, reduce dependence on the welfare system, and empower our residents to take charge of their lives and of their environment. We are requesting funds tosupport our efforts to help familiesreceiving housing assistance become more self-sufficient,thereby creating a healthier atmosphere for youth development and reducing the amount of time families need housing assistance. Our vision is to make public housing a place of family healing and development—a place where families can grow stronger while they live in decent, safe homes.Participants get the tools they need to achieve self-sufficiency through housing assistance, effective case management, facilitation of support groups, and the coordination of access to local, state, and federal resources, including connections to job training and educational resources. Participants set educational goals including vocational and two-year degree programs. They learn new skills that enable them to gain employment with a living wage, manage their money more effectively, build savings, repair credit, improve family health, and develop resilience to challenges. Participantslearn totake responsibility for their future. How they will measure program success: We track activities and outcomes on an individual basis for families enrolled in our self-sufficiency programs. Service Coordinators enter the data on a spreadsheet for their site on a monthly basis. Administrative personnel have online access to the spreadsheets so they can monitor progress toward goals, individually and collectively. This enables themtoensure that all sites are on track to meet program goals. We produce periodic financial and programmatic reports, which we submit to the City of San Marcos, the United Way of Hays County, the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and other agencies as appropriate. HUD also tracks nationwide, aggregate outcomes, such as increased earnings percentages, program graduation rates, and the percentage of residents participating in self-sufficiency programs. They calculate a composite score for each housing authority. This is a new system. As it is phased in, it will be used to rank programs as a means of monitoring program success as well as awarding new or continued grants in the FSS and ROSS programs. Priority Areas that this program will fulfill: Outcome/Goal 4: Improve the overall quality of life for San Marcos families and youth Strategy 5: Increase capacityof SM Housing Authority/Advocate for affordable housing Goals for the program: Our overall goal is to improve the quality of life for public housing residents, reduce dependence on welfare, and empower residents to take charge of their lives and their environment. Specific, targeted outcomes for our self-sufficiency programs are 1) Improved Family Health & Resilience; 2) Obtain a Full-time Job; 3) Obtain a Part-time Job or Increase Earned Income; 4) Improved Quality of Life -Effective Money Management; 5) Improved Quality of Life - Increase Score on the Self-Sufficiency Matrix by 10% within 12 months; 6) Complete Individual Training and Services Plan (ITASP); 7) Move to Private Housing/No Longer Need Housing Assistance. How will they know they met these goals: Service Coordinators keep paper and digital records of all services provided and outcomes achieved for the families they serve.They meet with participating families on a regular basis. Assessment of family health & resilience is based on observation and self-reporting of clients. They coordinate their efforts with SMHA property management personnel, including helping to resolve issues that jeopardize their continued housing assistance. They are able to obtain information such as family composition and income as well as when families move in and out of their site. Needs assessments are conducted for all new residents. With regard to improved quality of life, Service Coordinators review budgets and credit reports. They also use a Self-Sufficiency Matrix instrument to assess each family’s level of self-sufficiency at least once per year.ITASP completion isverified with appropriate documentation. Self-sufficiency plans are a multi-year effort for individual families so we track how many families enter and exit the program each year as well as how many were successful compared to how many either dropped out of the program or left the program for some other reason, such as eviction or termination of their contract due tonon- participation Number of clients served yearly:104Number of direct clients served ONLY in San Marcos: 104