Applications due FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 by 3:00pm EST

August 12, 2022

I. Context: 

In anticipation of funding from the CT Department of Housing (DOH) for Coordinated Entry Staffing, United Way of Greater New Haven is issuing a Request for Qualifications to secure qualified agencies to provide program services described below.

United Way of Greater New Haven serves as the backbone of the Greater New Haven Coordinated Access Network (GNH CAN), a public-private partnership across nineteen towns that streamlines and standardizes the process for individuals, families, and youth to access assistance. The goal of the CAN is to make homelessness rare, brief, and a one-time experience.

The GNH CAN strives to ensure that any individual, youth or family that is experiencing literal homelessness or at imminent risk of homelessness has equal access to services that will address their housing instability as quickly as possible. In March 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, GNH transitioned 100% of appointments to phone appointments. In FY22, the GNH CAN received 9,849 CAN appointment requests. Of those, 67% were attended and 20% of those households were diverted from homelessness. In addition, it is reported that 17% of callers call back 211 for ongoing information and support.

Through this funding opportunity, the GNH CAN seeks to increase immediate, local access to the front door of the homeless response system and reduce duplicate referrals to 211.

II. Coordinated Entry Funding and Goals:

It is anticipated that a total of $310,000 will be appropriated to United Way of Greater New Haven through CT Department of Housing for coordinated entry staffing. Funds can be used through June 2024.

The Greater New Haven CAN service region includes Madison, Guilford, Branford, North Branford, East Haven, New Haven, North Haven, West Haven, Orange, Milford, Hamden, Shelton, Derby, Ansonia, Woodbridge, Bethany, Beacon Falls, Oxford, and Seymour. Organizations eligible to apply for this funding must be able to serve households within the designated jurisdiction and have demonstrated capacity to provide homeless service oversight including staff training, program implementation, and data entry and monitoring.    

Through this funding opportunity, the GNH CAN is seeking to:

1. Increase walk in access to individual CAN appointments;

2. Increase diversion outcomes for eligible households;

3. Increase local capacity to field follow-up questions and inquiries from households post-CAN appointment; and

4. Thereby, reduce the number of duplicate calls to 211 for homeless services.

III. Funded CAN Services:

Funding is limited to increasing the Coordinated Entry staffing infrastructure to the GNH CAN and cannot replace other DOH funding for CAN services already in place. Anticipated responsibilities will include:

1. Conduct in-person, walk-in CAN appointments, location(s) TBD, to assess client’s needs related to housing insecurity.

2. Proactively engage all clients in diversion conversations to identify and secure safe, viable housing opportunities outside of homeless system. 

3. Provide time-limited case management to clients accessing the GNH CAN who are not currently receiving housing-related case management services, including clients on the Greater New Haven CAN Individual Shelter Waitlist and the Greater New Haven CAN Family Stabilization List, with the goal of diverting clients from entering shelter whenever safe and appropriate to do so.

4. Ensure clients are referred and successfully linked to all appropriate resources as quickly as possible such as diversion flexible funds, community resources, and emergency shelter openings when no viable diversion plan is actualized.

5. Respond to client inquiries post-CAN appointment within 48 hours.

6. Timely entry and accurate maintenance of data accuracy in HMIS, Smart Sheets, and/or any other data infrastructure.

7. Participate in all GNH CAN meetings, as appropriate, such as the CAN morning calls and monthly entry meetings.

8. Work in collaboration with the Senior CAN Manager and CAN Entry Manager to identify areas of need and continuous improvement.

 IV. Minimum Qualifications of Applicants:

To be considered as a sub-grantee under this application, respondents must have the following minimum qualifications:

• Be a tax-exempt agency operating in greater New Haven:
  • Not-for-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status
  • Government agency
  • School or academic institution
  • Faith-based organization
• Have a demonstrated ability to serve households experiencing literal homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless, including single individuals, families, youth/young adults, chronically homeless and those fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence as defined in Category 4 of the HUD definition of homeless.  
• Possess sufficient knowledge regarding local available resources to provide timely and appropriate referrals to those in crisis.
• Have a demonstrated capability of serving multicultural, multilingual populations.
• Have demonstrated capacity to maintain high data quality standards for CT HMIS and applicable reporting.
• Have a Non-Discrimination Policy.

V. Timeline

Proposal Timeline: 

1.    RFQ Release : August 12, 2022

2.    Deadline for submitting questions : August 19, 2022 at 5:00pm

3.    Q&A Posted on UWGNH website : August 23, 2022

4.    Deadline for responses/applications : September 2, 2022 at 3:00pm

• Submit questions no later than August 19, 2022 at 5pm via email to Margaret LeFever at mlefever@uwgnh.org
• Submit RFQ responses no later than September 2, 2022 at 3pm via email to Kelly Fitzgerald at kfitzgerald@uwgnh.org

In addition: All selected applicants must be available to participate in a panel interview (if determined necessary) to be scheduled by UWGNH.  Date to be determined and based on volume of applications.

VI. Submission Formatting

a. Submissions should be in a 12-point font with 1-inch margins.

b. Document footer should include agency name and page numbers.

c. Submission cannot exceed 5 pages in length.

VII. Qualifications to be addressed in application

Please submit the following for consideration: Limit 5 pages

1. Agency Information

a. Contact Information:

• Name
• Phone Number
• E-mail Address
• Address of principal place of business

b. Regional Catchment Area: Identify the cities and towns where the CAN services will be provided.

c. Agency Capacity: Please provide a general overview of the agency and why it is uniquely positioned to support this work.

2. Service Capacity:

a. Please indicate how your agency has experience in or is uniquely qualified to provide functions as described in Section III.

3. Commitments to Equity and Collaboration

a. UWGNH is committed to continued learning and action to foster an equitable, just, and inclusive community where each of our neighbors has the opportunity to thrive. Please tell us how your agency demonstrates a commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

b. UWGNH is also committed to building effective collaboration between and across service providers.  Describe how your organization collaborates with other agencies - in providing services, referrals, advocacy, participation in collaborative groups, or in other ways. 

4.  Financial Capacity & Budget

a. Describe how the agency will ensure allocated funds are tracked and used in accordance with the grant?

b. Submit a budget breakdown of the proposed use of funds, including line items for personnel, direct, and administrative expenses.

• It is anticipated to award positions at a cost of $75,000 per position.
• Administrative costs cannot exceed 10%.

5.  Data Management:

Describe your capacity to collect client level data and your ability to adhere to Data Quality and Performance Management Standards set by the CT Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Steering Committee using the HMIS used in CT (CASEWORTHY), or your willingness to implement such data collection standards within three months of award.

 VIII. Evaluation Criteria:

Applications that are submitted by the deadline will be evaluated by a diverse committee of UWGNH staff, community members, and those with lived experience in the workforce development field.  Answers will be reviewed and scored based on responses to Section VII. Questions are weighted using the following breakdown of points:

Agency Capacity : 25

Service Capacity : 35

Commitments to Equity and Collaboration : 25

Financial Capacity and Budget :15

Total Possible Points : 100

 IX. Q&A :

1. What is the purpose of this RFQ?

The purpose of this RFQ is to increase capacity for those conducting CAN appointments within the Greater New Haven Region. The goal would be to reduce the number of appointments conducted by a single navigator to increase the time they can spend returning client phone calls from previously conducted appointments and therefore, reduce the number of times a client calls back to 211 to get in touch with their navigator. The other goal of this RFQ is to be able to provide walk-in CAN appointments in areas of the region that are experiencing the highest need.

2. Do you need to already be a provider conducting CAN appointments to apply?

No.

3. Is there a target population for this RFQ not listed?

The highest area of need is for individuals in and directly around New Haven.

4.  For the walk-in CAN appointment position, are there already set locations that this position will complete CAN appointments at?

No. We have discussed our local HUBs as potential locations, but no specific location has been set in stone for this new position. We would like to be able to assess need and utilization before we create a concrete schedule.

 

For any questions, please contact Kelly Fitzgerald at kfitzgerald@uwgnh.org.