a) SSHP 1. Housing-Focused Case Management Housing-Focused Case Management provides case management services through a housing lens to ensure a seamless transition from enrollment through exit. Case management shall be participant centered and delivered using strength-based approaches that recognize and build on participant’s strengths, skills, and resources to promote self-determination and self-defined goals. a. Communicate and coordinate with CE and housing partners to remove any barriers to the housing referral process; b. Facilitate participant onboarding including providing written documentation to inform participants of program components, including program overview, engagement and expectations, services overview, rent contribution explanation, subsidy termination overview, grievance policy6, and reasonable accommodation process; c. Work collaboratively with participants to develop an initial Housing Stability Plan within 30 days of program enrollment and update it at least quarterly during the case management lifespan. The Housing Stability Plan shall be documented in the ONE System in accordance with HSH policies and Standard Operating Procedures7 (SOP) and shall utilize a Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) framework to outline the participant’s self-directed goals, with an emphasis on securing and sustaining housing in the long term. These goals may include, but are not limited to: i. Search for and secure housing; ii. Increase income, connect and apply for benefits and secure employment; iii. Pursue educational goals, trainings, and/or certifications; iv. Explore community building activities that promote protective factors; v. Improve credit history and build savings; vi. Address physical or behavioral health challenges; and vii. Connect to legal resources or other social supports as needed. d. Assist with housing location and retention services to support a successful housing placement. This may include providing transportation or accompanying the participant to view units or complete applications, when needed; e. Support participants transitioning into their new home, including accompaniment during the move-in process, orienting participant to the neighborhood, and connecting to necessary external resources and services; f. Make reasonable effort to identify opportunities for participants to integrate into the neighborhood and foster a sense of belonging and empowerment through a community of peers; g. Assess all participants for public benefits, subsequently assisting participants with enrolling in, working towards, and/or maintaining all public benefits for which they qualify, including MediCal, SNAP/CalFresh, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), among others; h. Transition participants to a less intensive, as-needed form of case management when participants demonstrate housing stability by achieving the goals outlined in their Housing Stability Plan. This determination must be documented in the Housing Stability Plan and reviewed during case management supervision;
