For Member Agencies

Updated Application and enrollment forms, HMIS paperwork, Housing Plan of care template, and other resources to support YHDP project implementation

(contact demo@wcysb.org if you need Word versions or any support with the below documents)

YHDP PROJECT GENERAL APPLICATION PAPERWORK

YHDP Housing Application (updated 8.1.20)

YHDP Release of Information and Certifications for additional adult household members (updated 7.13.20)

YHDP Verification of Homelessness (updated 7.13.20)

YHDP Disability Verification (updated 3.4.20)

Sponsor Agency Certification (updated 5.12.20)

RECERTIFICATION

YHDP Recertification for Interim and Annual Adjustments (updated 8.1.20)

HMIS Addendum for Parenting Youth Households (updated 4.2021) - complete, in addition to the YHDP Recertification form, to add a new child to a youth's household in HMIS

YHDP COORDINATED ENTRY RESOURCES

CE Guidance for YHDP Projects (updated 4.6.20)

CE Referral Letter Template - Word version for editing (updated 4.3.20)

CE Referral Letter Template- PDF Version (updated 4.3.20)

VCRHYP Coordinated Entry Exit Form (updated 4.2021) - use to remove youth you've assessed for Coordinated Entry from the master list

VCRHYP Coordinated Entry Exit Form, reduced ink (updated 4.2021) - use to remove youth you've assessed for Coordinated Entry from the master list

RAPID REHOUSING PROJECT SPECIFIC INFO

HMIS PAPERWORK

RRH, HN, LL, and DIVERSION

YHDP HMIS Intake Assessment (updated 6.2021)

YHDP HMIS Intake Assessment, reduced ink (updated 6.2021)

YHDP HMIS Quarterly Update (updated 7.2021)

YHDP HMIS Quarterly Update, reduced ink (updated 7.2021)

YHDP HMIS Exit Assessment (updated 6.2021)

YHDP HMIS Exit Assessment, reduced ink (updated 6.2021)

YHDP HMIS Project Switch Form (updated 6.2021) - use to switch youth between different YHDP projects

YHDP HMIS Project Switch Form, reduced ink (updated 6.2021) - use to switch youth between different YHDP projects

YHDP HMIS Change in Location Form (updated 6.2021) - use if youth is evicted or vacates a RRH unit, but remains in the program

YHDP HMIS Change in Location Form, reduced ink (updated 6.2021) - use if youth is evicted or vacates a RRH unit, but remains in the program

JOINT COMPONENT

YHDP HMIS Joint Component Intake Assessment (updated 6.2021)

YHDP HMIS Joint Component Intake Assessment, reduced ink (updated 6.2021)

YHDP HMIS Joint Component Change in Location Form (updated 6.2021) - use if youth is evicted from or vacates a RRH or TH unit, but remains in the program OR if youth is moving between project components (RRH->TH or TH->RRH)

YHDP HMIS Joint Component Change in Location Form, reduced ink (updated 6.2021) - use if youth is evicted from or vacates a RRH or TH unit, but remains in the program OR if youth is moving between project components (RRH->TH or TH->RRH)

YHDP HMIS Project Switch Form (updated 6.2021) - use to switch youth from a different YHDP Project (i.e. Housing Navigation) or TLP to Joint Component project

YHDP HMIS Project Switch Form, reduced ink (updated 6.2021) - use to switch youth from a different YHDP Project (i.e. Housing Navigation) or TLP to Joint Component project

YHDP HMIS Quarterly Update Form (updated 7.2021)

YHDP HMIS Quarterly Update Form, reduced ink (updated 7.2021)

YHDP HMIS Exit Assessment (updated 6.2021)

YHDP HMIS Exit Assessment, reduced ink (updated 6.2021)

YHDP HOUSING PLAN OF CARE TEMPLATES

VCRHYP YHDP Crisis Housing Plan of Care template

VCRHYP YHDP Housing Stability Plan of Care template

Training Opportunities & New Employee Orientation

New Employee Orientation Materials

VCRHYP Orientation Manual (updated 3.6.19)

Appendix for VCRHYP Orientation Manual (updated 3.6.19)

Training Opportunities

Positive Youth Development (PYD) 101 - A series of short courses intended to introduce PYD to new youth work professionals, volunteers, and advocates. Stand-alone, interactive courses, which may be taken in any order, can be completed in about 30 minutes each. Courses are open to all, but registration is required. The six available courses include:

Principles of PYD
Puberty and adolescence
Youth and technology
Youth development programming
Youth voice and engagement
Youth work ethics

Promoting Positive Pathways to Adulthood - A free online training, from the Research and Training Center for Pathways to Positive Futures, designed for direct service providers to increase skills in engaging and supporting youth and young adults in the transition years who have mental health challenges. Training consists of ten hour-long online modules and a self-study guide. The ten modules include:

Partnering with youth
Promoting recovery
Increasing cultural awareness
Fostering resilience
Promoting cross-cultural relationships
Providing individualized services
Supporting healthy relationships
Collaborating to bridge service gaps
Promoting community supports
Using evidence-supported practices

RHYTTAC eLearning - A web-based application containing training documents, PowerPoint presentations, and recorded webinar trainings. Courses may be taken at one's own pace anywhere internet is available. To sign up for eLearning, contact Ari (akisler@vcrhyp.org) for information you'll need to complete the registration form. Many of the training requirements laid out in FYSB's Final Rule and Funding Opportunity Announcements can be met through eLearning options, such as:

Core support services for BCPs and TLPs
Crisis intervention techniques
Cultural and linguistic diversity
Development of coordinated networks of private agencies and/or public agencies to provide services

Addressing the Legal Needs of Students Experiencing Homelessness - A free 90-minute webinar from the American Bar Association on innovative legal strategies for advocates and attorneys to protect the rights of students experiencing homelessness inside and outside the school gates.

Hollywood Homeless Youth Partnership online training - A series of online lessons designed for direct care staff working with homeless youth, including staff working in drop-in centers, emergency shelters, transitional living programs, and independent living programs. Registration (free) with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Learning Center is required to access this training. This 11-lesson course covers a range of topics:

Adolescent Development
Adolescent Risk Behaviors: Self Injurious Behaviors and Suicide, Sexually-Related Risks, Substance Abuse
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Youth
HIV Testing and Homeless Youth
Legal and Ethical Issues
Psychological First Aid for Youth Experiencing Homelessness
Resiliency
Runaway and Homeless Youth
Trauma and Runaway and Homeless Youth

Working with Parents Involved in the Child Welfare System - Unresolved trauma can negatively affect parents’ coping, parenting, and the ability to interact effectively with the child welfare system. This online course was developed for individuals who work with birth parents involved in the child welfare system, and offers tips for viewing parents through a trauma lens, practical strategies to provide effective support to parents, and reminders about the importance of professionals’ own self-care. Registration (free) with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Learning Center is required to access this training.

The 12 Core Concepts - This course contains interactive online lessons that lead you through the 12 Core Concepts for Understanding Traumatic Stress Responses in Children and Families. The Core Concepts are conceptual lenses used to better understand childhood trauma, its causes, effects, and strength-based systems approaches to case conceptualization and intervention planning. Registration (free) with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Learning Center is required to access this training.

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network Learning Center's Continuing Education - The Continuing Education section of the NCTSN Learning Center provides free access to NCTSN experts and up-to-date, science-based information in the areas of assessment, treatment and services, training, research and evaluation, and organizational and systems change for traumatized children, adolescents, and their families. Continuing education credits are available for many courses in this expanding online catalog that has been developed for mental health professionals, parents and caregivers, policymakers, and others who work with and care about children and adolescents. Register for free to access training on a wide variety of trauma-related topics, such as:

Community Violence and Trauma: Supporting Youth and Building Resilience
Crossover Youth and Trauma-Informed Practice
Family Systems
Partnering with Youth and Families in Trauma Settings
Polyvictimization and Complex Trauma
Understanding the Complex Needs of Commercially Sexually Exploited Children

Agency Policies & Procedures

These are sample policies and procedures shared by VCRHYP member agencies that may be helpful examples if you are developing or updating your own policy/procedure. Please reach out directly to an agency for more information about what is shared here.

Social Media
NEKCA - Social Media Policy
Youth Services, Inc. - Social Media Policy, Client Social Media Communications Agreement

Worker Safety
Windsor County Youth Services - Safety Policy

Youth Safety
Windsor County Youth Services - Suicidal Youth & Supervision of Youth policies

Notification of Guardians
Windsor County Youth Services - Parental Notifications Policy

Shelter & On-Call
Windsor County Youth Services - Shelter Policies & Procedures
Washington County Youth Service Bureau - On-Call Procedures

Resources for RHY Programs

Additional resources are available from the Runaway and Homeless Youth Training & Technical Assistance Center (RHYTTAC)

Education & Employment

National Center for Homeless Education Resources - A wide variety of resources, training and issue briefs related to the federal Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program. For assistance with an issue related to the education of a child or youth experiencing homelessness, contact the NCHE homeless education helpline at 1-800-308-2145 or homeless@serve.org.

Workforce Connections: Key "Soft Skills" that Foster Youth Workforce Success - Recommendations from a multi-faceted study about the key soft skills for youth workforce success. Includes a literature review as well as input from researchers, youth workforce program implementers, employers, and youth themselves.

Financial Aid Toolkit - A toolkit from the U.S. Department of Education that provides federal student aid information and outreach tools for counselors, college access professionals, nonprofit mentors, and other advisors.

Pathways to High-Quality Jobs for Young Adults - A report, published by the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings and Child Trends, that provides insight on how young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds can develop the skills and readiness to get good jobs.

Social & Emotional Well-Being

Building the Core Skills Youth Need for Life: A Guide for Education and Social Service Practitioners - A guide, released by Harvard University's Center on the Developing Child, that focuses on adolescent stress and self-regulation. Includes five skills crucial for self-regulation and healthy adulthood, tips for helping young people build core skills, information on the impact of stress on development, and five ways programs can reduce stress through thoughtful program design.

Behind the Asterisk: Perspectives on Young Adult Mental Health from "Small and Hard-to-Reach Communities" - A report from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) examines the mental health needs and opinions of 26 young adults ages 16-25 living in poverty in marginalized, small, and hard to reach communities—populations whose small size often relegates their input to an “asterisk” in large-scale studies. Participants’ unique perspectives, collected via focus group discussions and featured in the report, include ideas on health insurance, how they define mental health, and how to improve access to mental health care. RHY programs can use key findings and policy recommendations to ensure that mental health services for young adults are culturally relevant, attractive, and accessible.

Supporting Young People in the Wake of Violence and Trauma - A brief, developed by The National Mentoring Partnership and the Mental Health Association of New York, to support programs, mentors, and young people in the wake of violence and trauma. Includes steps to prepare yourself, as a mentor, to engage and support youth.

Secondary Traumatic Stress and Vicarious Trauma - A tip sheet from RHYTTAC that defines, explains, and provides resources on secondary traumatic stress.

Resource Guide to Trauma-Informed Human Services - Developed by ACF, SAMHSA, the Administration for Community Living, the Offices of the Assistant Secretary for Health, and the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at HHS, this guide is intended to provide an introduction to the topic of trauma, a discussion of why understanding and addressing trauma is important for human services programs, and a “road map” to find relevant resources.

Promoting Protective Factors for In-Risk Families and Youth: A Guide for Practitioners - A Fact Sheet by the Child Welfare Information Gateway and Children's Bureau about how to use protective factors to help children, youth, and families negotiate difficult circumstance and fair better in school, work, and life.

Life Skills

Let's Talk: Runaway Prevention Curriculum - A free, evidence-based life skills curriculum, from the National Runaway Safeline. The curriculum's 14 modules are intended to educate young people about alternatives to running away as well as to build life skills so that youth can resolve problems without resorting to running away or unsafe behavior. Designed for youth ages 10-20, but can be easily adapted for other age groups.

Domestic Violence

Promising Futures - A website of Futures Without Violence that offers resources to help transform or enhance a program's ability to effectively meet the needs of women, children, and youth experiencing domestic violence.

Runaway & Homeless Youth and Relationship Violence Toolkit: Guidance and Materials for Practitioners - A toolkit developed by and for advocates in the RHY and domestic violence/sexual assault fields to help programs better address relationship violence with runaway and homeless youth.

Preventing Intimate Partner Violence Across the Lifespan: A Technical Package of Programs, Policies, and Practices - A resource developed by the CDC's Division of Violence Prevention that describes strategies and approaches based on the best available evidence for preventing intimate partner violence, including teen dating violence.

Program Implementation

Identifying and Addressing Barriers to Program Implementation: A Tool for Community Reflection - A step-by-step guide, created by Jobs for the Future and Forum for Youth Investment, for assessing programmatic barriers affecting youth, gaps in services, and funding restrictions that prevent communities from achieving cross-sector goals. RHY providers can use this tool to learn about blended funding approaches and improve resource sharing in their local communities.

RHY Program Frequently Asked Questions - A document released by FYSB and RHYTTAC to address common questions posed by grantees.

Ready for Anything: A Disaster Planning Manual for RHY Programs - A manual covering prevention and preparedness, response, and recovery. Includes worksheets and checklists to guide RHY programs step-by-step through the process of creating an emergency-preparedness plan.

Conducting a Youth Count: A Toolkit - From Chapin Hall's Voices of Youth Count, a toolkit that provides guidance and tools to communities looking to improve ways they count youth experiencing homelessness.

Eligibility for RHY Programs - A tip sheet from RHYTTAC that highlights eligibility for FYSB's Basic Center Programs, Transitional Living Programs, Maternity Groups Homes, and Street Outreach Programs.

Harm Reduction in RHY Programs - A tip sheet from RHYTTAC that defines harm reduction and what it can look like in RHY programs.

Emerging Strategies for Engaging Young People in Systems of Care - A report from the Research and Training Center for Pathways to Positive Future (out of Portland State University), that describes strategies for improving engagement with older youth and young adults ages 18-24. Based on interviews with 26 providers in eight states, the resource describes positive features of drop-in settings, peer engagement, and using social media for outreach. RHY providers seeking to improve service retention for older adolescents can read the report for tips on programming, physical spaces, and how to break down unnecessary barriers.

Social Media Advertising 101 - A tip sheet from SAMHSA about how social media advertising can help non-profit organizations elevate their messaging.

Putting Positive Youth Development into Practice: A Resource Guide - Prepared by the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth, this guide gives an in-depth introduction to Positive Youth Development, including practical tips, checklists, and resources for learning more.

Missed Opportunities: Evidence on Interventions for Addressing Youth Homelessness - A Research-to-Impact brief from Chapin Hall that summarizes their findings about the effectiveness of youth homelessness programs and practices.

Youth Leadership & Engagement

The Positive Power of Youth Organizing - Website for The Funders' Collaborative on Youth Organizing, an organization that aims to promote leadership development among young people of color and youth living in poverty by supporting youth-led social justice initiatives. FCYO’s website features video interviews with young organizers describing ways that involvement impacted their communities and personal development, as well as organizing toolkits and related research. RHY providers can incorporate youth organizing into programming as a way to boost young people’s social-emotional development and to advocate for social change impacting RHY and their peers.

The Necessity of Authentic Engagement: 5 Ways to Build Connections with Youth Facing Adversity - A blog post by staff from the Center for Combating Human Trafficking discussing ways to engage youth in a way that builds a connection that opens the door to service engagement.

A Framework for Effectively Partnering with Young People - A guide, from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, describing core components of authentic youth-adult partnerships, which adult behaviors uphold partnership, and questions to assess whether effective practices are in place.

Embedding a Racial Equity Perspective in the Positive Youth Development Approach - A brief from ChildTrends that explains how positive youth development programs can more effectively engage with, support, and meet the needs of youth and young adults of color by embedding a racial equity perspective into their work.

Housing Models

Rapid Re-housing Handbook: A Resource Guidebook for Rapid Re-housing Programs - Point Source Youth's comprehensive guide on using rapid re-housing approaches with youth. Includes lessons learned by youth-serving organizations that employ the model, sample materials and planning tools, and discussion about how rapid re-housing approaches address social inequities.

Rapid Re-Housing for Youth Toolkit: A toolkit, developed by the National Alliance to End Homelessness through the Rapid Re-Housing for Youth Learning Community and Practice Knowledge Project, that gathers key lessons learned from innovate providers about how they are implementing the RRH model for youth. Covers topics such as housing first, overview of rapid re-housing, housing identification, rent and move-in assistance, case management and services, and RRH as a systems approach to ending youth homelessness.

Host Homes Handbook: A Resource Guide for Host Home Programs - Point Source Youth's comprehensive guide on using a host home model with youth. Includes lessons learned by youth-serving organizations that employ the model and sample materials and planning tools.

Special Populations

Reentry Starts Here: A Guide for Youth in Long-Term Juvenile Corrections and Treatment Programs - Developed by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OFFDP), this resource is intended to help young people in juvenile corrections and treatment programs prepare for reentry and success in the community.

National Recommended Best Practices for Serving LGBT Homeless Youth - A resource developed by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the National Network for Youth, Lambda Legal, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Includes recommendations for those working directly with LGBT youth, how to improve agency-wide culture and effectiveness in serving LGBT youth, and specific steps administrators and youth workers can take to improve the experiences of LGBT youth in residential settings.

Voices of Youth Count - Chapin Hall's website for their research initiative designed to link evidence and action by capturing the experiences of runaway, unaccompanied homeless and unstably housed youth, more clearly defining the size of the population and scope of the issue, and driving compelling knowledge into the hands of the broad national community dedicated to ending youth homelessness. View research-to-impact briefs on:

Human Trafficking/Exploitation Resources

Resources from National Partners

Human Trafficking for RHY Serving Agencies: A Resource Guide - A comprehensive introduction about the intersection of RHY programs and human trafficking provided by FYSB and RHYTTAC. Provides information about a wide variety of topics, including: legal definitions, the role of RHY programs, program models, and building a collaborative community approach.

Human Trafficking and RHY - Practical Tools for Grantees: Online Recruitment of Youth Via Social Media and the Internet - A resource from the Family & Youth Services Bureau that discusses trafficking recruitment of youth through social media platforms and highlights strategies to assist RHY grantees in discussing this topic with youth. *find additional resources like this on RHYTTAC's webpage for human trafficking digital resources and factsheets

Shining Light on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: A Toolkit to Build Understanding - A resource from the Wichita State University Center for Combating Human Trafficking and Youth Collaboratory that provides information on a variety of topics related to human trafficking, with a special focus on mentoring for commercial sexual exploitation victims. This toolkit includes information about emerging research and best practices, along with implications for practice at the individual, program, and community levels.

Human Trafficking in Youth-serving Programs: A Blueprint for Organizations Working with Street Youth, Homeless Youth, and Youth at Risk - An introduction to important information for any youth-serving organization considering providing services to homeless youth who have been trafficked. The resource addresses issues such as: common misconceptions, recruitment into labor and sex trafficking, understanding risk and protective factors, prevention and intervention, and approaches to work with trafficked youth.

Vermont-specific Resources

Vermont Human Trafficking Victim Resource Guide - A guide compiled by the Vermont Human Trafficking Task Force that includes contacts, tips, tools, and referrals for professionals who may encounter a suspected trafficking situation.

Labor Trafficking Fact Sheet - A document from the Vermont Human Trafficking Task Force that provides essential information about labor trafficking.

Vermont Victim Assistance Program - Website for Vermont's program that aims to to reduce the financial, emotional and physical consequences of criminal victimization, to prevent victimization by law enforcement and the criminal justice system and to assist victims with problems that result from their victimization. Includes contact information for State's Attorney Victim Advocates, Statewide Victim Advocates, and Special Investigative Unit Victim Advocates.

Screening Tools

Use of these specific tools is optional, but BCPs and TLPs are required to screen youth in services for human trafficking/ exploitation (sex and labor). Please contact Ari Kisler (akisler@vcrhyp.org) if you want to discuss implementing any of the following tools.

Child Trafficking Rapid Screening Instrument (RST) from CHILDRIGHT: New York - Click here to read the report developed by the Center for the Human Rights of Children at Loyola University that includes information about how the tool was validated and how it should be administered. Click here to access the tool (note that you will need to create a card to hand to youth for questions 9 & 10).

Human Trafficking Screening Tool (HTST) from Urban Institute - Click here to read the report developed by Urban Institute that includes information about how the tool was validated and how it should be administered. Click here to access the long version of the tool and here to access the short version of the tool.

Quick Youth Indicators for Trafficking (QYIT) from Covenant House New Jersey - Click here to read the study that includes information about how the tool was validated and how it should be administered. Click here to access the tool.