1.1: Ending Family Homelessness: An Overview
This workshop will provide an overview of the research, policies, andlocal program innovations that are transforming the nation’s response tofamily homelessness. It is an ideal introduction to the “big picture”of what it will take to end homelessness for families.

1.2: Building Blocks: Planning a Family Homelessness System
This workshop is for those interested in how to make their community’sfamily homelessness programs into an efficient system. For state andlocal officials, planners, advocates, and leaders of provider agencies,this session will cover reducing fragmentation and organizing a familysystem that gets results. This workshop will discuss how a well-plannedfamily homelessness system can produce more effective prevention,shorter spells of homelessness, and minimized consequences ofhomelessness for families.

1.6: Addressing Family Homelessness in Rural Communities
Responding to rural family homelessness is complicated by problems ofidentifying homeless families and allocating scarce resources acrosswide service areas. Rural communities across the country have madesignificant progress in reducing family homelessness and increasing theeffectiveness of their Continuums of Care (CoC). This workshop willprofile the strategies of effective rural programs and communities andidentify how these strategies can facilitate successful HEARTHimplementation.

1.7: Understanding the HEARTH Act
The HEARTH Act will put a greater focus on performance and flexibility,significantly changing how the Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment funds homelessness assistance. This session will detail thebasic features of the HEARTH Act and its implications for yourcommunity.

2.1 Basics of Rapid Re-Housing
Rapid re-housing programs offer a constellation of services, includinghousing search aid, rental assistance, and transitional case managementto help families minimize their time in shelter to secure a home oftheir own. This workshop provides an introduction to rapid re-housingfor families and includes a discussion of how the model is being used toserve domestic violence survivors.

2.4: Growing Resources: Connecting Families to Benefits and Services
he process of accessing public benefits and services can be a challengefor both caseworkers and families. Presenters in this workshop willdiscuss ways to better advocate for families experiencing homelessness,including ways to implement the SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and RecoveryInitiative (SOAR), leverage TANF benefits, and more.

2.5: A Rising Tide: How to Respond to Increased Family Homelessness
Across the country, many communities are experiencing an increase inhomelessness among families. This workshop will offer examples of howsome communities are responding to these increases, and discussalternatives to developing shelters as a means to address homelessness.

2.6 Expert Forum: Data and Performance Simplified
Homeless assistance increasingly relies on data, performancemeasurement, and management of information systems. This workshop willdescribe elementary concepts in data and performance management, as wellas practical strategies for using data systems to support aperformance-based homeless assistance system. This workshop is designedto prepare those inexperienced with data and performance measurement forthe HEARTH Data and Performance Measurement workshop.

2.7: Addressing the Substance Abuse Challenges of Homeless Families
Oftentimes, families experiencing homelessness have either a history ofsubstance abuse or active substance use, which presents a barrier tohelping them re-access housing, particularly within organizations orprograms that require abstinence. Presenters in this workshop willidentify ways of addressing the substance abuse challenges faced byfamilies. Both abstinence and harm-reduction strategies will beincluded.

2.8: Expert Forum: Advancing the Federal Strategic Plan
Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessnessset ambitious goals for ending homelessness this decade. In thisworkshop, staff from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness willprovide an update on progress toward the goals laid out in the plan anddiscuss implementation efforts made by the Administration.

3.2: On Point: Targeting your Prevention Efforts
In this workshop, speakers examine how to target prevention resources byidentifying key risk factors, evaluating prevention outcomes, andimproving program performance. Invited speakers will go over their ownprevention programs, evaluate their successes and failures, and sharestrategies that have proven effective at efficiently targeting preciousresources.

3.4: Ending Homelessness for Veterans and their Families
More veterans are experiencing homelessness with their families. TheU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is aggressively pursuing an end toveterans’ homelessness by collaborating with community partners that areworking to end family homelessness. This workshop will focus on how VAprograms and local communities can work together to meet their mutualgoals of ending veteran and family homelessness, and discuss new fundingopportunities for nonprofits.

3.7: Voluntary Case Management Strategies
Interest in voluntary models of case management is growing with theincreased use of rapid re-housing and permanent supportive housingmodels. Speakers in this workshop will discuss engagement strategies andthe organizational shift needed to serve families through a voluntaryapproach. Panelists will focus on services for young mothers andsurvivors of domestic violence.

4.3: In Transition: Making the Most of Your Transitional Housing Resources
Increased use of prevention, rapid re-housing and permanent supportivehousing is giving communities a new set of tools to end familyhomelessness. As a result, transitional housing providers can nowtarget this resource much more strategically or redesign their approachaltogether. Presenters will provide examples of conversion,specialization, and modification of transitional housing programs toimprove outcomes.

4.4: Closing the Front Door: Decreasing Homelessness through Successful Diversion
What does it take to create a successful diversion program? Whichstrategies work the best? Speakers in the workshop will go beyondsurface-level discussions and explore how diversion programs helpparticipants avoid entry into homelessness. Representatives fromsuccessful programs will discuss the tactics they use in their everydaywork, including ways to help people who come to the “front door” oftheir homeless system secure temporary housing with family members orfriends when that is a better option.

4.7: Rethinking Services: Partnering for Results
Families could benefit from a wider array of services than homelessprograms are typically able to provide. This workshop will examine howhomeless service providers are developing new partnerships to leveragequality services for families and improve housing outcomes.

5.1: Learning Labs: Using Workgroups to Improve Community Interventions
Some communities regularly convene workgroups to monitor implementationof HPRP and other initiatives to end homelessness. The workgroupsmonitor progress and use preliminary data to refine programinterventions, inform local policies, and educate stakeholders. Thisworkshop will examine the use of local workgroups to improve acommunity’s response to family homelessness.

5.2: What's Working: Examples from Successful Prevention Programs
Community-based prevention strategies have shown strong, measurableresults when programs have utilized effective targeting techniques. Thisworkshop will offer case studies from communities that havesuccessfully implemented prevention strategies by targeting high-needfamilies.

5.4: Identifying and Serving Unsheltered Families
Families experiencing homelessness are sometimes hidden in substandardhousing, tent cities, or cars. Inability to find these families may leadto inaccurate homeless counts and a dearth of appropriate services.Speakers in this workshop will offer suggestions on how to work withdifferent community partners to find, serve, and relocate unshelteredfamilies.

5.5: Leveraging Your Message to Advance Your Advocacy Agenda
Communication is one of the most integral parts of any advocacy effort.By properly identifying their main messages and effectivelycommunicating with decision makers and opinion leaders, communities areable to build momentum and secure new resources for their efforts to endhomelessness. Presenters will discuss ways to create and identify coremessages, as well as the most effective strategies for sharing theirmessages with policymakers.

5.6: One Month or 18? Maximizing HPRP to End Homelessness
The Department of Housing and Urban Development encourages the use ofHPRP to provide just enough financial assistance, but no more than isneeded, to prevent or end homelessness for families. This workshopexamines strategies to allocate local HPRP funding and maximize thenumber of families served.

5.7: Bridging the Gap: Connecting Systems to Benefit Families
Coordinating homeless assistance services with mainstream servicesultimately leads to better outcomes for families experiencinghomelessness. The workshop will focus on ways to integrate resourcesacross systems, including use of systems integration and regionalinteragency councils on homelessness. Speakers will discuss strategiesthey have used to create collaboration on issues such as childdevelopment and domestic violence, to develop agency memorandums ofunderstanding, and to establish other connections with mainstreamservices.

6.1: Supporting Families: Federal Funding Opportunities
This workshop explores new federal funding resources that can servehomeless and at-risk parents and children. Home Visiting and the Housingand Services Demonstration for Homeless Persons are among the programscovered.

6.2: Building Employment Capacity for Homeless Families
Helping individuals build the skills necessary to secure stableemployment and earn an income is a key part of ensuring housingstabilization and ending homelessness. This workshop will coverstrategies to help parents find long-term employment and build theireducational credentials. Speakers will explore engagement strategies andhow to develop partnerships with local employment and educationalinstitutions.

6.3: Prioritizing Permanent Housing: Advanced Re-Housing Strategies
This workshop examines strategies for placing permanent housing frontand center on the local homelessness assistance agenda, in line withincreasing federal emphasis on that goal. Speakers will discuss usefulstrategies for assisting families by working with landlords,facilitating shared living arrangements, and providing homelessnessdiversion services.

6.4: Family Matters: Family Preservation and Family Reunification
Homeless and at-risk families are often times impacted by prior orcurrent involvement with systems such as Corrections and Child Welfare.This workshop will focus on understanding the impact of these systems onfamilies and how housing models and programs can help families to staytogether or reunify.

6.7 Intensive Service Interventions for People with Disabilities
This workshop will bring together program staff who have experienceworking with parents who are struggling with mental health, substanceabuse or physical challenges such as HIV/AIDS. Presenters will shareservice models to help families stabilize in housing and thrive.

6.8: Understanding the HEARTH Act
The HEARTH Act will put a greater focus on performance and flexibility,significantly changing how the Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment funds homelessness assistance. This session will detail thebasic features of the HEARTH Act and its implications for yourcommunity.