Project Build! A Loan Modification Program in Michigan

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1 TÞro ect ItleúrlDr A partnership between Jewish Famity Service and Building Industry Association of Southeastern Michigan Proqram Overview Project Build! is a partnership between Jewish Family Service (JFS) and Building Industry Association of Southeastern Michigan (BIA) that provides older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals and families to remain living in safe, functional and barrier-free homes through pro bono repairs and renovations provided by local builders, remodelers and suppliers. Recent projects have included the replacement of a broken step that could cause great injury to an older adult, a new roof, installation of a working toilet; a full handicap accessible bathroom remodel for a wheelchair-bound woman and a complete modular home remodel for a woman who is hearing impaired in partnership with The Home Depot in Commerce Township. Program Management Project Build! is managed by the JFS Development Associate, BIA-Vice President Communications, Project Build! Program Coordinator, and the Project Build! Steering Committee. All policies and documents have been approved by JFS legal counsel. JFS Development Associate-Responsible for leadership recruitment and oversight; coordination of the Steering committee, resource development and overall program management BIA Vice President Communications-Responsible for volunteer recruitment, liaison to BIA Charitable and Educational Foundation, assistance with marketing and overall program management JFS Program Coordinator- Responsible for all day-to-day coordination of individual jobs, including communication with BIA, volunteers and Client Liaisons, completion of all client forms and history, and collection of volunteer information; completion and organization of evaluation tools; and other adrninistrative activities Steering Committee-Recruit volunteers and in-kind resouices, oversee all program policies and procedures, assist with jobs Volunteer Elieibilitv Criteria 1. The volunteer can show documentation of current business liability insurance. 2. If appropriate, the volunteer can show documentation of current licensure to practice the contracting service. 3. The volunteer is willing to sign an Acknowledgement of privacy form. 4. The volunteer has completed a Volunteer Interest Form. Client Elisibilitv Criteria 1. The individual is an active client of Jewish Family Service and has an assigned case manager to the program. If there is a counseling, Project Chessed, or other client of the Agency that is eligible for Project Build!, they must first be assigned to a case manager before being referred for the program.

2 2. The client agrees to sign a Disclosure Form and participant Agreement. 3. The client is in need of home repairs that they caffrot afford to fix as determined by the financial assistance matrix used by JFS. Exceptions may be made in certain situations by the case manageí and supervisor. 4. The case manageí will assess all other resources to support the home repair before referring to Project Build! (Insurance, Community Resources, other-see attached home repair.esoor."r. 5. The client owns the home and is current with the mortgage and taxes, or the house is paid off. The case manager will obtain documentation of current mortgage and up to date payments. In cases where the home is not current with mortgage and taxes, the client must be in process of a home modification or working in a positive direction to correct the problem. 6. The client has active homeowners insurance and will provide documentation to the case manager to keep on file. 7. The client will likely remain living in the home for the foreseeable future. Any potential concerns could be related to financial, medical, employment/relocation or other reasons. 8' The client, or client representative, is able to communicate all needs and actively participate in the coordination efforts with the case manager, Program Coordinator, and volunteers. 9. The client understands, is comfortable with, and is a willing participant in this process that would bring more than one volunteer into their home to do the work. 10. Whenever possible, the client will commit to being at their home during the time the volunteer is scheduled to come to the initial assessment and during all repairs. (In some cases, they will not need to be home. These cases will be clearly communicated to the case manager.). I 1. The client can state (will sign on the participant statement) that to the best of their knowledge, the work will be maintained and is not at risk for being damaged due to environmental factors (animal or insect infestation, overgrown trees, other), pets, or other factors. Client Referral and Assessment Procedure 1. The case manager will do a home assessment to observe the problem, determine who is living in the home, and identiûz any potential risk factors that would damage the outcome of the work (infestation, pets, other). 2. The case manager will submit the initial request (using the Project Build! Referral Form) to their immediate supervisor to review for eligibility, and to determine if there may be other resources available. During this process, the supervisor will define the specific job focus with the case manager to communicate with the client. 3. The case manger will submit the Client Referral Form to the Project Buitd! Program Coordinator. 4. The Program Coordinator will assess the appropriateness of the request, consult with the case manager and prioritize it if necessary.

3 5. 6. The case manager will submit a signed Disclosure Form to the Program Coordinator before the assessment is completed. The Program Coordinator will pass the client case to the Project Build! Steering Committee Assessment Team. One member of the team will take the case and go out to assess the home. The Program Coordinator will coordinate the day and time of the assessment with the case manager, The Program Coordinator and case manager must be present for the assessment. IndÍvidual Proiect Oversisht Procedure *There is no guarantee that the work needed will be completed by Project Build! The volunteers wiii assess the work requested and based on need and available resources will decide which cases, and particular projects within each case, will be accepted. 1. The case manager will communicate regularly with the client regarding the boundaries of the work to be completed by the volunteer. It is important that the client does not ask the volunteer to begin working in other areas aside from the job for which they were originally assigned. 2. During the first visit, the Steering Committee Assessment Team member will assess the job to determine if it is appropriate for the program. At this time, if available, the Assessment Team member will suggest specific work to be completed and details as to what supplies would be required (color, sizes, brand names). 3. If it is determined at the assessment that the job is not appropriate for the program, the Program Coordinator will communicate with the case manager who will communicate with the client as to why the job is not appropriate for Project Build! 4. If it is determined at the assessment that the j ob is appropriate for the program, the Program Coordinator will work with the Assessment Team Member and BIA Liaison to identify the volunteers and supplies to complete the work. 5. The Program Coordinator will contact the volunteer(s) and supplier(s) that are identified to coordinate the project. If it is a new volunteer, the Program Coordinator will also send the Volunteer Interest Form for the volunteer to complete and return, along with other necessary paperwork þroof of licensure, insurance and HIPAA form). 6. The Assessment Team member wíll remain involved to oversee each project through completion and will communicate with the lead volunteer to determine all volunteer and supply needs. 7. The Program Coordinator will communicate with the case manager to organize a start date and throughout the entire project. The Program Coordinator will be present at the beginning and end of all jobs. On most occasions, it will be necessary for the case manager to be present when the job fìrst begins. The purpose is to make sure the client and the volunteer are both comfortable and the work is properly underway. At the beginning of each individual job, the coordinator and case manager will determine case management involvement throughout the process. On large jobs, the case manager will retum if there is a "reveal" to thank the volunteers. 8. The volunteer cannot perform any acts outside of the requested home repair without prior authorization in writing by the case manager's supervisor and client.

4 9' The Program Coordinator will give the case manager a Participatory Agreement for the client to sign before the volunteer comes to the home, or at the beginning of the job. 10' Once the job is completed, the Program Coordinator will speak with the volunteer to assess the process and to determine if the volunteer has suggestions for future requests. The Program Coordinator will follow up with the case manager to discuss the process and determine if there arc any further needs. 11' The Program Coordinator will send a Project Build! Client Satisfaction Survey to the case manager (the client will complete) and a Project Build! Volunteer Satisfaction Survey to the volunteer to complete. 12. The Program Coordinator will notifu the BIA liaison that the job is complete and record it in the excel database and in the client and volunteer files. 13. The Program Coordinator will generate thank you letters signed by the CEO to go to all suppliers and volunteers. Volunteer/Sunplier Recruitment and Engagement procedure 1. The Program Coordinator will submit all current volunteer and supply needs to the BIA liaison once a month via and at all steering committee meetings. 2. BIA and JFS will promote the program and work on volunteer recruitment continuously via monthly s to BIA members, past and potential volunteers, media outreach, presentations to BIA and JFS board committees and councils, as well as through JFS and BIA publications. JFS and BIA will also continue to identi$ additional partners to support Project Build! through monetary and in-kind donations. 3. The Project Build! Steering Committee will continuously help to identi$r volunteers for labor and supplies. 4. Once a volunteer or supplier is identified, the BIA liaison, or other referral source, will send their contact information to the Project Build! Program Coordinator. 5. The Program Coordinator will contact the volunteer within one week and send the Volunteer Interest Form to complete and return. This form will provide the volunteer's contact information, services available and level of interest. 6. The Program Coordinator will add the volunteer/supplier's name to the volunteer/supplier database and create a volunteer file. 7. All potential voiunteers will receive monthly s from the Program Coordinator with current volunteer and supply needs. Forms (See Attached) Each client file has the following forms: Client Face Sheet, Client Referral Form, Disclosure Fonn, and the Client Participatory Agreement

5 Each Volunteer file has the following forms: Volunteer Interest Form, Volunteer Confidentiality Agreement, licensure and insurance documents. Evaluation The goal of Project Build! is to help older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals and families to remain living in safe, functional and barrier-free homes. Each client home will be repaired within six months of the initial referral, as will be tracked through the program database. Each client and case manager will report at least 90% satisfaction with the experience and repairs as identified in the post service survey. o Each volunteer will report at least 90% satisfaction with the experience and JFS as identified in the post service survey. Every six months, the Steering Committee will review the data collected. Changes to process will be made as needed to minimize client wait-time and to maintain satisfaction levels of at least 90%. Results from these reports will be disseminated at BIA Board of Directors Meetings, JFS Board of Directors meetings, case management meetings, in donor reports, and in JFS and BIA publications. At the onset of the program's development a Steering Committee was created that represented staff and volunteers from BIA and JFS. This committee has been responsible for creating program policy, providing much of the volunteer work and volunteer recruitment. As the evaluation pieceìs created, this committee will help to develop the tools and will meet semi-annually to review the results in order to plan for program modification as needed. The JFS clients and volunteers will provide their input by completing surveys at the end of each job. These surveys will provide satisfaction levels with both the job and the program process. Last UpdatedTlI9lIl