The Journey Home Board Charter January 2014
The Journey Home Board Charter Table of Contents Page I. Introduction 3 II. Responsibilities of the Board 3 III. Board Membership and Governance 4 IV. Board Meetings 9 V. Board Selection, Term of Service, Termination, and Resignation 9 VI. Voting Procedures 10 VII. Code of Conduct 10 VIII. Charter Amendments 12 IX. Charter on Website 12 2
The Journey Home Board Charter Introduction Baltimore City adopted the Journey Home as its 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness in 2008. This plan sets the vision that it is possible to make homelessness in Baltimore City rare and brief. The Journey Home Board establishes the priorities, strategies, and policies for the implementation of the Journey Home Plan. This group consists of members of the Mayor s cabinet for the City of Baltimore, providers of services to people experiencing homelessness, advocates, philanthropic and business partners, and people who have experienced homelessness. The Journey Home Board will also act as the Continuum of Care (CoC) Board. 1 All jurisdictions that receive U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds through the Continuum of Care Program are required by law to operate a CoC body have a CoC Board. The CoC is a year-round planning body for the spectrum of services for persons at risk of homelessness and those experiencing homelessness in Baltimore City. The purpose of the Journey Home Board is to promote communitywide commitment to the goal of making homelessness rare and brief; to provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers and local government to re-house homeless individuals and families quickly, while minimizing the trauma and dislocation that homelessness causes to individuals, families, and communities; to promote access to and effective utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and to optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness. To make homelessness rare and brief, the Journey Home Board seeks to: 1. Increase the amount of affordable housing for people with the lowest incomes, in particular people experiencing homelessness. 2. Build the capacity of service providers to prevent and end homelessness. 3. Work across and within the public and private sectors to coordinate resources efficiently and effectively to prevent and end homelessness. 4. Promote the use of evidence-based and best practices among homeless service providers. Responsibilities of the Board The Journey Home Board is responsible for the following: Establish the strategic priorities to advance implementation of the Plan in coordination with the Executive Director; Monitor the implementation of the Journey Home and evaluate progress against a performance management plan to be developed by the Executive Director; 1 CoC Interim Rule, 24CFR 578.5(b) 3
Review the Executive Director s annual progress report on the implementation of the Plan before its submission to the Mayor; Meet regularly, at least twice annually, but generally quarterly; Lead and/or participate in Board workgroups (each Board member will be expected to participate in at least one workgroup); Represent the Journey Home as its ambassadors to the larger community in Baltimore City and throughout Central Maryland; Advocate for policy changes that will advance the Journey Home and build public awareness, generally about ending homelessness and the Journey Home; Engage in a comprehensive fundraising strategy to provide private support for the aspects of the Journey Home Plan that cannot be accomplished with public funds alone and an annual fundraising event; Allocate the resources available for the Journey Home, including the direct allocation of all privately raised funds and providing recommendations and input on the allocation of public funds, in all cases to align with the strategic priorities set by the Board; Support Baltimore City s CoC activities, as outlined in 24CFR 578.7 and 578.9: o Operating the Continuum of Care o Designating and operating an HMIS o Continuum of Care planning o Review the Homeless Services Program CoC Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) application Board Membership and Governance A. Board Membership The Journey Home Board will consist of members from public, private, and non-profit stakeholders in the community. The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act requires CoCs to include the following types of stakeholders on the Board 2 : Non-profit homeless service providers Victim service providers Faith-based organizations Government Business Advocates Public housing agencies School districts Social service providers Behavioral health agencies Hospitals Universities Affordable housing developers Law enforcement Organizations that serve homeless and formerly homeless veterans Homeless and/or formerly homeless individuals 2 CoC Interim Rule, 24CFR 578.5(a) 4
In addition to representatives from each of the above stakeholder groups, the Journey Home Board includes representatives from the United Way of Central Maryland (UWCM), the philanthropic community, public health, and youth service providers. Further, the Board includes four at-large members. Any member of the community may apply for an at-large member position. The Mayor s Office of Human Services (MOHS) will post a call for applications on the MOHS website (www.humanservices.baltimorecity.gov) and the Journey Home website (www.journeyhomebaltimore.org). A Board appointed nominating committee will review at-large member applications and determine which community members to appoint to fill the four positions. During each application cycle, the Board will establish key priorities and skills sought for in at-large members so as to increase the capacity and skill of the Board as a whole. B. Board Structure 1. Board Organizational Chart: The Journey Home Board Executive Committee Workgroup Workgroup Workgroup Workgroup NOTE: This graphic is for illustrative purposes only. 2. Chairperson: The Chairperson is appointed by the Mayor and serves a one-year term in that role. The Chairperson will be responsible for scheduling Board meetings, disseminating relevant meeting materials, and conducting meetings with support from the Executive Director of the Journey Home and the CoC Coordinator. The Chairperson has the authority to approve the allocation of private funds without the approval of the Board if the funding allocation is under $10,000. 3. Executive Committee: The Executive Committee consists of the representatives of specific workgroups, including, but not limited to: the Data and Evaluation, Resource Allocation, and Fundraising workgroups, plus any additional members appointed by the Board Chairperson to serve in such a capacity. The Executive Committee moves the work of the Board forward and brings key decisions to the full Board for discussion and action. This committee provides on-going, structured engagement of 5
the Board s workgroups, key City Departments, and specific key stakeholder groups. The Executive Committee also handles routine business, exercises oversight, and engages with senior management during months when the full board does not convene. The Executive Committee has the authority to make decisions for the full Board when unforeseen business arises or when the need to make a decision is time sensitive. The Executive Committee will not have authority to make decisions regarding the allocation of funding. Any decision made by the Executive Committee must be reported to the full Board at the next Board meeting. The Executive Committee will generally meet monthly. The presence of a majority of Executive Committee s members shall constitute a quorum and authorize conduct of committee business. A simple majority of present members shall constitute approval of any motion before the committee. As with all Board members, Executive Committee members are expected to recuse themselves from subjects for which they have a conflict of interest, pursuant to the Conflict of Interest policy set forth in this Charter. Notice of Executive Committee meetings shall be provided no less than 5 days prior to the date proposed. Regular attendance is a requisite duty of all committee members. Full minutes of all meetings shall be taken and shall be disseminated to the full Board for review. 4. Workgroups The Board will appoint standing and ad-hoc workgroups designated to perform specific tasks. Each workgroup will be chaired by a Board member. Workgroup membership may include Board members and members from the community who are currently not serving on the Board. All Board members are expected to participate on at least one workgroup. Workgroups provide quarterly progress updates to the Executive Director of the Journey Home. The Chairperson may request that a workgroup provide a presentation of its work at a Board meeting. The workgroup should submit any written presentation material to the Chairperson at least 7 days in advance of the meeting so that it can be disseminated to the full Board. At times the Board may request that one or more workgroups develop proposals responding to new priorities or emerging issues. Proposals must be submitted to the full Board for approval. Workgroups should submit draft proposals to the Executive Committee at least 14 days in advance of the next full Board meeting in order to give the Executive Committee time to review and comment. The Executive Committee may modify a proposal before it is submitted to the full Board. A final proposal will be submitted to the full Board no less than 7 days prior to the meeting. As with all Board members, workgroup members are expected to recuse themselves from subjects for which they have a conflict of interest, pursuant to the Conflict of Interest policy. The standing workgroups are: 6
a. Data and Evaluation Workgroup This workgroup will monitor the implementation of the Journey Home and oversee a performance management plan in coordination with the Executive Director. This workgroup will generally meet quarterly. The workgroup will also support the HSP HMIS Manager with Baltimore City s Homeless Management and Information System (HMIS). This workgroup will also conduct an annual needs assessment. Subgroups of this workgroup include: the HMIS Steering Committee and the HMIS User Group. The HMIS Steering Committee is responsible for carrying out activities required by HUD, including: Select an HMIS software solution. Designate an eligible applicant to serve as the HMIS lead and manage the system. Review and approve HMIS Policies and Procedures; this includes defining criteria, standards, and parameters for the release of aggregate data; and ensuring privacy protection provisions in project implementation. Review and approve the HMIS Data Quality Plan. Work with the HMIS lead to ensure consistent provider participation; this includes selecting data elements to be collected by all participating programs 3 ; The HMIS User s Group brings together participating agencies HMIS users to share information and make recommendations on a number of factors regarding HMIS. It is a forum for training users on changes and new enhancements to the HMIS. It is also a forum for sharing best practices among agencies, as well as a way to suggest improvements in policy and procedures. It is expected that participating agencies send at least one person to every HMIS Users group meeting. The needs assessment is conducted annually to review of the available needs and serves as well as overall homeless services capacity and utilization with the goal of maximizing resource deployment and minimizing the presence of unused, under-utilized or ineffectively allocated housing and services. The workgroup will be responsible for creating an annual asset map and a report, both documenting the unmet need in the CoC. The analysis and recommendations of the gaps analysis workgroup are used to inform the work of the Resource Allocation workgroup to develop additional resources to address homelessness as well as inform the general priorities and strategies of the Board. 4 b. Resource Allocation Workgroup This workgroup is responsible for guiding the allocation of funding for all activities in Baltimore City designed to support the work of making homeless rare and brief. This workgroup will make recommendations for the use of public and private funding sources available in the CoC. Homeless Services Program subrecipients will not be eligible to serve on this workgroup. 3 CoC Interim Rule, 24 CFR 580 4 CoC Interim Rule, 24 CFR 578.7(c)(3) 7
The Resource Allocation workgroup does not need to provide a recommendation on a funding request for private funds that is less than $10,000. Requests for private dollars that fall under $10,000 may be approved or denied by the Chairperson alone. The workgroup is responsible for convening an Ad Hoc Objective Review Committee to review proposals submitted under the Homeless Service Programs Consolidated Funding Application and any new or bonus projects for the CoC Program Application. With assistance from HSP staff, this group will coordinate the dissemination and review of the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) proposals received from community-based organizations to provide services to homeless, at-risk of homelessness, or formerly homeless persons. An important task of this group will be to revise the Application, as necessary, to reflect the identified needs and priorities as identified by the needs assessment, the 10 Year Plan Annual Plans, and the Journey Home Board strategic approaches and priorities. This workgroup will rate and rank the CoC Program applications, with input from MOHS-HSP staff regarding the performance of any currently-funded applicants and their strengths and weaknesses. It will also determine which funding sources will be used to fund successful CFA proposals based on the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Objective Review Committee and according to which activities are eligible by the various funding sources (Emergency Solutions Grant, Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS, and State of Maryland grant programs). The recommendations of the Resource Allocation Workgroup will be reviewed by the Executive Committee and taken to the full Board for a vote. c. Fundraising Workgroup This workgroup is responsible for private fundraising to support the goals of the Journey Home. The members of this workgroup should be experienced fundraisers and philanthropists. It is responsible for planning one flagship fundraising event each year, determining whether and how to conduct additional fundraising, and developing strategies to generate more private funding to support the Journey Home Board s strategic approaches and priorities. The Fundraising Workgroup must report regularly to the Board on the revenues generated by event(s) and other fundraising efforts. The Journey Home s fiscal agent is United Way of Central Maryland, which shall have custody of all funds raised for the Journey Home, in accordance with its agreement with the City of Baltimore. A representative of UWCM will serve on this workgroup. d. Policy and Standards Workgroups The workgroup will work on CoC policies and procedures, specific projects, and issues related to Federal and State regulations, imbedding best practices into program standards and expectations, and/or emerging issues in the community. The workgroup may appoint separate subgroups to address specific projects or issues. These subgroups may dissolve as 8
projects are completed and issues are addressed. Subgroups that are needed immediately include: Coordinated Intake and Assessment System(when completed this will include written standards for administering assistance) ESG Policies, Procedures, and Monitoring Continuum of Care-wide Standards of Care This incorporates all policies and procedures which are required by HUD. Once these policies and procedures are developed, they can be found in their respective manuals. In addition to the standing workgroups, the Board may convene other work groups as it deems necessary or appropriate, such as: Housing Development workgroup Health Care workgroup Hands In Partnership (city-wide outreach collaborative) Rental Assistance workgroup/group (Formerly Shelter Plus Care meeting) Community training and provider roundtables Home for Good (workgroup focused on ending chronic homelessness) Baltimore Combating Veterans Homelessness Board Meetings The Board must meet at least twice annually, and should generally meet approximately quarterly. Additional board meetings may be scheduled beyond these where unusual or urgent circumstances warrant. Notice of Board meetings shall be provided no less than 30 days prior to the date proposed and a written agenda will be provided a week in advance of the meeting. Regular attendance of Board meetings is a requisite duty of all Board members. Repeated inability to attend may be taken into account during rotation decisions. Full minutes of all meetings shall be taken, and shall be disseminated to the Board for review within 5 business days from the date of the Board meeting. Board Selection, Term of Service, Termination, and Resignation A. Board Selection 1. Generally Once annually, the Board will review and approve the Board membership. The Board will appoint a nominating committee to manage member turnover and recruitment. The nominating committee will ensure that all CoC required stakeholder positions are filled and manage at-large member positions. The Mayor will review member positions before they are presented to the full Board. 2. At-large members The at-large seats are filled by members of the community based on an applications process. The at-large Board members serve two-year terms; those positions will rotate on a staggered 9
annual basis. Any member of the community may apply for an at-large member position. The Mayor s Office of Human Services (MOHS) will post an annual call for applications on the MOHS website (www.humanservices.baltimorecity.gov) and the Journey Home website (www.journeyhomebaltimore.org). The nominating committee will review at-large member applications and select two community members annually to appoint to fill the four standing positions for at-large members. B. Term of Service All Board members will serve a two-year term. No Board member may serve more than two consecutive terms unless there is no qualifying replacement to represent their required constituency. C. Termination and Resignation A Board member may be terminated for cause by vote of a majority of Board members. The notice of termination must detail the cause identified. Qualifying grounds for termination include, but are not limited to: Violation of Conflict of Interest rules Repeated and consistent lack of attendance at meetings Activity in violation of the law Repeated and consistent belligerent or disruptive behavior at Board meetings A termination for cause shall disqualify the terminated member from serving on the Board for a minimum of two subsequent terms. D. Resignation Resignation of Board membership may be made by submission of a letter of resignation to the Chairperson. In the event of a resignation, the Board may consider, at their discretion, the election of a replacement member at the following Board meeting. Voting Procedures The Board will use a voting process to make decisions. Presence of a simple majority of Board members shall constitute a quorum, authorizing conduct of Board business. A simple majority of present members shall constitute approval of any motion before the Board. Roberts Rules of Order shall govern all Board proceedings, unless a specific provision of this charter provides otherwise. The Board will review and approve proposals submitted by the Executive Committee and workgroups. Proposals may be passed as submitted, rejected as submitted, or amended by a vote of the Board upon a seconded motion for amendment. Code of Conduct and Ethics Policy 10
This Code of Conduct and Ethics policy applies to the Board members, agency staff, and workgroup members, and all other parties performing work on behalf of the Journey Home Board (here and after referred to as members ). Journey Home Board members shall uphold, promote and demand the highest standards of conduct. Accordingly, all Board and workgroup members are to maintain the highest standards of personal integrity, honesty, ethics and fairness in carrying out their public duties. All member agencies are expected to avoid any improprieties in their roles as public servants, and never use their positions or powers for improper personal gain while adhering to legal, moral and professional standards of conduct in the fulfillment of their responsibilities. A. Confidentiality and Privacy In the course of work, a member may have access to proprietary or confidential information regarding the CoC, its subrecipients, its operations, or even clients. Members shall demonstrate extreme sensitivity in the issuance and management of information by insuring that all information relating to subrecipients and clients is kept confidential and used only for those purposes specified by the laws and regulations governing the services provided. Clients must be informed fully about the limits of confidentiality in a given situation, the purpose for which information is obtained and how it may be used. Members will not knowingly sign, subscribe to, or permit the issuance of any statement, report or document which contains any misstatement or which omits any material fact while being sensitive and responsive to inquiries from the public, clients, customers and the media, within the framework of this policy. B. Conflict of Interest No member may take part in the deliberation of any matter in which they have a pecuniary or otherwise conflicted interest, or where the circumstances would create the appearance of conflict to a reasonable person. When a member becomes aware of a qualifying circumstance, they must submit to the Chairperson a written disclosure of all relevant facts and recuse themselves from all related Board proceedings, including discussions and votes. In the case of recurring subject matter, additional written notice may be waived if circumstances have not substantively changed. If a member is unsure if a particular circumstance is grounds for recusal, they may present the facts to the full Board for final determination by vote. Board members that are Homeless Services Program grantee sub-recipients are presumptively conflicted in regards to funding allocation decisions. C. General Principals of Ethical Conduct Members shall demonstrate the highest ideals of honor and integrity in all public and professional relationships to merit the respect, trust and confidence of other public officials, clients, customers, fellow member agencies, and the general public. Members will prevent discrimination against any person or group on the basis of race, color gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, marital status, and mental or physical handicap. Members will always deal fairly with community partners, handling all complaints courteously, admitting errors and /or mistakes, making adjustments promptly, and recognizing and respecting the rights of clients and sub recipients. Members will act in accordance with and maintain the highest standards of professional integrity, impartiality, diligence, creativity and productivity. 11
Baltimore CoC business will be conducted in manner that reflects the highest standards and in accordance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Members shall be responsible for maintaining their own competence and for enhancing the competence of their co-workers by promoting excellence in public service. D. Impartiality Member agencies shall act impartially and with integrity in all professional relationships by: Not discriminating in provision of services. Not knowingly being a party to or condoning any illegal or improper activity. Not directly, or indirectly, seeking or accepting personal gain which would influence, or appear to influence, the conduct of their duties. Not exploiting professional relationships for personal or professional gain Not using public property or resources for personal gain. Not accepting fees, gifts or other valuable items in the course of performing the duties and responsibilities of their position, or in connection with such fees, gifts or other valuable items given them by any person in hope or expectation of receiving a favor or better treatment than accorded other persons. Being alert to the influences and pressures that interfere with the professional discretion and impartial judgment required for the performance of professional functions. Members shall maintain an active interest in matters pertaining to the public welfare. E. Review Process Members should report any violations of this policy, laws, or rules of this charter to the Chair or other member of the Executive Committee. The Board will investigate any such report, and take appropriate corrective action, if warranted. Retaliation against a member who reports violations of such conduct in good faith will not be tolerated. If a member has any questions about the ethics of a situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the Chair. All issues will be kept confidential. F. Disciplinary Action Appropriate disciplinary action up to and including termination will be taken against individuals found to have violated the Board Code of Conduct and Ethics Policy. In addition to disciplinary action, civil and/or criminal penalties may be sought. Charter Amendments This Charter is adopted and approved by the Mayor of the City of Baltimore. Any Board member may propose an amendment to the charter. Proposed amendments must be submitted to the Chairperson. The Chairperson will bring the proposed amendments to the Board for discussion and a vote at the next Board meeting. Upon the vote of a majority of Board members, a proposed amendment will be presented to the Mayor for consideration. The Mayor has sole authority to decide whether to consider any amendment and whether to amend this Charter. Per HUD CoC regulations, the Charter must be reviewed at least every five years. 5 5 CoC Interim Rule, 24 CFR 578.103(a)(1)(ii) 12
Charter on Website This Charter will be posted on the MOHS website, www.humanservices.baltimorecity.gov and the Journey Home website, www.journeyhomebaltimore.org. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake Date 13