The Vermont Balance of State Continuum of Care and Housing & Homelessness Alliance of Vermont have a number of working committees. These can be seen in the organization structure chart in this presentation (page 9).
All CoC members are welcome to join VT BoS CoC Committees!
Anyone who attends local housing coalition meetings or attends one VT BoS CoC meeting a year is considered a CoC member.
The VT BoS CoC committees can also be found in our Governance Charter (page 6). As stated in our governance chartert:
Each committee will have a clear purpose, publish agendas and minutes, and communicate its recommendations and concerns to the Governing Board as appropriate. It is the intention of the CoC that all Committees operate in a manner that is open, fair, and transparent. Each committee will make every effort to have membership by people with lived experience of homelessness. Committees will be open to people (CoC members, Collaborative Applicant staff, and others) who have expertise and interest in the subject matter of the committee, as well as persons with lived experience.
The following have been approved as standing committees by the CoC Board:
Membership Committee
This committee will annually coordinate nominations for the election of Board representatives and officers. The committee shall also conduct membership outreach through the CoC’s website, mailing list, and in person. Annually, mailing list registrants will be invited to become voting members of the CoC and their Local Housing Coalition. The Membership Committee shall aim to promote participation statewide and from the full diversity of organizations and stakeholders working to end homelessness. This committee is most active November through January. This committee is lead by the VT BoS CoC Co-Chairs.
The Membership Committee also hosts a Persons with Lived Experience and Expertise Subcommittee. VT BoS will maintain an active Lived Expertise Subcommittee that is dedicated to amplifying the voices of individuals with lived experiences of homelessness throughout Vermont to shape an informed, effective, and responsive approach to the needs of our unhoused neighbors. Members will be compensated at industry standards, currently set at the mean wage for labor code 21-1099 (Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other), rounded to the nearest whole dollar amount.
HUD Continuum of Care Funding Committee (“NOFO Committee”)/Scoring and Ranking Committee
The committee shall be comprised of CoC members with experience and willingness to support activities related to the federal grant application. A subset of this committee, the Scoring and Ranking Committee, meets during the CoC Grant NOFO process to approve the local competition scoring tool, score the applications, and rank the projects for the consolidated application. The Scoring and Ranking Committee is typically most acting June through September. The NOFO committee will meet yearly. This committee is lead by the CoC Program Director in conjunction with consultants. Learn more about HUD CoC Funding NOFO.
Point-In-Time Committee
This committee plans and supports implementation of the annual Point-In-Time Count of people experiencing homelessness, including related reports and activities such as the Housing Inventory Chart of Homeless Beds and needs analysis. This committee is most active October through January. This committee may also meet in April, May and June, when the PIT Report is most commonly released. This committee is lead by the CoC Program Director in collaboration with the VT BoS CoC Co-Chairs and HMIS (Homelessness Management Information System) provider, Institute for Community Alliances. Learn more about the Point-in-Time Count.
HMIS Advisory Committee
This committee serves to inform and advise the Continuum of Care and the HMIS Lead Agency on the Vermont Balance of State Continuum of Care HMIS implementation, including utilization, compliance, budget, security and privacy, data quality, and HMIS activities. This charge of this committee is fully outlined in the HMIS Governance Charter. This committee will improve efficiency and opportunity for people experiencing homelessness served by the Continuum of Care. This committee is lead by our HMIS (Homelessness Management Information System) provider, Institute for Community Alliances and meets throughout the year. Learn more about HMIS.
Coordinated Entry Committee
This committee plans and supports the implementation of coordinated entry and assessment across the Balance of State Continuum of Care, including ongoing evaluation of coordinated entry processes and support for local Continua of Care. This committee is lead by member of the Office of Economic Opportunity. This committee meets monthly and holds at least one sub-committee. Learn more about Coordinated Entry.
The Coordinated Entry Committee also hosts a Lead Agency Workgroup. This workgroup is a monthly meeting for CE Lead Agency staff to connect, share tools/resources/best practices, and support the work of the Balance of State’s CE Committee.
Veterans Committee
This committee is comprised of homeless veteran provider agencies working together to address veteran-specific housing needs throughout the state. A primary focus of the committee is to end veterans’ homelessness as part of a national federal initiative involving three federal partners; Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), United States Interagency Council on Homeless (USICH), and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Learn more about the Veteran’s Committee.
Strategic Planning Committee
This committee develops and recommends strategic objectives, goals, and plans to the CoC to prevent and end homelessness. In order to develop and follow through with the aforementioned, the committee utilizes data to understand the nature and extent of homelessness, coordinated with other statewide efforts, monitors progress toward goals, operationalizes planning grant activities, and works to ensure long-term capacity of the CoC. This committee coordinates with local coalition leadership and HHAV leadership to create a coordinated response to homelessness. This committee is lead by HHAV leadership and VT BoS CoC Co-Chairs and meets throughout the year.
Youth Committee
This committee is comprised of youth providers and housing agencies working together to address youth and youth adult-specific housing needs throughout the state. The primary focus of the committee is to ensure that every community has the capacity to identify and engage youth at risk of experiencing homelessness and intervene to prevent loss; reduce barriers to emergency crisis services; and increase short, medium and long term housing supports appropriate for the unique populations needs through data collection and analysis, implementation of system changes strategies, and develop a shared understanding of evidence-informed practices to address youth homelessness. This committee is lead by the Director of VCHRYP (Vermont Coalition of Homeless and Runaway Youth Programs) at Elevate Youth VT. Learn more about the Youth Committee. Learn more about the Youth Committee.
The VT BoS CoC also hosts committees not listed in our Governance Charter:
Education and Training Committee
This committee convenes to analyze education and training needs of the VT BoS CoC membership and assists in planning training and education events.
Local Coalition Leadership Committee
This committee is a convening of the local housing coalition chairs and representatives, which meets monthly on the first Thursday of the month at noon.
Joint Committee with Housing & Homelessness Alliance of Vermont:
Legislative Committee: This committee exists as a joint committee with HHAV. This committee shall exist to initially deliberate over any advocacy and/or legislative matters for consideration by the larger group. Recommendations to support or not support issues should be brought to a vote by the full CoC.