Shutdown Impact for HOPE Coalition

On June 24, the Executive Committee of HOPE Coalition’s Board of Directors met and voted to continue programming as usual until July 15 if there was a shutdown.  At the time of that meeting there were many aspects of potential shutdown consequences that were unknown, making it difficult to develop an extended plan of operation for the agency.  The Executive Committee met again on July 7 to re-evaluate the situation and asked me to prepare contingency plans for the July Board meeting.  At this point, HOPE Coalition has enough funding to operate the Haven of Hope and Kids Count for up to two months and the Transitional Housing Program for up to three months.  On July 18, the HOPE Coalition Board of Directors will meet to discuss and determine contingency plans for a long-term state shutdown.

Approximately 80% of HOPE Coalition's current funding comes from state and federal grants.  All of it is funneled through state agencies on a reimbursement basis.  This means that HOPE Coalition spends the money, submits monthly documentation to state agencies and receives payment for the amount spent.  Neither crime victim service programs nor transitional housing programs were on the list of essential or core services submitted by Governor Dayton and approved by the Ramsey County Court for ongoing funding on June 29.

HOPE Coalition's Transitional Housing Program serves three families.  Approximately 75% of that program funding comes through a two-year grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services Office of Economic Opportunity (DHS OEO).  The last day of HOPE Coalition's current grant was June 30, 2011.  In March, HOPE Coalition submitted an application for a renewal grant for July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2013.  Because the Governor and Legislature did not reach agreement on a budget before the end of the Legislative Session, DHS OEO, cannot announce grant awards.  The State of Minnesota will not issue funding without a valid grant contract.  HOPE Coalition does not know if, when, or how much DHS OEO funding it will receive.  United Way of Goodhue, Wabasha, and Pierce Counties has graciously agreed to provide HOPE Coalition with the full amount of grant funding awarded in April.  Usually, this funding would be distributed quarterly as outlined in the grant contract.  This funding will allow the Transitional Housing Program to run pretty much as usual for July through September.  However, with no state funding, HOPE Coalition has no choice but to give these three families notice that they have until the end of September to find alternative housing and support services.  Should a state DHS OEO grant be awarded during those months, HOPE Coalition would work to re-institute all possible services.

The Haven of Hope Domestic Violence Shelter and Outreach Services Program serves up to 24 women and children (at a time) in shelter and approximately 20 community members per week through outreach.  Our state contract with the Minnesota Office of Justice Program (OJP) runs from October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011.  So, unlike Transitional Housing, HOPE Coalition had an existing contract for the Haven of Hope going into the shutdown.  Unfortunately, there are no assurances of retroactive reimbursements for state funding spent during the shutdown unless the Legislature specifically includes that in any bill that is passed after the shutdown is over.  Almost 100% of Haven of Hope funding is funneled through OJP, however, for this year’s contract, about 40% of that is actually federal dollars.  The Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women (MCBW) filed a brief with Ramsey County Court and testified before Ramsey County Court appointed Special Master Kathleen Blatz on July 1 that services to victims of domestic violence victims be considered essential and added to the list of programs to remain funded during the shutdown.  They also requested that the court rule that a state shutdown could not interfere with the federal funding.  Governor Dayton has submitted three separate recommendations to the Special Master for various additions to the list of core services.  In each of these correspondence, he has indicated that crime victims services funded through OJP be added to the list.  As of the morning of July 12, Ramsey County Court has yet to release a ruling.  If crime victim services are not deemed essential or core services, the Haven of Hope will not receive ongoing state funding during the shutdown.

Kids Count Abused Children’s Program receives 75% of its funding through OJP, has the same contract as the Haven of Hope, and would be included in any ruling regarding OJP funding for crime victim services.  For the summer months, Kids Count does not run its weekly support groups for children, however, it does continue to provide individual contact with children and parents in need of services and summer activities for children and families.  As with the Haven of Hope, Kids Count will not receive ongoing state funding during the shutdown unless crime victim services are deemed essential by the Ramsey County Courts.

The Community Care Fund is funded through grants from the Jones Family Foundation and United Way of Goodhue, Wabasha, and Pierce County.  It is also supported in large part by donations from local area churches.  Because these funding sources are not affected by the shutdown, the Community Care Fund will most likely continue services with little disruption for the near future.

As with many non-profit agencies that receive state funding, HOPE Coalition has been closely monitoring the state shutdown in an effort to project the impact on client services.  Once the Board of Directors has developed a contingency plan for HOPE Coalition, the HOPE staff will be informed of the plan and an overview of the plan will be made available to the public.