Month Practicum Report - Assignment Example

?MONTH PRACTICUM REPORT Following in this report, I will provide an overview of my practicum agency and discuss the different programs they are involved with. I will also present my job role and the description thereof. In conclusion, I will point out my three specific learning outcomes for my practicum. I began my practicum on January 18, 2011, as a volunteer at the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) as a housing specialist, but now my job description has changed from a volunteer to a transfer specialist with pay. A transfer specialist provides services to low-income families on the Section 8 of the Chicago Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP). The transfer specialist’s responsibilities are to determine the eligibility and suitability of the applicant by using written administration policies and procedures, client interviews and document verification. Essentially, my job description is to conduct interviews of new and current applicants to determine their eligibility, and provide case management to nearly 600 Section 8 HCVP contract lease negotiations. What this entails is I help determine housing assistance payments, tenant rent calculations, and provide education and counseling for the applicants and the participants in the Section 8 HCVP. This allows for resolution of any concerns between the owner, tenant and the housing authority by interpreting and implementing the regulations and guidelines set forth by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). I am also responsible for updating tenant records using Yardi and SharePoint, doing criminal background checks, closing sales force tickets, completing briefings and other duties as they are assigned to me. My department is divided into three teams, A, B and C, my team being A. team A serves MONTH PRACTICUM REPORT 2 new clients and current tenants in a many areas around Chicago, and in several different property types. The property types that my team and I help people with are called HCV-vash, which is for homeless veterans. The HUD program has allocated more than 10,000 vouchers to local public housing authorities countrywide to provide permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans. We also connect veterans with case managers to insure that they receive the health care and benefits assistance they need to help them move forward in their lives. The second housing type my team and I help with is Housing Choice Voucher Disaster Victim Program (HCVDVP), which is a disaster voucher program for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita victims. This program (formerly known as the Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program) allows victims of the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita disaster areas to qualify for a special Disaster Voucher Program (DVP) for former public housing and Section 8 voucher holders. Unlike regular vouchers, there is no family contribution to the gross monthly rent. The DVP provides monthly housing assistance payments that are the lesser of the monthly gross rent, or the voucher payment standard. Monthly gross rent is the rent to the owner of the property, plus any utility allowance for tenant-provided utilities. A family may rent a unit with a gross rent greater than the payment standard, but the family must pay the difference even if it exceeds 40% of their income. If the rent to the property owner is less than the payment standard and the lease requires the family to pay utilities, the Public Housing Authority (PHA) will reimburse the family an amount equal to the difference between the housing assistance payment and the rent. MONTH PRACTICUM REPORT 3 In the last type of housing, it is called the Housing Choice Voucher Family Unification Program (HCVFUP). This program provides Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance to families whose lack of adequate housing is a primary cause of separation or imminent separation of a child or children from their families. The Family Unification Program (FUP) is provided to eligible families so that children will not be separated from their parents due to the lack of permanent, safe, suitable and sanitary housing. Aside from the aforementioned property types, we also have family, senior, scattered site and mixed income properties. The CHA was created in 1937 to own and operate housing that was built by the federal government under President Franklin Roosevelt’s Public Works administration. There were three different housing projects that were built in the 1930’s, which were Jane Addams, Julia C. Lathrop and Trumbull Park Homes. They were all a part of Roosevelt’s affordable housing for low-income families. CHA is currently the largest owner of rental housing in the city of Chicago, providing homes to more than 50,000 families and individuals, while supporting healthy communities in neighborhoods across the city. CHA has almost 9,200 apartments in buildings designated for seniors and more than 8,600 units of family housing. It also oversees the administration of 36, 900 Housing Choice Vouchers that allow low-income families to rent in the private market. (Chicago Housing Authority, 2011). The Chicago Housing Authority is currently undergoing the Plan for Transformation, the largest and most ambitious redevelopment effort of public housing in the history of the United States. As part of this plan, the CHA will redevelop or renovate its entire stock of MONTH PRACTICUM REPORT 4 public housing. The Chicago Housing Authority is a municipal not-for-profit corporation governed by the Board of Commissioners that consists of ten members, who are appointed by the Mayor. The CHA and Housing Choice Voucher programs help low income families choose and pay for quality housing in the private sector. The HCV program pays a portion of a family’s rent each month to give them access to the full range of housing that is available in Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods. Participants can rent a single-family home, apartment or condominium. To be eligible for housing a participant must be currently on the HCV waiting list, meet income requirements specified by HUD and pass a criminal background check. For example, for a single-person household, the income limit’s maximum is $42,000 per year to be able to qualify for low-income housing. Participants are required to pay 30% of their adjusted income, and cannot pay more than 40% of their adjusted income. HUD has created a payment standard that is paid towards the participants rent that includes utilities. For a studio apartment, the Housing Authority will pay up to $859 toward rent, and if the rent were higher than $859, the tenant would have to pay the remainder. The participant is free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program. The program also allows its participants to use the voucher after the first year of admissions anywhere in the nation. I have three learning outcomes that I expect to learn while completing my practicum at the Chicago Housing Authority. The first is building strong relationships and trust with clients and colleagues alike. I have not always been well versed in communicating with people, as I see myself more as a task manager. I have great teamwork skills, problem- MONTH PRACTICUM REPORT 5 solving and preparation talents, but not able to build strong relationships. I intend to identify my blind spots, such as fear and loss. I have to understand why they exist and find ways to overcome them. When communicating with others I have to listen, keep eye contact and speak clearly to build respect and trust. I also need to learn how to read between the lines so-to-speak, noticing how others use words to convey ideas. Most importantly, I need to give others the benefit of the doubt. Secondly is making the program become more efficient and effective. At this time, I still have many things to learn, and one way is to use the hands-on approach to learning. Training is good, but I believe I am better when I apply what I have learned after I am done with my training. I would like to learn more about how the program operates, and how to use the different systems that they have such as Yardi, Filenet, EIV, Saleforce, and SharePoint. I have had some of the training and now it is just putting what I have learned into action. For my last outcome, I would like to gain a stronger understanding of different races, ethnicities, cultures and how they tie in with social work. I suppose understanding how different races handle things in their own manner would be to my advantage. I have to be willing to help, understand, listen and join with people of different races regardless of similarities or differences. As a social worker, I have to be able to provide the needed to services to everyone, often vulnerable people in widely diverse communities. I need to learn how to associate with people that have different outlooks, behaviors and backgrounds without judgment. I used to question why people emigrated from one country to another, thinking that they wanted to. I have since learned that leaving their home country is not always voluntary. Every individual MONTH PRACTICUM REPORT 6 deserves to be accepted and understood, no matter what their gender, race, culture or ethnicity. Before I complete my practicum, I intend to demonstrate stronger and more positive relationships with both clients and co-workers. I have a greater understanding of the Chicago Housing Authority’s system, and what I am capable of doing for the community. I will continue to apply what I have learned in practicum to help improve on the CHA program, and work harder to become more proficient in the inner workings of it. In so doing, I will be able to help the participants in the program keep their vouchers, or help new clients apply for new ones to help end the cycle of homelessness in Chicago. I will also be able to take what I’ve learned about racial, cultural and ethnical differences and put them into better practice not only in the field of social work, but in my own life as well. Chicago Housing Authority (2011). About CHA. Retrieved from http://www.thecha.org/pages/about_cha/18.php Read More