Member Agency Updates

Department of Health and Human Services

ASPE Releases New Report on Medicaid and Permanent Supportive Housing for the Chronically Homeless

This new HHS report is a comprehensive literature review that looks at the operation of permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless and the related use of Medicaid for the funding of supportive services. Permanent supportive housing is a solution to chronic homelessness.  The challenge is finding enough resources to continually fund the supportive services vital to its success. This report  

• Describes the importance of linking housing with health care in the permanent supportive housing model,
• Identifies the most effective practices used to increase Medicaid access for the chronically homeless to fund supportive services, and
• Previews the ways Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act in 2014 will effect access and funding for this population.

HHS Offers New Tools to Help States Lower Medicaid Costs while Improving Care  

HHS' Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office was created by the Affordable Care Act to improve care for American while lowering costs.  On May 11, the Office announced the creation of new initiatives toward this goal.  The Alignment Initiative seeks to increase benefit access for low-income seniors and those with disabilities who have to navigate both Medicare and Medicaid to get the services they need often leading to fragmented care and poor health outcomes. This initiative begins with public comment from stakeholders across the country about ways to align these two programs, and the Office will also begin regional listening sessions.

- Learn more about the Alignment Initiative 

New SAMHSA study finds Trauma-Informed Care improves Behavioral and Emotional Health of Children

Homelessness is traumatic, especially for children, and has a negative long-term effect on school performance, mental health, and emotional development. To combat this problem, community-based "system of care" programs have been implemented to serve the holistic needs of both children and individuals experiencing homelessness. SAMHSA recently released the report Helping Children and Youth Who Have Experienced Traumatic Events which stresses the effectiveness of trauma-informed services within a system of care model. Results show that children and youth with access to these services have improved school performance, fewer arrests, and reduced suicide attempts.

- Read the full report from SAMHSA  

Department of Housing and Urban Development

HUD Releases FY 2011 Plans for Homeless Assistance Programs

Upon passage of the Continuing Resolution for FY 2011, HUD recently released its plan for the remainder of funds for its homeless assistance programs. Highlights include    

• $65 million in additional funding for Emergency Solutions Grant Implementation
• $50 million for 7,000 new HUD-VASH Vouchers   
• HEARTH Act implementation will not proceed in the Continuum of Care programs because of a lack of funding. The Supportive Housing Program, Shelter Plus Care, and Section 8 SRO Program will continue under the current rules and regulations and will most likely not fund any new projects. However, HUD encourages communities to continue planning and preparing for HEARTH implementation planning in FY 2012.  
• The current definition of homelessness remains in effect until further regulations and guidance are issued.     

Featured Webinar: One Year of HPRP Lessons Learned

Tuesday May 24th, 11:30 ET  

In January 2011, HPRP grantees submitted to HUD their Year 1 Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP) Annual Progress Reports (APR). This webinar will review "lessons learned" from this process to inform grantees' submissions of the HPRP APR in Years 2 and 3. Topics will include the following: common errors on APR questions, common issues with HMIS affecting APR data, suggestions for reducing errors and improving the quality of the data submitted to HUD, a review of some of the commonly misunderstood reporting concepts, and some national outcomes from the first year of HPRP.

- Register for this webinar now 

Ann Oliva is the Director of the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs at HUD and is responsible for the distribution and monitoring of grants to homeless service providers. She is being honored for implementing the new e-snaps online grant information system, shortening the time it takes to award grants, and increasing program efficiency and effectiveness. We congratulate her and her work to improve homeless services at the federal level.   

- Learn more about Ann Oliva and the Awards  

Department of Veterans Affairs  

VA 2K National Event to raise awareness on Veterans Homelessness

On June 2, 2011, VA sites across the country will participate in a 2K Walk and Roll Event as a part of the VA's employee wellness month and to bring greater awareness to the needs of homeless Veterans. To find out if a VA in your area is hosting an event, please email AskVHAEmployeewellness@va.gov.

- Learn more about the events 

LA Homeless Services Honored by Social Security Administration for Partnership  

The Regional Commissioner of the Social Security Administration awarded a Regional Commissioner's Citation to LA County's Benefits Entitlement Services Team (BEST).  The team is a partnership among the federal Social Security Administration, the State of California's Disability Determination Services, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and John Wesley Community Health Institute. BEST is the first partnership of its kind and is focused on ensuring that people experiencing homelessness are served holistically with federal benefits such as cash assistance, medical and social services, and housing. "The homeless community directly benefits from this partnership," noted Regional SSA Commissional Peter Spencer. "Social Security looks forward to continuing this partnership and setting up similar programs across the State. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has a vision that others should emulate.  I commend them for setting the bar high."

2011 San Francisco Homeless Count Report Released - Chronic Homelessness Down 47% 

This report details the results from the 2011 Point in Time count and provides information about the population of people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco. The report reinforces the success of the Housing First model. Trends show major improvements in chronic homelessness (down 47% in two years). The Recovery Act's Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing (HPRP) program helped to minimize sharper increases in family homelessness.

- Read the Executive Summary 

- Read the Full Report 

NLIHC publishes Out of Reach 2011, the State of Affordable Housing in America

The National Low Income Housing Coalition recently released its report on the affordability of rental units in America, entitled Out of Reach. As the title suggests, this report compares rental housing costs to wages in every county, state, and metropolitan area and shows that, for most low income people, affordable housing is not attainable at current wages. The effects of the recession are still being felt by low-income renters across the country who are unable to find units that cost 30% or less of their monthly income and struggle to sustain a comfortable living with the burden of high housing costs. Currently, there is a shortage of 3.4 million rental units of affordable housing.

SAMHSA Grant

Cooperative Agreements for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals grant applications are due May 27. The request for applications is open to homeless service providers across the country. To get more information about this grant due this week

For more information on upcoming grant deadlines and other events, visit