Emergency and Transitional Housing Program Annual Report FY2020

Preface

The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) Emergency and Transitional Housing Program (ETH) is compiled for the House and Senate Appropriation Committees of the Illinois General Assembly in accordance with 305 ILCS 5/12-4.5. This report provides historical and current fiscal year information about the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program, and outlines funding by detailing program expenditures, types of services, and number of people served.

This report should not be construed to represent the total homeless population in Illinois. This report contains data compiled from quarterly reports from organizations funded by the ETH Program.

Introduction

The Illinois Emergency and Transitional Housing (ETH) Program was developed to provide immediate food and shelter to homeless persons and families or persons and families at imminent risk of becoming homeless. The ETH Program was designed to provide meals, beds and supportive services through not-for-profit organizations to homeless individuals and families to assist them to return to self-sufficiency.

Funding for the ETH Program has provided funding for emergency shelters, transitional shelters, voucher programs, food, and an array of supportive services to homeless individuals and families across the state of Illinois.

In State Fiscal Year 2020, $8.7 million in funding was allocated to the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program providers.

Program Goal

The goal of the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program is to render immediate and comprehensive shelter services to homeless individuals and families or individuals and families at imminent risk of homelessness. The program provides food, shelter, and supportive services through local not-for-profit agencies. Program deliverables require that:

  • All participants be provided with case management services, counseling services and advocacy services within 5 days of admittance to the program for transitional programs and within 15 days for overnight programs.
  • All participants have access to case management services outside of normal business hours of operation including, but not limited to evening case management service hours.
  • All participants have complete intake and assessment done upon entry into the program. Providers must submit all intake and assessment forms to IDHS annually for approval.
  • All providers have a community outreach plan which includes a detailed description for notifying the community of the program, hours of operation, and admittance / eligibility requirements into the program they administer for IDHS. This plan includes outreach to other community service agencies and the local Family and Community Resource Center (FCRC). IDHS must be advised of any publication and distribution of flyers, printed materials and / or brochures that are part of the IDHS funded program.
  • All providers have a referral process that assists program participants with enrollment into public benefit programs such as TANF, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), ALL Kids, medical assistance, disability assistance, as well as any other resources that address the needs of the program participants.
  • All progress and supportive services for transitional shelter participants be tracked and reported within each participant's case file through the development of an Individual Service Plan that includes at a minimum a record of the participant's supportive services, case management, outcomes, goals, progress notes, and benefit assistance.
  • All providers have the ability to download the IDHS Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) application and distribute to all eligible households.
  • All providers have a written agreement or memorandum of understanding for referrals with other social service providers. The agreement or memorandum of understanding includes at a minimum; the type of services to be provided, the referral process of each agency, and follow-up actions.
  • All providers accurately report outcomes and submit quarterly reports to IDHS utilizing the Emergency and Transitional Housing (ETH) web-based reporting system.
  • All providers report the following information in the annual Funding Plan:
  • an unduplicated number of projected participants to be served in the fiscal year.
  •  an unduplicated number of projected households to be served in the fiscal year.
  •  the projected nights of shelter to be provided during the fiscal year.
  • the projected number of meals to be provided, served, purchased, or vouchered during the fiscal year.

Administration

The IDHS Division of Family and Community Services, Bureau of Basic Supports administers the state funded ETH Program. Program staff perform all administrative and program management functions that includes, but is not limited to, the implementation of funding plans, contracting, program payments, and program monitoring. The ETH Program deliverables are verified by IDHS staff through on-site field monitoring.

Funding

The General Revenue Fund (GRF) allocation for the ETH Program provides food, shelter and supportive services to homeless individuals and families throughout the state. The allocation is divided between Chicago (54%) and the balance of the state (46%).

The public and not-for-profit organizations that participate in the ETH Program must provide shelter and supportive services and match at least 25% of the program costs from other sources. Fifty percent of the match must be cash. The other fifty percent may be cash and/or in-kind services, including volunteer services, or the value of the property.

Included in the ETH appropriation are funds allocated for technical assistance. The Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies provides monthly information to homeless agencies across the state regarding legislative and programmatic changes, public and private funding opportunities, and changes in federally funded homeless programs.

Reporting

In Fiscal Year 2009 the Department made significant improvements to the ETH Program by developing a web-based quarterly reporting system. In an attempt to capture the maximum amount of available data, the Department designed a reporting system compatible with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development homeless program reporting formats. The Department also added data elements to the reporting system to provide statistical information regarding homeless children.

Fiscal Reporting: Fiscal compliance, program activity, and program monitoring are employed by IDHS staff to ensure the effective administration of the ETH Program. Upon execution of the ETH contract, all agencies are required to report expenditures quarterly utilizing a web-based reporting system.

Service Reporting: Client activity is also reported quarterly on the IDHS web-based reporting system. The number of participants served, characteristics, services, causes of homelessness, special needs, and household types are just

some of the data elements collected.

Program Services

Shelter programs funded by the ETH Program include:

  • Overnight / Emergency Shelters that provide emergency sleeping accommodations for 12 or fewer hours that serve at least one meal and provide supportive services;
  • Voucher Programs that provide emergency shelter on a per diem basis at a nearby hotel or motel when other overnight shelter is not available and also provide supportive services and may provide food;
  • Transitional Shelters that provide shelter, food and supportive services for up to 24 months.

While the majority of the ETH funding provides for food and shelter, all organizations must also provide supportive services to receive funding from the ETH Program.

The supportive services provided by the ETH Program assist homeless individuals and families return to self-sufficiency. The eligible supportive services include:

Advocacy - Intervening on behalf of program participants to assist in the receipt and use of support services.

Alcohol Abuse Services -  Providing or arranging services for participants to attend AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) or other programs that address alcohol abuse issues.

Case Management  -  Coordinating the acquisition, delivery and use of supportive services. Case management must include individual assessments that are used to develop individual service plans.

Child Care -  Providing or arranging child care services.

Children's Services -  Providing or arranging services for child-specific services, such as child abuse counseling or preschool programs.

Counseling -  Providing or arranging for individual or group counseling to alleviate physical abuse, mental health issues, substance abuse, and/or familial obstacles that are preventing a return to self-sufficiency.

Domestic Violence -  Providing or arranging services for victims of domestic violence.

Education -  Providing or arranging services for participants to complete a course of study leading to a diploma or specific skill certificate.

Employment Services -  Providing or arranging services for participants to complete job preparation and/or to secure job interviews or employment. This may include acquiring special tools or clothing to perform the job in which the participant is placed or receiving training.

English as a Second Language - English language services available to persons who seek to improve Language their English language skills.

Follow Up -  Assessing the need and providing additional services upon completion of, and discharge from the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program.

Health/Dental Services -  Providing or arranging services for participants and assuring use of needed medical and dental services.

HIV/AIDS Related Services -  Supportive services related to the needs of participants diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

Housing Location / Inspection -  Locating and/or the initial inspection of rental property on behalf of inspection participants to ensure that the housing is decent and adequate for the household and meets the general health and safety standards prior to tenant occupancy.

Legal Service Referral - Referrals to any legal services which may be needed by participants.

Mental Health Services - Providing or arranging services that address serious mental health issues that cannot be resolved through regular counseling services.

Outreach -  Locating and contacting homeless individuals or families in the community and inform them of available services.

Substance Abuse Services -  Providing or arranging services for participants to attend NA (Narcotics Anonymous) or other programs that address substance abuse issues.

Transportation -  Transporting or purchasing services, such as bus tokens or taxi fares for participants to obtain medical care, public assistance, education, training and other services not provided on site.

Fiscal Year End Program Data

The following statistics were downloaded directly from the Department's ETH web-based reporting system. All of the following program data was compiled from the quarterly reports submitted by the ETH providers.

Number or Homeless Persons

Listed below is the total number of adults and children under the age of 18 that utilized ETH during the fiscal year.

Adults Children Under 18 Total 
19,923 6,711 26,634

Number of Homeless Households

Household Number
Single Male 10,303
Single Female 5,250
Couple No Child 236
Couple W/Child 611
Male W/Child 149
Female W/Child 2,416
Total Unduplicated Households 18,965

Prior Living Situation

The ETH participants reported sleeping in the following places in the week prior to entering the program.

Prior Living Situation Adults Children Under Age 18
Non-housing (street, park, car, bus station, etc.) 4,419 570
Emergency Shelter 5,359 2,693
Transitional Housing for homeless persons 322 100
Permanent Housing 209 50
Psychiatric facility 145 0
Substance abuse treatment facility 376 5
Hospital 551 55
Jail / Prison 583 4
Domestic violence situation 597 539
Living with relatives / friends 4,725 1,590
Rental housing / Eviction 1,168 515
Disaster / Fire 44 53
Condemned housing 56 25
Other 1,369 512
Total 19,923 6,711

Other Shelters

This section provides the number of participants that used "other" shelters in the year prior to entering the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program. If no shelters were utilized during the prior year, the number of these participants were reported in the "None" category.

Number of Shelters Adults Children Under Age 18
None 10,131 3,201
1 5,528 2,198
2 2,412 862
3 843 204
4 590 74
5 or more 519 172
Total 19,923 6,711

Age and Gender

This section describes the age and gender of all participants that entered the program during the fiscal year.

Age Males Females
62 and over 919 363
51 - 61 2,843 1,216
31 - 50 4,455 3,262
18 - 30 3,236 3,435
Emancipated Minor or Unaccompanied Youth* 86 105
Total Adults - 19,920
13-17 445 568
6-12 1,209 1,219
1-5 1,303 1,344
under 1 273 318
Total Children - 6,679

Age and Gender of Reunited Family Members or Newborns

The age and gender of newborns, other family members, emancipated minors, or unaccompanied youth reunited with a participant that entered the ETH program during the fiscal year is provided in this section.

Age Male Female
62 and over 0 0
51 - 61 0 0
31 - 50 0 3
18 - 30 0 0
Emancipated Minor or Unaccompanied Youth*
Total Reunited Adults  - 3
13 - 17 0 0
6 - 12 2 4
1 - 5 3 8
under 1 10 5
Total Reunited Children - 32

* Emanicipated or Unaccompanied Youth are defined as: emancipated minors, unaccompanied youth, married youth and/or a youth with a child

Ethnicity

This section provided the ethnicity of the ETH participants entering the program within the fiscal year.

Ethnicity Adults Children Under Age 18
Hispanic or Latino 2,040 991
Non-Hispanic and Non-Latino 17,883 5,720
Total 19,923 6,711

Race

This section provides the race of participants entering the ETH Program during the fiscal year.

Race Adults Children Under Age 18
American Indian/Alaskan Native 112 35
Asian 128 20
Black/African American 11,275 4,547
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 69 21
White 7,433 1,421
American Indian/Alaskan Native & White 63 11
Asian & White 22 10
Black/African American & White 259 370
American Indian/Alaskan Native & Black/African American 40 22
Other * 522 254
Total 19,923 6,711

* The "Other" category exists for participants that do not declare themselves in any of the given categories.

Special Needs

This section provides information regarding the types of special needs declared by the ETH program participants upon entering the program. (A participant may have multiple special needs.)

Special Need / Conditions Adults Children Under Age 18
Substance Abuse (SA) 2,344 3
Alcohol Abuse (AA) 2,391 0
Mental Illness (MI) 4,954 126
Developmental Disability (DD) 634 187
Physical Disability (PD) 2,043 88
HIV and / or AIDS (HIV) 210 0
Chronic Medical Health Problem 2,286 101
Domestic Violence 3,165 864
Unaccompanied Youth 245 36
Pregnant / Parenting Teen 294 7
Ex-Offenders 2,910 4
Other 269 3
Total 21,745 1,419

Disabling Condition

The number of program participants declaring a disabling condition upon entry into the program is reported in this section.

Total - 7,005

The definition of a disabling condition is:

  1. A disability as defined in Section 223 of the Social Security Act;
  2. a physical, mental, or emotional impairment which is expected to be of a long continued and indefinite duration; substantially impedes an individual's ability to live independently, and of such a nature that such ability could be more suitable housing conditions;
  3. a developmental disability as defined in section 102 of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act;
  4. the disease of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or any conditions arising from the etiological agency for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; or
  5. a diagnosable substance abuse disorder.

Veterans

The number of participants that declared themselves as a veteran* that participated in the ETH Program is reported in this section.

Total - 662

* A veteran is anyone who has ever been on active military status.

Cash Income

This section provides monthly cash income levels for all ETH program participants entering the program and the income status of program participants when exiting the program.

Entering the Program Adults Children Under 18
No Income 12,267 6,299
$1 to 150 195 20
$151 to 250 353 31
$251 to 500 966 70
$501 to 1000 3,457 186
$1001 to 1500 1,375 52
$1501 to 2000 809 40
$2001 + 501 13
Total 19,923 6,711
Exiting the Program Adults Children Under 18
No Income 6,977 4,689
$1 to 150 143 14
$151 to 250 236 23
$251 to 500 703 60
$501 to 1000 2,466 132
$1001 to 1500 1,204 58
$1501 to 2000 753 41
$2001 + 551 41
Total 13,033 5,058

Sources of Cash Income

The sources of cash income for all participants entering the ETH program are provided in this section.

Participants may have multiple sources of cash income.

Entering the Program

Income Source Adults Children Under 18
AABD 23 3
Alimony / Spousal Support 16 0
Child Support (or DCFS Grant) 223 41
Employment and Training 114 6
Employment Income 3,295 212
Pension / Retirement 108 0
Private Disability Insurance 15 1
Social Security 266 13
SSDI 1,155 35
SSI 2,364 121
Targeted Work Initiative 17 1
Temp. Asst. Needy Families (TANF) 473 111
Transitional / GA / Earnfare 35 5
Unemployment Benefits 157 12
Veterans Benefits 80 0
Work First / Work Pays 1 0
Worker's Compensation 7 0
Total 8,349 561

Exiting the Program

Income Source Adults Children Under 18
AABD 64 12
Alimony / Spousal Support 13 0
Child Support (or DCFS Grant) 152 28
Employment and Training 142 10
Employment Income 2,844 191
Pension / Retirement 81 0
Private Disability Insurance 16 0
Social Security 214 13
SSDI 858 19
SSI 1,546 93
Targeted Work Initiative 14 0
Temp. Asst. Needy Families (TANF) 410 65
Transitional / GA / Earnfare 90 37
Unemployment Benefits 103 2
Veterans Benefits 59 1
Work First / Work Pays 2 0
Worker's Compensation 11 0
Total 6,619 471

Non-Cash Benefits

The non-cash benefits for all participants entering the program are provided in this section, as well as the non-cash benefits for all participants exiting the program during the fiscal year.

Entering the Program

Source of Benefits Adults Children Under 18
All Kids 237 909
Child Care Assistance 46 38
Emergency Food Assistance 2,575 663
LIHEAP 128 3
Teen Parent Program 8 0
WIC 349 240
Medical Card 9,648 3,809
Other 1,300 250
Total 14,291 5,912

Exiting the Program

Source of Benefits Adults Children Under 18
All Kids 138 582
Child Care Assistance 47 52
Emergency Food Assistance 2,024 490
LIHEAP 215 10
Teen Parent Program 5 2
WIC 283 226
Medical Card 6,550 3,226
Other 946 201
Total 10,208 4,789

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program / SNAP (formerly known as Food Stamps)

This section provides an unduplicated number of households entering the program during the fiscal year that were either currently enrolled, agency enrolled or ineligible for the program.

Enrolled Prior to Entering: 10,014

Enrolled After Entering: 5,821

Ineligible: 3,091

Total Households: 18,926

Shelter Nights and Meals

The total number of shelter nights and meals served to all program participants during the fiscal year is provided in this section.

Shelter Nights Overnight Shelter Voucher Shelter Transitional Shelter
Male Adults 651,887 8,365 58,656
Male Children 252,144 4,790 92,095
Female Adults 459,600 10,460 137,849
Female Children 273,339 5,324 100,574
Total 1,636,970 28,939 389,174
Shelter Meals Overnight Shelter Voucher Shelter Transitional Shelter
Meals Served / purchased / or Vouchered for All Participants 1,604,789 22,450 410,221

Supportive Services

The supportive services provided to all program participants during the fiscal year is represented in this section. (Advocacy, Case Management, and Counseling are required supportive services.

Supportive Services Adults Children
Advocacy 109,317 21,805
Case Management 265,961 26,985
Counseling
Financial 51,224 5,118
Life Skills 137,528 16,773
Other Counseling Services 40,517 13,074
Alcohol Abuse Services 15,180 40
Child Care 4,089 1,877
Children's Services 7,228 13,700
Domestic Violence 5,631 1,116
Education 13,741 4,868
Employment Services 49,690 1,939
English as Second Language 3,695 473
Follow-up Services 35,593 2,328
Health / Dental Service 37,804 13,139
HIV / AIDS Related Services 4,599 10
Housing Location / Inspection 17,878 3,925
Mental Health Services 21,799 2,318
Legal Service Referrals 5,231 55
Outreach 15,819 1,373
Substance Abuse Services 18,661 43
Transportation 92,006 3,300
Other 220,528 30,850
Total 1,173,719 165,109

Grand total of Supportive Services is 1,338,828.

Length of Stay

This section provides information regarding the length of time participants spent in the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program before leaving.

Time Period Adults Children Under Age 18
Less than 1 month 6,671 2,108
1 to 2 months 2,611 1,010
3 to 6 months 2,368 1,065
7 to 12 months 819 511
13 to 24 months 367 293
25 months to 3 years 74 69
4 to 5 years 9 2
6 to 7 years 2 0
8 to 10 years 1 0
10 years and up 0 0
TOTAL 13,012 5,058

Reason for Departure

Upon departing from the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program, the following reasons were cited for all program participants during the fiscal year.

Reason for Departure Adults Children Under Age 18
Left for housing opportunity before completing program 1,136 599
Completed Program 3,581 1,696
Non-payment of rent/occupancy charge 35 29
Non-compliance with project 1,142 383
Criminal activity/destruction of property/violence 264 111
Reached maximum time allowed in project 448 218
Needs could not be met by project 267 56
Disagreement with rules/persons 566 229
Death 39 2
Voucher funds exhausted 74 14
Voluntary Departure 2,829 1,171
Unknown/disappeared 1,927 377
Other 704 173
TOTAL 13,012 5,058

* Transitional shelter programs are allowed to charge up to 30% of participant income for rent.

Destination

This section provides the destination of the participants who exited the program during the fiscal year and were not expected to return.

Permanent Housing Destination Adults Children Under Age 18
Rental house or apartment (non-subsidized)  1,253 775
Public Housing 191 144
Section 8 68 79
Shelter Plus Care 27 11
HOME subsidized house or apartment 354 222
Other subsidized house of apartment 353 211
Home Ownership 31 35
Moved in with family or friends 1,595 793
Transitional Housing Destination (24 Months or Less) Adults Children Under Age 18
Transitional Opportunity 312 114
Moved in with family or friends 1,322 716
Institutional Destination Adults Children Under Age 18
Psychiatric hospital 63 1
Inpatient alcohol or other drug treatment facility 149 2
Jail/prison 114 3
Other Emergency Shelter Destination Adults Children Under Age 18
Emergency Shelter 773 322
Other supportive housing 82 43
Places not meant for human habitation (e.g. street) 319 11
Other 1,405 600
Unknown Destination Adults Children Under Age 18
Unknown 4,601 976
Destination Totals Adults Children Under age 18
Grant Total 13,012 5,058

Reason for Turn Away

This section provides information regarding the reason participants were turned away from the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program during the fiscal year.

Reason for Turn Away Adults Children Under Age 18
No Vacancy 5,135 3,721
No Voucher Funds 833 795
Inappropriate for shelter 3,970 1,241
Refused to accept rules 942 71
Found other housing 850 450
TOTAL 11,730 6,278

Turn Away Referral

This section represents a duplicated count of the referrals made to program participants for other social services that were turned away from the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program. There were 11,552 participants turned away during the fiscal year.

Primary Language

The Department is attempting to identify the total number of program participants that could not speak or read English. A duplicated count of the primary language for these program participants is provided in this section.

Category Number of Adults Number of Children Under Age 18
Albanian 0 0
Arabic 13 3
Bosnian 2 0
Bulgarian 4 2
Chinese 14 0
French 19 5
Gujarati 0 0
Hindi 3 0
Khmer 0 0
Korean 2 0
Lithuanian 1 0
Mandingo 0 0
Polish 24 2
Romanian 1 0
Russian 7 0
Spanish 325 122
Ukrainian 2 0
Urdu 1 0
Uzbek 0 0
Vietnamese 6 0
Other - Asian 5 1
Other - African 13 7
Other - Central and South American 1 3
Other - European 8 0
Other - India 0 0
Other 108 11
Total 559 156