Emergency and Transitional Housing Annual Report FY2021

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 2021, $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 14,890
Children Under 18 5,208
Total 20,098

Number of Homeless Households

Single Male 7,466
Single Female 3,988
Couple No Child 195
Couple W/Child 434
Male W/Child 126
Female W/Child 1,909
Total Unduplicated Households 14,118

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.) 3,611 448
Emergency Shelter 3,718 2,121
Transitional Housing for homeless persons 288 98
Permanent Housing 115 38
Psychiatric facility 188 1
Substance abuse treatment facility 324 5
Hospital 431 26
Jail / Prison 440 0
Domestic violence situation 580 700
Living with relatives / friends 3,393 1,153
Rental housing / Eviction 647 189
Disaster / Fire 39 7
Condemned housing 47 3
Other 1,063 415
Total 14,884 5,204

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 8,017 2,694
1 3,865 1,690
2 1,627 489
3 655 148
4 347 85
5 or more 324 56
Total 14,835 5,162

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 762 309
51 - 61 1,892 907
31 - 50 3,250 2,525
18 - 30 2,376 2,645
Emancipated Minor or Unaccompanied Youth* 122 93
Total Adults - 14,881 8,402 6,479
13-17 357 385
6-12 981 1,033
1-5 1,019 971
under 1 209 224
Total Children - 5,179 2,566 2,613

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 Males Females
62 and over 0 0
51 - 61 1 0
31 - 50 4 3
18 - 30 0 1
Emancipated Minor or Unaccompanied Youth* 0 0
Total Adults - 9 5 4
13-17 3 0
6-12 5 3
1-5 4 3
under 1 7 4
Total Children - 29 19 10

* 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 1,832 853
Non-Hispanic and Non-Latino 13,058 4,355
Total 14,890 5,208

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 103 42
Asian 89 23
Black/African American 8,389 3,631
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 64 46
White 5,534 994
American Indian/Alaskan Native & White 44 6
Asian and White 18 6
Black/African American and White 241 236
American Indian/Alaskan Native and Black/African American 67 10
Other* 341 214
Total 14,890 5,208

* 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) 2,008 0
Alcohol Abuse (AA) 1,498 0
Mental Illness (MI) 4,019 94
Developmental Disability (DD) 512 168
Physical Disability (PD) 1,556 54
HIV and / or AIDS (HIV) 184 0
Chronic Medical Health Problem 1,740 56
Domestic Violence 2,513 841
Unaccompanied Youth 248 15
Pregnant / Parenting Teen 192 11
Ex-Offenders 2,077 101
Other 60 6
Total 16,607 1,346

Disabling Condition

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

Total - 5,534

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 - 431

* 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

Income Level Adults Children Under 18
 No Income 9,285 4,763
$1 to $150 145 22
$151 to $250 242 22
$251 to $500 681 48
$501 to $1000 2,515 180
$1001 to $1500 935 64
$1501 to $2000 542 41
$2001 + 496 26
Total 14,841 5,166
Income Level Adults Children Under 18
No Income 5,214 3,642
$1 to $150 91 17
$151 to $250 165 13
$251 to $500 459 26
$501 to $1000 1,648 133
$1001 to $1500 700 55
$1501 to $2000 522 37
$2001 + 494 25
Total 9,293 3,948

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 41 8
Alimony / Spousal Support 25 6
Child Support (or DCFS Grant) 165 36
Employment and Training 70 3
Employment Income 2,106 157
Pension / Retirement 98 0
Private Disability Insurance 9 0
Social Security 180 14
SSDI 872 44
SSI 1,803 103
Targeted Work Initiative 7 0
Temp. Asst. Needy Families (TANF) 393 114
Transitional / GA / Earnfare 24 0
Unemployment Benefits 349 23
Veterans Benefits 61 1
Work First / Work Pays 0 0
Worker's Compensation 8 0
Total 6,208 509

Exiting the Program

Income Source Adults Children Under 18
AABD 41 8
Alimony / Spousal Support 25 6
Child Support (or DCFS Grant) 165 36
Employment and Training 70 3
Employment Income 2,103 157
Pension / Retirement 98 0
Private Disability Insurance 9 0
Social Security 180 872
SSDI 872 44
SSI 1,803 103
Targeted Work Initiative 7 0
Temp. Asst. Needy Families (TANF) 393 114
Transitional / GA / Earnfare 24 0
Unemployment Benefits 349 23
Veterans Benefits 61 1
Work First / Work Pays 0 0
Worker's Compensation 8 0
Total 6,208 509

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 325 1,056
Child Care Assistance 92 110
Emergency Food Assistance 2,355 577
LIHEAP 59 28
Teen Parent Program 14 0
WIC 325 224
Medical Card 7,955 272
Other 1,600 239
Total 12,725 5,206

Exiting the Program

Source of Benefits Adults Children Under 18
All Kids 268 803
Child Care Assistance 74 63
Emergency Food Assistance 1,341 479
LIHEAP 61 42
Teen Parent Program 2 3
WIC 267 341
Medical Card 5,028 1,979
Other 1,102 434
Total 8,143 4,144

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: 7,620

Enrolled After Entering: 4,512

Ineligible: 1,931

Total Households: 14,063

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 515,543 3,904 46,535
Male Children 159,777 5,913 76,511
Female Adults 354,302 8,459 105,894
Female Children 175,478 4,777 79,183
Total 1,205,100 23,053 308,123

Grand Total:  1,536,276

Shelter Meals Overnight Shelter Voucher Shelter Transitional Shelter
Meals Served / purchased / or Vouchered for All Participants 1,290,970 23,737 383,407

Grand Total:  1,698,114

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 65.643 10,129
Case Management 174,133 15,360
Counseling
  Financial 30,359 1,510
  Life Skills 69,233 5,165
  Other Counseling Services 26,030 6,851
Alcohol Abuse Services 13,459 4
Child Care 2,342 580
Children's Services 7,885 10,206
Domestic Violence 3,913 1,001
Education 10,183 12,593
Employment Services 28,488 639
English as Second Language 442 29
Follow-up Services 21,557 707
Health / Dental Service 24,322 5,211
HIV / AIDS Related Services 708 25
Housing Location / Inspection 13,501 1,626
Mental Health Services 18,162 621
Legal Service Referrals 3,043 12
Outreach 13,042 333
Substance Abuse Services 14,143 10
Transportation 90,244 2,377
Other 195,745 37,352
Total 826,577 112,341

Grand total of Supportive Services is 938,918

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 4,828 1,555
1 to 2 months 1,614 824
3 to 6 months 1,672 797
7 to 12 months 736 399
13 to 24 months 400 318
25 months to 3 years 84 97
4 to 5 years 2 0
6 to 7 years 0 0
8 to 10 years 0 0
10 years and up 3 0
TOTAL 9,342 3,990

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 1,026 552
Completed Program 3,361 1,520
Non-payment of rent/occupancy charge 18 28
Non-compliance with project 805 238
Criminal activity/destruction of property/violence 193 33
Reached maximum time allowed in project 173 72
Needs could not be met by project 164 34
Disagreement with rules/persons 410 152
Death 28 12
Voucher funds exhausted 53 10
Voluntary Departure 2,189 1,052
Unknown/disappeared 783 234
Other 139 53
TOTAL 9,342 3,990

* 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) 979 609
Public Housing 153 87
Section 8 114 57
Shelter Plus Care 9 2
HOME subsidized house or apartment 628 419
Other subsidized house of apartment 377 251
Home Ownership 19 20
Moved in with family or friends 1,027 561
Transitional Housing Destination (24 Months or Less)
Transitional Opportunity 271 74
Moved in with family or friends 1,202 715
Institutional Destination
Psychiatric hospital 73 3
Inpatient alcohol or other drug treatment facility 125 1
Jail/prison 84 3
Other Emergency Shelter Destination
Emergency Shelter 420 192
Other supportive housing 70 28
Places not meant for human habitation (e.g. street) 242 8
Other 1,086 251
Unknown Destination
Unknown 2,463 709
Destination Totals 9,342 3,990

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 5,953 1,964
No Voucher Funds 201 18
Inappropriate for shelter 3,132 916
Refused to accept rules 715 76
Found other housing 1,345 353
TOTAL 11,346 3,327

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 9,133 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 6 3
Bosnian 0 0
Bulgarian 1 0
Chinese 3 0
French 8 2
Gujarati 1 0
Hindi 2 2
Khmer 0 0
Korean 1 0
Lithuanian 2 0
Mandingo 0 0
Polish 13 0
Romanian 1 0
Russian 13 8
Spanish 226 52
Ukrainian 3 0
Urdu 1 0
Uzbek 0 0
Vietnamese 3 0
Other - Asian 6 1
Other - African 7 0
Other - Central and South American 1 0
Other - European 1 0
Other - India 0 0
Other 46 18
Total 345 86