06/29/2023
Summary:
- The Illinois Stability Investment for Family Housing (SIFH) pilot was developed to benefit families who:
- meet the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) definition of homelessness,
- reside in one of the three targeted counties (Cook, St. Clair, Peoria),
- are 18 years of age or older when applying;
- are part of a family with a child 17 years of age or younger, or currently pregnant;
- meet citizenship/USCIS status requirements;
- are not receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or have any family member(s) in their household who are receiving SSI; and
- have not been matched with another permanent housing assistance program.
- This manual release provides guidance on how SIFH pilot payments will affect eligibility for all programs.
- Application registration began 05/03/2023, with a deadline of 06/7/2023. Final selection of pilot applicants and payment amounts will be made by 06/07/2023 with issuances occurring until 06/15/2023.
- Eligible households will receive a one-time cash payment.
Where allowed by federal law, Public Act 101-0415 allows financial assistance, wages, cash transfers, and gifts provided to an individual enrolled in a program or research project whose purpose is to investigate the impacts of policies or programs designed to reduce poverty, promote social mobility, or increase financial stability for Illinois residents to be excluded for the purposes of determining eligibility and benefit amount for public assistance.
Illinois Stability Investment for Family Housing Pilot
The Illinois Stability Investment for Family Housing (SIFH) pilot launched 05/03/2023, and is being conducted by the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) through the University of Chicago's Inclusive Economy Lab.
The pilot was designed to aid selected homeless families to learn if short-term cash assistance may prevent families from returning to homeless shelters or reduce the length of stay in the shelters.
To participate, applicants must meet the HUD definition of homelessness, reside in one of the three targeted counties (Cook, St. Clair, Peoria), be 18 years of age or older, be part of a family with a child 17 years of age or younger, or currently pregnant, meet citizenship/USCIS status requirements, not receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or have any family member(s) in their household who are receiving SSI, and have not been matched with another permanent housing assistance program.
Application registration began 05/03/2023, with a deadline of 06/07/2023. Final selections of pilot applicants and payment amounts will be made by 06/07/2023 with issuances occurring until 06/15/2023. Due to the expedited timeline, applicants may experience eligibility determination and payment delays. The one-time cash payment will be at least $500 up to $10,000.
Cash/SNAP/Medical
Verification of the exempt income is required, if questionable, when determining eligibility for Cash, SNAP, and Medical programs. The one-time payment received from the pilot is considered exempt unearned income for the purposes of determining Cash, SNAP, and Medical eligibility for programs which utilize MAGI budgeting methodology and is non-exempt unearned income for AABD Medical and other non-MAGI Medical programs.
The SIFH pilot is not considered a Work and Training program and cannot be used to meet work and training requirements.
IES
When entering income received from the SIFH Pilot in IES, workers should enter the income based on the programs selected when processing an application or changes to an existing case. Workers should process as follows:
- Applications with Cash, SNAP and/or MAGI Medical, select Other Exempt as the unearned income type on the Unearned Income-Details page.
- Applications for AABD Medical only, select Other Unearned as the income type on the Unearned Income-Details page.
- Applications with Cash and/or SNAP containing Medical programs using AABD budgeting, workers should contact the Bureau of Medical Eligibility Policy and Special Programs (BMESP) for specific instructions, HFS.Eligibility.Policy@illinois.gov.
Document in Case Comments the type of unearned income received and if it was exempt or non-exempt for each program.
Manual Revisions
[signed copy on file]
Grace B. Hou
Secretary, Illinois Department of Human Services
Theresa Eagleson
Director, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services
