Emergency and Transitional Housing Annual Report FY2023

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 2023, $15.7 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.

Number of Homeless Persons Total
Adults 22271
Children Under 18 6530
Total 28801

Number of Homeless Households

Number of Homeless Households Total Unduplicated Households
Single Male 11908
Single Female 5785
Couple no Child 245
Couple with Child 631
Male with Child 164
Female with Child 2331
Total Unduplicated Households 21064

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.) 5865 809
Emergency Shelter 5934 2518
Transitional Housing for homeless persons 258 69
Permanent Housing 129 29
Psychiatric facility 226 3
Substance abuse treatment facility 333 2
Hospital 727 34
Jail / Prison 784 1
Domestic violence situation 709 796
Living with relatives / friends 4573 1310
Rental housing / Eviction 931 390
Disaster / Fire 52 23
Condemned housing 249 25
Other 1501 521
Total 22271 6530

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 12743 4265
1 5472 1626
2 2132 355
3 973 136
4 529 80
5 or more 422 68
Total 22271 6530

Age and Gender

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

Age Male Female
62 and over 1432 623
51 - 61 3108 1403
31 - 50 5139 3809
18 - 30 3430 3125
Emancipated Minor or Unaccompanied Youth* 104 84
Total Adults 22257
13 - 17 560 584
6 - 12 1253 1306
1 - 5 1150 1138
Under 1 247 255
Total Children

Age and Gender of Reunited Family Memebers 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 0 0
31 - 50 6 3
18 - 30 2 3
Emancipated Minor or Unaccompanied Youth* 0 0
Total Adults 14
13 - 17 1 6
6 - 12 6 2
1 - 5 1 2
Under 1 12 7
Total Children 0 0

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

Ethnicity

Ethnicity Adults Children Under Age 18
Hispanic or Latino 3075 1364
Non-Hispanic and Non-Latino 19196 5166
Total 22271 6530

Race

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

Race Adults Children Under Age 18
American Indian/Alaskan Native 156 37
Asian 107 9
Black / African American 12526 4129
Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander 133 57
White 8192 1563
American Indian / Alaskan Native and White 80 21
Asian and White 17 8
Black / African American and White 397 340
American Indian / Alaskan Native and Black / African American 97 67
Other* 566 299
Total 22271 6530

* 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 / Condition Adults Children Under Age 18
Substance Abuse (SA) 3119 13
Alcohol Abuse (AA) 2412 5
Mental Illness (MI) 6403 116
Developmental Disability (DD) 885 196
Physical Disability (PD) 2872 45
HIV and / or AIDS (HIV) 316 1
Chronic Medical Health Problems 3085 107
Domestic Violence 3960 1161
Unaccompanied Youth 283 12
Pregnant / Parenting Teen 287 101
Ex-Offenders 3581 107
Other 298 36
Total 27501 1900

Disabling Condition

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

Total - 8740

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 - 749

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

Cash Income Entering the Program

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.

Income Level Adults Children Under Age 28
No Income 14251 5843
$1 to $150 152 17
$151 to $250 133 22
$251 to $500 698 58
$501 to $1000 3511 273
$1001 to $1500 1438 157
$1501 to $2000 1013 72
$2001 + 1075 88
Total 22271 6530

Income Exiting the program

Income Level Adults Children Under Age 18
No Income 10208 4157
$1 to $150 106 3
$151 to $250 117 21
$251 to $500 566 47
$501 to $1000 2847 227
$1001 to $1500 1207 84
$1501 to $2000 888 62
$2001 + 959 91
Total 16898 4692

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 Age 18
AABD 21 1
Alimony / Spousal Support 30 0
Child Support (or DCFS Grant) 169 43
Employment and Training 121 6
Employment Income 3317 327
Pension / Retirement 129 0
Private Disability Insurance 46 0
Social Security 315 27
SSDI 1465 69
SSI 2614 135
Targeted Work Initiative 4 1
Temp. Asst. Needy Families (TANF) 409 151
Transitional / GA / Earnfare 51 9
Unemployment Benefits 142 5
Veterans Benefits 108 0
Work First / Work Pays 5 0
Worker's Compensation 11 0
Total 8957 774

Exiting the Program

Income Source Adults Children Under Age 18
AABD 7 2
Alimony / Spousal Support 20 0
Child Support (or DCFS Grant) 107 40
Employment and Training 115 16
Employment Income 2811 254
Pension / Retirement 113 0
Private Disability Insurance 19 0
Social Security 231 14
SSDI 1204 52
SSI 2204 118
Targeted Work Initiative 16 3
Temp. Asst. Needy Families (TANF) 347 116
Transitional / GA / Earnfare 60 0
Unemployment Benefits 94 4
Veterans Benefits 87 0
Work First / Work Pays 1 0
Worker's Compensation 8 0
Total 7444 619

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

Sources of Benefits Adults Children Under Age 18
All Kids 189 815
Child Care Assistance 42 13
Emergency Food Assistance 4553 664
LIHEAP 63 26
Teen Parent Program 13 4
WIC 222 180
Medical Card 10895 3304
Other 2878 617
Total 18855 5623

Exiting the Program

Source of Benefits Adults Children Under Age 18
All Kids 99 595
Child Care Assistance 139 29
Emergency Food Assistance 3652 459
LIHEAP 56 38
Teen Parent Program 16 2
WIC 478 144
Medical Card 8214 2553
Other 2803 376
Total 15457 4196

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: 11750

Enrolled After Entering: 6339

Ineligible: 2975

Total Households: 21064

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 676844 21396 73665
Male Children 255514 15371 84640
Female Adults 470750 17011 108212
Female Children 222745 14266 77067
Total 1625853 68044 343584

Grand Total:

Shelter Meals Overnight Shelter Voucher Shelter Transitional Shelter
Meals Served / Purchased / or Vouchers for All Participants 1782257 81245 471921

Grand Total:  2335423

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 68629 14925
Case Management 193135 35907
Counseling
  Financial 32690 1773
  Life Skills 91709 10876
  Other Counseling Services 27373 8503
Alcohol Abuse Services 13527 15
Child Care 6384 6577
Children's Services 8912 14894
Domestic Violence 446 2232
Education 10071 6688
Employment Services 38760 1239
English as Second Language 5656 4687
Follow-up Services 22745 6431
Health / Dental Services 2832 10867
HIV / AIDS Related Services 1335 14
Housing Location / Inspection 20770 3038
Mental Health Services 22351 4972
Legal Service Referrals 7222 3120
Outreach 12918 237
Substance Abuse Services 18564 21
Transportation 62173 4481
Other 126653 15611
Total 824373 157108

Grand total of Supportive Services is 981481

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 9269 1906
1 to 2 months 3023 1020
3 to 6 months 3127 1090
7 to 12 months 1002 415
13 to 24 months 381 206
25 months to 3 years 76 55
4 to 5 years 1 0
6 to 7 years 0 0
8 to 10 years 0 0
10 years and up 0 0
Total 16879 4692

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 1120 553
Completed program 3903 1690
Non-payment of rent/occupancy charge* 115 81
Non-compliance with project 1387 350
Criminal activity/destruction of property/violence 323 65
Reached maximum time allowed in project 376 158
Needs could not be met by project 238 55
Disagreement with rules/persons 803 270
Death 84 32
Voucher funds exhausted 66 20
Voluntary Departure 5628 948
Unknown/disappeared 2346 368
Other 511 102
Total 16900 4692

* 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) 1064 504
Public Housing 244 111
Section 8 122 92
Shelter Plus Care 21 12
HOME subsidized house or apartment 459 299
Other subsidized house of apartment 623 450
Home Ownership 41 6
Moved in with family or friends 1179 517
Transitional Housing Destination (24 Months or Less)
Transitional Opportunity 307 120
Moved in with family or friends 1371 567
Institutional Destination
Psychiatric hospital 102 4
Inpatient alcohol or other drug treatment facility 118 1
Jail/prison 162 5
Other Emergency Shelter Destination
Emergency Shelter 1178 381
Other supportive housing 108 16
Places not meant for human habitation (e.g. street) 466 42
Other 3391 749
Unknown Destination
Unknown 5944 816
Destination Totals 16900 4692

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 6912 2329
No Voucher Funds 413 79
Inappropriate for shelter 3706 1143
Refused to accept rules 2327 102
Found other housing 2337 261
Total 15595 3914

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 14,548 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
Albanian 2 1
Arabic 9 5
Bosnian 0 0
Bulgarian 1 0
Chinese 6 0
French 26 12
Gujarati 0 0
Hindi 3 1
Khmer 0 0
Korean 0 0
Lithuanian 0 0
Mandingo 0 0
Polish 14 0
Romanian 3 0
Russian 45 9
Spanish 771 391
Ukrainian 4 3
Urdu 1 0
Vietnamese 1 0
Other - Asian 10 0
Other - African 11 6
Other - Central and South American 4 3
Other - European 4 0
Other - India 21 0
Other 300 55
Total 1238 486