Emergency and Transitional Housing Program Annual Report FY2024

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 24,896
Children Under 18 8,263
Total 33,159

Number of Homeless Households

Number of Homeless Households Total Unduplicated Households
Single Male 12,637
Single Female 6,676
Couple no Child 329
Couple with Child 750
Male with Child 214
Female with Child 2,915
Total Unduplicated Households 23,521

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.) 7,158 1,433
Emergency Shelter 6,453 3,104
Transitional Housing for homeless persons 379 30
Permanent Housing 202 85
Psychiatric facility 236 4
Substance abuse treatment facility 375 0
Hospital 773 59
Jail / Prison 759 3
Domestic violence situation 750 795
Living with relatives / friends 4,900 1,526
Rental housing / Eviction 1,206 443
Disaster / Fire 54 25
Condemned housing 157 47
Other 1,494 709
Total 24,896 8,263

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 15,027 5,512
1 5,498 1,931
2 2,289 502
3 1,044 174
4 499 76
5 or more 537 66
Total 24,894 8,261

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 1,506 729
51 - 61 3,084 1,639
31 - 50 5,734 4,645
18 - 30 3,866 3,553
Emancipated Minor or Unaccompanied Youth 54 80
Total Adults 24,890
13 - 17 727 827
6 - 12 1,597 1,655
1 - 5 1,384 1,466
Under 1 289 304
Total Children 8,249

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
61 and Over 0 0
51 - 61 1 0
31 - 50 1 3
18 - 30 1 0
Emancipated Minor or Unaccompanied Youth* 0 0
Total Adults 3 3
13 - 17 2 1
6 - 12 1 1
1 - 5 0 0
Under 1 5 4
Total Children 8 6

* Emancipated 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 2,964 1,602
Non-Hispanic and Non-Latino 21,932 6,661
Total 24,896 8,263

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 225 98
Asian 420 24
Black / African American 13,557 5,287
Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander 120 36
White 8,680 1,551
American Indian / Alaskan Native and White 80 30
Asian and White 21 7
Black / African American and White 408 512
American Indian / Alaskan Native and Black / African American 67 27
Other* 1,317 691
Total 24,896 8,263

* 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) 3,762 9
Alcohol Abuse (AA) 3,072 13
Mental Illness (MI) 7,290 171
Developmental Disability (DD) 1,029 284
Physical Disability (PD) 3,022 73
HIV and / or AIDS (HIV) 354 6
Chronic Medical Health Problems 3,352 193
Domestic Violence 4,476 1,660
Unaccompanied Youth 227 6
Pregnant / Parenting Teen 277 57
Ex-Offenders 3,823 108
Other 798 50
Total 31,482 2,630

Disabling Condition

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

Total - 8,977

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 - 956

* 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 18
No Income 15,963 7,611
$1 to $150 159 14
$151 to $250 211 28
$251 to $500 767 65
$501 to $1000 3,439 231
$1001 to $1500 1,661 107
$1501 to $2000 1,238 90
$2001 plus 1,411 117
Total 24,849 8,263

Income Exiting the program

Income Level Adults Children Under Age 18
No Income 10,966 5,103
$1 to $150 103 8
$151 to $250 163 11
$251 to $500 595 48
$501 to $1000 2,753 161
$1001 to $1500 1,346 70
$1501 to $2000 1,042 87
$2001 plus 1,183 80
Total 18,151 5,568

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 3 0
Alimony / Spousal Support 55 0
Child Support (or DCFS Grant) 242 91
Employment and Training 60 1
Employment Income 4,142 281
Pension / Retirement 197 30
Private Disability Insurance 32 2
Social Security 332 15
SSDI 1,563 92
SSI 2,661 143
Targeted Work Initiative 99 1
Temp. Asst. Needy Families (TANF) 492 120
Transitional / GA / Earnfare 52 1
Unemployment Benefits 152 12
Veterans Benefits 10 0
Work First / Work Pays 5 0
Worker's Compensation 50 8
Total 10,243 797

Exiting the Program

Income Source Adults Children Under Age 18
AABD 7 49
Alimony / Spousal Support 49 0
Child Support (or DCFS Grant) 186 59
Employment and Training 117 0
Employment Income 3,318 232
Pension / Retirement 131 6
Private Disability Insurance 20 2
Social Security 262 21
SSDI 1,192 36
SSI 2,171 89
Targeted Work Initiative 23 2
Temp. Asst. Needy Families (TANF) 389 116
Transitional / GA / Earnfare 41 1
Unemployment Benefits 114 4
Veterans Benefits 77 0
Work First / Work Pays 2 0
Worker's Compensation 29 0
Total 8,128 617

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 181 992
Child Care Assistance 62 78
Emergency Food Assistance 5,243 798
LIHEAP 69 33
Teen Parent Program 25 6
WIC 273 139
Medical Card 12,499 3,480
Other 2,803 621
Total 21,155 6,147

Exiting the Program

Source of Benefits Adults Children Under Age 18
All Kids 153 884
Child Care Assistance 690 36
Emergency Food Assistance 3,789 606
LIHEAP 71 44
Teen Parent Program 23 3
WIC 769 95
Medical Card 9,315 2,369
Other 4,269 809
Total 19,079 4,846

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: 13,960 Enrolled After Entering: 6,069

Ineligible: 3,433

Total Households: 23,462

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 803,468 17,028 103,332
Male Children 267,501 10,590 94,823
Female Adults 576,197 17,827 146,684
Female Children 308,322 9,056 83,380
Total 1,955,488 54,501 428,219

Grand Total: 2,438,208

Shelter Meals Overnight Shelter Voucher Shelter Transitional Shelter
Meals Served / Purchased / or Vouchers for All Participants 1,926,272 23,258 529,313

Grand Total: 2,479,043

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 115,285 29,856
Case Management 292,513 57,341
Counseling
Financial 43,554 2,573
Life Skills 118,570 14,332
Other Counseling Services 56,921 10,640
Alcohol Abuse Services 24,779 16
Child Care 13,750 14,531
Children's Services 11,144 21,302
Domestic Violence 6,429 3,035
Education 18,843 12,803
Employment Services 50,391 3,208
English as Second Language 5,092 2,269
Follow-up Services 27,988 1,625
Health / Dental Services 32,950 6,737
HIV / AIDS Related Services 1,089 31
Housing Location / Inspection 23,906 2,624
Mental Health Services 47,035 5,678
Legal Service Referrals 5,341 355
Outreach 26,858 468
Substance Abuse Services 35,266 80
Transportation 135,337 10,128
Other 273,610 98,316
Total 1,366,651 297,837

Grand total of Supportive Services is 1,664,488

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 9,129 1,983
1 to 2 months 3,401 1,277
3 to 6 months 3,484 1,448
7 to 12 months 1,447 484
13 to 24 months 618 324
25 months to 3 years 102 51
4 to 5 years 14 0
6 to 7 years 0 1
8 to 10 years 0 0
10 years and up 0 0
Total 18,195 5,568

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 1,585 604
Completed program 4,960, 2,246
Non-payment of rent/occupancy charge* 48 53
Non-compliance with project 1,353 335
Criminal activity/destruction of property/violence 354 61
Reached maximum time allowed in project 460 208
Needs could not be met by project 321 67
Disagreement with rules/persons 987 291
Death 58 17
Voucher funds exhausted 306 142
Voluntary Departure 4,796 930
Unknown/disappeared 2,570 426
Other 397 188
Total 18,195 5,568

* 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) 1,237 655
Public Housing 209 120
Section 8 144 154
Shelter Plus Care 23 5
HOME subsidized house or apartment 750 432
Other subsidized house of apartment 900 618
Home Ownership 40 17
Moved in with family or friends 1,264 652
Transitional Housing Destination (24 Months or Less)
Transitional Opportunity 404 106
Moved in with family or friends 1,743 573
Institutional Destination
Psychiatric hospital 84 7
Inpatient alcohol or other drug treatment facility 140 2
Jail/prison 165 9
Other Emergency Shelter Destination
Emergency Shelter 1,515 425
Other supportive housing 165 66
Places not meant for human habitation (e.g. street) 487 26
Other 2,269 625
Unknown Destination
Unknown 6,658 1,076
Destination Totals 18,197 5,568

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 10,700 3,928
No Voucher Funds 439 124
Inappropriate for shelter 4,491 1,502
Refused to accept rules 1,643 395
Found other housing 1,831 309
Total 19,104 6,258

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 19,259 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 4 1
Arabic 14 6
Bosnian 0 0
Bulgarian 2 0
Chinese 14 2
French 25 10
Gujarati 1 0
Hindi 3 2
Khmer 0 0
Korean 2 0
Lithuanian 0 0
Mandingo 0 0
Polish 18 0
Romanian 2 0
Russian 15 4
Spanish 907 473
Ukrainian 9 5
Urdu 0 0
Uzbek 1 0
Vietnamese 1 0
Other - Asian 5 0
Other - African 9 11
Other - Central and South American 2 2
Other - European 8 0
Other - India 6 0
Other 15 5
Total 1,083 521