Illinois Supportive Housing Program Annual Report FY2010

Illinois Supportive Housing Program Annual Report FY2010 (pdf)

PREFACE

On August 18, 1993, House Bill 267 was signed into law to provide state-funded supportive services for low-income families and individuals who were formerly homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The supportive services included, but were not limited to alcohol and substance abuse counseling, mental health programs, transportation, advocacy, child care, case management and other support services necessary for residents of permanent or transitional supported community facilities, Single Room Occupancy (SRO) facilities and family developments to maintain their community based housing. The services are delivered by governmental units, community organizations, and not-for-profit agencies that operate supportive housing developments.

INTRODUCTION

The Illinois Supportive Housing Program (SHP) was developed to provide supportive services coupled with housing to low-income homeless individuals and families. The SHP enables formerly homeless individuals and families, or those at risk of becoming homeless the ability to sustain their housing by providing necessary support services. The supportive services prevent the program participants from returning to homelessness and enhances their ability to function more independently in the community.

In State Fiscal Year 2010, $8.8 million in funding was allocated to the IDHS Supportive Housing Program for persons who are homeless.

Program Goal

The goal of the Supportive Housing Program is provide the necessary supportive services to low-income homeless individuals and families that will assist them to live in community based housing. The program requires the provision of community-based transitional or permanent housing (funded from other sources). The supportive services are delivered to the residents in the transitional or permanent housing that will enable them to continue to live as independently as possible.

Program deliverables require that:

  • All participants are provided with case management services, counseling services, and advocacy services within five days of admittance to the program. All participants must also have documented access, when applicable, to other supportive services.
  • All participants have a service plan developed for implementation within the first week of admittance to the program. The individual service plan must detail monthly outcomes as well as ongoing goals to be accomplished by the participant(s) with the assistance of the provider.
  • All participants will 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 a completed intake and assessment done upon entry into the program. Providers must submit all intake and assessment forms to IDHS annually for approval.
  • All progress and supportive services for participants will be tracked and progress reported within each participant's case file that includes, at a minimum, a record of the participant's supportive services, case management, progress and benefit assistance.
  • 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(s) they administer for IDHS. This plan must include outreach to the other community service agencies, the local FCRC, and other outreach entities. IDHS must be advised of any publication and distribution of flyers, printed materials, and brochures that are part of the IDHS funded Supportive Housing Program.
  • All providers have a written agreement or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for referrals to other social service agencies. The MOU must include:
    • a description of the types of service(s) to be provided;
    • a description detailing how referrals will be handled by each entity; and
    • a description of any follow-up actions.
  • 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 and disability assistance, as well as other resources that address the needs of the program participants.
  • All providers have the ability to download the IDHS SNAP application and distribute it to eligible households.
  • All providers accurately report outcomes and submit reports to IDHS within the designated time frames utilizing the web-based reporting system.
  • The following projected data is included in the providers Funding Plan:
    • the projected unduplicated number of participants to be served during the fiscal year; and
    • the projected unduplicated number of households expected to be served during the fiscal year.

Administration

The Bureau of Homeless Services and Supportive Housing administers the Supportive Housing Program for the Illinois Department of Human Services. 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 SHP program deliverables are verified by staff from the Bureau of Homeless Services and Supportive Housing through on-site field monitoring.

Funding

The Supportive Housing Program is funded by the state Health and Human Services Medical Trust fund and General Revenue Fund (GRF). All SHP funds must be obligated by the end of the agreement period and expended by the end of the lapse period. Typically, funding plans are distributed in February or March of each year with contract distributed in June. The SHP funding cycle is based on the fiscal year of July 1st to June 30th each year.

The public and not-for profit organizations that participate in the SHP must provide supportive services that are matched with at least 25% of the program costs from other sources.

Reporting

In Fiscal Year 2009 the Department made significant improvements to the SHP 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 federal homeless program reporting formats. The Department also added data elements to the reporting system to provide statistical information regarding homeless children.

Fiscal Reporting: The Fiscal Report is based on a three-part budget submitted by each agency as part of their Funding Plan. The budget contains a Budget Summary, Personnel Detail, and Program Funding Sources. The Budget Summary consists of direct costs and administrative costs that are associated with the direct client services. The Personnel Detail provides specific cost information for staff responsible for direct care for program participants. The Program Funding Sources section requires SHP providers to disclose other funding resources that will meet the program match requirements.

Service Reporting: The SHP providers submit quarterly service web-based reports to the Bureau of Homeless Services and Supportive Housing. The quarterly service reports provide information that includes but is not limited to the number and characteristics of the participants served, participant demographic information, supportive services, causes of homelessness, and special needs.

Program Services

The SHP provides supportive services which are delivered in conjunction with permanent housing to low-income individuals and families who are formerly homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Supportive services assist families and individuals to return to self-sufficiency. The supportive services provided by the SHP are those deemed necessary to move participants to the highest level of self-sufficiency. Some of the eligible supportive services include, but are not limited to:

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

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

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.

Counseling - Providing or arranging for individual or group counseling to alleviate physical, mental, substance abuse, skill and/or domestic obstacles to self-sufficiency. Family, financial, and life skills counseling services are also eligible.

Child Care - Providing or arranging for child care servies.

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

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

Education - Providing or arranging for 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/employment. This would include acquiring special tools or clothing to perform the job in which the participant is placed or working toward.

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

Follow-Up Services - Assessing the need and/or providing additional services upon completion of and discharge from the program.

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

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

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

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

Mental Health Services - Providing or arranging services that address serious and persistent mental disabilities.

Outreach - Locating and/or contacting homeless persons in the community and informing them of available services.

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

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

Fiscal Year End Program Data

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

Number of Homeless Persons

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

Adults = 6,482

Children Under 18 = 2,595

Total Adults and Children Under 18 = 9,077 

Number of Homeless Households

Single Male = 2,883

Single Female = 1,810

Couple No Child = 75

Couple W/Child = 100

Male W/Child = 39

Female W/Child = 1,169

Total Unduplicated Households = 6,076

Prior Living Situation

The SHP 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.) 423 137
Emergency Shelter 1,703 519
Transitional Housing for Homeless Persons 1,122 472
Permanent Housing 1,049 626
Psychiatric Facility 23 0
Substance Abuse Treatment Facility 213 22
Hospital 29 5
Jail/Prison 70 0
Domestic Violence Situation 64 78
With Relatives/Friends 813 418
Rental Housing/Eviction 351 172
Disaster/Fire 2 3
Condemned Housing 18 36
Other 602 107
TOTAL 6,482 2,595

Other Shelters

This section provides the number of participants that used "other" shelters in the year prior to entering the Supportive 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 4,705 1,864
1 1,366 582
2 269 93
3 94 37
4 26 6
5 or more 22 13
TOTAL 6,482 2,595

Age and Gender

This section describes the age and gender of all adult participants that entered the program during the fiscal year. Total Adults = 6,481.

AGE MALES FEMALES
62 and Over 202 139
51-61 1,094 725
31-50 1,590 1,501
18-30 353 864
Emancipated Minor or Unaccompanied Youth* 8 5

This section describes the age and gender of all child participants that entered the program during the fiscal year.  Total Children = 14.

AGE MALES FEMALES
13-17 315 336
6-12 485 498
1-5 419 369
Under 1 71 88

Age and Gender of Reunited Family Members or Newborns

The age of other adult family members or unaccompanied youth reunited with a participant that entered the SHP program during the fiscal year is provided in this section.

Total Reunited Adults = 1

AGE MALES FEMALES
62 and over 0 0
51-61 0 0
31-50 0 0
18-30 0 1
Emancipated Minor or Unaccompanied Youth* 0 0

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

The age and gender of newborns and other family members reunited with a participant that entered the EF&S program during the fiscal year is provided in this section.

Total Reunited Children = 14

AGE MALES FEMALES
13-17 0 0
6-12 1 0
1-5 2 1
Under 1 7 3

Ethnicity

This section provides the ethnicity of the SHP participants entering the program within the fiscal year.

ETHNICITY ADULTS CHILDREN UNDER AGE 18
Hispanic or Latino 327 181
Non-Hispanic or Non-Latino 6,155 2,414
TOTAL 6,482 2,595

Race

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

RACE ADULTS CHILDREN UNDER AGE 18
American Indian/Alaskan Native 25 4
Asian 42 18
Black/African American 4,864 1,972
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 5 0
White 1,209 296
American Indian/Alaskan Native & White 9 2
Asian & White 1 1
Black/African American & White 173 191
American Indian/Alaskan Native &
Black/African American
7 0
Other* 147 111
TOTAL 6,482 2,595

*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 SHP program participants upon entering the program. (A participant may have multiple special needs.)

SPECIAL NEED/CONDITIONS ADULTS CHILDREN UNDER AGE 18
Substance Abuse (SA) 1,996 14
Alcohol Abuse (AA) 1,143 1
Mental Illness (MI) 1,719 44
Developmental Disability (DD) 184 39
Physical Disability (PD) 749 16
HIV and/or AIDS (HIV) 387 3
Chronic Medical Health Problem 800 46
Domestic Violence 458 59
Unaccompanied Youth 50 0
Pregnant/Parenting Teen 39 4
Ex-Offenders 547 1
Other 80 2
TOTAL 8,152 229

Disabling Condition

The number of program participants declaring a disabling condition upon entry into the program is reported in this section = 3,614

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 EF&S Program is reported in this section = 557

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

Cash Income

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

INCOME LEVEL ADULTS ENTERING ADULTS EXITING CHILDREN ENTERING
(UNDER 18)
CHILDREN EXITING
(UNDER 18)
No Income 1,950 507 1,975 522
$1 to 150 219 39 12 1
$151 to 250 197 40 35 6
$ 251 to 500 621 103 101 40
$501 to 1,000 2,516 554 254 79
$1,001 to 1,500 622 169 106 37
$1,501 to 2,000 229 78 53 21
$2,001 + 128 41 59 10
TOTAL 6,482 1,531 2,595 716

Sources of Cash Income

The sources of cash income for all participants entering the SHP program are provided in this section. Participants may have multiple sources of cash income. 

INCOME SOURCE ADULTS ENTERING ADULTS EXITING CHILDREN ENTERING
(UNDER 18)
CHILDREN EXITING
(UNDER 18)
AABD 11 2 0 0
Alimony/Spousal Support 1 0 0 0
Child Support (or DCFS Grant) 126 24 133 28
Employment & Training 128 15 4 0
Employment Income 1,586 442 240 90
Pension/Retirement 71 21 0 0
Private Disability Insurance 6 4 0 5
Social Security 230 66 26 4
SSDI 584 132 38 25
SSI 1,487 274 175 40
Targeted Work Initiative 0 0 0 3
Temp. Asst. Needy Families (TANF) 246 41 132 40
Transitional/GA/Earnfare 233 36 1 0
Unemployment Benefits 241 60 26 7
Veterans Benefits 114 34 0 0
Work First/Work Pays 3 0 6 0
Worker's Compensation 5 1 0 0
TOTAL 5,072 1,152 781 242

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.

SOURCE OF BENEFITS ADULTS ENTERING ADULTS EXITING CHILDREN ENTERING
(UNDER 18)
CHILDREN EXITING
(UNDER 18)
All Kids 76 21 211 93
Child Care Assistance 113 21 65 19
Emergency Food Assistance 1,084 213 129 45
LIHEAP 232 28 5 5
Teen Parent Program 1 0 3 0
WIC 204 31 220 69
Medical Card 2,122 450 1,074 386
Other 200 22 3 7
TOTAL 4,032 786 1,710 624

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 = 3,727

Enrolled After Entering = 786

Ineligible = 1,563

Total Households = 6,076

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. 

PARTICIPANTS SHELTER NIGHTS
Male Adults 828,152
Male Children 343,817
Female Adults 854,392
Female Children 335,524
TOTAL 2,361,885

Shelter Meals 

Grand Total of all meals served, purchased, or vouchered for all participants = 199,660.

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.)

Grand Total Support Services provided to all Participants = 953,199.

SUPPORTIVE SERVICES ADULTS CHILDREN
Advocacy 75,952 3,056
Case Management 230,786 5,324
Financial Counseling 39,171 1,145
Life Skills Counseling 140,547 2,056
Other Counseling Services 24,755 4,330
Alcohol Abuse Services 28,743 0
Child Care 1,440 1,124
Children's Services 1,932 4,970
Domestic Violence 687 86
Education 28,419 3,950
Employment Services 25,974 136
English as a Second Language 163 6
Follow-Up Services 23,958 475
Health/Dental Services 25,085 569
HIV/AIDS Related Services 2,020 3
Housing Location/Inspection 15,084 153
Mental Health Services 63,595 333
Legal Service Referrals 1,303 31
Outreach 23,003 778
Substance Abuse Services 49,153 12
Transportation 113,179 1,659
Other 7,850 224
TOTAL 922,779 30,420

Length of Stay

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

TIME PERIOD ADULTS CHILDREN UNDER AGE 18
Less than 1 Month 74 7
1-2 Months 146 48
3-6 Months 326 136
7-12 Months 256 180
13-24 Months 325 204
25 Mos. - 3 Years 191 72
4-5 Years 92 49
6-7 Years 44 14
8-10 Years 48 6
10 Years & Up 29 0
TOTAL 1,531 716

Reason for Departure

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

NOTE: Transitional shelter programs are allowed to charge up to 30% of participant's income for rent. 

REASON FOR DEPARTURE ADULTS CHILDREN UNDER AGE 18
Left for Housing Opportunity before completing Program 177 74
Completed Program 574 313
Non-payment of Rent/Occupancy Charge 99 27
Non-compliance with Project 170 142
Criminal Activity/Destruction of Property/Violence 56 4
Reached Maximum time allowed in Project 6 18
Needs could not be met by Project 41 4
Disagreement with Rules/Persons 20 8
Death 68 5
Voucher Funds Exhausted 0 0
Voluntary Departure 144 80
Unknown/Disappeared 98 20
Other 78 21
TOTAL 1,531 716

Destination

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

DESTINATION ADULTS CHILDREN UNDER
AGE 18
Permanent Housing: Rental House or Apartment (non-subsidized) 326 217
Permanent Housing: Public Housing 14 7
Permanent Housing: Section 8 74 143
Permanent Housing: Shelter Plus Care 27 11
Permanent Housing: HOME subsidized house or apt. 73 25
Permanent Housing: Other subsidized house or apt. 168 81
Permanent Housing: Homeownership 12 11
Permanent Housing: Moved in with Family or Friends 196 78
Transitional Housing (24 mos. or less): Trans. Opportunity 61 4
Transitional Housing (24 mos. or less): Moved in with Family or Friends 66 24
Institutional: Psychiatric Hospital 14 0
Institutional: Inpatient Alcohol or Other Drug Treatment Facility 28 4
Jail/Prison 35 1
Other Emergency Shelter: Emergency Shelter 40 5
Other Emergency Shelter: Other Suportive Housing 22 8
Other Emergency Shelter: Places not Meant for Human Habitation (e.g. street) 4 0
Other Emergency Shelter: Other 97 20
Unknown 274 77
TOTAL 1,531 716

Reason for Turnaway

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

REASON FOR TURNAWAY ADULTS CHILDREN UNDER AGE 18
No Vacancy 5,907 995
No Voucher Funds 0 0
Inappropriate for Shelter 951 156
Refused to Accept Rules 24 14
Found Other Housing 201 109
TOTAL 7,083 1,274

Turnaway Referral

This section represents a duplicated count of the referrals made to program participants for other social services that were turned away from the Supportive Housing Program.  Total = 5,499.

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 ADULTS CHILDREN
Albanian 0 0
Arabic 2 0
Bosnian 0 0
Bulgarian 0 0
Chinese 0 0
French 8 4
Gujarati 0 0
Hindi 1 0
Khmer 0 0
Korean 0 0
Lithuanian 0 0
Mandingo 0 0
Polish 3 0
Romanian 0 0
Russian 0 0
Spanish 46 26
Ukrainian 0 0
Urdu 1 0
Uzbek 0 0
Vietnamese 0 0
Other-Asian 1 0
Other-African 2 0
Other-Central & South American 0 0
Other-European 0 0
Other-India 2 0
Other 9 1
TOTAL 75 31