Emergency & Transitional Housing Annual Report FY2013

Illinois Department of Human Services

Report to the General Assembly

State Fiscal Year 2013

Illinois Emergency & Transitional Housing Program

State Fiscal Year 2013

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 2013, $ 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 web-based reporting system.
  • All providers report the following information in the annual Funding Plan:
  1. an unduplicated number of projected participants to be served in the fiscal year;
  2. an unduplicated number of projected households to be served in the fiscal year;
  3. the projected nights of shelter to be provided during the fiscal year; and
  4. the projected number of meals to be provided, served, purchased, or vouchered during the fiscal year.

Administration

The IDHS Division of Human Capital Development, Bureau of Homeless Services and Supportive Housing administer 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 serves at least one meal and provides 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 provides 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 can not 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 of Homeless Persons

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

Population Number
Adults 30,435
Children Under Age 18 11,976
Total 42,411


Number of Homeless Households

Population Number
Single Male 14,569
Single Female 6,352
Couple No Children 222
Couple with Children 535
Male with Children 152
Female with Children 4,573
Total Unduplicated Households 26,403

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.) 4,835 324
Emergency Shelter 5,369 2,176
Transitional Housing for Homeless Persons 681 349
Permanent Housing 182 108
Psychiatric Facility 233 1
Substance Abuse Treatment Facility 579 118
Hospital 424 30
Jail/Prison 1,081 6
Domestic Violence Situation 1,039 1,070
Living with Relatives/ Friends 10,044 5,117
Rental Housing/ Eviction 2,937 1,595
Disaster/ Fire 369 307
Condemned Housing 240 50
Other 2,422 725
TOTAL 30,435 11,976


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 18,598 7,295
1 7,552 2,853
2 2,639 1,096
3 919 493
4 364 114
5 or more 363 125
TOTAL 30,435 11,976

Age and Gender

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

Age of Adults Males Females
62 and over 890 347
51 to 61 4,222 1,709
31 to 50 7,795 5,012
18 to 39 4,807 5,609
Emancipated Minor or Unaccompanied Youth * 19 24
Age - Children Males Females
13 to 17 834 956
6 to 12 2,045 2,117
1 to 5 2,397 2,399
Under 1 559 642

Total Adults is 30,434
Total Children is 11,949
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 of Adults Males Females
62 and over 0 0
51 to 61 0 0
31 to 50 0 0
18 to 39 1 0
Emancipated Minor or Unaccompanied Youth * 0 0
Age of Children Males Females
13-17 2 0
6-12 2 1
1-5 0 5
Under 1 7 10

Total Adults reunited with their families is 1.
Total Children reunited with their families is 27.
*Emancipated or Unaccompanied Youth are defined as:  emancipated minors, unaccompanied youth, married youth and/or youth with a child.

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

Ethnicity Adults Children Under Age 18
Hispanic or Latino 2,694 1,310
Non-Hispanic and Non-Latino 27,741 10,666
Total 30,435 11,976

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 93 34
Asian 156 38
Black/African American 17,358 8,363
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 93 40
White 10,571 2,372
American Indian/Alaskan Native and White 85 22
Asian and White 14 4
Black/African American and White 533 578
American Indian/Alaskan Native and Black/African American 161 39
Other * 1,371 486
TOTAL 30,435 11,976

* 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) 3,631 117
Alcohol Abuse (AA) 3,010 19
Mental Illness (MI) 4,878 175
Developmental Disability (DD) 589 158
Physical Disability (PD) 2,475 62
HIV and/ or AIDS (HIV) 256 6
Chronic Medical Health Problem 2,288 259
Domestic Violence 2,202 1,192
Unaccompanied Youth 151 11
Pregnant/ Parenting Teen 295 20
Ex-Offenders 1,932 98
Other 355 21
Total 22,062 2,138


Disabling Condition
The total number of program participants declaring a disabling condition upon entry into the program is 6,457.
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 1,998.

* 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.

Income of those Entering the Program Adults Children Under 18
No Income 18,987 9,913
$1 to 150 679 174
$151 to 250 1,287 224
$251 to 500 2,593 518
$501 to 1000 4,611 635
$1001 to 1500 1,268 209
$1501 to 2000 537 95
$2001 plus 473 208
Total 30,435 11,976


Income of those Exiting the Program Adults Children Under 18
No Income 10,259 6,846
$1 to 150 363 214
$151 to 250 1,059 425
$251 to 500 1,856 731
$501 to 1000 3,493 787
$1001 to 1500 1,135 238
$1501 to 2000 423 84
$2001 plus 408 74
Total 18,996 9,399


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.

Income Source of those Entering the Program Adults Children Under 18
AABD 54 8
Alimony/Spousal Support 28 8
Child Support (or DCFS Grant) 402 331
Employment and Training 129 3
Employment Income 3,361 490
Pension/Retirement 170 0
Private Disability Insurance 18 0
Social Security 800 58
SSDI 1.786 147
SSI 2,570 387
Targeted Work Initiative 30 5
Temp. Asst. Needy Families (TANF) 2,048 940
Transitional/GA/Earnfare 102 22
Unemployment Benefits 561 83
Veterans Benefits 335 23
Work First/Work Pays 9 9
Worker's Compensation 84 1
Total 12,487 2,515
Income Source of those Exiting the Program Adults Children Under 18
AABD 170 16
Alimony/ Spousal Support 60 21
Child Support (or DCFS Grant) 342 467
Employment and Training 204 16
Employment Income 3,272 780
Pension/ Retirement 112 2
Private Disability Insurance 21 0
Social Security 434 59
SSDI 1,265 137
SSI 1,851 400
Targeted Work Initiative 5 5
Temp. Asst. Needy Families (TANF) 1,306 897
Transitional/GA/Earnfare 93 37
Unemployment Benefits 399 77
Veterans Benefits 232 42
Work First/Work Pays 6 0
Worker's Compensation 13 4
Total 9,785 2,960


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 of those Entering the Program Adults Children Under 18
All Kids 999 2,338
Child Care Assistance 149 95
Emergency Food Assistance 3,739 1,700
LIHEAP 138 114
Teen Parent Program 54 24
WIC 728 1,186
Medical Card 5,277 4,837
Other 629 89
Total 11,713 10,383
Source of Benefits of those Exiting the Program Adults Children Under 18
All Kids 817 2,291
Child Care Assistance 82 108
Emergency Food Assistance 2,843 1,217
LIHEAP 119 106
Teen Parent Program 48 29
WIC 555 900
Medical Card 4,008 3,889
Other 563 92
Total 9,035 8,632


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 13,945
Enrolled After Entering 9,140
Ineligible 3,318
Total Households 26,403


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

Population Overnight Shelter Voucher Shelter Transitional Shelter
Male Adults 1,588,976 2,910 92,755
Male Children 246,661 2,714 107,755
Female Adults 475,492 3,897 149,880
Female Children 261,797 3,204 106,041
Total 2,572,926 12,725 455,811
Grand Total Shelter Nights is 3,041,462.
Shelter Meals
Shelter Meals Overnight Shelter Voucher Shelter Transitional Shelter

Meals Served/purchased/

or Vouchered for All Participants

2,411,945 11,003 635,618

Grand Total Shelter Meals is 3,058,566.


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 134,516 36,560
Case Management 250,086 45,434

Counseling

Financial

Life Skills

Other Counseling Services

59,741

129,111

60,273

3,481

10,184

11,169

Alcohol Abuse Services 28,927 49
Child Care 7,945 8,522
Children's Services 7,328 24,453
Domestic Violence 2,841 590
Education 38,507 3,740
Employment Services 46,975 1,167
English as a Second Language 1,277 90
Follow-Up Services 49,419 8,260
Health/ Dental Services 19,488 5,356
HIV/ AIDS Related Services 4,979 101
Housing Location/Inspection 39,562 3,121
Mental Health Services 16,912 1,081
Legal Service Referrals 6,064 671
Outreach 32,366 8,389
Substance Abuse Services 36,861 192
Transportation 214,224 63,888
Other 36,049 7,473
Total 1,223,451 243,971
Grand total of Supportive Services is 1,467,422.
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 9,424 4,427
1 to 2 months 3,981 2,018
3 to 6 months 3,439 2,019
7 to 12 months 1,514 626
13 to 24 months 376 227
25 months to 3 years 193 81
4 to 5 years 62 1
6 to 7 years 7 0
8 to 10 years 0 0
10 years and up 0 0
Total 18,996 9,399

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 2,476 1,323
Completed Program 4,308 2,771
Non-payment of rent/occupancy charge 15 18
Non-compliance with project 1,741 885
Criminal activity/destruction of property/violence 300 179
Reached maximum time allowed in project 1,263 521
Needs could not be met by project 248 53
Disagreement with rules/persons 686 287
Death 27 3
Voucher funds exhausted 188 136
Voluntary Departure 4,568 2,244
Unknown/disappeared 2,468 820
Other 708 159
Total 18,996 9,399

* 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) 2,295 1,506
Public Housing 256 239
Section 8 69 78
Shelter Plus Care 125 47
HOME subsidized house or apartment 102 81
Other subsidized house of apartment 696 530
Home Ownership 22 20
Moved in with family or friends 2,212 1,260
Transitional Housing Destination (24 Months or Less) Adults Children Under age 18
Transitional Opportunity 695 500
Moved in with family or friends 1,880 1,136
Institutional Destination Adults Children Under age 18
Psychiatric hospital 106 5
Inpatient alcohol or other drug treatment facility 229 17
Jail/prison 176 13
Other Emergency Shelter Destination Adults Children Under age 18
Emergency Shelter 1,139 498
Other supportive housing 165 80
Places not meant for human habitation (e.g. street) 196 2
Other 791 584
Unknown Destination Adults Children Under age 18
Unknown 7,842 2,803
Destination Totals Adults Children Under age 18
Grand Total 7,842 2,803

Reason for Turnaway

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

Reason for Turnaway Adults Children Under Age 18
No Vacancy 20,155 19,068
No Voucher Funds 193 47
Inappropriate for shelter 8,567 3,784
Refused to accept rules 1,434 181
Found other housing 1,017 976
Total 31,366 24,056

Reason for Turnaway

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 29,116 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 0 0
Arabic 9 3
Bosnian 4 1
Bulgarian 2 0
Chinese 0 0
French 32 4
Gujarati 0 0
Hindi 1 0
Khmer 0 0
Korean 2 0
Lithuanian 1 0
Mandingo 0 0
Polish 23 0
Romanian 2 0
Russian 4 1
Spanish 532 155
Ukrainian 1 0
Urdu 0 0
Uzbek 0 0
Vietnamese 8 4
Other - Asian 6 1
Other - African 9 7
Other - Central and South American 5 3
Other - European 3 0
Other - India 7 1
Other 14 3
Total 665 183