Emergency & Transitional Housing Annual Report FY2014

Illinois Department of Human Services

Report to the General Assembly

State Fiscal Year 2014

Illinois Emergency & Transitional Housing Program

State Fiscal Year 2014

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 2014, $ 8.8 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 27,363
Children Under Age 18 10,673
Total 38,036


Number of Homeless Households

Population Number
Single Male 14,791
Single Female 6,172
Couple No Children 228
Couple with Children 563
Male with Children 166
Female with Children 4,467
Total Unduplicated Households 26,387

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.) 4,649 473
Emergency Shelter 5,128 2,093
Transitional Housing for Homeless Persons 568 344
Permanent Housing 287 147
Psychiatric Facility 199 1
Substance Abuse Treatment Facility 489 17
Hospital 492 46
Jail/Prison 1,101 15
Domestic Violence Situation 917 871
Living with Relatives/ Friends 9,173 4.391
Rental Housing/ Eviction 2,471 1,509
Disaster/ Fire 128 99
Condemned Housing 122 80
Other 1,639 587
TOTAL 27,363 10,673


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 16,747 6,758
1 6,976 2,785
2 2,268 765
3 759 206
4 311 117
5 or more 302 42
TOTAL 27,363 10,673

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 768 263
51 to 61 3,792 1,402
31 to 50 6,418 4,650
18 to 39 4,875 5,106
Emancipated Minor or Unaccompanied Youth * 46 39
Age - Children Males Females
13 to 17 678 757
6 to 12 1,940 1,938
1 to 5 2,204 2,028
Under 1 560 541

Total Adults is 27,359
Total Children is 10,646
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 3 0
18 to 39 1 0
Emancipated Minor or Unaccompanied Youth * 0 0
Age of Children Males Females
13-17 0 1
6-12 3 1
1-5 0 1
Under 1 6 15

Total Adults reunited with their families is 4.
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 2,533 1,347
Non-Hispanic or Latino 24,380 9,326
Total 27,363 10,673
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 154 25
Asian 122 24
Black/African American 15,095 7,203
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 162 19
White 10,113 2,155
American Indian/Alaskan Native and White 88 21
Asian and White 45 27
Black/African American and White 526 641
American Indian/Alaskan Native and Black/African American 60 15
Other * 998 543
TOTAL 27,363 10,673

* 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) 4,088 117
Alcohol Abuse (AA) 3,323 70
Mental Illness (MI) 5,420 209
Developmental Disability (DD) 571 173
Physical Disability (PD) 2,462 74
HIV and/ or AIDS (HIV) 279 2
Chronic Medical Health Problem 2,732 293
Domestic Violence 2,367 1,168
Unaccompanied Youth 487 0
Pregnant/ Parenting Teen 405 6
Ex-Offenders 2,674 96
Other 478 93
Total 25,286 2,301


Disabling Condition
The total number of program participants declaring a disabling condition upon entry into the program is 7,130.
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 1,647.

* 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 17,663 9,350
$1 to 150 590 62
$151 to 250 832 155
$251 to 500 1,825 409
$501 to 1000 4,385 415
$1001 to 1500 1,226 160
$1501 to 2000 458 81
$2001 plus 384 41
Total 27,363 10,673


Income of those Exiting the Program Adults Children Under 18
No Income 10,613 6,693
$1 to 150 528 62
$151 to 250 644 128
$251 to 500 1,741 532
$501 to 1000 3,665 574
$1001 to 1500 1,339 238
$1501 to 2000 444 129
$2001 plus 364 44
Total 19,338 8,400


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 43 1,139
Alimony/Spousal Support 31 16
Child Support (or DCFS Grant) 340 203
Employment and Training 162 0
Employment Income 3,524 463
Pension/Retirement 125 3
Private Disability Insurance 6 0
Social Security 493 59
SSDI 1.484 90
SSI 2,391 298
Targeted Work Initiative 6 0
Temp. Asst. Needy Families (TANF) 1,329 697
Transitional/GA/Earnfare 89 9
Unemployment Benefits 442 36
Veterans Benefits 272 3
Work First/Work Pays 2 0
Worker's Compensation 35 0
Total 10,774 3,016
Income Source of those Exiting the Program Adults Children Under 18
AABD 23 60
Alimony/ Spousal Support 20 1
Child Support (or DCFS Grant) 269 267
Employment and Training 179 15
Employment Income 3,838 567
Pension/ Retirement 73 3
Private Disability Insurance 1 0
Social Security 386 77
SSDI 1,249 80
SSI 1,814 322
Targeted Work Initiative 5 0
Temp. Asst. Needy Families (TANF) 1,320 758
Transitional/GA/Earnfare 92 2
Unemployment Benefits 307 50
Veterans Benefits 161 2
Work First/Work Pays 2 0
Worker's Compensation 32 0
Total 9,771 2,204


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 931 2,687
Child Care Assistance 106 94
Emergency Food Assistance 3,883 1,291
LIHEAP 98 68
Teen Parent Program 55 25
WIC 497 677
Medical Card 5,663 4,638
Other 793 111
Total 12,026 9,591
Source of Benefits of those Exiting the Program Adults Children Under 18
All Kids 856 2,349
Child Care Assistance 98 88
Emergency Food Assistance 2,874 1,208
LIHEAP 106 54
Teen Parent Program 47 24
WIC 394 568
Medical Card 5,243 3,830
Other 789 111
Total 10,407 8,232


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 13,521
Enrolled After Entering 9,842
Ineligible 3,024
Total Households 26,387


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 760,129 2,947 88,735
Male Children 250,199 3,321 116,308
Female Adults 466,164 4,864 170,534
Female Children 239,467 3,487 131,180
Total 1,715,959 14,619 506,757
Grand Total Shelter Nights is 2,237,335.
Shelter Meals
Shelter Meals Overnight Shelter Voucher Shelter Transitional Shelter

Meals Served/purchased/

or Vouchered for All Participants

3,674,715 12,746 669,624

Grand Total Shelter Meals is 4,357,085.


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 105,939 14,540
Case Management 240,767 37,455

Counseling

Financial

Life Skills

Other Counseling Services

61,452

146,644

57,415

5,549

15,571

11,498

Alcohol Abuse Services 28,784 151
Child Care 7,139 11,727
Children's Services 6,451 18,149
Domestic Violence 4,759 686
Education 25,091 6,414
Employment Services 48,413 1,460
English as a Second Language 1,328 177
Follow-Up Services 56,036 9,553
Health/ Dental Services 28,055 3,408
HIV/ AIDS Related Services 4,973 38
Housing Location/Inspection 39,087 3,333
Mental Health Services 17,384 932
Legal Service Referrals 5,081 1,152
Outreach 24,219 4,499
Substance Abuse Services 36,679 361
Transportation 126,785 8,319
Other 102,961 10,433
Total 1,175,442 165,405
Grand total of Supportive Services is 1,340,847.
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 9,350 3,709
1 to 2 months 4,140 1,848
3 to 6 months 3,616 1,950
7 to 12 months 1,324 628
13 to 24 months 355 208
25 months to 3 years 539 49
4 to 5 years 13 8
6 to 7 years 1 0
8 to 10 years 0 0
10 years and up 0 0
Total 19,338 8,400

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 2,232 1,088
Completed Program 4,537 2,965
Non-payment of rent/occupancy charge 14 47
Non-compliance with project 1,638 673
Criminal activity/destruction of property/violence 310 154
Reached maximum time allowed in project 979 594
Needs could not be met by project 266 71
Disagreement with rules/persons 733 262
Death 24 2
Voucher funds exhausted 29 12
Voluntary Departure 3,805 1,709
Unknown/disappeared 3,870 647
Other 901 176
Total 19,338 8,400

* 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) 2,044 1,197
Public Housing 265 204
Section 8 89 110
Shelter Plus Care 67 17
HOME subsidized house or apartment 204 140
Other subsidized house of apartment 718 488
Home Ownership 43 37
Moved in with family or friends 2,070 1,259
Transitional Housing Destination (24 Months or Less) Adults Children Under age 18
Transitional Opportunity 723 439
Moved in with family or friends 1,653 919
Institutional Destination Adults Children Under age 18
Psychiatric hospital 69 14
Inpatient alcohol or other drug treatment facility 278 19
Jail/prison 160 19
Other Emergency Shelter Destination Adults Children Under age 18
Emergency Shelter 1,073 441
Other supportive housing 174 83
Places not meant for human habitation (e.g. street) 228 9
Other 878 312
Unknown Destination Adults Children Under age 18
Unknown 8,602 2,693
Destination Totals Adults Children Under age 18
Grand Total 7,842 8,400

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 18,907 16,108
No Voucher Funds 13 2
Inappropriate for shelter 7,982 2,290
Refused to accept rules 1,648 326
Found other housing 1,001 877
Total 29,551 19,603

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 Emergency and Transitional Housing Program.  There were 28,062 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 2
Arabic 8 4
Bosnian 1 0
Bulgarian 2 2
Chinese 1 0
French 19 2
Gujarati 1 0
Hindi 1 0
Khmer 0 0
Korean 3 0
Lithuanian 1 0
Mandingo 0 0
Polish 28 4
Romanian 1 0
Russian 5 8
Spanish 654 170
Ukrainian 2 2
Urdu 3 1
Uzbek 0 0
Vietnamese 1 0
Other - Asian 7 0
Other - African 15 7
Other - Central and South American 3 2
Other - European 3 0
Other - India 0 0
Other 11 3
Total 774 207