POLICY PRIORITIES

This section addresses key topics:

Overview
Federal Initiatives
State Initiatives
Local Initiatives

The Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness works to advance policy and funding solutions for ending homelessness.

In collaboration with service providers, consumers, and other nonprofit and government partners, the Chicago Alliance’s efforts focus on federal, state, and local initiatives that will create new resources, effective policies and programs for underserved populations, and innovative systems change strategies.

OVERVIEW

Federal

• Chicago Demonstration Project on Housing Chronically Homeless Families
• McKinney-Vento Reauthorization
• Solutions to lack of funding for supportive services
• Federal funding for key homeless programs (including, McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants, Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals and other SAMHSA homeless programs, Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, Community Development Block Grant, Community Services Block Grant)
• National Affordable Housing Trust Fund
• Second Chance Act
• "Homeless Over 50" study policy recommendations

State

• State funding for key homeless programs (Emergency Food and Shelter Grant, Supportive Services in Supportive Housing, Homeless Youth Services)
• Improve discharge planning by state agencies (e.g., prison, mental health, foster care)
• Implementation of the SMART Act
• "Homeless Over 50" study policy recommendations

Local

• Increase rental assistance funding targeted for homeless individuals and families
• Resolve system issues related to interim housing and other program models
• Achieve targeted improvements in emergency shelter system
• Improve discharge planning by county/city entities (e.g., corrections, health care)
• "Homeless Over 50" study policy recommendations

FEDERAL

Fund the Chicago Demonstration Project on Housing Chronically Homeless Families

Family homelessness has increased dramatically over the past 20 years. Families with young children now comprise 40% of the nation's homeless population, with more than 1.3 million children experiencing homelessness over the course of a year. Today, a window of opportunity is opening to make the critical difference for this most vulnerable population. Pending legislation to reauthorize the McKinney-Vento homeless assistance programs would recognize families as part of the chronically homeless population. A small but growing body of data and research supports new understanding of homeless families. Yet critical questions about this population must still be answered in order to achieve the goal of ending homelessness. At a time when more funding may be targeted toward homeless families, this demonstration is designed to add to the body of knowledge about the most effective housing and service models for this population.

The Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness seeks matching funds of $500,000 from its Congressional Delegation for the Chicago Demonstration Project on Housing Chronically Homeless Families in 2009. This groundbreaking project would dramatically advance efforts to end homelessness for the hardest-to-serve homeless families, both locally and nationally. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky is championing this initiative by working for funding through the federal appropriations process.

Pass Legislation to Reauthorize the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants

Congress is actively moving to reauthorize the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants program. There are currently two version of legislation to reauthorize the HUD McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. In February 2007, Representative Julia Carson introduced the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act, or the HEARTH Act, H.R. 840. In May 2007, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Wayne Allard (R-CO) introduced the Community Partnership to End Homelessness Act (CPEHA), S. 1518. Both Illinois Senators Durbin and Obama are co-sponsors of the bill.

CPEHA would significantly improve the McKinney program through rewarding proven strategies, continuing a focus on permanent housing, increasing the resources devoted to prevention, better serving families with children, shifting the permanent housing renewal burden to the Section 8 account, increasing the capacity of rural communities to respond to homelessness, and in a number of other ways. In September 2007, CPEHA unanimously passed the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the first major housing legislation to pass that Committee in nine years.

The House Financial Services Committee has indicated it hopes to mark up the HEARTH Act this spring. The Committee has suggested that the HEARTH Act will move forward with several Amendments. The Chicago Alliance, along with national partners, are advocating for several key amendments that would: shift permanent housing renewals to the Section 8 account; provide funding for rapid re-housing for families; ensure families are included in incentives that serve people who experience long-term homelessness; maintain a commitment to permanent housing solutions for people with disabilities and their children; dedicate resources to prevent homelessness and help find better housing situations for people who are doubled up or precariously housed and forced to move repeatedly; expand the definition of homelessness to include those who "couch surf", while retaining a targeted definition to ensure that homeless assistance continues to meet the emergency needs of people with no place to live.

The stated goals of reauthorization are to increase the flexibility of Homeless Assistance Funds, and to align the Funds with efforts to prevent and end homelessness in communities across the country. McKinney-Vento reauthorization, therefore, is a major priority for Chicago, because it is critical to ensure that a final bill provides increased flexibility and contains new federal funds for prevention, families, and permanent housing. Shifting the permanent housing renewal burden to the Section 8 account alone could mean as much as $20 million in new funding for Chicago.

Identify Solutions to Lack of Funding for Supportive Services

Funding for supportive services is a major unresolved issue. HUD is moving away from funding homeless services and there is no new source of funding to fill the gap. In order to better understand this challenge and create policy solutions, the Chicago Alliance is undertaking an analysis of service funding in Chicago. This will include analyzing current funding sources, identifying best practices in the field, projecting the cost of service strategies that support a Housing First based system, and developing a strategy to fill the service funding gap.

One solution to the lack of funding for supportive services is the "Services for Ending Long Term Homelessness Act" and a "System of Care" - two improvements to SAMHSA programs which should be included in SAMHSA reauthorizing legislation. These would ensure that people with mental illness who are at risk of homelessness are adequately served and have their housing needs addressed. Congress is in the process of reauthorizing the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), creating an opportunity for improvements. The Services for Ending Long Term Homelessness Act (S. 593) would enable SAMHSA to fund critical and cost-effective services in permanent supportive housing. An increased appropriation is another solution (see below). Advocates successfully secured an increase in the FY08 budget, which resulted, in part, in new SAMHSA/CSAT targeting of $4.5 million per year within the Treatment for Homeless Program - Services in Supportive Housing funding category.

Increase Funding for Homeless Programs

Provide $2 billion for HUD McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants. As communities around the nation develop and implement ten year plans to end homelessness, they are ready to significantly expand their efforts to provide permanent housing, supportive services, and homelessness prevention. While they are securing new resources for these initiatives, they also need increased support from HUD's homeless assistance programs. HUD estimates that the cost of renewals alone will be approximately $1.5 billion (including emergency shelter grants). Therefore, $2 billion will renew existing projects while providing new resources for communities to address unmet housing and service needs. An additional $50 million is request for an initiative to provide rapid rehousing services to some of the 600,000 families who become homeless each year.

Increase funding by $44 million for services linked to permanent supportive housing. One of the greatest challenges to creating permanent supportive housing is funding the supportive services needed to help homeless people maintain their housing and progress toward recovery and self sufficiency. Advocates are working to secure a $44 million increase in SAMHSA Homeless Programs (Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals and Treatment for Homeless programs) for essential mental health and substance use treatment services linked to permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals and families and other housing programs targeted to homeless families, youth, and individuals in the FY 2009 Appropriations Bill for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Increase funding for Runaway and Homeless Youth Act programs to $175 million. The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act was first enacted in 1974 and is the only federal law solely focused on unaccompanied, homeless youth. It provides federal funds to support a spectrum of services, including shelter programs (basic centers), transitional housing, street-based outreach, and the National Runaway Switchboard. The RHYA programs help to prevent victimization, encourage family reunification, and ensure basic safety of and housing opportunities for unaccompanied children and youth. An increase in RHY funds will decrease the number of homeless youth turned away from shelter and housing programs.

Enact a National Housing Trust Fund

The National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act would establish a fund to provide housing targeted to extremely low income people. Funding would come from a variety of sources, with the opportunity to add more sources in the future. Funds could be used for construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, preservation, and up to 12 months of project-based rental assistance. The goal of the Trust Fund is to create 1.5 million units of affordable housing over ten years. The bill passed the House last fall and legislation is moving in the Senate. Sen. Durbin has signed on as a co-sponsor of that legislation (S. 2523).

Fund the Second Chance Act

The Second Chance Act, signed into law on April 9th, 2008, will help people reentering their communities from prison to find stable jobs and housing. It aims to reduce recidivism and help states and communities to better address the growing population of prisoners returning to communities. It reauthorizes and revises an existing program within the Department of Justice, providing money to states for reentry programs, with an enhanced focus on jobs, housing, substance abuse treatment / mental health, and children and families. It also commissions a number of research projects including a study of barriers in federal policy to successful reentry, and authorizes grants from the Justice Department directly to nonprofits for reentry programs.

Housing is a key part of any reentry strategy, and it is addressed in a number of ways in the Second Chance Act. Eligible housing activities include providing housing directly, assisting people in securing housing, and strengthening the capacity of prisoners' families to provide stable housing. States receiving funding would be required to address housing in their strategic plan, and housing would be one of the performance outcomes monitored by the Justice Department. Now that it has been passed and signed into law, advocacy efforts are focused on securing funding for the programs in the FY09 appropriations bills.

Implement Policy Recommendations from "Homeless Over 50" Study

This forthcoming study will create groundbreaking understanding of the demographics and service needs of this growing homeless population. The study will include policy recommendations that will lead to federal legislative and policy initiatives.

STATE

Increase State Funding for Homeless Programs

Emergency Food and Shelter Grant Funding: Together with Housing Action Illinois and other statewide partners, the Chicago Alliance is seeking a 5%, or $470,000, budget increase for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program for FY09. The governor's proposal for FY09 flat-funded the program at the FY08 level of $9.4 million. Chicago receives 43% of the state EF&SG line item, which funds homeless service agencies through the Chicago Department of Human Services. The campaign was successful in securing a 6% increase in the final FY08 budget.

Supportive Services in Supportive Housing: The Supportive Housing Providers Association (SHPA) and allies across the state are advocating for a $4 million increase in funding for supportive services in new supportive housing projects. The Chicago Alliance lends support to this effort and will work with SHPA to maintain this critical funding in the FY09 state budget.

Homeless Youth Services: The Youth Provider Committee of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless is working to increase Illinois' line item for homeless youth services in the FY09 state budget. The Illinois Department of Human Services serves approximately 1,000 youth per year with an annual budget of approximately $4.6 million -- leaving an estimated 24,000 homeless youth throughout the state unaccounted for. This year, service providers and the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless are specifically asking for a $7 million increase: $5 million for housing services and $2 million for a pilot transitional jobs program.

Improve Discharge Planning by State Agencies

People being discharged from institutions without a viable, long-term plan for housing stability often become homeless. The Chicago Alliance is working with county-wide partners to convene people with expertise in particular areas of discharge planning, analyze system policies, barriers, and develop systems change strategies for more effective discharge planning. In collaboration with these experts, the Chicago Alliance will establish advocacy priorities and strategies for addressing the issues related to discharging people into homelessness from various systems.

Secure $1.3 million to fund SMART Act implementation

Lead by the Developing Justice Coalition, the SMART Act was passed by the Illinois General Assembly and approved by the Governor in August 2007. This legislation reforms sentencing guidelines and enhances the state's ability to support alternatives to incarceration for low-level offenders, as modeled after Cook County's drug school program. This provision allows judges the option to sentence nonviolent drug offenders to treatment. Now, $1.3 million is needed to fund program implementation in counties across the state, while also adding more money in Cook County's budget to fully implement the drug school program.

Implement Policy Recommendations from "Homeless Over 50" Study

This forthcoming study will create groundbreaking understanding of the demographics and service needs of this growing homeless population. The study will include policy recommendations that will lead to state legislative and policy initiatives.

LOCAL

Advocate for Rental Assistance Funding Targeted for Homeless Individuals and Families

The City of Chicago currently provides significant rental assistance funding for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The Chicago Alliance works to ensure the effective administration of these funds, as well as to locate additional sources for increased funding.

Resolve System Issues Related to Interim Housing and Other Program Models

Chicago's Plan to End Homelessness is implemented through a set of approved program models targeted to ending homelessness. The Chicago Alliance works to continuously ensure the effectiveness of these program models in supporting a housing first approach to ending homelessness.

Achieve Targeted Improvements in Emergency Shelter System

The Chicago Alliance works to ensure the efficient operations of this key entry point to the homeless system, including best practices and state of the art approaches.

Improve Discharge Planning by County/City Entities

People being discharged from institutions without a viable, long-term plan for housing stability often become homeless. The Chicago Alliance is working with county-wide partners to convene people with expertise in particular areas of discharge planning, analyze system policies, barriers, and develop systems change strategies for more effective discharge planning. In collaboration with these experts, the Chicago Alliance will establish advocacy priorities and strategies for addressing the issues related to discharging people into homelessness from various systems.

Implement Policy Recommendations from "Homeless Over 50" Study

This forthcoming study will create groundbreaking understanding of the demographics and service needs of this growing homeless population. The study will include policy recommendations that will lead to local policy initiatives.