Health Reform Implementation:Priorities for Providers of Permanent Supportive Housing

2010

Health Reform legislation contained several provisions that, if taken advantage of, could provide the sustained services funding needed to build PSH at a scale that will end homelessness among chronically ill and particularly vulnerable individuals and families.
This document includes a list of those provisions with a brief summary of how they can serve homeless populations.

The Role of Supportive Housing Providers: Creating Health Care Homes for Chronically Ill Residents

2011

This paper explains the criteria established in the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) recently released Dear State Medicaid Director Letter on health homes for chronically ill populations. The paper also discusses the role that supportive housing can play for the subset of chronically ill residents who are homeless and in need of supportive housing.

Leveraging Medicaid: A Guide to Using Medicaid Financing in Supportive Housing

2008

Medicaid plays a critical role in financing services and supports for many people who need permanent supportive housing. However, because of the complexity of the Medicaid program, supportive housing providers and local and state government agencies are not always able to access these resources systematically.

This guidebook from CSH and the Technical Assistance Collaborative is designed to facilitate the use of Medicaid as a source of funding for services in permanent supportive housing for:

  • Policymakers
  • State Medicaid Programs
  • Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
  • Health policy leaders
  • Counties
  • Service providers
  • Advocates

Between the Lines: A Question and Answer Guide on Legal Issues in Supportive Housing, National Edition

2010

With support from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, CSH published the first Between the Lines in 2001. Supportive housing developers, service providers, property managers and government staff have since frequently referenced the guide for clarification on general legal principles related to developing, leasing and operating supportive housing.This guide includes an explanation of federal and some state laws governing supportive housing in a question and answer format, as
well as a glossary of terms, specific legal definitions and Department of Justice memos that further clarify reasonable accommodation and modification.
Between the Lines offers information about the laws and regulations that govern supportive housing, and attempts to provide assistance in furthering the CSH goal of creating stable housing for homeless individuals and families. However, the Guide is not intended to solve specific legal situations that would require counsel, to provide legal advice, or to substitute for the assistance of an attorney. Readers should consult legal counsel and local government representatives for answers to and advice on specific legal concerns.

Toolkit for Ending Long-Term Homelessness

This Toolkit highlights some of the most promising practices for ending long-term homelessness today.  The projects and programs represented here are making real strides toward ending homelessness in our country by serving those who have been historically underserved.  In addition to key lessons learned by supportive housing projects and programs across the country, the Toolkit includes profiles of systems-wide strategies for working with this population, photo tours of supportive housing projects from around the country, sample documents from supportive housing service teams and property managers, and a listing of key additional tools.

Policy Action Alert: Second Chance Act Reauthorization

Policy Action Alert: Second Chance Act Reauthorization Advances in Senate

Legislation to reauthorize the Second Chance Act (SCA), S.1231, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 21, 2011 and your action is needed to help advance the bill towards enactment. Please review the organizational sign-on letter in support of the bill on the next page and contact the Council of State Governments Justice Center by October 3rd to sign on.

What is the Second Chance Act?

Enacted in 2008, SCA is designed to improve outcomes for people returning to communities following incarceration. The legislation authorizes federal grants to nonprofits and to local governments to reduce recidivism through a variety of supports including housing, mentoring, employment assistance and others.

Why is the Reauthorization of SCA Important?

When the Second Chance Act was enacted in 2008, its funding was only authorized for two years. Although Congress can and has opted to appropriate funds without continued authorization it is helpful to have a clear authorization when making funding decisions. In addition, policymakers are interested in making small improvements to this grant program. The bipartisan leadership of Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Rob Portman (R-OH) have been crucial in advancing the reauthorization process.

How can the Second Chance Act help end homelessness through supportive housing?

As stated above, SCA grants can be used to fund both for housing or the critical supportive services that are the linchpin of permanent supportive housing for the homeless.

Supportive housing — affordable housing closely linked to coordinated supportive services — works well for people exiting incarceration with complex needs, people with mental illness, substance use, and/or chronic health conditions. By providing housing and services that are often difficult for formerly incarcerated people to access upon release, supportive housing can provide a meaningful opportunity for stability for people whose untreated chronic health, mental health, and addiction problems would otherwise likely lead to a quick return to homelessness, relapse, and/or recidivism. A growing body of evidence suggests placing people in supportive housing, as opposed to jail or prison, provides more efficient use of scarce public resources; improves human condition and outcomes; and enhances public safety.

CSH is especially pleased that S. 1231 includes language giving priority consideration for SCA applications that “target offenders with histories of homelessness, substance abuse, or mental illness… with mental health, substance abuse, or homelessness services systems to achieve stable and permanent housing outcomes with appropriate support service.”

Questions? Please contact CSH’s Federal Policy Director, Jordan Press.
Organizations that are interested in signing the letter should email Jay Nelson at jnelson@csg.org. And please circulate to your colleagues and others who might be interested.

Dear Senator/Congressman:
We write to ask for your support of S. 1231, the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2011. This bipartisan bill, introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Rob Portman (R-OH), provides resources to state and local governments, as well as community-based organizations, to improve success rates for people released from prison and jail.
The Second Chance Act will provide crucial resources at a time of desperate need. In 2009, federal and state prisons held over 1.6 million inmates – one in every 199 U.S. residents – and released 729,295 individuals back to their communities. Moreover, more than 9 million individuals are released from jail each year. Unfortunately, most individuals face numerous reintegration challenges when released from prison or jail, and research indicates that over half are incarcerated again within just three years of their release. In a recent report, The Pew Charitable Trusts estimated that current growth rates will result in a 13 percent growth in state and federal prisons by 2013, adding over 192,000 prisoners at a cost of $27.5 billion. The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, projects even faster growth rates for jails.
By providing the resources needed to coordinate reentry services and policies at the state and local levels, S. 1231 will ensure that the tax dollars spent on corrections do not simply fuel a revolving door in and out of prison. State and local governments around the country, as well as community and faith-based organizations, are in dire need of these resources to address prisoner reentry and recidivism reduction efforts in our communities.
Please support S. 1231, the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2011.
Sincerely,
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CSH Honors Funding Champion in Supportive Housing

At our 20th Anniversary Event, CSH  presented the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with a Funding Champion in Supportive Housing Award in recognition of our years of partnership and in appreciation for the dedication that the foundation has shown in helping communities to innovate the application of supportive housing and improve people’s lives.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation works to improve the health and health care of all Americans. A leader in philanthropy, the foundation helps transform communities for the better. CSH has been a proud partner of RWJF since 1991, when they helped provide the first seed money to get CSH off the ground. The foundation is one of CSH’s largest -- and longest -- funders.

RWJF has worked with CSH on such initiatives as "Taking Health Care Home," which helped communities across the country to work on the intersection of housing and health; the Returning Home Initiative, which is establishing supportive housing as an essential component of reintegrating formerly incarcerated people into communities; and most recently on "Keeping Families Together," which is demonstrating that supportive housing can help some of the country’s most vulnerable and high-risk families. RWJF was also recognized for their role as a founding member of Funders Together to End Homelessness.

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