04/18/2012

NYU Begins Evaluation Work on Social Innovation Fund

CSH and its partners have selected a team of researchers from New York University to conduct a rigorous evaluation of CSH’s Social Innovation Fund initiative. This study builds upon and contributes to the growing body of evidence that shows that the combination of affordable housing, care management and access to health services improves health and behavioral health outcomes while lowering public costs among vulnerable individuals with chronic conditions who are homeless.

NYU’s  evaluation of CSH’s Social Innovation Fund initiative is unprecedented both as the first ever multi-site study examining the impact of supportive housing on health and health care costs, and as the first study to specify the cost impacts on Medicaid compared with other public sources and between the federal, state, and county dollars.

“If positive, the results from this evaluation could have a profound impact on housing and health care policy, providing justification for making new and coordinated investments of mainstream housing subsidies and capital with mainstream health care resources, namely, Medicaid, to provide solutions that work for the most vulnerable and complex populations,” says Jacquelyn Anderson, Senior Program Manager, Research and Evaluation at CSH.

The research team represents three schools of NYU – Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and the School of Medicine – and brings a depth and breadth of expertise both in terms of methodological approaches as well as substantive knowledge of homelessness and health care interventions and policy.  “Given the nature of the larger health policy debate, we are very excited to have this opportunity to evaluate an innovative approach to reducing healthcare costs that focuses on the combination of housing and case management,” says Beth Weitzman, Vice Dean and Professor of Health and Public Policy the Steinhardt School .

Support for the evaluation comes from both the federal Social Innovation Fund grant and CSH’s partners in philanthropy.  CSH and its partners are extremely excited to be collaborating with such an experienced team of researchers and to commission this definitive study of supportive housing’s value as a health intervention and health policy solution.

READ MORE ABOUT CSH’S SOCIAL INNOVATION FUND INITIATIVE AND MEET THE SUBGRANTEES

Copyright 2022 ©  by CSH. All Rights Reserved