CSH Initiatives and Products: Data

Federally funded health centers and health center “look-alikes” (collectively health centers) report on all sorts of data about patients and performance, including housing and homeless status. In fact, as part of the 2019 Uniform Data System (UDS) Data Standard Updates, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) introduced for the first time a requirement that certain health centers track those patients who report living in permanent supportive housing. This UDS Quick Guide will inform health center staff on how UDS offers rich and quite detailed insight into the important operations of health centers.

May 2021 |This data brief guides system providers on how to better coordinate data and services for families involved with systems, such as child welfare, homelessness response, behavioral health, education and justice.

Recognizing that many people leaving jail and prison are released to homelessness or housing instability, this paper provides an overview of:

• The current housing landscape and critical gaps and barriers that people who are justice impacted face;
• Leading housing and justice advocacy and social services organizations serving people who are justice impacted;
• Opportunities within housing and justice to provide permanent supportive housing for people leaving Rikers and other jails and prison.

After a review of the current landscape, CSH outlines specific recommendations for NYC in 2021:

1. Bridge the gap between justice and housing advocacy groups and city agencies;
2. Prioritize supportive housing for the justice impacted population;
3. Advance equity through program expansion, policy changes, and overall strategy.

With these recommendations in mind, CSH looks forward to working with leaders in the housing and justice sectors to support fellow New Yorkers who are experiencing homelessness and have been affected by the trauma of incarceration and systemic racism.

DETROIT, Jan. 26, 2021 – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation today announced nearly $300,000 in funding to six community-based nonprofit organizations statewide, supporting permanent supportive housing initiatives to advance racial and economic health equity for special populations.

Residents living in supportive housing are linked to intensive case management and voluntary, live-improving services such as health care, workforce development and child welfare. These nonprofits will utilize grant funding to add a support element to their housing initiatives, addressing root causes of health disparities including those demonstrated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The organizations selected serve communities of great need and special populations, including racial minorities, people who are homeless, those recovering from mental illness or substance use disorder, the LGBTQ+ community, veterans, adults from the foster system, among others.

“These organizations and their innovative programming serve at the immediate intersection of housing and health, and strive to meet the needs of vulnerable populations,” said Suzanne Miller Allen, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan senior director of Community Responsibility and Social Mission. “Their work shows a dire need to further address health disparities and fill gaps, including housing instability, food insecurity or other social and economic determinants of health affecting individuals and families. Our collective vision with these grantees of increasing access to permanent supportive housing for our communities will lead to improving overall health and achieving health equity statewide.”  

According to the Corporation for Supportive Housing, Michigan ranks 11 out of 50 in the United States in supportive housing needs. Individuals who experience chronic homelessness have high rates of substance abuse and mental health disorders and are more likely to suffer from chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and HIV/AIDS.

Organizations receiving grant funding include:

• Family Promise of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids – $50,000
• New Destiny Pathways, Inc., Grand Rapids – $50,000
• Great Lakes Recovery Center, Marquette – $48,561
• Lighthouse MI, Pontiac – $50,000
• Ruth Ellis Center, Inc., Detroit – $50,000

Southwest Counseling Solutions, Detroit – $50,000

People experiencing homelessness often struggle to connect to the employment services they want and need. Asset mapping is a process by which communities can gain a clearer understanding of available services, the systems and agencies that deliver them, and how individuals connect to those services in order to improve referral pathways and ensure people receive the services they need.

CSH partnered with stakeholders in Los Angeles County, CA to gather information about existing employment services referral networks, identify gaps and opportunities, and propose improvements.

Read more about the asset-mapping process in two communities in Los Angeles County and recommendations for other communities here.

CSH conducted a survey of supportive housing agencies across New York State to examine opioid use and overdose among supportive housing tenants, and to identify what services and support agencies could use to better assist their tenants who have an opioid use disorder.

CSH estimates that there are 1.1 million individuals and families in need of supportive housing nationwide. We also expect the COVID-19 pandemic to increase this number as many individuals and families will be affected by loss of income and increasing housing. As state leadership begins to plan for 2021 and continues to manage the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) offers one tool to leverage the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) alongside broader state strategies for promoting thriving communities.

As has been the trend in years past, in 2019 all states and territories included at least one method for incentivizing housing for vulnerable individuals and families either as part of the QAP or through an alternative state resource that was leveraged alongside LIHTC.

When comparing year-over-year data, there was an increase from 2018 in the number of states that either required or incentivized extended low-income periods for developments. Similarly, more states included fair housing requirements that went beyond the Fair Housing Act. There was also an increase in the number of states using set-asides for extremely low-income (ELI) units serving those at or below 30% area median income (AMI); however, fewer states actually required ELI units as part of a threshold.

Her are the five recommendations in our report:

1. Allocate Low Income Housing Tax Credits for Supportive Housing
2. Prioritize the Populations Most in Need of Supportive Housing and Large Families 
3. Include Requirements for Extremely Low Income Units
4. Ensure Equitable Access to Housing and Address Disparate Impacts to Fair Housing
5. Clearly Define Supportive Housing and Ensure Quality Standards

Health centers use data and technology to improve health outcomes of patients, speed administrative processes, and collect patients’ health and housing histories. This guidance will help health centers evaluate and make decisions regarding data collection, utilization, and sharing to improve health outcomes for vulnerable patients.

This webinar provides a deep understanding of Social Determinants of Health, and the environmental factors that often have a deep impact on patients’ ability to manage their health. Social Determinants such as housing are the critical platform upon which additional successes for patients can be achieved.

This national webinar and facilitated discussion provides an overview of the benefits of data sharing between the sectors of health and housing. This cross-sector collaboration is especially beneficial for identifying and meeting the needs of “frequent users,” those patients with the most complex needs cycling between high-cost emergency services such as emergency rooms, detox services, ambulance services and hospitalizations.