The services in supportive housing programs vary in models and costs. Costs vary nationwide. Different supportive housing projects serve different populations including Aging, Behavioral Health, Child Welfare involved, High Cost/ High Need and/ or Justice Involved. The most basic model is a tenancy support services model that assists residents with an assertive, whole person care coordination model. The most important factor in cost estimates is caseload size. In a tenancy support services model, staff-to-client ratios are typically 1-15. This ratio is reflective of the evidence-base for supportive housing. Our CSH Services Budgeting Tool has been available for only a few years and this limits the data available due to a small number of providers and jurisdiction. However, based on our limited reviews of provider budgets using the Tool, CSH has documented rates ranging from $10,000-$15,000 per person per year for tenancy supports ($833-$1,250 per person per month). These examples reflect variance related to staffing credentials, team structure, and wage differentials. Other models of supportive housing services that involve a multidisciplinary team, like Intensive Case Management and Assertive Community Treatment teams, require funding at higher rates. CSH is committed to ensuring living wages for supportive housing staff, decreasing direct staff turnover and ensuring access to evidenced based services. CSH is seeing the impact of inflation, the workforce shortage and volatility in the costs of services and CSH will continue to work with supportive housing providers nationwide to update these costs numbers as they change over time and better reflect the actual cost of delivering quality supportive housing services.
The purpose of the CSH Supportive Housing Services Budget tool is to support agencies, communities, and project planners estimate the costs for supportive housing services. The tool uses a template that has built in assumptions around best practice staffing models, case load sizes, and program budget considerations unique to scattered-site and project-based supportive housing models. The tool allows each agency or community to input their average staffing costs, budget assumptions, and productivity expectations to determine rates needed by agencies for a fiscally sustainable program. For supportive housing agencies that are negotiating with managed care, the tool gives you the rates you need to sustain your program over time. The tool that can be used whether you’re working on one project with 30 tenants or across a community serving thousands of tenants. The key to using this tool is to understand the uses of the tool to help you through each step of the budgeting process, from selecting a staffing model, to determining rates needed by your agency to start up, develop and sustain programs.
Last updated: 9/22/2023
