1. Engaging TANF Agencies as Partners
DC Department of Human Services
Laura Green Zeilinger, Director
Engaging TANF Agencies as Partners
2017 National Conference on Ending Homelessness
National Alliance to End Homelessness
July 18, 2017

2. Presentation Roadmap Intersection between family homelessness and TANF
Models for integrating service delivery
TANF & Rapid Rehousing (RRH)
Opportunities

3. Joint ownership over solving family homelessness – it’s common sense
Poverty is the most prevalent risk factor for homelessness
States have flexibility to use TANF to support families to overcome a housing crisis and grow their economic security
Loss of cash income correlates with increased involvement in other costly service delivery systems (e.g. homelessness and child welfare)
2Gen or multigenerational approach to service delivery improves outcomes
Families Who Are Severely Rent Burdened
Families Receiving TANF
Families Accessing Homeless Services

4. TANF Grant Allocation

5. Family Homelessness in DC
Data from FY16.
A data assessment in June 2017 indicated that 31% of FRSP households are youth headed (18-24).

6. Housing Instability among TANF Participants in DC
More than one out of four TANF recipients are experiencing homelessness or housing instability in the District.
n=5924 (TANF Comprehensive Review Completed in FY16)
The TANF Comprehensive Assessment gives us data on housing stability among TANF recipients in the District
* Includes families with permanent housing subsidy.

7. Housing Instability as a Barrier to Work
Results of Family-by-Family survey of TANF customers over 60-months. October 2016.

8. TANF and Rapid Rehousing
More than half of customers receiving both TANF and Rapid Rehousing services have been on TANF for longer than 4 years.
More than two thirds (69%) of TANF customers in the Rapid Rehousing program are assigned to employment support and case management service providers.
Data updated March 2017

9. Unique TANF Families (ACEDS #s)
Number of 60 month families who have entered shelter annually FY13-FY16
Entry to Shelter
by Fiscal Year
Unique TANF Families (ACEDS #s)
Total TANF Adults
FY13
267
297
FY 14
303
333
FY 15
 412
451
FY 16 (to )
 104
112
Grand Total
1,086
1,193
Data as of January 2016.
Some families enter shelter more than once a year, or multiple years in a row, the unduplicated number of total families that are over 60 months and have entered shelter over the past 3 years: 820
1,950 of customers over 60 months have a housing subsidy – 21%

10. Families in TANF & Rapid Rehousing (RRH) (FY17 YTD)
A total of 999 families received both TANF benefits and RRH services in FY 17 through May. They compose 68% of all families in RRH program and 7% of all families who received TANF benefits* in FY17 through May.
TANF
13,911 Families
RRH
1,474 Families
999
Families*
* The 13,911 families in TANF and the 1,474 families in RRH include 999 families in the intersection area.
68% of RRH Total
7% of TANF Total
ESA Data Analytics Team, 6/19/17

11. Families in TANF & Rapid Rehousing (RRH) (Point-in-Time Snapshot)
A total of 739 families were receiving both TANF benefits and RRH services as of May They compose 58% of all families in RRH program and 7% of all families receiving TANF benefits*.
TANF
11,088 Families
RRH
1,273 Families
739
Families*
* The 11,088 families in TANF and the 1,273 families in RRH include 739 families in the intersection area.
58% of RRH Total
7% of TANF Total
ESA Data Analytics Team, 6/19/17

12. Families Receiving TANF and Housing Services
As of May 2017, 1,165 families are receiving TANF benefits and housing services, including prevention services, temporary shelter, or Rapid Rehousing.
The 1,165 families compose 11% of 11,088 TANF families (excluding child-only cases) and 58% of 2,025 families receiving housing services.
Rapid Rehousing is the most commonly used housing support program amongst TANF families.
Homelessness Prevention Program
Rapid Rehousing
Temporary Hotel Shelter
228 families
2% of TANF
739 families
7% of TANF
198 families
1,165 families
11% of TANF Families
TANF
11,088 families
Temporary Hotel Shelter includes the following:
American Inn (Bethesda)
Best Western (Largo)
Courtyard Marriott (2nd St. NE)
Courtyard Marriott (Greenbelt)
Days Inn (NY AVE)
Days Inn/Travelodge (Silver Spring)
Fairbridge Inn (Capitol Heights)
Fairfield Inn (NY AVE)
Hilton Garden Inn
Holiday Inn Express (Hyattsville)
Holiday Inn Express (NY AVE)
Howard Johnson (NY AVE)
Motel 6 (4th St.)
Motel 6 (GA AVE)
Quality Inn (NY AVE)
ESA Data Analytics Team, 6/19/17

13. Person-Centered Service Delivery
DC’s TANF program uses the federal block grant and local dollars to provide customer-driven services to families.
Application for Assistance
TANF Comprehensive Assessment
Strengths
Barriers to employment
Housing
Health/behavioral health/DV/Caregiver
Individualized Plan (WPR)
Education
Job placement
Barrier remediation
Supportive Services
Targeted Case Management
Performance-based contracts
Integrated TANF/homeless services in RR and for families in overflow ES
TCAs are conducted at VWFRC once a family has received a shelter placement.

14. Integrating Case Management Services
TANF Office of Work Opportunity (OWO) specialized team provides case management for subset of families in rapid-rehousing
OWO “Rapid Exit” team works with families in overflow shelter in motels
Primary/Secondary Relationship between TANF Vendor and homeless services provider
Starting in November of 2015, DHS established an employment provider that specifically targets families who are receiving TANF and who were experiencing housing instability or homelessness, and were then placed in our Rapid Re-Housing program.
We established this type of provider because we realized that there were TANF families whose employment and housing needs were closely related, and that we needed to take a more holistic approach to the needs and barriers of our TANF families who are experiencing housing instability.
The service provider provides wrap around services that help address the family’s housing and employment needs. This program is unique in that each family is given a unique treatment based on their level of functioning in different competency domains. Based on the family’s needs, as well as the results of an assessment by the case manager, each family establishes their own plan and their own goals.
This provider communicates with the other employment providers that a family might be engaged with based on their needs, and helps encourage the family to engage with those employment providers.

15. RRH Customers Engage in TANF Employment Program at Higher Rates
Data from February 2016.

16. Observations
Families receiving integrated services in RR are 15-20% more likely to be current on their portion of the rent
Young parents entering homelessness from a doubled-up situation often not receiving TANF at program entry
Employment matters on rental applications
Housing is an enabling factor for achieving employment and educational goals
TANF and Family Homelessness Systems are inextricably tied together – integrated services drives improved outcomes

17. Next phases
Continue building cross system knowledge and practices among providers of services in TANF and homeless programs;
Align assessments;
Launch household benefit interaction asset calculator;
Scale “teaming” model for multi-system involved families; and
Develop more tools to address long-term housing affordability for families in rapid rehousing – shallow subsidy pilot.
Combined data base; so duplicating case contacts in multiple systems is not necessary.
Moving families out of temporary housing into more stable housing in less time.
Balancing inherent tensions between cash assistance & time limits/responsibility

18. Contact Information
Laura Green Zeilinger
Director, Department of Human Services
Government of the District of Columbia
64 New York Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Tel: