1. Keeping Families Together: Supportive Housing for Family Preservation
NAEH Conference
February 2008

2. Keeping Families Together Presentation Overview
Background/Context
Research Findings
Keeping Families Together Approach and Targeting Strategy
Process for Family Identification
Family Profiles
Implementation Challenges
Evaluation Design

3. Background/Context
Current research shows that most families who experience homelessness can become stably housed with housing subsidies alone
However, there is also evidence that there is a small subset of families who return to shelter after being re-housed
Permanent supportive housing is successful in facilitating housing stability for the subset of families who are the most persistently homeless and who have the most complex and multiple challenges

4. The $20,000,000 question: How do we determine which homeless families will succeed with what intervention?
We have little systemic evidence to help policymakers and practitioners guide decisions about which families could benefit most for which types of service interventions
We think that the relationship between child welfare involvement and homelessness may be the link that can help us determine which families need more intensive support

5. The Relationship between Child Welfare and Homelessness
Culhane, et al (2007 Housing Policy Debate)
A small, but significant, number of families who are chronically homeless have higher rates of involvement in the child welfare system
Recurrent shelter stays are related to an increase in child welfare involvement
Families considered “episodically” homeless (those that have 3 or more episodes of shelter stay in three years) have the highest rates of foster care placements (18.9%)

6. Keeping Families Together (KFT)
KFT is a CSH-led demonstration project that seeks to determine if homeless families at the highest risk of being separated from their children to the foster care system may become stably housed and improve family functioning with permanent supportive housing

7. Keeping Families Together: Goals & Objectives
Define and identify a group of who will benefit from PSH
Collaborate with government systems (child welfare, homeless services, health and mental health, and housing) to help recruit families in a methodical and rational way
Work with PSH providers to refine their models and support their effort to serve participating families through training; networking opportunities / information sharing; and help coordinate housing case management services with child welfare service plans
Conduct an evaluation that tracks family outcomes (including housing stability, child welfare involvement and physical and behavioral health) but also evaluates the collaborative implementation process

8. Targeted Families
The model targets families who are both chronically homeless and whose children are at high-risk of foster care placement
Chronically homeless – i.e., families who have been homeless 365 out of the past 730 days and/or have experienced 3 episodes of homelessness or more in the last 3 years
A disabling medical condition, e.g., mental health or chronic substance use
An open and indicated case with the NYC Administration for Children’s Services

9. Homeless Criteria
We know from the research that families who cycle in and out of shelter are the most at risk of child welfare involvement
365/730 is dictated by the central PSH funding stream in New York;
We have found this to be a difficult threshold to meet for our pilot

10. Disabling Medical Conditions
Providers require (via their funding sources) that the head of household have a recent experience with substance abuse and/or a serious and persistent mental illness and/or a physical disability to be eligible
Have found that many families who have been referred have substance use histories and/or some type of mental health issue – may or may not rise to SPMI-level; physical illnesses have not been as prevalent

11. Child Welfare Criteria
ACS is conducting data match to determine which DHS families (with long-term or episodic homeless) also have:
Two or more reports called into the State Central Registry
A repeat investigation within 180 days; and/or
A case open for “Court-ordered Supervision”
Open and indicated case is what is advertised because many caseworkers and families don’t know their level of involvement with ACS

12. Keeping Families Together Providers and Eligibility Criteria
Provider Name
Lease-up
Potential KFT Units
Type/Location
Homeless Criteria
Eligibility
Women in Need, Inc/Shelter Plus Care
August-December 2007 5
Scattered/Brooklyn
Currently living in a tier II shelter
Recent history of substance abuse; living in a tier II shelter; custody of a minor child
Diversity Works/Lower East Side Service Center
December 31, 2007
Congregate-Bronx/CD#6
1 out of 2 or 2 out 4 years homeless; OR two moves in the last year and 3 out of the following:1) recent 2) DV history, 3) currently residing in shelter; 4) limited ed; 5) limited employment;
NY/NY III / Category G : Chronic Medical Condition and/ or Substance Abuse
Palladia
On-going/Summer 2008
5 (filling vacancies
Scattered/Congregate project summer 2008);Bronx CD #9
Currently homeless
Homeless, Disabled, Substance Abuse
CAMBA
August-October 2007 2
Scattered/ Cluster; Brooklyn CD#3
Same as DW
NY/NY III / Category G: Chronic Medical Condition and/ or Substance Abuse
CUCS
HOLD
Congregate/Manhattan CD#12
1 out of 2 or 2 out 4 years homeless;
NY/NY II : SPMI
The Lantern Group
August - September 2008
Congregate, Bronx CD #3
NY/NYIII: SPMI
This slide illustrates the multiple and sometimes burdensome layers of eligibility criteria

13. Potential Cases Flagged
Family Identification Flow Chart (Actual)
ACS FAMILIES: Open & Indicated Case
DHS FAMILIES:1/2 years or 3 episodes/ three years
NYC Family Court: ACS Attorneys, Parents' Attorneys, Children’s Attorneys
ACS/DHS Child Advantage Match (90+, PA intact, open ACS case post investigation) DHS contacts shelter providers with names
ACS Field Office,
Court Unit
DHS shelter providers refer families to DHS; DHS fills out application
CSH Notified
Potential Cases Flagged
Supportive Housing providers interview eligible for applicants
Families are placed in housing; CSH Is notified; baseline data is collected by program evaluator

14. Family Identification Flow Chart (Ideal)
DHS notifies shelter to begin gathering necessary documentation for application
Families placed in KFT unit /pilot
Application is sent to provider & identified as “KFT”
ACS/DHS DATA Match: KFT Criteria
ACS contacts caseworker to notify of families’ eligibility; caseworker discusses with family and supports shelter worker in providing documentation

15. Family Profiles: Ms. David
Ms. David is a single, 41 year-old African American woman. Ms. David was incarcerated for robbery in 2002 and was released in January 2007; she is in a treatment program for heroin addiction and has been clean for approximately 9 months. Ms. David was in a single woman’s shelter for approximately 9 months prior to being placed in PSH in a KFT unit. Ms. David has a 10-year old child, Mark, who has been in foster care most of his life; although court documents confirmed that Mark would be returned to Ms. David upon receipt of permanent housing he has since been placed in a psychiatric hospital and plans for reunification are on hold. Ms. David was referred to our pilot by her child’s social worker at the Legal Aid Society.

16. Family Profiles: Ms. Jones
Ms. Jones is physically disabled, cannot work and receives SSI; she has two children ages 9 and 11 and was placed in a congregate PSH housing unit in August Ms. Jones has a medical condition that has confined her to a wheelchair; she has a history of substance use but has been in recovery for several years . The nature of the families’ ACS case is unknown, however, ACS has been called several times since Ms. Jones’ was placed into PSH because her children have not been attending school. It is believed that Ms. Jones may be keeping the children home from school so that they may assist her in activities of daily living.

17. Implementation Challenges
Identification of Families
Data Matching Process
Restrictive and multi-layered eligibility criteria dictated by multiple funding streams
Competing with subsidies
New System
PSH for family is new a new resource in NYC; especially among child welfare professionals
Lack of training and awareness of staff that could refer appropriate families
Maintaining Commitment of Partnering Agencies
Reluctance to serve/fear of population among providers
Multiple, competing priorities of government staff
Diminished appreciation for goals at the “front door”

18. Evaluation Questions Services/client-level questions Does the model:
Increase housing stability (decreased shelter utilization);
Improve health and behavioral health outcomes;
Preserve families, increase family stability, and increase children’s safety, health, and well-being?
Systems-level questions
Is the model being replicated and expanded (# of units with integrated service model)?
Is there increased and regular collaboration between agencies at all relevant levels?
Is the resulting targeting methodology being incorporated into regular practice?

19. Summary
There is much debate about what homeless families need to achieve housing stability
CSH believes that vouchers and PSH are important to solving the problem of family homelessness
Keeping Families Together is an attempt to figure out how to match families to the right model so that the most expensive intervention is going to those families who most need it