A recent proposal to permit an unlimited expansion of the Moving to Work (MTW) demonstration, which now exempts 35 housing agencies from nearly all federal housing laws and regulations, risks deep cuts to housing assistance over time. Read more or if you can’t hide, then insert link and cut to here. The proposal could lead a very large share of the nation’s 3,900 state and local housing agencies to convert their Housing Choice Voucher and public housing funding streams to Moving to Work block grants. Large-scale conversions to MTW block grants would likely lead over time to even deeper cuts in program funding. Funding for the four major housing block grant programs has declined sharply in relation to other low-income housing programs over the past decade. Together, those four block grants have lost fully 38 percent of their value since 2001, after adjusting for inflation.
Cash assistance benefits are now at least 20 percent below their 1996 levels in 34 states after adjusting for inflation. While most states froze benefit levels in 2011, six states and the District of Columbia cut them, reducing assistance for more than 700,000 low-income families that represent over one-third of all low-income families receiving such assistance nationwide. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3625&emailView=1
Federal agencies lack adequate data on the characteristics and needs of homeless women veterans on a national, state, and local level. VA does not have the information needed to plan services effectively, allocate grants to providers, and track progress toward its overall goal of ending veteran homelessness by 2015.
Findings:
The number of women veterans identified as homeless more than doubled, from 1,380 in fiscal year 2006 to 3,328 in fiscal year 2010. Although these data are not generalizable to all homeless women veterans, the General Accounting Office identified that almost two-thirds were between 40 and 59 years old; more than one-third had disabilities; and many resided with their minor children.
Homeless women veterans were not always aware of veteran housing services, which posed a significant barrier to access. Women veterans waited an average of 4 months before securing HUD-VASH housing. Without referrals for shelter or temporary housing during these waits, homeless women veterans may be at risk of physical harm and further trauma on the streets or in other unsafe places.
Lack of housing for women with children is a significant barrier to accessing veteran housing.
Homeless women veterans also cited safety concerns about housing, and some programs indicated incidents of sexual harassment or assault on women residents in the past 5 years. To ensure that women veterans are safely housed, the Secretary of VA should determine what gender-specific safety and security standards are needed, especially for those serving both women and men.
For more information, contact Daniel Bertoni at (202) 512-7215 or bertonid@gao.gov.
A recent study analyzed the demographic characteristics and labor force attachment of households receiving assistance under the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. This highlights the need for state-funded housing assistance. Major findings include:
Elderly or disabled households make up nearly half (49 percent) of all voucher households, a significant increase over the past decade.
Three-fourths of the voucher households that are not elderly or disabled either work or participate in other programs that have work requirements.
A few communities around the state have been working on and/or implemented a universal application for supportive housing. CCEH staff has been getting together with our partners in Bridgeport and the CoC/TYPs from Stamford, Norwalk and New Haven while they work on a universal application with assistance from the Southeastern CT Partnership, which implemented their version of a universal application some time ago. For more information, or to get your CoC/TYP representatives involved, please contact, Tracy Helin, thelin@cceh.org
During the early December Project Homeless Connect event in Bridgeport, the first applications were taken from clients and a screening team has been established to direct them appropriately.
Other communities are close to implementing their versions of the universal application and more are getting involved. This effort will serve multiple purposes in the near and distant future, including:
Meeting HEARTH guidelines, eventually resulting in community-wide coordinated intake systems.
Lining up with Opening Doors recommendations.
Most importantly, providing the quickest possible housing solutions for people who are experiencing homelessness.
