Homelessness

Homelessness in America is a complex issue. On any given night, about 600,000 people are homeless. The population includes various subgroups, such as single adults and families, with a diverse set of needs, including mental health and substance abuse problems as well as other disabilities. In 1987, the Congress passed the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to address the multiple needs of homeless people. HUD is responsible for running several key McKinney Act programs, including the emergency shelter grants program, the supportive housing program, the shelter plus care program, and the Section 8 single-room occupancy program. For these four programs, HUD provides funds to state and local groups either through formula or competitive grants so that communities can develop housing and services for the homeless. This testimony discusses the (1) different program requirements for these four programs and the coordination and administrative challenges that they pose and (2) actions that HUD has taken to overcome these challenges.

GAO noted that: (1) each of HUD's four McKinney programs addresses a distinct need of a specific segment of the homeless population; (2) each of the four programs has its own set of eligibility and funding requirements that are established by the authorizing legislation; (3) these varying requirements have resulted in challenges for HUD in ensuring that adequate coordination occurs among the programs and that they are delivered efficiently without creating undue administrative burdens for the states and communities; (4) HUD has taken actions to overcome the coordination and administrative challenges that these separate programs with varying requirements pose; (5) to improve coordination, HUD developed a Continuum of Care model for homeless assistance that requires communities to implement a coordinated process for identifying the diverse needs of the homeless population in their area and developing systems to respond to these needs; (6) to address the needs identified in their Continuum of Care plans, communities can receive funds from all four of HUD's McKinney programs; (7) to help reduce the administrative burden of applying for three separate competitive grant programs, HUD streamlined the application process for the three programs and combined them into a single national competition, with a single application process, and similar timeframes and rating criteria; (8) HUD's actions have improved the coordination of homeless assistance programs within communities and have helped reduce some of the administrative burdens that separate programs cause; (9) however, additional efficiencies can only be achieved if the underlying differences between these programs are addressed; and (10) consolidation of HUD's McKinney programs can help further reduce the administrative burdens on communities if program eligibility and funding requirements are also streamlined and simplified.