2013 Housing Inventory Count and Point-In-Time Count of Homeless
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December 2012 Version 1.0 201 3 Housing Inventory Count and Point-in-Time Count of Homeless Persons: Supplemental Guidance on Counting Homeless Youth TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Purpose of this Guidance ............................................................................................................ 2 2. Supplemental HIC Guidance For Youth Programs ...................................................................... 3 2.1 Including Homeless Youth Programs on the HIC .................................................................. 3 2.2 Bed/Unit Inventory Data ....................................................................................................... 4 3. Supplemental PIT Guidance for Homeless Youth ....................................................................... 6 3.1 Homeless Youth to Include in the PIT Count ........................................................................ 6 3.2 Changes to PIT Count Reporting of Children and Youth ....................................................... 6 3.3 Strategies to Include Homeless Youth in PIT Count .............................................................. 7 Appendix A – DHHS-Runaway and Homeless Youth Program Grantees ........................................ 8 2013 HIC/PIT Supplemental Youth Guidance Page 1 December 2012 1. PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDANCE In 2013, HUD is emphasizing the importance of including homeless youth programs in the Housing Inventory Count (HIC) and homeless youth in the Point-in-Time (PIT) count. Youth includes persons who are less than 25 years of age. This supplemental guidance provides information on HIC and PIT reporting requirements for homeless youth and the programs that serve them, as well as strategies to ensure that all homeless children and youth who should be included in the PIT count are counted. If you have any questions regarding the HIC or the PIT count that are not covered in this guidance or in the 2013 HIC and PIT Count Data Collection Guidance, please visit the Virtual Help Desk on HUD’s Homelessness Resource Exchange (HRE) (http://www.hudhre.info/helpdesk). You should first refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to see if your question has been previously addressed, and if it has not, you may submit a question. To submit a question, select “HDX” for the Program/System under “Your Details,” then under “Question Details,” choose either HIC or PIT as the topic and subtopic. 2013 HIC/PIT Supplemental Youth Guidance Page 2 December 2012 2. SUPPLEMENTAL HIC GUIDANCE FOR YOUTH PROGRAMS 2.1 Including Homeless Youth Programs on the HIC CoCs are reminded that beds and units included on the HIC are considered part of the CoC homeless system. Beds and units in the HIC must be dedicated to serving homeless persons. For the purposes of the HIC, a provider program with dedicated beds/units is one where 1) the primary intent of the program is to serve homeless persons, 2) the program verifies homeless status as part of its eligibility determination, and 3) the actual program clients are predominantly homeless. For additional explanation, refer or in the 2013 HIC and PIT Count Data Collection Guidance. It is critical that CoCs coordinate with and include programs that provide shelter to homeless children and youth in the HIC. Specifically, CoCs should be sure to coordinate with local programs funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) Program when planning and conducting their HIC. A list of current RHY grantees by city and state is included in Appendix A. RHY programs provide housing to homeless youth through short-term shelter, longer-term transitional living programs, and maternity group homes, and also support youth through street outreach efforts. CoCs should identify and contact RHY-funded youth homeless providers to participate in planning and conducting the HIC and PIT counts. By engaging RHY programs in the HIC, CoCs will be able to collect more complete data on the emergency shelter and transitional housing programs that provide dedicated beds and units for homeless youth. The table below provides a summary of how RHY-funded programs should be included in the HIC and PIT count. 2013 HIC/PIT Supplemental Youth Guidance Page 3 December 2012 Youth Provider Programs to Include in the HIC and PIT Count HIC Provider Provider Programs Instructions Include PIT Include PIT Program to Include data on the data in PIT Type HIC? sheltered count? Emergency shelters Include all emergency Yes Yes for homeless youth shelters for homeless youth funded by federal, state and Emergency local public and private Shelter sources RHY Basic Center Include all HHS RHY- Yes Yes Programs (BCP) funded Basic Center Programs Transitional housing Include all transitional Yes Yes provider programs housing provider programs for homeless youth for homeless youth funded by Federal, State, and local public and private sources RHY Transitional Include all HHS RHY- Yes Yes Living Programs funded Transitional Living (TLP) Programs Transitional RHY Maternity Include all HHS RHY- Yes Yes Housing Group Homes for funded Maternity Group Pregnant and Homes for Pregnant and Parenting Youth Parenting Youth (MGH) RHY Support Include all HHS RHY- Yes Yes System for Rural funded Support Systems for Homeless Youth Rural Homeless Youth that (Demo TLP) provide dedicated beds for homeless youth Permanent Include all permanent Yes No supportive housing supportive housing Permanent provider programs programs for homeless Supportive for homeless youth youth funded by Federal, Housing State and local public and private sources 2.2 Bed/Unit Inventory Data Provider programs that serve youth and have inventory dedicated for homeless youth should ensure corresponding bed and unit inventory data is collected and included on the HIC in the appropriate Household Type category: Households without Children, Households with at Least One Adult and One Child, and Households with Only Children. 2013 HIC/PIT Supplemental Youth Guidance Page 4 December 2012 The following table outlines the appropriate Household Type for provider programs with dedicated beds and units for homeless youth. Household Type for Children and Youth Household Type Description Households without Beds and units that are dedicated to serving homeless households that include Children only youth age 18 to 24. Households with at Beds and units that are dedicated to serving homeless households that include at Least One Adult least one youth age 18 to 24 and at least one child. and One Child Households with Beds and units that are dedicated to serving homeless households that include Only Children only children. This includes one-child households and multi-child households or other households configurations composed of only children (e.g., adolescent parents and their children, adolescent siblings, or other household configurations composed only of children). Note that your CoC’s HMIS may not yet have the ability to export bed information for the Households with Only Children category. Information about beds for provider programs in this category may need to be collected for each program and entered manually in HDX during the HIC/PIT submission process. CoCs should not include beds in the HIC dedicated for children who are in foster care, are wards of the state, or who are otherwise under government custody or supervision. For provider programs that serve child-only households, but do not have dedicated beds for such households, the total number of beds may be pro-rated or distributed using one of the following methodologies: Divide the beds based on how the bed(s) were used on the night of the HIC. If the facility is not at full capacity on the night of the count, then extrapolate the distribution based on the pro-rated distribution of those who are served on the night of the count. Divide the beds based on average utilization. For example, a provider program has 20 beds. If on average one-half of the beds are used by youth in the foster care system and the other half are used by homeless youth who are not wards of the state, then include only the 10 beds for homeless youth who are not wards of the state. 2013 HIC/PIT Supplemental Youth Guidance Page 5 December 2012 3. SUPPLEMENTAL PIT GUIDANCE FOR HOMELESS YOUTH 3.1 Homeless Youth to Include in the PIT Count CoCs should include all homeless youth in their sheltered and unsheltered PIT counts that meet the criteria described in paragraph 1 of the Homeless Definition Final Rule and who are NOT in foster care, wards of the state, or otherwise under government custody or supervision as of the night designated for the count. For the sheltered count, CoCs should include all youth who meet the criteria described in paragraph 1.ii of the Homeless Definition Final Rule. This includes youth who are “living in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangement (including congregate shelters, transitional housing, and hotels and motels paid for by charitable organizations or by federal, state, or local government programs for low-income individuals)” on the night designated for the count. For the unsheltered count, CoCs should include all youth who meet the criteria described in paragraph 1.i of the Homeless Definition Final Rule. This includes youth “with a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building,