Updated Definition of Chronic Homelessness
HUD
Released the
Final Rule on Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing:
Defining “Chronically Homeless” on 12/4/15.
The final rule defines chronic homelessness as follows:
(1) A ‘‘homeless individual with a disability’’:
i.
Lives in a place not meant for human habitation,
a safe haven, or in an emergency shelter; and
ii.
Has been homeless and living as described in
paragraph (1)(i) above continuously for at least 12 months or on at least 4
separate occasions in the last 3 years, as long as the combined occasions equal
at least 12 months and each break in homelessness separating the occasions
included at least 7 consecutive nights of not living as described in paragraph
(1)(i) above. Stays in institutional care facilities for fewer than 90 days
will not constitute as a break in homelessness, but rather such stays are
included in the 12-month total, as long as the individual was living or residing
in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or an emergency
shelter immediately before entering the institutional care facility;
(2) An individual who has been residing in an institutional care facility, including
a jail, substance abuse or mental health treatment facility, hospital, or other
similar facility, for fewer than 90 days and met all of the criteria in
paragraph (1) of this definition, before entering that facility; or
(3) A
family with an adult head of household (or if there is no adult in the family,
a minor head of household) who meets all of the criteria in paragraph (1) or
(2) of this definition, including a family whose composition has fluctuated
while the head of household has been homeless.
Definition of Disability
Disabling
Condition:
(1)
A condition that: (i) Is expected to be long-continuing or of indefinite
duration; (ii) Substantially impedes the individual’s ability to live
independently; (iii) Could be improved by the provision of more suitable
housing conditions; and (iv) Is a physical, mental, or emotional impairment, including an impairment caused
by alcohol or drug abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, or brain injury; (2)
A developmental disability, as defined in this section; or (3) The disease of
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or any conditions arising from the
etiologic agent for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, including infection
with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Record Keeping Requirements
The final rule also establishes the following Recordkeeping requirements.
(4) The recipient
must maintain and follow written intake procedures to ensure compliance with
the chronically homeless definition. The
procedures must require documentation at intake of the evidence relied upon to establish
and verify chronically homeless status. The procedures must establish the order
of priority for obtaining evidence as third-party documentation first, intake
worker observations second, and certification from the person seeking
assistance third. Records contained in an HMIS, or comparable database used by
victim service or legal service providers, are acceptable evidence of
third-party documentation and intake worker observations if the HMIS, or
comparable database, retains an auditable history of all entries, including the
person who entered the data, the date of entry, and the change made, and if the
HMIS prevents overrides or changes of the dates on which entries are made.
(i) Evidence that the individual is a ‘‘homeless
individual with a disability’’ must include:
A.
Evidence of homeless status as set forth in
paragraph (a)(3) of this section; and
B.
Evidence of a disability. The procedures must
require documentation at intake of the evidence relied upon to establish and
verify the disability of the person applying for homeless assistance. The
recipient must keep these records for 5 years after the end of the grant term.
Acceptable evidence of the disability includes:
1. Written verification of the disability from a professional
licensed by the state to diagnose and treat the disability and his or her
certification that the disability is expected to be long continuing or of
indefinite duration and substantially impedes the individual’s ability to live
independently;
2. Written verification from the Social Security Administration;
3. The receipt of a disability check (e.g., Social Security
Disability Insurance check or Veteran Disability Compensation);
4. Intake staff-recorded observation of disability that, no later
than 45 days from the application for assistance, is confirmed and accompanied
by evidence described under numbers 1 through 3 above.
5. Other documentation approved by HUD.
(ii) Evidence that the individual lives in a
place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or an emergency shelter, which
includes:
A. An HMIS record or record
from a comparable database;
B. A written observation by an
outreach worker of the conditions where the individual was living;
C. A written referral by
another housing or service provider; or
D.
Where
evidence in described in A through C above cannot be obtained, a certification
by the individual seeking assistance, which must be accompanied by the intake worker’s
documentation of the living situation of the individual or family seeking
assistance and the steps taken to obtain evidence in A through C directly above. (SEE LIMITATIONS ON USE OF SELF-CERTIFICATION EVIDENCE BELOW)
(iii) Evidence must meet the following conditions:
A.
Third-party documentation of a single encounter
with a homeless service provider on a single day within 1 month is sufficient
to consider an individual as homeless and living or residing in a place not
meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or an emergency shelter for the
entire calendar month (e.g., an encounter on May 5, 2015, counts for May 1—May
31, 2015), unless there is evidence that there have been at least 7 consecutive
nights not living or residing in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe
haven, or an emergency shelter during that month (e.g., evidence in HMIS of a stay
in transitional housing);
B.
Each break in homelessness of at least 7
consecutive nights not living or residing in a place not meant for human habitation,
a safe haven, or in an emergency shelter between separate occasions must be
documented with the evidence described in paragraphs (a)(4)(ii)(A) through (D)
of this section (highlighted
in yellow above)
C.
Evidence of stays in institutional care
facilities fewer than 90 days included in the total of at least 12 months of
living or residing in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or
an emergency shelter must include the evidence in paragraphs (a)(4)(iv)(A)
through (B) of this section (highlighted
in green below) and evidence described in paragraphs (a)(4)(ii)(A)
through (D) of this section (highlighted
in yellow above) that the individual was living or residing in a place
not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or an emergency shelter
immediately prior to entering the institutional care facility; and
D.
For at least 75 percent of the chronically
homeless individuals and families assisted by a recipient in a project during
an operating year, no more than 3 months of living or residing in a place not
meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or an emergency shelter may be
documented using a certification by the individual seeking assistance. This
limitation does not apply to documentation of breaks in homelessness between separate
occasions, which may be documented entirely based on a self-report by the
individual seeking assistance.
(iv) If an individual qualifies as chronically
homeless under paragraph (2) of the ‘‘Chronically homeless’’ definition in §
578.3 because he or she has been residing in an institutional care facility for
fewer than 90 days and met all of the criteria in paragraph (1) of the
definition, before entering that
facility, evidence must include the following:
A. Discharge paperwork or a
written or oral referral from a social worker, case manager, or other
appropriate official of the institutional care facility stating the beginning
and end dates of the time residing in the institutional care facility. All oral
statements must be recorded by the intake worker; or
B. Where the evidence in paragraph
(a)(4)(iv)(A) of this section is not obtainable, a written record of the intake
worker’s due diligence in attempting to obtain the evidence described in paragraph
“A” directly above and a certification by the individual seeking assistance
that states that he or she is exiting or has just exited an institutional care
facility where he or she resided for fewer than 90 days; and
C.
Evidence that the individual lived in a place
not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or in an emergency shelter immediately
prior to entry into the institutional care facility.
(v) If a family qualifies as chronically homeless,
evidence must demonstrate that the adult head of household (or if there is no
adult in the family, a minor head of household) met all of the criteria of
chronic homelessness.
Timeline for Implementation
Continuum of Care Program recipients must
comply with the regulations promulgated by this rule for all program
participants admitted after January 15,
2016. The regulations promulgated by this rule do not apply retroactively
to program participants admitted to a Continuum of Care Program project prior
to January 15, 2016.
Link
to Full Text of the Final Rule
The full text of the final rule
defining chronic homelessness can be found at this link:
