HHS Will Provide Technical Assistance to States Addressing Homelessness

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are increasing access to federal programs and resources that address homelessness in eight states and Washington, DC.

The federal initiative, the Housing and Services Partnership Accelerator (Accelerator), will help states build partnerships across housing, disability, aging, and health sectors and improve housing-related services.

The program will provide technical assistance to states that follow the HHS guidance on clinically appropriate and evidence-based services that can be covered under Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

States can implement Medicaid section 1115 demonstrations to provide housing transition services and case management that helps avoid lease violations. States can also help connect people to HUD housing programs by covering short-term housing costs for certain cases, such as security deposits and rental application fees.

HHS and HUD announced the Accelerator in November 2023 as a competitive technical assistance opportunity for states. States could apply if they had approved Medicaid section 1115 demonstrations or section 1915(i) state plan amendments covering housing-related services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Part of the application process asked states to develop teams of their partners across the health, housing, and aging and disability sectors. In addition, states were asked to outline the implementation status of their housing-related services and supports covered by Medicaid, their goals under the program, and areas where they needed technical assistance.

Fifteen states and Washington, DC, applied for the program. After reviewing the applications, HHS and HUD selected Arizona, California, DC, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Washington to participate.

The chosen states and DC will receive federal technical assistance from HHS and HUD over the next twelve months. The departments will provide states with opportunities for peer-to-peer exchange to support their implementation of clinically indicated housing-related supports under their Medicaid programs. These services will help people with complex health needs facing or at risk of homelessness, including people with disabilities, older adults, those with mental health disorders or substance use disorders, and those with other chronic conditions.

With the federal technical assistance, states can work on improving the coordination and delivery of navigation services, one-time transition assistance, individualized case management, and home modifications that help those experiencing or at risk of homelessness obtain and maintain stable housing.

States not selected for the Accelerator can apply to participate in another technical assistance opportunity, the National Academy for State Health Policy’s Health and Housing Institute (HHI). The HHI supports states with federal-state-local strategies to boost access to safe, affordable housing and other services for people experiencing homelessness or housing instability.