Housing Services
Service Standard
Housing Services Service Standard print version
Texas Department of State Health Services, HIV Care Services Group – HIV/STD Program | Texas DSHS
Subcategories | Service Units |
---|---|
Care Services Housing Referral Services | Per 15 minutes |
Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Housing Referral Services | Per 15 minutes |
Housing Assistance – Emergency | Per day |
Housing Assistance – Short-term | Per day |
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Description
Housing provides transitional, short-term, or emergency housing assistance to enable a client or family to gain or maintain outpatient/ambulatory health services and treatment, including temporary assistance necessary to prevent experiencing homelessness and to gain or maintain access to medical care. Activities within the Housing category must also include the development of an individualized housing plan, updated annually, to guide the client’s linkage to permanent housing. Housing may provide some type of core medical (e.g., mental health services) or support services (e.g., residential substance use disorder services).
Housing activities also include housing referral services, including assessment, search, placement, and housing advocacy services on behalf of the eligible client, and fees associated with these activities.
Program Guidance
HRSA Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) recipients and subrecipients that use funds to provide Housing must have mechanisms in place to assess and document the housing status and housing service needs of new clients, and at least annually for existing clients.
HRSA RWHAP strongly encourages recipients and subrecipients, along with local decision-making planning bodies, to institute duration limits to housing activities. HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) recommends recipients and subrecipients align duration limits with those definitions used by other housing programs, such as those administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which currently uses 24 months for transitional housing.
Agencies should report housing referral activities performed by Ryan White-funded medical or non-medical case managers under the respective case management service category. Agencies should report referral services provided by Ryan White-funded housing specialists under the Housing service category.
Limitations
Housing services cannot provide direct cash payments to clients and cannot fund mortgage payments or rental deposits. HUD Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) grant awards may allow these costs.
Services
Eligible housing may include housing that:
- Provides some type of core medical or support services (such as mental health services, residential substance use disorder services, residential foster care, or assisted living residential services).
- Does not provide direct core medical or support services but is essential for a client or family to gain or maintain access to and adherence to HIV-related medical care and treatment.
Agencies may use funds under this category for the following housing-related expenditures:
- Housing referral services provided by a housing case manager or other professional who possesses a comprehensive knowledge of local, state, and federal housing programs and how these programs can be accessed. These services may include assessment, search, placement, and advocacy services.
- Emergency housing, defined as housing services provided in response to an unforeseen event that jeopardizes a household’s ability to pay housing costs. Assistance is limited to 1 month of rental and utility assistance within a contract year.
- Transitional housing, defined as housing support for a person experiencing homelessness that helps the client to gain or maintain access to medical care. Agencies may use funds for rental fees, application fees, or both; however, they may not use funds for rental deposits. Agencies may also use funds for transitional residential housing that provides core medical or support services. Transitional housing assistance is based on need and available resources and agencies should provide no more than 6 continuous months of funding within a contract year.
- Short-term assistance, defined as support for a person currently in housing but needing financial support for rent, utilities, or both to gain or maintain medical care.
Each HIV Service Delivery Area (HSDA) shall establish maximum amounts of emergency housing assistance, transitional housing assistance, and short-term housing assistance that are uniform throughout the HSDA. The HSDA should establish these through 1) planning councils (PCs) in areas where the PC determines recommended allocations for Ryan White Part B and State Services funds; or 2) by the Administrative Agency (AA) based on consumer input and planning processes in Ryan White Part B-only HSDAs.
Universal Standards
Service providers for Housing Services must follow HRSA and DSHS Universal Standards 1-52 and 159-164.
Service Standards and Measures
The following standards and measures are guides to improving healthcare outcomes for people living with HIV throughout the State of Texas within the Ryan White Part B and State Services Program.
Standard | Measure |
---|---|
Emergency Housing Assistance: Agency staff will initiate an intake within 3 business days of the onset of the emergency housing need. Staff must document assessment of client housing status and housing service needs. Reason(s) for emergency assistance may include but are not limited to:
The housing assessment must document the following:
|
1. Percentage of client charts with documentation of an intake that occurred within 3 business days of emergency need. 2. Percentage of client charts with an emergency housing needs assessment. 3. Percentage of client charts with documentation of follow-up conducted after 1 month to determine if the client is stably housed. (Pilot Measure) |
Housing Plan for Transitional and Short-Term Housing: Agencies must develop a housing plan for all clients receiving assistance for transitional or short-term housing that includes:
Staff must review the housing plan at least monthly and update the plan with progress toward housing goals. |
4. Percentage of client charts with a housing plan. 5. Percentage of client charts with housing plans updated at least monthly. |
Housing Referral Services: Housing-related referrals provided by housing assistance/referral providers should include a housing assessment, housing search, placement, and advocacy services to seek housing. This may include applications to other funding sources or housing-related visits to court systems. |
6. Percentage of client charts with documentation of all elements of housing referral services provided. 7. Percentage of clients with documentation of the outcome of referral services. (Pilot Measure) |
References
Division of Metropolitan HIV/AIDS Programs, HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB). Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) National Monitoring Standards for RWHAP Part A Recipients. Health Resources and Services Administration, June 2022.
Division of State HIV/AIDS Programs, HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB). Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) National Monitoring Standards for RWHAP Part B Recipients. Health Resources and Services Administration, June 2022.
HIV/AIDS Bureau Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Policy Clarification Notice 16-02: Eligible Individuals and Allowable Uses of Funds Housing Services Frequently Asked Questions. Health Resources & Services Administration, 6 June 2017.
Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. Policy Notice 16-02: Eligible Individuals & Allowable Uses of Funds. Health Resources & Services Administration, 22 Oct. 2018.