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Appendix A: Types of Programs Included in NSHAPC
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NSHAPC covered 16 different types of homeless assistance programs, defined as follows:
- Emergency shelter programs provide short-term housing on a first-come first-served basis where people must leave in the morning and have no guaranteed bed for the next night OR provide beds for a specified period of time, regardless of whether or not people leave the building. Facilities which provide temporary shelter during extremely cold weather (such as churches) and emergency shelters or host homes for runaway or neglected children and youth, and victims of domestic violence were also included.
- Transitional housing programs have a maximum stay for clients of two years and offer support services to promote self-sufficiency and to help them obtain permanent housing. They may target any homeless sub-population such as persons with mental illnesses, persons with AIDS, runaway youths, victims of domestic violence, homeless veterans, etc.
- Permanent housing programs for homeless people provide long-term housing assistance with support services for which homelessness is a primary requirement for program eligibility. Examples include the Shelter Plus Care Program, the Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Program for Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) Dwellings, and the Permanent Housing for the Handicapped Homeless Program administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These programs also include specific set-asides of assisted housing units or housing vouchers for homeless persons by public housing agencies or others as a matter of policy, or in connection with a specific program (e.g., the HUD-VA Supported Housing Program, "HUD-VASH"). A permanent housing program for homeless people does NOT include public housing, Section 8, or federal, state, or local housing assistance programs for low-income persons that do not include a specific set-aside for homeless persons, or for which homelessness is not a basic eligibility requirement.
- Voucher distribution programs provide homeless persons with a voucher, certificate, or coupon that can be redeemed to pay for a specific amount of time in a hotel, motel, or other similar facility.
- Programs that accept vouchers for temporary accommodation provide homeless persons with accommodation, usually in a hotel, motel, board and care, or other for-profit facility, in exchange for a voucher, certificate, or coupon offered by a homeless assistance program.
- Food pantry programs are programs which distribute uncooked food in boxes or bags directly to low income people, including homeless people.
- Soup kitchen programs include soup kitchens, food lines, and programs distributing prepared breakfasts, lunches, or dinners. These programs may be organized as food service lines, bag or box lunches, or tables where people are seated, then served by program personnel. These programs may or may not have a place to sit and eat the meal.
- Mobile food programs are programs which visit designated street locations for the primary purpose of providing food to homeless people.
- Physical health care programs provide health care to homeless persons, including health screenings, immunizations, treatment for acute health problems, and other services that address physical health issues. Services are often provided in shelters, soup kitchens, or other programs frequented by homeless people.
- Mental health care programs provide services for homeless persons to improve their mental or psychological health or their ability to function well on a day-to-day basis. Specific services may include case management, assertive community treatment, intervention or hospitalization during a moment of crisis, counseling, psychotherapy, psychiatric services, and psychiatric medication monitoring.
- Alcohol/drug programs provide services to assist a homeless individual to reduce his/her level of alcohol or other drug addiction, or to prevent substance abuse among homeless persons. This may include services such as detoxification services, sobering facilities, rehabilitation programs, counseling, treatment, and prevention and education services.
- HIV/AIDS programs provide services for homeless persons where the services provided specifically respond to the fact that clients have HIV/AIDS, or are at risk of getting HIV/AIDS. Services may include health assessment, adult day care, nutritional services, medications, intensive medical care when required, health, mental health, and substance abuse services, referral to other benefits and services, and HIV/AIDS prevention and education services.
- Drop-in center programs provide daytime services primarily for homeless persons such as television, laundry facilities, showers, support groups, and service referrals, but do not provide overnight accommodations.
- Outreach programs contact homeless persons in settings such as on the streets, in subways, under bridges, and in parks to offer food, blankets, or other necessities; to assess needs and attempt to engage them in services; to offer medical, mental health, and/or substance abuse services; and/or to offer other assistance on a regular basis (at least once a week) for the purpose of improving their health, mental health, or social functioning, or increasing their use of human services and resources. Services may be provided during the day or at night.
- Migrant housing is housing that is seasonally occupied by migrating farm workers. During off-season periods it may be vacant and available for use by homeless persons.
- Other programs: providers could describe other programs they offered, as long as the programs met the basic NSHAPC definition of a homeless assistance program. Types of programs actually identified through the survey include housing/financial assistance (e.g., from Community Action, county welfare, or housing agencies); Emergency Food and Shelter Program agencies; job training for the homeless, clothing distribution, and other programs.
Appendix Table A1:
Number of NSHAPC Programs by Type of Agency Operating ProgramsTotal Number of Programs Faith-Based Non-Profit Secular Non-Profit Government For-Profit Unidentified All Program Types 39,664 12,599 18,751 5,324 243 2,747 Housing 15,879 3,783 8,664 1,924 120 1,388 Emergency Shelter 5,687 1,520 3,480 320 11 356 Transitional Shelter 4,395 1,181 2,535 433 62 184 Permanent Housing 1,918 205 980 534 17 181 Distribute Vouchers 3,080 743 1,361 523 10 443 Housing For Vouchers 799 134 307 114 20 224 Food 13,003 6,907 4,858 645 50 542 Soup Kitchen/Meal Distribution 3,484 2,131 1,057 95 3 197 Food Pantry 9,028 4,628 3,560 548 42 249 Mobile Food 491 148 241 1 5 96 Health 2,739 131 1,034 1,241 17 317 Physical Health Care 715 42 215 420 0 38 Mental Health 801 9 250 519 4 18 Alcohol or Drug 778 61 363 183 5 165 HIV/AIDS 446 18 206 119 7 96 Other 8,043 1,778 4,195 1,515 56 499 Outreach 3,307 505 1,922 579 19 281 Drop-In Center 1,790 450 1,083 129 5 123 Financial/Housing Assist. 1,378 277 452 625 1 24 Other 1,568 546 738 182 31 71 Source: Urban Institute analysis of NSHAPC program data. Data represent "an average day in February 1996." Appendix Table A1a:
Number of NSHAPC Programs by Urban/Rural StatusTotal Number of Programs Faith-Based Non-Profit Secular Non-Profit Government For-Profit Unidentified All Program Types 39,664 12,599 18,751 5,324 243 2,747 Central Cities All 19,388 7,143 8,902 1,915 133 1,294 Housing 7,894 2,263 4,244 759 62 565 Food 6,018 3,815 1,704 157 10 331 Health 1,379 104 783 402 10 80 Other 4,097 961 2,170 598 50 317 Suburbs All 7,694 2,702 3,696 571 82 642 Housing 3,230 781 1,731 281 58 380 Food 3,020 1,601 1,208 80 12 119 Health 251 7 128 80 6 29 Other 1,192 312 630 131 5 114 Rural Areas All 12,583 2,754 6,153 2,838 28 811 Housing 4,754 738 2,689 884 0 443 Food 3,965 1,491 1,946 408 28 92 Health 1,110 20 123 759 0 208 Other 2,754 505 1,395 787 0 68 Source: Urban Institute analysis of NSHAPC program data. Data represent "an average day in February 1996." Appendix Table A1b:
Number of NSHAPC Programs by Region of the CountryTotal Number of Programs Faith-Based Non-Profit Secular Non-Profit Government For-Profit Unidentified All Program Types 39,664 12,599 18,751 5,324 243 2,747 Northeast All 7,097 2,032 3,807 718 40 500 Housing 2,870 472 1,759 369 17 254 Food 2,401 1,275 893 85 11 137 Health 306 20 211 43 2 29 Other 1,521 265 944 220 10 81 South All 11,101 4,333 4,516 1,515 53 686 Housing 4,309 1,293 2,166 446 49 356 Food 4,113 2,391 1,326 252 1 142 Health 863 40 232 492 1 97 Other 1,817 608 791 325 2 91 Midwest All 11,853 3,741 5,184 1,915 57 956 Housing 4,678 1,146 2,229 790 17 496 Food 3,945 2,155 1,352 266 31 142 Health 736 20 292 261 0 162 Other 2,494 419 1,311 598 9 157 West All 9,333 2,404 5,097 1,162 92 580 Housing 3,892 825 2,447 312 38 270 Food 2,478 1,050 1,264 41 6 117 Health 816 49 283 439 14 30 Other 2,147 480 1,101 369 34 163 Source: Urban Institute analysis of NSHAPC program data. Data represent "an average day in February 1996."
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Appendix B: Ways That Government Financially Supports Faith-Based Social Services
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Luis Lugo, Director of the Religion Program at the Pew Charitable Trusts, has developed a nine-point scale in describing the variety of ways that the government can support faith-based agencies in organizations in their delivery of social welfare services. The nine types of government support — ordered from high to low in terms of general public approval — are:(24)
- The president and other leaders trumpet the success of innovative and effective faith-based programs, encouraging citizens, corporations and foundations to increase their support for these efforts.
- Citizens and corporations directly support their favorite charities, including religiously affiliated nonprofits (i.e., 501(c)(3)s) and congregations, and receive a tax deduction. A new study by Price-WaterhouseCoopers estimates that President Bush’s proposal to extend the charitable deduction to the 85 million taxpayers who do not itemize their taxes could stimulate an additional $14.6 billion a year in charitable giving, with the lion’s share going to religious organizations.
- Citizens and corporations directly support their favorite charities, including religious nonprofits and congregations, and receive a tax credit. For example, President Bush is encouraging states to provide a tax credit (up to 50 percent of the first $500 for individuals and $1,000 for married couples) against state income or other taxes for donations to charities — whether secular or religious — that are battling poverty and its effects. (Note: This proposal could become quite controversial if federal welfare dollars were to be used to offset the cost of these credits.)
- State and local government job training and juvenile delinquency programs have recruited volunteers from churches as mentors. Conversely, a federal volunteer program, AmeriCorps, placed nearly 6,000 of the total 40,000 positions in 2000 in religious nonprofits such as the Catholic Network for Volunteer Service and the National Jewish Coalition for Literacy.
- Religiously affiliated nonprofits such as Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities USA have received billions of public dollars to run a variety of social service programs, including Head Start, emergency shelters, adoption services and refugee resettlement.
- Government provides both in-kind, non-cash assistance and formula grant support to religiously affiliated nonprofits. In-kind assistance often is provided informally, for example, by allowing a welfare-to-work program to use a desk in the county welfare office and copying program brochures. Formula grants designate money for specific resources, for instance, computers for qualified low-income housing projects, according to objective, non-discretionary criteria (usually, the number of clients served). While these grants are made to 501(c)(3)s), both religious and secular, these organizations often redistribute funds to on-the-ground programs, including church-based social services.
- A large secular nonprofit such as Goodwill Industries with the administrative capacity and experience to work with the government signs a contract to provide social services, and in turn subcontracts some of the services to other organizations, including church-based ministries.
- Government provides clients with certificates or vouchers, and they in turn select the provider of their choice, including church-based social service ministries. Vouchers are a restricted subsidy that falls between cash and direct government provision of services, and are currently used in higher education, child care, job training, housing and health care.
- The newest, and most controversial, option is made possible by the charitable choice provision of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. Charitable choice permits churches, synagogues and mosques as well as other pervasively religious organizations to compete for government contracts on the same basis as secular, non-governmental service providers, but prohibits the use of public funds for religious worship or proselytizing as well as discrimination among clients on the basis of religious belief. However, congregations may continue to use religion as a criterion for personnel decisions, as under current law.
Appendix Table B1:
Unweighted Number of NSHAPC Programs by Type of Agency Operating ProgramsTotal Number of Programs Faith-Based Non-Profit Secular Non-Profit Government For-Profit Unidentified All Program Types 11,983 3,880 5,888 1,162 103 950 Housing 5,035 1,236 2,811 497 64 427 Emergency Shelter 1,692 524 974 91 12 91 Transitional Shelter 1,728 425 1,056 141 20 86 Permanent Housing 751 105 452 110 12 72 Distribute Vouchers 572 147 229 91 3 102 Housing For Vouchers 292 35 100 64 17 76 Food 3,860 2,065 1,418 128 11 238 Soup Kitchen/Meal Distribution 1,278 723 430 37 3 85 Food Pantry 2,414 1,272 922 90 7 123 Mobile Food 168 70 66 1 1 30 Health 769 55 429 205 10 70 Physical Health Care 168 11 93 48 0 16 Mental Health 214 9 115 75 2 13 Alcohol or Drug 210 26 119 42 5 18 HIV/AIDS 177 9 102 40 3 23 Other 2,319 524 1,230 332 18 215 Outreach 1,113 210 615 174 8 106 Drop-In Center 584 156 316 42 2 68 Financial/Housing Assist. 151 42 54 46 1 8 Other 471 116 245 70 7 33 Source: Urban Institute analysis of NSHAPC program data. Data represent "an average day in February 1996." Appendix Table B1a:
Unweighted Number of NSHAPC Programs by Urban/Rural StatusTotal Number of Programs Faith-Based Non-Profit Secular Non-Profit Government For-Profit Unidentified All Program Types 11,983 3,880 5,888 1,162 103 950 Central Cities All 7,763 2,590 3,769 721 70 613 Housing 3,235 843 1,795 290 45 262 Food 2,385 1,348 798 75 6 158 Health 556 47 320 144 6 39 Other 1,587 352 856 212 13 154 Suburbs All 3,778 1,173 1,912 358 32 303 Housing 1,608 358 913 171 19 147 Food 1,342 655 565 43 4 75 Health 186 7 103 47 4 25 Other 642 153 331 97 5 56 Rural Areas All 441 117 207 83 1 33 Housing 191 35 103 36 0 17 Food 133 62 55 10 1 5 Health 27 1 6 14 0 6 Other 90 19 43 23 0 5 Source: Urban Institute analysis of NSHAPC program data. Data represent "an average day in February 1996." Appendix Table B1b:
Unweighted Number of NSHAPC Programs by Region of the CountryTotal Number of Programs Faith-Based Non-Profit Secular Non-Profit Government For-Profit Unidentified All Program Types 11,983 3,880 5,888 1,162 103 950 Northeast All 3,090 908 1,640 294 19 229 Housing 1,308 248 793 153 12 102 Food 1,073 559 401 44 3 66 Health 183 10 123 30 2 18 Other 526 91 323 67 2 43 South All 2,155 859 922 221 12 141 Housing 906 287 460 91 8 60 Food 704 433 214 15 1 41 Health 126 12 65 38 1 10 Other 419 127 183 77 2 30 Midwest All 2,876 1,093 1,263 274 23 223 Housing 1,130 320 586 109 17 98 Food 1,056 619 344 35 4 54 Health 147 13 69 48 0 17 Other 543 141 264 82 2 54 West All 3,660 962 1,957 359 48 334 Housing 1,592 350 920 138 27 157 Food 982 433 442 34 2 71 Health 300 20 164 84 7 25 Other 786 159 431 103 12 81 Source: Urban Institute analysis of NSHAPC program data. Data represent "an average day in February 1996." 24. This list is drawn directly from a recent publication by the Pew Charitable Trusts (Lugo 2001).
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