State of Illinois’ Department of Human Service (IDHS) Funding
IDHS Homeless Prevention Funding
Background:
The Lake County Coalition for the Homeless (LCCH) allocates funds for the State of Illinois’ Department of Human Services (IDHS) for the Homeless Prevention Program. The amount of funding has been verified by the state to be $881,999.
The Strategic Planning and System Performance (SPSP) Committee recommended an open funding round with a call for letters of interest.
Additionally, SPSP Committee asked the Funding Work Group to consider the following:
Consideration of prior year spending levels with consideration for first-year grants which may have additional difficulty.
Funding Recommendation:
The Funding Work Group reviewed the LOIs and determined the allocation recommendation according to the SPSP guidance and the guidelines provided by IDHS. There were three responses to the Letter of Intent.
Last year Lake County Housing Authority launched a pilot program to provide rental assistance, drawing on the success of this pilot the Funding Work Group is looking to them to expand this service. PADS Lake County proposed piloting a program to provide rental assistance. The Funding Work Group believes legal services are an important part of homeless prevention therefore Prairie State Legal Services was recommended for funding.
The Funding Work Group presents the following award amounts:
DHS Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG)
Background:
The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) works closely with the CoC to obtain recommendations for ESG funding. Regular ESG funding coming from the state has not yet been announced for FY2025. Initial recommendations are based on flat funding from FY2024 with a total of $133,146.
The Strategic Planning and System Performance (SPSP) Committee considered various factors in determining the best use of funds.
HMIS is crucial to ensure that homeless clients are matched to housing resources.
The shelter systems continue to be a crucial piece of the homeless response system and ESG is one of the few federal funding sources that can fund emergency shelter.
IDHS requires a minimum grant of $25,000.
After reviewing several funding scenarios, the SPSP committee determined that the best use of the funding would be funding HMIS and funding emergency shelter up to the 60% cap. Additionally, the Funding Work Group was asked to consider cost per output and cost per outcome for each program. Admin for ESG will be retained by Lake County.
Funding Recommendation:
The Funding Work Group recommends funding all three shelter providers to reach the shelter cap of 60%.
With the limitations in funding availability, sixty percent of available funds going towards Shelter and the requirement of a minimum of $25,000 per grant awarded, Funding Work Group does not recommend funding both Rapid Rehousing providers. The Funding Work Group considered past grants awarded to make their decision.
Once funding amounts are announced, if the total amount increases, Funding Work Group has determined to continue to put funds towards to 60% Shelter Cap by awarding those additional funds to PADS Lake County, as a high-capacity provider of Shelter. If the total amount equals or exceeds $25,000, the Funding Work Group will reconvene to determine the awarded amounts.
The Funding Work Group presents the following award amounts:
Home Illinois
Background:
After the release of the Letter of Intent, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) issued notification that there are no needed recommendations from the Continuum of Care at this time. Proposed funding allocations are relatively similar to prior years. IDHS will work directly with funding recipients to complete needed paperwork for HOME Illinois funding.