Research & Evaluation
 0

The Supportive Housing and Managed Care Pilot

Chronically homeless families and individuals are among the "hardest to serve" segment of the human services population. They are frequent users of services, costly to serve, and services may be ineffective because of multiple barriers, such as mental illness, physical illness, or chemical dependency.

The National Center is designing and conducting an independent evaluation of Hearth Connection's five-year Supportive Housing and Managed Care Pilot (the Pilot Project). Hearth Connection is an independent nonprofit agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota whose sole purpose is conducting the Pilot Project. The goal of the Pilot Project is to help individuals and families who are chronically homeless in Minnesota live healthier and more productive lives. To accomplish this, Hearth Connection supports local agencies coordinate access to affordable housing, health care, employment, and social services for single adults and families whose homelessness is exacerbated by other difficulties such as mental illness, addiction, health problems and histories of abuse.

The role of The National Center is to determine if and how the Pilot Project is successful in improving the lives of homeless individuals and families. The evaluation will establish whether there was a reduction in participants' use of costly public programs and provide detailed information on outcomes such as participant housing status, quality of life, and satisfaction with services. It will document the evolution of the pilot over time, its impact on systems, agencies and individuals, and provide interim feedback to improve the pilot program as it progresses. Through this evaluation, The National Center will guide Hearth Connection and the State of Minnesota in creating an effective system to serve homeless people, and ensure that homeless individuals and families have opportunities to live happy and healthy lives.

Pilot Project sites include: Project Quest at Amherst H. Wilder Foundation (Saint Paul, MN); Delancey Street at Guild, Inc. (Saint Paul, MN); Project Homeward at Mental Health Resources Inc. (Saint Paul, MN); Journey Home at Blue Earth County Human Services (Mankato, MN); and STEP at Blue Earth County Human Services (Mankato, MN).

To download information about the Supportive Housing and Managed Care Pilot program please click the following links: