Persons Served by Washington State Housing Assistance and Social Service Programs

Dec 2009 |
11.147
|
Online Library
Demographics, Use of Social Services, and Behavior

Washington State’s Department of Commerce and Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) began a collaboration in 2009 to determine how many people they jointly served and what kinds of services were provided. Information from Commerce’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) was linked to an Integrated Client Database for DSHS. This study finds that 81 percent of people who got housing recorded in HMIS in the first half of 2009 are currently or have been DSHS clients. Most children and youth who received housing assistance were on medical assistance in the prior year. Adult clients found in both HMIS and DSHS records were more likely than adult DSHS clients overall to get food and cash assistance and to have indicators of substance abuse and mental health problems.

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