HOMELESSNESS

Fragmentation and 

Overlap in Programs 

Highlight the Need to 

Identify, Assess, and 

Reduce Inefficiencies

Report to Congressional Committees

May 2012

GAO-12-491

United States Government Accountability Office

GAO
United States Government Accountability Office

Highlights of GAO-12-491, a report to 

congressional committees 

May 2012

HOMELESSNESS

Fragmentation and Overlap in Programs Highlight the Need 

to Identify, Assess, and Reduce Inefficiencies 

Why GAO Did This Study

Federal programs for those 

experiencing or at risk for 

homelessness generally are designed 

to provide housing assistance and 

other services such as health care, job 

training, or food assistance. This report 

responds to the statutory requirement 

that GAO identify federal programs, 

agencies, offices, and initiatives that 

have duplicative goals or activities and

addresses (1) the number of and 

funding levels for federal 

homelessness programs and the 

extent to which fragmentation, overlap, 

and duplication exists; (2) whether the 

programs have been evaluated; and 

(3) actions of the Interagency Council

and federal agencies to coordinate 

efforts and the extent to which the 

federal strategic plan to prevent and 

end homelessness is an effective 

strategy. To address these objectives, 

GAO sent questionnaires to10 federal 

agencies and obtained and analyzed 

data for a range of programs. 

What GAO Recommends

The Interagency Council and the Office 

of Management and Budget––in 

conjunction with HHS, HUD, Labor, 

and VA, should further analyze the 

degree and effects of overlap and 

fragmentation. VA agreed with this

recommendation. HHS, HUD, Labor, 

and the Council did not explicitly agree 

or disagree. We also recommended 

that the Council incorporate additional 

elements into updates to the federal 

strategic plan or in implementation and 

planning documents. The Council 

stated it has been setting priorities and 

measuring progress, but was unable to 

provide documentation. GAO 

maintains its position and that the 

implementation of the federal strategic 

plan be made more transparent. 

What GAO Found

Homelessness programs are fragmented across multiple agencies and some 

show evidence of overlap. In fiscal year 2010, eight federal agencies obligated

roughly $2.8 billion to administer 26 homelessness programs. Three agencies—

the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban 

Development (HUD), and Veterans Affairs (VA)—are responsible for the majority

of programs and dollars, 22 of 26 programs, and 89 percent of total funds. GAO 

found that these agencies and the Department of Labor (Labor) have multiple 

programs that offer similar services to similar beneficiaries. Fragmentation of 

services and overlap in some programs is partly due to their legislative creation 

and partly due to programs evolving to offer services that meet the variety of 

needs of persons experiencing homelessness. Fragmentation and overlap can

lead to inefficient use of resources. For example, both HHS and VA have 

programs that provide similar services, but each agency separately manages its 

programs under different administrative units. In addition, some local service 

providers told us that managing multiple applications and reporting requirements 

was burdensome, difficult, and costly. Moreover, according to providers, persons 

experiencing homelessness have difficulties navigating services that are 

fragmented across agencies. 

While almost all targeted programs maintain performance information (including 

data on the number of homeless served), few targeted programs have conducted

evaluations to assess how effectively the programs are achieving their 

objectives. While performance information can be helpful for monitoring whether 

programs were achieving desired results, evaluations allow for comprehensive 

assessments. According to GAO’s questionnaire, 2 of the 26 programs reported 

they had a program evaluation within the last 5 years. Information from program 

evaluations can help agencies fully assess what is working and how 

improvements can be made. Moreover, understanding program performance and 

effectiveness is key to determining in which programs and interventions to 

strategically invest limited federal funds. 

The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (Interagency Council) is 

required to coordinate the federal response to homelessness and has taken 

several steps to coordinate efforts and promote initiatives across federal 

agencies. Federal coordination efforts have increased in recent years and 

included issuing the first federal strategic plan, increasing coordination at the 

state and local levels by focusing on the creation of state interagency councils on 

homelessness, and taking steps to develop a common vocabulary for discussing 

homelessness and related terms. The strategic plan serves as a useful and 

necessary step in increasing agency coordination and incorporates some 

elements of an effective strategy, but lacks key characteristics desirable in a 

national strategy. For example, the plan does not list priorities or milestones and 

does not discuss resource needs or assign clear roles and responsibilities to 

federal partners. In order for the Interagency Council and its members to 

effectively translate the goals and objectives of the plan into actions and measure 

their own progress in implementing them, these elements must be made 

transparent to help ensure accountability and measure the plan’s progress. View GAO-12-491. For more information, 

contact Alicia Puente Cackley at 

(202) 512-8678 or cackleya@gao.gov. 
Page i GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Letter 1 

Background 4

Homelessness Programs Address a Variety of Needs, but Result in 

Fragmentation and Overlap of Services 7

Programs Maintain Performance Information, but Program 

Evaluations Are Limited 22

While Federal Coordination Efforts Have Increased, Strategic Plan 

Could Be Improved 28

Conclusions 36

Recommendations for Executive Action 37

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 37

Appendix I Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 41

Appendix II Mainstream Programs That Persons Experiencing Homelessness 

Can Access 50

Appendix III Performance Information for 26 Targeted Programs 56

Appendix IV Comments from the Department of Health and Human Services 58

Appendix V Comments from the Department of Homeland Security 62

Appendix VI Comments from the Department of Housing and Urban Development 63

Appendix VII Comments from the Department of Labor 66

Appendix VIII Comments from the Department of Veterans Affairs 68

Contents
Page ii GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Appendix IX Comments from the United States Interagency Council 

on Homelessness 70

Appendix X GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 73

Tables

Table 1: Targeted Federal Homelessness Programs and 

Descriptions, Fiscal Year 2011 8

Table 2: Federal Obligations for 26 Homelessness Programs, Fiscal 

Year 2010 10

Table 3: Summary of Desirable Characteristics for a National 

Strategy 48

Table 4: Mainstream Programs That Persons Experiencing 

Homelessness Can Access 50

Table 5: Performance Information Collected, by Program 56

Figures

Figure 1: Percentage of Obligations for Homelessness Programs by 

Agency, Fiscal Year 2010 12

Figure 2: Fragmentation of Services in Homelessness Programs 

across Agencies, Fiscal Year 2011 14

Figure 3: Populations Served by Homelessness Programs, Fiscal 

Year 2011 15

Figure 4: Overlap in Program Services to the General Homeless or 

At-Risk Population, Fiscal Year 2011 17

Figure 5: Overlap in Program Services to Homeless Veterans, Fiscal 

Year 2011 19

Figure 6: Overlap in Program Services to Homeless Children and 

Youth, Fiscal Year 2011 20

Figure 7: Extent to Which the Strategic Plan to Prevent and End 

Homelessness Addresses Characteristics of an Effective 

National Strategy, as of May 2012 33
Page iii GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Abbreviations

Education Department of Education

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Administration 

GSA General Services Administration 

HEARTH Act Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid 

Transition to Housing Act

HHS Department of Health and Human Services 

HMIS Homelessness Management Information 

Systems

HUD Department of Housing and Urban Development

Interagency Council U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness

Justice Department of Justice

Labor Department of Labor

VA Department of Veterans Affairs

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Page 1 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

United States Government Accountability Office 

Washington, DC 20548

May 10, 2012

The Honorable Tim Johnson

Chairman

The Honorable Richard C. Shelby

Ranking Member

Committee on Banking, Housing, 

and Urban Affairs

United States Senate

The Honorable Spencer Bachus

Chairman

The Honorable Barney Frank

Ranking Member

Committee on Financial Services

House of Representatives

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the issue of 

homelessness, in part because the economic downturn has placed more 

individuals and households at risk for homelessness. Evidence suggests 

that the number of those entering shelters has remained constant, but

there has been an increase in the number of people living with family or 

friends. According to Department of Housing and Urban Development 

(HUD) estimates, on a single night in January 2011, approximately 

636,000 people experienced homelessness. A number of federal 

agencies and programs specifically target assistance for those persons 

experiencing homelessness or at risk for homelessness, while other 

programs, referred to as “mainstream,” more broadly assist low-income 

populations. Both targeted and mainstream programs can offer housing 

assistance, and supportive services such as food assistance, health care, 

or job training.1 As we previously reported, the wide range of programs 

that federal agencies offer has resulted in a fragmented service system; 

that is, more than one federal agency is involved in the same broad area 

of national interest.2

 

1

In this report, we use “supportive services” to include all nonhousing services that may 

assist persons experiencing homelessness.

A fragmented service system could lead to some 

2

See GAO, Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save 

Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue, GAO-11-318SP (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 1, 2011), 

129-133.

 
 

Page 2 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

programs offering similar services and serving similar populations, and 

thus to inefficiencies in program administration and service delivery 

across the federal government. As a result, effective coordination of 

fragmented service systems is essential.

This report responds to the statutory requirement that GAO identify and 

annually report on federal programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives that 

have duplicative goals or activities.3

To gather information on federal homelessness programs and assess 

fragmentation, overlap, and duplication, we developed structured 

questionnaires and obtained information from 10 federal agencies that 

administer programs for persons experiencing homelessness. We 

identified programs that were specifically designed to assist the homeless 

(targeted) or programs that more broadly assist low-income populations 

but which people experiencing homelessness may access (mainstream).

It addresses (1) the number of and 

funding levels for federal homelessness programs and the extent to which 

fragmentation, overlap, and duplication exists; (2) whether the programs 

have been evaluated; and (3) actions of the U.S. Interagency Council on 

Homelessness (Interagency Council) and federal agencies to coordinate 

federal efforts and the extent to which the federal strategic plan to prevent 

and end homelessness is an effective strategy.

4

 

3

Pub. L. No. 111-139, § 21, 124 Stat. 29 (2010), 31 U.S.C. § 712 Note.

We defined a targeted program as one that provided assistance 

exclusively to those persons experiencing homelessness or at risk for 

homelessness in fiscal year 2011. We defined a mainstream program as 

one that (1) was in operation as of fiscal year 2011, (2) included persons 

experiencing homelessness or at risk for homelessness as part of the 

population served, (3) provided services that benefit the homeless that 

are similar or complementary to those offered by targeted programs, and 

that (4) agency officials identified to be critical in meeting the needs of the 

homeless. We ultimately obtained and analyzed data for 26 targeted and 

62 mainstream programs. The structured questionnaires asked questions 

about program goals and objectives, target populations, services offered, 

performance information and evaluations, and funding. To help assess 

the reliability of the information we received, we incorporated questions 

about the reliability of the programs’ data and financial systems, 

4

We obtained information from eight agencies that administered targeted and mainstream 

programs and an additional two agencies that administered only mainstream programs. 
 

Page 3 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

conducted internal reliability checks, and conducted follow-up as 

necessary with agency staff. While we did not verify all responses, we 

determined that the data used in our report were sufficiently reliable for 

our purposes. We excluded programs that did not meet our definitions; for 

example, this report does not include all mainstream programs that can 

serve persons experiencing homelessness because they did not meet all 

the criteria in our definition. To gather additional information about the

programs, we met with agency officials who oversee the programs and 

conducted three site visits to obtain information on how local communities 

implement programs and deliver services (New York, New York; San 

Francisco, California; and Washington, D.C.). We selected these 

locations based on the variety of targeted programs, size of the homeless 

population, and geography. Finally, we reviewed relevant federal laws 

and regulations as well as our previous work on homelessness 

programs.5 To review the coordination efforts of the Interagency Council 

and federal agencies and the extent to which the national strategic plan 

addresses the characteristics of an effective national strategy, we 

analyzed the council’s coordination responsibilities, obtained examples of 

coordination actions from the council and federal agencies, interviewed 

agency officials, and analyzed the strategy. We assessed the strategy to 

determine how well it addressed the six desirable characteristics of an 

effective national strategy that we developed in previous work.6

We conducted this performance audit from June 2011 through May 2012, 

in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 

sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 

 

5

See GAO, Rural Homelessness: Better Collaboration by HHS and HUD Could Improve 

Delivery of Services in Rural Areas, GAO-10-724 (Washington, D.C.: July 20, 2010); 

Homelessness: A Common Vocabulary Could Help Agencies Collaborate and Collect 

More Consistent Data, GAO-10-702 (Washington, D.C.: June 30, 2010); and

GAO-11-318SP. 

6

See GAO, Combating Terrorism: Evaluation of Selected Characteristics in National 

Strategies Related to Terrorism, GAO-04-408T (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 3, 2004); 

Financial Literacy and Education Commission: Further Progress Needed to Ensure an 

Effective National Strategy, GAO-07-100 (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 4, 2006); Influenza 

Pandemic: Further Efforts Are Needed to Ensure Clearer Federal Leadership Roles and 

an Effective National Strategy, GAO-07-781 (Washington, D.C.: Aug. 14, 2007); Maritime 

Security: National Strategy and Supporting Plans Were Generally Well-Developed and 

Are Being Implemented, GAO-08-672 (Washington, D.C.: June 20, 2008), and National 

Capital Region: 2010 Strategic Plan is Generally Consistent With Characteristics of 

Effective Strategies, GAO-12-276T (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 7, 2011). 
 

Page 4 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that 

the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and 

conclusions based on our audit objectives. See appendix I for a more 

detailed description of our scope and methodology.

Congress established the Interagency Council in 1987 under the 

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act as an independent 

establishment to provide federal leadership for activities to assist 

homeless families and individuals.7 Initially the main functions of the 

council revolved around using public resources and programs in a more 

coordinated manner to meet the needs of those experiencing 

homelessness. From 1994 to 2000 the council operated as a working 

group of the White House Domestic Policy Council. An executive director, 

who is appointed by the council members and reports directly to the 

Interagency Council’s chairperson, manages the daily activities of the 

council. Since 1987, there have been several executive directors with the 

most recent appointed in November 2009. Additionally, the council elects 

a chairperson and a vice chairperson from its members and the positions 

rotate among member agencies annually. The current members of the 

Interagency Council include the heads of 19 departments and agencies.8

The most recent reauthorization of the council occurred in 2009 when 

Congress enacted the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid 

Transition to Housing Act (HEARTH Act).9

 

7

The Interagency Council was established by title II of the McKinney-Vento Act, Pub. L. 

No. 100-77 § 201, as the “Interagency Council on the Homeless.” In 2004, Congress 

renamed it the “United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.” Pub. L. No. 108-

199, Division G, § 216 (Jan. 23, 2004).

The HEARTH Act included 

8

The members of the Interagency Council are from the Departments of Agriculture, 

Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland 

Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, Transportation, and 

Veterans Affairs; Corporation for National and Community Service; General Services 

Administration; Office of Management and Budget; Social Security Administration; U.S. 

Postal Service; and the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives 

(now known as the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships). 

9

Pub. L. No. 111-22 § 1001, et seq. (May 20, 2009). 

Background

Role of Interagency 

Council and Recent 

Changes
 

Page 5 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

several new responsibilities and directed the council to coordinate the 

federal response to homelessness and create a national partnership at 

every level of government and with the private sector to reduce and end 

homelessness. The HEARTH Act also requires the council to take several 

actions related to coordination and information dissemination, and includes 

various reporting requirements. For example, the Interagency Council must

• develop and annually update a federal strategic plan to end 

homelessness;

• review all federal activities and programs to assist homeless 

individuals;

• take actions that may be necessary to reduce duplication among 

federal homelessness programs and activities;

• monitor, evaluate, and recommend improvements in programs and 

activities to assist homeless individuals conducted by federal agencies, 

state and local governments, and private voluntary organizations;

• provide professional and technical assistance to states, local 

governments, and other public and private nonprofit organizations;

• encourage the creation of State Interagency Councils on 

Homelessness and the formulation of jurisdictional 10-year plans to 

end homelessness at state, city, and county levels;

• obtain from federal agencies resources for which persons 

experiencing homelessness may be eligible and improvements to 

ensure access and develop mechanisms to ensure access by persons 

experiencing homelessness to programs for which they are eligible, 

and verify collaboration among entities within communities;

• conduct research and evaluation related to its functions;

• develop joint federal agency and other initiatives to fulfill the goals of 

the agency and collect and disseminate information relating to 

homeless individuals;

• prepare annual reports;

• develop constructive alternatives to criminalizing homelessness; and

• convene a meeting of experts to discuss all issues relevant to the 

definitions of “homeless” and the extent to which the differences in 
 

Page 6 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

such definitions create barriers for individuals in accessing services 

and issue transcripts and recommendations.10

In fiscal year 2012, Congress appropriated $3.3 million for the Interagency 

Council to carry out its responsibilities. In that year, the council had 18 fulltime employees, with staff based in Washington, D.C. and four regional 

positions.

The HEARTH Act changed the definition of homelessness for several 

federal programs. As described in our June 2010 report, federal programs 

define homelessness differently.11 The HEARTH Act broadened the 

general definition of homelessness because it expanded who is eligible for 

various HUD-funded homeless assistance programs. For example, the act 

adds a new category of homelessness, unaccompanied youth and families 

with children and youth who are defined as homeless under other federal 

statutes (such as the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act and the Head 

Start Act).12 As a result, persons meeting other federal statutes’ broader 

definitions of homelessness also can be eligible for HUD programs.

In 2010, Congress directed us to identify programs, agencies, offices, and 

initiatives with duplicative goals and activities within departments and 

governmentwide and report annually to Congress.13 In March 2011 and 

February 2012, we issued our first two annual reports to Congress in 

response to this requirement.14

 

1042 U.S.C. 11313. 

The annual reports describe areas in 

which we found evidence of fragmentation, overlap, or duplication among 

11See GAO-10-702. 

1242 U.S.C. 5701 et seq. and 42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.

13Pub. L. No. 111-139, § 21, 124 Stat. 29 (2010), 31 U.S.C. § 712 Note.

14See GAO-11-318SP and 2012 Annual Report: Opportunities to Reduce Duplication, 

Overlap and Fragmentation, Achieve Savings, and Enhance Revenue, GAO-12-342SP 

(Washington, D.C.: Feb. 28, 2012). Homelessness programs were not covered in detail in 

GAO-12-342SP. We also covered homelessness programs in our follow-up to the 2011 

report, see GAO, Status of Actions Taken to Reduce Duplication, Overlap, and 

Fragmentation, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue, GAO-12-453SP (Washington, 

D.C.: Feb 28, 2012), 49.

Definitions of 

Homelessness

Our Work on 

Fragmentation, Overlap, 

and Duplication
 

Page 7 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

federal programs. Using the framework established in the reports, the key 

terms are defined as follows:

• Fragmentation occurs when more than one federal agency (or more 

than one organization within an agency) is involved in the same broad 

area of national interest.

• Overlap occurs when multiple programs have similar goals and 

activities, and offer similar services to similar beneficiaries.

• Duplication occurs when two or more agencies or programs are 

engaging in the same activities or providing the same services to the 

same beneficiaries.

For homelessness programs, we noted in the March 2011 report that 

better coordination of programs could minimize inefficiencies that may 

stem from fragmentation and overlap. We discussed the work of the 

Interagency Council and noted the development of its strategic plan. We 

concluded that while federal agencies have taken some positive steps to 

improve coordination of programs and reduce fragmentation and overlap, 

more needed to be done.

Eight agencies—HHS, HUD, the Departments of Education (Education), 

Labor (Labor), Justice (Justice), Veterans Affairs (VA), the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the General Services 

Administration (GSA)—administered 26 targeted homelessness programs 

in fiscal year 2011.15

 

15FEMA is an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, which is a member of 

the Interagency Council.

That is, they administered programs that exclusively 

assisted persons who were homeless or at risk for homelessness (see 

table 1). However, three agencies—HHS, HUD, and VA—were responsible 

for the majority of these programs (22 of 26). HUD was the primary agency 

providing funding for housing, such as emergency shelters, permanent 

housing, and transitional housing. HHS and VA typically operated 

programs or provided funding for supportive services such as health care, 

substance abuse treatment, and employment assistance. However, most 

VA programs and services are only available to men and women who have 

served in the military and have been discharged under honorable or 

general circumstances. Of the 26 programs, three programs provide 

Homelessness 

Programs Address a 

Variety of Needs, but 

Result in 

Fragmentation and 

Overlap of Services
 

Page 8 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

surplus federal properties to eligible homeless service providers and one 

program provides personal property to veterans experiencing 

homelessness. 

Table 1: Targeted Federal Homelessness Programs and Descriptions, Fiscal Year 2011 

Agency Program name Description 

VA (11) Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans 

Program 

Provides residential treatment to homeless veterans with health care and 

social-vocational deficits. 

Homeless Providers Grants and Per Diem 

Program 

Awards grants to community-based agencies for transitional housing, 

outreach, rehabilitative services, and vocational counseling and training; 

and offers per diem payments. 

Health Care for Homeless Veterans 

Program 

Performs outreach to identify homeless veterans eligible for VA services 

and assists them in accessing appropriate health care and benefits. 

Homeless Veterans Dental Program Provides dental care to eligible homeless veterans. 

National Call Center for Homeless 

Veterans 

Assists homeless veterans and their families through a 24-hour hotline. 

Stand Downs Conducts 1- to 3-day outreach events that involve a broad range of 

community providers. Services include food, clothing, benefits 

assistance, linkages to shelter and treatment programs, medical and 

mental health screenings, and referrals. 

Acquired Property Sales for Homeless 

Providersa Offers discounted prices on VA properties acquired through foreclosure 

to qualified nonprofit organizations that will offer the properties as 

shelters to homeless veterans. 

Excess Property for Homeless Veterans 

Initiative 

Helps distribute excess personal property, such as hats, parkas, 

footwear, and other items. 

Regional Office Homeless Veterans 

Outreach Activities 

Provides information and assistance on VA benefits and services 

through outreach. 

Homeless Veteran Supported 

Employment Program 

Provides vocational and employment services. 

Preventing Veteran Homelessness 

through Mortgage Foreclosure Assistance

Provides financial counseling for veterans with VA-guaranteed or 

conventional loans to help ensure that veterans receive consideration of 

all possible options to avoid foreclosure. 

HHS (5) Projects for Assistance in Transition from 

Homelessness 

Provides grants to state and territories for community-based outreach, 

mental health, substance abuse, and other supportive services, including 

limited housing to individuals with serious mental illness who are 

experiencing or at risk of homelessness. 

Runaway and Homeless Youth 

Programsb Provides temporary emergency shelter and permanent housing for 

youths and residential services to help them transition to self-sufficiency. 

Health Care for the Homeless Provides outreach to homeless individuals and families to provide 

primary care and substance abuse services. 

 Grants for the Benefit of Homeless 

Individuals 

Provides grants to communities to expand and strengthen their treatment 

services for persons who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with 

mental health disorders, substance use disorders, or co-occurring mental 

and substance use disorders in coordination with stable housing 

programs and resources. 
 

Page 9 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Agency Program name Description

Services in Supportive Housing Grants Provides treatment and supportive services to people experiencing 

chronic homelessness and severe mental illness or co-occurring mental 

and substance abuse disorders in coordination with permanent 

supportive housing programs and resources.

HUD (3) Homeless Assistance Grants Provides emergency shelter facilities, transitional and permanent 

housing with supportive services, or rental assistance for homeless 

individuals or homeless persons with disabilities. 

c

Homelessness Prevention and Rapid 

Re-Housing Program

Provides homelessness prevention assistance and assistance to rapidly 

re-house persons who are homeless.

Base Realignment and Closure Programa Provides surplus properties, at no cost to representatives of the 

homeless, for homeless assistance use. 

 

Education (1) Education for Homeless Children and 

Youths

Helps ensure that homeless children and youths have equal access to 

free and appropriate public education and facilitates their enrollment, 

attendance, and success in school.

FEMA (1) Emergency Food and Shelter Program Supplements and expands ongoing efforts to provide shelter, food, and 

supportive services to needy families and individuals.

Justice (1) Transitional Housing Assistance Grants 

for Victims of Sexual Assault , Domestic 

Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking 

Program 

Provides transitional housing, housing assistance, and supportive 

services to those fleeing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

assault, or stalking; and for whom emergency shelter services or other 

crisis intervention services are not sufficient.

Labor (1) Homeless Veterans Reintegration 

Program

Provides services to assist in reintegrating homeless veterans into 

meaningful employment.

Multiple 

agencies (3)

HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUDVASH)Provides section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers and case management 

and supportive services to eligible homeless veterans. d

Veterans Homeless Prevention 

Demonstration Program

Offers early intervention homelessness prevention, primarily to veterans 

returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. e

Federal Surplus Real Property (Title V) Provides surplus federal properties that can be used to help homeless 

persons.

a,f

Source: GAO analysis of agency information.

Note: VA staff told us the Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program made grant agreements 

in September 2011, but stated no services were provided prior to the end of the fiscal year. VA staff 

did not complete a questionnaire for this program because they told us the program was not in 

operation in fiscal year 2011. Our review excludes this program. 

a

These programs provide different properties to eligible homeless service providers but do not directly 

provide services for persons experiencing homelessness. 

b

Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs include the Basic Center Program, Transitional Living 

Program, Street Outreach Program, and Maternity Group Home Program. 

c

Homeless Assistance Grants include the Emergency Solutions Grant Program, Supportive Housing 

Program, Shelter Plus Care Program, and Single Room Occupancy Program. 

d

HUD-VASH is jointly administered by HUD and VA. 

e

The demonstration program is jointly administered by HUD, Labor, and VA. 

f

The Federal Surplus Real Property (Title V) program is jointly administered by HHS, HUD, and GSA. 
 

Page 10 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

According to the most recently available data (fiscal year 2010), federal 

agencies reported obligations of $2.8 billion for the 26 targeted programs. 

Individual program obligations ranged from $475,000 to $1.4 billion (see 

table 2).16

Table 2: Federal Obligations for 26 Homelessness Programs, Fiscal Year 2010 

HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants, the largest program, 

accounted for 50 percent of overall federal spending commitments. Eight 

programs had obligations of more than $100 million each, and 10 

programs had obligations between $1 million and $100 million.

Agency Program

Fiscal year 2010 

obligations

Assistance 

through grants

HUD Homeless Assistance Grants $1,379,155,000 X 

FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program 200,000,000 X 

HHS Health Care for the Homeless 185,066,000 X 

VA Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans Program 175,979,000 a

VA Homeless Providers Grants and Per Diem Program 175,057,000 X 

HUD and VA HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) 147,046,192 b

HHS Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs 115,705,000 X 

VA Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program 109,727,000

Education Education for Homeless Children and Youths 65,427,000 X 

HHS Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness 65,047,000 X 

Labor Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program 35,888,000 X 

HHS Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals 35,560,000 X 

HHS Services in Supportive Housing Grants 32,264,000 X 

VA Preventing Veteran Homelessness through Mortgage Foreclosure 

Assistance 

29,565,000

VA Homeless Veterans Dental Program 17,530,000

Justice Transitional Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Sexual Assault, 

Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Program

15,304,802 X 

VA National Call Center for Homeless Veterans 2,410,000

VA Regional Office Homeless Veterans Outreach Activities 1,908,000

VA Stand Downs 786,000 c

HHS, HUD, 

and GSA

Federal Surplus Real Property (Title V) 613,000 d

VA Excess Property for Homeless Veterans Initiative 475,000

 

16Obligations are defined as definite commitments that create a legal liability of the 

government for the payment of goods and services ordered or received.

Multiple Agencies 

Administered 26 Targeted 

Homelessness Programs 

and Obligated $2.8 Billion 

in Fiscal Year 2010
 

Page 11 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Agency Program

Fiscal year 2010 

obligations

Assistance 

through grants

HUD Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program 0 e X 

HUD Base Realignment and Closure Program 0 f

VA Acquired Property Sales for Homeless Providers 0 g

VA Homeless Veteran Supported Employment Program 0 h

HUD, Labor, 

and VA

Veterans Homeless Prevention Demonstration Program 0 h X 

Total $2,790,512,994 13 programs

Source: Each agency reported obligation amounts to GAO.

a

VA told us the amount represents direct and indirect costs including veterans’ total health care costs 

while in the program. 

b

HUD and VA reported obligations of $76 and $71 million, respectively. 

c

Labor told us they have been involved in Stand Downs as well, but any funds obligated from Labor 

are included in the reported amount for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program. 

d

HUD told us no funds were obligated and the only costs incurred were for a contractor to update a 

data system. Therefore, the figure includes obligations as reported by HHS and GSA only. 

e

HUD told us the funds for this program, roughly $1.5 billion, were obligated in fiscal year 2009. 

f

HUD told us no funds were awarded or contracted for this program. 

g

VA reported no obligations because the program receives foreclosed properties and sells a minimal 

number to nonprofit organizations that provide shelter to veterans and their families. 

h

VA and HUD reported that the program was new and no funds were obligated in fiscal year 2010. 

The majority of obligations were committed for grants––13 of the 26 

programs offered grants, totaling about $2.3 billion in obligations for fiscal 

year 2010.17

HUD, HHS, and VA administered most of the targeted programs and 

accounted for 89 percent of the federal funds obligated (see fig. 1).

These grants were generally distributed on a formula or a 

project basis. Formula grants are noncompetitive awards based on a 

predetermined formula. Project grants award funds for fixed periods of 

time for specific projects.

 

17Most programs provide assistance through grants, meaning federal agencies provide 

funds to states, localities, or nonprofit organizations that in turn provide homelessness 

services. Some programs provide assistance through properties, meaning federal 

properties are transferred or sold to entities that in turn provide homelessness services.
 

Page 12 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Figure 1: Percentage of Obligations for Homelessness Programs by Agency, Fiscal 

Year 2010

Note: Obligations for programs administered by two or more agencies (for example, the HUD-VASH 

program) are included in each agency’s portion of the pie chart. For instance, HUD’s obligations for 

the HUD-VASH program are included in the 52 percent. 

Finally, in addition to targeted programs, several federal agencies provide 

assistance through mainstream programs—programs that broadly assist 

low-income populations. For example, the Temporary Assistance for 

Needy Families, Head Start, and Public Housing programs are designed 

for low-income populations but provide services to people experiencing 

homelessness as well. See appendix II for a list of mainstream programs, 

descriptions, and other information.18

 

18As previously discussed, this report does not include all mainstream programs that can 

serve homeless people because some programs did not meet all the criteria included in 

our definition. 
 

Page 13 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Figure 2 shows that multiple agencies manage several similar 

homelessness programs, suggesting fragmentation and some overlap. 

Further, agencies deliver several different types of services to persons 

experiencing homelessness. For example, HUD not only administers 

housing assistance, but also provides funding for mental health care, 

substance abuse treatment, and employment services. Similarly, HHS 

and VA administer programs that provide housing and employment 

assistance. Fragmentation and overlap in some programs have been 

caused in part by their legislative creation as separate programs under 

the jurisdiction of several agencies. This fragmentation of services may 

be advantageous because agencies can tailor programs to suit specific 

needs of persons experiencing homelessness. Additionally, according to 

HHS, fragmented services are the result of providing comprehensive care 

to a population with complex, varying needs. However, fragmentation can 

also lead to inefficiencies.

Fragmentation of services was most apparent in three agencies––HHS, 

HUD, and VA—that administered most of the programs and also offered 

the most types of services (see fig. 2). In particular, service fragmentation 

was most apparent for transportation and case management. According 

to agency staff, case management is necessary in most programs to 

provide linkages and referrals to other services as needed. In contrast, 

fragmentation was least apparent for permanent housing, income 

support, primary health care, and dental care services.

Evidence Suggests 

Fragmentation and Some

Overlap
 

Page 14 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Figure 2: Fragmentation of Services in Homelessness Programs across Agencies, 

Fiscal Year 2011

a

Programs provide different properties to eligible homeless service providers that can be used to help 

persons experiencing homelessness. 

Some programs served the general homeless population while others 

assisted specific populations (see fig. 3). For example, 17 of the 26 

targeted programs served specific populations, most commonly veterans 

(14 programs). According to questionnaire responses, while the programs 

exclusively served specific populations, the individuals served also may 

have had additional characteristics such as substance abuse disorders or 

disabilities. As stated previously, most VA programs and services are only 

available to men and women who have served in the military and have 

been discharged under honorable or general circumstances.
 

Page 15 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Figure 3: Populations Served by Homelessness Programs, Fiscal Year 2011

Note: We included programs that assist chronically homeless persons in the general homeless or atrisk population. 

In addition to fragmentation of services, some degree of overlap in 

services occurred for programs serving three distinct homeless 

populations––the general homeless or at-risk population, veterans, and 

children and youth. We differentiated between two types of services:

• Primary services were stated directly within a program’s goals and 

objectives.

• Other eligible services were indicated by agency staff as services or 

activities the program is eligible to provide.

More specifically, we found two different types of overlap––instances 

when programs offered the same primary service to a similar population 

and instances when programs offered other eligible services to a similar 

population. Overlap tended to be more prevalent for the “other eligible 

services” category. However, the scope of this report did not allow us to 
 

Page 16 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

gather enough information to fully discuss the degree of overlap among 

homelessness programs. Agency officials provided explanations about 

why persons experiencing homelessness often need assistance in areas 

other than housing, such as health care and employment. For example, 

HHS staff told us that it was necessary for programs to offer several 

services—in particular, case management services that provide linkages 

and referrals to other services as needed. In addition to case 

management services, agency staff told us it was important for programs 

to conduct outreach efforts because the population was difficult to reach 

and the outreach helped ensure access to services. HHS staff also told 

us that while persons experiencing homelessness may be eligible for 

services provided by specific programs, resource constraints limit the 

availability of services. For some programs, such as HUD’s Homeless 

Assistance Grants or HHS’s Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs, 

meeting the definition of homelessness does not entitle individuals to 

benefits because these programs are limited by the amount of funds 

appropriated for them. 

We found program overlap in three HHS programs that provide mental 

health care and substance abuse treatment as primary services (see fig. 4). 

According to HHS staff, the three programs have distinct differences, such 

as their statutory authorities, subpopulations served, or living situations.

• Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness provides 

services including case management, outreach, community mental 

health, and substance abuse treatment services to persons typically 

living on the street with serious mental illnesses or co-occurring 

disorders (such as substance abuse disorders).

• Services in Supportive Housing Grants primarily provides mental 

health care and substance abuse treatment to individuals and families 

living in HUD-funded and other permanent supportive housing units.

• Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals provides services to 

individuals with mental health disorders, substance use disorders, or 

co-occurring mental and substance use disorders and links 

individuals to stable housing.

General Homeless or At-Risk 

Population
 

Page 17 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Figure 4: Overlap in Program Services to the General Homeless or At-Risk Population, Fiscal Year 2011

a

These programs provide different properties to eligible homeless service providers but do not directly 

provide services for persons experiencing homelessness. 

Overlapping programs can lead to individuals being eligible for similar 

services in multiple programs––as is the case with these three HHS 

programs. According to the Interagency Council, while it is possible that 

individuals may be eligible for multiple programs, it is unlikely that there is 

a high occurrence of individuals actually being served by multiple 

programs. The scope of this report did not allow us to assess whether 

individuals were accessing multiple programs. According to HHS staff, the 

agency coordinates its homelessness programs and activities with 

biweekly meetings that serve to update and share homelessness program 

information across the agency and to discuss new initiatives. According to 

the staff, the meetings are one way to help to ensure that HHS’s 

homelessness programs complement rather than duplicate one another.

The services of several programs for veterans overlapped (see fig. 5). 

According to agency staff, the programs are distinct in that they serve 

different subpopulations, in different settings.

• Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans Program offers mental health 

care and substance abuse treatment. The program is an intensive 

Homeless Veterans
 

Page 18 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

residential treatment program that targets veterans with severe 

medical conditions and psychiatric needs and operates at 44 sites 

across the country. As part of its services, the program assists 

veterans in finding transitional or permanent housing options.

• Homeless Providers Grants and Per Diem Program is a transitional 

housing program that provides supportive services for veterans living 

in the community and operates at roughly 600 sites and veterans may 

reside for up to 24 months. Veterans participating in the Homeless 

Providers Grants and Per Diem Program are connected with VA 

Medical Center services such as primary health care and other clinical 

services.

• Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program helps get homeless 

veterans off the streets and connects them to VA Medical Center 

services such as primary health care and other clinical services.

• Homeless Veteran Supported Employment Program uses homeless 

veterans, formerly homeless veterans, or those at risk for 

homelessness to provide rapid, individualized, competitive community 

job placement for currently homeless veterans. These services occur 

within a health care delivery system, which includes assessment of 

employment barriers such as medical, psychiatric, and substance 

abuse.

• Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program offers employment 

assistance as a primary service. The Labor program offers classroom 

training and job placement with the goal of placing veterans in direct 

employment.
 

Page 19 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Figure 5: Overlap in Program Services to Homeless Veterans, Fiscal Year 2011

a

The Excess Property for Homeless Veterans Initiative helps distribute personal property, while the 

Acquired Property Sales for Homeless Providers program sells properties to eligible homeless service 

providers that will offer the properties as shelters to homeless veterans. 

The two programs serving homeless children and youth did not offer the 

same primary services, but there is some overlap in other eligible 

services offered by these two programs (see fig. 6). Education’s program 

focused on offering educational services and case management to 

school-age children, while HHS’s Runaway and Homeless Youth 

Programs provided housing, case management, and outreach efforts to 

youth who run away from home and are living in at-risk situations.19

 

19Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs age eligibility requirements vary by 

subprogram. For example, the Basic Center Program serves youths up to age 18, while

the Transitional Living Program serves youths from age 16 to age 22. 

The 

Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs provide services for severely 

at-risk youth, including pregnant and parenting teens who may not be 

Homeless Children and Youth
 

Page 20 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

able to receive services through many other homelessness programs due 

to their age. According to HHS, the programs that support youth 

homelessness are an attempt to address the needs of this specific 

population.

Figure 6: Overlap in Program Services to Homeless Children and Youth, Fiscal Year 2011

Inefficiencies as a result of fragmentation and overlap can result at 

multiple levels. Our body of work on fragmentation, overlap, and 

duplication has found that agencies often can realize a range of benefits, 

such as improved customer service and decreased administrative 

burdens and cost savings from addressing issues related to 

fragmentation, overlap, and duplication. However, these cost savings can 

be difficult to estimate in some cases because the portion of agency 

budgets devoted to certain programs or activities is not clear. In addition, 

the implementation costs that might be associated with consolidating 

programs, establishing collaboration mechanisms, or reducing activities, 

facilities, or personnel (among other variables) are difficult to estimate, or 

needed information on program performance or costs is not readily 

available.

For this report, we identified some inefficiencies that result from 

fragmentation and overlap, such as increased administrative costs, 

additional work for providers, and a confusing service delivery system for 

those needing help. Federal agencies dedicate staff time and resources 

to separately manage overlapping programs, which may increase 

administrative costs. For example, while HUD has taken steps to manage 

most of its homelessness programs under the same administrative unit 

and limit the amount of supportive services it provides, HHS and VA 

Fragmentation and 

Overlap May Result in 

Inefficiencies 
 

Page 21 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

separately manage programs that provide similar services under different 

units.20

Further, fragmentation creates additional work for providers because 

each agency has its own application and reporting requirements. During 

our site visits, several local providers told us that managing multiple 

applications and reporting requirements was burdensome, difficult, and 

costly. The views of these service providers were consistent with 

information about administrative burden, for example, that we gathered in 

our previous work.21

As previously mentioned, fragmentation and overlap in some programs 

has been caused in part by their legislative creation as separate 

programs under the jurisdiction of several agencies. Additionally, 

programs developed incrementally over time to address the specific 

needs of certain segments of the homeless population. Some advantages 

exist to having multiple federal agencies or programs providing 

homelessness services. Agency officials and service providers stated that 

reasons why a fragmented service system existed were because the 

needs of people experiencing homelessness varied greatly as did the 

nature of the assistance they required. Similarly, agency staff and local 

officials stated that overlapping services and the availability of multiple 

programs with similar benefits helped ensure that those in need had 

access to the resources they needed because one program might be 

more accessible or better suited than another to meet the needs of a 

Some providers told us it was especially difficult to 

manage some homelessness programs because they required funding 

streams from various agencies, each with various reporting requirements. 

Moreover, according to providers, persons experiencing homelessness 

have difficulties navigating services that are fragmented across agencies. 

As a result of this, many targeted programs provide case management 

services because of the difficulty their clients have in identifying and 

accessing various services available to them due to their multiple needs. 

 

20HUD manages its Homeless Assistance Grants under its Office of Special Needs 

Assistance Programs and the HUD-VASH program under the Office of Public and Indian 

Housing. HHS manages some homelessness programs under the Substance Abuse and 

Mental Health Services Administration and others under the Administration for Children 

and Families and Health Resources and Services Administration. VA manages some 

programs under the Veterans Health Administration and others under the Veterans 

Benefits Administration.

21See GAO-10-724. 
 

Page 22 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

particular client. HHS staff told us overlapping programs helps ensure 

access to services because persons experiencing homelessness are not 

steered toward one point of entry and in contrast can access services 

through several points of entry. Another provider stated that it was 

important for persons experiencing homelessness to receive services 

from both targeted and mainstream programs because the ultimate goal 

was to house clients and have them live independently (that is, not be in 

need of homeless services).

Ultimately, fragmentation across agencies can create an environment in 

which persons experiencing homelessness are not served as efficiently 

and effectively as possible, making coordination across government 

essential. By addressing inefficiencies that result from fragmentation and 

overlap, agencies will be able to better leverage government resources, 

decrease administrative burdens, and assist persons experiencing 

homelessness more effectively.

The majority of targeted programs maintain performance data, which is 

an important component for measuring program performance.

Performance measurement is the ongoing monitoring and reporting of 

program accomplishments, particularly progress toward pre-established 

goals.22

 

22See GAO, Performance Measurement and Evaluation: Definitions and Relationships, 

Performance measures may address the type or level of program 

activities conducted (process), the direct products and services a program 

delivers (outputs), or the results of those products and services 

(outcomes). According to the questionnaire responses, 25 of 26 targeted 

programs reported that they maintained performance information such as 

metrics and targets for the level of performance to be achieved, or report 

GAO-11-646SP (Washington, D.C.: May 2011).

Programs Maintain 

Performance 

Information, but 

Program Evaluations 

Are Limited

Targeted Programs Have 

Performance Data, and 

Efforts to Increase 

Information from 

Mainstream Programs 

Have Begun
 

Page 23 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

the actual level of performance achieved (see app. III).23

A majority (24 of 26) of the targeted programs reported that they collected 

data on the number of homeless served, which is a measure of program 

output.

We asked 

respondents to provide examples of the types and uses of performance 

information collected. For instance, HHS’s Services in Supportive 

Housing Grants program responded that it collects various data related to 

mental health when an individual enters the program, at 6 months into the 

program, and again when the individual is discharged, which enables the 

program to measure performance and report outcomes. VA’s Domiciliary 

Care for Homeless Veterans Program responded that it uses a monitoring 

system that includes baseline information about veterans at admittance to 

the program and their clinical outcomes at the time of discharge.

24

While persons experiencing homelessness may access services through 

targeted and mainstream programs, the mainstream programs do not 

consistently collect data on services provided to this population. Less 

than half of the mainstream programs, 30 of 62 programs or 48 percent, 

indicated that they collected data on the numbers of homeless served 

Of the two remaining programs, one program—FEMA’s 

Emergency Food and Shelter Program—collects information on services 

such as meals provided or nights of lodging but not the number of 

homeless served. The other program—the Acquired Property Sales for 

Homeless Providers—did not collect data on the number of homeless 

served because the program transfers government properties to nonprofit 

organizations or other entities, which in turn provide services to persons 

experiencing homelessness. The program tracks the number of 

properties transferred.

 

23VA’s Acquired Property Sales for Homeless Providers program reported that it did not 

collect performance information, but collected other information such as number of 

properties transferred.

24The data for numbers of homeless served are not comparable across programs 

because program staff used different approaches and reporting periods to collect this 

information. For example, some programs reported actual data according to annual 

reports from grant recipients, while others estimated the expected number of participants 

or reported frequency of services. Some programs collect data by fiscal year (October 1 

through September 30) while other programs collect data by program year (July 1 through 

June 30) or other reporting period. Additionally, some programs indicated concerns with 

the reliability of the data for reasons such as the lack of independent verification of 

grantee-generated data, the possibility that the data included multiple visits by a homeless 

individual, or the process for collecting and submitting information. 
 

Page 24 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

(see app. II for more detail). We asked respondents who indicated their 

programs did not collect data on homelessness to explain why not. Some 

responded that they did not collect data on persons experiencing 

homelessness because their programs did not target this population 

specifically. For instance, some stated that eligibility for the program was 

based on income levels, which would not necessarily identify persons 

experiencing homelessness. Other programs did not collect information 

on homelessness because they had a different focus such as food 

nutrition and collected information such as meals served instead. Also, 

other programs indicated that they were not required by law to collect 

information on an individual’s housing status. For example, HHS told us 

by law, they cannot ask Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 

grantees to report on certain information, including housing status.

However, respondents for 29 of 62 programs reported that their programs 

had taken steps to increase the participation of persons experiencing 

homelessness (see app. II for more detail). For instance, the Department 

of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, 

Infants, and Children includes outreach to homeless shelters, social 

service departments, or other agencies that serve persons experiencing 

homelessness. HHS’s Child Support Enforcement Program has 

collaborated with VA to increase participation of homeless veterans. 

Finally, HHS’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program requires grantees to have 

a public planning process to prioritize services. The homeless population 

is included in the planning process.

As we have discussed in a previous report, collecting consistent, 

comprehensive, and accurate data on persons experiencing 

homelessness presents numerous challenges.25

 

25See 

Such efforts could be 

difficult and costly. But we also noted that several mainstream programs 

already collect information on the housing status of individuals, and 

opportunities exist for building on existing systems and procedures. If 

collected, the more comprehensive data then could potentially be used to 

identify areas for increased coordination between targeted and 

mainstream programs and help increase the effectiveness of 

homelessness programs. We made recommendations to federal agencies 

and the Interagency Council that addressed consistent data collection 

GAO-10-702. 
 

Page 25 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

and a related issue—developing a common vocabulary for homelessness 

programs.

As GAO recommended, the Interagency Council has begun facilitating 

discussions with federal agencies about the feasibility of creating a 

common data standard in relation to housing status across relevant 

federal programs. According to the Interagency Council’s strategic plan, 

this effort will facilitate data exchanges and comparisons between 

targeted and mainstream programs and improve identification of people 

experiencing or at risk of homelessness. We discuss the Interagency 

Council’s efforts later in this report.

Limited information exists about program efficiency or effectiveness 

because the majority of targeted programs have not conducted a program 

evaluation recently. According to our questionnaire results, 2 of 26 

targeted programs reported having a program evaluation to assess 

efficiency or effectiveness within the last 5 years. We define “evaluation” 

as an individual systematic study conducted periodically or on an ad hoc 

basis to assess how well a program is working, typically relative to its 

objectives.26

The two completed program evaluations looked at the following:

Program evaluations also allow for identification of actions 

that may improve results.

• Labor’s Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.27 The study 

examined how well the program was accomplishing its mission and 

meeting its goals and provided data to inform future program 

decisions. The evaluation focused on four main issues: (1) how 

common measures impacted grantee performance; (2) how Laborfunded staff positions influence grantee processes, performance, and 

outcomes;28

 

26See 

(3) how performance results differ across grantee types; 

and (4) the characteristics of successful and unsuccessful homeless 

GAO-11-646SP. 

27ICF International and Advocates for Human Potential, Homeless Veterans Reintegration 

Program Effectiveness Study, a report prepared for the Department of Labor (Dec. 23, 

2009).

28This issue specifically refers to Labor-funded positions in state workforce one-stop 

agencies designed to support disabled veteran and veteran employment, respectively.

Few Efficiency or 

Effectiveness Evaluations 

of Targeted Programs 

Exist
 

Page 26 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

veteran job seekers in relation to employment and retention 

outcomes.29

• HHS’s Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness.

Labor officials told us that as a result of the study, the 

agency clarified the role of Labor- funded staff who work with program 

grantees, strengthened the language in the program application to 

emphasize building relationships and partnerships with local agencies 

that employ Labor staff, and changed the language in the program 

guidance to emphasize to state workforce agencies the need to 

provide services to homeless veterans.

30

Additionally, agency staff from two other programs indicated that the 

agency either had an evaluation under way or was planning an 

evaluation. For instance, Education officials told us that a program 

evaluation has been under way for the Education for Homeless Children 

and Youths program, with the study expected to be completed in 2013. 

HHS officials stated that they were in the early planning stages for an 

evaluation of one of the components of the Runaway and Homeless 

Youth Programs (Transitional Living Program). The officials estimated 

that the evaluation would begin in fiscal year 2012 and include an 

analysis of 5 years of program data to determine program performance 

and success.

According to this evaluation, the legislation for this program requires 

that the expenditures of program grantees are evaluated at least once 

every 3 years to ensure they are consistent with legislative 

requirements and to recommend changes to program design or 

operations. The objectives for the evaluation were to determine if (1) 

services were appropriate, (2) services were well administered, and 

(3) outcome and process goals were achieved. The evaluation found 

that the program was meeting its objectives. HHS officials told us that 

evaluation findings are used to improve program performance, 

monitor, and identify trends among grant recipients and clients.

 

29According to the evaluation, common measures are a consistent approach to measuring 

outcomes for employment programs. Labor introduced common measures to grantees in 

2006 and began requiring grantees to report specific common measures during program 

year 2006. Labor provides regular training and technical assistance to support the use of 

common measures.

30MANILA Consulting Group, Inc., The 2005 National Evaluation of the Projects for 

Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) Formula Grant Program, Final 

Report, a report prepared for the Department of Health and Human Services (April 2009).
 

Page 27 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Although program evaluations were limited, some agencies have 

conducted general research on the issue of homelessness. For example,

• HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation is 

responsible for policy research, evaluation, and economic analysis. 

According to HHS officials, the office oversees various research 

projects including homelessness. For instance, in fiscal year 2011 the 

office conducted two homelessness research projects. One project 

focused on Medicaid and permanent supportive housing services for 

individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. The other project 

focused on linking services and housing assistance for homeless 

families and those at risk of homelessness.

• HUD’s Office of Policy, Development, and Research is responsible for 

maintaining information on housing needs and existing programs and 

also addresses the efficacy and cost of different homeless 

interventions such as transitional housing and emergency shelter. 

According to HUD, the office plays a policy advisory role in preparing 

HUD’s regulatory, budget, and legislative proposals and in activities 

such as assessing the economic effect of HUD’s regulations and 

setting performance goals and measures.

• VA’s Northeast Performance Evaluation Center performs program 

evaluation on specialized mental health care provided through VA 

nationally. These specialized programs include services for homeless 

veterans, resident treatment, work therapy programs, post-traumatic 

stress disorder programs, and intensive case management 

programs.31

The Interagency Council maintains homelessness research and 

evaluation information from across the federal government and 

Additionally, VA’s National Center on Homelessness 

Among Veterans has a primary goal to develop, promote, and 

enhance policy, clinical care research, and education to improve and 

integrate homeless services.

 

31The Northeast Performance Evaluation Center issues annual reports on three VA 

homelessness programs. The programs include the Domiciliary Care for Homeless 

Veterans Program, the Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program, and the Homeless 

Veterans Grants and Per Diem Program. According to VA officials, these reports do not by 

themselves represent a complete formal evaluation but are monitoring reports of program 

operations. The reports provide the program office with feedback regarding the 

specialized services offered.
 

Page 28 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

throughout the country on its website, but does not conduct research 

itself. According to Interagency Council staff, the council does not have 

the resources or the expertise to conduct research. Instead, the 

Interagency Council’s strategic plan calls for collaborating and compiling 

research to better understand best practices, the cost-effectiveness of 

various interventions, metrics to measure outcomes, and the gaps in 

homelessness research. According to the 2011 update to the strategic 

plan, the council convened a federal interagency research group to share 

research information and has compiled research on its website to make 

information more accessible to state, local, and private sector partners.

While performance information can be helpful for monitoring whether 

programs were achieving desired results, program evaluations allow for 

comprehensive assessments. Thus, the limited evaluations of recent 

years make it difficult to fully assess what is working and how 

improvements can be made in programs addressing homelessness. It is 

critical for the federal agencies that carry out these programs to identify 

which programs are more effective in addressing the needs of persons 

experiencing homelessness. Understanding program performance and 

effectiveness is key to determining in which programs and interventions to 

strategically invest limited federal funds.

The Interagency Council has taken several actions to enhance 

coordination and promote initiatives across government agencies. As 

previously discussed, the HEARTH Act, which was enacted in May 2009, 

directs the Interagency Council to coordinate the federal response to 

homelessness and create national partnerships at every level of 

government and with the private sector to reduce and end 

homelessness.32

 

3242 U.S.C §§ 11311.

The act contains statutory functions and requirements 

While Federal 

Coordination Efforts 

Have Increased, 

Strategic Plan Could 

Be Improved

Interagency Council Has 

Taken Steps to Enhance 

Coordination
 

Page 29 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

for the council, some of which relate to coordination, while others relate to 

monitoring or reporting requirements. While the HEARTH Act also 

requires the Interagency Council to take actions as necessary to reduce 

duplication among programs, council staff told us they do not view 

duplication among programs as the problem. Rather, they regard 

fragmentation in delivery of services at the local level and a mismatch 

between need and resources as the most significant issues. Therefore, 

the council focuses its attention on coordination efforts among its member 

agencies.

Based on our review of documents and discussions with council and 

other agency staff, the Interagency Council’s actions in response to 

HEARTH Act requirements include the following:

• Convened federal partners and issued a federal strategy. Since May 

2009, the Interagency Council appointed a new executive director and 

convened 10 full council meetings where participants focused 

discussions around the development and implementation of a federal 

strategy.33 In June 2010, the council issued the first federal strategic 

plan.34 According to the HEARTH Act, the council must update the 

plan annually and the first update was issued in October 2011.35

 

33The executive director was appointed in October 2009. The meetings took place in June 

and October 2009; February, May, November, and December 2010; and March, July, 

September, and December 2011. 

Agencies have taken steps to adopt the strategy and incorporate it 

into their own efforts. HUD told us they incorporated the strategic 

plan’s goals, objectives, and strategies into its annual budget process; 

Agency Performance Goals; and its strategic plan and performance 

management process. VA officials told us they developed an 

operating plan to help implement and incorporate the plan into their 

own efforts. HHS and Council officials told us plans specific to 

homeless children and youth are under development and expected to 

be discussed in June and September 2012 at Council meetings. 

Some member agencies do not operate homelessness programs, or 

administer relatively few, and therefore would not be expected to 

develop plans to implement the federal strategic plan.

34See U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan 

to Prevent and End Homelessness (Washington, D.C.: June 2010).

35See U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan 

to Prevent and End Homelessness Update 2011 (Washington, D.C.: October 2011). 
 

Page 30 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

• Distributed information about federal programs and resources and 

provided professional and technical assistance. In May 2011, the 

Interagency Council launched a redesign of its website and 

implemented a broader communication strategy that included 

updating newsletters and implementing a webinar series. The 

redesigned website includes information about programs, funding 

opportunities, and federal technical assistance available; abstracts of 

relevant research conducted in the past 10 years; and a series of fact 

sheets. Additionally, council staff provided professional and technical 

assistance through a series of webinars.

• Coordinated at the state and local levels. The Interagency Council has 

developed several resources to help states and local communities 

implement strategic plans tailored to prevent and end homelessness 

or realign existing plans. To this end, the council issued guidance to 

assist local governments and communities. The Interagency Council 

also has encouraged the creation of state interagency councils on 

homelessness––a requirement of the HEARTH Act––by issuing a fact 

sheet and toolkit about how to start and develop these councils. An 

interactive state map with key facts and contacts for federal, state, 

and local officials is available on the Interagency Council website. 

Additionally, the council will have four regional coordinators 

throughout the country to provide professional and technical 

assistance to states and local communities beginning in May 2012. 

The regional coordinators will also participate in local, state, and 

regional meetings and workshops as necessary.

• Took steps to develop a common vocabulary. The Interagency 

Council has taken initial steps to develop a common vocabulary for 

discussing homelessness and related terms, as recommended in our 

June 2010 report.36

 

36

In January 2011, the council held a meeting with 

85 participants from stakeholder organizations and issued a report to 

Congress in June 2011 that summarized feedback received during the 

meeting. The report notes that a common vocabulary would allow 

federal agencies to better measure the scope and dimensions of 

homelessness, and may ease program implementation and 

coordination. Additionally, the council held three meetings in 2011 (in 

August, September, and October) to discuss implementation of a 

common vocabulary with key federal agencies. The Interagency 

GAO-10-702. 
 

Page 31 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Council has stated implementation of a common vocabulary among its 

member agencies would require long-term efforts.

• Developed joint federal agency initiatives. The Interagency Council 

organized a work group, known as the Council Policy Group, which 

provides a regular forum for coordinating policies, programs, data, 

and other initiatives among council members. HHS, HUD, VA, and the 

Interagency Council issued joint guidance and hosted a webinar on 

strategies to improve the accuracy of HUD’s point-in-time counts of 

people experiencing homelessness. HHS and VA also have been 

working with HUD and the Interagency Council to determine the 

feasibility of entering data from their respective programs into HUD’s 

data system (Homelessness Management Information Systems, or 

HMIS). According to VA officials, three VA programs input data into 

HMIS and officials told us they were in the early stages of determining 

the feasibility of entering data from additional programs into HMIS. 

Additionally, HHS officials told us they have been working to 

determine the feasibility of having all grantees in the Runaway and 

Homeless Youth Programs enter data into HMIS. As we reported in 

the past, a common vocabulary would allow agencies to collect 

consistent data that agencies could compile to better understand the 

nature of homelessness.

• Developed performance goals and metrics related to coordination. In 

fiscal year 2011, the Interagency Council worked with the Office of 

Management and Budget to develop specific performance goals. 

However, more time is needed to assess the council’s progress in 

meeting its performance goals because the council put the goals in 

place in fiscal year 2012. One of the council’s two performance goals 

relates to coordination of federal resources; that is, coordinating the 

federal government’s response to homelessness to maximize the 

reach and impact of federal resources. Additionally, the council 

established two strategies and five metrics to help accomplish the 

coordination goal.

Several federal agency officials told us that the Interagency Council has 

been effective in coordinating the federal response to homelessness 

across agencies. For instance, HUD officials told us that the council 

effectively disseminates information, lessons learned, and best practices. 

HHS told us that the council has led efforts to obtain a better 

understanding of homeless youth by convening a workgroup to determine 

gaps in services and resources for this population.
 

Page 32 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

While federal coordination efforts have increased or were under way, 

local service providers with whom we spoke during our site visits said 

greater coordination still was needed, providers suggested activities such 

as promoting the movement toward permanent supportive housing, 

providing more technical assistance, having a greater role in promoting 

research around prevention methods, and increasing attention around 

how changes in federal health care will impact local communities. 

Interagency Council staff told us resource constraints have affected their 

ability to coordinate the federal response to homelessness and fulfill 

HEARTH Act requirements. They noted that improving coordination would 

be a long-term effort.

The federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness has served 

as a useful and necessary first step in increasing agency coordination 

and focusing attention on ending homelessness, but lacks some key 

characteristics desirable in a national strategy. In previous work, we 

identified six characteristics desirable for an effective national strategy. 

(See table 3 in app. I for a detailed description of each characteristic.)37

 

37See 

The federal strategic plan and its update fully address two characteristics 

of an effective national strategy and partially address the remaining four 

(see fig. 7). 

GAO-04-408T, GAO-07-100, GAO-08-672, and GAO-12-276T. 

Opportunities Exist to 

Further Improve the 

National Strategy
 

Page 33 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Figure 7: Extent to Which the Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness

Addresses Characteristics of an Effective National Strategy, as of May 2012

More specifically, the plan addresses the following characteristics:

• Clear purpose, scope, and methodology. The strategy effectively 

addresses why it was produced, the scope of its coverage, and the 

process by which it was developed. For example, the HEARTH Act 

mandated that the Interagency Council develop the federal strategic 

plan and update it annually. The council worked with its 19 member 

agencies and state, local, and private sector partners to develop the 

strategy. The plan clearly articulates the methodology and states that 

the council held meetings with representatives of several 

organizations, mayors, and congressional staff, and also received 

input from leaders of state and regional interagency councils, and 

thousands of comments from the public, as part of the process of 

developing the plan.

• Detailed discussion of problems and risks. The strategy provides a 

detailed discussion of problems and risks, including national data 

points, relating to homelessness in the United States. The Interagency 

Council primarily used data from HUD and Education to provide 

statistics and information about the number of persons experiencing 

homelessness. Additionally, in terms of risks, the plan includes a 

discussion about the consequences of homelessness. For example, 

the plan states that children in families experiencing homelessness 
 

Page 34 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

have high rates of acute and chronic health problems and a majority 

of them were exposed to violence.

The strategic plan partially addresses the following characteristics:

• Desired goals, objectives, activities, and performance measures. The 

strategy effectively describes the desired overall goal, which is to 

prevent and end homelessness. It includes four key goals: (1) finish 

the job of ending chronic homelessness in 5 years; (2) prevent and 

end homelessness among veterans in 5 years; (3) prevent and end 

homelessness for families, youth, and children in 10 years; and (4) set 

a path to ending all types of homelessness. Additionally, the strategy 

includes 10 objectives and 52 strategies that align with the four goals. 

However, the strategy does not discuss or identify priorities and 

milestones that would help translate the goals and objectives into 

action. For example, it does not rank or prioritize which objectives or 

strategies need greater attention and focus. While the plan does align 

the objectives with federal agencies, it does not identify specific

activities for each member agency to implement. Although the 

Interagency Council’s implementation plan for the strategic plan 

assigns the plan’s 10 objectives and 52 strategies to specific council 

staff, it does not set priorities, milestones, or differentiate which 

objectives and strategies require greater focus by specific member 

agencies. Additionally, while the strategy includes six performance 

measures that align well with the goals and objectives, the plan lacks 

specific activities and corresponding performance metrics that the 

council and member agencies could use to measure their progress in 

taking actions to implement the plan.38

 

38Four performance metrics track annual changes in the number of (1) persons 

experiencing homelessness, (2) individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, (3) 

veterans experiencing homelessness, and (4) families with children experiencing 

homelessness, and align well with the strategy’s four broad goals. The two additional 

performance measures track increases in the number of permanent housing units and 

increases in the employment and participation in mainstream programs by persons 

experiencing homelessness. These two measures align well with 2 of the plan’s 10 

objectives that directly correspond to providing affordable housing and improving access 

to mainstream programs.

Furthermore, the strategy does 

not describe the overall framework for accountability and oversight, 

such as how federal agencies would be held accountable for 

implementing the plan and taking actions. Without additional 

performance metrics corresponding to actions taken to implement the 

plan, the Interagency Council, federal agencies, and Congress may 
 

Page 35 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

face difficultly in measuring incremental progress and ultimately 

determining whether the strategic plan was successful in terms of 

helping coordinate federal efforts.

• Description of future costs and resources needed. The plan generally 

identifies numerous resource and investment needs, but lacks a 

discussion of the costs and resources needed to help achieve the 10 

objectives and put into action the 52 strategies. For instance, it does 

not discuss the costs, sources of investment, and types of resources 

needed. Further, an effective strategy would provide guidance to 

implementing parties about how to manage resources and 

investments accordingly—and begin to address difficult but critical 

issues of who pays, and how such efforts will be funded and 

sustained in the future. For instance, an effective strategy would help 

prioritize future costs and resources for research and program 

evaluations. Some budget figures are included in the October 2011 

update to the strategic plan. For example, the update includes 

information about enacted appropriations for targeted homelessness 

programs; however, it does not discuss in detail the costs and sources 

of investments needed in the future to help implement objectives such 

as providing affordable or permanent supportive housing or improving 

access to mainstream programs. The strategy states the development 

of the plan was guided by key principles, including cost-effectiveness, 

but contains relatively little discussion about the cost-effectiveness of 

specific federal programs. Program evaluations can help identify 

which programs are most effective in addressing the needs of persons 

experiencing homelessness and better target federal resources. 

Without a discussion of resources, investments, and priorities, the 

Interagency Council, federal agencies, and Congress could face 

difficulties in focusing scarce resources on the most cost-effective 

programs and initiatives.

• Organizational roles, responsibilities, and coordination and integration 

with other entities. The strategy specifically states that the Interagency 

Council will provide federal leadership coordinating homelessness 

efforts and that the council’s staff should work in partnership with the 

19 member agencies. For each of the objectives, the plan identifies 

federal leadership, but does not include priorities for each agency and 

does not provide actions or activities that the agencies should take to 

help achieve the goals and objectives. Without discussion and 

delineation of which entities will implement the strategy, their roles 

and responsibilities, and mechanisms for coordinating efforts, the 

ability of agencies to implement the goals and objectives of the 

strategy will be diminished.
 

Page 36 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Overall, the plan effectively describes goals and objectives. In

discussions with council staff they told us in implementing the strategic 

plan the council is setting priorities, determining how to measure 

programs and results, and identifying mechanisms to hold federal and 

nonfederal partners accountable. However, these efforts need to be 

transparent to ensure accountability, inform Congress, and enhance 

federal efforts to prevent and end homelessness. 

The economic downturn and governmental resource constraints of recent 

years have focused attention on the problem of homelessness and on 

ways to help ensure that federal programs efficiently and effectively use 

their resources to address that problem. But the wide range of federal 

homelessness programs has resulted in some degree of fragmentation and 

overlap of services provided and populations served. Specifically, we found 

that HUD, HHS, Labor, and VA have multiple programs that offer similar 

services to similar beneficiaries. The VA offers multiple programs to 

veterans that are eligible for receiving these services as a result of military 

service. While there may be advantages to fragmentation and overlap, they 

also entail inefficiencies that programs may not be able to afford in an era 

of resource constraints and ongoing coverage gaps. Our work has shown 

that fragmented and overlapping federal programs result in administrative 

burdens, additional work for local service providers, and a confusing 

service delivery system for beneficiaries. However, because our work 

identified specific areas of fragmentation and overlap among targeted 

homelessness programs, it also suggests that agencies can use this and 

other information to better target their efforts and coordinate to help reduce 

or eliminate inefficiencies that result from fragmentation and overlap. 

Additionally, limited performance evaluations make it difficult to fully assess 

what is working and how improvements can be made in programs 

addressing homelessness. While such evaluations can be resourceintensive, their benefits include helping agencies identify how to better 

structure or operate programs more efficiently, which in turn may help 

realize cost savings.

Since 2009, one entity––the Interagency Council––has had an explicit 

mandate to coordinate the federal response to homelessness. The 

council has taken several actions to increase coordination across federal 

agencies, and its issuance of the first national strategic plan to prevent 

and end homelessness was a positive first step in improving coordination 

across agencies. The strategy is important because it broadly describes 

the federal approach to preventing and ending homelessness. The 

strategy sets goals and is an evolving effort, as the HEARTH Act requires 

Conclusions
 

Page 37 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

that it be updated annually. However, the plan does not specifically 

address priorities, milestones, resources, and a clear delineation of roles 

and responsibilities for federal agencies to help achieve results. Without a 

detailed and transparent discussion of these elements, the plan’s 

usefulness as a management tool for ensuring accountability and 

achieving results is diminished. In addition, without descriptions of the 

resources needed to achieve the goals, policymakers lack information 

that would be helpful in allocating resources.

Based on our review, we are making two recommendations:

The Interagency Council and the Office of Management and Budget––in 

conjunction with the Secretaries of HHS, HUD, Labor, and VA––should 

consider examining inefficiencies that may result from overlap and 

fragmentation in their programs for persons experiencing homelessness.

As a starting point, the agencies could use the program information from 

this report to further analyze the degree and effects of overlap and 

fragmentation. The results of this assessment could be used to take 

actions to reduce any identified inefficiencies and therefore better 

leverage their resources. Actions may include streamlining services 

offered within specific programs or by agencies, identifying programs that 

could benefit from further research or evaluations, or consolidating 

programs or services to reduce administrative costs.

To help prioritize, clarify, and refine efforts to improve coordination across 

agencies, and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of federal 

homelessness programs, the Interagency Council, in consultation with its 

member agencies, should incorporate additional elements into updates to 

the national strategic plan or other planning and implementation 

documents to help set priorities, measure results, and ensure 

accountability. Such elements should be transparent and may include 

milestones, a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities as related to 

the plan’s objectives, and corresponding performance metrics.

We provided a draft of this report to the Secretaries of Agriculture, 

Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and 

Urban Development, Justice, Labor, and Veterans Affairs; the Acting 

Administrator of the General Services Administration; the Commissioner 

of the Social Security Administration; and the Executive Director of the 

Interagency Council for comment. We provided an informational copy to 

the Office of Management and Budget. We received comments from 

Recommendations for 

Executive Action

Agency Comments 

and Our Evaluation
 

Page 38 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

HHS, Homeland Security, HUD, Labor, VA, and the Interagency Council

that are reproduced in appendixes IV through IX, respectively. HHS, 

Justice, VA, and the Interagency Council provided technical comments 

that were incorporated, as appropriate. The Departments of Agriculture 

and Education, GSA, and the Social Security Administration did not

provide any comments.

VA explicitly agreed with our first recommendation to work with the 

Interagency Council and other federal agencies that provide services to 

homeless veterans to identify opportunities to streamline programs and 

services. HHS, HUD, and Labor did not explicitly agree or disagree with 

this recommendation. They offered additional comments, which are 

reproduced in appendixes IV, VI, and VII, respectively. HHS stated there 

currently are not enough federal resources to meet the needs of the 

homeless population and close the services gap, especially for those with 

substance use and mental health disorders. While this report identified 

federal funding for homelessness programs in fiscal year 2010, we did not 

assess the availability of federal funding compared to the overall need. 

The identification of overlap or fragmentation in this report does not mean 

that funds to existing homelessness programs should be cut or eliminated 

but raises questions about whether existing funds are being used

efficiently. HHS also commented about the importance of a “no wrong 

door” approach that enables people to access needed services and 

supports through multiple entry points. While this report suggests some 

evidence of overlapping services, the report also acknowledges that 

overlapping programs help ensure access to services because persons 

experiencing homelessness are not steered toward one point of entry. 

HUD disagreed with our assertion about the extent of fragmentation 

across federal programs that serve the homeless. As a result of this 

comment, we clarified in the report that evidence suggests fragmentation 

and some overlap. As previously defined, fragmentation is more than one 

agency involved in the same broad area of national interest (i.e., 

homelessness). This report identified multiple agencies managing several 

similar homelessness programs, suggesting fragmentation. Additionally, 

we acknowledge that federal agencies have taken steps to enhance 

coordination, which we have previously stated is important to help 

minimize inefficiencies. Labor offered additional comments about its 

efforts in relation to employment of homeless veterans and stated it will 

continue to work closely with the Interagency Council and other federal 

partners.

The Interagency Council did not explicitly agree or disagree with the first 

or second recommendations. However, it provided additional comments 
 

Page 39 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

about each. Regarding the first recommendation, the Council stated it is 

not within the agency’s authority to streamline overlapping services. 

However, our recommendation states the Council should work in 

conjunction with key agencies and as a starting point use the program 

information from this report to further analyze the degree and effects of 

overlap and fragmentation. Streamlining services is one of several 

potential actions that agencies could take after further analyzing the 

degree and effects of overlap and fragmentation. As the entity mandated 

to coordinate the federal response to homelessness, the Interagency 

Council has an important role in facilitating the efforts of member 

agencies to address potential inefficiencies related to fragmentation and 

overlap. Regarding the second recommendation, the Council stated that 

in implementing the federal strategic plan it has been setting priorities, 

determining how to measure progress and results, and identifying 

mechanisms to hold federal and nonfederal partners accountable. 

However, the council was unable to provide us with documentation that 

these activities were occurring. Therefore, we did not revise our second 

recommendation because these additional implementation efforts must 

also be transparent to help ensure accountability and measure the plan’s 

progress. The Interagency Council made additional points, including

• commenting that our report did not reflect the strong commitment 

to research and to implement innovative practices across 

member agencies. Our report acknowledges that some agencies 

have conducted general research on the issue of homelessness, 

including specific research offices at HHS, HUD, and VA. The 

focus of our work was to identify whether programs had been 

evaluated and specifically whether program evaluations had 

occurred in the last 5 years.

• questioning whether there was a specific understanding of “at 

risk” for homelessness in determining whether two programs met 

the criteria we used for targeted programs. In identifying 

programs, we defined a targeted program as one that (1) was in 

operation as of fiscal year 2011 and (2) provided assistance 

exclusively to those persons experiencing homelessness or at 

risk for homelessness. While we agree there may be subjectivity 

in interpreting “at risk” for homelessness, we shared our list of 

programs with agency officials and they agreed the programs 

met the criteria for a targeted program.

• asserting that property disposition programs would be better 

examined separately from targeted programs. The council further 
 

Page 40 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

stated that including more programs in our review made it appear 

that there is more fragmentation and overlap than actually exists 

and they disagreed with our assertion about the extent of 

fragmentation. As previously stated, we clarified in the report that 

evidence suggests fragmentation and some overlap. This report 

states that 3 of 26 targeted programs provide federal surplus 

properties to eligible homelessness service providers and one 

program provides excess personal property to homeless 

veterans. In assessing the extent of fragmentation, overlap, and 

duplication of federal homelessness programs, we did not 

distinguish between different types of federal assistance and 

therefore included programs providing grants; direct assistance; 

or the sale, exchange, or donation of property or goods. 

We are sending copies of this report to the Secretaries of Agriculture, 

Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and 

Urban Development, Justice, Labor, and Veterans Affairs; the Acting 

Administrator of the General Services Administration; the Commissioner 

of the Social Security Administration; the Executive Director of the 

Interagency Council; the Office of Management and Budget; and 

appropriate congressional committees. In addition, the report is available 

at no charge on the GAO website at http://www.gao.gov. 

If you or your staffs have any questions regarding this report, please 

contact me at (202) 512-8678 or cackleya@gao.gov. Contact points for 

our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found 

on the last page of this report. GAO staff that made major contributions to 

this report are listed in appendix X.

Alicia Puente Cackley

Director, Financial Markets and

Community Investment
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 41 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

The objectives of our report were to determine (1) the number of and 

funding levels for federal homelessness programs and the extent to which 

fragmentation, overlap, and duplication exists; (2) whether the programs 

have been evaluated; and (3) actions of the U.S. Interagency Council on 

Homelessness (Interagency Council) and federal agencies to coordinate 

federal efforts and the extent to which the federal strategic plan to prevent 

and end homelessness is an effective strategy.

Overall, we reviewed relevant laws and regulations, particularly the 

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and the Homeless Emergency 

Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act (HEARTH Act). We 

reviewed relevant literature and past reports on federal homelessness 

programs, including the Congressional Research Service’s report on 

targeted federal homelessness programs and recent legislation.1 We 

interviewed federal agency officials and staff from the Interagency Council 

to gather information on federal homelessness programs and information 

about coordinating homelessness efforts. We reviewed documents 

related to the programs and the council’s coordination efforts and national 

strategic plan. We also conducted site visits to New York, New York; San 

Francisco, California; and Washington, D.C. We selected these locations 

based on the variety of targeted programs, size of the homeless 

population, and geography. In all three locations, we interviewed 

stakeholders, including local government officials; federal agency officials; 

and representatives of local service providers that offer services to 

homeless veterans, children and youth, women and families, and the 

general homeless population. While the number of site visits was too 

small to generalize information about the programs or assess the 

Interagency Council’s overall efforts to coordinate a federal response to 

homelessness, the observations and perspectives the various 

stakeholders expressed were sufficient to provide examples about the 

programs and suggest that the Interagency Council has begun to take 

steps to coordinate federal responses to homelessness.

 

1

Congressional Research Service, Homelessness: Targeted Federal Programs and 

Recent Legislation (Washington, D.C.: July 19, 2011).

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology 
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 42 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

To identify both targeted and mainstream federal homelessness 

programs, we developed a comprehensive list of programs based on 

legislative and agency information. First, through several searches, we 

identified programs that potentially met our definitions of targeted and 

mainstream. We defined a targeted program as one that (1) was in 

operation as of fiscal year 2011 and (2) provided assistance exclusively to 

those persons experiencing homelessness or at risk for homelessness. 

We defined a mainstream program as one that (1) was in operation as of 

fiscal year 2011, (2) included persons experiencing homelessness or at 

risk for homelessness as part of the population served, (3) provided 

services that benefit the homeless similar or complementary to those 

offered by targeted programs, and that (4) agency officials identified to be 

critical in meeting the needs of the homeless. We excluded programs that 

did not directly help persons experiencing homelessness, such as those 

that exclusively provided technical assistance, referrals, or administrative 

functions. In developing our comprehensive list, we reviewed the Catalog 

of Federal Domestic Assistance, the Interagency Council’s previous 

reports and information, and previous GAO and Congressional Research 

Service reports on homelessness, and searched the websites of the 19 

member agencies of the Interagency Council.2 Our initial review revealed 

that 5 of the 19 member agencies did not operate any targeted or 

mainstream programs. As a result, we excluded these five agencies from 

our study.3

Second, we excluded 4 of the 19 member agencies and their mainstream 

programs because they were not deemed critical to meeting the needs of 

In total, our initial search identified more than 150 potential 

programs (48 targeted and 106 mainstream) that 14 federal agencies 

administered.

 

2

See GAO-11-474R, GAO-10-724, and GAO-10-702. 

3

The five member agencies that do not operate targeted or mainstream programs are the 

Departments of Commerce and Transportation, the Office of Management and Budget, 

the U.S. Postal Service, and the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community 

Initiatives. 

Federal Homelessness 

Programs and the Extent 

of Fragmentation, Overlap, 

and Duplication

Program Identification
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 43 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

the homeless.4 Thus, the number of agencies in the scope of this study 

decreased from 14 to 10. Next, we shared our comprehensive list of 

programs with agency officials and asked officials to explain why 

programs should remain on the list and if any should be added or deleted. 

For example, some programs were removed from the list because they 

were not in operation in fiscal year 2011 or were part of a larger program 

already listed. During the initial meetings with agency officials, we asked 

officials to clarify program names, descriptions, and services offered. To 

obtain program-specific information, we sent a total of 105 (35 targeted, 

70 mainstream) structured questionnaires to the 10 agencies. These 

questionnaires are described in detail below. Our refined list included 100 

unique programs of which three were jointly administered by two or more 

agencies.5

More specifically, we developed two different questionnaires, one for 

targeted programs and one for mainstream programs. The targeted 

questionnaire was lengthier and included more in-depth questions about 

program information and funding levels (for example, about program 

goals and objectives, target populations, services offered, performance 

information and evaluations, numbers of homeless served, and funding 

information). The mainstream questionnaire included questions about 

services offered, target populations, whether the programs collect data on 

the number of persons experiencing homelessness or at risk for 

homelessness, and whether steps had been taken to increase 

participation of persons experiencing homelessness in mainstream 

We made additional refinements to our list of targeted and 

mainstream programs based on questionnaire responses. For instance, 

we excluded additional programs or characterized them differently from 

our initial list based on the program official’s input on whether the 

programs met the criteria for targeted or mainstream. As a result, we 

identified a total of 26 targeted and 62 mainstream programs.

 

4

These four member agencies are the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Interior and 

the Corporation for National and Community Service.

5

The Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) 

administer HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH); HUD, the Department of Labor, 

and VA administer the Veterans Homeless Prevention Demonstration Program, and the 

General Services Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services 

(HHS) and HUD administer Federal Surplus Real Property (Title V). For the HUD-VASH 

program, two agencies received questionnaires. Additionally, for the demonstration 

program and Federal Surplus Real Property (Title V) three agencies received 

questionnaires. As a result, the number of questionnaires we sent is higher than the 

number of programs. 

Questionnaires on Federal 

Homelessness Programs
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 44 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

programs. To minimize errors arising from differences in how questions 

might be interpreted and to reduce variability in responses, we conducted 

pretests with two different agencies in September 2011. We obtained 

feedback during the pretests and revised the questionnaires to improve 

organization and clarity. We then used the revised instrument to conduct 

a second round of pretests in October 2011 with the same two agencies.

We sent the questionnaires to the relevant agency contacts in November 

2011 as attachments to an e-mail message, which provided instructions, 

contact information for GAO staff, and the time frame for completing the 

questionnaire. Most of the questions required close-ended responses, 

such as checking boxes that best fit a description of the populations 

served by each program. Some questions were open-ended, allowing the 

officials to provide more in-depth details on program objectives, eligibility 

criteria, and beneficiary eligibility. Respondents returned completed 

questionnaires by e-mail, and we reviewed each program’s questionnaire 

to ensure agency staff had provided complete and consistent responses. 

From November 2011 through January 2012, we made telephone calls to 

agency staff and sent follow-up e-mails, as necessary, to clarify 

responses. We received completed questionnaires for 26 targeted and 62 

mainstream programs.

For the 26 targeted programs, we also collected obligations and enacted 

appropriations data, as available. We asked the agency staff to report on 

obligations—defined as definite commitments that create a legal liability 

of the government for the payment of goods and services ordered or 

received. Each of the 26 targeted programs provided obligations data for 

fiscal years 2008 through 2010, as available. A few programs were new 

or had not obligated any funds in fiscal years 2008 through 2010; 

therefore, they reported zero obligation dollars. We also collected enacted 

appropriations data for fiscal years 2008 through 2011. In several cases, 

programs were not able to provide enacted appropriations data because 

agency staff told us the program did not have a specific appropriation and 

funding for the program originated in a larger appropriation line item. As a 

result of not having complete enacted appropriations data, we excluded 

such data from this report. We did not collect funding-level information on 

mainstream programs because the programs serve the general lowincome population, not solely persons experiencing homelessness, and 

therefore funding for mainstream programs is not an appropriate estimate 

of federal funding spent on persons experiencing homelessness.

We used an independent contractor to keypunch the questionnaire data 

and provide us with a comprehensive data file. We verified a selected 
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 45 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

sample of keypunched records with their corresponding questionnaires 

and found that less than 0.5 percent of the data items had random 

keypunch errors that were not corrected during data processing. We used 

standard descriptive statistics to analyze responses. We performed data 

checks to identify missing fields, outliers, and inappropriate answers, and 

followed up with agency staff as necessary. To assess the reliability of 

data provided in the questionnaires, we incorporated questions about the 

reliability of the programs’ data and financial systems, conducted internal 

reliability checks, and conducted follow-up as necessary. While we did 

not verify all responses or have access to each agency’s data and 

financial systems to fully assess the reliability of the data provided or the 

systems themselves, on the basis of our questionnaire design and followup procedures, we determined that the data used in this report were 

sufficiently reliable for our purposes. Finally, GAO data analysts 

independently verified all data analysis programs and calculations for 

accuracy.

To determine the extent of fragmentation, overlap, and duplication we 

compared data from the 26 targeted programs to comprehensively look at 

homelessness programs across the federal government and used the 

following definitions:

• Fragmentation occurs when more than one federal agency (or more 

than one organization within an agency) is involved in the same broad 

area of national interest.

• Overlap occurs when multiple programs have similar goals and 

activities, and offer similar services to similar target populations.

• Duplication occurs when two or more agencies or programs are 

engaging in the same activities or providing the same services to the 

same beneficiaries.

We previously had reported that the wide range of homelessness 

programs that federal agencies offer resulted in a fragmented service 

system.6

 

6

To further determine the extent of fragmentation, we used the 

questionnaire data to identify the number of agencies that deliver similar 

or the same services. For example, five federal agencies each administer 

GAO-11-318SP. 

Determining the Extent of 

Fragmentation, Overlap, and 

Duplication
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 46 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

programs that offer transitional housing assistance. To determine overlap, 

we identified the number of programs with similar services (such as 

housing or employment assistance) to similar populations (such as the 

general homeless population, homeless veterans, or homeless children 

and youth). To further determine overlap, we then used the services 

offered to determine each program’s “primary services” and other eligible 

services. We designated those services stated within a program’s goals 

and objectives, as reported in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance or in the questionnaire, as primary services. In instances of 

overlapping primary and other eligible services to similar target 

populations, we reviewed the data with agency officials and asked 

clarifying questions about each program’s primary and other eligible 

services and obtained information about differences between programs.

However, the scope of this report did not allow us to gather enough 

information to fully discuss the degree of overlap among homelessness 

programs. To determine the extent of duplication, in instances when two 

or more programs engaged in the same primary service to similar target 

populations, we reviewed programmatic information, statutory authorities, 

and held meetings with program staff to determine whether the programs 

were providing the same services to the same beneficiaries.

We also used the targeted questionnaire discussed above to obtain 

information to answer our second objective about performance 

information and program evaluations. For the 26 targeted programs, we 

collected performance information and asked agency staff if a program 

evaluation had been conducted in the past 5 years. For instance, the 

questionnaire asked whether the programs had performance metrics, 

targets for the level of performance to be achieved, reporting of actual 

level of performance achieved, and what other data the agency collected 

on program performance. Additionally, the questionnaire asked program 

staff to describe the performance metrics, targets, reporting, or other data 

and submit relevant documentation (that is, submit documents to us 

describing the performance information and the program’s success in 

meeting any performance metrics within the last 3 years). Further, the 

questionnaire asked whether targeted programs had an efficiency or 

effectiveness evaluation completed within the past 5 years and to submit 

documents to us about any evaluation’s findings. We generally defined 

Performance Information 

and Program Evaluations
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 47 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

“evaluation” as an individual systematic study conducted periodically or 

on an ad hoc basis to assess how well a program was working.7

For the two programs that reported having had an evaluation within the 

past 5 years, we reviewed each report’s objectives, scope, key findings 

and recommendations made. However, we did not independently assess 

the quality of these reviews. Finally, we interviewed program staff to 

obtain information on how the agency uses performance information and 

program evaluation findings, as appropriate. We did not collect 

performance information or program evaluations for mainstream 

programs because these programs were designed to assist the general 

low-income population and would not necessarily track or monitor 

program performance or outcomes related to persons experiencing 

homelessness.

To review the actions of the Interagency Council and federal agencies to 

coordinate federal efforts, we analyzed the council’s coordination 

responsibilities, obtained examples of coordination actions and activities 

from the council and key federal agencies, and interviewed agency 

officials. We reviewed the HEARTH Act and identified functions and 

duties as they relate to coordinating the federal response to 

homelessness. For instance, coordination refers to a joint activity bringing 

together two or more agencies or entities. We identified actions such as 

issuing and updating the federal strategic plan to end homelessness; 

providing assistance to states, local governments, and nonprofit 

organizations; and developing joint federal agency and other initiatives to 

fulfill the goals of the Interagency Council, as coordination duties. We 

interviewed Interagency Council staff and asked them to provide evidence 

of actions taken to fulfill requirements of the HEARTH Act. We reviewed 

relevant documents such as a report to Congress on developing a 

common vocabulary, congressional budget justifications, performance 

and accountability reports, guidance on creating effective state 

interagency councils, and agendas for various meetings held by the 

council. Additionally, our questionnaire to targeted programs asked 

agency staff whether the agency or program offices coordinated or 

collaborated with other federal agencies or programs to plan, facilitate, or 

 

7

For more information on how we have defined performance information and program 

evaluation, see GAO-11-646SP. 

Coordination Actions and 

the National Strategy
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 48 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

implement programs and examples of how this was done. Finally, during 

our site visits, we asked local service providers, local officials, and federal 

program staff to provide examples of coordination activities the 

Interagency Council and federal agencies have undertaken.

To determine the extent to which the national strategic plan to prevent 

and end homelessness is an effective strategy, we analyzed the national 

strategy and gathered feedback on it from federal agencies. We obtained 

copies of the 2010 national strategy, the 2011 update to the national 

strategy, and an implementation plan that indicates which Interagency 

Council staff were responsible for specific items within the strategy. We 

assessed the strategy by benchmarking it against our prior work 

identifying the six desirable characteristics of an effective national 

strategy (see table 3). We have used this methodology in several past 

reports.8

Table 3: Summary of Desirable Characteristics for a National Strategy

Desirable characteristic Description

(1) Purpose, scope, and methodology Addresses why the strategy was produced, the scope of its coverage, and 

the process by which it was developed.

(2) Problem definition and risk assessment Addresses the particular national problems and threats the strategy is 

directed towards.

(3) Goals, subordinate objectives, activities, and 

performance measures

Addresses what the strategy is trying to achieve, steps to achieve those 

results, as well as the priorities, milestones, and performance measures to 

gauge results.

(4) Resources, investments, and risk management Addresses what the strategy will cost, the sources and types of resources 

and investments needed, and where resources and investments should be 

targeted based on balancing risk reductions with costs.

(5) Organizational roles, responsibilities, and 

coordination 

Addresses who will be implementing the strategy, what their roles will be 

compared to others, and mechanisms for them to coordinate their efforts.

(6) Integration and implementation Addresses how a national strategy relates to other strategies’ goals, 

objectives, and activities, and to subordinate levels of government and their 

plans to implement the strategy.

Source: GAO.

We assessed the federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness 

according to the six characteristics and provided a rating for each 

characteristic. Similar to our other reports that used these six 

characteristics, we gave ratings of “addresses,” “partially addresses,” or 

 

8

See GAO-04-408T, GAO-07-100, GAO-07-781, GAO-08-672, and GAO-12-276T. 
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 49 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

“does not address.” According to our methodology, a strategy addresses 

a characteristic when it explicitly cites all, or nearly all, elements of the 

characteristic, and has sufficient specificity and detail. A strategy partially 

addresses a characteristic when it explicitly cites one or a few of the 

elements of a characteristic, and the documents have sufficient specificity 

and detail. It should be noted that the partially addresses category 

includes a range that varies from explicitly citing most, but not all, of the 

elements to citing as few as one of the elements of a characteristic. A 

strategy does not address a characteristic when it does not explicitly cite 

or discuss any element of a characteristic, any references are either too 

vague or general to be useful, or both.

We conducted this performance audit from June 2011 to May 2012 in 

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 

sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that 

the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and 

conclusions based on our audit objectives.
Appendix II: Mainstream Programs That 

Persons Experiencing Homelessness Can 

Access 

Page 50 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Persons experiencing homelessness may receive assistance through 

mainstream programs that are designed for low-income people generally. 

We defined a mainstream program as one that (1) was in operation as of 

fiscal year 2011, (2) included persons experiencing homelessness or at 

risk for homelessness as part of the population served, (3) provided 

services that benefit the homeless similar or complementary to those 

offered by targeted programs, and that (4) agency officials identified to be 

critical in meeting the needs of the homeless. This report does not include 

all programs that can serve persons experiencing or at risk for 

homelessness because some programs that can do so did not meet all 

the criteria in our definition. Table 4 summarizes 62 mainstream programs 

that met the above definition. In response to our questionnaire (see 

appendix I), mainstream programs reported whether they collected data 

on the number served and steps taken to increase participation of 

persons experiencing homelessness.

Table 4: Mainstream Programs That Persons Experiencing Homelessness Can Access

Program name Description

Collect data on 

homeless served

Steps taken to 

increase participation

Department of Agriculture (11)

Child and Adult Care Food 

Program 

Provides snacks and meals to low-income children 

participating in after school, weekend, or holiday 

activities such as a tutoring program or after school 

childcare. 

X X 

Emergency Food Assistance 

Program 

Provides food to local agencies, usually food banks, 

which in turn, distribute the food to soup kitchens 

and food pantries that directly serve the public.

Food Distribution Program on 

Indian Reservations 

Provides food to low-income households living on 

Indian reservations, and to American Indian 

households.

Hunger Free Communities 

Grants 

Provides grants to assess community hunger 

problems, develop new resources to achieve 

hunger-free communities, or both.

Multi-Family Housing Provides permanent affordable housing.

National School Lunch 

Program and School Breakfast 

Program 

Allows eligible children to receive free or reducedprice meals during the school year. X 

Senior Farmers’ Market 

Nutrition Program 

Provides low-income seniors with coupons that can 

be exchanged for eligible foods at farmers’ markets, 

roadside stands, and community-supported 

agriculture programs.

Single-Family Housing Provides permanent affordable housing.

Appendix II: Mainstream Programs That 

Persons Experiencing Homelessness Can 

Access 
Appendix II: Mainstream Programs That 

Persons Experiencing Homelessness Can 

Access 

Page 51 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Program name Description

Collect data on 

homeless served

Steps taken to 

increase participation

Special Supplemental Nutrition 

Program for Women, Infants 

and Children

Provides nutritious foods, healthy eating 

information, and health-care referrals to help 

protect the health of women, infants, and children 

who are at nutritional risk.

X 

Summer Food Service 

Program

Provides free breakfasts and lunches to children

during the summer months at participating schools, 

summer camps, churches, and community 

organizations that are designated by their states as 

sponsor programs. Some participating programs 

are connected with supervised activities in which 

children also participate. 

Supplemental Nutrition 

Assistance Program

Provides food benefits issued via debit cards to 

low-income households that can be used to 

purchase food from participating retail stores.

Department of Education (2)

Individuals with Disabilities 

Education Act Program, Parts 

B and C

Provides services and improves results for infants, 

toddlers, children and youth with disabilities, 

including those with disabilities who are homeless.

X 

Title I, Part A, Improving Basic 

Programs Operated by Local

Educational Agencies

Provides financial assistance to local educational 

agencies and schools with high numbers or high 

percentages of children from low-income families to 

help ensure that all children meet challenging state 

academic standards.

X 

Department of Health and Human Services (15)

Access to Recovery Provides discretionary funds to states, territories, 

and tribal organizations to establish new or expand 

existing voucher programs that promote client 

choice for substance abuse treatment and recovery 

support services.

X 

Child Support Enforcement 

Program

Helps families by promoting family self-sufficiency 

and child well-being.

X 

Children’s Health Insurance 

Program

Provides health insurance to children in families 

with very low income.

Community Mental Health 

Services Block Grant

Provides and encourages the development of 

creative and cost-effective community-based care 

for people with serious mental disorders. 

X X 

Community Services Block 

Grant

Funds a network of community action agencies that 

provides services and activities to reduce poverty, 

including services to address employment, 

education, better use of available income, housing 

assistance, nutrition, energy, emergency services, 

health, and substance abuse needs.

X 

Family Violence Prevention 

and Services Grant Program

Assists state agencies, territories, and Indian tribes 

in the provision of shelter to victims of family 

violence and their dependents, and for related 

services, such as emergency transportation and 

child care.

X 
Appendix II: Mainstream Programs That 

Persons Experiencing Homelessness Can 

Access 

Page 52 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Program name Description

Collect data on 

homeless served

Steps taken to 

increase participation

Head Start Provides school readiness by enhancing the social 

and cognitive development of children through the 

provision of educational, health, nutritional, social 

and other services to enrolled children and families.

X X 

Health Center Program Provides comprehensive, primary health care 

services to medically underserved communities and 

vulnerable populations. Health centers are 

community-based organizations that serve 

populations with limited access to health care.

X X 

Healthy Start Increases access and utilization of health-care 

services for low- income women during pregnancy 

and in the months following delivery in areas with 

high infant mortality and shortages of health-care 

providers.

X 

John H. Chafee Foster Care 

Independence Program

Assists current and former foster care youths 

achieve self-sufficiency. Provides short-term 

housing, education, employment and job training, 

and case management.

Medicaid Provides health care coverage to low-income 

individuals and families.

X 

Ryan White HIV/AIDS 

Program

Provides HIV-related services for those who do not 

have sufficient health-care coverage or financial 

resources for coping with HIV. 

X X 

Social Services Block Grant Assists states in delivering social services directed 

toward the needs of children and adults.

Substance Abuse Prevention 

and Treatment Block Grant

Provides substance abuse prevention, early 

intervention, treatment, and recovery support 

services for individuals, families, and communities 

impacted by substance abuse and substance use 

disorders. 

X 

Temporary Assistance for 

Needy Families

Provides temporary cash assistance and services 

for low-income families with children.

X 

Department of Housing and Urban Development (8)

Community Development 

Block Grant 

Addresses a wide range of unique community 

development needs.

X 

HOME Investment 

Partnerships Program 

Expands the supply of affordable housing and 

increases the capacity of state and local 

governments and nonprofit organizations in 

developing such housing.

Housing Choice Voucher 

Program (Section 8)

Assists very low-income families, the elderly, and 

persons with disabilities to afford decent, safe, and 

sanitary housing in the private market.

X X 

Housing Counseling Program Provides funding to support free or low-cost advice 

related to buying a home, renting, default, 

foreclosure avoidance, credit issues and reverse 

mortgages.

X X 
Appendix II: Mainstream Programs That 

Persons Experiencing Homelessness Can 

Access 

Page 53 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Program name Description

Collect data on 

homeless served

Steps taken to 

increase participation

Housing Opportunities for 

Persons with AIDS 

Funds may be used for a wide range of housing, 

social services, program planning, and 

development costs.

X 

Native American Housing 

Assistance and Self 

Determination Act 

Provides loan guarantees to Indian tribes for private 

market loans to develop affordable housing. The 

act provides a formula-based grant program as 

well.

Public Housing Program Provides decent and safe rental housing for eligible 

low-income families, the elderly, and persons with 

disabilities.

X X 

Section 811 Supportive 

Housing for Persons with 

Disabilities

Allows persons with disabilities to live as 

independently as possible in the community by 

increasing the supply of rental housing with the 

availability of supportive services.

Department of Justice (5)

Drug Court Discretionary 

Grant Program

Funds the development, implementation, and 

enhancement of drug treatment courts in state and

local jurisdictions. Services may include substance 

abuse and mental health treatment, employment, 

job training, and education.

Justice and Mental Health 

Collaboration Program

Provides grants and assistance to states and local 

government agencies to tackle the problem of 

serious mental illness among the nation’s 

nonviolent offenders.

Promoting Child and Youth 

Safety: Chicago Safe Place 

Program

Provides resources to the Youth Network Council 

with the purpose of promoting youth safety by 

preventing victimization of Chicago’s 

unaccompanied and homeless youth through the 

provision of a network of resources.

X 

Second Chance Act Program Provides funding to assist the re-entering 

population of adults and adolescents from state and 

local correctional facilities.

Services to Advocate for and 

Respond to Youth

Provides mental health and case management 

services to youth victims of domestic violence, 

dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

X 

Department of Labor (12)

Disabled Veterans Outreach 

Program

Provides intensive services to meet the 

employment needs of disabled veterans and other 

eligible veterans, with the maximum emphasis 

directed toward serving those who are economically 

or educationally disadvantaged, including homeless 

veterans, and veterans with barriers to employment.

X 

Indian and Native American 

Employment and Training 

Program

Provides funds for employment and training 

services provided by organizations serving Indians 

and Native Americans.

X 

Job Corps Provides career technical training and educational 

services for low-income students, ages 16-24. 

X X 
Appendix II: Mainstream Programs That 

Persons Experiencing Homelessness Can 

Access 

Page 54 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Program name Description

Collect data on 

homeless served

Steps taken to 

increase participation

Local Veterans Employment 

Representative

Conducts outreach to employers and engages in 

advocacy efforts with hiring executives to increase 

employment opportunities for veterans, encourage 

the hiring of disabled veterans, and generally assist 

veterans to gain and retain employment.

X 

National Farmworker Jobs 

Program

Provides funding to community-based organizations 

and public agencies to offer job training and 

employment assistance for migrant and seasonal 

farmworkers. 

X X 

Reintegration of Ex-Offenders Provides employment and training services for adult 

prisoners 18 and older returning home and juvenile 

offenders and at-risk youth ages 14-24.

X X 

Senior Community Service 

Employment Program

Helps unemployed, low-income older individuals 

gain the skills they need to find and sustain 

employment in the workforce while they participate 

in useful community service activities.

X 

Veterans’ Workforce 

Investment Program

Provides services to assist in reintegrating eligible 

veterans into meaningful employment within the 

labor force and to stimulate the development of 

effective service delivery systems that will address 

the complex problems facing eligible veterans.

X 

Wagner-Peyser Employment 

Service 

Provides employment-related labor exchange 

services, including but not limited to, job search 

assistance, job referral and placement assistance 

for job seekers, re-employment services to 

unemployment insurance claimants, and 

recruitment. 

X 

Workforce Investment Act 

Adult Program

Provides workforce investment services to adults to 

increase their employment, retention in 

employment, and earnings, and also support their 

occupational skill attainment and career 

advancement.

X 

Workforce Investment Act 

Youth Program

Provides workforce investment services to lowincome youth who meet specific eligibility 

categories.

X X 

Youth Build Serves low-income youth between the ages of 16 

and 24. Strong emphasis is placed on leadership 

development and community service.

X 

Department of Veterans Affairs (5)

Compensated Work Therapy 

Program

Provides employment and training and casemanagement services to veterans whose vocational 

lives have been disrupted by mental illness, 

substance abuse, or homelessness.

X X 
Appendix II: Mainstream Programs That 

Persons Experiencing Homelessness Can 

Access 

Page 55 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Program name Description

Collect data on 

homeless served

Steps taken to 

increase participation

Disability Compensation and 

Non-Service Connected 

Pension 

Provides disability compensation benefits to 

veterans because of injuries or diseases that 

happened while on active duty, or were made 

worse by active military service. Pension is an 

income-based monthly benefit paid to veterans with 

honorable wartime service who are 65 or older or 

who are permanently and totally disabled due to 

disability that is not related to military service. 

X X 

Healthcare for Reentry 

Veterans

Addresses the community reentry needs of 

incarcerated veterans. The program goals are to 

prevent homelessness, reduce the impact of 

medical, psychiatric, and substance abuse 

problems upon community readjustment, and 

decrease the likelihood of reincarceration for those 

leaving prison.

X X 

Vet Center Provides counseling, outreach, and referral 

services to eligible combat veterans and active duty 

servicemembers to help them make a satisfying 

post-war readjustment to civilian life. Family 

members of eligible veterans are also eligible for 

Vet Center services. 

X X 

Veterans Justice Outreach Provides outreach services to veterans in contact 

with the justice system through encounters with 

police, jails, and courts. The goal of the program is 

to provide timely access to VA services for eligible 

justice-involved veterans to prevent homelessness 

and avoid the unnecessary criminalization of mental 

health and other problematic clinical issues among 

veterans.

X X 

General Services Administration (1)

Federal Surplus Personal 

Property Donation Program 

Enables certain nonfederal organizations to obtain 

personal property that the federal government no 

longer needs and can benefit the community. 

Surplus property can include all types and 

categories such as food, clothing, beds, medical 

supplies, furniture, and a host of other items.

X 

Social Security Administration (3)

Social Security Disability 

Insurance

Provides benefits based on a worker’s prior 

earnings. Dependents, such as spouses and 

children, of disabled workers also may receive 

benefits. 

X 

Supplemental Security Income Provides basic income support to needy individuals 

who are blind, disabled, or who are aged 65 or 

older and have limited or no other income.

X 

Social Security Retirement Provides benefits based on a worker’s prior 

earnings and retirement age.

Source: GAO analysis of agency information and questionnaire responses.
Appendix III: Performance Information for 26 

Targeted Programs

Page 56 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

In their responses to our questionnaire (see app. I), almost all of the 

targeted programs (25 of 26) replied they maintained performance 

information such as metrics and targets for the level of performance to be 

achieved, or reported the actual level of performance achieved for their 

respective programs (see table 5). The specific type of performance 

measures they maintained varied. More than half of the programs 

maintained performance metrics information (15 of 26), and almost half 

maintained targets for the level of performance (12 of 26). And almost all 

indicated that they reported information on actual performance (23 of 26).

Table 5: Performance Information Collected, by Program

Agency Program

Performance 

metrics

Targets for the 

level of 

performance

Reporting of 

actual 

performance Other data

VA Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans 

Program

X X X X 

VA Homeless Providers Grants and Per Diem 

Program

X X X X 

VA Health Care for Homeless Veterans 

Program

X X 

VA Homeless Veterans Dental Program X X 

VA National Call Center for Homeless Veterans X X 

VA Stand Downs X X 

VA Acquired Property Sales for Homeless 

Providersa

VA Excess Property for Homeless Veterans 

Initiative

X 

VA Regional Office Homeless Veterans 

Outreach Activities 

X X 

VA Homeless Veteran Supported Employment 

Program

X X 

VA Preventing Veteran Homelessness through 

Mortgage Foreclosure Assistance

X X X X 

HHS Projects for Assistance in Transition from 

Homelessness

X 

HHS Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs X X X 

HHS Health Care for the Homeless X X X 

HHS Grants for the Benefit of Homeless 

Individuals

X X X X 

HHS Services in Supportive Housing Grants X X X X 

HUD Homeless Assistance Grants X X X X 

Appendix III: Performance Information for 26 

Targeted Programs
Appendix III: Performance Information for 26 

Targeted Programs

Page 57 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Agency Program

Performance 

metrics

Targets for the 

level of 

performance

Reporting of 

actual 

performance Other data

HUD Homelessness Prevention and Rapid ReHousing ProgramX X X X 

HUD Base Realignment and Closure Program X X X X 

Education Education for Homeless Children and 

Youths

X X X X 

FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program X X 

Justice Transitional Housing Assistance for Victims 

of Domestic Violence, Stalking, or Sexual 

Assault 

X X 

Labor Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program X X X X 

Multiagency HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) X X X X 

Multiagency Veterans Homeless Prevention 

Demonstration Program

X X 

Multiagency Federal Surplus Real Property (Title V) X X X 

Total 15 12 23 23

Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.

a

VA’s Acquired Property Sales for Homeless Providers program reported that it did not collect 

performance information. 
Appendix IV: Comments from the Department 

of Health and Human Services

Page 58 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Appendix IV: Comments from the 

Department of Health and Human Services
Appendix IV: Comments from the Department 

of Health and Human Services

Page 59 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 
Appendix IV: Comments from the Department 

of Health and Human Services 

Page 60 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 
Appendix IV: Comments from the Department 

of Health and Human Services

Page 61 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 
Appendix V: Comments from the Department 

of Homeland Security

Page 62 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Appendix V: Comments from the Department 

of Homeland Security
Appendix VI: Comments from the Department 

of Housing and Urban Development

Page 63 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Appendix VI: Comments from the 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development 
Appendix VI: Comments from the Department 

of Housing and Urban Development

Page 64 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 
Appendix VI: Comments from the Department 

of Housing and Urban Development

Page 65 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 
Appendix VII: Comments from the Department 

of Labor

Page 66 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Appendix VII: Comments from the 

Department of Labor
Appendix VII: Comments from the Department 

of Labor

Page 67 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 
Appendix VIII: Comments from the Department 

of Veterans Affairs 

Page 68 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Appendix VIII: Comments from the 

Department of Veterans Affairs
Appendix VIII: Comments from the Department 

of Veterans Affairs 

Page 69 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 
Appendix IX: Comments from the United 

States Interagency Council on Homelessness 

Page 70 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Appendix IX: Comments from the United 

States Interagency Council on Homelessness
Appendix IX: Comments from the United 

States Interagency Council on Homelessness 

Page 71 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 
Appendix IX: Comments from the United 

States Interagency Council on Homelessness 

Page 72 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 
Appendix X: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments

Page 73 GAO-12-491 Federal Homelessness Programs 

Alicia Puente Cackley, (202) 512-8678 or cackleya@gao.gov. 

In addition to the contact named above, Paul Schmidt (Assistant 

Director), Elizabeth Curda, Beth Faraguna, Janet Fong, Jill Lacey, Marc 

Molino, John McGrail, Barbara Roesmann, Christine San, and Brian 

Schwartz made key contributions to this report.

Appendix X: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments 

GAO Contact

Staff 

Acknowledgments

(250577)
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