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United States Interagency Council on Homelessness 1

U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness

Fiscal Year 2019 Performance and

Accountability Report

Contents

Message from the Executive Director ..........................................................................................................................2

Areas of Increased Focus..........................................................................................................................................3

Annual Performance Measures and Metrics............................................................................................................7

Management Assurances .........................................................................................................................................9

Management Discussion and Analysis..........................................................................................................................9

Driving an Efficient and Effective Federal Response to Homelessness..................................................................10

Building a National Partnership at Every Level of Government and Across the Private Sector.............................15

Providing Tools and Resources for Success............................................................................................................17

Performance Goals and Accomplishments.................................................................................................................18

Ending Homelessness among Veterans..................................................................................................................18

Ending Chronic Homelessness Among People with Disabilities.............................................................................21

Ending Homelessness among Families and Children..............................................................................................23

Ending Homelessness for Unaccompanied Youth..................................................................................................26

Ending Homelessness Among All Other Individuals...............................................................................................27

Agency Operations......................................................................................................................................................29

Financial Statements, Auditor’s Reports, and Other Requirements.......................................................................30
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Message from the Executive Director

Fiscal Year 2019 represented the first full year of implementation of Home, Together, the federal strategic plan to 

prevent and end homelessness for FYs 2018-2022. Many states and communities, with the support of the federal 

government and the private sector, are continuing to make progress, using best practices and building the 

coordinated responses that are necessary to reduce and ultimately end homelessness in America. Other states 

and communities, however, are experiencing increases in homelessness, and there are indicators of significant 

challenges ahead. 

To meet those challenges, we were especially focused in FY 2019 on implementing activities in the areas that 

were called out for increased focus in Home, Together: increasing affordable housing opportunities; strengthening 

prevention and diversion practices; creating solutions for unsheltered homelessness; tailoring strategies for rural 

communities; helping people who exit homelessness find employment success; and learning from the expertise of 

people with lived experience. We know that increased effort and progress in these areas will be necessary to 

achieve Home, Together’s goals:

• To end homelessness among Veterans

• To end chronic homelessness among people with disabilities

• To end homelessness among families with children

• To end homelessness among unaccompanied youth

• To end homelessness among all other individuals

Signs of Progress

Driven by federal, state, and local actions, and by public and private partnerships, point-in-time data shows an 

estimated 13% fewer people were experiencing 

homelessness in 2018 compared to 2010, and 

there were 17% fewer people who were 

unsheltered, sleeping on our sidewalks, in our 

parks, and in other unsafe environments. 

For some targeted groups, communities have 

made even greater progress within their pointin-time data. For example, since 2010, there are 

49% fewer Veterans and 29% fewer families with 

children experiencing homelessness. And we’ve 

reduced chronic homelessness—homelessness 

among people with disabilities who have been 

without a home for long or repeated periods of 

time—by 16%.

In addition, since the release of federal criteria 

and benchmarks in 2015 to measure progress for ending homelessness among Veterans, 78 communities and 3 

entire states, across 35 different states, have effectively ended Veteran homelessness. And four communities 

have achieved the federal criteria and benchmarks for ending chronic homelessness. 
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Signs of Challenges

These achievements show that ending homelessness is possible when resources are scaled to necessary levels and 

deployed strategically. But other data released in FY 2019 revealed some troubling trends. For example: 

• HUD’s point-in-time count indicated a small national increase, for the second year in a row, including 

increases among people with disabling conditions who are chronically homeless, among other single 

adults experiencing homelessness, and among people who are unsheltered.

• According to ED’s Federal Data Summary School Years 2014-2015 to 2016-17: Education for Homeless 

Children and Youth, released in February 2019, public schools reported that 1,355,821 enrolled students 

were identified as experiencing homelessness at some point during the 2016-2017 school year, an 

increase of approximately 7% over a three-year period. At the point of identification by school district 

liaisons, the majority of students experiencing 

homelessness (76%), shared housing with 

others due to loss of housing, economic 

hardship, or similar reason.

• Racial inequities remained pronounced and 

stark. For example, while African Americans 

make up 13% of the general population, they 

represented 40% of people counted as 

experiencing homelessness in the 2018 pointin-time count, and 43% of people who 

accessed shelter, according to HUD’s annual 

shelter usage data for 2017.

• According to the State of the Nation’s Housing 

2019, released by the Joint Center for Housing 

Studies of Harvard University in June 2019, 

the total number of low cost rental units 

across the country fell 17% between 2011 and 

2017, a decrease of more than 4 million units. 

Areas of Increased Focus

We have been responding to these trends through

urgent action in the areas of increased focus that were 

identified and detailed in Home, Together.

Increasing Affordable Housing Opportunities

While housing affordability concerns vary across the country, there are clearly powerful connections between 

people’s ability to access affordable housing and both their risk of homelessness and their ability to exit 

homelessness. We need to do everything we can, across all levels of government and in the private sector, to 

expand access to housing affordable to people who are at risk of or are experiencing homelessness. Activities 

under this focus area included:

Objectives and Strategies in Home, Together

Ensure Homelessness is a Rare Experience

Objective 1.1: Collaboratively Build Lasting Systems that End 

Homelessness

Objective 1.2: Increase Capacity and Strengthen Practices to 

Prevent Housing Crises and Homelessness

Ensure Homelessness is a Brief Experience

Objective 2.1: Identify and Engage All People Experiencing 

Homelessness

Objective 2.2: Provide Immediate Access to Low-Barrier 

Emergency Shelter or other Temporary Accommodations to 

All Who Need It

Objective 2.3: Implement Coordinated Entry to Standardize 

Assessment and Prioritization Processes and Streamline 

Connections to Housing and Services

Objective 2.4: Assist People to Move Swiftly into Permanent 

Housing with Appropriate and Person-Centered Services

Ensure Homelessness is a One-Time Experience

Objective 3.1: Prevent Returns to Homelessness through 

Connections to Adequate Services and Opportunities

Sustain an End to Homelessness

Objective 4.1: Sustain Practices and Systems at a Scale 

Necessary to Respond to Future Needs
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• We published Aligning Affordable Housing Efforts with Actions to End Homelessness, which provides 

strategies and resources to help communities ensure that their strategies for addressing housing 

affordability are integrated and coordinated with their strategies for preventing and ending 

homelessness.

• We developed and initiated a comprehensive strategy to disseminate knowledge about these strategies, 

including: 

o We conducted a national webinar on Aligning Affordable Housing Efforts with Actions to End 

Homelessness Webinar.

o We spoke at a variety of conference and events, including the National League of Cities summit, 

the Florida Housing Coalition, Arizona’s 25th Annual Statewide Conference on Affordable Housing, 

the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council of the State of California, and many other local 

meetings and events. 

o We wrote the op-ed Developers are Critical Partners in Ending Homelessness, which was 

published in Affordable Housing Finance.

• We identified opportunities for federal agencies to support communities to align affordable housing 

efforts with actions to end homelessness at our May 2019 Council meeting.

• We published The Importance of Housing Affordability and Stability for Preventing and Ending 

Homelessness, which reviews research regarding the importance of housing affordability and stability for 

ending homelessness and achieving other outcomes, summarizes recent data quantifying housing 

affordability gaps, and identifies strategies for addressing those gaps.

• We published Project-Basing Mainstream Vouchers and Building Relationships between HUD Multifamily 

Property Owners and Continuums of Care to help communities increase the number of housing units 

available to the populations of people experiencing homelessness that they serve.

Strengthening Prevention and Diversion Practices

In order to end homelessness, we must do a better job of preventing housing crises from occurring and diverting 

people away from the homelessness services system or from becoming unsheltered, when they have safe and 

appropriate family or social supports available. There is still much to be learned about specific, effective strategies 

in both of these areas. Activities under this focus area included:

• We worked closely with HUD and VA to develop and provide communities with a set of common 

definitions around prevention, diversion and, rapid exit in Prevention, Diversion, and Rapid Exit. We 

participated in a variety of webinars, conference workshops, and meetings to raise awareness and 

understanding of these definitions.

• We also jointly published Adopting Housing Problem-Solving Approaches with Prevention, Diversion, and 

Rapid Exit Strategies, which discusses housing problem-solving approaches that support the effective 

implementation of homelessness prevention, diversion, and rapid exit strategies.

• We developed a set of case studies of communities that are working to prevent people from losing their 

housing in Eviction Prevention: A Conversation with Communities.
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• We served as a member of the FRIENDS National Resource Center for Child Abuse Prevention National 

Advisory Council and presented to the membership on Home, Together and the intersection between 

child abuse prevention and homelessness prevention.

• We presented our prevention framework to Council at our September 2019 Council Meeting, along with 

expert commentary from the lead researcher of the in-depth qualitative interviews conducted as part of 

the national Voices of Youth Count study on the prevalence and causes of youth homelessness.

Creating Solutions for Unsheltered Homelessness

While some communities are documenting significant reductions in their annual point-in-time counts, others are 

faced with increasing numbers of people living unsheltered. Such communities need support to be able to address 

the immediate safety and health concerns of people who are unsheltered, while also working to develop more 

low-barrier pathways into housing. Along with HUD and national partners, we continued to provide coordinated 

technical assistance through the Encampments and Unsheltered Homelessness Project to support communities –

particularly those with the largest increases in unsheltered homelessness – to innovate, test approaches, and 

implement solutions to reduce and ultimately end unsheltered homelessness.

• We helped guide HUD-funded technical assistance to communities that are participating in the 

Encampments and Unsheltered Homelessness Project, including Las Vegas/Clark County, NV, 

Oakland/Alameda County, CA, San Diego, CA, San Francisco, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Chicago, IL, Honolulu, HI, 

San Jose/Santa Clara County, CA, Phoenix/Maricopa County, AZ, and Seattle/King County, WA.

• We convened monthly meetings with key city staff from 17 communities as part of the West Coast 

Mayors Alliance to address issues related to increases in unsheltered homelessness in those communities.

• We provided direct technical assistance to a number of communities on resolving encampments, 

including Los Angeles, CA, Detroit, MI, Austin, TX, and Hawaii.

• We developed and published Core Elements of Effective Street Outreach to People Experiencing 

Homelessness, which can be used by communities to assess their street outreach efforts, and to identify 

opportunities to strengthen their systemic approach to ending homelessness, particularly unsheltered 

homelessness.

• We published a strategies document, Strengthening Partnerships Between Law Enforcement and 

Homelessness Services Systems, in collaboration with the Council of State Governments Justice Center, to 

discuss opportunities to strengthen partnerships between homelessness services systems and law 

enforcement, especially in response to unsheltered homelessness.

• We participated in a roundtable panel discussion at the Funders Together Forum on Unsheltered 

Homelessness regarding communities’ strategies and challenges in addressing unsheltered homelessness 

and the role of philanthropy in supporting communities’ capacity to implement stronger practices.

Tailoring Strategies for Rural Communities

For rural communities, the challenges of ending homelessness are often exacerbated by the hidden nature of the 

problem, large geographic expanses, more dispersed or fewer resources, a shortage of transportation and quality 

housing, and fewer economic and employment opportunities. We must learn from the work happening in rural 

communities and intentionally adapt and tailor strategies to address their specific needs. Activities under this 

focus area included:
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• We continued to convene the Interagency Working Group on Ending Homelessness in Rural Communities 

to advance strategies and actions that were adopted by the Council in July 2018. 

• We worked with member agencies to develop a Federal Funding Tool for Addressing Homelessness in 

Rural Communities, which allows users to search for federal funding sources by eligible use or eligible 

recipient.

• We advised HUD’s convening of monthly Community of Practice calls with 15 predominantly rural 

Continuums of Care and ED’s National Center for Homeless Education convening of an ad hoc group of 

State Homeless Education Coordinators focused on rural issues.

• We convened and consulted periodically with a group of key national stakeholders in order to share 

lessons learned, align messaging and communication, and provide coordinated support to communities. 

• We advised HUD on a change to the criteria in its most recent AHAR by which Continuums of Care are 

classified as rural to better reflect the scale and scope of homelessness and housing instability in rural 

areas. 

• We advised HUD on the publication of a toolkit for Balance of State Continuums of Care, entitled How to 

Govern Geographically Diverse CoCs: Leading by Providing a Regional Voice.

• We reported back on our progress within this portfolio at the September 2019 Council meeting.

Helping People Who Exit Homelessness Find Employment Success

For households to successfully sustain their exits from homelessness, they must have adequate income to meet 

basic living expenses. To help people access sustainable employment, federal programs and communities must 

address obstacles to employment, implement job training and apprenticeship programs that create access to 

career pathways, and strengthen partnerships between workforce programs and homelessness services and 

housing programs, among other strategies. Activities under this focus area included: 

• The Interagency Working Group on Employment and Homelessness identified ways in which federal 

agencies can improve collaboration to better support communities to more closely integrate employment 

and partner with workforce systems as part of efforts to prevent and end homelessness. Those strategies 

were presented at the October 2018 Council meeting.

• We continued to support demonstration initiatives by Heartland Alliance to help communities develop 

innovative pathways to employment for people experiencing homelessness, including: 

o Publicizing lessons learned from the Connections Project, a three-year project focused on 

increasing employment and income for people experiencing homelessness through systems 

collaboration. 

o Supporting the launch of a second initiative, called the Pathways Forward Challenge, including 

encouraging communities to apply, presenting at the launch, and publicizing the objectives 

through Advancing Employment, Equity, and an End to Homelessness: The Pathways Forward 

Challenge.

• We worked closely with HUD to increase awareness and understanding of a new priority area in the FY 

2019 Continuum of Care Notice of Funding Availability on increasing connections to employment, 

including: 
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o We hosted a webinar on the NOFA that helped educate communities on new employmentrelated expectations and opportunities. 

o We publicized and presented on a webinar by Heartland Alliance and NAEH on how 

communities can leverage employment-related opportunities in the NOFA. 

o We co-wrote and publicized a joint HUD-DOL statement that encourages increased 

partnerships between homelessness assistance and workforce development in relation to the 

priority area in the NOFA.

Learning from the Expertise of People with Lived Experience

Directly consulting with and learning from people who have experienced homelessness is critical to our success in 

providing tailored, person-centered solutions to everyone experiencing homelessness. We must help ensure that 

people with lived experience are part of communities’ systemwide and organizational planning and decisionmaking through hiring practices, leadership opportunities, consultation, and other efforts. Activities under this 

focus area included: 

• We elevated the importance of partnering with people with expertise through lived experience at 

meetings and speaking engagements across the country, including plenary addresses at the National 

Conference on Ending Homelessness and the National Conference on Solutions for Individual 

Homelessness Adults.

• We hosted two listening sessions with adults: the Lived Experience Commission in Philadelphia, and the 

Lived Experience Coalition in Seattle-King County.

• We met with Youth Advisory Boards in Anchorage, AK, Sacramento, CA, and Philadelphia, PA. 

• We facilitated conversations around how federal agencies partner with people with expertise through 

lived experience at our Council Policy Group meeting. 

• We lead a conversation with the West Coast Alliance of Mayors staff group on engaging and getting input 

from people with lived experience in a meaningful way.

• We published Beyond Mere Principle: Strategies for Truly Partnering with People who Have the Lived 

Experience in our Work, from National Health Care for the Homeless Council, and Remembering Those 

We Have Lost and the Work That Remains, from the National Coalition for the Homeless. 

• We publicized a Children’s Bureau Information Memorandum on Engaging, empowering, and utilizing 

family and youth voice in all aspects of child welfare to drive case planning and system improvement.

Annual Performance Measures and Metrics

For FY 2019, we developed the following performance metrics to track and measure our activities and impact.

The metrics are summarized here. Additional information on our activities is provided in the narrative below.

Driving an Efficient and Effective Federal Response to Homelessness

1. Provide expert guidance and input to federal agencies to strengthen the implementation of more than $6

billion of federal investments into targeted homelessness programs.
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Result: Fully achieved. We provided guidance and input across our Council member agencies on over $6

billion in FY 2019 targeted resources for homelessness programs from across multiple federal agencies 

and covering multiple sub-populations and focus areas.

2. Coordinate quarterly meetings of the Council Policy Group and Interagency Council on Homelessness 

annually. Convene at least 25 interagency working group meetings annually. (Note: This measure was 

revised downward from 30 meetings due to the lapse in federal appropriations from December 22, 2018,

to January 25, 2019, causing the delay or cancellation of several meetings.)

Result: Fully achieved. We convened four quarterly Council meetings in FY 2019 (October and December 

of 2018 and May and September of 2019). We also convened three Council Policy Group meetings, and 27

interagency working group meetings, during FY 2019. We will be determining the appropriate target for 

the number of interagency working group meetings for FY 2020.

3. Manage the development and implementation of action plans for at least four (4) population-specific 

interagency working groups and ensure that at least 75% of strategies and activities projected within 

those action plans are implemented or achieved.

Result: Fully achieved. We managed the implementation of action plans for the Working Groups on 

Ending Veteran, Chronic, Youth, and Family Homelessness. We oversaw work to ensure that 95% of 

activities projected within the plans were implemented or achieved. We will review each of the projected 

activities not yet implemented or achieved and determine with our federal partners if they will be 

implemented on a different timeframe or should be deprioritized.

Building a National Partnership at Every Level of Government and Among the Private Sector

1. Provide expert guidance, convene strategic meetings, and/or host peer-to-peer conversations to educate 

state officials and leaders in at least 15 states and local officials and leaders in at least 40 communities.

Result: Fully achieved and exceeded. We provided guidance and coaching to state leaders in 19 states and 

community leaders in more than 90 communities.

2. Convene at least one workshop in each of the 10 federal regions each year to provide professional and 

technical assistance to states, local governments, and other public and private nonprofit organizations.

Result: Fully achieved. We convened at least one workshop in each federal region, ranging from smaller, 

focused conversations to larger, statewide or regional convenings.

3. Review and confirm at least 15 communities as achieving the goal of ending Veteran homelessness and 

three communities as achieving the goal of ending chronic homelessness. 

Result: Partially achieved. We confirmed 11 communities as achieving the goal of ending Veteran 

homelessness, and 3 additional communities were under review at the end of the fiscal year. One

community was confirmed as achieving the goal of ending chronic homelessness. We continue to 

implement communications activities to expand community-level understanding of the criteria and 

benchmarks for ending homelessness for these populations and to increase awareness of the 

confirmation process. 

4. Complete two separate pilots for testing the federal criteria and benchmarks for achieving an end to 

youth homelessness and family homelessness and revise the criteria and benchmarks to reflect lessons 

learned from the process. 
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Result: Partially achieved. We completed the pilots to test the criteria and benchmarks for ending family 

and youth homelessness with 24 communities (begun in FY 2018) and have disseminated findings from 

that process with key stakeholders, including federal member agencies, technical assistance providers,

and communities. Revisions to the criteria and benchmarks are underway and will be published in FY

2020.

Providing Tools and Resources for Success

1. Publish and disseminate bi-monthly educational newsletters providing information on federal programs, 

resources, and guidance regarding effective strategies and best practices, as well as increase subscribers 

20% annually. 

Result: Fully achieved. We published 22 newsletters in FY 2019. (We were not able to publish newsletters

between December 22, 2018, and January 25, 2019, due to the lapse in federal appropriations.)

Subscribers grew by 20%.

2. Publish and disseminate at least 50 new or updated tools and publications.

Result: Fully achieved and exceeded. We published or updated 72 tools, podcasts, and publications.

3. Deliver at least 100 presentations, workshops, and speeches via national, regional, and local conferences, 

webinars, and conference calls.

Result: Fully achieved and exceeded. We delivered at least 119 presentations, workshops, and speeches 

via national, regional, and local conferences, webinars, and conference calls.

Management Assurances

Per Circular A-123, USICH management is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal controls 

and financial management systems that meet the objectives of the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act 

(FMFIA). With respect to any and all internal and external reviews of the agency, to the best of our knowledge 

and belief, USICH provides reasonable assurance on the effectiveness of internal controls over operations, 

management systems, and financial reporting and that its internal controls over the effectiveness and efficiency 

of operations were in compliance with applicable laws and regulations as of September, 30, 2019, and no 

material weaknesses were identified in the design or operations of internal controls.

USICH relies on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the General Services Administration (GSA), both 

shared services providers, for accounting, payroll and financial services, systems and reporting requirements. 

USICH has no in-house financial systems. USICH, however, considers the USDA’s financial system, Pegasys, as well 

as any other financial systems used by USDA and GSA to support USICH financial operations, to be reliable and 

effective. USICH reviewed each entity’s SSAE No. 18 audit report, to assist in assessing internal controls over 

USICH financial reporting. After a review of FY 2019 results, in which both USDA and GSA received favorable

opinions on their SSAE No. 18 audits, USICH discovered no significant issues or deviations in its financial reporting 

during FY 2019, and therefore believes its internal controls over financial reporting are sufficiently strong. 

Management Discussion and Analysis

USICH was established in 1987 by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act and most recently 

reauthorized by the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009. 
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USICH’s mission is two-fold: to drive an efficient and effective federal response to homelessness; and to build 

and foster a national partnership at every level of government and with the private sector to reduce and end

homelessness across the nation. We support all of our interagency and community work by publishing a 

robust body of guidance, tools, and resources that we disseminate through a multi-pronged communications 

strategy. 

Driving an Efficient and Effective Federal Response to Homelessness

USICH focuses on using data and performance measurement to maximize several billions of dollars in targeted 

federal homelessness funding, and to engage other federal, state, and local non-targeted programs, by providing

a foundation for evidence-informed practices. USICH is a model of successful interagency collaboration, as

highlighted in a 2014 GAO report focused on strategies for enhancing collaboration in interagency efforts. USICH

does not administer programs or have regulatory authority, nor do we duplicate the efforts of other agencies; 

rather, our tools for advancing good governance are through innovative collaborations and strategic

engagements that drive smart, efficient changes and progress across our partners and stakeholders.

Building Consensus at the Highest Levels

Through our efforts, collective action to end homelessness reaches the highest level of the federal government. 

USICH staff plan and implement quarterly meetings of our Council, which include senior leaders from our 19 

member agencies. The full Council met four times during FY 2019, in October and December of 2018, and in May

and September of 2019. 

We utilize other interagency policy and planning structures, including convening agency senior advisors quarterly

to set the strategic direction for the Council and interagency activities. Through our quarterly Council Policy Group 

(CPG) meetings, USICH also provided a regular forum for senior staff from member agencies to coordinate policies 

and programs, collect data, develop special initiatives, and prepare recommendations for consideration by Council 

members and for Council meeting discussions. That group was convened 3 times in FY 2019. (The CPG meeting for 

the October 2018 Council meeting was convened in FY 2018.)

Driving Interagency Action

To drive day-to-day progress, we also convene a variety of on-going and ad hoc interagency working groups 

comprised of high-level agency staff from key partners across our 19 member agencies. FY 2019 working groups 

included: 

• Solving Veteran Homelessness as One: We design and prioritize actions to review and confirm 

communities’ achievement of the goal of ending Veteran homelessness, to expand rapid resolution

approaches, and to sustain communities’ effective end to Veteran homelessness, among other areas of 

focus. 

• Interagency Working Group on Ending Chronic Homelessness among People with Disabilities: We 

determine actions that will support communities as they work toward achieving the criteria and 

benchmark for ending chronic homelessness among people with disabilities, including strategies for

strengthening outreach, increasing access to supportive housing, and strengthening collaborations 

between health and housing agencies, among many other issues.

• Interagency Working Group on Ending Family Homelessness: We determine priority action areas to 

support communities as they work toward achieving the criteria and benchmarks for ending family 
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homelessness, with an emphasis on strategies to strengthen federal and local partnerships across systems 

and sectors, connections to permanent housing, and ways to tailor housing and services supports based 

on unique family needs.

• Interagency Working Group on Ending Youth Homelessness: We determine priority action areas to 

support communities as they work toward achieving the criteria and benchmarks for ending youth 

homelessness, including building evidence for effective crisis response and housing strategies for youth, 

among other issues.

• Interagency Working Group on Preventing Homelessness Among Transitioning Service Members: We

strengthen the process of ensuring that Service members don’t separate from the military into 

homelessness. USICH submitted a report to Congress on work to strengthen these efforts in March 2018

and we continue to partner with VA, Department of Defense, and the Department of Labor to implement 

the recommendations.

• Interagency Working Group on Coordinated Entry: We strengthen and support federal, state, and local 

connections across programs and systems through coordinated entry processes, to ensure that

homelessness services programs are reaching the most vulnerable people and are providing the right level 

of assistance to help people succeed.

• Interagency Working Group on Homelessness among American Indians and Alaska Natives: We drive

action that improves access to housing and necessary services for American Indians and Alaska Natives 

living on and off tribal lands, with a recent focus on delivery of technical assistance to support the 

capacity of tribal entities to access federal funding and develop permanent supportive housing. 

• Interagency Working Group on Ending Homelessness in Rural Communities: Established in February 

2018, the working group is focused on reviewing the set of federal programs that can serve rural 

communities and ways in which federal agencies can improve collaboration to better support rural 

communities in their efforts to prevent and end homelessness.

• Interagency Working Group on Employment and Homelessness: Established in August 2018, the working 

group is initially focused on reviewing the set of federal programs that can serve jobseekers who are at 

risk of, are experiencing, or have recently exited homelessness. The working group is also identifying ways 

in which federal agencies can support communities to more closely integrate employment as part of 

efforts to prevent and end homelessness. 

Activities of these working groups are described in more detail in the Performance Goals and Accomplishments 

section below.

Building Common Regional Goals

We work with Council agencies to strengthen Federal Regional Interagency Councils on Homelessness in all ten 

federal regions. We provide technical assistance to regional staff from multiple federal agencies, including HUD, 

HHS, VA, and DOL, to further develop their collaborative structures and unite behind common regional goals.

Some activities in FY 2019 included:

• Conducting presentations on Home, Together in all 10 federal regions.

• Distributing a quarterly update that highlights activities and action taken by Federal Regional Interagency 

Councils. 
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• Facilitating the program at the Federal Region IX Summit on Youth and Rural Homelessness.

• Organizing a site visit and panel discussion to Primo Center in Chicago with members of the Region V 

Federal Regional Interagency Council on Homelessness.

• Presenting and participating in Region VII’s Iowa Nebraska Symposium. 

Gathering Input on Emerging Topics

We bring together groups of community leaders, experts, national partners, and staff from our Council member 

agencies for exploratory conversations about new strategic actions. For example, in FY 2019, we hosted or cohosted: 

• Convening on Addressing Homelessness and Housing Instability Among American Indians and Alaska 

Natives. In partnership with HUD and the U.S. Department of the Interior, Chief Seattle Club, and the 

Coalition to End Urban Indigenous Homelessness, we hosted an in-person convening in Anchorage, AK, of 

tribal leaders, urban Native organizations, member agencies, and national partners to discuss challenges 

and best practices for addressing homelessness and housing instability among American Indians and 

Alaska Natives and to identify key opportunities and next steps from the lessons learned. 

• Youth Homelessness Research to Impact Convening. In partnership with Chapin Hall and philanthropic 

partners, we co-hosted a “Research-to-Impact” convening with national experts, youth and young adults 

with lived experiences of homelessness, and Council member agencies. The convening helped translate 

key findings from the Voices of Youth Count research into actionable recommendations for federal policy 

and programs that will be used to inform federal activities in FY2020. 

• Youth and Family Criteria and Benchmark Listening Sessions. Following the launch of a process to pilot 

the criteria and benchmarks for ending youth homelessness and ending family homelessness that began 

in FY 2018 with 24 communities, we hosted a series of listening sessions to better understand challenges 

and strengths related to implementation of the criteria and benchmarks. Communities helped identify 

gaps in their data collection processes and shared promising practices in using data to inform system 

improvement efforts.

• Debrief of Convening on Older Adults Homelessness. USICH hosted a debrief with HHS and national 

partners of an earlier convening (which occurred during the lapse in federal appropriations) highlighting 

emerging research on the needs and characteristics of older adults experiencing homelessness. The 

purpose of this meeting was to begin outlining next steps for federal action to address homelessness 

among older adults.

Mobilizing Nationwide Actions in Support of a Shared Vision

As the only agency in the federal government whose mission it is to end homelessness, our role includes building 

and sustaining a shared national vision, captured and communicated in the federal strategic plan to prevent and 

end homelessness, of progress and success in driving federal-state-local partnerships and public and private 

sector collaboration and coordination. We also work to create a shared vocabulary and understanding of the data 

regarding homelessness and make sure that federal technical assistance to the field conveys both that shared 

understanding and the best practices for achieving our goals.
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Raising Awareness of the New Federal Strategic Plan: We released Home, Together, the revised federal strategic 

plan to prevent and end homelessness, in July 2018. In FY 2019, we deployed a comprehensive communications 

strategy to raise awareness and build understanding of the plan. Activities included: 

• Conducting presentations on Home, Together with all ten Federal Regional Interagency Councils on 

Homelessness.

• Conducting presentations on Home, Together to State Interagency Councils on Homelessness, regional 

Continua of Care gatherings, and other homelessness system leaders across the country, and in the states 

of Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Massachusetts, Maine, Oklahoma, Ohio, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Michigan, 

Tennessee, and Nevada, among others.

• Recording a series of 8 podcasts to explain the individual objectives within Home, Together.

• Publishing 8 roundups of existing resources to support understanding and implementation of each of the 

8 objectives in Home, Together.

• Publishing Measuring the Impact of Home, Together to describe the progress measures we will use to 

assess the overall impact of the federal strategic plan and to establish baseline measures against which 

progress will be assessed.

• Publishing Driving Progress in the Year Ahead: Our Top Priorities for 2019 to highlight the activities we 

prioritized this year within the federal strategic plan.

• Publishing The Evidence Behind Approaches that Drive an End to Homelessness, which summarizes 

research underpinning the strategies for preventing and ending homelessness in Home, Together.

• Soliciting commentary from stakeholders about gaps in the plan, including What About Maria? We Need a 

Federal Plan More Focused on Homelessness Among Older Adults.

By the end of FY 2019, the plan had been viewed by almost 17,000 unique users on the USICH website, as well as 

being distributed in hard copy at some key conferences and meetings.

Building the Roadmap for Success Through Criteria and Benchmarks: The federal strategic plan to prevent and 

end homelessness established an operational definition for an end to homelessness that allowed communities 

across the country to understand the outcomes they were seeking. In order to guide communities in measuring 

progress toward ending homelessness, USICH and its member agencies have developed specific criteria and 

benchmarks for ending homelessness among certain subpopulations. Criteria and benchmarks for Veteran and 

chronic homelessness were released in FY 2016, and criteria and benchmarks for ending family and youth 

homelessness were released in FY 2017. In FY 2019, we completed efforts with 24 communities to pilot the 

criteria and benchmarks for achieving the goals of ending family homelessness and youth homelessness and are 

incorporating feedback from communities into revisions of those documents. In FY 2019, we also issued a revision 

of the criteria and benchmarks for ending Veteran homelessness in order to clarify the role of VA’s new Grant and 

Per Diem program models.

Promoting a Shared Understanding of the Data: No single source of data tells the whole story of homelessness 

and other housing needs in our country. We provide guidance and advice to help national stakeholders and 

communities understand the variety of different federal data sources that can and should be used at the local 

level to drive local planning and action, to drive resource investments, to strengthen the coordinated responses 

we need to end people’s homelessness, and to address broader housing needs. Activities included: 
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• Convening our winter Council Policy Group and Council meetings to review recently released reports on

HUD’s Point-in-Time count data and ED’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth data.

• Publishing analyses of new data reports: 

o School Year 2016-2017 Data Shows a Majority of Students Experiencing Homelessness Sharing 

Housing of Others But Unsheltered Numbers Increasing

o National Estimates of Homelessness Largely Unchanged in 2018 Point-in-Time Count Data

o Two New Reports Point to Worsening Housing Affordability

• Updating and reissuing Navigating Homelessness and Housing Needs Data: Tailoring and Driving Local 

Solutions, which provides an overview of several key data sources, describes what they measure, and 

highlights how communities can use that range of information to strengthen their efforts to address 

homelessness, housing instability, and other housing needs.

• Presenting at gatherings of researchers, including the National Human Services Data Consortium and the 

National Alliance to End Homelessness’ Research Council, among others.

• Working with national stakeholders to identify ways to measure and track specific outcomes related to 

youth homelessness, leading to the publication of the report highlighted in National Project Identifies 

Field-generated Youth Outcome Measures.

• Revising the homelessness statistics section of our website to more prominently feature ED’s annual 

Education for Homeless Children and Youth data alongside state-level point-in-time data from HUD, in 

order to strengthen community efforts to understand and utilize essential data sources on populations 

experiencing homelessness.

• Clarifying what the data means to the media, researchers, and other interested parties.

Encouraging Understanding and Action to Address Racial Inequities: Racial inequities in experiences of 

homelessness are clear in the data, driven by a complex array of inequities within our systems and social 

dynamics—biases and prejudices, overt discrimination, systemic and institutional racism, and many other related 

and intersectional forces—that impact our responses to homelessness. To develop understanding, promote

awareness, and encourage action, we:

• Provided the opportunity for USICH staff to participate in two intensive in-service trainings by the Racial 

Equity Institute, as well as created an internal action team to determine and prioritize USICH’s efforts on 

these issues and an internal learning group to provide ongoing opportunities to review equity issues

among our staff.

• Participated as a founding member of the National Working Group on Racial Equity in Homelessness and 

Housing, including representation on several subcommittees implementing collaborative efforts. Activities 

for the year included creating a national research agenda, creating a statement of shared values, and 

developing shared definitions. 

• Elevated the importance of addressing racial disparities at meetings and speaking engagements across the 

country, including plenary addresses at the National Conference on Ending Homelessness and the 

National Conference on Solutions for Individual Homelessness Adults.
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• Convened a group of Tribes and Urban Native organizations from across the U.S. in Anchorage, AK, to 

learn more about how inequity in access to federal resources impacts homelessness and housing 

instability on and off Native lands. 

• Supported HUD’s development and release of the Continuum of Care Racial Equity Analysis Tool to 

identify racial disparities in local systems.

• Published or promoted tools and commentaries on racial equity topics, including: the Homelessness in 

America series; Resources to Help Develop Knowledge and Solutions for Tackling Racial Inequity; Breaking 

New Ground by Focusing on Race; LAHSA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing 

Homelessness report; and Taking the Time to Consider the Path Between Home and Homelessness.

• Worked with national partners to draft a set of initial strategies to guide the homelessness services sector 

in undertaking racial equity work that will be released in FY 2020.

Ensuring Consistent Federal Technical Assistance on Ending Homelessness: Communities across the country 

receive technical assistance from different, and sometimes multiple, federal agencies and programs that guide 

their strategic planning and implementation of best practices. We work to ensure that that technical assistance is 

as streamlined and coordinated as possible so that all communities are receiving the same guidance. In FY 2019, 

we worked closely with, and helped design the strategies under, HUD’s Unsheltered and Encampment Project,

VA’s SSVF technical assistance initiatives, HUD Regional Technical Assistance, and HUD’s Youth Homelessness 

Demonstration Project to reduce youth homelessness.

Providing Technical Assistance to Inform Federal Disaster Response and Homelessness: In FY 2019, we worked

with partners from federal agencies, the Red Cross, national consultants, and Continuums of Care affected by 

natural disasters to share resources and information. In March 2019, we participated in a statewide convening in 

California with HUD, CA Housing & Community Development, and the CA Homeless Coordinating and Finance 

Council to discuss the aftermath of the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County. We also updated our Tools for Action on 

Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery Resources in July 2019.

Building a National Partnership at Every Level of Government and Across the Private Sector

USICH drives national, regional, state, and local collective action through outcome-oriented partnerships with a 

wide variety of leaders and decisionmakers:

State Interagency Councils on Homelessness: We have encouraged every state to develop a state interagency 

council on homelessness to align public resources, build on innovations and best practices across the country, and 

promote cost effective strategies to strengthen coordination within state departments. In FY 2019, we focused on 

raising awareness about Home, Together, and helping states understand how to implement the objectives within 

the plan. For example, we gave presentations on Home, Together to state interagency councils on homelessness 

in Georgia, Utah, Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Maine, Oklahoma, Hawaii, New Hampshire, and North 

Carolina, among others. We also provided technical assistance around developing statewide plans to end 

homelessness and on strengthening governance structures and practices. 

We worked particularly closely with the State of California’s new Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council as 

it began to oversee the implementation of Housing First policies, guidelines, and regulations to reduce the 

prevalence and duration of homelessness in California. For example, we delivered a plenary presentation on 

Aligning Affordable Housing Efforts with Actions to End Homelessness at the March 2019 meeting.
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Governors, Mayors, and other Elected Officials: Political leadership at the state and local level is critical to 

advancing progress. Our Executive Director and National Initiatives Team met regularly with Governors, Mayors, 

and other elected officials and local leaders to provide individualized guidance to address the unique needs of 

their jurisdiction, including the governors’ offices in Alaska, California, and Hawaii, and the mayors of Honolulu 

and Kauai, HI, Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and San Jose, CA, Meza, AZ, Eugene, OR, Gary, 

IN, Austin, TX, Salt Lake City, UT, Boston, MA, Tampa, FL, Anchorage, AK, and Denver, CO, among many others.

We also worked with associations that support the efforts of a broad array of elected officials, such as the Council 

of State Governments, National League of Cities, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. For example, we presented 

on affordable housing and homelessness at the National League of Cities summit and on the Mayors Challenge to 

End Veteran Homelessness at the National League of Cities Annual Conference.

We provided technical assistance at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Summer meeting, including presentations at 

the Homelessness and Housing Task Force’s Government, Philanthropy, and the Private Sector - Making a 

Difference Together forum, the Veterans Task Force, and the Workforce Development Council on Engaging 

Employment Opportunities with People Experiencing or Exiting Homelessness.

In FY 2019, we also continued to facilitate monthly conference calls with the West Coast Alliance of Mayors, which 

represents mayors’ offices in 17 western cities (up from 14 in FY 2018) to share strategies to address common 

challenges in their efforts to end homelessness. Calls focused on topics such as: low-barrier shelter, modular 

housing, affordable housing, partnerships with law enforcement, and the impact of natural disasters.

National Non-Profit Organizations and Associations: Through our national stakeholders outreach, we partner 

with national organizations that drive and influence public agendas on homelessness, housing, and related issues, 

such as the National Alliance to End Homelessness, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, A Way Home 

America, and National Low Income Housing Coalition, and many others. We hosted three quarterly national 

stakeholder meetings in FY 2019 that allow major national non-profit and faith-based organizations to provide 

input on federal programs and policy development and to identify opportunities for collaboration on important 

strategic objectives.

We also partner with national non-profits on specific initiatives, like with the National Alliance to End 

Homelessness on a collaborative Encampments and Unsheltered Homelessness Project, Chapin Hall on Voices of 

Youth Count, Heartland Alliance on the Connections Project, and the Council of State Governments on the Law 

Enforcement and Homelessness Services Partnerships in Ending Homelessness publication.

We also facilitate and speak at engagements across a variety of sectors. For example, we presented on best 

practices for resolving the presence of encampments at the American Public Works Association annual meeting

and on Housing First at the Women in Real Estate and Housing Leadership Conference. We have also given 

presentations for the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials and the Council of Large Public 

Housing Agencies, among others.

Private Sector, Faith-Based, and Philanthropic Partners: The private sector and faith-based and philanthropic 

organizations dedicated to serving populations at risk of or experiencing homelessness play critical leadership 

roles, in partnership with public agencies and programs. We work with a variety of stakeholders across those 

sectors, including a close partnership with Funders Together to End Homelessness, which represents more than 

220 national and local philanthropic organizations. For example:

• We presented Home, Together to stakeholders of Funders Together to End Homelessness, specifically 

focusing on the role funders can play in advancing the plan.
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• We spoke at the Funders Together Forum on Unsheltered Homelessness regarding communities’ 

strategies and challenges in addressing unsheltered homelessness and the role of philanthropy in 

supporting communities’ capacity to implement stronger practices.

• We presented to members of the Funders Together to End Homelessness’ Foundations for Employment 

and Housing Learning Community integrating connections to employment with efforts to prevent and end 

homelessness.

• We presented to funders on a national webinar on Engaging Law Enforcement as a Key Partner in Ending 

Homelessness.

We also routinely meet with the philanthropic and business communities directly. For example, we’ve met with 

staff from the Hilton Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation, the Raikes Initiative, and Social Venture Partners, 

and we’ve presented at the United to End Homelessness Landlord Partnership Project, coordinated by United 

Way of Orange County.

Community Leaders: We provide a range of targeted community engagement and technical assistance to 

community leaders, including overall guidance on implementing coordinated entry, Housing First, rapid rehousing, and other best practices for ending homelessness. In FY 2019, we provided strategic guidance to 

stakeholders in all 50 states. We also increased our focus on several communities facing significant challenges, 

including communities in California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington and American Indian and Alaska Native 

communities. We traveled to local communities more than 83 times to convene stakeholders, deliver 

presentations at conferences, and provide technical guidance and training. And we strengthened state and local 

strategies through more than 219 in-person meetings with high-ranking and elected state and local officials, and 

hundreds of additional calls and virtual meetings with state and local leaders. 

Providing Tools and Resources for Success

Through a broad communications strategy that includes electronic newsletters, speaking engagements, 

conference presentations, social media, and media engagement, we disseminate best practices to a wide array of 

stakeholders across the country. 

• Our communication strategy this year focused on increasing awareness and understanding of Home, Together

by developing and disseminating a diverse array of articles and tools that walked through the objectives of the 

plan. We published more than 70 tools, articles, and guidance documents in FY 2019, a launched a monthly 

podcast.

• We educate national audiences on new tools and resources through semi-monthly newsletters distributed to 

an audience of more than 30,000 subscribers. The growing impact of our communications is demonstrated by 

20% growth in newsletter subscribers, 11% growth in followers on Facebook, and 9% growth in followers on 

Twitter in FY 2019. 

• We deliver keynote addresses and serve on expert panels at national conferences focused on homelessness, 

housing, and related issues, highlighting best practices in preventing and ending homelessness across the 

country and supporting peer learning among regions, states, and local jurisdictions. For example, we delivered 

keynote addresses at the National Conference on Ending Homelessness, the National Conference on Solutions 

to Individual Homelessness, and the annual conference of the National Association for the Education of 

Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY), among many others.
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• We hosted or co-hosted eight webinars on: Aligning Affordable Housing Efforts with Actions to End 

Homelessness; CoC NOFA FY 2019: What’s New and How to Build Upon Your Work to End Homelessness; 

Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project FY 2018 Notice of Funding Availability; Overview of HUD’s 

Specialized Housing and Services for Victims of Human Trafficking NOFA; and the Expansion of HVRP 

Participant Eligibility: Connecting More Veterans to Employment 3-webinar series. We co-sponsored and 

presented on many other webinars hosted by partners.

• We helped frame and clarify homelessness issues in national and local media, appearing on the radio and in 

print and web publications. For example, our Executive Director participated in a national media call with HUD 

Secretary Ben Carson and VA Secretary Robert Wilkie to discuss the Veterans point-in-time count results and 

with Secretary Carson to discuss the full point-in-time count results. We are expert sources to national outlets 

and local media in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Honolulu, that have reporters dedicated 

to covering homelessness.

• We help educate emerging leaders on issues related to homelessness. For example, we spoke at the Joint 

Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, conducted a policy training at Case Western Reserve 

University, spoke at the University of Baltimore School of Law, among other training opportunities. We also 

speak to K-12, undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral students on issues related to ending homelessness. 

Performance Goals and Accomplishments

Accomplishing the goals of the federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness requires leadership at all 

levels of government and strong partnerships with businesses, researchers, philanthropy, and non-profits. It also

demands a commitment to reassessment and the ability to alter course based on changing conditions and

lessons learned. In FY 2019, USICH continued to work with all these sectors to advance the implementation of 

Home, Together’s goals:

• To end homelessness among Veterans

• To end chronic homelessness among people with disabilities

• To end homelessness among families with children

• To end homelessness among unaccompanied youth

• To end homelessness among all other individuals

Ending Homelessness among Veterans

Between 2010 and 2018, Veteran homelessness was reduced by 49%, including a 53% drop in unsheltered 

homelessness among Veterans. Estimated homelessness among Veterans decreased by 5% (2,142 Veterans) 

between 2017 and 2018. At the same time, 11 additional communities achieved the goal of effectively ending 

Veteran homelessness in FY 2019, as defined by the criteria and benchmarks we released in FY 2015 and revised 

in FY 2019, bringing the total number up to 78 communities and 3 entire states.

Through USICH’s efforts, federal agencies have engaged in unprecedented coordination and shared responsibility, 

using data-driven decision-making to drive the deployment of resources through the HUD-VA Supportive Housing 

(HUD-VASH) program and the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program, which enable 

communities to provide a range of housing and services interventions. State and local entities and philanthropy 

have aligned investments with the federal resources, and communities have formed stronger partnerships to 
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United States Interagency Council on Homelessness 19

deploy those resources through best practices, including coordinated entry and Housing First approaches.

Driving Progress Across Federal Agencies

USICH and Council agencies are continuing to drive progress through the Solving Veterans Homelessness as One

(SVHO) interagency decision-making body, made up of USICH, HUD, and VA officials. SVHO plans and executes

strategic actions through goal setting, policy gap identification, communication, and action. Senior leaders at 

USICH also serve as ex officio members of the VA Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans and 

inform the group on progress and the work ahead for interagency strategies to end Veteran homelessness.

In FY 2019, SVHO focused on:

• Confirming Communities’ Achievement of Goal of Ending Veteran Homelessness. We continued the 

review process for communities seeking federal confirmation of their achievement of the goal of ending 

Veteran homelessness. In FY 2019, 11 new communities were confirmed, including Lexington, KY, Lansing, 

MI, Abilene, TX, and Rochester, MN. We also continued to support communities as they publicly 

announced their achievement, providing communications support, sending written remarks, and 

attending events. We collaborated with interagency partners and the National League of Cities to support 

elected officials and communities wishing to continue or initiate participation in the Mayors Challenge to 

End Veteran Homelessness, including sending a quarterly communication to mayors about new resources.

• Sustaining Communities’ Effective End to Veteran Homelessness. USICH, HUD, and VA, along with 

technical assistance partners, continued supporting the more than 70 communities that have been 

confirmed as having effectively ended homelessness among Veterans. USICH, VA, and HUD assessed 

information from VA’s SSVF Community Planning Survey to determine whether the communities that 

have been confirmed as effectively ending Veteran homelessness have continued to sustain their progress 

against criteria and benchmarks. Confirmed communities were provided supplemental guidance and 

coaching to try to ensure they were successfully sustaining. Follow up assistance was provided and is 

ongoing with several communities that were not sustaining to support them in assessing their system and 

identifying strategies to support local efforts. USICH also published Sustaining an End to Veteran 

Homelessness: Strategies for Institutionalizing Your Progress, which outlines ten strategies that will guide 

communities in ensuring that they sustain success once they achieve the goal of ending Veteran 

homelessness.

• Expanding Rapid Resolution Approaches in Ending Veteran Homelessness. VA, with the support of HUD, 

USICH, and technical assistance partners, continued to expand innovative approaches for rapid resolution 

of a Veteran’s homelessness through leveraging natural supports, by helping resolve conflicts, or through

light levels of financial and problem-solving assistance. One goal of this work was to use effective 

diversion practices to help Veterans avoid a stay in shelter or transitional housing, such as by providing a 

small amount of financial assistance to resolve a threat to their current living situation or by identifying 

family or friends who could share housing with them. A second approach was to rapidly exit Veterans 

from shelter through light levels of assistance and/or natural support systems. The national rollout of 

rapid resolution approaches followed a pilot program and integrated lessons learned from that pilot.
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Driving Progress in Communities

Our entire team—and particularly our 5-member National Initiative Team and Executive Director—works directly 

with elected officials, stakeholders, and community decision-makers to advance progress in communities across 

America. 

• We participated in the VA's Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans meetings and presented to the 

Committee on topics such as USICH priorities related to homelessness among Veterans, the 

transformation of the GPD program, among others.

• We helped more than 31 communities with their efforts to end Veteran homelessness, including Dallas, 

TX, Greenville, SC, Independence, OR, Long Beach, CA, Missoula, MT, Popular Bluff, MN, Pontiac, MI, 

Northfield, VT, among many other communities.

• We provided technical assistance and training on topics related to ending Veteran homelessness at 

National League of Cities events. For example, we presented on Home, Together and on the Mayors 

Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness at the National League of Cities Annual Conference. We also 

presented on Home, Together and federal actions to more closely integrate employment with efforts to 

prevent and end homelessness as part of the National League of Cities' Mayors Challenge to End Veteran 

Homelessness Forum.

• We provided technical assistance and training at the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans annual 

conference. We participated in a federal panel, facilitated a workshop session on revisions to the Criteria 

and Benchmarks for Ending Veteran Homelessness, and presented a workshop on prevention and 

diversion.

• We co-facilitated three national webinars with DOL and VA on The Expansion of HVRP Participant 

Eligibility: Connecting More Veterans to Employment and promoted the 2019 Funding Opportunity 

Announcement with the expanded eligibility.

• We provided training and technical assistance at the east coast and west coast regional SSVF Rapid ReHousing Institutes, presenting on sustainability and the criteria and benchmarks for ending Veteran 

homelessness. 

• We presented an overview of problem-solving approaches in diversion, rapid exit, and rapid resolution to 

SSVF grantees on a national webinar.

• We provided technical assistance and training during Community Solutions’ Built for Zero training events

in Atlanta, GA, and Washington, DC, focused on providing intensive assistance to 70 communities that 

have pledged to end Veteran and chronic homelessness.

• We convened quarterly TA coordination meetings with federal partners (HUD, DOL, VA) and led technical 

assistance providers and national partners to provide guidance on the criteria and benchmarks, exchange 

innovative practices in communities, and align messaging and TA activities.

• We spoke at a variety of regional and local forums on ending Veteran homelessness, including the 

Massachusetts Interagency Council on Housing and Homelessness Veterans Committee, a statewide 

Veteran Forum in Oregon, and a NYC Department of Veterans Services forum, among others.
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Tools and Resources to Strengthen Practices

We developed and disseminated a diverse array of articles, guidance, and tools to communicate national 

strategies and priorities, to strengthen states’ and communities’ activities, and to support the implementation of 

best practices.

• Sustaining an End to Veteran Homelessness: Strategies for Institutionalizing Your Progress helps

communities plan for sustainability as they achieve the goal of ending Veteran homelessness and as they 

pursue an end to homelessness for other populations.

• The Transformation of VA Grant and Per Diem Programs: Considerations for Communities provides an 

overview of the housing models currently funded through the VA’s Grant and Per Diem (GPD) programs, 

implementation of the various GPD models, and considerations for community stakeholders.

• Criteria and Benchmarks for Achieving the Goal of Ending Veteran Homelessness, updated in June 2019, 

provides clarification on how GPD models should be considered in the confirmation process.

• The Master List Template and Benchmark Generation tool was updated to allow even more data tracking, 

furthering communities’ ability to review their progress on a regular basis to ensure progress is sustained.

• A newsletter was sent to mayors involved in the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness to 

promote new resources in November 2018, March 2019, and June 2019.

• Three national webinars were held with DOL and VA on The Expansion of HVRP Participant Eligibility: 

Connecting More Veterans to Employment (recordings were not yet available).

Ending Chronic Homelessness Among People with Disabilities

Between 2010 and 2018, chronic homelessness was reduced by 16%, including an 8% drop in unsheltered 

chronic homelessness. Between 2017 and 2018, chronic homelessness went up by 2%, or 1,935 individuals. 

That increase appears to be both driven by worsening conditions and by efforts in many communities to more 

accurately determine which people meet the definition of chronic homelessness.

This two-year trend of increases in chronic homelessness means we must redouble our efforts to bring to scale 

what works to end the recurring or long-term homelessness of people with disabilities: supportive housing 

implemented through Housing First approaches. By prioritizing people experiencing chronic homelessness for 

existing supportive housing, creating opportunities to bring new units online, and by pairing housing with 

health and behavioral health services of individuals’ choice, communities must make many more units 

available for people experiencing chronic homelessness with the highest needs.

Driving Progress Across Federal Agencies

During FY 2019, the Interagency Working Group on Ending Chronic Homelessness continued its focus on: 

• Increasing Access to Permanent Supportive Housing. As a follow up to the policy academy that we cofacilitated with HHS and HUD with 19 communities in Los Angeles in late 2018, USICH, member agencies, 

and national partners developed and promoted a resource, Core Elements of Effective Street Outreach to 

People Experiencing Homelessness, that encourages street outreach approaches that are housing focused 

and put people on a path to stability, including an emphasis on identifying people who should be being 

prioritized for access to supportive housing. We also worked closely with HUD and other federal partners 
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to design and deploy technical assistance to 10 tribes and urban Native organizations to design and 

develop permanent supportive housing projects.

• Strengthening Collaborations Between Health and Housing Partners. We worked closely with our agency 

partners in FY 2019 to determine how federal housing programs and federal health programs could better 

collaborate to reduce costs and improve health and housing outcomes. The resulting recommendations 

were published in Report to Congress on Increasing Collaboration Between Health Care and Housing 

Programs to Improve Outcomes and Reduce Costs. We also partnered with HHS and HUD to launch a

third round of technical assistance for State Medicaid-Housing Agency Partnerships focused on aligning 

health, behavioral health, and housing systems at the state level. The states of Virginia, Maine, Montana, 

and North Dakota were selected. We also focused on the role of the health care system in Case Studies: 

Connecting Supportive Housing and Health Systems to End Chronic Homelessness among People with 

Disabilities.

• Confirming Communities’ Achievement of Goal of Ending Chronic Homelessness. Since the release of the 

criteria and benchmarks in FY 2016, 3 communities have been confirmed as achieving the goal of ending 

chronic homelessness: Bergen County, NJ; Rockford, IL; and Lancaster County, PA. In FY 2019, a fourth 

community – the Southwest Minnesota CoC - was confirmed as achieving the goal of ending chronic 

homelessness. Communities interested in assessing their progress and the steps needed to achieve the 

goal receive support through HUD-funded TA and USICH and HUD staff.

Driving Progress in Communities

Our entire team—and particularly our 5-member National Initiative Team and Executive Director—works directly 

with elected officials, stakeholders, and community decision makers to advance progress in communities across 

America. 

• We provided technical assistance to communities across the country on topics like Housing First, the 

prioritization of people experiencing chronic homelessness in permanent supportive housing, outreach 

and engagement, working with the criminal justice system, and systems change.

• We provided training and technical assistance to many communities on issues related to chronic 

homelessness at the National Conference on Ending Individual Homelessness and affiliated meetings. We 

also facilitated panels on Approaches to Encampment Resolution and Integrating and Coordinating 

Outreach Efforts and delivered a plenary address. 

• We supported CMS to publish a fact sheet on the first round of the State Medicaid-Housing Agency 

Partnerships, Community Integration through Long-Term Services and Supports, to inform communities 

about ways to strength those partnerships.

• We provided training at a variety of local and regional meetings and conferences, including the Oregon 

Supportive Housing Conference, the Virginia Supportive Housing Learning Collaborative Summit, the

Florida Institute on Homelessness and Supportive Housing, among others.

• We provided training on Home, Together and the important role of outreach, identification, and 

engagement on SAMHSA's Strategic Deployment of PATH Resources webinar series.
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United States Interagency Council on Homelessness 23

• We provided technical assistance at three onsite sessions of the HUD-funded technical assistance to 

develop permanent supportive housing among American Indians and Alaska Natives on and off tribal 

lands.

• We gave plenary remarks at the Florida Supportive Housing Coalition's conference and provided technical 

assistance to the Florida Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Tools and Resources to Strengthen Practices

We developed and disseminated a diverse array of articles, guidance, and tools to communicate federal guidance 

and to strengthen states’ and communities’ activities and support the implementation of best practices.

• Core Elements of Effective Street Outreach to People Experiencing Homelessness can be used by 

communities to assess their street outreach efforts and to identify opportunities to strengthen their 

systemic approach to ending homelessness, particularly unsheltered homelessness.

• Case Studies: Connecting Supportive Housing and Health Systems to End Chronic Homelessness among 

People with Disabilities was developed to highlight innovative community partnerships between the 

homelessness services system and health systems.

• Report to Congress on Increasing Collaboration Between Health Care and Housing Programs to Improve 

Outcomes and Reduce Costs discusses how federal housing programs and federal health programs could 

better collaborate to reduce costs and improve health and housing outcomes.

• Reflections on a Federal Initiative to Address American Indian and Alaska Native Homelessness reports on 

a federal TA initiative to support Tribes' efforts to increase the supply of permanent supportive housing 

available to end homelessness.

• Does Anyone Need 18,000 Vouchers to Help End Homelessness? outlines how HUD's latest Mainstream 

811 NOFA can help communities expand housing opportunities for people with disabilities experiencing, 

exiting, or at risk for homelessness.

• We provided subject matter expertise to ASPE on two reports: Housing Options for Recovery for 

Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder: A Literature Review and Choice Matters: Housing Models that May 

Promote Recovery for Individuals and Families Facing Opioid Use Disorder. 

Ending Homelessness among Families and Children

Between 2010 and 2018, homelessness among family households was reduced by 29%, including a 72% drop in

unsheltered homelessness among family households, as documented within communities’ annual point-in-time 

counts. The number of family households experiencing homelessness was reduced by 3% (or 1,544 households) 

between 2017 and 2018. That progress has been driven by the vision of a comprehensive community response to 

family homelessness described within our criteria and benchmarks for ending family homelessness, published in 

FY 2017, which are helping government, non-profits, and other partners increase their focus on evidence-based 

solutions and using their time and resources as efficiently and effectively as possible.
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Driving Progress Across Federal Agencies

During FY 2019, USICH led an eight-agency Interagency Working Group on Family Homelessness to identify 

resources and key strategies needed to achieve the goal of preventing and ending homelessness among families 

with children. The working group implemented activities to advance short-term and long-term strategies:

• Building a Systemic Response to Achieve the Goal of Ending Family Homelessness. Following the launch 

of a pilot process that began in FY 2018 with 12 communities, we and member agencies including ED, 

HHS, and HUD, participated in a series of peer to peer calls to better understand challenges and strengths 

related to implementation of the criteria and benchmarks for achieving the goal of ending family 

homelessness. The pilot was also intended to help communities identify gaps in their data collection 

processes and share promising practices in using data to inform system improvement efforts. After data 

collection for the pilot process ended, communities provided feedback to the interagency working group, 

including considerations for federal action. We expect to complete revisions to the criteria and 

benchmarks, as well as the accompanying benchmark specifications and data collection worksheets, in FY 

2020. 

• Increasing Coordination with Early Care and Education Programs. Building on previous efforts, ED 

released an updated version of the 50-state profiles on early childhood homelessness in the United States 

at the end of FY 2019 Q1. This comprehensive report provides information on early childhood 

homelessness and the availability of federally funded early childhood education resources. Also in FY 

2019, USICH, with ED and HUD, facilitated a listening session with education stakeholders to solicit input 

on ways to strengthen cross-system partnerships with housing and homelessness services providers, 

including opportunities to increase connections to early care and education programs. At the beginning of 

FY 2019, HHS launched the Home at Head Start Campaign, a national effort to increase enrollment by 

10,000 of children and families experiencing homelessness into Early Head Start and Head Start, providing 

connections to a comprehensive two-generation service model for families.

• Increasing Coordination with Domestic Violence Services. We continued to partner with the federally 

funded Domestic Violence and Housing Technical Assistance Consortium, including work on the 

development of a safety measure to be piloted with the criteria and benchmarks for achieving the goal of 

ending family homelessness, and updating resources to support communities implementing the DV bonus 

under HUD’s Continuum of Care Notice of Funding Availability. We also provided subject matter expertise 

to HUD, DOJ, and HHS to develop the framework and content for a Notice of Funding Availability for 

Housing and Specialized Service for Victims of Human Trafficking that was released (then subsequently 

postponed) late in FY 2019.

Driving Progress in Communities

Our entire team—and particularly our five-member National Initiative Team and Executive Director—works 

directly with elected officials, stakeholders, and community decision makers to advance progress in communities 

across America. 

• We participated in the planning and implementation of a series of calls convened by the National Alliance 

to End Homelessness to support peer-to-peer learning and identification of best practices among the 

cohort of family homelessness service providers who received funding under the Day One Families Fund.
November 2019

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness 25

• We provided intensive, ongoing technical assistance, and facilitated peer-to-peer discussions, with 12 

communities participating in piloting the criteria and benchmarks for achieving the goal of ending family

homelessness.

• We participated in a virtual expert panel with Sesame Street in Communities to launch a nationwide 

initiative to address the impact of homelessness among young children. Through the initiative, resources 

were developed and disseminated to support early care and education providers as well as parents in 

addressing the needs of young children experiencing homelessness.

• We provided training on Home, Together and USICH activities at the 2019 Annual State Coordinators 

Conference hosted by the Department of Education and the National Center for Homeless Education.

• We provided training as part of a policy forum at the 21st National Conference on Child Abuse and 

Neglect that was designed to help participants develop local policy strategies that further cross-sector 

collaboration, services integration, and supportive housing development.

• We presented at the University of Baltimore School of Law 11th Annual Urban Child Symposium on efforts 

to end youth and family homelessness. 

• We served on the board of the One Roof initiative and presented on Home, Together and the criteria and 

benchmarks for ending family homelessness.

• We provided subject matter expertise to HHS on Building Partnerships to Support Stable Housing for Child 

Welfare-Involved Families and Youth, which includes examples of cross-system collaboration and 

strategies to establish partnerships between child welfare agencies and housing and homelessness 

services providers to identify and serve families and youth experiencing and at-risk of homelessness. 

• We participated in and delivered an address at the BELL Summit in Philadelphia highlighting the 

importance of partnerships between homelessness providers and early childhood education providers.

Tools and Resources to Strengthen Practices

We developed and disseminated a diverse array of articles, guidance, and tools to communicate federal guidance 

and to strengthen states’ and communities’ efforts and support the implementation of best practices.

• Meeting the Needs of Families with Young Children Experiencing Homelessness fact sheets addresses the 

partnerships that must be strengthened across the early care and homelessness sectors to build a 

coordinated community response to end family homelessness.

• A commentary on National Child Abuse Prevention Month highlights connections between child abuse 

and family homelessness, and provides information on guidance to support a coordinated community 

response to homelessness.

• Focus on Family Homelessness: The Impact on Families with Children and Strategies to Consider was 

published in the parent and practitioner newsletter of the FRIENDS National Resource Center on 

Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention.

• A commentary in relation to our participation in the Philadelphia BELL Summit is forthcoming.

• The USICH website was updated to more prominently feature ED’s EHCY data on the homelessness 

statistics landing page.
November 2019

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness 26

Ending Homelessness for Unaccompanied Youth

Local point-in-time counts estimate that there were 36,361 unaccompanied youth under the age of 25 

experiencing homelessness on any given day in 2018. In addition, there were 8,724 parents and 11,219 children 

in families in which the parent was a youth. 

Data from the Department of Education and Voices of Youth Count also show that there is still much work to be 

done to reduce and end youth homelessness in America. According to ED’s Federal Data Summary School Years 

2014-2015 to 2016-17: Education for Homeless Children and Youth, 1,355,821 public school students were 

identified as experiencing homelessness at some point during the 2016-2017 school year, an increase of 

approximately 7% over a three-year period. And national prevalence research from Chapin Hall’s Voices of 

Youth Count found that 1 in 30 youth ages 13 to 17 and 1 in 10 young adults ages 18 to 25 experience some 

form of homelessness in a year.

Efforts to improve our data on the scale and scope of youth homelessness are helping us to better understand 

the full range of solutions, collaborations, and investments needed to achieve and sustain an end to 

homelessness, by any federal definition, for all youth. Through strong collaboration at the national and local 

level among the public, private, non-profit, and philanthropic sectors, momentum is growing. 

Driving Progress Across Federal Agencies

The Interagency Working Group on Ending Youth Homelessness, made up of seven federal agencies, was focused 

on the following activities in FY 2019:

• Piloting the Criteria and Benchmarks for Achieving the Goal of Ending Youth Homelessness. Following 

the launch of a pilot process that began in FY 2018 with 12 communities, we convened a series of peer-topeer calls to better understand challenges and strengths related to implementation of the criteria and 

benchmarks for achieving the goal of ending youth homelessness. When data collection for the pilot 

ended, communities provided feedback to the Interagency Working Group on Ending Youth 

Homelessness, including considerations for federal action. We will revise the criteria and benchmarks, as 

well as the accompanying benchmark specifications and data collection worksheets in FY 2020.

• Improving Understanding of the Scale and Scope of Youth Experiencing Homelessness. The working 

group focused on developing a more coordinated national estimate of the scale and scope of youth 

homelessness. We continued to promote an understanding of various data sources, including HUD’s PIT 

data, ED’s annual federal data summary on homeless children and youth, and findings from the Voices of 

Youth Count initiative, and how they can be used together to provide a more complete picture of youth 

homelessness. We co-facilitated the Voices of Youth Count Research to Impact Convening to identify and 

discuss federal policy implications of the Voices of Youth Count data and information with a wide range of 

stakeholders. Emerging data on preventing youth homelessness was a topic of discussion at the 

September 2019 Council meeting.

• Supporting and Learning from Communities. Throughout FY 2019, member agencies provided significant 

support to the implementation of the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) and 100-Day 

Challenges around the country. We provided technical assistance to existing YHDP grantees, while also 

supporting HUD’s release of the NOFA for the third round of YHDP funding and the review of grant 
November 2019

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness 27

applications. We also supported the 100-day challenge sustainability review, learning from communities 

that have engaged youth with lived experience. 

Driving Progress in Communities

Our entire team—and particularly our five-member National Initiative Team and Executive Director—works 

directly with elected officials, stakeholders, and community decision makers to advance progress in communities 

across America. 

• We provided intensive, ongoing technical assistance to, and facilitated peer-to-peer discussions with, the 

communities participating in piloting both the family and youth criteria and benchmarks for ending 

homelessness.

• We provided training and support at a variety of national conferences, including the True Colors Impact 

Summit, the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth conference, the 

Runaway and Homeless Youth National Training, and the National Network for Youth National Summit on 

Youth Homelessness.

• We provided guidance and recommendations to communities participating in the current cohort of 100-

day challenge communities as part of the mid-point evaluation with national partners and presented at 

the 100-Day Sustainability Workshop.

• We co-facilitated a webinar on the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project FY 2018 Notice of Funding 

Availability and served as grant reviewers for the competition.

• We helped publicize a Children’s Bureau Information Memorandum on Engaging, empowering, and 

utilizing family and youth voice in all aspects of child welfare to drive case planning and system 

improvement.

Tools and Resources to Strengthen Practices

We developed and disseminated a diverse array of articles, guidance, and tools to communicate federal guidance 

and to strengthen states’ and communities’ activities and support the implementation of best practices.

• Homelessness in America: Focus on Youth summarizes data and research about unaccompanied youth to 

help inform the work we must do to end homelessness. 

• Youth Homelessness in Los Angeles County: Innovation with Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice, and 

Coordinated Entry Systems explores three pilot programs currently underway to build new links between 

the Youth Coordinated Entry System and the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

• Building Child Welfare and Housing Partnerships to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness: Nashville’s 

Alternative Response describes the work of the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program team in 

Nashville, TN, to build an alternative response to youth.

Ending Homelessness Among All Other Individuals

Point-in-time count data estimates that more than two in three people experiencing homelessness (372,417 

people) were “individuals,” in 2018, that is, in households without children. While homelessness among 
November 2019

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness 28

individuals has been reduced by 6% between 2010 and 2018, the data shows a2% increase in the number of 

individuals experiencing homelessness between the 2017 and 2018 counts. 

Home, Together created a new goal around ending homelessness for all individuals who are not included in the 

other subpopulation goals. In FY 2019, our work in this area included a strong focus on addressing unsheltered 

homelessness and the needs of people living in encampments. 

Driving Progress Across Federal Agencies

In order to address the growing population of individuals experiencing homelessness, we focused on: 

• Advancing Efforts to Address Encampments and Unsheltered Homelessness. USICH, with HUD and 

national partners, supported communities – particularly those with the largest increases in unsheltered 

homelessness – to innovate, test approaches, and implement solutions that will reduce and ultimately 

end unsheltered homelessness. Federal and national partners provided HUD-funded technical assistance 

to communities to support innovation, to try out new approaches, and to develop strong practices.

• Raising Awareness about the Urgent Need to End Homelessness Among Individual Adults. We used the 

first annual National Conference on Ending Individual Homelessness and affiliated meetings in February 

2019 to raise awareness and urge action for this new goal within Home, Together. We also worked with 

researchers and practitioners to analyze data to deepen our current knowledge.

• Building Strategies to Address Homelessness Among Older Adults. We were unable to co-facilitate a 

planned convening on emerging research on the needs and characteristics of older adults experiencing 

homelessness due to the lapse in federal appropriations. However, we hosted a debrief of the convening 

with federal and national partners to begin outlining next steps for federal action to address 

homelessness among older adults.

• Strengthened Partnerships Between Law Enforcement and Homelessness Services. In FY 2018, we 

convened 10 communities in Washington, D.C., to discuss opportunities to strengthen partnerships 

between homelessness services systems and law enforcement. A strategies document, Strengthening 

Partnerships Between Law Enforcement and Homelessness Services Systems, produced in collaboration 

with the Council of State Governments Justice Center, was published in FY 2019. To disseminate the 

strategies in the report, we presented at conferences, on peer-to-peer calls, and through a national 

webinar to funders.

Driving Progress in Communities

Our team—and particularly our five-member National Initiative Team and Executive Director—works directly with 

elected officials, stakeholders, and community decision makers to advance progress in communities across

America. 

• We helped guide HUD-funded technical assistance to communities that are participating in the 

Encampments and Unsheltered Homelessness Project, including Las Vegas/Clark County, NV, 

Oakland/Alameda County, CA, San Diego, CA, San Francisco, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Chicago, IL, Honolulu, HI, 

San Jose/Santa Clara County, CA, Phoenix/Maricopa County, AZ, and Seattle/King County, WA.
November 2019

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness 29

• We provided direct technical assistance to a number of communities on resolving encampments, 

including Los Angeles, CA, Detroit, MI, Austin, TX, and Hawaii.

• We provided training and technical assistance during the National Conference on Ending Individual 

Homelessness and affiliated meetings. 

• We participated in a roundtable panel discussion at the Funders Together Forum on Unsheltered 

Homelessness regarding communities’ strategies and challenges in addressing unsheltered homelessness 

and the role of philanthropy in supporting communities’ capacity to implement stronger practices.

• We convened monthly meetings with key city staff from 17 communities as part of the West Coast 

Mayors Alliance to address issues related to increases in unsheltered homelessness in those communities.

Tools and Resources to Strengthen Practices

We developed and disseminated a diverse array of articles, guidance, and tools to communicate federal guidance 

and to strengthen states’ and communities’ activities and support the implementation of best practices.

• Homelessness in America: Focus on Individual Adults summarizes data and research about individual 

adults to help inform the work we must do, together, to end homelessness.

• Together, We Can End Homelessness Among Individuals discusses the goal within Home, Together to end 

homelessness for all other individuals.

• New Vouchers Propel Us Forward discusses how communities can take advantage of HUD's recent 

awards of new mainstream vouchers to expand opportunities for single adults experiencing 

homelessness. 

• What About Maria? We Need a Federal Plan More Focused on Homelessness Among Older Adults

discusses the need to address the growing population of seniors who are experiencing homelessness.

• Strengthening Partnerships Between Law Enforcement and Homelessness Services Systems, produced in 

collaboration with the Council of State Governments Justice Center, helps communities approach 

partnerships with law enforcement that will benefit efforts to address unsheltered homelessness.

Agency Operations

The success of our efforts to prevent and end homelessness in this country is heavily dependent on USICH’s ability 

to attract, support, and continuously develop highly skilled staff. USICH employee performance is tied directly to 

the success of the Agency’s mission, strategies, objectives, and overall performance. The agency’s organizational 

structure, which follows, supports USICH’s success in achieving its mission, goals, and objectives as outlined in its 

strategic plan, Home Together.
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United States Interagency Council on Homelessness 30

Financial Statements, Auditor’s Reports, and Other Requirements

To keep operational costs at a minimum and focus the bulk of the Agency’s budgetary resources directly

towards accomplishing the Agency’s mission, USICH outsources support for several mission support

components to other government entities via shared services agreements—the U.S. Department of Agriculture

(USDA) and the General Services Administration (GSA). These support areas include human capital, finance,

payroll, legal counsel, and EEO processing, to name a few. USICH maintains control of the work and

approval/authorization processes, and both USDA and GSA execute transactions and perform other operations 

support work as directed by USICH. USICH also outsources website and network support to private entities. 

These and other mission support areas fall under the direct responsibility of the Agency’s Director of Finance

and Administration.

USICH utilizes USDA’s accounting system to track and report on its finances. No instances of improper 

payments occurred during FY 2019 or previous years.

Executive Director 

(Matthew Doherty)

Deputy Director 

(Jasmine Hayes)

Policy Director 

(Lindsay Knotts)

Policy & Program 

Analyst

(Katelyn Jennings)

Policy Advisor

(Vacant)

Policy & Program 

Analyst

(Rexanah Wyse)

Policy Director

(Susan Pourciau)

Program Specialist 

(Tanya Mathis)

Director of National 

Initiatives 

Regional (Beverley Ebersold)

Coordinator

(Helene Schneider)

Regional 

Coordinator

(Robert Pulster)

Regional 

Coordinator

(Katy Miller)

Regional 

Coordinator

(Joe Savage)

Program 

Specialist 

(Noel Prue)

Chief of Staff

(Vacant)

Director of 

Communications 

(Jennifer Rich)

Communications 

Specialist 

(Veronica Mills)

Director of Finance 

& Administration 

(Darren Franklin)

Administrative 

Specialist 

(Chrischanne Smith)
November 2019

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness 31

As a Federal agency, USICH prepares annual financial statements in conformity with U.S. Generally Accepted 

Accounting Principles (GAAP) and undertakes an independent annual audit to ensure reliability in assessing the

Council’s financial health and performance. Each year, USICH prepares the following financial statements:

• Balance Sheet

• Statement of Net Cost

• Statement of Changes in Net Position

• Statement of Budgetary Resources

These statements are accompanied by corresponding notes.

For FY 2019, USICH received an unmodified opinion, the highest audit opinion available. Further, independent, 

certified auditors found: USICH’s financial statements as of and for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2019, 

and 2018, are presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting 

principles; no material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting based on the procedures 

performed; and, no reportable noncompliance for fiscal year 2019 with provisions of applicable laws, 

regulations, contracts, and grant agreements that were tested.

USICH processes its payroll transactions through USDA’s Pentaho accounting system, and other subsystems and 

GSA’s PAR payroll accounting system. Both of these offices operate out of Kansas City, MO. During FY 2019, 

both USDA and GSA received favorable opinions on their SSAE No. 18 audits.

USICH’s financial statements and notes are presented in the format required for the current year by OMB 

guidance, such as Circular A-136, Financial Reporting Requirements, and other applicable guidance, and are

audited via the Generally Accepted Auditing Standards issued by the AICPA and the standards of financial audits 

contained in the Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, and

other applicable guidance.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet presents the total dollar amounts available for use by USICH (assets) against the amounts owed 

(liabilities) and amounts that comprise the difference (net position). Total assets for USICH are $893,727. Of those 

total assets, $891,667 are attributable to the Agency’s Fund Balance with the Department of Treasury, $1,915 are

attributable to Accounts Receivable, and $145 are attributable to Property, Plant and Equipment. Fund Balance

with Treasury is funding available for specific fiscal years through the Department of Treasury accounts from which 

USICH is authorized to make expenditures and pay amounts due.

For depreciation purposes, a threshold of $5,000 per item is used in order to determine capitalization. Capitalized 

property, plants, and equipment is recorded at original acquisition cost. Straight line depreciation and a useful life 

of five years are used in depreciation calculations. Acquisitions not meeting these criteria are recorded as 

expenses.

Total liabilities equal $553,618, including accounts payable, which consists of liabilities to other government 

agencies, commercial vendors, contractors, and disbursements in transit. At fiscal year-end, USICH accrues the 

amount of estimated unpaid expenses. Also, at fiscal year-end, USICH accrues payroll for services rendered by 
November 2019

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness 32

USICH employees and leave accrued, but not yet paid out. To the extent current and prior-year appropriations 

are not available to fund annual leave earned but not taken, funding is obtained from future appropriations.

Statement of Net Cost

This statement presents the annual cost of operating USICH. The gross cost less any offsetting revenue is used 

to arrive at the net cost of operations. All USICH’s costs incurred were directly related to the support and 

advancement of its mission and directives per the Administration and Congress. Net Cost of Operations for FY 

2019 equals $3,736,573.

Statement of Changes in Net Position

The State of Changes in Net Position presents accounting items that caused the net position section of the balance

sheet to change from the beginning to the end of the reporting period. USICH’s net position for FY 2019 is 

$340,109.

Statement of Budgetary Resources

This statement provides information on how budgetary resources were made available to USICH and the status 

of those budgetary resources at year-end. USICH is funded through congressional appropriation totaling

$3,600,000 for operations attributable to FY 2019. Unobligated balances from prior fiscal years totaled $437,747, 

giving USICH total budgetary resources of $4,037,747. Net outlays for activity during FY 2019 totaled $3,638,381

for all funds, including new obligations as well as upward adjustments of past obligations.

Limitations of the Financial Statements

As required by OMB Circular A-136, Financial Reporting Requirements, USICH discloses the following limitations 

on USICH’s FY 2019 financial statements, which are contained in this Report. The financial statements are 

prepared to report the financial position and results of operations of USICH, pursuant to the requirements of 

31 U.S.C. § 3515 (b). The statements are prepared from the books and records of USICH in accordance with 

GAAP for federal entities and the formats prescribed by OMB. These statements are in addition to the financial 

reports used to monitor and control budgetary resources, which are prepared from the same books and

records. The statements should be read with the realization that they are for a component of the U.S.

Government, a sovereign entity.

Fraud Reduction 

OMB Circular A-136 requires agencies to report on its fraud reduction efforts. USICH reports the following actions:

• USICH has taken measurements to reduce fraud opportunities and incidents. We have in place 

controls that keep the likelihood of these events to a minimum, including the following:

o New employees are required to attend ethics training upon hire with HUD ethics attorneys.

o The Handbook details certain actions that are taken seriously, including fraud, waste, and 

abuse, and associated actions that will be taken by management in the event that these 

actions occur, including an Ethics/Code of Conduct Policy. Each employee is required to sign 

an acknowledgement of/and agreement to adhere to this and other applicable policies 

upon receipt and review of the Handbook.

o A periodic review, update, and physical count of USICH inventory and property.
November 2019

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness 33

o Management sets the ethical tone at the Council through its own actions and through its 

dialogue with Council staff.

o USICH contracts with the General Services Administration for posting and processing of all 

financial transactions, generation of vendor payments, generation of financial reports and 

financial statements, and processing of payroll and benefits payments and withholding for 

USICH employees. GSA employees review each transaction for accuracy, as well as validity.

Biennial Review of User Fees

OMB Circular A-136 requires agencies to review, on a biennial basis, fees, rents, royalties, and other charges 

imposed by the agency for services and things of value. For FY 2019, USICH had no items applicable to this review 

requirement.
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT 

U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness

Washington, D.C.

In our audits of the fiscal years 2019 and 2018 financial statements of the United States Interagency Council 

on Homelessness (USICH), we found

• USICH’s financial statements as of and for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2019, and

2018, are presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted

accounting principles;

• no material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting based on the limited

procedures we performed; and

• no reportable noncompliance for fiscal year 2019 with provisions of applicable laws,

regulations, contracts, and grant agreements we tested.

The following sections discuss in more detail (1) our report on the financial statements, which includes 

requiredsupplementary information(RSI) andotherinformationincluded withthefinancialstatements;

(2) our report on internal control over financial reporting; and (3) our report on compliance with laws,

regulations, contracts, and grant agreements.

Report on the Financial Statements

In accordance with the provisions of Accountability of Tax Dollars Act of 20002 (ATDA) (Pub. L. No. 

107-289), we have audited ICH’s financial statements. USICH’s financial statements comprise the balance 

sheets as of September 30, 2019, and 2018; the related statements of net cost, changes in net position, and 

budgetary resources for the fiscal years then ended; and the related notes to the financial statements.

We conducted our audits in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards and the 

provisions of OMB Bulletin No.19-03, Audit Requirements for Federal Financial Statements. We believe

that the audit evidence we obtained issufficient and appropriate to provide a basisfor our audit opinions.

Management’sResponsibility

ICH’s management isresponsible for (1) the preparation and fair presentation of these financial statements

in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; (2) preparing, measuring, and presenting

the RSI in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; (3) preparing and presenting

other information included in documents containing the audited financial statements and auditor’s report,

and ensuring the consistency of that information with the audited financial statements and the RSI; and (4)

maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, including the design, implementation, and

maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation offinancial statements that

are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
Auditor’s Responsibility

Our responsibility isto express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. U.S. generally

accepted government auditing standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable

assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement. We are also

responsible for applying certain limited procedures to RSI and other information includedwith the financial

statements.

An audit offinancial statements involves performing proceduresto obtain audit evidence about the amounts

and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgment,

including the auditor’s assessment ofthe risks of material misstatement ofthe financial statements, whether

due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to

the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures

that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the

effectiveness of the entity’s internal control. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit offinancial

statements also involves evaluating the appropriateness of the accounting policies used and the

reasonableness ofsignificant accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall 

presentation of the financial statements. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we

considered necessary in the circumstances.

Opinion on Financial Statements

In our opinion, USICH’s financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, USICH’s financial

position as of September 30, 2019, and 2018, and its statement of net cost, changes in net position, and

budgetary resources for the fiscal years then ended in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting

principles.

Other Matters

RequiredSupplementary Information

U.S. generally accepted accounting principles issued by the Federal Accounting Standards

Advisory Board (FASAB) require that the RSI be presented to supplement the financial

statements. Although the RSI is not a part of the financial statements, FASAB considers this

information to be an essential part of financial reporting for placing the financial statements in

appropriate operational, economic, or historical context. We have applied certain limited

procedures to the RSI in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing

standards, which consisted of inquiries of management about the methods of preparing the RSI

and comparing the information for consistency with management’s responses to the auditor's

inquiries, the financial statements, and other knowledge we obtained during the audit of the

financial statements, in order to report omissions or material departures from FASAB

guidelines, if any, identified by these limited procedures. We did not audit and we do not

express an opinion or provide any assurance on the RSI because the limited procedures we

applied do not provide sufficient evidence to express an opinion or provide any assurance.
Other Information

USICH’s other information contains a wide range of information,some of which is not directly

related to the financial statements. This information is presented for purposes of additional

analysis and is not a required part of the financial statements or the RSI. We read the other 

information included with the financial statements in order to identify material inconsistencies,

if any, with the audited financial statements. Our audit was conducted for the purpose of

forming an opinion on ICH’s financial statements. We did not audit and do not express an

opinion or provide any assurance on the other information.

Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

In connection with our audits of USICH’sfinancial statements, we considered USICH’s internal control

over financial reporting, consistent with our auditor's responsibility discussed below. We performed

our procedures related to USICH’s internal control over financial reporting in accordance with U.S.

generally accepted government auditing standards.

Management’s Responsibility

USICH’s management isresponsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting,

including the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation 

and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to

fraud or error.

Auditor’s Responsibility

In planning and performing our audit of USICH’s financial statements as of and for the year ended

September 30, 2019, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards, we

considered the USICH’s internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit

procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances for the purpose of expressing our opinion on the

financial statements, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of USICH’s

internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we do not express an opinion on USICH’s

internal control over financial reporting. We are required to report all deficiencies that are considered

to be significant deficienciesor material weaknesses. We did not consider all internal controls relevant

to operating objectives, such as those controls relevant to preparing performance information and

ensuring efficient operations.

Definition and Inherent Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

An entity’s internal control over financial reporting is a process effected by those charged with

governance, management, and other personnel, the objectives of which are to provide reasonable

assurance that (1) transactions are properly recorded, processed, and summarized to permit the

preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles,

and assets are safeguarded against loss from unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition, and (2)

transactions are executed in accordance with provisions of applicable laws, including those governing

the use of budget authority, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements, noncompliance with which

could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of itsinherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent, or detect

and correct, misstatements due to fraud or error.
Results of Our Consideration of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our consideration of internal control was for the limited purpose described above, and was not

designed to identify all deficiencies in internal control that might be material weaknesses and

significant deficiencies or to express an opinion on the effectiveness of USICH’s internal control over

financial reporting. Given these limitations, during our audit, we did not identify any deficiencies in

internal control over financial reporting that we consider to be material weaknesses. However,

material weaknesses may exist that have not been identified.

Intended Purpose of Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

The purpose of this report is solely to describe the scope of our consideration of USICH’s internal

control over financial reporting and the results of our procedures, and not to provide an opinion on the

effectiveness of the USICH’s internal control over financial reporting. This report is an integral part

of an audit performed in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards in

considering internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, this report on internal control over

financial reporting is not suitable for any other purpose.

Report on Compliance with Laws, Regulations, Contracts, and Grant Agreements

In connection with our audits of USICH’s financial statements, we tested compliance with selected

provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements consistent with our

auditor’s responsibility discussed below. We caution that noncompliance may occur and not be

detected by these tests. We performed our tests of compliance in accordance with U.S. generally

accepted government auditing standards.

Management’s Responsibility

USICH’s management is responsible for complying with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant 

agreements applicable to USICH.

Auditor’s Responsibility

Our responsibility is to test compliance with selected provisions of applicable laws, regulations,

contracts, and grant agreements applicable to USICH that have a direct effect on the determination of

material amounts and disclosures in USICH’s financial statements, and perform certain other limited

procedures. Accordingly, we did not test compliance with all laws, regulations, contracts, and grant

agreements applicable to USICH.

Results of Our Testsfor Compliance with Laws, Regulations, Contracts, and Grant Agreements

Our tests for compliance with selected provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant

agreements disclosed no instances of noncompliance for fiscal year 2019 that would be reportable

under U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards. However, the objective of our tests was

not to provide an opinion on compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements 

applicable to USICH. Accordingly, we do not express such an opinion.
Intended Purpose of Report on Compliance with Laws, Regulations, Contracts, and Grant Agreements

The purpose of this report is solely to describe the scope of our testing of compliance with selected

provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements, and the results of that

testing, and not to provide an opinion on compliance. This report is an integral part of an audit

performed in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards in considering

compliance. Accordingly, this report on compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant

agreements is notsuitable for any other purpose.

Greenbelt, Maryland

November 15, 2019
2019 2018

Assets: (Note 2)

 Intragovernmental:

 Fund Balance With Treasury (Note 3) $ 891,666.65 $ 1,112,188.40

 Total Intragovernmental 891,666.65 1,112,188.40

 Accounts Receivable, net (Note 4) 1,915.49 1,651.02

 General Property, Plant and Equipment, Net (Note 5) 145.24 2,554.60

Total Assets $ 893,727.38 $ 1,116,394.02

Liabilities: (Note 6)

 Intragovernmental:

 Accounts Payable $ 2,137.36 $ 2,259.46

 Other: (Note 7)

 Employer Contributions and Payroll Taxes Payable 24,155.25 22,433.58

 978.49 714.02

 Total Intragovernmental 27,271.10 25,407.06

 Accounts Payable 265,681.76 341,502.39

 Other: (Note 7)

 Accrued Funded Payroll and Leave 86,034.96 78,361.60

 Employer Contributions and Payroll Taxes Payable 3,118.61 3,448.45

 Unfunded Leave 171,511.84 158,883.41

Total Liabilities $ 553,618.27 $ 607,602.91

Net Position:

$ 539,557.14 $ 693,201.35

 (199,448.03) (184,410.24)

 340,109.11 508,791.11

 Total Net Position 340,109.11 508,791.11

Total Liabilities and Net Position $ 893,727.38 $ 1,116,394.02

 Unexpended Appropriations - All Other Funds (Consolidated Totals)

 Cumulative Results of Operations - All Other Funds (Consolidated 

Totals)

 Total Net Position - All Other Funds (Consolidated Totals)

 Liability for Non-Entity Assets Not Reported on

 the Statement of Custodial Activity

U.S. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS

BALANCE SHEET

As Of September 30, 2019 and 2018
2019 2018

Program Costs:

 USICH:

 Gross Costs $ 3,736,572.51 $ 3,665,136.43

 Net Program Costs 3,736,572.51 3,665,136.43

Net Cost of Operations $ 3,736,572.51 $ 3,665,136.43

U.S. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS

STATEMENT OF NET COST

As of And For The Years Ended September 30, 2019 and 2018
Funds From Dedicated 

Collections (Consolidated 

Totals)

All Other Funds 

(Consolidated Totals) Eliminations Consolidated Total

Unexpended Appropriations:

Beginning Balance 693,201.35 693,201.35

Budgetary Financing Sources:

Appropriations received 3,600,000.00 3,600,000.00

Other adjustments (182,140.71) (182,140.71)

Appropriations used (3,571,503.50) (3,571,503.50)

Total Budgetary Financing Sources (153,644.21) (153,644.21)

Total Unexpended Appropriations 539,557.14 539,557.14

Cumulative Results from Operations:

Beginning Balances $ (184,410.24) $ (184,410.24)

Budgetary Financing Sources:

Appropriations used 3,571,503.50 3,571,503.50

Other Financing Sources (Non-Exchange):

Imputed financing 150,031.22 150,031.22

Total Financing Sources 3,721,534.72 3,721,534.72

Net Cost of Operations 3,736,572.51 3,736,572.51

Net Change (15,037.79) (15,037.79)

Cumulative Results of Operations (199,448.03) (199,448.03)

Net Position $ 340,109.11 $ 340,109.11

U.S. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET POSITION

As of And For The Years Ended September 30, 2019 and 2018

FY 2019 (CY)
Funds From Dedicated 

Collections (Consolidated 

Totals)

All Other Funds 

(Consolidated Totals) Eliminations Consolidated Total

Unexpended Appropriations:

Beginning Balance 591,509.08 591,509.08

Budgetary Financing Sources:

Appropriations received 3,600,000.00 3,600,000.00

Other adjustments (1,572.19) (1,572.19)

Appropriations used (3,496,735.54) (3,496,735.54)

Total Budgetary Financing Sources 101,692.27 101,692.27

Total Unexpended Appropriations 693,201.35 693,201.35

Cumulative Results from Operations:

Beginning Balances (139,718.54) $ (139,718.54)

Budgetary Financing Sources:

Appropriations used 3,496,735.54 3,496,735.54

Other Financing Sources (Non-Exchange):

Imputed financing 123,709.19 123,709.19

Total Financing Sources 3,620,444.73 3,620,444.73

Net Cost of Operations 3,665,136.43 3,665,136.43

Net Change (44,691.70) (44,691.70)

Cumulative Results of Operations (184,410.24) (184,410.24)

Net Position $ 508,791.11 $ 508,791.11

U.S. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET POSITION

As of And For The Years Ended September 30, 2019 and 2018

FY 2018 (PY)
2019 2018

Budgetary Budgetary

BUDGETARY RESOURCES

Unobligated balance from prior year budget authority, net $ 437,746.78 $ 631,990.24

Appropriations (discrectionary and mandatory) 3,600,000.00 3,600,000.00

Total budgetary resources $ 4,037,746.78 $ 4,231,990.24

STATUS OF BUDGETARY RESOURCES

New obligations and upward adjustments (total) (Note 9) $ 3,615,813.83 $ 3,617,936.86

Unobligated balance, end of year:

Apportioned, unexpired account 7,890.94 33,423.02

Unexpired unobligated balance, end of year 7,890.94 33,423.02

Expired unobligated balance, end of year 414,042.01 580,630.36

Unobligated balance, end of year (total) 421,932.95 614,053.38

Total budgetary resources $ 4,037,746.78 $ 4,231,990.24

OUTLAYS, NET

Outlays, net (discretionary and mandatory) $ 3,638,381.04 $ 3,613,103.78

Agency outlays, net (discretionary and mandatory) $ 3,638,381.04 $ 3,613,103.78

U.S. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS

STATEMENT OF BUDGETARY RESOURCES

As of And For The Years Ended September 30, 2019 and 2018
U.S. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS GENERAL FUND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 and 2018

Note 1 – Significant Accounting Policies

Reporting Entity

Congress established the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness in 1987 with the passage of the Stewart 

B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. The mission of the United States Interagency Council on 

Homelessness (USICH) is to coordinate the federal response to homelessness and to create a national 

partnership at every level of government and with the private sector to reduce and end homelessness in the 

nation while maximizing the effectiveness of the Federal Government in contributing to the end of 

homelessness.

USICH financial statements include Fund types as described below.

General Funds are accounts used to record financial transactions arising under congressional appropriations 

or other authorizations to spend general revenues. USICH has six general funds as outlined in Note 2.

Miscellaneous Receipt Funds are considered non-entity accounts since USICH management does not 

exercise control over how the monies in these accounts can be used. Miscellaneous Receipt Fund accounts 

hold receipts and accounts receivable resulting from miscellaneous activities of USICH where, by law, such 

monies may not be deposited into funds under USICH management control. The U.S. Department of the 

Treasury (U.S. Treasury) automatically transfers all cash balances in these receipt accounts to the General 

Fund of the U.S. Treasury at the end of the fiscal year.

The miscellaneous receipt funds consist of the following:

• Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures, Not Otherwise Classified

• General Fund Proprietary Interest, Not Otherwise Classified

• General Fund Proprietary Receipts, Not Otherwise Classified

Basis of Presentation 

These financial statements have been prepared from the accounting records of the U.S. Interagency Council 

on Homelessness in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) as promulgated by 

the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB), and OMB (Office of Management and 

Budget) Circular A-136, “Financial Reporting Requirements.” GAAP for Federal entities is the Hierarchy 

of accounting principles prescribed in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) 

Statement on Auditing Standards No. 91, Federal GAAP Hierarchy. 

OMB Circular A-136 requires agencies to prepare principal statements, which include a Balance Sheet, a 

Statement of Net Cost, a Statement of Changes in Net Position, and a Statement of Budgetary Resources. 

The balance sheet presents, as of September 30, 2019, amounts of future economic benefits owned or 

managed by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (assets), amounts owed by the U.S. Interagency 

Council on Homelessness (liabilities), and amounts, which comprise the difference (net position). The 

Statement of Net Cost reports the full cost of the program, both direct and indirect costs of the output, and 

the costs of identifiable supporting services provided by other segments within the U.S. Interagency Council 
on Homelessness and other reporting entities. The Statement of Budgetary Resources reports an agency’s 

budgetary activity.

Basis of Accounting

Transactions are recorded on the accrual accounting basis in accordance with general government practice. 

Under the accrual basis of accounting, revenues are recognized when earned, and expenses are recognized 

when a liability is incurred, without regard to receipt or payment of cash. The preparation of financial 

statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of 

assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, 

and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results may differ 

from those estimates.

Revenues and Other Financing Sources

The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is an appropriated fund and receives appropriations. Other 

financing sources for the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness consist of imputed financing sources 

which are costs financed by other Federal entities on behalf of the U.S. Interagency Council on 

Homelessness, as required by Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standard (SFFAS) No. 5, 

Accounting for Liabilities of the Federal Government.

Note 2 – Non Entity Assets

As of September 30, 2019, certain amounts reported on the Balance Sheet are elements of Miscellaneous 

Receipt Funds, which are not available to management for use in ongoing operations and are classified as 

Non-entity assets (see Note 1- Reporting Entity). The only non-entity asset balances were as follows.

Note 3 – Fund Balance with Treasury

All of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness fund balance with treasury comes from 

appropriations. This fund balance with treasury is a consolidated balance of five annual funds (910: FY 

2015, FY 2016, FY 2017 FY 2018 and FY 2019). The annual FY 2014 fund was cancelled and the 

remaining fund balance of $182,140.71 was given back to the U.S. Treasury during fiscal year 2019.

FY 2019 FY 2018

Interest Receivable $ 124.00 $ 94.00

Penalties and Fines Receivable 553.00 378.00

Administrative Fees Receivable 302.00 242.00

Total $ 979.00 $ 714.00 

FY 2019 FY 2018

A. Fund Balance with Treasury

General Fund $ 891,666.65 $ 1,112,188.40 

B. Status of Fund Balance with Treasury

1) Unobligated Balance

a) Available $ 7,890.94 $ 33,423.02 

b) Unavailable 414,042.01 580,630.36 

2) Obligated Balance not yet Disbursed 469,733.70 498,135.02 

Total $ 891,666.65 $ 1,112,188.40 
Note 4 – Accounts Receivable, Net

The line item represents the Account Receivable Claims from Associates. It is showing a debit balance. 

The direct write-off method is used for uncollectible receivables. The U.S. Interagency Council on 

Homelessness has historically collected any receivables due and thus has not established an allowance for 

uncollectible accounts. 

Note 5 - General Property, Plant and Equipment, Net 

As of September 30, 2019, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness shows Equipment –

Administrative total cost of $34,250.94 and a net book value of $145.24. The Accumulated Depreciation 

to date shows a balance of $34,105.70. The depreciation calculation method used is Straight Line with a 

useful life of 5 years. However, for the items that were obligated in FY 2003 and received in FY 2005, the 

useful life is 3 years. A $5,000 threshold is used to determine whether items are capitalized.

FY 2019 FY 2018

A/R Claims- Non- Federal $ 1,915.49 $ 1,651.02

Total $ 1,915.49 $ 1,651.02

FY 2019 Equipment

Furniture & 

Fixtures Software Total

Cost $ 34,250.94 - - $ 34,250.94

Accum. Depr. (34,105.70) - - (34,105.70)

Net Book Value $ 145.24 - - $ 145.24

FY 2018 Equipment

Furniture & 

Fixtures Software Total

Cost $ 34,250.94 - - $ 34,250.94

Accum. Depr. (31,696.34) - - (31,696.34)

Net Book Value $ 2,554.60 - - $ 2,554.60
Note 6 – Liabilities Not Covered by Budgetary Resources

Liabilities of U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness are classified as liabilities covered or not covered 

by budgetary resources. As of September 30, 2019, U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness showed 

liabilities covered by budgetary resources of $382,106.43 and liabilities not covered by budgetary resources 

of $171,511.84.

The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness’s liabilities are as follows:

2019 2018

Intragovernmental

 Accounts Payable $ 2,137.36 $ 2,259.46

 Employer Contributions and Payroll Taxes Payable 24,155.25 22,433.58

 Liability for Non-Entity Assets Not Reported on the

 Statement of Custodial Activity 978.49 714.02

Total Intragovernmental 27,271.10 25,407.06

With the Public

 Accounts Payable 265,681.76 341,502.39

 Accrued Funded Payroll and Leave 86,034.96 78,361.60

 Employer Contributions and Payroll Taxes Payable 3,118.61 3,448.45

 Unfunded Leave 171,511.84 158,883.41

Total With the Public 526,347.17 582,195.85

Total Liabilities $ 553,618.27 $ 607,602.91

Total liabilities not covered by budgetary resources $ 171,511.84 $ 158,883.41

Total liabilities covered by budgetary resources 382,106.43 448,719.50

Total Liabilities $ 553,618.27 $ 607,602.91
Note 7 – Other Liabilities 

Other liabilities with the public for the year ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 consist of Accrued Funded 

Payroll and Leave, Employer Contributions and Payroll Taxes Payable and Unfunded Leave in the amounts 

shown below. Other Intragovernmental liabilities consist of Employer Contributions and Payroll Taxes 

Payable.

Non-Current Current Total

Intragovernmental

Employer Contributions and Payroll Taxes Payable $ - $ 24,155.25 $ 24,155.25 

Liability for Non-Entity Assets not Reported on the 

 Statement of Custodial Activity 978.49 978.49 

Liabilities with the Public

Accrued Funded Payroll & Leave $ - $ 86,034.96 $ 86,034.96 

Employer Contributions and Payroll Taxes Payable - 3,118.61 3,118.61 

Unfunded Leave 171,511.84 - 171,511.84 

Total Liabilities with the Public 171,511.84 89,153.57 260,665.41 

Total Other Liabilities $ 172,490.33 $ 113,308.82 $ 285,799.15 

FY 2019

Total Intragovernmental $ 978.49 $ 24,155.25 $ 25,133.74 

Non-Current Current Total

Intragovernmental

Employer Contributions and Payroll Taxes Payable $ - $ 22,433.58 $ 22,433.58 

Liability for Non-Entity Assets not Reported on the 

 Statement of Custodial Activity 714.02 714.02 

Liabilities with the Public

Accrued Funded Payroll & Leave $ - $ 78,361.60 $ 78,361.60 

Employer Contributions and Payroll Taxes Payable - 3,448.45 3,448.45 

Unfunded Leave 158,883.41 - 158,883.41 

Total Liabilities with the Public 158,883.41 81,810.05 240,693.46 

Total Other Liabilities $ 159,597.43 $ 104,243.63 $ 263,841.06 

FY 2018

Total Intragovernmental $ 714.02 $ 22,433.58 $ 23,147.60 
Note 8 – Operating Lease and Future Lease Payments

USICH occupies office space under a lease agreement that is accounted for as an operating lease. The 

current office lease term began on October 2, 2017 and expires on June 30, 2020. Lease payments are 

increased annually based on the USICH’s proportionate share of the building's operating expenses and 

real estate taxes. The total operating lease expenses as of September 30, 2019 and for FY 2019 were 

$259,229.46.

Below is a schedule of estimated future payments for the term of the lease.

Note 9 – Apportionment Categories of New Obligations and Upward Adjustments: Direct 

vs. Reimbursable Obligations

All obligations for the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, is the amount of direct obligations 

incurred against amounts apportioned under category B on the latest SF 132.

Note 10 – Undelivered Orders at the End of the Period

Undelivered orders represent the value of goods and services ordered and obligated that have not been 

received. This amount includes any orders for which advance payment has been made but for which 

delivery or performance has not yet occurred. 

The amount of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness’ budgetary resources obligated for 

undelivered orders was $79,147.97 and $59,143.38 as of September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Fiscal Year

2020 (current lease expires 6/30/2020) $ 194,409.00

Total future payments $ 194,409.00

Office Space Cost Estimates Total Total

FY 2019 FY 2018

Direct

 Category B $ 3,645,813.83 $ 3,617,936.86

Total Obligations $ 3,645,813.83 $ 3,617,936.86

Unpaid 

Undelivered 

Orders

Paid 

Undelivered 

Orders

Total 

Undelivered 

Orders

FY 2019 $ 117,624.19 $ - $ 117,624.19

FY 2018 $ 79,147.97 $ - $ 79,147.97
NOTE 11 – Explanation of Difference between the SBR and the Budget of the US Government 

SFFAS No. 7, Accounting for Revenue and Other Financing Sources and Concepts for Reconciling 

Budgetary and Financial Accounting, requires an explanation of material differences between budgetary 

resources available, the status of those resources and outlays as presented in the Statement of Budgetary 

Resources to the related actual balances published in the Budget of the United States Government (Budget). 

The Budget that will include FY 2019 actual budgetary execution information is scheduled for publication 

in February 2020, which will be available through OMB’s website at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb. 

Accordingly, information required for such disclosure is not available at the time of publication of these 

financial statements. Balances reported in the FY 2018 SBR and the related President’s Budget reflected 

the following:

The difference between the Statement of Budgetary Resources and the Budget of the United States 

Government for budgetary resources, obligations incurred and net outlays are primarily due to rounding. A 

portion of the difference in the budgetary resources is due to expired unobligated balances being reported 

in the Statement of Budgetary Resources but not in the Budget of the United States Government.

Note 12 – Reconciliation of Net Operating Cost and Net Budgetary Outlays

USICH has reconciled its budgetary obligations and non-budgetary resources available to its net cost of 

operations.

FY 2018

 Budgetary 

Resources 

 New 

Obligations & 

Upward 

Adjustments 

(Total) 

 Distriuted 

Offsetting 

Receipts Net Outlays

Statement of budgetary Resources $ 4,231,990.24 $ 3,617,936.86 $ - $ 3,613,103.78

Budget of the US. Government 4,000,000.00 4,000,000.00 - 3,000,000.00

Difference $ 231,990.24 $ (382,063.14) $ - $ 613,103.78

Intragovernmental With the Public Total

Net Operating Cost (SNC) $ 3,736,572.51 $ - $ 3,736,572.51

Components of Net Operating Cost Not Part of the 

Budgetary Outlays

 Property, plant, and equipment depreciation - (2,409.36) (2,409.36)

 (Increase)/Decrease in Liabilities not affecting

 Budget Outlays:

 Accounts payable 122.10 75,820.63 75,942.73

 Salaries and benefits (1,721.67) (7,343.52) (9,065.19)

 Other liabilities - (12,628.43) (12,628.43)

Components of Net Operating Cost Not Part of the 

Budgetary Outlays

 Federal employee retirement benefit costs (150,031.22) - (150,031.22)

Total Components of Net Operating Cost Not Part of 

the Budgetary Outlays (151,630.79) 53,439.32 (98,191.47)

Net Outlays (Calculated Total) $ 3,584,941.72 $ 53,439.32 $ 3,638,381.04

Related Amounts on the Statement of Budgetary 

Resources

 Outlays, net (SBR Line 4190) $ 3,638,381.04

Agency Outlays, Net (SBR Line 4210) $ 3,638,381.04