Housing Counseling Process Evaluation and Design of ... - HUD User

engaged in counseling at the time of the report, 2 percent had withdrawn from counseling, and the
status of the remaining 6 percent was unknown.
Among the approximately 38,000 clients that completed counseling, about half remained homeless at
the time the agency last knew of their status, with most residing in an emergency shelter or
transitional housing. 40 Of the remainder, a little more then half obtained permanent housing and the
rest were referred to another agency for assistance.
Exhibit 7-15. Outcomes for Clients Seeking Shelter or Services for the Homeless, FY 2007
Outcome
Counseled and obtained permanent housing:
Occupied permanent housing with rental assistance
Occupied permanent housing without rental assistance
Total
Counseled and remained homeless:
Occupied emergency shelter
Occupied transitional housing
Remained homeless
Total
Referred to another agency for assistance
Currently receiving counseling
Withdrew from counseling
Other
Total clients seeking shelter or services for the homeless
Source: Abt Associates tabulations of HUD 9902 data.
Note: Based on data submitted by 1,577agencies.
Number of
Clients
6,213
3,920
10,133
9,781
4,467
4,639
18,887
8,483
6,950
1,007
3,133
48,593
Percent of
Clients
13%
8%
21%
20%
9%
10%
39%
17%
14%
2%
6%
100%
Managing Client Information
An important innovation in the counseling industry has been the development of electronic client
management systems (CMS) that automate housing counseling processes including client intake, file
maintenance, financial and credit analysis, outreach, client notification, and reporting. These systems
can both streamline an organization’s operations and provide valuable reporting capabilities for
40
The Federal definition of homelessness defines a homeless person as: (1) an individual who lacks a fixed,
regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and (2) an individual who has a primary nighttime residence that
is (a) a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living
accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally
ill); (b) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or
(c) a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for
human beings. U.S. Code, Title 42, Chapter 119, Subchapter I, Section 11302.
116
Chapter 7. Client Characteristics and Outcomes