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1 1 (February 16, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/govyvn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: How Many People Experience Homelessness? Updated February 16, 2018 Attempts by the federal government to estimate the number of people who are homeless have only taken place on a regular basis for a little more than a decade. Prior to that, there had been several national estimates of homelessness but nothing both comprehensive and recurring. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is responsible for collecting and reporting data about the scale of homelessness. Congress initiated HUD's data collection efforts with a funding set-aside in the department's FY1999 appropriations bill, to be used to collect homelessness data. (See P.L. 105-276, which references House Appropriations Committee Report H.Rept. 105-610). HUD implemented data collection through local Continuums of Care (CoCs), the cities, counties, or combinations of both that are the recipients of HUD's Homeless Assistance Grants. CoCs are expected to collect data and report to HUD. Since the mid-2000s, CoCs have regularly submitted data to HUD, which, in turn, releases information as part of Annual Homeless Assessment Reports (AHARs). HUD has released an AHAR each year from 2005 through 2017. (AHARs are available on HUD's website at https://www.hudexchange.info/hdx/guides/ahar/) HUD Data Sources HUD reports two different estimates of homelessness in the AHARs: point-in-time counts from one day during the year and full-year estimates based on a sample of jurisdictions. The two data sources have strengths and weaknesses, discussed below. This In Focus notes when and why one source or the other is used to present data. Point-in-Time (PIT) Counts HUD requires communities receiving funds through the Homeless Assistance Grants to conduct annual PIT counts of people experiencing homelessness. * Time Period: The counts are to occur on one day during the last week of January. Therefore, the counts are a snapshot of the number of people who are homeless on a given day. They are not meant to represent the total number of people who experience homelessness over the course of a year. PIT count results were first released for 2005. * Living Situation: The counts are meant to capture all persons experiencing homelessness including those living in shelters, transitional housing, the streets, and other places not meant for human habitation. * Method: The PIT count is meant to capture all people experiencing homelessness and is not an estimate based on a sample (though local CoCs may use samples to arrive at their totals). HUD aggregates all data received from CoCs. Full-Year Estimates Data for the full-year estimates of persons experiencing homelessness come from local Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS). Through HMIS, local jurisdictions collect information about homeless individuals they serve, and this is aggregated in information systems at the community or state level. * Time Period: The HMIS estimates differ from PIT counts in that they are based on a full year's worth of information (rather than one day). The estimates are also based on the federal fiscal year, from October 1 through September 30. Full-year estimates were first released for FY2007 (FY2005 and FY2006 estimates used three and six months of data, respectively). * Living Situation: The HMIS estimates only include individuals who are sheltered-residing in emergency shelters or transitional housing during the relevant time periods. Estimates do not include persons living on the street or in other places not meant for human habitation. * Method: The estimates are based on a sample of communities rather than an aggregation of all communities. As a result, the estimates include confidence intervals available as part of the AHARs and supporting documents. Both PIT count and HMIS full-year estimates are published in HUD's AHARs. See Table 1 for results from 2008 to 2017, though HMIS data are not yet available for 2017. Table I. People Experiencing Homelessness HMIS Full-Year Point-in- Year Estimate Time Count 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 201 5 2016 2017 1,593,794 1,558,917 1,593,150 1,502,196 1,488,371 1,422,360 1,488,465 1,484,576 1,421,196 639,784 630,227 637,077 623,788 621,553 590,364 576,450 564,708 549,928 553,742 Source: HUD's Annual Homeless Assessment Reports, https://www.hudexchange.info/hdx/guides/ahar/. Data from the 2007 to 2014 AHARs were revised in the 2015 AHAR, so numbers may be different from what was reported in previous years. Demographic Data Adults and Children According to both PIT counts and HMIS estimates, the majority of homeless people are individual adults (i.e., https://crsreports.congress go

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