Idaho Homelessness Coordinating Committee (IHCC)

The Idaho Homelessness Coordinating Committee (IHCC) is a collaborative of homelessness service providers, resource administrators, housing providers, State Department officials, and other key stakeholders who adopted the collective mission of combating homelessness. The IHCC is instrumental in the development and implementation of comprehensive statewide strategies to reduce, and ultimately end, homelessness. As the governing body of this response network, the IHCC plans and provides, as necessary, a system of outreach, engagement, and assessment; emergency shelter, rapid re-housing; transitional housing; permanent supportive housing; and prevention strategies to address the various needs of persons experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless.

The IHCC’s jurisdictional coverage includes regions one (1) through six (6), to the right. The IHCC is supported by multiple sub-committees and regional housing and homelessness coalitions. Committee input ensures that scarce resources devoted to alleviating homelessness are maximized by filling identified service gaps in communities throughout Idaho.

General membership of the IHCC includes: nonprofit homeless assistance providers, victim service providers, faith-based organizations, local government officials, private businesses, advocates, public housing agencies, school districts, social service providers, mental health agencies, hospitals, universities/colleges, affordable housing developers, law enforcement, veterans’ service organizations, US Congress representatives, HUD representatives, United Way representatives, and state representatives.

The IHCC has a standing open invitation for new member participation. If you would like to be contacted
click here.

Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) is designated by the IHCC to serve as the Collaborative Applicant for the CoC. The Collaborative Applicant is responsible for coordination, communication, recordkeeping of meeting agendas and minutes, annual reporting, completion and submittal of the annual CoC program application, general program administration and oversight, monitoring, and other duties as assigned. IHFA is also the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Lead for Regions 1-6.

National Perspective on Homelessness

In response to an increase in homeless issues nationally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants funding to nonprofit and governmental bodies across the United States to combat homelessness. Idaho Housing and Finance Association is the recipient of the majority of federal homelessness assistance funds awarded to Idaho and is responsible for the grant administration and oversight of several predominant programs. Homelessness assistance funds are used to support a comprehensive and coordinated crisis response system that includes homelessness prevention, emergency shelters, transitional housing, rapid re-housing, and permanent supportive housing.

Initiatives

Homeless Connect for Providers

Local housing and homeless service providers and the IHCC have partnered to create a comprehensive statewide homelessness response system to help standardize the process for persons experiencing a housing crisis and help families or individuals gain access to the supportive services they need. The process ensures clients experience consistency when accessing housing resources by documenting the clients’ needs and coordinating housing and service referrals. Local housing and homeless providers within the homelessness response system share guiding principles and a set of common operational policies that seek to:

provide ease of access to resources
ensure housing volume and type is proportionate to the population
increase system uniformity
build partnerships among various resources/programs
reduce first time homelessness and returns to homelessness

Together we are creating a front door to Idaho’s many providers working to end homelessness for single adults, youth and families.

HOW TO ACCESS SERVICES

To ensure anyone experiencing a housing crisis has fair and equal access to housing and services, an individual or family at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness begins the process of accessing these services at a centralized location in each region serving as an Access Point.

*Note: For information on how to resolve a homelessness episode or how to partner to end all homelessness in Boise and Ada County, contact Our Path Home, a partnership of over 27 agencies and operated by CATCH, at 208-495-4240.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Homelessness Service Providers: For complete details, click here to view brochure.
To request additional outreach materials: Click Here

Homeless Connect Operating Procedures

Written Standards

The IHCC has developed policies and procedures, referred to as Written Standards to provide guidance to local providers on the administration of ESG and CoC-funded assistance.They are also intended to ensure that persons experiencing homelessness who enter programs throughout the CoC will be given similar information and support to access and maintain permanent housing. The policies and procedures are not intended to be in lieu of or in place of program regulations, but are intended to establish and clarify local decisions regarding program administration. All HUD funded providers must follow the Interim Regulations in its entirety, as well as the IHCC’s Written Standards. Written Standards (July 2018)

Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)

“Idaho’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is an electronic data collection system specifically designed to capture client-level, longitudinal, system-wide information on the characteristics and service needs of men, women, and children experiencing homelessness. HMIS provides standardized data to improve our understanding of homelessness in Idaho and to measure the progress in meeting the national strategic goal of preventing and ending homelessness.” For more information go to: HMIS

Community Management Information System (CMIS)

The IHCC is required to utilize a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). The HMIS is an electronic data collection system specifically designed to capture client-level, longitudinal, system-wide information on the characteristics and service needs of men, women, and children experiencing homelessness. Due to privacy and security concerns for victims of domestic violence, victim service agencies are prohibited by VAWA from participating in the HMIS. However, funding sources still require comparable data collection and reporting capabilities. For this reason, a Community Management Information System (CMIS) has been established to support victim service providers’ compliance with funding reporting requirements by providing valid and reliable data that can inform the IHCC’s response to victims of domestic violence.