State Interagency Councils on Homelessness (ICHs) are a promising mechanism to coordinate various state and local partners and develop and implement plans to end homelessness. Addressing homelessness necessitates coordination across a wide array of federal, state, and local agencies, community-based organizations, service providers, and the public, including individuals with lived experience. ICHs can effectively centralize resources and decision making. ICHs’ exact purpose, structure, participants, and the mechanism by which they were established varies by state based on their unique context and goals. This blog summarizes the most common approaches across states.
For questions about State Interagency Councils on Homelessness or NASHP’s work on housing and homelessness, please contact Elaine Chhean.
Purpose
State Interagency Councils on Homelessness are created to serve the specific needs of their state and communities. However, most ICHs include one or more of the following as their stated purpose and goals:
- Develop a strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness, unstable housing, and/ or unnecessary institutionalization
- Recommend policy, regulatory, and resource needs
- Recommend system changes
- Oversee the implementation of homelessness plans
- Promote collaboration among federal, state, and local agencies
- Build coalitions amongst government, community-based organizations, advocates, and individuals experiencing homelessness
- Increase awareness of homelessness issues
- Survey current resources, centralize resources, and, in some cases, distribute funding
- Identify and addressing inequities and developing equity plans
- Provide information and feedback to state agencies
- Publicly report progress
Creation and Structure
The vast majority of State Interagency Councils on Homelessness are established by Governor’s executive order or state legislation (see Table 1 for state examples[1]).
Table 1: Mechanisms for Establishing a State Interagency Council on Homelessness
Table 1: Mechanisms for Establishing a State Interagency Council on Homelessness | |
Executive Order | Legislation |
California (2017, amended 2021) |
The executive orders and legislation establishing the ICHs specify their structure including purpose and goals, required outputs (see Table 2 for state examples of outputs), reporting structures, and participants. Most ICHs report to the Governor, legislature, and/or a state agency or position. In the case of a state agency or position, it is typically Housing or Human Services Agencies, Secretaries, or Chiefs. They are often staffed by one or more state employees. In addition, legislation and executive orders that establish ICHs often specify some or all members of the ICH and/or how members should be selected.
Table 2: State Interagency Councils on Homelessness Outputs
Participants
Participants are typically appointed or invited to participate in the ICH and represent the relevant state agencies, state legislators, local government, community partners, individuals with lived experience, and in some cases, federal partners. In some cases, individuals may be able to apply to participate in the ICH. While exact participation varies by states, Table 3 includes a list of commonly included groups of people. Some states (i.e., Minnesota, Illinois, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia) have chosen to implement an ICH that includes only representatives from state government agencies. Washington and West Virginia, however, have an advisory group that includes additional individuals, including community members, to advise the state-only ICH. Increasingly, states are prioritizing participation by individuals with lived experience of homelessness.
State Spotlight: Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness
The Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness (MICH) was formed in 2013 as a cabinet-level body comprised of the commissioners from 13 state agencies related to the homelessness and housing, health, and human services systems. MICH is led by Lieutenant Governor Flanagan and co-chaired by Commissioner Harpstead (Department of Human Services) and Commissioner Ho (Minnesota Housing). MICH has three fully dedicated staff members including an Executive Director and receives in-kind support from the 13 participating agencies. MICH primarily serves to develop and implement a strategic plan and coordinate across relevant agencies.
Table 3: Commonly Included Participants for State Interagency Councils on Homelessness
State government officials representing the following agencies, departments, or offices as appropriate:
|
State legislators |
Local government representatives (typically representing large urban centers and representative rural localities) |
Persons with lived experience (experience of homelessness, mental illness or substance use disorder, veterans, etc.) |
Community partners including:
|
Federal partners including:
|
Additional Information on State Examples
- California Interagency Council on Homelessness
- District of Columbia Interagency Council on Homelessness
- Illinois’s Interagency Task Force on Homelessness (state agency representatives only) is advised by the Community Advisory Council on Homelessness
- Louisiana’s Governor’s Council on Homelessness
- Maryland Interagency Council on Homelessness
- Michigan’s Campaign to End Homelessness is governed by two key bodies:
- Michigan Interagency Council on Homelessness (MICH) is comprised of the Governor’s appointees.
- The Michigan Homeless Policy Council (MHPC) reports to the MICH and is comprised of state agencies and the public.
- Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness
- Nevada Interagency Advisory Council on Homelessness to Housing
- Ohio Interagency Council on Homelessness and Affordable Housing
- Oklahoma Governor’s Interagency Council on Homelessness
- Oregon
- Interagency Council to End Homelessness and Interagency Council on Hunger and Homelessness
- Task Force on Homelessness and Racial Disparities
- Tennessee Interagency Council on Homelessness
- Texas Interagency Council for the Homeless
- Virginia Governor’s Coordinating Council on Homelessness
- Washington Interagency Council on Homelessness and State Advisory Council on Homelessness
- West Virginia Interagency Council on Homelessness
Footnotes
[1] This may not be a comprehensive list of all state ICHs but represents those that were identified through a search of publicly available documents.
[2] Oregon has an Interagency Council to End Homelessness and Interagency Council on Hunger and Homelessness (established by executive order) as well as a Task Force on Homelessness and Racial Disparities (established by the legislature).
[3] TN’s Council was originally created by executive order but it stopped meeting in 2009. Then, in 2014 the Council was reenergized as part of a requirement for a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
[4] In the process of being updated as of 2021.
[5] This may not be a comprehensive list of all state ICHs but represents those that were identified through a search of publicly available documents.