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Coordinating State and Local Resources: State Interagency Councils on Homelessness

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

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:

  • Aging/ Long-Term Services and Supports
  • Attorney General
  • Behavioral Health (or Mental Health/ Substance Use Disorders) and Developmental Disabilities
  • Corrections/ Public Safety
  • Children and Families
  • Education/ Early Education
  • Emergency Management
  • Employment and Economic Development/ Commerce/ Community Colleges/ Workforce
  • Governor’s Office
  • Health
  • Housing and Development/ Community
  • Housing Finance Agency
  • Human/ Social Services
  • Juvenile Services/ Affairs
  • Medicaid
  • Revenue
  • Transportation
  • Veterans Affairs
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:

  • Advocates
  • Behavioral Health/Mental Health/ Substance Use Disorder Association and/ or service providers
  • Business community representatives
  • Continuums of Care (CoCs)
  • Legal aid services
  • Faith-based organizations
  • Food and nutrition service providers
  • Health Centers
  • Housing developers
  • Housing service providers
  • Philanthropy
  • Public Housing Authorities

Federal partners including:

  • Regional U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Director
  • Regional U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) Director

Additional Information on State Examples

For additional information on select state examples[5] of State Interagency Councils on Homelessness, please see the list below:

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.

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