Overview of SAMHSA’s
Housing Portfolio
Charlene E. Le Fauve, Ph.D., Chief
Co-Occurring and Homeless Activities Branch
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
2
SAMHSA’s 8 Strategic Initiatives
• #1 – Prevention of Substance Abuse and Mental
Illness
• #2 – Trauma and Justice
• #3 – Military Families
• #4 – Recovery Support
• #5 – Health Reform
• #6 – Health Information Technology
• #7 – Data, Outcomes, and Quality
• #8 – Public Awareness and Support
3
8 Strategic Initiatives –
Support Goals and Drive Efforts
• Set budget and policy priorities.
• Manage grants, contracts, technical
assistance, agency staff, and interagency
efforts.
• Engage partners at every level.
• Measure and communicate progress.
4
Recovery Support Strategic Initiative
Home
Permanent
Housing
Health
Recovery,
Health,
Wellness
Individuals
and
Families
Purpose
Employment
and Education
5
Community
Social Inclusion
SAMHSA Portfolio
• PATH-Projects for Assistance in Transition from
Homelessness
• SOAR-SSI/SSDI Outreach Access and Recovery
• GBHI – Grants for the Benefit of Homeless
Individuals
• SSH-Services in Supportive Housing
• CABHI-Cooperative Agreements for the
Benefit of Homeless Individuals
• Contracts-Technical Assistance
6
GOAL OF THE PATH PROGRAM

Main goal of PATH is to support the delivery of eligible
services to persons who are homeless and have serious
mental illnesses and co-occurring substance use disorders,
with a particular emphasis on
•
•
•
•
•
(a) adults,
(b) persons who are literally homeless
(c) street outreach
(d) case management and
(e) services which are not supported by mainstream mental health
programs.
SOAR
• Purpose: SAMHSA has contracted to provide technical assistance to
States as part of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI)/Social Security
Disability Income (SSDI) Outreach Access and Recovery (SOAR) initiative
and to evaluate the outcomes of the initiative.
8
SOAR Program Outcomes
• Initial Application Decision: Since 2006, there have been 8,978 decisions
on initial applications reported by 37 states; nearly 4,600 decisions in
2010. The approval rate of these applications was 73% in 91 days on
average.
• Economic stimulus: SSI/SSDI brought at least $53.1 million into the states
and local economies of the 37 states reporting outcomes.
• Serving individuals who are chronically homeless (16 states reporting):
Persons served through SOAR have been homeless for an average of 2
years.
• Increased access to housing (10 states reporting): 81% of applicants were
housed by the time benefits were approved; the length of time to housing
after benefits were approved averaged 39 days.
9
GBHI
• Purpose: Grants for the Benefit of homeless
Individuals (GBHI) program is designed to
enable communities to expand and
strengthen their treatment services for people
experiencing homelessness who also have a
substance abuse disorders, mental illness, or
co-occurring disorder.
10
SSH
• Purpose: The purpose of the Services in Supportive
Housing (SSH) program is to help prevent or reduce
chronic homelessness by funding mental health and
substance abuse services for individuals and families
experiencing chronic homelessness in coordination
with existing permanent supportive housing programs
and resources.
11
Grant-Making
12
Revised Approach to Grant-Making
• Braided funding within SAMHSA & with partners
• Engaging with States, Territories & Tribes – Flexibility
• Funding for States to plan or sustain proven efforts
• Encouraging work with communities
• Leveraging resources across SAMHSA programs
SAMHSA’S THEORY OF CHANGE
13
EVALUATION
SURVEILLANCE
WIDESCALE ADOPTION
Medicaid
IMPLEMENTATION
Capacity Building
Infrastructure
Development
TRANSLATION
Implementation
Science
Demonstration
Programs
INNOVATION
Proof of concept
Services Research
Practice-based
Evidence
Curriculum
Development
Policy Development
Financing Models and
Strategies
DISSEMINATION
Policy Change
Technical Assistance
Workforce Development
Policy Academies
Systems Improvement
Practice Registries
Social Media
Publications
Graduate Education
SAMHSA Block Grants
Medicare
Private Insurance
DOD/VA/DOL/DOJ/ED
ACF/CDC/HRSA/IHS
Ready for Change
14
Implementing a Theory of Change
• Taking proven things to scale (PSH)
• Researching/testing things where new knowledge is
needed
Efficient & Effective Use of Limited Dollars
• Consolidating contracts & TA Centers
• Consolidating public information & data
collection activities and functions
Regional Presence & Work with States
CABHI
• SAMHSA combined the current SAMHSA SSH
program and the SAMHSA GBHI program to
offer CABHI.
• The previous SAMHSA SSH and GBHI programs
combined housing assistance with intensive
individualized support services to individuals
who are chronically homeless and in need of
mental health and substance abuse services.
15
CABHI
• CABHI will serve chronically homeless individuals
• Enhance infrastructure planning and development
activities
• Assist chronically homeless individuals and
community service providers with enrollment in
Medicaid and other mainstream programs.
• Awards: Up to $500,000 per year for up to 3 years
(approximately 13 new awards total)
16
Thank You
• Contact Information:
Charlene E. Le Fauve, Ph.D.
SAMHSA Housing Portfolio Staff Lead
Chief, Co-Occurring and Homeless Activities Branch
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
Charlene.Lefauve@samhsa.hhs.gov
240-276-2787
17