Expanding Access to Housing-Related Services and Supports
The Accelerator will bring together interdisciplinary teams to tackle common issues, such as navigating payment models and rates, data integration and sharing, and more. Each participating team will include representatives from the state’s Medicaid agency, as well as state and community organizations focused on homelessness and housing (including Continuums of Care and public housing authorities), disability and aging (including No Wrong Door systems, centers for independent living, and area agencies on aging), mental health and substance abuse, public health, and more.
A growing number of states are leveraging new opportunities and flexibilities available under Medicaid, new federal housing resources, and expanded opportunities under the Older Americans Act to cover a range of services and supports that help people find, obtain, and maintain their housing. The Housing and Services Partnership Accelerator brings interdisciplinary teams together in a 12-month learning collaborative to tackle common issues, such as navigating payment models and rates, data integration and sharing, and more. These teams include representatives from the state's Medicaid agency, as well as state and community organizations focused on homelessness and housing (including Continuums of Care and public housing authorities), disability and aging (including No Wrong Door systems, centers for independent living and area agencies on aging,), mental health and substance abuse, public health, and more. The Accelerator offers participants an opportunity to share lessons learned and promising practices for improving collaboration and coordination to optimize resources, cover resource gaps, align state and local policies, and to deliver more integrated and seamless services. Finally, participants receive one-on-one coaching support from housing and services subject matter experts. The Accelerator not only supports the needs of the participating states but also serves as a source for lessons-learned and promising practices that are shared nationally for all states' benefits.
2025 HSPA Cohort
Illinois
We anticipate the HSPA program will play a pivotal role in supporting and coordinating Illinois’ statewide efforts to address housing insecurity and homelessness. Illinois will benefit from the guidance and experience of others in the learning collaborative to inform the state’s implementation of the Home IL Plan. Our team is eager to learn from other states in developing and implementing similar benefits through their Medicaid demonstration waivers. Specifically, we seek technical assistance in data collection, utilization, and sharing; strategies to leverage waiver benefits without disrupting services; and best practices for supporting community organizations to expand and enhance services.
Michigan
Communities and organizations often face difficult decisions and limited resources when serving people who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. The unique needs of older adults and adults with disabilities can make addressing this issue even more complicated. Michigan’s goal for its participation in the Housing and Services Partnership Accelerator is to identify innovative solutions for addressing the housing needs of aging adults and persons with disabilities who are or at risk of being unhoused. By leveraging and expanding partnerships with a variety of sectors currently supporting these individuals and families, the state plans to explore best practices in service delivery options, payment models and rate-setting opportunities to better connect people to housing resources, supportive services and supportive housing models.
New Hampshire
The State of New Hampshire is hoping that the Accelerator will help NH to better coordinate housing assistance opportunities, explore best practices to improve housing matching, braiding funding, and reducing duplication of services. We are also looking to strengthen data integration between systems. NH’s 1915i Supportive Housing Benefit is also hoping to utilize this opportunity to support coordination between homeless and housing service systems and the systems that serve people with disabilities and older adults. The Bureau of Homeless Services is the lead Agency in the Accelerator with the support of the state Medicaid Agency. The team will include members from state agencies including Bureau of Adult and Aging, Money Follows the Person and Division of Long-term Care as well as community partners, including, NH Housing and Finance Authority and Housing Action NH.
Vermont
Vermont is eager to participate in the Housing and Services Accelerator Partnership to advance equitable housing solutions that support community living. By braiding funding from Continuums of Care, public housing authorities, Medicaid, and other resources, the state aims to connect individuals seamlessly with housing and supportive services. Vermont is committed to fostering innovative housing models for people with disabilities, aging populations, and those facing behavioral health challenges while enhancing the capacity of providers to deliver, track, and sustain Medicaid-funded housing-related services. Vermont seeks to make measurable strides in housing access and support services through this integrated approach.