New VA and HUD report finds 136,000 veterans spent a night in a homeless shelter during 2009.The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and VA have published the most authoritative analysis on the extent and nature of homelessness among our country’s veterans. “Veteran Homeless: A Supplemental Report to the 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment to Congress” details the study’s findings, released in February, in a first-ever collaborative report of its kind between two government agencies. The most noteworthy finding: nearly 76,000 veterans were homeless on a given night in 2009, and around 136,000 veterans spent at least one night in a shelter during that year.
The report also notes that veterans are 50 percent more likely to fall into homelessness, compared to the rest of the population. This ratio is even greater among impoverished and minority veterans.
Additionally, veterans contrast the overall homeless population in the demographics that comprise it. About 96 percent of homeless veterans are single adults and about 4 percent are veterans with families; the general homeless population claims 66 percent of its members as single, non-attached persons. The study also found that 10 percent of veterans in poverty became homeless at some point during the year, compared to just over 5 percent of adults living in poverty.
Outside of conducting studies, the two agencies provide direct support to homeless veterans. Through the HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program, HUD provides rental assistance for homeless veterans, while VA offers case management and clinical services. Since 2008, a total investment of $225 million has gone toward providing housing and supportive service for approximately 30,000 veterans who would otherwise be homeless.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
many nonprofits receive the majority of their funds not from individual donations but from service fees and contracts,
Special Report on the Government-Nonprofit PartnershipPosted By Bob Ottenhoff on December 9th, 2010, in these categories: Government | A new study underscores the vulnerability of state and local revenues and how it is beginning to impact nonprofit organizations. Released by the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN), the special report concludes that “The decisions to rely on nonprofits to provide services have sound policy, economic, and administrative justifications. Yet the convoluted, disjointed, and patch-worked laws and practices by which governments contract with nonprofits have led to nonpayment, underpayments, and late payments to nonprofits, in part because contracting and reporting processes have become excessively complex and irrational.”
The report lists a few of the problems occurring in many states:
Government does not pay full cost of the services provided
Contracts terminated mid-term
Salaries frozen or reduced
Jobs eliminated
Late payments
Benefits eliminated
Burdensome contracting
Excessive reporting requirements
Among the shocking results included in the report:
Illinois’ Comptroller released a 50-page list of more than 2,000 nonprofits that the state has failed to pay almost half a billion dollars – and that’s for just the first half of this year;
New York’s Comptroller found that 92.5 percent of the state’s contracts with nonprofits were late and the state had delayed paying numerous nonprofits for multiple years;
The U.S. Government Accountability Office found that – for a single federal program – some states pass all dollars to the nonprofits to pay for the services while other states take funds for themselves; and
The Congressional Research Service warned, “It appears that governments, especially state governments, may be contributing to the financial difficulties of nonprofit organizations, even to the point of not paying for contracted services.”
NCN takes a surprisingly optimistic outlook on solutions – probably more upbeat than I can muster as we work through this recession. Their special report concludes, “Although the convoluted ‘system’ is multi-jurisdictional, multi-layered, and excessively-complex, the solutions are fairly straightforward. Rather than requiring a big investment of money, most of the solutions can be achieved through intentional coordination and discipline in follow-through to make positive change for those being served, taxpayers, and the community at large.”
If you’re interested in learning more and sharing information about what is happening in your state (for better or worse) as well as your ideas for healing the broken system you can go to this link: http://www.govtcontracting.org/.
One comment
1 comment to Special
The report lists a few of the problems occurring in many states:
Government does not pay full cost of the services provided
Contracts terminated mid-term
Salaries frozen or reduced
Jobs eliminated
Late payments
Benefits eliminated
Burdensome contracting
Excessive reporting requirements
Among the shocking results included in the report:
Illinois’ Comptroller released a 50-page list of more than 2,000 nonprofits that the state has failed to pay almost half a billion dollars – and that’s for just the first half of this year;
New York’s Comptroller found that 92.5 percent of the state’s contracts with nonprofits were late and the state had delayed paying numerous nonprofits for multiple years;
The U.S. Government Accountability Office found that – for a single federal program – some states pass all dollars to the nonprofits to pay for the services while other states take funds for themselves; and
The Congressional Research Service warned, “It appears that governments, especially state governments, may be contributing to the financial difficulties of nonprofit organizations, even to the point of not paying for contracted services.”
NCN takes a surprisingly optimistic outlook on solutions – probably more upbeat than I can muster as we work through this recession. Their special report concludes, “Although the convoluted ‘system’ is multi-jurisdictional, multi-layered, and excessively-complex, the solutions are fairly straightforward. Rather than requiring a big investment of money, most of the solutions can be achieved through intentional coordination and discipline in follow-through to make positive change for those being served, taxpayers, and the community at large.”
If you’re interested in learning more and sharing information about what is happening in your state (for better or worse) as well as your ideas for healing the broken system you can go to this link: http://www.govtcontracting.org/.
One comment
1 comment to Special
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