Jacobs, Mace Introduce Legislation To Improve Housing Case Management Services For Veterans

Statement

Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53) and Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC-01) have introduced the HUD-VASH Improvement Act, a bipartisan bill to support housing case management services for veterans. The bill encourages the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to look for contractors that have experience providing case management services to veterans in administering the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program.

HUD-VASH is a collaborative program between the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs in which HUD provides rental assistance through Housing Choice Vouchers and the VA provides case management and supportive services to assist veterans in obtaining and sustaining permanent housing.

"San Diego is a proud military community, and it's unacceptable that so many of our veterans are living unsheltered. The HUD-VASH Improvement Act is about making sure that our veterans housing programs are working. The HUD-VASH program is one of the VA's most important programs to help veterans secure permanent housing, but we need to make sure we are working with providers who have experience assisting veterans. I am proud to lead this bipartisan bill with Congresswoman Mace," said Congresswoman Sara Jacobs.

Among VA homeless continuum of care programs, HUD-VASH enrolls the largest number and largest percentage of veterans who have experienced long-term or repeated homelessness. At the end of FY 2021, over 105,000 subsidized housing vouchers were allocated to HUD-VASH with more than 80,000 formerly homeless veterans living in their own permanent housing as a result of this partnership between HUD and the VA. For more information on the program click here.

The VA services provided may include, but are not limited to: service linkage, psychotherapy, occupational therapy, nursing services, peer support services, employment services, substance use disorder treatment, and medical care. Outreach, screening and assessment services also are provided to determine eligibility and appropriateness for care. HUD-VASH targets the most vulnerable and chronically homeless veterans and uses the principles of Housing First.

Case managers are a critical element of HUD-VASH success in permanently housing homeless veterans and staffing levels can have a strong influence over voucher utilization.

Congresswoman Jacobs is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Military Personnel Subcommittee. Congresswoman Mace is a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee.

In October, Jacobs and Mace introduced the bipartisan Ending Veteran Homelessness Act, legislation to study the effectiveness of the Shallow Subsidy rental assistance program for veterans and to provide Congress with the data necessary to permanently expand the program.

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