U.S. SUBSTANCE ABUSE & MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

U.S. Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

TAC has worked with SAMHSA on numerous important projects related to affordable and permanent supportive housing and evidence-based services to promote community integration for people with behavioral health disorders.

TAC is working in partnership with Advocates for Human Potential in support of SAMHSA's Olmstead Policy Academy. Several states applied and were selected to receive technical assistance to improve their systems' ability to support people in integrated settings. Round I states included Georgia, New Jersey, Illinois, Minnesota and Colorado. Round II states included Oregon, North Dakota, Mississippi, Arizona, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Washington. TAC's work includes facilitating state technical assistance plans, providing individual expert consultation, Olmstead Plan review and guidance, and presentation of national webinars on topics including best practices in supportive housing and Medicaid coverage of services.

Understanding SAMHSA's Role in Housing: A Primer on Affordable Housing Policy was developed by TAC as a briefing manual and training product for SAMHSA staff. This product underscores the relevance of affordable housing to SAMHSA's mission and strategic objectives and provides state-of-the-art information on federal housing policies and programs and effective housing-related service approaches. In partnership with several national groups, TAC also developed key sections of SAMHSA's highly successful Evidence-Based Practice Permanent Supportive Housing Tool Kit, including materials related to federal housing and service funding streams, the affordable housing delivery system, mental health/housing system partnerships, and the Tool Kit's PSH fidelity scale.

TAC is also part of the evaluation team for SAMHSA's National Evaluation of Homeless Programs, a large-scale evaluation of four SAMHSA grant programs including the Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals (GBHI), Services in Supportive Housing (SSH), Cooperative Agreements for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals (CABHI), and the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) programs. TAC is providing hands-on expertise in the development and implementation of data collection tools and processes regarding permanent supportive housing and evidence-based clinical and wrap-around support services.