HUD’sHomeless Assistance Programs
A Guide to Counting UnshelteredHomeless People
Revised
September 29, 2006
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentOffice of Community Planning and Development
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
This guidance was prepared by Abt Associates Inc. for the U.S. Department of Housing andUrban Development’s Office of Community Planning and Development under a 2004McKinney-Vento Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement. The primary authors of theguidance are Jennifer Turnham and Erin Wilson of Abt Associates, and Dr. Martha Burt of the Urban Institute. Mary Joel Holin served as the Technical Reviewer. Adrienne Smithconducted interviews and provided background research.The authors acknowledge the thoughtful guidance and support provided by HUD staff. Mark Johnston, Michael Roanhouse, and Paul Dornan provided careful and constructive technicalreview. The authors also thank Professor Wendy Crook of Florida State University for hervaluable contributions in the early stags of the guidebook development.The authors appreciate Dr. Kim Hopper (Nathan Kline Institute) and Dr. Marybeth Shinn’s(New York University) invitation to observe the implementation of the plant-capture andnext day survey components during New York City’s 2005 count and for reviewing thisguidance prior to publication. The authors would also like to thank Maryanne Schretzmanand Jay Bainbridge of New York City's Department of Homeless Services for their review of this guidance. The Department of Housing and Urban Development commends New York City’s Department of Homeless Services for its continuing efforts to improve the accuracy of the annual Homeless Outreach Population Estimate through innovative approaches such asthe plant-capture and next day studies.The authors are deeply grateful to the Continuum of Care administrators, homeless serviceproviders, and local experts we consulted about strategies for counting unsheltered homelesspeople in different communities across the country. This guidebook would not have beenpossible without their descriptions of local enumeration methodologies and their willingnessto provide copies of the written materials used in their counts. We thank them for generouslysharing their time, experiences, and wisdom.
Contents i
Contents
1.
Introduction...................................................................................................................1
2.
Counting Unsheltered Homeless People: The Basics.................................................4
2.1 Defining the Scope of Homelessness....................................................................42.2 Why Count Unsheltered Homeless People?..........................................................52.3 What Have We Learned From Counting Unsheltered Homeless People?............72.4 HUD Standards for Counting Homeless People..................................................112.5 Approaches to Collecting Data on Unsheltered Homeless People......................14
3.
Counts of Unsheltered Homeless People in Public Places.......................................16
3.1 Who Should Use the Public Places Method?......................................................163.2 Deciding Which Type of Public Places Method to Use......................................183.3 Identifying Locations to Cover in the Count.......................................................213.4 Selecting a Date and Time...................................................................................243.5 Deciding Who Should Conduct the Count and Providing Training....................253.6 Organizing the Count...........................................................................................303.7 Determining Who Is Homeless: Enumerator Judgment vs. Screener Questions.343.8 Interviewing for Supplemental Information........................................................353.9 Dealing with Duplication.....................................................................................373.10 Biases, Feasibility, and Cost................................................................................38
4.
Counts Based on Use of Non-Shelter Services..........................................................40
4.1 Who Should Use the Service-Based Method?.....................................................414.2 Targeting Service Providers and Sites for the Survey.........................................434.3 Selecting a Time Period for Data Collection.......................................................454.4 Training................................................................................................................464.5 Gaining the Cooperation of Participating Agencies............................................474.6 Using Screeners and Interviewing for Essential and Supplemental Information484.7 Dealing with Duplication.....................................................................................524.8 Biases, Feasibility, and Cost................................................................................52
5.
Counting Homeless People in Southwestern Border Areas or Colonias................54
5.1 Special Issues for Mexican Border Communities...............................................545.2 Organizing the Count...........................................................................................59
6.
Using Plant-Capture and Next Day Studies to Improve Street Counts.................65
6.1 HOPE 2005 and Quality Assurance....................................................................676.2 Implementing a Quality Assurance Study...........................................................696.3 Implementing a Plant-Capture Study...................................................................716.4 Implementing a Next Day Survey.......................................................................786.5 A Summary of Lessons Learned from New York...............................................836.6 Instructions and Recording Sheet for Plants........................................................86
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