Housing & Homelessness Incentive Program
Housing & Homelessness Incentive Program for Service Providers
Under the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) CalAIM Initiative (California Advancing and Innovating in Medi-Cal), health plans are poised to work closely with community partners to build capacity to meet the needs of Medi-Cal members experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
To help support CalAIM implementation and housing and homelessness service providers, DHCS developed the Housing & Homelessness Incentive Program (HHIP). HHIP is a voluntary incentive program for Medi-Cal Managed Care plans, such as CenCal Health, designed to improve health outcomes and access to services by addressing housing insecurity and instability as social determinants of health for the Medi-Cal population.
Interested in applying for HHIP Funds?
The Round 3 HHIP Funding Application is open until September 30, 2024. Please click on the links below to download the application and budget template. Please submit this application, budget form, and the current operating budget to hhip@cencalhealth.org by September 30, 2024, (5:00 p.m. PST).
The goals of the HHIP funds are to:
1. Reduce and prevent homelessness
2. Ensure managed care plans (MCPs), such as CenCal Health, can connect CenCal Health Members to needed housing services through partnerships and capacity building
CenCal Health earned HHIP funds by collaborating with each county’s Continuum of Care (CoC) committees and local housing partners to meet HHIP program metrics. Since HHIP launched in 2022, CenCal Health has allocated $8.3 million to address housing insecurity and homelessness in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
To learn more, email our HHIP department.
Housing & Homelessness Incentive Program Funding
HHIP funds are issued from DHCS to health plans, and from health plans to homelessness service providers and community partners. HHIP funds are made available to support the development and expansion of housing services through partner capacity building and service expansion.
Examples of HHIP funding uses include but are not limited to staff expansion, housing deposits and tenancy funds, HMIS data sharing enhancements, expansion of street medicine and outreach activities, conversion of garages into affordable rental units, interim housing, and construction of low-income housing.
The first two rounds of HHIP funding focused on meeting DHCS metrics related to housing and homelessness. The metrics fell into the following categories:
A. Priority Area 1: Partnerships and capacity to support referrals for services
B. Priority Area 2: Infrastructure to coordinate and meet member housing needs
C. Priority Area 3: Delivery of services and member engagement
The final round of HHIP funding makes available three distinct types of funding awards aimed at making meaningful impact at the individual, community, and systems levels. The award types are based on input from the CoCs, direct service providers, and community partners. The award types are intentionally broad to solicit a wide range of ideas from organizations working to reduce homelessness and housing insecurity in our service area.
| Award Type | Funding Priority Areas | Project Duration |
|
Immediate Impact Awards Purpose: Implement effective solutions to meet the immediate needs of individuals experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, ensuring equitable access to needed housing services |
|
One-year |
|
Sustainable Solutions Awards Purpose: Develop and implement strategic initiatives that help people obtain housing quickly, increase self-sufficiency, and stay housed. |
|
Two to three years |
|
CoC Transformation Awards Purpose: For use by CoCs to develop and implement innovative, effective, sustainable, evidence-based projects and initiatives aimed at transforming systems to effectively support individuals to remain in or move into safe, stable housing. |
|
Four to five years |
1st funding allocation, November – December 2022
| Total | |
| San Luis Obispo County | $ 1,549,085.07 |
| Santa Barbara County | $ 2,506,553.02 |
| Totals | $ 4,055,638.09 |
San Luis Obispo County 1st HHIP funding allocations breakdown:
| Priority Area | Amount | Funding Partners |
| 1. Partnerships and capacity to support referrals for services | $105,519 |
|
| 2. Infrastructure to coordinate and meet member housing needs | $434,500 |
|
| 3. Delivery of services and member engagement | $699,249 |
|
| Total allocated | $1,239,268 |
Santa Barbara County 1st HHIP funding allocations breakdown:
| Priority Area | Amount | Funding Partners |
| 1. Partnerships and capacity to support referrals for services | $520,000 |
|
| 2. Infrastructure to coordinate and meet member housing needs | $621,800 |
|
| 3. Delivery of services and member engagement | $1,363,442 |
|
| Total allocated | $2,505,242 |
2nd funding allocation, May 2023
| Total | |
| San Luis Obispo County | $2,340,328.22 |
| Santa Barbara County | $4,076,430.72 |
| Totals | $6,416,758.94 |
San Luis Obispo County 2nd HHIP funding allocations breakdown:
| Priority Area | Amount | Funding Partners |
| 1. Partnerships and capacity to support referrals for services | $195,521 |
|
| 2. Infrastructure to coordinate and meet member housing needs | $199,477 |
|
| 3. Delivery of services and member engagement | $2,170,383 |
|
| Total allocated | $2,565,381 |
Santa Barbara County 2nd HHIP funding allocations breakdown:
| Priority Area | Amount | Funding Partners |
| 1. Partnerships and capacity to support referrals for services | $302,315 |
|
| 2. Infrastructure to coordinate and meet member housing needs | $0 | |
| 3. Delivery of services and member engagement | $1,716,151 |
|
| Total allocated | $2,018,466 |
3rd funding allocation, May 2024
| Total | |
| San Luis Obispo County | $ 3,755,357.74 |
| Santa Barbara County | $ 7,344,028.79 |
| Totals | $ 11,099,386.53 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do funding recipients have to submit receipts to show how funds were used?
DHCS does not require receipts to show how HHIP were used. DHCS does reserve the right to audit the HHIP funds allocated to CenCal Health. Should this happen, CenCal Health will request information from the funding recipients to support the audit.
Are the metrics counted per partner or county wide?
Final metrics reported to DHCS are for the entire county and are not broken down per partner.
How are the data-based metrics calculated?
Data-based metrics are calculated based on data pulled from HMIS. For this reason, funding recipients must enter data into HMIS.
How are future funds earned?
Funds are earned through meeting the specific HHIP metrics outlined by DHCS. Each HHIP funding recipient uses HHIP funds to contribute to or meet at least one of the metrics. For example, Metric 3.5 focuses on housing Medi-Cal members who are experiencing homelessness. Organizations that receive HHIP funds to meet metric 3.5 will use HHIP funds to help house members. When a member is housed, the organization will update the HMIS database. CenCal Health and each county HMIS team will pull the HMIS data and submit it to DHCS. If the metrics are met, DHCS allocates additional HHIP funds.
How will we know if we are on track to meet the metrics?
Tracking is performed through reports you submit every 3 months and through HMIS data. CenCal Health will send the 3-month report template to the partner.
What restrictions are there for funding use?
HHIP funds cannot be used to purchase vehicles or pay for ongoing rent.
Do we need to be an Enhanced Care Management (ECM) or Community Supports (CS) provider to receive HHIP funds?
No, an organization does not need to be an ECM or CS provider to receive HHIP funds, thought becoming an ECM/CS provider is highly encouraged. For information on becoming an ECM/CS provider, visit the CenCal Health Provider CalAIM Webpage.
Can we apply for HHIP along with IPP and other funds?
Yes, HHIP can be used in conjunction with other funding sources, as long as HHIP funds are not used to fund the same service. For example, HHIP funding cannot be used to cover services that are billed to CenCal Health under ECM/CS provision or that are already covered by other funding sources.
Can HHIP funds be used to pay rent and back rent?
HHIP funds can be used for one-time emergency rental assistance, but not ongoing rental support.
Is HHIP a sustainable/ongoing funding source?
At this time, CenCal Health is not aware of funding beyond what has been outlined as possible earned dollars for HHIP.
More information on DHCS FAQ.