Characteristics and Experiences of TANF Clients by Housing Status

NSTABLE OR POOR QUALITY HOUSING is believed to be harmful to health and well-being, particularly for children. Unsafe living conditions and frequent moves, which may be more common among low-income families, can impact physical or mental health and disrupt family relationships, work or school (GAO, 2010; Phinney, 2009). Despite the potential importance of housing for Department of Social and Health Services’ (DSHS) clients, the agency has historically had an incomplete picture of their housing status because housing programs are generally overseen by other agencies. To develop a better understanding of the housing status of DSHS clients and how it may affect their well-being, we combined data from federal, state and local housing assistance programs with social service data for 17,471 King County households that received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2011. We categorized the TANF households according to whether or not they were receiving any housing assistance from Public Housing Authority (PHA) programs, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, or programs recorded in the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) in their first month on TANF in SFY 2011. Those not receiving assistance from any of these three programs were classified as either homeless or housed based on self-reported housing status in their records. We then compared social service use; indicators of physical and behavioral health; and measures of stability including employment, arrests, and residential mobility for the TANF households according to the five housing status categories. The findings in this report are descriptive. They cannot be used to attribute underlying causes, since we have not adjusted for differences in household characteristics or risk factors between the housing status categories. Key Findings  One third (32 percent) of TANF households got housing assistance from one or more of three programs (PHA, LIHTC, HMIS). Over half (54 percent) of the households appeared to be housed without any housing assistance; 14 percent were homeless and not receiving housing assistance.  TANF clients with housing assistance received more months of basic social services in the prior 3 years than those who were either homeless or housed without assistance.  TANF clients who appeared to be housed without receiving help from any of the federal housing assistance programs had the lowest rates of child welfare service use and the highest earnings.  Recent evidence of housing instability, including being homeless or receiving emergency housing assistance, was associated with higher rates of substance abuse, arrests, and residential mobility.