Evaluation of the New Congregate Housing Services Program, Second Interim Report, 1996

The new Congregate Housing Services Program (CHSP) provides housing combined with community-based supportive services to frail elderly and non-elderly persons with disabilities who are residents of federally assisted housing. CHSP provides professional service coordination, in addition to non-medical supportive services, such as housekeeping, personal care, congregate meals, and transportation.

The main purposes of the new CHSP are to promote and encourage maximum resident independence within a home environment, to improve the ability of management to assess eligible residents' service needs, and to ensure the delivery of needed services to them.

CHSP was originally authorized in 1978, and the new CHSP was authorized in 1990. Under the new CHSP, HUD funding is limited to 40 percent of the total; grantees provide 50 percent of the funding in the form of matching funds (cash, imputed value of services or staff, or in-kind items), and 10 percent from resident fees. Fees, which are required for meals, are optional for other services; total fees cannot exceed 20 percent of the resident's adjusted income.

The new CHSP is being evaluated for the period 1993 through 1998. The objectives of the evaluation are to provide a comprehensive description of the new CHSP and to assess the effectiveness of the program in maintaining resident independence. This report presents data from the baseline evaluation data collection conducted in late 1994.