Housing and homelessness: Policies and procedures

Programs offering services are encouraged to use Housing Benefits 101. It provides individuals and their families, county staff and housing and service providers information to address the unique needs of older adults, people with disabilities and the homeless. Use it to explore housing goals, learn about housing options and services, create plans to reach goals and more.

As directed by the 2017 legislature, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is applying to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to add Housing Stabilization Services to Minnesota’s Medicaid plan. The services are designed to help people with disabilities and seniors find and keep housing in the community.

The target population for Housing Stabilization Services are:

• People who are 18 years or older and on Medical Assistance (MA)
• People with disabilities, including mental illness, who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
• People with disabilities, including mental illness, who are living in institutions or other segregated settings, or are at risk of living in those settings.
• Adults who are 65 years of age or older who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

More information is available on the Housing Stabilization Services webpage

The Housing Support program (formerly known as Group Residential Housing) is a state-funded income supplement that pays up to $1,135 per month for housing and food costs in approved locations for seniors and adults with disabilities who have low incomes. The program aims to reduce and prevent people from living in institutions or becoming homeless. Housing Support may also help pay for additional services, including, but not limited to: medication reminders, assistance with transportation, arranging meetings and appointments, and arranging for medical and social services. Please visit the Housing Support program page for more information. Information for providers about rates for these programs is available on the Housing Support payment rates page.

This toolkit will introduce you to practical steps and helpful tools you can use to help people with disabilities explore available housing options as well as short- and long-term housing supports.

Disability Hub Minnesota Housing Toolkit

People with disabilities, who are 60 or older, and who are unable to buy and prepare food separately, have the option of certification with the unit they would ordinarily be in, or forming a separate unit with their spouse. For income thresholds for people remaining in the non-elderly/disabled unit, see GIT for Separate Elderly Disabled Units in the Combined Manual.

The Long Term Homeless Supportive Services Fund (LTHSSF) provides supportive services to help adults, families and youth experiencing long-term homelessness find and maintain housing. The fund was created by the 2005 Legislature. There are seven projects that cover most of the state for (add dates of contract cycle). 

Grantees for the LTHSSF program for 2023:

• Blue Earth County
• Hennepin County
• St. Louis County
• Isanti County
• White Earth Nation
• Des Moines Valley Health and Human Services (Marshall)
• •Hubbard County

The fund provides support by:       

• Providing services, including case management, outreach and direct assistance that allow individuals and families to attain and stay in their housing
• Prioritizing multi-county and tribal collaboratives and ensuring local community nonprofits and government entities provide services to homeless Minnesotans in the most effective and efficient manner
• Connecting homeless Minnesotans with state and federal housing resources to ensure support and long-term success.

Serving people

• 3,158 Minnesotans were served by the Long Term Homeless Supportive Services Fund in SFY 2022.
• 1,810 households were served, of which 29% were families and 71% were single adults. 
• 60% of people served were people of color.
• Approximately 30% of households served were in the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area; the remaining households served were in Greater Minnesota.
• 63% of individuals were living without a permanent home for more than a year before receiving services, while 14% were homeless for at least six years
• 51% of program participants had a long-term disability; 62% of those involved some type of mental illness

General Assistance (GA) helps Minnesotans with little or no income meet their basic needs. It offers a small monthly cash grant to those with a serious illness, disabilities or other issues that limit their ability to work. GA is a temporary aid to help while other sources of income are put in place. The typical monthly GA benefit is $203 for an individual and $260 for a couple, but may be less if a person has other income from work, benefits or any other source. A related program, Emergency General Assistance (EGA), provides once a year financial assistance to help pay for food, shelter or utility expenses in emergencies. Applicants must apply for GA and EGA through their county human service agency. Please visit the General Assistance program page for more information.

Minnesota Supplemental Aid (MSA) is an income supplement for people who receive federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, or who would be receiving SSI if their income was not above the SSI limit. The typical monthly MSA benefit is $81 for an individual and $111 for a couple. For qualifying people with high housing costs, MSA Housing Assistance adds $194 to the monthly MSA benefit. Other MSA special need benefits are also available. Applicants must apply for MSA through their county human service agency. Please visit the Minnesota Supplemental Aid program page for more information.

MSA Housing Assistance provides help for housing costs for some people with disabilities who pay more than 40 percent of their income toward housing costs so that they have a choice about where they live. Find more information about the program, including eligibility rules, benefits and the application process, on MSA Housing Assistance page of the People we Serve section of the department's website.

Provides for operating costs, essential services, and prevention activities to shelters, transitional housing programs and emergency service providers. Fund are awarded to local agencies through a competitive application process on a biennial basis and are managed by the Office of Economic Opportunity.

Serves homeless individuals and families who lack a regular and adequate nighttime residence, by providing funds for shelter and support services, including medical, psychological, employment services and child care.

Provides funding to nonprofits that provide street outreach, drop-in centers, emergency shelter and supportive housing for runaway, at-risk and homeless youth.

Provides funding to nonprofit agencies and tribal governments to provide specific programs to youth victims of sex trafficking through specialized emergency shelter, supportive housing programs and specialized foster care.

Find more information for educators, service providers, law enforcement and community members.

Provides assistance and supportive services to individuals and families, and may also be used for the operating, administrative and support service costs of providing transitional housing.

Grants fund planning efforts to reduce homelessness among Minnesota's foster youth population.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services has received questions about the recent change to meal policies for residents in assisted living facilities. Minnesota Statutes, Section 144G.41, Subd. 1(13)(i)(C), which sets minimum assisted living facility requirements, states that “the facility cannot require a resident to include and pay for meals in their contract.”

However, Housing Support providers are required to ensure provision of “food preparation and service for three nutritional meals a day on-site,” according to Minnesota Statutes, Section 256I.04, Subd. 2f. Providers meet this requirement in a variety of ways depending on the characteristics of their Housing Support program.

If a Housing Support recipient opts out of the existing meal plan for their assisted living stay, that does not relieve the provider of their responsibility under the Housing Support Agreement. Opting out does not change the benefit, and the provider continues to be responsible for ensuring provision of three nutritious meals a day. However, if a recipient opts out of the meal plan, the department will not require providers to fulfill the Housing Support agreement requirement to verify the amount spent on food.

In addition, recipients may think that declining a meal plan will increase their Housing Support benefit. It will not. It is important that Housing Support providers and case managers clarify with residents that opting out of a meal plan will not result in any change to their benefits, nor will it result in residents receiving the cash value of the food portion of the Housing Support benefit.

In some situations, a person may be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). If needed, a provider or case manager can assist the person in applying for SNAP before the client makes the decision to opt out of the provider’s meal plan. That way, they can choose to opt-out of the facility’s meal plan if and when they know they have an alternate food resource.