The Family Homelessness Systems Initiative, developed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, provided a decade of funding and support to three counties in the Pacific Northwest, beginning in 2009, to reform their homeless housing and service delivery systems for families. The overall goal of the Initiative was to reduce family homelessness in King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the systems. The key targeted outcomes were reducing the length of time families experience homelessness, improving their housing stability, and decreasing returns to homelessness.
Westat, a national research organization, conducted a rigorous longitudinal outcome evaluation to examine the effects of the systems changes on the experiences and outcomes of families served. This report provides 18-month outcome findings based on an analysis involving a cohort of families served after systems reform compared to a cohort of families served prior to reform.