
In 2015, HUD published the Defining Chronically Homeless Final Rule clarifying the definition of chronic homelessness, which applies to all program participants admitted after January 2016.
HUD encourages CoCs to prioritize funding for projects serving households with the highest level of need, including those that may be chronically homeless. However, only projects that serve individuals and families defined as chronically homeless must document chronic status for HUD.
In order to be eligible for housing restricted to chronically homeless individuals or families under the CoC program, participants must meet the definition of chronically homeless. The definition of chronically homeless is:
*A “break” in homeless is considered to be 7 or more nights.
**An individual residing in an institutional care facility does not constitute a break in homelessness.
Looking for definitions of the common CoC and ESG Program terms referenced throughout the Virtual Binders?
An “institutional care facility” includes: