Staffing Challenges and Strategies for Organizations Serving Individuals who have Experienced Chronic Homelessness

Hiring and retaining appropriate staff is essential for programs serving those who have experienced chronic homelessness. This paper describes specific staffing challenges and strategies from the Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness (CICH), an 11-site, multi-agency Federal progr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe journal of behavioral health services & research Vol. 37; no. 2; pp. 226 - 238
Main Authors Olivet, Jeffrey, McGraw, Sarah, Grandin, Megan, Bassuk, Ellen
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Boston Springer US 01.04.2010
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Community and Environmental Psychology
Community Networks - organization & administration
Health Informatics
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Health Psychology
Health services
Homeless people
Homeless Persons
Homelessness
Humans
Inservice Training
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Personnel Staffing and Scheduling - organization & administration
Psychiatric disorders
Psychiatry
Public assistance programs
Public Health
Staffing
Studies
Substance abuse
Training needs
Workforce planning
United States > US
Team Leader
Assertive Community Treatment
Team Member
Behavioral Health
Motivational Interview
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Summary:Hiring and retaining appropriate staff is essential for programs serving those who have experienced chronic homelessness. This paper describes specific staffing challenges and strategies from the Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness (CICH), an 11-site, multi-agency Federal program designed to serve people experiencing chronic homelessness who also have a disabling condition such as substance use or mental health problems. This paper addresses approaches to staffing including team structures, staff supervision, and training. Challenges identified include low pay, high rates of burnout and turnover, limited time for supervision, and multiple staff training needs. This paper also explores specific staffing strategies based on the experience of the CICH sites, and concludes with implications for practice, research, and policy, including recommendations for ongoing staff training, suggestions for future mixed-methods research, and a call for an enhanced focus on strengthening the homeless services workforce.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:1094-3412
1556-3308
DOI:10.1007/s11414-009-9201-3