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Strengthen the Evidence for Maternal and Child Health Programs

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Evidence Tools
MCHbest. Housing Instability: Pregnancy.

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Strategy. Rapid Rehousing Programs. (Pregnancy)

Approach. Collaborate with local level organizations to ensure women and children are able to find safe and secure housing.

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Overview. Rapid rehousing is a short-term subsidy program that assists individuals experiencing homelessness find affordable permanent housing. It provides up to 12 months of subsidy based on need. Rapid rehousing benefits unhoused families by providing them with immediate access to stable housing, which can have several positive impacts: housing stability, support services, improved well-being, children's stability, prevention of homelessness, and community integration. Overall, rapid rehousing offers a swift and effective solution to help unhoused families secure stable housing and work towards long-term housing stability and self-sufficiency.[1]

Evidence. Emerging Evidence. Strategies with this rating typically trend positive and have good potential to work...

Access the peer-reviewed evidence through the MCH Digital Library or related evidence source.

This strategy is also supported as "Rapid Re-Housing Programs" in the What Works for Health database.

Outcome Components. This strategy has shown to have impact on the following outcomes (Read more about these categories):

  • Social Determinants of Health. This strategy advances economic, social, and environmental factors that affect health outcomes. SDOH include the conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.

Detailed Outcomes. For specific outcomes related to each study supporting this strategy, access the peer-reviewed evidence and read the Intervention Results for each study.

Intervention Type. Collaboration (Read more about intervention types and levels as defined by the Public Health Intervention Wheel).

Intervention Level. Individual/Family-Focused

Examples from the Field. There are currently no ESMs that use this strategy. Search similar intervention components in the ESM database.

Sample ESMs. Here are sample ESMs to use as models for your own measures using the RBA framework (see The Role of Title V in Adapting Strategies).

Quadrant 1:
Measuring Quantity of Effort (“What/how much did we do?”)

  • Number of local organizations collaborating with Title V engaged as partners in providing rapid rehousing services for pregnant women and their children. (Measures community collaboration and capacity for rehousing) Number of pregnant women and their children identified and referred to rapid rehousing programs. (Assesses reach and tailoring of rehousing efforts)

Quadrant 2:
Measuring Quality of Effort (“How well did we do it?”)

  • Percent of rapid rehousing programs supported by Title V that adhere to Housing First principles and practices, emphasizing client choice, harm reduction, and permanency. (Measures fidelity to evidence-based, client-centered housing model) Percent of rapid rehousing staff who are trained in trauma-informed practices to support pregnant women and their children. (Shows workforce competency and sensitivity)

Quadrant 3:
Measuring Quantity of Effect (“Is anyone better off?”)

  • Number of community-based organizations partnered with Title V providing health, social, and legal services that are integrated into rapid rehousing programs for pregnant women and their children. (Measures service coordination and systems integration) Number of pregnant women in rapid rehousing programs who report improvements in their physical and mental health, stress levels, and overall quality of life. (Measures self-reported impact of housing on maternal wellbeing) Number of pregnant women and their children in rapid rehousing programs who experience improved maternal and child health outcomes, increased family stability, and reduced intergenerational poverty. (Measures long-term, two-generation impact of rehousing on wellbeing) Number of communities that demonstrate sustained reductions in family homelessness and improvements in birth outcomes and child welfare indicators as a result of institutionalized rapid rehousing efforts. (Assesses population-level, transformative impact of rehousing on community wellbeing)

Quadrant 4:
Measuring Quality of Effect (“How are they better off?”)

  • Percent of community-based organizations partnered with Title V providing health, social, and legal services that are integrated into rapid rehousing programs for pregnant women and their children. (Measures service coordination and systems integration) Percent of pregnant women in rapid rehousing programs who report improvements in their physical and mental health, stress levels, and overall quality of life. (Measures self-reported impact of housing on maternal wellbeing) Percent of pregnant women and their children in rapid rehousing programs who experience improved maternal and child health outcomes, increased family stability, and reduced intergenerational poverty. (Measures long-term, two-generation impact of rehousing on wellbeing) Percent of communities that demonstrate sustained reductions in family homelessness and improvements in birth outcomes and child welfare indicators as a result of institutionalized rapid rehousing efforts. (Assesses population-level, transformative impact of rehousing on community wellbeing)

Note. When looking at your ESMs, SPMs, or other strategies:

  1. Move from measuring quantity to quality.
  2. Move from measuring effort to effect.
  3. Quadrant 1 strategies should be used sparingly, when no other data exists.
  4. The most effective measurement combines strategies in all levels, with most in Quadrants 2 and 4.

Learn More. Read how to create stronger ESMs and how to measure ESM impact more meaningfully through Results-Based Accountability.

References

[1] Goodsmith, N., Ijadi-Maghsoodi, R., Melendez, R. M., & Dossett, E. C. (2021). Addressing the urgent housing needs of vulnerable women in the era of COVID-19: The Los Angeles county experience. Psychiatric services, 72(3), 349-352.

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U02MC31613, MCH Advanced Education Policy, $3.5 M. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.