Veterans Richard White, far left, and Michael Chinn discussed in 2024 their experiences using the rental assistance voucher program through the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs. (Department of Housing and Urban Development)
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs has had challenges hiring and retaining enough case managers to provide counseling and support to veterans in a specialized housing voucher program that targets homelessness, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.
A GAO analysis showed that the annual case manager turnover rate ranged from 20% to 26% between fiscal years 2020 and 2024.
“The effects of insufficient staffing include reduced services for veterans and delays in admitting new participants,” according to the report, titled “Veteran Homelessness Programs: Opportunities to Improve Data Collection and Establish an Evaluation Plan.”
GAO investigators said that stakeholders interviewed at eight VA sites described periods of “high turnover and persistent vacancies,” according to the report, published Monday.
The housing voucher program is a collaboration between the VA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Veterans experiencing homelessness receive HUD vouchers plus VA case management through their local VA medical centers.
A HUD census counted 32,882 veterans who were homeless on a single night in January 2024.
But GAO investigators found that VA staff did not consistently refer eligible veterans to the housing voucher program.
“During 2020-2024, 174,000 eligible veterans were not referred, and VA didn’t document the reason why for most of them (87%),” the report said.
“Having such data can help VA fix problems that keep people out of the program — such as not having enough VA case managers to support program participants,” the GAO found.
In fiscal 2024, more than one-quarter of medical centers with two or more case managers had at least 20% of these positions unfilled, the GAO audit found.
Staff burnout and turnover contributed to vacancies, according to the report.
The VA has taken steps to improve case manager hiring but has not always collected data on the reasons that veterans were kept from entering the program, the GAO said.
“With more complete data on the reasons, VA could better assess its unmet need, adjust hiring strategies, and allocate case managers accordingly,” the report found. “VA then would be better positioned to serve more veterans.”
The GAO said it conducted the audit because lawmakers have cited barriers, including high costs, to permanent housing for some veterans.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 included a provision for GAO to review VA case management and the availability of affordable housing for veterans experiencing homelessness.
