Continuum of Care News

Easier access to information resources means more opportunities to serve. What is VA Open Data? The VA is working to make information resources easier to find, access and use, while protecting individual personal data. VA's Open Data initiative strives to provide easy access to information that can fuel entrepreneurship, innovation and public policy research , such as: Patterns and comparative rates of health conditions for vulnerable Veteran groups Location information for Veteran gravesites across the U.S. Analysis on the growing number of women Service members and Veterans How can VA data help you? Learn more about how VA information is improving Veteran services and sign up for future updates on VA Open Data:

HUD has developed a  2017 Housing Trust Fund (HTF) Allocation Sample Form  that HTF grantees (i.e., States) may use to submit their 2017 HTF allocation plans. States may opt to use this sample form or to submit their allocation plans in a different format, provided that all required elements are addressed. Please visit the HTF website for more guidance on the HTF program and Notice CPD 17-05 Guidance for HTF Grantees on FY 2017 HTF Allocation Plans for more information on HTF allocation plans. FY 2017 HTF allocation plans are due August 16, 2017. For FY 2017, a copy of the HTF allocation plan must be submitted to both the local HUD CPD Field Office and to HUD's Office of Affordable Housing Programs, at htf@hud.gov .             Visit the...

The Veterans Health Information Exchange (VHIE) is an easier way for Veterans to connect their health records. Would you like to make your doctor visit easier and faster? Dear Veteran,  Connecting your docs with the Veterans Health Information Exchange (VHIE), also known as the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) Health program shares important parts of your Veteran health record between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and your community health care providers who participate in this program. This allows your health care providers to access important information about your health and provide you the best possible care. This exchange occurs over a secure and private network known as the eHealth Exchange. Watch the video to learn more: Ready to get started? This program is free and voluntary for Veterans, but VA needs your consent to share your health records (VA Form 10-0485). If you ...

by Jon Schuppe Sending more people to prison for drug offenses won't have an effect on drug use and deaths, according to a new analysis released this week. Researchers from the Pew Charitable Trusts crunched state-by-state data on drug imprisonment, drug use, overdoses and drug arrests and found no evidence that they affected one another. Related: Republican States Make the Case Against Trump’s Drug Policy That lack of a pattern shows the flaw in a central philosophy in the war on drugs: That doling out harsh penalties makes people less inclined to use drugs or join the drug trade, said Adam Gelb, director of Pew's public safety performance project, which works to reform state-level drug policies. "There seems to be this assumption that tougher penalties will send a stronger message and deter people from involvement with drugs. This is not borne out by the data," Gelb said. He included the entire analysis in a lett...