Health Policy Initiative's Role in CIS

The Health Policy Initiative, through the Hawaiʻi Healthcare Research Partnership, provides subject matter expertise, implementation support, and evaluation and research assistance to Med-QUEST, Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), and homeless service providers (HSOs) involved in implementing CIS. The HPI team conducts quarterly rapid cycle assessments (RCAs) to examine interim data on program processes and preliminary outcomes and to provide feedback in real time. RCAs offer the opportunity for problem-solving and iterative program refinement and are particularly useful when implementing a new program, like CIS. Finally, as part of the overall evaluation for the 1115 Waiver Demonstration, the team also conducts formative evaluations of program processes and summative evaluations to assess progress toward short-term and long-term goals. 

CIS Resources

For more information on CIS implementation in Hawaiʻi, please see our RCA reports & presentations page. For more information on CIS and Medicaid-supported housing benefits nationally, please see our CIS resources page. 

Homelessness in Hawaiʻi

The State of Hawaiʻi consistently reports one of the highest homelessness rates in the United States, with over 6,300 people estimated to be homeless on a given night in 2024 (Ka Mana O Na Helu, 2024; PIC, 2024).  The numbers of unsheltered individuals (i.e., individuals not staying in emergency shelters or transitional housing), "kupuna" (individuals over 60 years), and individuals with mental and physical health disabilities have been rising steadily since 2015 (PIC, 2024). These are populations likely to use the emergency department and to have complex health needs and for whom traditional shelters may be inappropriate. CIS aims to meet the needs of these populations. More more information on homelessness in Hawaiʻi, please see the FAQs about Homelessness page.