Successful Program Maintenance When Federal Demonstration Dollars Stop: The Access Program for Homeless Mentally Ill Persons

A major issue that has long dogged federal human services demonstration programs is the perception that when federal dollars end, the programs end—regardless of any proven successes. Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Supports (ACCESS) was a 5-year federal demonstration project to foster partnerships between service providers for homeless people with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse disorders; and to identify effective, replicable systems integration strategies. After federal funding ended, research teams visited the ACCESS sites to determine which project elements remained and which strategies were used by the sites to continue ACCESS. This article describes ACCESS services and systems integration activities retained by the sites, new funding streams, and strategies used to obtain continued funding.