VHA’s Safety, Security, and Privacy for Female Veterans at a Chicago, IL Homeless Grant Provider Facility

This report advised VHA of serious female veteran housing safety, security, and privacy issues noticed during on-going audit work that required immediate management attention. During our site visit to the Jesse Brown VAMC, we found that since 2002, the VAMC’s Grant and Per Diem (GPD) program staff has placed 22 homeless female veterans, some with a history of sexual trauma and domestic violence, in a male-only facility without adequately addressing the safety, security, and privacy needs of female veterans. This occurred because VAMC staff had not read the grant proposal and were unaware that the facility was only approved for male veterans. This lapse may have needlessly exposed homeless female veterans to safety, security, and privacy risks. After we discussed this issue with senior VAMC officials, they arranged for the immediate move of the women to a non-VA funded facility that provided services to homeless females. We recommended the GPD staff better understand the contents and requirements of the grant proposals, review policies and procedures, and make program changes as needed. We also recommended an inventory of all active homeless grant programs, and remove females from male-only or other inappropriate facilities, then prevent future placement of female veterans in these facilities.