Part 5 — The Department of Veterans Affairs Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program printable pdf (8 pages)

Part 5 — The Department of Veterans Affairs Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program

Introduction

The Department of Veterans Affairs Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program is the federal government's principal transitional-housing program specifically designed for Veterans experiencing homelessness. VA provides grants and per diem payments to qualified community organizations and governmental entities that provide temporary housing and supportive services while helping Veterans move toward permanent housing. The program is therefore neither ordinary emergency shelter nor permanent supportive housing. It occupies the transitional period between homelessness and a stable return to community living.

This distinction establishes an important standard for the BORDEN REPORT 2026. The value of a GPD-funded bed cannot be measured by occupancy alone. A Veteran should enter the program with an identified need for temporary residential support and progress toward an appropriate permanent-housing destination. Housing assistance, case management, healthcare coordination, income, employment, benefits, transportation, and other services should support that transition rather than become ends in themselves.

GPD is also a substantial national program. The VA Office of Inspector General described it as VA's largest transitional-housing program and reported that it served almost 24,000 Veterans in fiscal year 2022 with a budget exceeding $275 million. Community organizations provide the housing and services, while VA retains responsibility for program administration, monitoring, performance measurement, and accountability.

Purpose of GPD

The central purpose of GPD is to move Veterans from homelessness toward stable permanent housing. Transitional housing should provide enough time and support to identify the conditions preventing permanent placement, address those barriers, and prepare the Veteran to maintain housing after leaving the program.

Those barriers differ substantially among Veterans. One Veteran may need identification documents or military records, another may require VA disability compensation or pension, while another may already have been accepted for HUD-VASH and principally need temporary housing while completing the permanent-housing process. Employment, healthcare, transportation, legal assistance, financial stability, and behavioral-health treatment may also be important depending upon individual circumstances.

The federal framework consequently places permanent housing at the center of the program while allowing supportive services to vary according to Veteran need.

GPD Is More Than One Housing Model

A defining feature of GPD is that it does not impose one uniform program model on every Veteran experiencing homelessness. VA recognizes different transitional-housing models because Veterans enter homelessness under different circumstances and require different levels of assistance.

The principal housing models include:

• Service Intensive — transitional housing and robust services intended to facilitate stabilization, increased income, and movement to permanent housing as rapidly as clinically appropriate.
• Clinical Treatment — designed for Veterans with a substance-use disorder or mental-health diagnosis who actively choose to engage in clinical services.
• Low Demand — a harm-reduction model intended particularly for chronically homeless Veterans or Veterans unsuccessful in traditional treatment settings.
• Bridge Housing — short-term transitional housing for Veterans who have accepted an identified permanent-housing intervention but cannot immediately enter it.
• Hospital to Housing — transitional housing addressing housing and recuperative-care needs following hospitalization.
• Transition in Place — housing in which supportive services gradually transition away while the Veteran remains in the unit as permanent housing.

The distinction among these models is fundamental. Clinical Treatment is specifically associated with Veterans who have identified behavioral-health or substance-use needs and choose clinical participation, while Service Intensive focuses more broadly on stabilization, income, and movement toward permanent housing.

GPD therefore should not be evaluated as though homelessness itself establishes a clinical diagnosis. Program design should correspond to the approved housing model and the needs of the Veterans being served.

Individualized Case Management

Case management is the mechanism through which temporary residence becomes an organized transition. Effective case management identifies the Veteran's barriers, establishes realistic objectives, coordinates appropriate services, monitors progress, and adjusts the plan when circumstances change.

The emphasis should remain on individualized assistance rather than the volume of programming provided. A Veteran whose primary barrier is affordable housing requires a different plan from a Veteran needing intensive behavioral-health treatment. Similarly, a Veteran already holding a housing voucher should not remain in transitional housing because services unrelated to the housing barrier have become institutional requirements.

Depending upon individual need, GPD case management may coordinate:

• Permanent-housing placement and HUD-VASH.
• VA compensation, pension, or other income.
• Employment, education, or vocational services.
• Healthcare and behavioral-health treatment.
• Identification and military records.
• Transportation.
• Legal assistance.
• Financial counseling and independent-living preparation.

The service plan should therefore answer a practical question: what specifically prevents this Veteran from entering and sustaining permanent housing, and what action is being taken to remove that barrier?

Connection With the Larger VA System

GPD providers are community partners within a much larger federal Veteran-service system. Veterans residing in GPD may simultaneously receive VA healthcare, disability compensation, pension, HUD-VASH, vocational services, behavioral-health care, and other assistance. Transitional providers should help Veterans use those resources rather than unnecessarily duplicate them.

This relationship is particularly important because GPD is temporary while many VA relationships continue after discharge. Healthcare, benefits, HUD-VASH case management, employment resources, and other Veteran services can provide continuity once permanent housing is obtained.

A successful GPD program should therefore leave the Veteran better connected to the wider VA system than when the Veteran entered.

Federal Funding and Provider Responsibility

GPD operates through federal grants to eligible nonprofit organizations, state or local governmental agencies, and recognized tribal governments. VA's funding structure includes per diem-only grants, Transition in Place, Special Need, case-management grants, capital grants, and service-center activities.

Federal funding carries corresponding responsibilities. GPD recipients operate within federal regulations, award requirements, recipient guidance, and the terms applicable to their particular grant. The existence of a federal award does not merely subsidize beds; it supports a defined Veteran homelessness intervention.

Providers should therefore be evaluated according to whether funded services advance the purposes for which the grant was awarded.

VA Oversight and GPD Liaisons

Although community organizations operate GPD residences, VA retains an oversight role. GPD liaisons at VA medical facilities oversee grantees and participating Veterans and record program outcomes through the Homeless Operations, Management, and Evaluation System (HOMES). These records include housing arrangements at exit, reasons for ending participation, and discharge dates.

VA can also require improvement when provider performance falls below expectations. The OIG report explains that performance improvement plans may be required and that progressive sanctions can include suspension of per diem payments and ultimately termination of a grant when deficiencies are not corrected.



Oversight should therefore determine not simply whether required paperwork exists, but whether the program is achieving the transitional outcomes that federal funding is intended to support.

Permanent Housing as a Performance Measure

Permanent-housing placement is a key GPD performance measure. The VA OIG reported that fiscal year 2023 permanent-housing targets varied by housing model from 60 percent or above to 75 percent or above. VA uses exit information to assess grantee performance and determine whether Veterans are moving into qualifying permanent-housing arrangements.

Performance should nevertheless be broader than one percentage. A meaningful evaluation can consider:

• Permanent-housing exits and negative exits.
• Length of stay.
• Housing retention and returns to homelessness.
• Income or employment progress where appropriate.
• Connection with VA healthcare and benefits.
• Resident safety and significant incidents.
• Veteran experience and satisfaction.
• Progress toward individualized transition goals.

A program can maintain high occupancy and document substantial service activity while still producing weak transitional outcomes. Conversely, effective barrier identification, coordinated services, a stable environment, and timely permanent-housing placement demonstrate the underlying purpose of GPD.

Data Reliability and the VA OIG Review

Accurate outcome data are particularly important because VA relies upon them to monitor grantees and evaluate national progress. The VA OIG's September 2024 review found weaknesses in the reliability of GPD outcome information entered into HOMES. Interviews with 22 GPD liaisons found inconsistent verification of discharge information reported by grantees; only nine reported verifying discharge information with Veterans, and only one reported reviewing grantee files to substantiate permanent-housing designations.

These were national findings. They do not establish that housing outcomes reported by any particular GPD provider, including Borden Avenue, are inaccurate.

They establish something narrower but important: permanent-housing outcomes should be supportable and subject to meaningful verification. Because housing placement is a central measure of GPD success, reliable reporting is part of program accountability.

Standard for Evaluating a GPD Program

For purposes of the BORDEN REPORT 2026, the federal GPD framework establishes the baseline against which a participating transitional residence should be evaluated.

A successful GPD program should demonstrate:

• A clearly transitional rather than indefinite residential purpose.
• Services consistent with the approved GPD model.
• Individualized case management tied to identifiable barriers.
• Meaningful connection with VA healthcare, benefits, and housing resources.
• A reasonably safe and dignified residential environment.
• Documented progress toward permanent housing.
• Reliable reporting of housing and discharge outcomes.
• Effective VA monitoring and corrective action when deficiencies are identified.

These standards do not require every Veteran to achieve the same outcome or progress at the same pace. They require the program to remain organized around the Veteran's transition rather than institutional occupancy.

Conclusion

The Grant and Per Diem Program represents a substantial federal commitment to Veterans experiencing homelessness. Its structure recognizes that community organizations can provide temporary housing and supportive services while VA supplies funding, program standards, Veteran resources, performance monitoring, and oversight. Its multiple housing models further recognize that Veterans experiencing homelessness do not constitute a single treatment population.

The effectiveness of GPD ultimately depends upon implementation. A federally funded bed should provide more than temporary shelter. Case management should identify the actual barriers preventing permanent housing, services should correspond to those barriers, Veterans should remain connected to the larger VA system, and providers should operate in accordance with the purpose of their approved GPD model.

Federal oversight is equally important. Housing outcomes must be meaningful and supportable, performance deficiencies should result in appropriate corrective action, and program success should be measured through Veteran outcomes rather than occupancy or service volume alone. The VA OIG's national findings concerning data reliability reinforce the importance of that verification without establishing deficiencies at any individual provider.

For this report, the fundamental GPD standard is therefore straightforward: transitional housing should produce transition. The ultimate measure is whether Veterans move from homelessness through a safe and individualized temporary program into appropriate permanent housing with stronger connections to healthcare, benefits, income, community resources, and the greatest achievable level of independence.