STREETS: What the $100M HHS Investment Means for Communities, Crisis Response, and Data Connectivity

On February 2, 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a $100 million investment to support homelessness, substance use, serious mental illness, and community recovery services through a new initiative called Safety Through Recovery, Engagement, and Evidence based Treatment and Supports (STREETS). Positioned as part of the broader Great American Recovery effort, this funding represents more than dollars allocated; it signals a shift in how success is defined and how community systems will be asked to operate in the coming years.

For people experiencing homelessness, addiction, or repeated crisis episodes, this focus on sustained recovery and measurable outcomes is welcome. For the providers and care coordinators on the front lines, the question quickly became: Will this investment help us coordinate better, especially across disconnected data systems?

The answer depends on how communities, payers, practitioners, and technology partners embrace not just the funding, but the infrastructure challenge beneath it.

Beyond the Press Release: Wider Reporting and Signals

Public reporting on STREETS has added detail and debate beyond the initial announcement.

Scope and rollout questions. Some news outlets report that the program will initially focus on a limited set of localities (eight have been mentioned by name in multiple briefings), though specific communities have not yet been publicly confirmed. This suggests an iterative, data-driven rollout rather than a universal funding wave.

Expanded eligibility signals. Coverage notes that faith-based organizations with evidence-based recovery programs are eligible for funding under STREETS, broadening the ecosystem of potential partners.

Policy alignment context. Multiple news outlets frame STREETS within the broader federal policy environment, including recent executive actions that link homelessness and public safety themes to addiction and mental health. This reflects a federal posture toward outcomes and engagement.

At the same time, analysts and advocates note that broader structural issues such as affordable housing shortages and economic inequities are not directly addressed in this initiative, and that implementation details will determine whether STREETS strengthens existing efforts or distracts from them.

Frontline Workers: The Real Connective Tissue

One of the most powerful responses to the STREETS announcement came directly from the practitioners who make data meaningful every day.

Licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs), community health workers (CHWs), nurse advocates, and peer support specialists are the people who translate clinical instructions, referral lists, and outreach notes into action. They are the ones closing loops.

Yet their work often depends on piecemeal data access:

• A referral order in an electronic health record does not always translate into real-world follow-up data.

• A crisis stabilization admission in one system may not automatically update a community case management platform.

• Housing placement updates may live in a separate database with no reliable feed back to medical or behavioral providers.

If STREETS is serious about reducing crisis cycling and supporting sustained recovery, the work of these frontline professionals must be supported by data that moves with the person, not stuck in silos.

Tribal and Rural Perspectives Raise Critical Variables

Two key questions raised by community members on social channels were:

1. Will STREETS reach tribal communities?

2. How will it support rural populations, especially those dependent on Medicaid with limited provider infrastructure?

The truth is that inclusion is not automatic. It requires intentional design.

Tribal Inclusion

Tribal health systems function under distinct governance principles and require respect for tribal data sovereignty. Without building infrastructure that aligns with tribal leadership priorities and consent models, major investments risk bypassing tribal partners or imposing models that are not locally appropriate.

What it would take: tribal engagement in planning and governance, tribal control over data sharing frameworks, and interoperability pathways that integrate tribal health information systems with broader state and regional exchanges.

Rural Connectivity Challenges

Rural communities often have:

• Fewer health care providers

• Greater distances between services

• Lower broadband penetration

• Smaller technology support teams

These factors make digital coordination both more necessary and more difficult. In areas where telehealth access has contracted and provider capacity is stretched, interoperability becomes a capacity multiplier. Without reliable connectivity and data infrastructure, programs like STREETS may not reach their full potential in these regions.

STREETS Is an Infrastructure and Measurement Initiative

STREETS frames success in terms of outcomes rather than outputs:

• Reduced crisis cycling

• Sustained engagement in care and recovery

• Long term housing stability

Evaluating these outcomes requires connected data across systems and over time. Short of interoperable data flows, measures will be limited to snapshots rather than longitudinal insights.

To make this possible, infrastructure needs include:

• Standards based information sharing across clinical, behavioral, social, housing, and emergency response systems

• Longitudinal views of individuals as they interact with multiple services over months and years

• Consent frameworks that operationalize privacy protections for behavioral health and substance use information

  
  

Where HIEs and CIEs Fit into the STREETS Puzzle

Health information exchanges (HIEs) and community information exchanges (CIEs) have historically operated with different emphases:

• HIEs focus on clinical data exchange, supporting hospitals, clinics, and labs.

• CIEs bridge clinical and social service environments, supporting referral management and community coordination.

STREETS highlights the need for both. Rather than choosing one model over the other, communities benefit when these infrastructures are aligned rather than duplicated.

Possible roles include:

• HIEs serving as the clinical backbone and provider of standardized, longitudinal data.

• CIEs managing closed loop referrals, outreach workflows, and real-time coordination between community partners.

• Shared governance bodies that include behavioral health providers, tribal entities, grassroots organizations, and data stewards.

A Broader Policy Landscape

The STREETS investment did not emerge in isolation. It aligns with a broader policy moment in which federal leadership is signaling priorities around homelessness, addiction, mental health, and public safety. That contextual landscape shapes how funding flows, how success is defined, and how community partners are expected to coordinate.

Reporting has already highlighted debates around:

• Whether federal policy is shifting focus away from purely housing-first approaches and toward recovery engagement models

• Concerns that systemic causes such as poverty and housing affordability are not addressed head on

• The importance of evidence-based programming and measurable impact

These debates matter because they influence implementation priorities and the expectations placed on communities and systems.

What Implementation Will Reveal

As STREETS moves from announcement to action, communities will be watching for:

• Clear criteria for how and where funds are deployed

• Technical assistance and support for interoperability, especially in tribal and rural settings

• Reporting and evaluation frameworks tied to longitudinal outcomes

• Practical pathways for smaller behavioral health and community providers to participate

Simply writing a check is not enough. To change trajectories, we need connected data that supports action at the point of care and coordination.

Conclusion: Visibility as a Success Metric

If STREETS succeeds, it will not be because of dollars alone. It will be because communities embraced interoperability, governance, lived experience, and equitable inclusion as part of the strategy.

In the end, reducing crisis cycling and supporting sustained recovery requires one foundational element: Data that travels with the person, across systems, in ways that respect privacy and help frontline workers close loops.

Only when information is visible, timely, and actionable can we expect outcomes that match the ambition of the investment.