Project COFA

"Map of the Federated States of Micronesia CIA" by U.S. Central Intelligence Agency - Federated States of Micronesia (Political) 1999 from Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection: Federated States of Micronesia Maps. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons.
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PROJECT COFA seeks to provide a comprehensive report on the homeless service utilization of people from the Compact of Free Association (COFA) island nations of the Federated States of Micronesia (Islands of Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap), the Marshall Islands, and Palau. A treaty between COFA nations and the United States allows COFA residents free movement to live and work in the United States. The impoverished status of many COFA persons has prompted them to utilize homeless services as well as public housing services in the United States. Pacific Rim states, especially the State of Hawaii, has experienced large migrations of COFA persons since the 1990s.

The number of COFA residents and children of COFA parents who have been born in this country represents a very small percentage (estimated total population of less than 50,000) of the overall U.S. population. However, previous studies of homeless service utilization in Hawaii by COFA persons revealed very high rates of homeless services utilization, upwards of up to 50 percent. Migration continues from the COFA nations with the majority of residents either moving to Hawaii, Guam, California, Washington, Oregon and Texas.

The NHIP would like to bring Continuums working in areas that have served COFA persons to develop and disseminate more information about their homeless service utilization and their general prevalence among the homeless population. Current questions regarding ethnicity generally do not breakdown ethnicity of Pacific Islanders into smaller categories (Native Hawaiians, Samoans, Tongans, Micronesians, Marshallese, Palauan, Chamorran, Fijian, Saipanese, etc). The State of Hawaii’s HMIS has provided this breakdown in its ethnicity question since 2006, augmenting the typical 5 or 6 categories mandated by HMIS protocols.

This initiative is looking for 4 to 6 data professionals or any COFA person working in homeless services in areas serving COFA residents to work together to compile more extensive information on this important underserved population. In addition to the production of a comprehensive report, PROJECT COFA also seeks to ensure that COFA persons can be easily identified in the HMIS in Continuums that serve this population in order to provide future utilization reports.

Contact NHIP if you are interested in working on PROJECT COFA.