USICH partners with these 19 federal agencies, state and local governments, advocates, service providers, and people experiencing homelessness to achieve the goals outlined in the first federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness, Opening Doors.

USICH works directly with states and communities through five Regional Coordinators who connect with state and local governments in the creation of strategic plans and to promote the strategies of Opening Doors in local communities.

The McKinney Act established the Interagency Council on the Homeless as an "independent establishment" within the executive branch to review the effectiveness of federal activities and programs to assist people experiencing homelessness, promote better coordination among agency programs, and inform state and local governments and public and private sector organizations about the availability of federal homeless assistance.

USICH was reauthorized in 2009 with enactment of the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act.

The current members of the Council include the heads of the following 19 Departments and agencies: The immediate past chair was Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, and the vice chair was Secretary of Education John King.