Homelessness

Senators Reed and Collins Introduce Bill to Strengthen the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

On March 28, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced bipartisan legislation (S.743)  to strengthen the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (the Council). Created by Congress in 1987, the Council is the only federal level agency specifically tasked with coordinating the federal response to homelessness. Since its creation, the body has grown to include 19 Cabinet secretaries and agency heads.

Unfortunately, the Council was last authorized by Public Law 113-325 and sunsets at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. The Council would have to close its doors on October 1, 2017 and the Reed-Collins bill would eliminate the sunset date so that this agency can continue to build on its success in helping to prevent and end homelessness across the nation.

“The Council works with government, public housing agencies, homeless service providers, and local partners to better align their resources, efforts, goals, and measures of success. The progress we are making is encouraging, but it is not irreversible and now is not the time to end this effective, evidenced-based program that has helped leverage federal investments and measurably reduced homelessness in America,” said Senator Reed. “In our current budgetary environment…[t]he Council is proof that the government can work and save money in the process”

“As the Chairman of the THUD Appropriations Subcommittee, I will continue working to ensure that homeless programs have the data and the resources to reduce and prevent homelessness,” said Senator Collins.

In 2010 the Council unveiled Opening Doors, a federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness, through set goals, best practices, and policy priorities. Since then, HUD has reported a 14 percent decrease in overall homelessness in the nation, including a 47 percent decline in veterans’ homelessness.

NAHRO believes that the Council has been instrumental in bringing down homelessness rates and joins a strong and diverse coalition of non-profit and housing organizations in support of the Reed-Collins bill.

 

 

Senate Confirms Dr. Ben Carson as HUD Secretary

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ 2 Comments

Earlier today, the United States Senate confirmed Dr. Ben Carson as the 17th Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was confirmed on a vote of 58 to 41. NAHRO has invited Secretary Carson to speak at the 2017 NAHRO Washington Conference. NAHRO has also invited the Secretary to listen to the concerns of PHAs and RDAs as part of the countrywide listening tour he mentioned during his confirmation hearing. We look forward to working with him.

[3/3/17 Edit – HUD’s press release can be found here.]

Upcoming NAHRO e-Briefing on HUD Year in Review

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

 

On February 7, 2017, img_0015NAHRO will present, Moving Forward: A Review of 2016 Regulation and
Legislation, part of NAHRO’s Housing Rules!! series.

The NAHRO Policy team will discuss
many areas that HUD and Congress addressed during 2016 and NAHRO reviewed in detail
in NAHRO’s Regulatory and Legislative Year in Review – 2016, which will provide a solid regulatory and legislative foundation as we work with the new Administration and new Congress to keep our affordable housing agenda moving forward.

Registration information for this e-Briefing and other professional development offerings is available through the NAHRO Professional Development calendar.

NAHRO’s Call for Session Proposals for the 2017 Summer Conference is Now Open.

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

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NAHRO’s Call for Session Proposals for the 2017 Summer Conference is now open.

Share your experience as a housing and community development professional by submitting a session proposal for consideration as a presentation at the 2017 NAHRO Summer Conference in Indianapolis, IN. We are looking for sessions on current and emerging issues, best practices, and strategies to handle challenges facing the industry.

Session proposals should fall under one of the following identified topic tracks – Public Housing, Section 8/HCV, H/CD Finance, Community Development, Commissioners, Organizational Management and International.

Deadline to submit: March 15 and proposals must be submitted thru NAHRO’s on-line submission tool.

Submissions should be complete with a clear and concise session title, description, three learning objectives and identified panelists.

NAHRO Releases Regulatory and Legislative Year in Review – 2016

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

In 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was very busy setting forth new rules and regulations and providing updated notices and guidances on many of the HUD administered affordable housing programs. The year has also been marked by many legislative victories and a few challenges.

img_0015NAHRO has drafted and compiled this Regulatory and Legislative Year in Review – 2016 to provide a primer of the topics on the forefront of the affordable housing industry. It can also provide you, your public housing agencies (PHAs) and local redevelopment agencies (LRAs) and your stakeholders with current information on many of the programs used and administered by HUD and the affordable housing community.

The full Regulatory and Legislative Year in Review – 2016, along with the individual topic one-pagers, is available on the NAHRO website. For the most up-to-date versions and information visit the NAHRO website and the NAHRO blog.

NAHRO Policy and Congressional teams are also conducting two e-Briefings through NAHRO Professional Development. The first is This Just in from Washington on January 31, 2017, where NAHRO’s Congressional team will give you an update on FY2017 appropriations, preview FY2018, outline potential legislative action on HCD programs, and discuss ways in which you can be the most effective advocate in this rapidly changing political climate. The second is part of the Housing Rules! Series, Moving Forward: A Review of 2016 Regulation and Legislation on February 7, 2017, where NAHRO’s Policy team will discuss many areas that HUD and Congress addressed during 2016 and NAHRO reviewed in detail in NAHRO’s Regulatory and Legislative Year in Review – 2016, which will provide a solid regulatory and legislative foundation as we work with the new Administration and new Congress to keep our affordable housing agenda moving forward. Registration information for both of these e-Briefings is available through the NAHRO Professional Development calendar.

HUD Publishes Coordinated Entry Requirements for Homeless Assistance Programs

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday, HUD published long-awaited guidance (Notice CPD-17-01) establishing the additional requirements for the development and implementation of a “centralized or coordinated assessment system” (i.e., “coordinated entry” or “coordinated entry process”) for recipients and subrecipients of the Continuum of Care (CoC) and Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) programs.

The coordinated entry processes are intended to help communities prioritize people who are most in need of homeless assistance and help grantees and stakeholders strategically allocate their resources by providing information about local service needs and gaps. Each CoC must establish or update its coordinated entry process in accordance with the 2012 CoC interim final rule and this notice by January 23, 2018.

Once the coordinated entry process is established, updated and/or operationalized by CoC program recipients and subrecipients, HUD will expect the coordinated entry process to be used for all ESG programs and projects within the CoC’s geographic area. However, HUD does not require victim service providers under ESG to use the CoC’s coordinated entry process.

Additional analysis of this HUD guidance will be provided to members in a forthcoming edition of the NAHRO Monitor.

Reminder!! Dr. Carson Confirmation Hearing for HUD Today!

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs  will hold a confirmation hearing for HUD Secretary-Designate Carson at 10 am ET on Thursday, January 12, 2017. The hearing will be held at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Room 538.

The confirmation hearing will be webcast live on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing website. Dr. Carson’s written testimony is also posted, here, on the Senate Banking Committee website.

John Bohm, NAHRO Acting CEO, is attending the hearing and additional coverage of the confirmation hearing will be available for members in the January 15 Monitor.

HUD Awards $1.95 Billion for Local Homeless Programs

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday, HUD announced $1.95 billion in FY 2016 Continuum of Care (CoC) grants to provide support to over 7,600 local homeless housing and service programs across the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. View a complete list of the state and local homeless projects awarded here.

This year, HUD continued to strongly urge CoCs to compete for funding by making challenging decisions that involved shifting funds from existing projects to new projects considered to be more effective, such as investments in permanent supportive housing and rapid re-housing.

For this competition, local CoCs reallocated a combined $103 million in renewal funding from lower performing projects in order to apply for new housing projects. Together with funding for permanent housing “bonus” projects, HUD is awarding at total of $139 million for new projects.

Additional information on HUD’s FY 2016 CoC awards  will be included in the forthcoming edition of the NAHRO Monitor (members only)

ICYMI: NAHRO members have long been on the front lines of preventing and ending homelessness. A recent NAHRO white paper demonstrates how public housing authority (PHA) are collaborating with communities and perusing new directions and opportunities for ending homelessness. Case studies include: ending veteran homelessness in Houston, Texas; implementing medical respite to save lives and reduce costs in Fargo, North Dakota.; and using a model for working with the chronically homeless in encampment settings by the City of West Sacramento, Yolo County, California.

New Mapping Tool Shows What HUD Investments Your Community Receives

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

On December 6, HUD launched the Community Assessment Reporting Tool (CART) – a new online and mobile-friendly tool that offers the public real-time information on HUD investments across a community. This interactive reference and mapping tool uses geospatial technology to show a variety of  property- and grant level detail by city, state, county, metropolitan area, or congressional district levels. According to HUD, CART cuts down the time that it typically takes to generate this information from several days to minutes.

CART includes information on many of HUD’s major programs, including:

  • Community Planning and Development Competitive and Formula Grants
  • Rental Assistance through HUD’s Multifamily programs, Housing Choice Vouchers and Public Housing properties
  • Housing Counseling
  • Signature programs – Promise Zones, Strong Cities Strong Communities and Rental Assistance Demonstration.
  • Census demographic information

CART also allows users to build custom community maps using thematic layers (i.e., voucher concentration, poverty rate) and property layers (i.e., location of public housing buildings, CDBG and HOME activities).Access CART online at: egis.hud.gov/cart

NAHRO Provides Recommendations to the HUD 2017 Transition Team

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

Today NAHRO provided members of President-elect Trump’s HUD transition team with the NAHRO Transition 2017 recommendations. All recommendations and positions in this document have been previously approved by our standing committees and the NAHRO Board of Governors. We also intend to make ourselves available to the new transition team and supply them with any and all information and assistance they may require from us to make the transition at HUD under the Trump Administration as smooth as possible.

The transition recommendations can be used as you reach out to your local HUD officials, your elected officials who will be seated in the new Congress, the media and your own state and local officials in a united effort to move a responsible and responsive housing agenda forward at HUD and on Capitol Hill. In addition to this document, the association will also be producing the NAHRO 2017 Regulatory and Legislative Agenda, which will be drafted over the coming weeks with input from NAHRO membership and leadership and will be available at the NAHRO 2017 Washington Conference.

NAHRO’s Transition 2017 recommendations for HUD may be viewed here.