NOFAs

Family Unification Program (FUP) Voucher Webinar to be hosted by CSH and CLPHA

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Our friends at the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) and the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) are hosting a webinar on how to effectively use Family Unification Program (FUP) vouchers. The webinar is aimed at PHAs, public child welfare agencies, and homelessness response system partners. The webinar will provide an overview of the program in general, discuss the new notice of funding availability ($30 million; applications due 7/24/18), and provide recommendations and examples from the field.

The webinar will take place on Wednesday, May 16 at 12 pm ET.

Registration for the webinar can be found here.

New Voucher Funding Opportunities (FUP Vouchers and Mainstream Vouchers)

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

There are currently two open notice of funding opportunities (NOFAs) for new vouchers for PHAs: Family  Unification Program Vouchers and Mainstream Vouchers.

Family Unification Program Vouchers

Application Due Date: 7/24/18.

Amount: $30 million.

The Family Unification Program (FUP) allows PHAs to partner with Public Child Welfare Agencies (PCWAs) to provide housing choice vouchers to two groups:

  • Families for whom the lack of housing is a primary factor in the placement of the family’s child in out-of-home care (or the delay in discharge to the family from out-of-home care); and
  • Youth who are at least 18 and have not yet reached their 25th birthday, who left foster care (or will leave foster care in 90 days) and are homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless.

This NOFA now requires that in addition to PHAs and PCWAs to being parties to a required memorandum of understanding (MOU), Continuums of Care (COCs) must also be a party to the MOU. Additionally, there is now a threshold to to prevent FUP low utilizers from receiving a new allocation of FUP vouchers, and the CoC must now contribute to the PCWA’s Statement of Need. Finally, in addition to definitional revisions, this NOFA incorporates HOTMA’s FUP related changes.

Relevant links include the following:

  • The FUP NOFA for FY 2017 and FY 2018 can be found here;
  • A sample FUP MOU can be found here; and
  • HUD’s FUP FAQ can be found here.

Mainstream (Section 811) Vouchers

Application Due Date: 6/18/18.

Amount: $100 million.

This NOFA provides funding for vouchers which must be used to assist non-elderly persons with disabilities and their families. The funding is provided to assist non-elderly persons with disabilities who are:

  • Transitioning out of institutional or other segregated setting;
  • At serious risk of institutionalization;
  • Homeless; or
  • At risk of becoming homeless.

The rating criteria for applications is the following:

  • PHA Capacity and Experience (60 points);
  • Leveraging Resources (30 points); and
  • Achieving Results and Program Evaluation (10 points).

Relevant links include the following:

  • The Mainstream NOFA can be found here;
  • HUD’s NOFA Summary Presentation can be found here;
  • HUD’s NOFA FAQ can be found here; and
  • Additional resources from the Technical Assistance Collaborative can be found here. [5/2/18 Edit – link corrected.]

HUD Sends FSS Program Coordinator Funding Letter

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, HUD sent a Fiscal Year 2018 Family Self-Sufficiency Program Coordinator Funding Letter to PHA Executive Directors. The letter is meant to help “prepare for the upcoming Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Family Self Sufficiency Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) competition.” The letter discusses Public and Indian Housing Information Center (PIC) data; the possible use of composite scores in funding determinations; and checking the System for Award Management (SAM) and DUNS status.

Click below to learn more.

Continue reading →

HCV TPV Funding Awards for FY 2017 Posted

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Earlier today, HUD posted a pre-publication copy of a notice titled “Announcement of Tenant Protection Voucher Funding Awards for Fiscal Year 2017 for the Housing Choice Voucher Program” in the Federal Register. The notice notifies the public of Tenant Protection Voucher (TPV) funding awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program.

The recipients of these funds were awarded their vouchers on a as-needed, non-competitive basis. The awards published in the notice were provided to do the following:

  1. Assist families in HUD-owned properties that are being sold;
  2. Assist families affected by the expiration or termination of their Section 9 Project-based and Moderate Rehabilitation contracts;
  3. Assist families in properties where the owner has prepaid the HUD mortgage;
  4. Assist families in projects where the Rental Supplement and the Rental Assistance Payments contracts are expired (RAD – Second Component);
  5. Provide relocation housing assistance in connection with the demolition of public housing;
  6. Assist individuals affected by the expiration or termination of their Section 8 single room occupancy (SRO) contracts;
  7. Assist families in public housing developments that are scheduled for demolition in connection with a HUD-approved HOPE VI revitalization or demolition grant; and
  8. Assist families consistent with PIH Notice 2016-12 titled “Funding Availability for Tenant Protection Voucher for Certain At-Risk Households in Low Vacancy Areas-Fiscal Year 2016.”

HUD awarded 9,218 housing choice vouchers ($94,468,761 in new budget authority) in the above categories. A special administrative fee of $200 per occupied unit was provided to PHAs to compensate for any extraordinary HCV administrative costs associated with Multifamily Housing conversion actions.

The pre-publication version of the notice can be found here.

HUD Announces $38 Million for Fair Housing Grants

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

In a press release on Wednesday, HUD announced that it was making $38 million available in fair housing grants to fight housing discrimination. The grants are a part of the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP), which provides funding to non-profits and other fair housing organizations to help people who have encountered housing discrimination. The due date for these notices of funding availability is September 18, 2017. The grants announced are listed below.

  • Education and Outreach Initiative grants (EOI) – grants for organizations that educate the public about their rights under federal law and other organizations that enforce certain local fair housing laws. $7,450,000 available by searching FR-6100-N-21-A on Grants.gov.
  • Fair Housing Organizations Initiative (FHOI) – grants to build “the capacity and effectiveness of non-profit fair housing organizations.” $500,000 available by searching FR-6100-N-21B on Grants.gov.
  • Private Enforcement Initiative grants –  grants for organizations that “conduct intake, testing, investigation and litigation of fair housing complaints.” $30.35 million available by searching FR-6100-N-21C on Grants.gov.

The entire press release can be read here.

The FY 2017 Continuum of Care Program Competition is Now Open

~ Jenny Hsu ~ Leave a comment

On July 14, HUD announced the publication of the FY 2017 Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Competition Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), making available approximately $2 billion in FY 2017 for the CoC Program. The CoC Program is a HUD administered program designed to promote a community-wide commitment to the goals of ending homelessness and provides funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, States, and local governments to quickly re-house individuals and families experiencing homelessness. As of July 18, the FY 2017 CoC Consolidated Application and project applications are available in e-snaps.

The submission deadline is Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 8:00 PM EDT.

Listed below are a number of highlights and special considerations for the FY 2017 competition. More information can be found on HUD’s FY 2017 CoC Program Competition: Funding Availability Page.  Continue reading →

Reminder: Vera Institute of Justice Solicitation for Technical Assistance Application Due Friday (May 12)

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

The Vera Institute of Justice is still soliciting applications for technical assistance from PHAs, including those PHAs running Housing Choice Voucher Programs, who seek to implement reentry programs or to change their policies for the purpose of increasing access to housing for people with conviction histories. There are no financial commitments for PHAs.

Applications will be accepted until this Friday, May 12, 2017. To apply, interested PHAs should send (as a PDF) the following: (1) a letter of intent of commitment; (2) an application narrative; and (3) optional, but recommended, letters of support. All documentation should be sent to kfinley@vera.org.

Our previous blog post on this “Request for Proposals for Technical Assistance” can be found here.

The entire application can be found here.

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.]

HUD Offers Grants to Clean Up Lead-Based Paint Hazards – HUD Press Release

~ Georgi Banna ~ Leave a comment

HUD Press Release (February 8, 2017):

HUD OFFERS GRANTS TO CLEAN UP LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARDS
Funding to protect children from lead poisoning

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced that it is making grants available to help eliminate dangerous lead-based paint hazards from lower income homes in order to protect young children. Additionally, this funding will provide an opportunity for local communities to establish and support programs to control other housing-related health and safety hazards.

Unsafe and unhealthy homes affect the health of millions of people of all income levels, geographic areas, and walks of life in the U.S. These homes affect the economy directly, through increased utilization of health care services, and indirectly, through lost wages and increased school days missed. The housing improvements communities will make will help prevent injuries and illnesses, reduce associated health care and social services costs, reduce absentee rates for children in school and adults at work, and reduce stress, all which help to improve the quality of life.

HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes promotes local efforts to eliminate dangerous lead paint hazards and other housing-related health hazards from lower income homes, stimulate private sector investment in lead hazard control, support cutting-edge research on methods for assessing and controlling housing-related health and safety hazards, and educate the public about the dangers of hazards in the home.

The grants to States, local governments and the private sector are being offered through HUD’s Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program, and Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Program. In these grant programs, HUD is providing additional funding (healthy homes supplemental funds) to identify and remediate, in homes where lead-based paint hazards are being controlled, other housing-related health hazards.

HUD expects to make approximately 32 awards under these programs. This estimate assumes funding at the same level as Fiscal Year 2016. The actual number of awards made under this funding notice will depend on the amount of Congress appropriates in the Fiscal Year 2017 budget, the number of eligible applicants, and other factors.

HUD requires prospective grantees to submit their applications electronically at www.grants.gov. Any changes to HUD-published funding notices will be made available to the public through a Federal Register publication and published on this government-wide portal. Applicants are urged to sign up for Grants.gov’s notification service to receive periodic updates or changes to these grant offerings.

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HUD Publishes Notice on Availability of $5 million for TPVs in Low-Vacancy Areas

~ Tushar Gurjal ~ Leave a comment

Today, HUD published a notice (PIH 2016-12) titled “Funding Availability for Tenant-Protection Vouchers for Certain At-Risk Households in Low-Vacancy Areas — Fiscal Year 2016.” The notice makes available the $5 million set-aside  for “certain at-risk households in low-vacancy areas for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016” from the $130 million appropriated for Tenant Protection Vouchers (TPVs) in general.

The $5 million in TPV assistance is available for the purpose of assisting “residents residing in low-vacancy areas and who either are or may have to pay rents greater than 30 percent of household income” because of the following:

  1. The maturity of a HUD-insured, HUD-held or section 202 loan that would have required the permission of the Secretary prior to loan prepayment;
  2. The expiration of a rental assistance contract for which the tenants are not eligible for enhanced voucher or tenant protection assistance under existing law; or
  3. The expiration of affordability restrictions accompanying a mortgage or preservation program administered by the Secretary.

The TPV assistance may be provided as either enhanced vouchers or project-based voucher (PBV) assistance.

NAHRO’s next issue of The Monitor (members only) will have additional details on the notice.

The full notice can be read here.