NCDAJanuary 2009

Mark Johnston, DAS for Special Needs Programs

Ann Marie Oliva, SNAPS Director

Office of Special Needs Assistance ProgramsCommunity Planning and DevelopmentU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

–Ending Chronic Homelessness

–Housing Emphasis –Performance

Policy Priorities

• 20% consume 50% of emergency resources: $40,000

• In 2002, President committed end chronic homeless

• Started collection national baseline: 2005

• HUD targeted some funds to this population

• HUD undertook demonstration projects

Ending Chronic Homelessness

• 1990’s: 40% Housing/ 60% Services • HUD is the Federal houser • 2002-Present: Encourage funds used for

housing--- Permanent Housing Bonus Projects- Housing Emphasis Points- Reallocation of Renewal Projects

Housing Emphasis

• Been a tough budget environment

• OMB and Congress assess all Federal programs

– Low assessment can mean funding cuts

– Continuum: Effective

• Performance is central to COC funding

Performance

– Every community: counted the homeless and focused on housing. See: HUDHRE.info

– More funds for housing (64%)—freed up nearly $1.5b• 36% for services (over $450

million)– HUD funded over 40,000 new housing

units– Significant increase in funding: 2001

to 2008.

Results

$1,000

$1,100

$1,200

$1,300

$1,400

$1,500

$1,600

$1,700

HUD Homeless Funding History

(Dollars in Millions)

Appropriation

2002, $1,123 billion

2003, $1,217 billion

2004, $1,260 billion

2005, $1,241 billion

2006, $1,327 billion

2007, $1,442 billion

2008, $1,586 billion

2009, $1,691.70 billion (Proposed)

Between baseline year 2005 and 2007:

–Overall homelessness declined by 12%• 763,000 to 672,000

–Chronic homelessness declined by 30%• 176,000 to 124,000

Results

The Future

• Legislation—consolidate and simplify • Current housing and economic crisis

• The new Administration will be assessing future direction on homeless policy.

Legislation

Appropriations– 2009 Budget - Continuing

Resolution– Stimulus - $1.5b for ESG– 2010 Budget Authorizations– Homeless Consolidation

Homeless Consolidation Legislation

– Senate 1518 - Senate Hold– House 7221 - Passed 355-61

Consolidation Legislation

Purpose – Codify the Continuum of Care– Consolidate Programs– Consolidate Grants– Greater local flexibility (eg.

Prevention)

Consolidation Legislation

– New Consolidated Program– New Rural Housing Program– New ESG Program

New Continuum of Care Program

– Consolidates 3 programs into 1: SHP, SPC, and SRO

– Allows PH renewals to be funded from Section 8– Creates a Collaborative Applicant *The Applicant may delegate to a Fiscal

Agent *Allows for unified funding: 1 grant– Up to 10% of funds may be used for prevention– Admin. Costs: Applicant up to 3%; each project up

to 10%

New CoC Program

– The Secretary shall provide at least 1 year of funding for renewals

– 10% for Permanent Housing for Homeless Families

– Balance in bonus for different populations

– 25% Match--cash in--kind

New Rural Housing Stability Program

– Applicants choose between CoC and RH– Eligible: prevention and homeless assistance– 25% Match– Eligible areas:

1) Area not part of an MSA,2) Area in an MSA where 75% is rural,

3) Area in a State with density 30 persons sq. mi. and

1.25% is Federal land

ESG– 20% of overall appropriation shall be for ESG

unless that would adversely affect renewals– Prevention is no longer limited to people

with sudden losses of income– Wide range of eligible activities– No more than 60% of ESG can be used for

emergency shelter activities (40% for prevention)

– Recipients for ES and prevention must be in HMIS

e-snaps and the CoC Competition

• Why go electronic?– CoC competition is the largest in the

federal government– 2007 saw more than 6,000 project and

460 CoC applications – grows every year– Last “SuperNOFA” program to be

electronic– Choice: grants.gov or viable alternative– Goal: to make the process more efficient

in the long run

e-snaps and the CoC Competition

• Goals of e-snaps initiative:– Cut down review time at HUD to get

funding out within the same fiscal year it is appropriated.

– Make the process more efficient for CoCs after the first/baseline year (data can be updated, not re-written).

– Provide a grants management tool for CoCs, field offices and HQ so that everyone has the same information.

e-snaps and the CoC Competition

• Status report for 2008:– Due date was October 23– Had some technical bugs: Successful CoC

submissions – HUD/Help Desk answered over 12,000

questions and posted over 200 questions to the FAQ site

• Plans for 2009– Focus groups to gain insight on improvements

we should make for 2009– Gradually get back on regular schedule –

announce grants in late Fall

e-snaps

New Initiatives

• HUD VASH: Launched in May– $75 million/10,000 vouchers in FY08– Another $75 million requested for FY09– Lease up is increasing

• Rapid Re-Housing Demonstration:– Statutory program for homeless families– Governed under TH-SHP– Based on models from around the country– Includes significant evaluation component

Program Priorities• Protect funding by getting

announcements/obligations out sooner• HMIS and AHAR continue to be important for

national data and policy decisions• Revised HMIS Data and Technical Standards

– Bring standards up to industry best practices

• Revised APR to be consistent with required data elements

• Both will be available for public notice soon

Accomplishments in 2008

• Launch of Homelessness Resource Exchange

• Increased efficiency by removing technical submission requirement for renewals in 2007.

Accomplishments in 2008

• Two AHARs published, including the first one covering a full year

• Successful CoC registration process:– Help to head off common errors– Agree to full grant inventory up front

• New SHP Desk Guide published

Priorities for 2009 and Beyond

• Get funding out earlier• Launch e-snaps as full grants

management system• Additional Program Guidance

– Safe Havens– Shelter Plus Care

• Programs for families• Continued progress on chronic

homelessness

HUD Resources

• Homelessness Resource Exchange: www.hudhre.info

• HUD’s HMIS Portal: www.hmis.info• APR Help Desk:

– email: APR@abtassoc.com– hotline: 1.877.277.1460