[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 133 (Thursday, July 10, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39840-39855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-15664]
[[Page 39839]]
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Part III
Department of Housing and Urban Development
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Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Continuum of Care
Homeless Assistance Program; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 133 / Thursday, July 10, 2008 /
Notices
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-5220-N-01]
Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Continuum of Care
Homeless Assistance Program
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and
Development, HUD.
ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).
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SUMMARY: This notice of funding availability (NOFA) establishes the
funding criteria for the Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance
Program. HUD is making available approximately $1.42 billion in Fiscal
Year 2008 for the program. The purpose of the CoC Homeless Assistance
Program is to reduce the incidence of homelessness in CoC communities
by assisting homeless individuals and families to move to self
sufficiency and permanent housing.
Overview Information
A. Federal Agency Name: Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Office of Community Planning and Development.
B. Funding Opportunity Title: Notice of Funding Availability for
Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance Programs.
C. Announcement Type: Initial Announcement.
D. Funding Opportunity Number: The Federal Register number is FR-
5220-N-01. The OMB Approval number is 2506-0112.
E. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers:
1. 14.235, Supportive Housing Program (SHP).
2. 14.238, Shelter Plus Care (S+C) and
3. 14.249, Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy
(SRO).
F. Dates: As more full described in the body of this NOFA, CoCs and
project applicants will be required to apply for the 2008 CoC
competition electronically through HUD's e-snaps system. Because the
application portion of the e-snaps system has not yet been launched,
HUD is unable at this time to establish an application due date for the
2008 CoC competition. HUD will announce the application due date
through a separate Federal Register notice once the e-snaps system is
able to process funding applications. The application due date will be
at least 60 days from the publication date of the Federal Register
notice. As of today's publication, HUD anticipates an approximate
application due date of September 15, 2008. Please see section IV of
this NOFA for application submission and timely receipt requirements.
G. Additional Overview Content Information:
1. Available Funds: Approximately $1.42 billion is available for
funding. Carried over or recaptured funds from previous fiscal years,
if available, may be added to this amount.
2. Eligible Applicants: The program summary chart in section
III.A.1 of this NOFA identifies the eligible applicants for each of the
three programs under the CoC Homeless Assistance Programs.
3. Match: Matching funds are required from local, state, federal
(as eligible) or private resources. Refer to the General Section of the
SuperNOFA (73 FR 14883; March 29, 2008) for more information on this
requirement.
4. Additional Notices:
a. To encourage transparency at all levels of the CoC planning
process, once a CoC has submitted the CoC application to HUD, the CoC
is required to make Exhibit 1 available to its community for inspection
(i.e., by request or post on local CoC Web site) and notify community
members and key stakeholders that it is available upon request.
b. Please note that all sections of the General Section of the
SuperNOFA are critical and must be carefully reviewed to ensure an
application can be considered for funding, with the exception of
reference to the Grants.gov application process. The Continuum of Care
application will be using an electronic system outside of Grants.gov.
Applicants for project funding will still be required to register with
Dun and Bradstreet to obtain a DUNS number, if they have not already
done so, and complete or renew their registration in the Central
Contractor Registration (CCR). For more information see 73 FR 23483,
April 30, 2008. Applicants are still encouraged to sign up for the
Grants.gov notification service as the availability of the 2008
Continuum of Care application will be released via this Web site.
Full Text Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
A. Program Description
1. Overview. The purpose of CoC Homeless Assistance Programs is to
reduce the incidence of homelessness in CoC communities by assisting
homeless individuals and families to move to self-sufficiency and
permanent housing. CoCs that sustain current successful interventions
and advance the goal of ending chronic homelessness will be scored
higher.
2. The authorizing legislation and implementing regulations for all
programs covered by this NOFA are outlined on the chart in section
III.A.1 of this NOFA.
3. Changes for 2008. This list includes all major changes to the
CoC NOFA:
a. CoCs and project applicants will be required to apply for the
2008 CoC competition electronically through HUD's e-snaps system. e-
snaps is not a part of http://www.grants.gov. To access training on e-
snaps, see http://esnaps.hudhre.info/training/. If CoCs or applicants
have additional questions they may contact the e-snaps Help Desk at
[email protected], or by calling 1-877-6-esnaps (1-877-637-6277).
More information is provided in section I.A.5.b of this NOFA.
b. CoCs were required to register their CoC in e-snaps, the
electronic application system, prior to the beginning of the
competition. For more information on the CoC registration process see
73 FR 23483; April 30, 2008.
c. CoCs may create multiple Samaritan Housing Initiative projects
as long as the total amount of funding requested for all bonus projects
does not exceed 15 percent of the CoC's Preliminary Pro Rata Need. For
more information on the Samaritan Bonus Initiative see section I.A.4.y
below.
d. HUD will continue to score CoC Homeless Assistance applications
on a 100 point scale; however, the 40 need points previously allocated
to projects will be redistributed into the existing point structure
(see section V.A.1 of this NOFA for more information). Need will
continue to be calculated through the higher of the formula that
determines Preliminary Pro Rata Need or the Hold Harmless Need for the
CoC.
e. As directed by Congress in the FY2008 HUD appropriation
(Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, H.R. 2764), HUD will implement
a Rapid Re-Housing for Families Demonstration Program through the 2008
CoC NOFA. This demonstration program will serve homeless households
with dependent children. For more information see section I.A.4.w of
this NOFA.
f. Safe Havens (SH) will no longer be given Transitional Housing
(TH) or Permanent Housing (PH) classifications and grantees seeking
renewal will have an opportunity through the 2008 CoC NOFA to change
the classification of their project without a grant amendment. Under
the newly defined Safe Haven SHP program type, any chronically homeless
person entering a Safe Haven will maintain his/her status
[[Page 39841]]
as chronically homeless, and will therefore be eligible for entrance
into Samaritan Housing Initiative projects. For more information on the
characteristics of a Safe Haven see section I.A.x of this NOFA.
g. HUD is aware there has been some confusion over Shelter Plus
Care (S+C) and new SRO grant amounts and is reminding grantees and
applicants that S+C and new SRO grants may not exceed 100 percent of
the Fair Market Rent (FMR) for the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
and unit size.
h. CoCs that are in Hold Harmless Need status may seek to use the
reallocation process to create new dedicated Homeless Management
Information System (HMIS) projects. For more information on Hold
Harmless Need status and the process for reallocating SHP renewal
project funds to new permanent housing and/or HMIS dedicated projects,
see section I.A.4.i of this NOFA.
i. HUD will allow only one applicant for HMIS-dedicated grants
within a CoC.
j. HMIS funds contained in the Training and Technical Assistance
line item of the HMIS budget may be used for travel, hotel, and per
diem costs associated with the provision of technical assistance and
training sessions by local HMIS staff; attendance at training sessions
provided by local HMIS staff and/or outside trainers; attendance at
HUD-sponsored HMIS training sessions or symposiums; attendance at HMIS
vendor-sponsored user meetings; and attendance at other HMIS-related
events as qualified and pre-approved by HUD Headquarters. Applicants
may be asked to identify the number and type of HMIS training sessions
for which they are requesting SHP funds prior to grant agreement. The
approved budget will be limited to the reasonableness of travel
expenses as listed in 24 CFR Parts 84 and 85.
k. HUD may, after selection and subject to funding availability and
as supported by a lease or leases evidencing the rent increase, provide
SHP renewal projects up to a 4% increase in the leasing line item not
to exceed local FMR amounts.
l. HUD will no longer require that applicants/grantees funded for
Tenant-based Rental Assistance, Sponsor-based Rental Assistance, and
Project-based Rental Assistance without rehabilitation begin rental
assistance within twelve (12) months of the date of HUD's grant award
letter. These applicants/grantees and all other applicants/grantees
must continue to meet statutory deadlines regarding the obligation of
grant funds as stated in the HUD appropriations Act.
4. Definitions and Concepts
a. Annual Renewal Amount. The maximum amount that a SHP grant can
receive on an annual basis when renewed. It includes funds for only
those eligible activities (operating, supportive services, leasing,
HMIS and administration) that were funded in the original grant (or the
original grant as amended), less the unrenewable activities
(acquisition, new construction, rehabilitation, and any administration
costs related to these activities). It is used to calculate a CoC's
Hold Harmless Need amount.
To calculate the Annual Renewal Amount (ARA) for SHP grants, add up
the amount of the renewable budget line items (i.e., operating,
supportive services, leasing, HMIS, and administration) for all the
years of the grant being renewed, and divide by the number of years in
the grant term. Any funding for acquisition, rehabilitation, new
construction--and any administration costs related to these
activities--is not renewable. If the grant included these activities,
administrative costs may only be calculated on 5 percent of the total
of the eligible leasing, operating, HMIS, and supportive services costs
contained in the initial grant. For example, if the initial three-year
grant was for $472,500 ($150,000 for new construction, $150,000 for
operating costs, $150,000 for supportive services, and $22,500 for
administration), the new construction costs, and any administration
costs associated with it, would not be eligible for renewal. Thus, the
total renewable amount would be $315,000 ($150,000 for operating costs,
$150,000 for supportive services, and $15,000 for administration) and
the ARA is $105,000 ($315,000 divided by the three-year grant term).
If the initial three-year grant was $315,000 and did not include
acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction costs ($150,000 for
operating costs, $150,000 for supportive services, and $15,000 for
administration), the ARA would be $105,000 ($315,000 divided by the
three-year grant term).
b. Applicant. An entity that applies to HUD for funds. See the CoC
Homeless Assistance Programs Chart in section III.A.1 of this NOFA for
a list of eligible entities. An applicant must submit a SF-424
(Application for Federal Assistance Form). If selected for funding, the
applicant becomes the grantee and is responsible for the overall
management of the grant, including drawing grant funds, distributing
funds to project sponsors, overseeing project sponsors, reporting to
HUD, providing performance data to the CoC for community-level
analysis, and collecting information to provide the CoC with counts of
the homeless through HMIS. Applicants can submit applications for
projects on behalf of project sponsors, who will actually carry out the
proposed project activities. Applicants can also carry out their own
projects. In these cases, the applicant is responsible for both
administering and managing the grant (as the grantee), and carrying out
the project activities (as the project sponsor).
c. Applicant Certification. The form (HUD-2991), required by law,
in which an applicant certifies that it will adhere to certain
statutory requirements, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
d. Central Intake. An assessment hotline, a single point of entry,
a central intake facility or a centralized group of people that is
standardized across the CoC and has the responsibility of assessing
homeless persons as a method for screening homeless individuals and
families into appropriate housing placements and service needs.
e. Chronically Homeless Person. An unaccompanied homeless
individual with a disabling condition who has either been continuously
homeless for a year or more OR has had at least four (4) episodes of
homelessness in the past three (3) years. A disabling condition is
defined as: (1) A disability as defined in section 223 of the Social
Security Act; (2) a physical, mental, or emotional impairment which is
expected to be of long-continued and indefinite duration, substantially
impedes an individual's ability to live independently, and of such a
nature that the disability could be improved by more suitable
conditions; (3) a developmental disability as defined in section 102 of
the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act; (4)
the disease of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or any conditions
arising from the etiological agency for acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome; or (5) a diagnosable substance abuse disorder. The term
``homeless'' in this case means a person sleeping in a place not meant
for human habitation (e.g., living on the streets), in an emergency
homeless shelter, or in a Safe Haven as defined by HUD.
f. Consolidated Plan. A long-term housing and community development
plan developed by state and local governments and approved by HUD (24
CFR part 91). The Consolidated Plan contains information on homeless
populations and should be coordinated with the CoC plan. It can be a
source of information for the Unmet Needs sections of the Housing
Inventory Chart.
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g. Consolidated Plan Certification. The form, required by law, in
which a state or local official certifies that the proposed activities
or projects are consistent with the jurisdiction's Consolidated Plan
and, if the applicant is a state or unit of local government, that the
jurisdiction is following its Consolidated Plan.
h. Continuum of Care. A collaborative funding and planning approach
that helps communities plan for and provide, as necessary, a full range
of emergency, transitional, and permanent housing and other service
resources to address the various needs of homeless persons. HUD also
refers to the group of service providers involved in the decision
making processes as the ``Continuum of Care.''
i. Continuum of Care Hold Harmless Need Reallocation. A CoC whose
Final Pro Rata Need is based on its Hold Harmless Need amount (see
section I.A.4.l.(2) of this NOFA) may reallocate funds in whole or part
from SHP renewal projects to create one or more new permanent housing
projects and/or a new dedicated HMIS project. The Hold Harmless Need
Reallocation process allows eligible CoCs to fund new permanent housing
or dedicated HMIS projects by transferring all or part of funds from
existing SHP grants eligible for renewal (that are expiring between
January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009). These new permanent housing
projects may be for SHP (one, two or three years), S+C (five or ten
years) and section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation (ten years). New HMIS
projects may be for one, two or three years. New permanent housing
projects and dedicated HMIS SHP projects being created through this
process will be funded under the conditional renewal standards
described in section 5.B.2.a.(iii). Like all projects submitted under
the 2008 CoC NOFA, these projects must meet eligibility and quality
standards established by HUD in order to be conditionally selected for
funding. These reallocated funds may not be used to supplement a new
Samaritan Housing Initiative project or a Rapid Re-Housing for Families
Demonstration Project. This Hold Harmless Need Reallocation Process is
not available to a CoC in Preliminary Pro Rata Need Status.
j. Continuum of Care Lead Agency. Agency or organization designated
by the CoC primary decision making body to be the entity that submits
the CoC application.
k. Continuum of Care Lead Agency Contact. Person(s) with the
authority to submit the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Grants
Competition application on behalf of the CoC, usually the Executive
Director or CEO of the CoC Lead Agency.
l. Continuum of Care Need Amounts
(1) Continuum of Care Preliminary Pro Rata Need (PPRN). Amount of
funds a CoC could receive based upon the geography that HUD approves as
belonging to that CoC. To determine the homeless assistance need of a
particular jurisdiction, HUD will use nationally available data,
including the following factors as used in the Emergency Shelter Grants
(ESG) program: data on poverty, housing overcrowding, population, age
of housing, and growth lag. Applying those factors to a particular
jurisdiction provides an estimate of the relative need index for that
jurisdiction compared to other jurisdictions applying for assistance
under the 2008 CoC NOFA. Each year, HUD publishes the PPRN for each
jurisdiction. A CoC's PPRN is determined by adding the published PPRN
of each jurisdiction within the HUD-approved CoC.
(2) Continuum of Care Hold Harmless Need (HHN). The amount of funds
a CoC is eligible to receive where the ARA of all SHP grants expiring
in that CoC during the period beginning January 1, 2009 and ending
December 31, 2009 exceeds the PPRN for that CoC. The HHN is the amount
needed to fund the expiring renewal grants for one year. To provide
communities with maximum flexibility in addressing current needs, CoCs
have the discretion to not fund or to reduce one or more SHP renewal
project applications through the HHN Reallocation process and still
receive the benefit of the hold harmless need amount if the CoC
proposes to use that amount of reduced renewal funds for new permanent
supportive housing or dedicated HMIS SHP projects.
(3) Continuum of Care Final Pro Rata Need (FPRN). The higher amount
of: (1) PPRN and (2) HHN.
m. Continuum of Care Primary Decision Making Group. This group
manages the overall planning effort for the CoC, including, but not
limited to, the following types of activities: setting agendas for full
Continuum of Care meetings, project monitoring, determining project
priorities, and providing final approval for the CoC application
submission. This body is also responsible for the implementation of the
CoC's HMIS, either through direct oversight or through the designation
of an HMIS implementing agency. This group may be the CoC Lead Agency
or may authorize another entity to be the CoC Lead Agency under its
direction.
n. Continuum of Care Registration. A step in the electronic
application process during which time a CoC claims geography and
appoints a CoC Lead Agency that will be responsible for the submission
of the electronic application to HUD. See section I.A.5.b of this NOFA
for a detailed explanation.
o. Current Inventory. A complete listing of the community's HUD-
and non-HUD-funded beds and supportive services.
p. Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS). An HMIS is a
computerized data collection application designed to capture client-
level information over time on the characteristics of service needs of
men, women, and children experiencing homelessness, while also
protecting client confidentiality. It is designed to aggregate client-
level data to generate an unduplicated count of clients served within a
community's system of homeless services. An HMIS may also cover a
statewide or regional area, and include several CoCs. HMIS can provide
data on client characteristics and service utilization.
q. Homeless Person. As defined by the McKinney Act (42 U.S.C
11302), a homeless person is a person sleeping in a place not meant for
human habitation or in an emergency shelter; and a person in
transitional housing for homeless persons who originally came from the
street or an emergency shelter. The programs covered by this NOFA are
not for populations who are at risk of becoming homeless.
r. Housing Emphasis. The relationship between funds requested for
housing activities (i.e., transitional and permanent) and funds
requested for supportive service activities. Housing emphasis will be
calculated on eligible new and renewal projects within FPRN, eligible
Samaritan Housing Initiative projects, eligible Rapid Re-Housing for
Families Demonstration Program projects and eligible S+C renewal
projects. HUD will count as housing activity all approvable requests
for funds for rental assistance and approvable requests for
acquisition, rehabilitation, construction, leasing and operations when
used in connection with housing. HMIS costs and administrative costs
will be excluded from this calculation.
s. Match. Grantees and project sponsors must match SHP funds
provided for acquisition, rehabilitation, and new construction with an
equal amount of cash from other sources. Since SHP by statute can pay
no more than 75 percent of the total operating budget for supportive
housing, agencies must provide at least a 25 percent cash match of the
total annual operating costs. In addition, for all SHP funding
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for supportive services and HMIS, applicants must provide a 20 percent
cash match. This means that of the total supportive services budget
line item, no more than 80 percent may be from SHP grant funds. For
more information see section III.B of the General Section of the
SuperNOFA.
Grantees and project sponsors must match rental assistance provided
through the Shelter Plus Care Program in the aggregate with supportive
services. Shelter Plus Care requires a dollar for dollar match; the
recipient's match source can be cash or in kind.
Documentation of the match requirement must be maintained in the
grantee's financial records on a grant-specific basis.
t. Private Nonprofit Status. Private nonprofit status is documented
by submitting either:
(1) A copy of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruling providing
tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code; or (2)
documentation showing that the applicant is a certified United Way
agency; or (3) a certification from a licensed CPA that no part of the
net earnings of the organization inures to the benefit of any member,
founder, contributor, or individual; that the organization has a
voluntary board; that the organization practices nondiscrimination in
the provision of assistance; and that the organization has a
functioning accounting system that provides for each of the following
(mention each in the certification):
(a) Accurate, current and complete disclosure of the financial
results of each federally sponsored project.
(b) Records that identify adequately the source and application of
funds for federally sponsored activities.
(c) Effective control over and accountability for all funds,
property and other assets.
(d) Comparison of outlays with budget amounts.
(e) Written procedures to minimize the time elapsing between the
transfer of funds to the recipient from the U.S. Treasury and the use
of the funds for program purposes.
(f) Written procedures for determining the reasonableness,
allocability and allowability of costs.
(g) Accounting records, including cost accounting records, which
are supported by source documentation.
u. Project Sponsor. An entity that is responsible for carrying out
the proposed project activities. A project sponsor does not submit an
SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance), unless it is also the
applicant. To be eligible to be a project sponsor, the organization
must meet the same program eligibility standards as applicants, as
outlined in section III.A.1 of this NOFA. The only exception to this
standard is under the Sponsor-based rental assistance (SRA) component
of the S+C Program, where a sponsor must be a private, nonprofit
organization or a community mental health agency established as a
public nonprofit organization; therefore, eligible project sponsors for
this component are statutorily precluded from applying for S+C funding.
v. Public Nonprofit Status. Public nonprofit status is documented
for community mental health centers by including a letter or other
document from the authorized state official stating that the applicant
is organized and in good standing under state law as a public nonprofit
organization.
w. Rapid Re-Housing for Families Demonstration Program. HUD will
implement through the 2008 CoC NOFA a demonstration program for
households with dependent children residing on the street or in
emergency shelters as directed by Congress in the Consolidated
Appropriations Act for 2008 (H.R. 2764). Through this focused effort on
assisting this population, HUD will both learn more about how to best
serve families who are homeless and also contribute to the research
that has already been done in this area.
Each CoC may submit no more than one project under the Rapid Re-
Housing for Families Demonstration Program. That project must have a
grant term of three-years and may request up to 30 percent of the CoC's
PPRN or $2 million, whichever is less. Grants awarded under the Rapid
Re-Housing for Families Demonstration Program will be administered in
accordance with the requirements of the SHP program, TH component, with
the exception that the eligible activities are limited to
administration, leasing (up to 18 months), and supportive services;
that the grantee must participate in the evaluation phase; and that
they must comply with all Rapid Re-Housing Demonstration Program
requirements established in this NOFA. No more than 30 percent of the
total eligible program activities (grant total minus administration
costs up to five percent) may be used for supportive services,
including case management. Eligible supportive services are limited to
housing placement, case management, legal assistance; literacy
training, job training, mental health services, childcare services, and
substance abuse services. Eligible housing activities include leasing
only. One household may receive leasing dollars one time for three to
six months or twelve to fifteen months, as determined at the time of
the assessment. Households are expected to independently sustain
housing, either subsidized or unsubsidized, at the end of the leasing
subsidy; therefore, it is crucial that households are appropriately
assessed. The Rapid Re-Housing Demonstration program will include an
evaluation phase, which will focus on determining the efficacy of the
assessment process and the housing/service intervention related to how
successfully households are able to independently sustain housing after
receiving short-term leasing assistance.
x. Safe Haven. A Safe Haven is a form of supportive housing funded
and administered under the Supportive Housing Program serving hard-to-
reach homeless persons with severe mental illness who are on the
streets and have been unwilling or unable to participate in supportive
services.
All projects classified as Safe Havens (SH) must have the following
characteristics:
(1) Located in a facility, meaning a structure, or structures, or
clearly identifiable portion of a structure or structures;
(2) Provide 24-hour residence for eligible persons who may reside
for an unspecified duration;
(3) Provide private or semiprivate accommodations;
(4) Overnight capacity is limited to no more than 25 persons;
(5) Provide low-demand services and referrals for the residents of
the safe haven;
(6) Prohibit the use of illegal drugs in the facility; and,
(7) Must target homeless individuals with serious and persistent
mental illness, primarily from the streets.
Safe Havens may also provide for the common use of kitchen
facilities, dining rooms, and bathrooms.
New in 2008, any chronically homeless persons entering a Safe
Haven, as defined by above, will maintain their chronically homeless
status, and will therefore be eligible for entrance into Samaritan
Housing Initiative projects.
Grantees with renewal projects submitted in 2008 that are
designated as Safe Haven-Transitional Housing (SH-TH) or Safe-Haven
Permanent Housing (SH-PH) will be required, in 2008, to change the
classification of their project without a grant amendment. Each project
that is currently designated as either a SH-TH or SH-PH will, in the
2008 application, designate itself as either Transitional Housing,
Permanent Housing, or as a Safe Haven depending on its program design.
y. Samaritan Housing Initiative. To qualify for the Samaritan
Housing
[[Page 39844]]
Initiative, each CoC must submit one or more new permanent housing
projects under the Samaritan Housing Initiative (an initiative designed
to develop permanent housing projects that serve exclusively
chronically homeless persons). Each CoC shall be eligible for a
Samaritan Bonus Amount up to 15 percent of the CoC's PPRN amount or $6
million, whichever is less. Samaritan Housing Initiative projects may
be SHP, S+C, or SRO. For projects applying under the SHP, each project
can request no more than 20% of the total of its eligible program
activities (grant total minus administration costs up to five percent)
for case management. Safe Havens do not qualify for the Samaritan Bonus
Initiative.
Rental assistance under the S+C and section 8 Moderate-
Rehabilitation programs is an eligible housing activity under the
Samaritan Housing Initiative.
z. SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. The application
cover sheet required to be submitted by applicants requesting HUD
Federal Assistance.
5. Continuum of Care Processes
a. CoC Planning Process.
(1) A CoC system is developed through a community-wide or region-
wide process involving the coordination of nonprofit organizations
(including those representing persons with disabilities), state and
local government agencies, public housing agencies, community and
faith-based organizations, other homeless providers, service providers,
housing developers, private health care associations, law enforcement
and corrections agencies, school systems, private funding providers,
and homeless or formerly homeless persons to successfully address the
complex and interrelated problems related to homelessness. The 2008 CoC
NOFA emphasizes HUD's determination to integrate and align plans,
including jurisdictional, state, and city ten-year plans
(jurisdictional ten-year plans) encouraged by the U.S. Interagency
Council on Homelessness and Consolidated Plans. These plans serve as a
vehicle for a community to comprehensively identify each of its needs
and to coordinate a plan for addressing them. A CoC should address the
specific needs of each homeless subpopulation: those experiencing
chronic homelessness, veterans, persons with serious mental illnesses,
persons with substance abuse issues, persons with HIV/AIDS, persons
with co-occurring diagnoses (these may include diagnoses of multiple
physical disabilities or multiple mental disabilities or a combination
of these two types), victims of domestic violence, youth, and any
others. To ensure that the CoC system addresses the needs of homeless
veterans, it is particularly important that CoCs involve veteran
service organizations with specific experiencing in serving homeless
veterans.
(2) CoC Geographic Area. In deciding what geographic area a CoC
will cover as part of its CoC strategy, CoCs should be aware that a key
factor in being awarded funding under the 2008 CoC NOFA will be the
strength of a CoC process when measured against the CoC rating factors
described in this NOFA. When a CoC determines what jurisdictions to
include in its CoC strategy area, include only those jurisdictions that
are fully involved in the development and implementation of the CoC
strategy.
The more jurisdictions a CoC includes in the CoC, the larger the
pro rata need share that will be allocated to the strategy area (as
described in section I.A.5.a.(1) and section I.A.5.a.(2) of this NOFA).
If a CoC is located in a rural county, it may wish to consider working
with larger groups of contiguous counties to develop a region-wide or
multi-county CoC strategy covering the combined service areas of these
counties. Areas covered by CoC strategies cannot overlap.
(3) CoC Components. A CoC system typically consists of five basic
elements, as follows:
(a) A system of outreach, engagement, and assessment for
determining the needs and conditions of individuals or families who are
homeless, and necessary support to identify, prioritize, and respond to
persons who are chronically homeless;
(b) Emergency shelters with appropriate supportive services to help
ensure that homeless individuals and families receive adequate
emergency shelter and referral to necessary service providers or
housing search counselors;
(c) Transitional housing with appropriate supportive services to
help homeless individuals and families prepare to make the transition
to permanent housing and independent living;
(d) Permanent housing, or permanent supportive housing, to help
meet the long-term needs of homeless individuals and families; and,
(e) Prevention strategies, which play an integral role in a
community's plan to eliminate homelessness by effectively intervening
for persons at risk of homelessness or those being discharged from
public systems--e.g., corrections, foster care, mental health, and
other institutions--so that they do not enter the homeless system. By
law, prevention activities are ineligible activities in the three
programs included in this NOFA but are eligible for funding under the
Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) program and many other programs.
(4) Regardless of the CoC structure and planning process, the 2008
electronic application process will require that each CoC select up to
two persons, from the CoC Lead Agency, who are authorized to submit the
CoC application and the project applications to HUD.
(5) Once the CoC application has been submitted and scored the CoC
will receive its conditional award. This is the total amount of monies
conditionally awarded to a CoC's eligible projects including, new and
renewal SHP and S+C projects, new SRO Moderate-Rehabilitation projects,
Samaritan Housing Initiative and Rapid Re-Housing for Families
Demonstration projects.
b. CoC Registration Process. CoCs were required to register in the
electronic database, e-snaps, prior to the beginning of the 2008 CoC
competition. For more information on the CoC Registration Process see
73 FR 23483; April 30, 2008.
6. CoC Funding is provided through the programs briefly described
below. Please refer to the CoC Homeless Assistance Programs Eligibility
Chart in section III.A.1 of this NOFA for a more detailed description
of each program:
a. The Supportive Housing Program (SHP) provides funding for the
development and/or operation of transitional housing, permanent
supportive housing, safe havens, and services that help homeless
persons transition from homelessness to living as independently as
possible. Services are also funded to assist in achieving the goal of
self-sufficiency. See section I.A.4.s of this NOFA for SHP match
requirements.
b. The Shelter Plus Care (S+C) Program provides funding for rental
assistance and requires a dollar match in supportive services for every
dollar of rental assistance. This gives applicants flexibility in
devising appropriate housing and supportive services for homeless
persons with disabilities.
c. The Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy
(SRO) Program provides rental assistance on behalf of homeless
individuals in connection with the moderate rehabilitation of SRO
dwellings. The SRO Program has no match requirements.
II. Award Information
A. Amount Allocated. Approximately $1.42 billion is available for
funding.
[[Page 39845]]
Carried over or recaptured funds from previous fiscal years, if
available, may be added to this amount.
B. Distribution of Funds: HUD will not specify amounts for each of
the three programs: SHP, S+C, and section 8/SRO. Instead, the
distribution of funds among the three programs will depend largely on
locally determined priorities and overall demand.
1. Renewals. HUD reserves the authority to conditionally select for
one year of funding eligible SHP renewal projects that fall below the
National Funding Line and would not otherwise receive funding for these
projects. HUD reserves the right to establish a minimum CoC scoring
threshold for these projects. The funding of these renewal projects
allows homeless persons to continue to be served and move towards self-
sufficiency. Not renewing these projects would likely result in the
closure of these projects and displacement of the homeless people being
served. Shelter Plus Care Renewals will continue to be funded outside
of the competitive ranking process, as required in the 2008
Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2764).
2. Grant Terms. See chart in section III.A.1 of this NOFA for
information on the term of assistance for each of the three CoC
programs covered under the 2008 CoC NOFA.
III. Eligibility Information
A. Eligible Applicants
1. Eligible applicants for each program are those identified in the
following chart:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elements Supportive housing Shelter plus care Section 8 SRO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authorizing Legislation.............. Subtitle C of Title IV Subtitle F of Title IV Section 441 of the
of the McKinney-Vento of the McKinney-Vento McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Homeless Assistance Homeless Assistance
Act, 42 U.S.C. 11381. Act, 42 U.S.C. 11403. Act, 42 U.S.C. 11401.
Implementing Regulations............. 24 CFR part 583........ 24 CFR part 582........ 24 CFR part 882,
subpart H, except that
all persons receiving
rental assistance must
meet the McKinney-
Vento definition of
homelessness.
Eligible Applicant(s)................ States........ States........ PHAs.
Units of Units of Private
general local general local nonprofit
government. government. organizations.
Special PHAs. .......................
purpose units of
government, e.g., PHAs.
Private
nonprofit
organizations.
Community
Mental Health Centers
that are public
nonprofit
organizations.
Eligible Component(s)................ Transitional Tenant-based SRO housing.
housing. housing.
Permanent Sponsor-based .......................
housing for disabled housing.
persons only.
Supportive Project-based .......................
services not in housing.
conjunction with
supportive housing.
Safe Havens... SRO-based .......................
housing.
Innovative
supportive housing.
Homeless Mgmt.
Info. System (HMIS).
Eligible Activities. See footnotes 1, Acquisition... Rental Rental
2, and 3. assistance. assistance.
Rehabilitation .......................
including
accessibility
requirements.
New
construction including
accessibility
requirements.
Leasing.
Operating
costs.
Supportive
services.
Eligible Populations. See footnote 2. Homeless Homeless Homeless
individuals and disabled individuals. disabled individuals.
families.
Homeless .......................
individuals & their
families.
Populations Given Special Homeless Homeless N/A.
Consideration. persons with persons who are
disabilities. seriously mentally ill.
Homeless Have chronic .......................
families with children. problems with alcohol
and/or drugs.
Have AIDS & .......................
related diseases.
Initial Term of Assistance. See 2 or 3 years 5 years: TRA, 10 years.
footnote 4. for new SHP. SRA, and PRA without
rehab.
1, 2 or 3 10 years SRO, .......................
years for new HMIS. and PRA with rehab.
1, 2 or 3 .......................
years for new
reallocated projects.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnote 1: Homeless prevention activities are statutorily ineligible under these programs.
Footnote 2: Persons at risk of homelessness are statutorily ineligible for assistance under these programs.
Footnote 3: Acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, leasing, and operating costs are statutorily ineligible
for assistance under Shelter Plus Care and Section 8 SRO.
Footnote 4: The term of a new grant with funds for acquisition, construction or rehabilitation also includes the
time to acquire the property, complete construction and begin operating the project, which may be no greater
than 39 months. A one year initial term may be requested only for HMIS or hold harmless reallocated new
permanent housing projects.
[[Page 39846]]
2. Renewal Applicants. An applicant is eligible to apply for
renewal of a grant only if it has a signed grant agreement for the
project directly with HUD for SHP or S+C programs. Project sponsors or
sub-recipients are not eligible to apply for renewal of these projects.
Reminder, renewal applicants must also have a DUNS number and be
registered in the CCR.
B. Matching
Applicants must meet the match requirements for SHP and S+C
programs. For more information on matching see section I.A.4.s of this
NOFA and/or applicable program regulations.
C. Other Project Eligibility Requirements
1. Eligible Activities. Eligible activities for the SHP, S+C, and
SRO Programs are outlined in the preceding CoC Homeless Assistance
Programs Chart at Section III.A.1 of this NOFA.
2. Threshold Requirements
a. Project Eligibility Threshold. HUD will review all projects to
determine if they meet the following eligibility threshold
requirements. If HUD determines that these standards are not met by a
specific project or activity, the project or activity will be rejected
from the competition.
(1) Applicants and project sponsors must meet the eligibility
requirements of the specific program as described in program
regulations, and provide evidence of eligibility and capacity, and
submit the required certifications as specified in this NOFA.
(2) The population to be served must meet the eligibility
requirements of the specific program as described in the program
regulations, and the application must clearly establish eligibility of
program participants.
(3) The only persons who may be served by permanent housing
projects are those who come from the streets, emergency shelters, safe
havens, or transitional housing. Persons in transitional housing must
have originally come from the streets or emergency shelter. As
participants leave currently operating projects, participants who meet
this eligibility standard must replace them.
(4) Samaritan Housing Initiative Projects and Rapid Re-Housing for
Families Demonstration Projects will have additional eligibility
requirements. The additional eligibility requirements for Samaritan
Housing Initiative Projects are described in section I.A.4.y of this
NOFA. The additional eligibility requirements for Rapid Re-Housing for
Families Demonstration Projects are provided in section III.C.2.a.(12)
of this NOFA.
(5) Projects that involve rehabilitation or new construction must
certify that they will meet the accessibility requirements of section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the design and construction
requirements of the Fair Housing Act and the accessibility requirements
of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as applicable.
(6) The project must be cost-effective, including costs associated
with construction, operations and supportive services with such costs
not deviating substantially from the norm in that locale for the type
of structure or kind of activity.
(7) For those applicants applying for the Innovative component of
SHP, whether or not a project is considered innovative will be
determined on the basis that the particular approach proposed is new
and can be replicated.
(8) Renewal applications must be submitted as part of a CoC
application.
(9) Under the Sponsor-based rental assistance S+C component, an
applicant must subcontract the funding awarded with an eligible project
sponsor: A private nonprofit organization or a community mental health
agency established as a public nonprofit organization that owns or
leases the housing where participants will reside.
(10) For the section 8 SRO program, only individuals meeting HUD's
definition of homeless are eligible to receive rental assistance.
Therefore, any individual occupying a unit at commencement of the
unit's rehabilitation will not receive rental assistance if they return
to their unit (or any other) upon completion of its rehabilitation.
(11) Applicants agree to participate in a local HMIS system when it
is implemented in their community.
(12) Applicants for Rapid Re-Housing for Families Demonstration
Programs must meet the following additional project eligibility
thresholds.
(a) The CoC in which the applicant is applying must have
centralized intake as defined in this NOFA (see section I.A.4.) for
households with dependent children.
(b) The population to be served must be households with dependent
children who have lived in emergency shelters or on the streets for at
least seven consecutive days, must be able to independently sustain
housing at the end of the short-term housing assistance, and must have
at least one moderate barrier to housing. A moderate barrier to housing
is defined as:
(i) A financial strain that is not ongoing and will not impact the
ability to independently sustain housing once re-housed (in subsidized
or unsubsidized housing);
(ii) Inadequate employment or a loss of employment. The family most
appropriate for this demonstration should have, or be willing to
obtain, employment that increases the income of the household to such a
degree that it can independently sustain housing at the end of the
short-term housing assistance;
(iii) Inadequate childcare resources;
(iv) A head of household with a low level of education or low
command of the English language, but who is willing to obtain the
language skills and/or education level necessary to obtain employment
and maintain housing;
(v) Legal problems. HUD leaves it to the discretion of the
individual communities to determine which legal problems it is able to
address;
(vi) Mental health diagnosis that do not greatly impact the
household's ability to independently sustain housing;
(vii) A history of substance abuse, without any active use;
(viii) Poor rental history, including up to three evictions; and,
(ix) Poor credit history.
(c) The agency must have one assessment tool that it uses to assess
all families.
b. Project Quality Threshold. HUD will review new projects,
including those requested as part of HHN Reallocation, to determine if
they meet the following quality threshold requirements with clear and
convincing evidence. A S+C or SHP project renewal will be considered as
having met these requirements through its previously approved grant
application unless information to the contrary is received. The housing
and services proposed must be appropriate to the needs of the program
participants and the community. HUD will assess the following:
(1) That the type, scale and general location of the housing fit
the needs of the participants and that the housing is readily
accessible to community amenities.
(2) That the type, scale and location of the supportive services
fit the needs of the participants and the mode of transportation to
those services is described.
(3) That the specific plan for ensuring clients will be
individually assisted to obtain the benefits of the mainstream health,
social service, and employment programs for which they are eligible is
provided.
[[Page 39847]]
(4) How participants are helped to obtain and remain in permanent
housing is described.
(5) How participants are assisted to both increase their incomes
and live independently using mainstream housing and service programs is
described.
(6) Applicants and project sponsors must evidence satisfactory
performance for existing grant(s).
(7) For expansion projects, applicants must clearly articulate the
part of the project that is the expansion.
(8) In addition to meeting the quality threshold standards above,
applicants for Rapid Re-Housing for Homeless Families Demonstration
projects must meet the following quality threshold standards:
(a) The applicant's experience in forming relationships with
landlords and maintaining an affordable housing stock is described.
(b) The type, scale, and general location of the centralized intake
meets the needs of the participants is provided.
(c) The specific plan for assessing households with dependent
children and for ensuring that all households are placed in appropriate
housing is described.
(d) The applicant's connection with mainstream, community based
social services is described.
(e) The applicant and project sponsors must evidence satisfactory
performance for existing projects serving homeless households with
dependent children and existing Rapid Re-Housing for Families projects.
c. Project Renewal Threshold. A CoC must consider the need to
continue funding for projects expiring in calendar year 2009. HUD will
not fund competitive renewals out of order on the priority list except
as may be necessary to achieve statutory, regulatory or NOFA funding
requirements as detailed in this NOFA. It is important that SHP
renewals and S+C non-competitive renewals meet minimum project
eligibility, capacity and performance standards identified in this NOFA
or they will be rejected from consideration for either competitive or
non-competitive funding.
d. Civil Rights Thresholds: Applicants and the project sponsors
must be in compliance with the threshold requirements of the General
Section of the SuperNOFA.
3. Program Requirements
a. Under section 808(e)(5) of the Fair Housing Act, HUD has a
statutory duty to affirmatively further fair housing. HUD requires the
same of its funding recipients. If you are a successful applicant, you
will have a duty to affirmatively further fair housing when providing
housing and housing related services for classes protected under the
Fair Housing Act. As successful applicants you required to certify that
they will comply with the requirements of the Fair Housing Act (42
U.S.C. 3601-19), Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.
2000d), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794),
and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101), and will
affirmatively further fair housing. You are also required to comply
with the program regulations regarding affirmatively furthering fair
housing. Instead of the actions for affirmatively further fair housing
in the General Section of the SuperNOFA, successful applicants must
affirmatively further fair housing by requiring each project sponsor to
(a) adopt actions and procedures and maintain records of the
implementation of the actions and procedures taken to affirmatively
further fair housing; (b) make information available on the existence
and location of facilities and services that are accessible to persons
with a disability; and (c) ensure that reasonable steps are taken to
inform all eligible persons on the availability of the project so that
they may apply for the housing or services provided.
b. Local Resident Employment. To the extent that any housing
assistance (including rental assistance) funded through the 2008 CoC
NOFA is used for housing rehabilitation (including reduction and
abatement of lead-based paint hazards, but excluding routine
maintenance, repair, and replacement) or housing construction, then it
is subject to section 3 of the Housing and Urban Rehabilitation Act of
1968, and the implementing regulations at 24 CFR Part 135. Section 3,
as amended, requires that economic opportunities generated by certain
HUD financial assistance for housing and community development programs
shall, to the greatest extent feasible, be given to low- and very low-
income persons, particularly those who are recipients of government
assistance for housing, and to businesses that provide economic
opportunities for these persons.
c. Relocation. The SHP, S+C, and SRO programs are subject to the
requirements of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property
Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as amended (URA). These requirements
are explained in HUD Handbook 1378, Tenant Assistance, Relocation and
Real Property Acquisition. Also see General Section of the SuperNOFA.
d. Environmental Reviews. All CoC assistance is subject to the
National Environmental Policy Act and applicable related Federal
environmental authorities. Conditional selection of projects under the
CoC Homeless Assistance competition is subject to the environmental
review requirements of 24 CFR 582.230, 583.230 and 882.804(c), as
applicable. The recipient, its project partners and their contractors
may not acquire, rehabilitate, convert, lease (under S+C/TRA where
participants are required to live in a particular structure or area as
described in section III.C.3.g(3)(a) of this NOFA), repair, dispose of,
demolish or construct property for a project under this CoC NOFA, or
commit or expend HUD or local funds for such eligible activities, until
the responsible entity has completed the environmental review
procedures required by Part 58 and the environmental certification and
Request for Release of Funds (RROF) have been approved or HUD has
performed an environmental review under Part 50 and the recipient has
received HUD approval of the property. The expenditure or commitment of
Continuum of Care assistance or non-federal funds for such activities
prior to this HUD approval may result in the denial of assistance for
the project under consideration. If the program receiving HUD
assistance is exclusively for the provision of services and none of the
above stated activities are included, and the services provided meet
the requirements of an exemption or exclusion listed at 24 CFR 58.34 or
58.35(b), the responsible entity may determine and record that no
further environmental review is required, citing the appropriate
exemption or exclusion.
e. Expiring/Extended Grants. If a SHP or S+C grant will be expiring
in calendar year 2009, or if a S+C Program grant has been extended
beyond its original five-year term and is projected to run out of funds
in FY 2009, a grantee may apply for a renewal under the 2008 CoC NOFA
to receive continued funding. Generally, if a renewal project is not
awarded funding in 2008, then the project will not be allowed to extend
its grant to apply in the 2009 competition.
f. Promoting Energy Efficiency and Energy Star. In keeping with the
Administration's policy priority of promoting energy efficient housing
while protecting the environment, applicants applying for new
construction or rehabilitation funding, who maintain housing or
community facilities or provide services in those facilities, are
encouraged to promote energy efficiency and are specifically
[[Page 39848]]
encouraged to purchase and use Energy Star-labeled products. Refer to
the General Section of the SuperNOFA for detailed information about
this policy priority.
g. Program-Specific Requirements. Please be advised that where an
applicant for the SHP funding is a state or unit of general local
government that utilizes one or more nonprofit project sponsor(s) to
administer the homeless assistance project(s), administrative funds
provided as part of the SHP grant must be passed on to the nonprofit
organization(s) in proportion to the administrative burden borne by
them for the SHP project(s). HUD will consider states or units of
general local government that pass on at least 50 percent of the
administrative funds made available under the grant as having met this
requirement. This requirement does not apply to either the SRO Program,
since only PHAs administer the SRO rental assistance, or to the S+C
Program, since paying the costs associated with the administration of
these grants is ineligible by regulation.
New this year, HUD will award funds to rehabilitate leased
property. However, certain conditions must be met during Technical
Submission and, if they are not met, the award will be withdrawn. The
recipient must have a lease for 25 or more years with a landowner that
is not the applicant, the project sponsor, a parent or affiliated
organization and must submit it to HUD for approval. The landowner must
execute and record against the land the lease and the HUD form Use and
Repayment Covenant. Under certain circumstances, where the useful life
of the improvements is greater than 25 years, the recipient may be
required to repay the residual value of the improvements.
(1) SHP--New Projects:
(a) Please note that applicants for new grants can request 2 or 3
years worth of funds for operating, supportive services and leasing
costs and that the grant term will be the 2 or 3 years requested.
However, if an applicant also requests funds for acquisition,
construction or rehabilitation, the grant term will be the 2 or 3
years, plus the time to acquire the property, complete construction and
begin operating the project (no greater than 39 months). The two
exceptions to this rule are: (1) New permanent housing projects and
HMIS projects proposed under HHN Reallocation may request one year of
funding; and (2) new HMIS projects may request one year of funding.
(b) HUD will require recordation of a HUD-approved use and
repayment covenant (a form may be obtained from the field office) for
all grants of funds for acquisition, rehabilitation or new
construction. The covenant will enforce the use and repayment
requirements found at section 423(b)(1) and (c) of the McKinney-Vento
Act and must be approved by HUD counsel before execution and
recordation. Proof of recordation must be provided to HUD counsel
before funds for rehabilitation or new construction may be drawn down.
(c) All project sponsors must meet applicant eligibility standards
as described in section III.A.1 of this NOFA. As in past years, HUD
will review project sponsor eligibility as part of the threshold review
process. Project sponsors for new projects are required to submit
evidence of their eligibility with the application.
(2) SHP--Renewal Projects
(a) For the renewal of a SHP project, applicants from a CoC whose
final FPRN is based on PPRN may request funding for one (1), two (2) or
three (3) years; whereas applicants from a CoC whose FPRN is based upon
HHN may request funding for only one (1) year.
(b) The total request for each renewable project cannot exceed the
Annual Renewal Amount received in the current grant for that project.
Because capital costs cannot be renewed, grants being renewed whose
original expiring award included ``hard'' development costs
(acquisition, new construction, and rehab) may only renew eligible line
items and cannot exceed five percent to be used for administration
costs. For more information on the Annual Renewal Amount see section
I.A.4.a of this NOFA.
(c) HUD will recapture SHP grant funds remaining unspent at the end
of the previous grant period when it renews a grant.
(3) S+C--New Projects
(a) A project may not include more than one component, e.g.,
combining Tenant-based Rental Assistance (TRA) with Sponsor-based
Rental Assistance (SRA) is prohibited within the same grant. Under the
TRA component, in order to help provide supportive services or for the
purposes of controlling housing costs, a grantee may require
participants to live in a particular structure for the first year of
assistance or to live in a particular area for the entire rental
assistance period. Where this option is exercised, an environmental
review and clearance must be performed prior to any commitment to lease
a particular structure or unit for participant occupancy as described
in section III.C.3.d of this NOFA, Environmental Reviews.
(b) S+C/SRO Component. If an applicant is a state or a unit of
general local government, that applicant must subcontract with a public
housing agency to administer the S+C assistance. Also, no single
project may contain more than 100 units.
(c) S+C SRA Component. Project sponsors must submit proof of their
eligibility to serve as a project sponsor.
(d) Requested amounts must be based on the applicable 2008 FMRs and
cannot exceed 100 percent of the FMR.
(e) The Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act (42 U.S.C. 4821-
4846), the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992
(42 U.S.C. 4851-4856), and the relevant subparts of the implementing
regulations at 24 CFR Part 35, such as subparts A, B, J, and R apply to
activities under this grant program.
(4) S+C Renewal Projects. HUD encourages the consolidation of
appropriate S+C renewal grants when the grants are under the same
grantee, have the same component and expire in the same year. However,
renewal requests for expiring S+C grants that have not yet been
combined should submit separate project applications (Exhibit 2) as
individual renewal grants. Where the grantee wishes to consolidate the
renewal grants, this action will be subsequently accomplished by the
field office at the point of renewal grant agreement execution. The
field office will receive instructions for this process in the S+C
Operating Procedures guidance for 2008 awards.
(a) For the renewal of a S+C project, including S+C/SROs, the grant
term will be one (1) year, as specified by Congress. For S+C grants
having been awarded one year of renewal funding in 2007, the number of
units requested for renewal this year must not exceed the number of
units funded in 2007. As is the case with SHP, HUD will recapture S+C
grant funds remaining unspent at the end of the previous grant period
when it renews a grant. The one-year term of non-competitively awarded
S+C renewal projects may not be extended.
(b) For the first time renewal of S+C rental assistance that is
Tenant-based (TRA), Sponsor-based (SRA), or Project-based (PRA), an
applicant may request up to the amount determined by multiplying the
number of units under lease at the time of the application for renewal
funding by the applicable 2008 Fair Market Rent(s) by 12 months. For
S+C grants awarded one-year of renewal funding in 2007, the number of
units requested for renewal this year may not exceed the number of
units funded in 2007. For first-time S+C/SRO renewals,
[[Page 39849]]
the number of units must not exceed the number of units under grant
agreement and Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract.
Current FMRs can be found at http://www.huduser.org. Requested
amounts must be based on the applicable 2008 FMRs and cannot exceed 100
percent of the FMR.
(c) Under the FY 2008 HUD Appropriations Act, eligible S+C Program
grants whose terms are expiring in 2009 and S+C Program grants that
have been extended beyond their original five-year terms but which are
projected to run out of funds in 2009, will be renewed for one year
provided that they are determined to be needed by the CoC. These
projects must also demonstrate that applicants and project sponsors
meet eligibility, capacity and performance requirements described in
this NOFA. Non-competitive S+C renewals should be submitted by the
application deadline. A CoC's FPRN does not include S+C renewals since
these projects are being funded outside of the competition.
(d) The Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act (42 U.S.C. 4821-
4846), the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992
(42 U.S.C. 4851-4856), and the relevant subparts of the implementing
regulations at 24 CFR Part 35, such as subparts A, B, J, and R apply to
activities under this grant program.
(5) Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation SRO Program--New Projects. As
an applicant, the following limitations apply to the section 8 SRO
program:
(a) SRO assistance may not be provided to more than 100 units in
any structure.
(b) Under 24 CFR 882.802, applicants that are private nonprofit
organizations must subcontract with a public housing agency to
administer the SRO assistance.
(c) Under 24 CFR 882.802, rehabilitation must involve a minimum
expenditure of $3,000 for a unit, including its prorated share of work
to be accomplished on common areas or systems, to upgrade conditions to
comply with HUD's physical condition standards in 24 CFR Part 5,
subpart G.
(d) Under section 441(e) of the McKinney-Vento Act and 24 CFR
882.805(d)(1), HUD publishes the SRO per unit rehabilitation cost limit
each year to take into account changes in construction costs. This cost
limitation applies to eligible rehabilitation costs that may be
compensated for in the Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract
rents. For purposes of Fiscal Year 2008 funding, the cost limitation is
raised from $21,000 to $21,500 per unit to take into account increases
in construction costs during the past 12-month period.
(e) The SRO Program is subject to the Federal standards at 24 CFR
Part 882, subpart H.
(f) Individuals assisted through the SRO Program must meet the
definition of homeless individual found at section 103 of the McKinney-
Vento Act.
(g) Resources outside the program pay for the rehabilitation, and
rehabilitation financing. The rental assistance covers operating
expenses of the SRO housing, including debt service for rehabilitation
financing. Units may contain food preparation or sanitary facilities or
both.
(h) Requested amounts must be based on the applicable 2008 FMRs and
cannot exceed 100 percent of the FMR.
(6) Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation SRO Program--Renewals. This
NOFA is not applicable to the renewal of funding under the section 8
SRO program. The renewal of expiring section 8 SRO projects is not part
of the competitive CoC application process. Rather, expiring section 8
SROs will be identified at the beginning of the applicable year by the
public housing agency and HUD field office. One-year renewal funds for
expiring section 8 SRO HAP contracts will be provided by HUD under a
separate, non-competitive process. For further guidance on section 8
SRO renewals, please contact the local HUD field office.
IV. Application and Submission Information
A. Addresses To Request Application Package
The electronic system will provide a submission summary that lists
the elements required to complete the application. A CoC will not be
able to submit an application to HUD until all required elements are
completed. The application may be accessed at http://www.hud.gov/esnaps.
An applicant may obtain a copy of the General Section of the
SuperNOFA and this NOFA online at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/gov/fundsavail.cfm. Please note that all sections of the General Section of
the SuperNOFA are critical and must be carefully reviewed to ensure an
application can be considered for funding, with the exception of
reference to the Grants.gov application process. The Continuum of Care
program will be using an electronic system outside of Grants.gov.
Applicants will still be required to register with Dun and Bradstreet,
if they have not already done so, and complete or renew their
registration in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). Applicants
are still encouraged to sign up for the Grants.gov notification service
as the availability of the 2008 Continuum of Care application will be
released via this Web site.
B. Content and Form of Application Submission
The only option for submitting a viable application under this NOFA
is to submit the entire Continuum of Care application, with all of its
projects. Each application will consist of one Continuum of Care
Exhibit (Exhibit 1) and submissions from one or more applicants and
project sponsors (Exhibits 2). HUD will not accept any projects not
connected to a community-wide or region-wide CoC. The General Section
of the SuperNOFA contains certifications that the applicant will comply
with fair housing and civil rights requirements, program regulations,
and other Federal requirements, and (where applicable) that the
proposed activities are consistent with the HUD-approved Consolidated
Plan of the applicable state or unit of general local government.
1. Continuum of Care Application Submission Requirements
a. A completed application for a CoC will include one Exhibit 1
(CoC) and any number of Exhibits 2, depending on the number of projects
and the type of programs proposed for funding. For example, if your CoC
is proposing five SHP Renewal projects and one S+C New project, then
the CoC would submit one Exhibit 1 and six Exhibits 2.
b. Each CoC must submit the entire CoC application. The application
will include the following parts, which will be submitted
electronically either through a database or as an uploaded attachment
(For more information see the Training on e-snaps at http://esnaps.hudhre.info/training/):
(1) Exhibit 1 Charts, Narratives and Attachments, including:
(a) HUD-40090-1: the CoC plan with all charts completed as
applicable;
(b) HUD-27300, America's Affordable Communities Initiative/Removal
of Regulatory Barriers with supporting documentation;
(c) HUD-2994-A, You Are Our Client! Grant Application Survey
(optional).
(2) Applicant Documents, including:
(a) SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance. Submit one SF-424
for each applicant applying for one or more projects in the CoC. Each
SF-424 must also include the applicant's DUNS number. Please see the
General Section of the SuperNOFA for more information on obtaining a
DUNS number and CCR Registration.
[[Page 39850]]
(b) The SF-424 Supplement, Survey on Ensuring Equal Opportunities
for Applicants, is for private nonprofit applicants only and
completion/submission of this survey is voluntary.
(c) Documentation of Applicant Eligibility. All applicants must
attach documentation of eligibility as defined in the chart in section
III.A.3 of this NOFA. Also see section I.A.8.m & o of this NOFA for
information on the documentation required to validate non-profit
status.
(d) SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying of Activities, must be attached
as applicable.
(e) Applicant Code of Conduct. All applicants for HUD funding must
have a Code of Conduct on file with HUD. An applicant is prohibited
from receiving an award of funds from HUD if it fails to meet this
requirement for a Code of Conduct. An applicant who previously
submitted an application and included a copy of its code of conduct
will not be required to submit another copy if the applicant is listed
on HUD's Web site: http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/codeofconduct/cconduct.cfm, and if the information has not been revised. An applicant
not listed on the Web site must attach a copy of its Code of Conduct
with its FY2008 CoC application. An applicant must also include a copy
of its Code of Conduct if the information listed on the above Web site
has changed (e.g., the person who submitted the previous application is
no longer your authorized organization representative, the organization
has changed its legal name or merged with another organization, or the
address of the organization has changed, etc.). See the General Section
of the SuperNOFA for additional information on Code of Conduct
requirements.
(f) HUD 40090-4, Applicant Certifications.
(3) Exhibit 2 Charts, Narratives and Attachments, including:
(a) HUD-40090-2: the Project application with charts and narratives
completed as applicable;
(b) Only sponsors for new projects must include information related
to eligibility as defined in the chart in section III.A.3 of this NOFA.
See also section I.A.8.n of this NOFA for information on the
documentation required to validate sponsor eligibility.
(b) HUD-96010, Program Outcome Logic Model must be attached for
each project (for Logic Model instructions, see the General Section of
the SuperNOFA);
(c) HUD-2880, Applicant/Recipient Disclosure/Update Report must be
attached for each project; and;
(d) HUD-2991, Certification of Consistency with Consolidated Plan.
C. Submission Dates and Times
1. Application Deadline Date
a. HUD strongly suggests that CoCs require applicants applying for
one or more projects to submit completed electronic Exhibit 2 project
application(s) to the CoC on or before August 15, 2008 to allow for
ample time for the CoC to review and process these applications prior
to the submission deadline.
b. Each CoC must submit its completed application to HUD on or
before 4 p.m. EDT on the deadline date. At 4:01 p.m. EDT the electronic
system will be closed. The deadline is during business hours so that
CoCs may access Help Desk resources until the application system is
closed.
c. CoCs must print a copy of the Submission Summary before closing
their browser after the CoC application has been submitted to HUD. This
is your receipt of submission and proof of compliance with the
submission deadline. Applicants whose applications are determined to be
late, who cannot provide HUD with a record of submission that verifies
the application was submitted prior to the submissions deadline date
and time will not receive funding consideration.
d. HUD strongly suggests that each CoC and all project applicants
utilize the ``Export to PDF'' functionality of e-snaps to print a hard
copy of all submission documents for their records.
D. Intergovernmental Review
Not Applicable.
E. Funding Restrictions
Not Applicable.
F. Other Submission Requirements
1. Waiver of Electronic Submission Requirements. The regulatory
framework of HUD's electronic submission requirement is the final rule
established in 24 CFR 5.1005. CoCs seeking a waiver of the electronic
submission requirement must request a waiver in accordance with 24 CFR
5.1005. HUD's regulations allow for a waiver of the electronic
submission requirement for good cause. For the 2008 Continuum of Care
competition, HUD is defining good cause as follows: (1) There are no
computers that could be used by applicants and/or the CoC Lead Agency
that are newer than 5 years anywhere within the CoC, or (2) there are
no computers that could be used by applicants and/or the CoC Lead
Agency anywhere within the CoC, or (3) there is no Internet access that
could be used by applicants and/or the CoC Lead Agency anywhere within
the CoC. HUD will grant waivers only at the CoC level and not at the
individual project applicant level, and only to CoCs that were
validated by HUD during the required CoC Registration process. If the
waiver is granted, the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs'
response will include instructions on how many copies of the paper
application must be submitted, as well as where to submit them. CoCs
that are granted a waiver of the electronic submission requirement will
not be afforded additional time to submit their applications.
Therefore, CoCs seeking a waiver of the electronic submission
requirement should submit their waiver request with sufficient time to
allow HUD to process and respond to the request. CoCs should also allow
themselves sufficient time to submit their application so that HUD
receives the application by the established deadline date. For this
reason, HUD strongly recommends that if a CoC finds it cannot submit
its application electronically and must seek a waiver of the electronic
grant submission requirement, it should submit the waiver request to
the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs no later than 30 days
after the publication date of this NOFA. To expedite the receipt and
review of such requests, CoCs may fax their written requests to Ann
Marie Oliva, Director, at (202) 401-0805. If HUD does not have
sufficient time to process the waiver request, a waiver will not be
granted. Paper applications received without a prior approved waiver
and/or after the established deadline will not be considered.
V. Application Review Information
A. Criteria
1. Criteria for Scoring the CoC Application
HUD will award up to 100 points as follows:
a. CoC Housing, Services, and Structure: HUD will award 14 points
based on the extent to which a CoC's application demonstrates:
(1) The existence of a coordinated, inclusive, and outcome-oriented
community process, including organizational structure(s) and decision-
making processes for developing and implementing a CoC strategy;
(2) That this process includes nonprofit organizations (such as
veterans service organizations, organizations representing persons with
disabilities, faith-based and other community-based organizations, and
other groups serving homeless and other low-income persons), state and
local
[[Page 39851]]
governmental agencies, public housing agencies, housing developers and
service providers, school systems, law enforcement, hospital and
medical entities, funding providers, private businesses and business
associations, jurisdictional ten-year planning bodies, and homeless or
formerly homeless persons;
(3) That the CoC has a process in place to achieve fair and
impartial project review and selection, with representation and input
from diverse parties such as those outlined under Criteria for
Application Review (See section V.B.1 of this NOFA);
(4) That a well-defined and comprehensive strategy has been
developed which addresses the components of a CoC system (i.e. ,
outreach, intake and assessment, emergency shelter, transitional
housing, permanent supportive housing, and prevention), and that the
strategy has been designed to serve all homeless subpopulations in the
community (e.g., seriously mentally ill, persons with multiple
diagnoses, veterans, persons with HIV/AIDS), including those persons
living in emergency shelters, supportive housing for homeless persons,
or in places not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular
sleeping accommodation for human beings; and,
(5) A CoC has created, maintained, and built upon a community-wide
inventory of housing and services for homeless families and individuals
(both HUD and non-HUD funded); identified the full spectrum of needs of
homeless families and individuals; and coordinated efforts to fill gaps
between the current inventory and existing needs. The coordinated
effort must appropriately address all aspects of the continuum,
especially permanent housing.
b. Homeless Needs and Data Collection: HUD will award 24 points
based on the extent to which a CoC's application demonstrates an
understanding of the number of homeless individuals and families within
the CoC and their needs, and the progress in the planning,
implementation and operation of an HMIS system covering at a minimum
all street outreach, emergency shelters and transitional housing
programs so that a reliable, unduplicated count of homeless persons on
the street and in shelters may be conducted. CoCs are cautioned to
carefully read HUD guidance on the timing, and acceptable methods, for
conducting Sheltered and Unsheltered Point-in-Time (PIT) counts to
ensure maximum points. Waivers of the PIT standard for FY 2008 must be
received by the submission deadline. To request a waiver, send a
written request to 451 7th St., SW., Room 7262, Washington, DC 20410,
Attn: Michael Roanhouse.
c. CoC Strategic Planning: HUD will award 16 points based on the
extent to which a CoC's application demonstrates:
(1) The existence of, and alignment with, a performance-based 10-
year strategy for ending chronic homelessness that establishes specific
action steps to achieve the five objectives listed in section VI.B.1.a,
with measurable achievements. It should be integrated with other ten-
year plans in the community to eliminate chronic homelessness (if
applicable), the local HUD Consolidated Plan, and other state and local
plans related to homelessness;
(2) The Continuum's progress in working with the appropriate local
government entity to develop and implement a discharge policy for
persons leaving publicly funded institutions or systems of care (such
as health care facilities, foster care or other youth facilities, or
correction programs and institutions) in order to prevent such
discharge from immediately resulting in persons entering the homeless
system;
(3) Proposes projects that are consistent with identified unmet
needs;
(4) Provides estimates of renewal funds needed through 2013 for SHP
and S+C projects; and,
(5) Demonstrates leveraging of funds requested under this NOFA with
other resources, including private, other public, and mainstream
services and housing programs for proposed projects and ongoing
efforts.
d. CoC Performance: HUD will award 28 points based upon the CoC's
progress in reducing homelessness, including chronic homelessness. CoC
Performance will be measured by demonstrating:
(1) That the CoC has taken specific action steps and made progress
toward achieving its goals;
(2) That the CoC has increased the number of permanent housing beds
for the chronically homeless and made progress toward eliminating
chronic homelessness;
(3) Program participants' success in moving to and maintaining
permanent housing as reported in the most recent Annual Progress Report
(APR);
(4) The extent to which participants successfully become employed
and access mainstream programs. These measures emphasize HUD's
determination to assess grantees' performance in the prior program year
and to determine if they are meeting the overall goal of the homeless
assistance grants under which they are funded. Both housing and
supportive services-only projects will be assessed;
(5) That the CoC has no unexecuted grants awarded prior to 2007;
(6) That projects within the CoC have policies and practices in
place to hire, and have hired, low and very-low income employees and
subcontractors under Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act
of 1968;
(7) That projects within the CoC incorporate energy-efficiency
measures in the design, construction, rehabilitation, and operation of
housing or community facilities; and,
(8) The Removal of Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing: As
provided for in the General Section of the SuperNOFA, HUD will award up
to 2 points, within the 28 points for this rating factor, based on the
extent to which the CoC's application demonstrates a local plan and/or
existing policy to remove regulatory barriers to the production of
affordable housing. Applicable activities include the support of state
and local efforts to streamline processes, eliminate redundant
requirements, statutes, regulations, and codes that impede the
availability of affordable housing. The response (one questionnaire per
CoC) should be submitted for consideration as a completed HUD Form
27300, Questionnaire for HUD's Removal of Regulatory Barriers. The
Continuum should submit the questionnaire for the local jurisdiction
where the majority of its CoC assistance will be provided. The
completed questionnaire must include appropriate documentation, where
requested, and identify a point of contact.
e. Emphasis on Housing Activities: HUD will award 18 points based
on the relationship between funds requested for housing activities
(i.e., transitional and permanent) and funds requested for supportive
service activities among renewed projects. HUD will count as housing
activity all approvable requests for funds for rental assistance and
approvable requests for acquisition, rehabilitation, construction,
leasing and operations when used in connection with housing. HMIS costs
and administrative costs will be excluded from this calculation. CoCs
are not required to have 100 percent housing activities to receive the
full 18 points for this scoring criteria.
2. Criteria for Scoring of Rapid Re-Housing for Families
Demonstration Projects. All projects applying for the Rapid Re-Housing
for Families Demonstration Program will be considered for funding based
upon the following review, ranking, and
[[Page 39852]]
conditional selection process. HUD will award up to 100 points (as
described below) and add this score to the CoC score to determine the
project's final score.
a. Applicant Experience in Operating Rapid Re-Housing for Families
Projects: HUD will award up to 25 points based upon the applicant's
ability to demonstrate:
(1) Previous, specific agency and staff experience operating Rapid
Re-Housing projects for homeless households with dependent children
and/or agency and staff experience operating traditional housing
programs for homeless households with dependent children.
(2) That performance for previous projects serving households with
dependent children and/or Rapid Re-Housing for Families projects was
measured.
b. Assessment Process: HUD will award up to 20 points based upon
the applicant's ability to demonstrate:
(1) Appropriate criteria for determining whether a family is
eligible for the demonstration project (see section III.C.2.a.(11) of
this NOFA).
(2) The types of services and referrals that will be made to
households based upon the assessment, regardless of whether the family
is eligible for the demonstration program, is described.
(3) A single homeless family assessment tool (that is attached to
the application) that is used across the entire CoC.
c. Applicant Relationship with Mainstream Community Social
Services: HUD will award up to 15 points based upon an applicant's
ability to demonstrate that it has a variety of mainstream, community-
based social services with which it routinely connects, including any
with which it has Memorandums of Understanding or formal agreements.
d. Applicant Ability to Maintain an Affordable Housing Stock: HUD
will award up to 15 points based upon an applicant's ability to
demonstrate:
(1) A formalized process for providing outreach to local landlords
that is already used across the CoC.
(2) A process through which the applicant already maintains
relationships with local landlords.
(3) A formalized protocol for dealing with conflicts between
landlords and program participants.
(4) A system in place to locate landlords for participation in the
project and to track the units that may be leased with grant funds
(i.e., a Web-based housing locator, distribution list).
e. CoCs Centralized Intake for Households with Dependent Children:
HUD will award up to 20 points based upon an applicant's ability to
demonstrate that centralized intake (see section I.A.4.d of this NOFA)
exists for households with dependent children within the CoC that is
well advertised to the community and easily accessible by households
with dependent children.
f. CoCs HMIS Bed Coverage Rate for Households with Dependent
Children: HUD will award up to 5 points on a sliding scale for a CoCs
HMIS coverage of emergency shelters serving households with dependent
children. Full points will be awarded if a CoC has a bed coverage rate
(the total number of emergency shelter beds for households with
dependent children entered into the HMIS as listed in the Housing
Inventory Chart divided by the total number of year-round emergency
shelter beds for households with dependent children from the Housing
Inventory Chart--not including the total number of beds provided by
domestic violence providers) of at least 65 percent for emergency
shelters serving households with dependent children. In the case of a
tie between projects, preference will be given to those communities who
participated in AHAR 3.
h. Geographic Diversity. HUD has determined that geographic
diversity is an appropriate consideration in selecting projects for the
Rapid Re-Housing for Families Demonstration Program. To this end, HUD
reserves the right to fund eligible project(s) with the highest total
score in each of the 10 HUD regions. In making this determination, HUD
will also consider population to ensure that urban and rural
communities are selected.
B. CoC and Project Review and Selection Process
1. Review, Rating, and Ranking
Two types of reviews will be conducted--selection criteria rating
for the overall CoC application and threshold review for applicants and
projects. Applicant and Sponsor Eligibility and Capacity as well as
Project Eligibility and Project Quality are threshold reviews.
Threshold reviews are explained in section III.C.2 of this NOFA, which
covers eligible applicants and projects. The projects will then be
ranked nationally from highest to lowest.
(a) HUD may employ rating panels to review and rate all or part of
CoC applications according to the rating criteria in sections V.A.1 and
V.A.2 above. See the General Section of the SuperNOFA for more
information on rating panels.
(b) Threshold Review: Applicant and project sponsor eligibility,
capacity and quality. HUD will review project applications to ensure
that the applicant and project sponsor meet the eligibility and
capacity standards outlined in this Section. If HUD determines these
standards are not met, the project will be rejected from the
competition. General information on eligibility, capacity and
performance standards is below. For more detailed information regarding
eligibility, capacity and performance standards see section
III.C.3.g(4)(c) of this NOFA.
(i) Applicants must be eligible to apply for the specific program.
See section III.A.1 of this NOFA.
(ii) Applicants and project sponsors must demonstrate ability to
carry out the project(s). With respect to each proposed project, this
means that, in addition to knowledge of and experience with
homelessness in general, the organization carrying out the project, its
employees, or its partners, must have the necessary experience and
knowledge to carry out the specific activities proposed, such as
housing development, housing management, and service delivery.
(iii) If an applicant or the project sponsor is a current or past
recipient of assistance under a HUD McKinney-Vento Act program, there
must have been no delay in meeting applicable program timeliness
standards (see section VI.B.3 of this NOFA) unless HUD determines that
the delay in project implementation was beyond the applicant's or the
project sponsor's control, there are no serious unresolved HUD
monitoring findings, and no outstanding audit findings of a material
nature regarding the administration of the program.
2. Conditional Selection and Adjustments to Funding
a. Conditional Selection Priorities.
(i) HUD will fund all eligible one-year Shelter Plus Care renewal
projects.
(ii) HUD will competitively fund up to $23.75 million in Rapid Re-
Housing for Families.
(iii) HUD will fund all SHP renewal projects and HMIS new projects
for at least one year if they are within a CoC's Final Pro Rata Need
(HUD has determined that the Congressional goal of enhancing homeless
data collection at the CoC level is best achieved by assisting CoCs
seeking dedicated Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) to
receive Supportive Housing Program funds. To this end, HUD reserves the
right to fund, for at least one year, lower-rated eligible dedicated
HMIS projects. HUD also reserves the right to establish a
[[Page 39853]]
minimum CoC scoring threshold for these projects).
(iv) HUD intends to fund at least 4,000 beds for chronically
homeless persons in projects serving 100 percent CH (could include
Samaritan Initiative projects, reallocated projects and other new
projects submitted by CoCs in PPRN status).
(v) After meeting the funding priorities of section V.B.2.a.i-iv of
this NOFA, HUD will proceed to competitively fund by projects in rank
order by CoC score. When CoC scores are tied, HUD will apply tie
breaking rules described in section V.B.3.2.c of this NOFA. SHP, SPC
and SRO new projects and the remaining terms of renewal projects will
be conditionally selected until all funds are expended. To be eligible
for funding, all projects must be within the CoCs Final Pro Rata Need.
b. Adjustments to Funding: HUD may also be required to adjust the
selection of competitive projects as follows:
(i) The FMRs used in calculating award amounts for Shelter Plus
Care and/or SRO applications will be those in effect at the time the
grants are approved, which may be higher or lower than those in effect
at the time of application. This only applies to projects requesting
100 percent of FMR in Exhibit 2.
(ii) Thirty Percent Permanent Housing Requirement. Local priorities
notwithstanding, the FY 2008 HUD Appropriations Act requires that not
less than 30 percent of this year's Homeless Assistance Grants
appropriation, excluding amounts provided for renewals under the S+C
Program, must be used to fund projects that meet the definition of
permanent housing. Safe Havens will not count towards the permanent
housing requirement. Projects meeting the definition of permanent
housing are:
(1) New and renewal projects under SHP that are designated as
permanent housing for homeless persons with disabilities. HUD will
award no less than 30 percent of the total FY 2008 Homeless Assistance
Grants application, excluding amounts for S+C renewals, for permanent
housing projects unless an insufficient number of approvable permanent
housing projects are submitted; (2) New S+C projects; and (3) SRO
projects.
In order to meet this permanent housing funding requirement and
stay within the total funding amount available, initially selected
Supportive Services Only (SSO) and non-permanent housing projects will
be deselected, if necessary, to add an adequate number of permanent
housing projects, even if they are lower scoring housing projects. HUD
will, if necessary, first proceed to de-select new SSO projects,
initially selected, starting with lowest scoring new projects and
proceeding to higher scoring new SSO projects initially selected. If
the funding line is still exceeded, HUD will proceed to de-select the
lowest scoring new non-permanent housing projects initially selected
and proceed to higher scoring new non-permanent housing projects.
Finally, if the funding line is still exceeded HUD will proceed to de-
select SSO and then other non-permanent housing renewal projects until
sufficient permanent housing projects are within the funding line.
(iii) Geographic Diversity. HUD has determined that geographic
diversity is an appropriate consideration in selecting homeless
assistance projects in the competition. HUD believes that geographic
diversity can be achieved best by awarding grants to as many CoCs as
possible. To this end, in instances where any of the 50 States, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the
Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa does
not have at least one funded CoC, HUD reserves the right to fund
eligible project(s) with the highest total score in the CoC.
(iv) Distribution of Selections. In accordance with section 429 of
the McKinney-Vento Act, HUD will award Supportive Housing Program funds
as follows: Not less than 25 percent for projects that primarily serve
homeless families with children; not less than 25 percent for projects
that primarily serve homeless persons with disabilities; and not less
than 10 percent for supportive services not provided in conjunction
with supportive housing. After projects are rated and ranked, based on
the factors described above, HUD will determine if the conditionally
selected projects achieve these minimum percentages. If not, HUD will
skip higher-ranked projects in order to achieve these minimum
percentages.
In accordance with section 463(a) of the McKinney-Vento Act, at
least 10 percent of competitive S+C funds will be awarded for each of
the four components of the program: Tenant-based Rental Assistance;
Sponsor-based Rental Assistance; Project-based Rental Assistance; and
Single Room Occupancy (provided there are sufficient numbers of
approvable projects to achieve these percentages). After projects are
rated and ranked, based on the factors described above, HUD will
determine if the conditionally selected projects achieve these minimum
percentages. If necessary, HUD will skip higher-ranked projects in
order to achieve these minimum percentages.
In accordance with section 455(b) of the McKinney-Vento Act, no
more than 10 percent of the assistance made available for S+C in any
fiscal year may be used for programs located within any one unit of
general local government. In accordance with section 441(c) of the
McKinney-Vento Act, no city or urban county may have SRO section 8
projects receiving a total of more than 10 percent of the assistance
made available under this program. HUD is defining the 10 percent
availability this fiscal year as $10 million for S+C and $10 million
for section 8 SRO. However, if the amount awarded under either of these
two programs exceeds $100 million, then the amount awarded to any one
unit of general local government (for purposes of the S+C Program) or
city or urban county (for the purposes of the section 8 SRO Program)
cannot exceed 10 percent of the actual total amount awarded for that
program.
(v) Funding Diversity. HUD reserves the right to reduce the amount
of a grant, if necessary, to ensure that no more than 10 percent of
assistance made available under this NOFA will be awarded for projects
located within any one unit of general local government or within the
geographic area covered by any one Continuum of Care.
If HUD exercises a right it has reserved under this NOFA, that
right will be exercised uniformly across all applications received in
response to this NOFA.
c. Tie-breaking Rules. HUD will break ties among CoCs with the same
total score by comparing scores received by the projects for each of
the following scoring factors, in the order shown: Overall CoC score,
CoC Housing, Services and Structure, CoC Strategic Planning, CoC
Performance, CoC Enrollment and Participation in Mainstream Programs,
Housing Emphasis, and Housing and Employment Performance. The final
tie-breaking factor is the priority number of the competing projects on
the applicable CoC priority list(s).
3. Corrections to Deficient Applications
HUD reserves the right to respond to both unanticipated system
defects, ambiguities, and technical difficulties in application
submissions through a flexible implementation of its authority to cure
application deficiencies through callbacks and written inquires seeking
clarification and additional information. HUD will exercise the
authority for curing deficiencies as stated in the General Section of
the SuperNOFA, if
[[Page 39854]]
needed, on a consistent and uniform basis for all CoCs and applicants.
HUD will expect responses to callbacks and inquiries to be returned in
an expedited manner, generally within 14 days of receiving a HUD
request. Upon proper publication in the Federal Register, HUD reserves
the right to extend the competition deadline for good cause related to
technical difficulties in the implementation of e-snaps.
VI. Award Administration Information
A. Award Notices
1. Action on Conditionally Selected Applications
HUD will notify conditionally selected applicants in writing. HUD
may subsequently request them to submit additional project information,
which may include documentation to show the project is financially
feasible; documentation of firm commitments for cash match;
documentation showing site control; information necessary for HUD to
perform an environmental review; a copy of the organization's Code of
Conduct; and such other documentation as specified by HUD in writing to
the applicant, that confirms or clarifies information provided in the
application. HUD will notify SHP, SRO, S+C and S+C/SRO applicants of
the deadline for submission of such information. If an applicant is
unable to meet any conditions for fund award within the specified
timeframe, HUD reserves the right not to award funds to the applicant
and add them to funds available for the next competition.
2. Applicant Debriefing
See the General Section of the SuperNOFA for applicant debriefing
procedures.
3. Appeals Process
Applicants may appeal the results of HUD's review and selection
process if they believe a HUD error has occurred. Appeals must be
submitted in writing to the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning
and Development and must state what HUD error the applicant believes
has occurred.
B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
1. Administrative and Other Program Requirements
a. The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) requires
Federal agencies to measure the performance of their programs. HUD
captures this information not only from monitoring visits and APRs, but
also on the data gathered in annual competitions. For example, the
description of methods used in determining the project priority order
submitted in Exhibit 1 provides verification that projects are
performing satisfactorily and are effectively addressing the needs for
which they were designed. HUD's homeless assistance programs are
measured in 2008 by the objective to ``end chronic homelessness and to
move homeless families and individuals to permanent housing.'' This
objective has a number of measurable indicators, five of which relate
directly to the Continuum of Care homeless assistance programs. These
five indicators, as described below, will be collected in Exhibit 1:
(1) At least 415 functioning CoC communities will have a functional
Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) by Fiscal Year 2008.
(2) The percentage of formerly homeless individuals who remain
housed in HUD permanent housing projects for at least 6 months will be
at least 71.5 percent.
(3) The percentage of homeless persons who have moved from HUD
transitional housing into permanent housing will be at least 63.5
percent.
(4) The employment rate of persons exiting HUD homeless assistance
projects will be at least 19 percent.
b. To achieve this objective and each of these measurable
indicators, HUD needs your community's help. The emphasis in this
year's competition on housing chronically homeless persons, helping
clients access mainstream service programs and jobs, and implementing
HMIS are all aligned with this GPRA objective and its performance
indicators.
c. Executive Order 13202, ``Preservation of Open Competition and
Government Neutrality Towards Government Contractors' Labor Relations
on Federal and Federally Funded Construction Projects.'' Please see the
General Section of the SuperNOFA for further information.
d. Procurement of Recovered Materials. Please see the General
Section of the SuperNOFA for further information.
e. Please reference the General Section of the SuperNOFA for other
administrative requirements.
2. Sanctions
Should HUD determine, in its sole discretion, that sufficient
evidence exists to confirm that the entity responsible for convening
and managing the CoC process in a community has failed to follow
locally established or accepted procedures governing the conduct of
that process or has failed to provide for a fair process, including a
project priority selection process that gives equal consideration to
projects proposed by nonprofit organizations, HUD reserves the
authority to impose sanctions up to and including a prohibition on that
entity and the individuals comprising that entity from participating in
that capacity in the future. In making this determination, HUD will
consider as evidence court proceedings and decisions, or the
determinations of other independent and impartial review bodies. This
authority cannot be exercised until after a description of procedural
safeguards, including an opportunity for comment and appeal, and the
specific process and procedures for imposing a prohibition or
debarment, have been published in the Federal Register.
3. Timeliness Standards
The FY 2008 HUD appropriations act requires HUD to obligate all FY
2008 CoC homeless assistance funds by September 30, 2010, except for
$5,000,000 which is available until expended. All obligated funds will
remain available for expenditure until September 30, 2015, except for
ten-year projects which remain available until expended.
The applicant is expected to initiate the approved projects
promptly in accordance with section VI.B.3 of this NOFA. In addition,
HUD will take action if the grantee fails to satisfy the following
timeliness standards:
(1) SHP: HUD will deselect an award if the grantee does not
demonstrate site control within one (1) year of the date of its grant
award letter, as required by the McKinney-Vento Act (see 42 U.S.C.
11386(a)(3)) and implemented in program regulations at 24 CFR
583.320(a). HUD may deobligate SHP funds if the following additional
timeliness standards are not met:
(a) Construction activities do not begin within eighteen (18)
months of the date of HUD's grant award letter and be completed within
thirty-six (36) months after that notification.
(b) Activities that cannot begin until construction activities are
completed, such as supportive service or operating activities that will
be conducted within the building being rehabilitated or newly
constructed, do not begin within three (3) months after construction is
completed.
(c) All activities that may proceed independent of construction
activities, including HMIS and supportive services, do not begin within
twelve (12) months of the date of HUD's grant award letter. HUD may
deselect or terminate a grant agreement if the grantee is not in
compliance with this requirement. HUD may reduce a grant
[[Page 39855]]
agreement term to one (1) year where implementation delays have reduced
the amount of funds that reasonably can be used in the original term.
(2) S+C Except SRO Component. HUD may deselect an award or
deobligate S+C funds if an applicant/grantee does not meet the
following timeliness standards:
(a) For Project-based Rental Assistance with rehabilitation, the
applicant/grantee must complete the rehabilitation within twelve (12)
months of the date of HUD's grant award letter.
(3) Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation SRO Program and SRO Component
of the S+C Program. For the section 8 SRO program and the SRO component
of the S+C program projects awarded under this NOFA, the Annual
Contributions Contract (ACC) must be executed no later than September
30, 2010. The rehabilitation work must be completed and the HAP
contract executed within twelve (12) months of execution of the Annual
Contributions Contract. HUD may reduce the number of units or the
amount of the annual contribution commitment if, in HUD's
determination, the Public Housing Agency fails to demonstrate a good
faith effort to adhere to this schedule.
C. Reporting
1. Once conditionally selected applications advance to full award
and execution of a grant agreement, grantees are required to submit an
Annual Performance Review (APR) and a completed Logic Model showing
outputs and outcomes achieved for the year to both HUD Headquarters and
the respective Field Office each year. Grantees must also respond to
the management questions contained in the Logic Model. Completed Logic
Models may be submitted to [email protected]. Questions
regarding the logic model submission process can be sent to [email protected]. HUD will post Frequently Asked
Questions about the Logic Model on http://www.hudhre.info.
In addition, applicants must report race and ethnicity data for
beneficiaries of HUD programs in conformity with form 27061 HUD Race
and Ethnic Data Reporting Form. CoC applicants may report this data as
part of their Annual Performance Report submission to HUD.
Also, Grantees who expend $500,000 or more in a year in Federal
awards are reminded they must have a single or program-specific audit
for that year in accordance with the provisions of 24 CFR part 45 and
OMB Circular No. A-133.
2. Section 3 Reporting Regulations. Pursuant to 24 CFR 135.3(a)(2),
the section 3 requirements apply to housing and community development
assistance that is used for housing rehabilitation, housing
construction and other construction. Grantees doing any of these
activities must submit HUD-60002 to the Office of Fair Housing and
Equal Opportunity (FHEO) at the time they submit their APR to the
Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs. This form may be completed
electronically at http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/section3/section3.cfm.
VII. Agency Contacts
A. For Further Information
Individuals may contact the HUD Field Office serving their area, at
the telephone number shown in the General Section of the SuperNOFA, or
individuals may contact the NOFA Information Center at 1-800-483-8929.
Individuals who are hearing- or speech-impaired should use the
Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 (these are toll-free
numbers).
B. For Technical Assistance
HUD will make appropriate resources available for technical
assistance related to the new electronic application in FY 2008.
Specifically, HUD will make available an electronic application Help
Desk at 1-877-6ES-NAPS (1-877-637-6277) or via e-mail at
[email protected]. To address technical or other questions, HUD Field
Office staff also will be available to help citizens identify
organizations in the community that are involved in developing the CoC
system. HUD staff and contractors cannot provide CoCs and applicants
with guidance that will result in a competitive advantage for any CoC
or project applicant.
Following conditional selection of applications, HUD staff will be
available to assist selected applicants in clarifying or confirming
information that is a prerequisite to the offer of a grant agreement or
Annual Contributions Contract by HUD. However, between the application
deadline and the announcement of conditional selections, HUD will
accept no information that would improve the substantive quality of a
CoCs application pertinent to HUD's funding decision.
C. Satellite Broadcast
HUD will hold one or more information broadcasts via satellite for
potential applicants to learn more about the program and preparation of
the application. Viewing of these broadcasts, which will provide
critical information on the application process, is highly recommended.
For more information about the date and time of the broadcast,
individuals should consult the HUD Web site at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm.
VIII. Other Information
A. Paperwork Reduction Act
The information collection requirements contained in this document
have been submitted for approval by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520)
and the OMB approval number is 2506-0112. In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD may not conduct or sponsor, and a person
is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the
collection displays a currently valid OMB control number. Public
reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to
average 196 hours per annum per respondent for the application and
grant administration. This includes the time for collecting, reviewing,
and reporting the data for the application, semi-annual reports and
final report. The information will be used for grantee selection and
monitoring the administration of funds. Response to this request for
information is required in order to receive the benefits to be derived.
B. Findings and Certifications
1. Environmental
This NOFA provides funding under, and does not alter the
environmental requirements of 24 CFR parts 582 and 583 and subpart H of
24 CFR part 882. Accordingly, under 24 CFR 50.19(c)(5), this NOFA is
categorically excluded from environmental review under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321). For environmental
review of activities funded under this NOFA, see the requirements
described at section III.C.3.d above.
Dated: July 1, 2008.
Nelson R. Breg[oacute]n,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and
Development.
[FR Doc. E8-15664 Filed 7-9-08; 8:45 am]
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