[Federal Register: February 15, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 32)]
[Notices]
[Page 8938-8940]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15fe08-145]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Fund Availability Under the VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per
Diem Program
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is announcing the
availability of funds for applications for assistance under the Capital
Grant component of VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program.
This Notice contains information concerning the program, funding
priorities, application process, and amount of funding available.
DATES: An original completed and collated capital grant application
(plus three completed collated copies) for assistance under the VA's
Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program must be received in the
Grant and Per Diem Field Office, by 4:00 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday,
April 9, 2008. Applications may not be sent by facsimile (FAX). In the
interest of fairness to all competing applicants, this deadline is firm
as to date and hour, and VA will treat as ineligible for consideration
any application that is received after the deadline. Applicants should
take this practice into account and make early submission of their
material to avoid any risk of loss of eligibility due to unanticipated
delays or other delivery-related problems.
For a Copy of the Application Package: Download directly from VA's
Grant and Per Diem Program Web page at: http://www.va.gov/homeless/page.cfm?pg=3 or http://www.grants.gov/. Questions should be referred
ed
to the Grant and Per Diem Program at (toll-free) 1-877-332-0334. For
information relating to VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem
Program, see the Final Rule published in the Federal Register on
September 26, 2003.
Submission of Application: An original completed and collated grant
application (plus three copies) and a cover letter clearly stating
under which funding priority applicants (see funding priorities) wish
to be considered must be submitted to the following address: VA
Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Field Office, 10770 North 46th
Street, Suite C-200, Tampa, Florida 33617. Applications must be
received in the Grant and Per Diem Field office by the application
deadline. Applications must arrive as a complete package. Materials
arriving separately will not be included in the application package for
consideration and may result in the application being rejected or not
funded.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Chelsea Watson, VA Homeless
Providers Grant and Per Diem Program, Department of Veterans Affairs,
10770 North 46th Street, Suite C-200, Tampa, Florida 33617; or you may
call (toll-free) at 1-877-332-0334 for further information.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Notice announces the availability of
capital funds for assistance under VA's Homeless Providers Grant and
Per Diem Program for eligible entities to: (1) Expand existing
transitional housing projects; or (2) develop new transitional housing
programs. Supportive service centers will not be considered in this
Notice of Fund Availability (NOFA). Funding applied for under the
capital grant component may be used for: (1) Remodeling or alteration
of existing buildings; (2) acquisition of buildings, acquisition and
rehabilitation of buildings; (3) new construction; and (4) acquisition
of vans (in connection with a new or existing Grant and Per Diem Grant
project) for outreach to and transportation for homeless veterans.
Funding applied for under this Notice is authorized by Public Law 109-
461, Sec. 703, the Veterans Benefit, Health Care and Information
Technology Act of 2006, and by 38 U.S.C. 2011, 2012, 2061, 2064, and
may be used as aid for supportive housing. Eligibility criteria may be
found in the Final Rule published in the Federal Register on September
26, 2003.
Capital grant applicants may not receive assistance to replace
funds provided by any State or local government to assist homeless
persons. Note: Applicants considering the use of Low Income Housing Tax
Credits (LIHTC) in conjunction with the capital grants in this NOFA
should take into account that these tax credits are generally for
permanent housing projects. Permanent housing is not an eligible
activity under VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program.
Other issues such as a reduction in the base of the tax credits, site
control, leases for residents, and using the tax credits as a loan may
be problematic to applicants even if transitional housing is provided
and upon review and discovery may result in the application being
denied.
A proposal for an existing project that seeks to shift its focus by
changing the population being served or the precise mix of services
being offered is not eligible for consideration. No more than 25
percent of housing and services available in projects funded through
this grant program may be provided to clients who are not receiving
those services as veterans.
VA is pleased to issue this NOFA for the Homeless Providers Grant
and Per Diem Program. The Department expects to award approximately $25
million under the capital grant component.
Funding available under this NOFA is being offered to help offset
the capital expenses of existing state and local governments, Indian
Tribal Governments, faith-based, and community-based organizations that
are capable of creating and providing supported transitional housing
for homeless veterans. The District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, any territory or possession of the United States, are
considered eligible entities under the definition of ``State'' in the
Final Rule, Sec. 61.1 Definitions.
Per diem for these programs is requested in the grant application
and may be paid at the time of grant project completion. It should be
noted that VA per diem payment is limited to the applicant's cost of
care per eligible veteran minus other sources of payments to the
applicant for furnishing services to homeless veterans up to the per
day rate VA pays for State Home Domiciliary care. Awardees will be
required to support their request for per diem payment with adequate
fiscal documentation as to program income and expenses.
Interested organizations should know that the vast majority of
homeless veterans in this country suffer from mental illness or
substance abuse disorders or are dually diagnosed with both mental
illness and substance abuse disorders. In addition, many homeless
veterans have serious medical problems. The recent events associated
with the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) coupled with the Nation's
returning OEF/OIF veterans further emphasizes the need for
collaboration with VA medical centers, VA community-based outpatient
clinics or other health care
[[Page 8939]]
providers as well as with VA and other benefit providers as an
important aspect of ensuring that homeless veterans have access to
appropriate health care services. VA considers this program an
important part of our effort to end chronic homelessness among all
veterans.
It is important to be aware that VA places great emphasis on
responsibility and accountability. VA has procedures in place to verify
the completion of the capital grant as well as monitor services
provided to homeless veterans and outcomes associated with the services
provided in grant and per diem-funded programs. Applicants should be
aware of the following:
All awardees that are conditionally selected in response to this
NOFA must meet the Life Safety Code of the National Fire Protection
Association as it relates to their specific facility. Applicants should
note that all facilities are to be sprinkled unless they are
specifically exempted under the Life Safety Code and make consideration
of this when submitting their capital grant applications. VA will
conduct an inspection prior to awardees being able to submit request
for per diem payment to ensure this requirement is met.
Upon capital grant completion, each program seeking per diem will
have a liaison appointed from a nearby VA medical facility to provide
oversight and monitor services provided to homeless veterans in the per
diem-funded program.
Monitoring will include at a minimum an annual review of each per
diem program's progress toward meeting internal goals and objectives in
helping veterans attain housing stability, adequate income support, and
self sufficiency as identified in each per diem program's original
application. Monitoring will also include a review of the agency's
income and expenses as they relate to this project to ensure per diem
payment is accurate.
Each per diem-funded program will participate in VA's national
program monitoring and evaluation system administered by VA's Northeast
Program Evaluation Center (NEPEC). NEPEC's monitoring procedures will
be used to determine successful accomplishment of these housing
outcomes for each per diem-funded program.
Authority: Funding applied for under this Notice is authorized by
Public Law 109-461, Sec. 703, the Veterans Benefit, Health Care and
Information Technology Act of 2006, and by 38 U.S.C. 2011, 2012, 2061,
2064, and may be used as aid for supportive housing. The program is
implemented by the final rule codified at 38 CFR Part 61.0. The final
rule was published in the Federal Register on September 26, 2003, the
regulations can be found in their entirety in 38 CFR, Sec. 61.0 through
61.82. Funds made available under this Notice are subject to the
requirements of those regulations.
Allocation: Approximately $25 million is available for the capital
grant component. Capital grant awards will be limited to transitional
housing projects, (service center programs will not be considered in
this round). Vans must be directly connected to a new or existing Grant
and Per Diem Grant project and will be limited to one per project
number. Per diem payments to capital grant recipients are subject to
the availability of funds and recipients maintaining the program for
which the grant was awarded.
Funding Priorities: VA is offering to eligible applicants funding
priorities for transitional housing and services to; (1) Serve women,
women with care of dependent children, (2) serve all veterans in the
States of Vermont, Nebraska, and Alaska, (3) Indian Tribal Governments
or non-profit agencies that will provide transitional housing and
services on Indian Tribal Property. Finally, VA is encouraging
interested state and local governments and faith-based and community-
based organizations to apply for funding under this NOFA. In this round
of capital grant funding, VA expects to award funding to create
approximately 1250 community-based supported housing beds.
Funding priority 1. VA is offering the opportunity for providers
who are willing to create new projects specifically for women and women
with care of dependent children only, which are 30 beds or less. Of
those eligible entities in the first funding priority, that are legally
fundable, the highest scoring applicants will be funded first until
approximately $3 million is awarded. Applicants not funded in this
priority will be considered in the fourth funding priority. Should not
enough eligible projects be funded under the first funding priority,
funds not expended in this priority will fall to the fourth funding
priority.
Funding priority 2. VA is offering the opportunity for providers
who are willing to create new or expand existing projects for homeless
veterans in the States of Vermont, Nebraska, and Alaska. Applicants
whose projects are physically located in these states will be
considered in the second funding priority. Of those eligible entities
in the second funding priority, that are legally fundable, the highest
scoring applicants will be funded first until approximately $2 million
is awarded. Applicants not funded in this priority will be placed in
the fourth funding priority. Should not enough eligible projects be
funded under the second funding priority, funds not expended in this
priority will fall to the fourth funding priority.
Funding priority 3. VA is offering the opportunity to Indian Tribal
Governments or non-profit agencies that will provide transitional
housing and services on Indian Tribal Property to apply for funding
under this NOFA to create transitional housing and services for
homeless veterans. Eligible entities that are Indian Tribal Governments
or non-profit agencies willing to provide transitional housing and
services on Indian Tribal Property will be considered in the third
funding priority as applicable. Of those eligible entities in the third
funding priority, that are legally fundable, the highest scoring
applicants will be funded first until approximately $1 million is
awarded. Applicants not funded in this priority will be placed in the
fourth funding priority. Should not enough eligible projects be funded
under the third funding priority, funds not expended in this priority
will fall to the fourth funding priority. Note: Non-profit agencies who
apply under this priority will be required to provide a letter of
assurance from the Indian Tribal Government that if funded the
provision of service will occur on Indian Tribal Property.
Funding priority 4. VA is encouraging interested, State and local
governments, Indian Tribal Governments, faith-based and community-based
organizations, as well as eligible entities located in The District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or
possession of the United States, to apply for funding under this NOFA
to create transitional housing and services for all homeless veterans.
Eligible entities that are State and local governments, Indian Tribal
Governments, faith-based, and community-based organizations, or any
territory or possession of the United States, will be considered in the
fourth funding priority as applicable. Of those eligible entities that
are legally fundable, the highest-ranked applications for which funding
is available, will be conditionally selected for eligibility to receive
a capital grant in accordance with their ranked order until funding is
expended (approximately $19 million).
Methodology: VA will review all capital grant applications in
response to this notice of funding availability as follows: VA will
group the applicants
[[Page 8940]]
into the funding priorities categories as applicable. Applicants will
then be ranked within their respective funding category based on score
and any ranking criteria set forth in that funding category only if the
applicant scores at least 600 cumulative points and receives points
under the criteria in paragraphs (b), (c), (d), (e) and (i) of section
61.13.
The highest-ranked application for which funding is available,
within the highest funding category, will be conditionally selected in
accordance with their ranked order until VA reaches the projected
amount of funding for each category. If funds are still available after
selection of those applications in the highest priority group VA will
continue to conditionally select applicants in lower priority
categories in accordance with the selection method set forth in the
final rule Sec. 61.14.
Application Requirements: Applicants must include a cover letter
clearly stating under which funding priority they wish to be
considered. Non-profit agencies who apply under funding priority three
are required to provide a letter of assurance from the Indian Tribal
Government that if funded the provision of service will occur on Indian
Tribal Property. The grant application requirements will be specified
in the application package. Applicants should be careful to complete
the proper application package. Submission of the incorrect or
incomplete application package will result in the application being
rejected at threshold. The packages include all required forms and
certifications.
Selections will be made based on criteria described in the
application, Final Rule, and NOFA. Applicants who are conditionally
selected will be notified of any additional information needed to
confirm or clarify information provided in the application. Applicants
will then be notified of the deadline to submit such information.
If an applicant is unable to meet any conditions for grant award
within the specified time frame, VA reserves the right to not award
funds and to use the funds available for other grant and per diem
applicants.
Dated: February 8, 2008.
Gordon H. Mansfield,
Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. E8-2937 Filed 2-14-08; 8:45 am]
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