[Federal Register: April 30, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 84)]
[Notices]
[Page 23483-23486]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30ap08-112]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-5214-N-01]
Notice of Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Opportunity To Register and Other
Important Information for Electronic Application Submission for
Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Programs
AGENCY: Office of Community Planning and Development, HUD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: For fiscal year (FY) 2008, HUD will require Continuums of Care
to submit their applications electronically, using e-snaps, an
electronic system separate from Grants.gov. This Notice provides
detailed instructions on completing the Continuum of Care (CoC)
registration process for e-snaps. This Notice also provides applicants
important information, including definitions and the necessary CoC
planning process, that CoC and project applicants should be familiar
with prior to applying for FY2008 CoC Homeless Assistance funding.
Finally, today's Notice provides information about the major changes
that HUD will make to the FY2008 CoC Homeless Assistance competition.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The HUD Field Office serving your
area. This information can be found at http://www.hud.gov/
localoffices.cfm.
Full Text of Announcement
HUD will make approximately $1.423 billion available through the
FY2008 CoC Homeless Assistance NOFA. For FY2008, HUD is transitioning
the CoC program from a paper process to an electronic process. Today's
Notice provides detailed instructions on completing the CoC
registration process for e-snaps, an electronic system separate from
Grants.gov. The uniform resource identifier/locater (URL) for e-snaps
is http://www.hud.gov/esnaps. Today's Notice also provides applicants
important information, including necessary definitions and the CoC
planning process, that CoC and project applicants should be familiar
with prior to applying for FY2008 CoC Homeless Assistance funding and
important information about the major changes that HUD will make to the
FY2008 CoC Homeless Assistance competition. HUD anticipates publishing
its FY2008 CoC NOFA in the Federal Register no earlier than July 1,
2008.
As noted herein, applicants for project funding will continue to be
required to register with Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) and complete or
renew their registration in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR).
For more information regarding registering with D&B and CCR, HUD
encourages applicants to closely review HUD's March 10, 2008, FY2008
Notice of Early Registration, (72 FR 12751) and HUD's FY2008 General
Section, published March 19, 2008 (73 FR 14882).
This Notice is divided into three sections. Section I describes the
important overview information that CoCs and project applicants should
be familiar with prior to applying for FY2008 Homeless Assistance
funding. This includes pertinent definitions and the CoC planning
process. Section II of this Notice provides detailed information on
completing the CoC registration process in e-snaps. Finally, Section
III provides information about the major changes that HUD will make to
the FY2008 CoC Homeless Assistance competition. HUD hopes that this
will assist CoCs in better planning their FY2008 CoC application.
I. Overview Information
A. Program Description
Approximately $1.423 billion is available for funding through the
FY2008 CoC Homeless Assistance Competition. 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.
B. Definitions
The only definitions contained in this Notice are those necessary
for CoCs to understand in order to complete the FY2008 CoC registration
process. A complete list of definitions will be provided in the FY2008
CoC NOFA.
[[Page 23484]]
1. Annual Renewal Amount. The maximum amount that a Supportive
Housing Program (SHP) grant can receive on an annual basis when
renewed. It includes funds for only those eligible activities
(operating, supportive services, leasing, Homeless Management
Information System (HMIS) and administration) that were funded in the
original grant (or the original grant as amended), less the
nonrenewable 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 most recent grant, and divide by the number of years in
the grant term. Any funding for acquisition, rehabilitation, new
construction--and any administration costs related to those
activities--is not renewable and therefore should not be calculated in
the ARA. If the initial grant included these activities, administrative
costs may only be calculated up to 5 percent of the total of 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).
2. 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 stakeholders involved in the decision making
processes as the ``Continuum of Care.''
3. 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.
4. Continuum of Care Lead Agency Contact. Person(s) with the
authority to submit the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance
Competition application on behalf of the CoC, usually the Executive
Director or CEO of the CoC Lead Agency.
5. Continuum of Care Need Amounts
a. 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 formula: 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 FY2008 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. The
list of geographic areas and CoC Names and Numbers can be found at
http://www.hudhre.info or at http://www.hud.gov.
b. 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 new dedicated HMIS SHP projects.
c. Continuum of Care Final Pro Rata Need (FPRN). The higher amount
of: (1) PPRN and (2) HHN.
6. 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.
7. Continuum of Care Registration. A step in the electronic
application process that requires a CoC to claim geography and appoint
a CoC Lead Agency that will be responsible for the submission of the
electronic application to HUD.
C. CoC Planning Process
HUD will evaluate CoCs on the following criteria:
CoC Housing, Services, and Structure;
Homeless Needs and Data Collection;
CoC Strategic Planning;
CoC Performance; and
Housing Emphasis.
These criteria are not significantly changed from prior years.
Therefore, CoCs are encouraged to continue planning for the FY2008 CoC
Homeless Assistance competition in the same manner that they have in
past years. This includes:
1. Community-wide or region-wide participation. 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. As in the past, this year HUD
emphasizes its 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, into the CoC 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.
[[Page 23485]]
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
experience 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 will be the strength of a CoC process
when measured against the CoC rating factors described in the FY2008
CoC NOFA. When a CoC determines what jurisdictions to include in its
CoC strategy area, it should 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. 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. The areas covered by CoC strategies should not 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 Notice but are eligible for funding under the
Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) program and many other programs.
4. Once the CoC application has been submitted and scored, the CoC
will receive its conditional award. This is the total amount of monies
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.
II. Completing the Registration Process for CoCs
A. Overview of Information Required for Registration
Regardless of the CoC structure and planning process, the FY2008
electronic registration/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 project applications to HUD, known as
the CoC Lead Agency Contact(s). Before the CoC Lead Agency Contact(s)
enters e-snaps (s)he should know the following information:
The CoC's Lead Agency
CoC contact person for receiving messages from HUD
The CoC Name and Number
The CoC's geographic areas
B. Submitting the Electronic Registration
In order to be eligible to submit an application through e-snaps
for the FY2008 Homeless Assistance competition, CoCs must register in
the electronic database, e-snaps, prior to the beginning of the FY2008
CoC competition. The CoC registration process will begin on or about
May 1, 2008 and close at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on or about June 15,
2008. HUD will notify potential applicants of the exact registration
opening and closing dates via the HUD Homeless Assistance listserv and
through its Web sites located at http://www.hud.gov and http://
www.hudhre.info. During the registration phase, CoCs will be asked to
identify the CoC lead agency, contact information for lead agency
staff, and the geography that the CoC is claiming. This process will
not be part of www.grants.gov. CoCs will receive confirmation from HUD
concerning claimed geography, PPRN and HHN Amounts. The CoC Lead Agency
Contact may access e-snaps beginning on or about May 1, 2008 at http://
www.hud.gov/esnaps.
HUD held a broadcast regarding the CoC registration process on
April 22, 2008. This broadcast may be viewed at http://www.hud.gov/
webcasts/archives/. On-line training for CoC Registration may be
accessed at http://www.hudhre.info. To assist CoCs with the
registration process, HUD has set up a Help Desk, which can be accessed
toll free via phone at 1-877-6eSNAPS (1-877-637-6277) or via e-mail at
esnaps@hudhre.info.
In addition, HUD has the HUD-defined CoC names and numbers as well
as a list of each geographic area with its pro-rata need amount on
http://www.hud.gov and http://www.hudhre.info/
index.cfm?do=viewCoCGrantMaterials. Existing and proposed CoCs must
register their HUD-defined CoC and claimed geography with HUD through
e-snaps. If a CoC does not have a HUD-defined name it should contact
the HUD Field Office serving its area.
In the instance that one or more CoC planning bodies claim one or
more of the same geographies, HUD shall determine which CoC has the
best claim for the geography based upon past experience and the
participation and desires of the predominant number of homeless service
providers in the disputed geography. The HUD decision on allocating
geography is final and competing CoCs shall be notified of HUD's
determination prior to the release of the FY2008 CoC application.
III. Changes for FY2008 CoC NOFA
The following is a list of major changes to the FY2008 CoC NOFA:
1. CoCs and project applicants will be required to apply for the
FY2008 CoC competition electronically through http://www.hud.gov/
esnaps.
2. CoCs will be required to register their CoCs in the new homeless
electronic application system, e-snaps, prior to the beginning of the
competition. For more information see Section II of this Notice.
3. A CoC may create multiple Samaritan Housing Initiative projects
as long as the total amount of funding requested for all initiative
projects does not exceed 15 percent of the CoC's Preliminary Pro Rata
Need.
4. HUD will continue to score Homeless Assistance applications on a
[[Page 23486]]
100-point scale; however, the 40 Need points previously allocated to
projects will be redistributed into the existing point structure. The
exact redistribution of points will be announced in the FY2008 CoC
NOFA. Need will continue to be accounted for through the formula that
determines Preliminary Pro Rata Need or the Hold Harmless Need amounts
for the CoC.
5. 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
FY2008 CoC NOFA. This demonstration program will serve homeless
households with dependent children.
6. Safe Havens (SH) will no longer be given Transitional Housing
(TH) or Permanent Housing (PH) classifications and grantees will have
an opportunity through the FY2008 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 as chronically homeless and
will therefore be eligible to enter a funded Samaritan Housing
Initiative project.
7. HUD is aware that 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.
8. CoCs that are in ``Hold Harmless Need Status'' may now use the
reallocation process to create new dedicated HMIS projects.
9. HUD will allow only one applicant for HMIS dedicated grants
within a CoC.
10. 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 during the technical submission
process. Payments will be limited to the reasonableness of travel
expenses as listed in 24 CFR Parts 84 and 85.
Dated: April 25, 2008.
Nelson R. Breg[oacute]n,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and
Development.
[FR Doc. E8-9540 Filed 4-29-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P