From: SSVF
Sent: Friday, August 25, 2017 8:45
AM
To: SSVF
Subject: SSVF Program Update Friday
August 25, 2017
Topics:
1. Save the Dates: Rapid Re-Housing Institutes
2. Important: SSVF Grantee Data Quality on Households Served and Uploaded Records
3. Call For Articles: SSVF Activity Accomplishments / Success Stories
4. Reminder: Grant Extension Opportunity for FY17 (Non-Surge Grants Only)
5. Reminder: Quarter 4 Program Change Process
6. Reminder: Homelessness Prevention Threshold Score
Save the Dates: Rapid Re-Housing Institutes
Earlier this week, the HUD Listserv released a Save the Date for an upcoming Rapid Rehousing Institute. The VA, in close partnership with HUD, our technical assistance providers, and other national partners, are currently planning a Rapid Rehousing Institute for October 2017. The institute will take place in lieu of SSVF’s traditional Post-Award Launch Event and will require attendance by SSVF grantees awarded for FY 2018. We anticipate that VA will announce the SSVF awards for FY 2018 in the coming weeks.
There will be two institutes (one on the West coast and one the East coast), which will be identical in content and agenda. More than 300 RRH practitioners and planners from around the country will gather for an intensive, two-day training offering two separate tracks: a Practice Track and a System Track. This new training opportunity aims to help standardize strong RRH practices across funding streams and provide an avenue for RRH practitioners and other stakeholders across the country to learn from one another and from our technical assistance specialists and faculty.
This Save the Date is being shared for awareness, as we acknowledge that FY 2018 SSVF Awards are pending. Once VA announces the FY 2018 SSVF Awards, the SSVF Program Office will send further instructions and registration information to the awarded SSVF grantees. Those who receive FY 2018 funding will be invited to attend the institute based on geographic proximity. Funded grantees should plan to send a maximum of two attendees. Please note that awarded SSVF grantees will also be attending a SSVF specific training on the third day at each location. The following dates should be saved
.
• East Coast: October 24-26, 2017
• West Coast: October 31 - November 2, 2017
Please also note that representatives from SSVF grants should NOT be included in HUD's attendance restriction of three maximum attendees per CoC. We have included HUD’s Listserv announcement below.
HUD RRH Institute Save the Date From August 22, 2017
Continuums of Care (CoCs), Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) recipients and subrecipients, and CoC recipients – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), with the support of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is pleased to announce a new training opportunity for Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) practitioners and crisis response system planners! This is HUD-approved training. This means, while there is no registration fee for this training, the costs associated with travel and staff time to attend are approved CoC and ESG Program costs. However, space will be limited as discussed below.
The VA, in close partnership with HUD, our technical assistance providers, and other national partners, are currently planning two Rapid Rehousing Institutes for the fall of 2017. These events, which will be identical to each other in content and agenda, will bring together RRH practitioners and planners from around the country for an intensive, two-day training focused on two separate tracks: a Practice Track and a System Track. We expect RRH project staff and stakeholders from the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF), CoC and ESG Programs to all be represented at the events.
The Practice Track will focus on direct training to RRH direct service practitioners. Some topics in the practice track will include an overview of the Core Components of RRH, Strategies for Engaging Landlords, Creating Housing Plans, Evaluating and Improving Performance and System Planning, among others.
A separate System Track will focus on Community Coordination, RRH planning, Coordinated Entry/Prioritization, RRH Management and other community wide practices relevant to successful implementation of RRH as a primary response to homelessness. Attendees will be required to select a track during the registration process – more detail about each track will be sent prior to registration.
This new training opportunity aims to help standardize strong RRH practices across funding streams and provide an avenue for RRH practitioners and other stakeholders across the country to learn from one another and from our technical assistance specialists and faculty.
Due to space limitations, there will be a limit to the number of individual attendees per Continuum of Care. Most CoCs will be limited to up to 3 participants (including any ESG recipients or subrecipients interested in attending), while CoCs with Annual Renewal Demand amounts over $20 million will be able to send up to 8 participants. Slots will be provided on a first come first serve basis and there are only 200 slots per institute. Once registration opens act fast to ensure your CoC will be represented.
With all this in mind, we encourage CoC and ESG recipients to coordinate and work with their RRH providers to identify whether there are programs/staff interested in attending these trainings.
While the site locations are still being confirmed, we anticipate the following schedule:
• East Coast Rapid Rehousing Institute: October 24-25, 2017 (City TBD)
• West Coast Rapid Rehousing Institute: October 31 - November 1, 2017 (City TBD)
We will continue to provide information as registration and travel logistics come into focus. In the meantime, questions related to these events can be sent to the SSVF program’s technical assistance address at ssvf@tacinc.org.
This event is being sponsored by the VA, with primary support from HUD and our partners The Technical Assistance Collaborative, Abt Associates, and the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Important: SSVF Grantee Data Quality on Households Served and Uploaded Records
The SSVF Program Office has nearly completed the review of Quarterly Certification submission by grantees. Additionally, SSVF Regional Coordinators are comparing grantee quarterly certification responses to the monthly Repository uploads. It is imperative that SSVF grantees are making every effort to ensure that data is reported accurately, submitted on time, and is corrected when necessary. Grantees must ensure that they are implementing their established data quality and verification procedures. There have been several grantees with zero data reported on SSVF clients served. Please note that files that are successfully uploaded/accepted into the Repository may result in zero data records, if there are errors within the upload file. Additionally, grantees only select either RRH or HP when entering client level data in HMIS. “Other” should never be selected and will result in missing data when uploading to the VA Repository. Grantees who have received notifications from Regional Coordinators regarding data reported on households served are asked to respond as soon as possible.
Call For Articles: SSVF Activity Accomplishments / Success Stories
The SSVF Program Office is accepting grantee submissions describing success stories related to the provision of SSVF services in the local community. These submissions provide grantees with the opportunity to chronicle successes and share them with the VA, partner Federal agencies, consumer providers, the general public and, of course, Veterans who may be seeking services. Please review the attached materials for submission instructions. Materials include an overview of process and two Releases of Information (ROIs). Please note that it is required that both ROIs be completed and submitted along with the success story.
Submission instructions are also available at:
Success stories can be viewed at:
http://www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf/?page=/home/success_stories
Reminder: Grant Extension Opportunity for FY17 (Non-Surge Grants Only)
The SSVF Program Office is offering a 30 day, no-cost extension to non-surge grants. All non-surge grantees interested in requesting an extension should complete the published requirement in GIFTS no later than September 1st. This extension will extend the grant period to October 30, 2017. Failure to submit the requirement by the due date will be considered as a grantee’s declination to request an extension. All non-surge grantees will receive confirmation from the Program Office of the extension request approval.
Please plan your program operations accordingly. Grantees that receive an extension are reminded that the final date for submitting payment requests in the HHS Payment Management System will be December 15th. Instructions for providing all other required materials for closing out the grant will be provided by the Program Office.
Reminder: Program Change Process
All requests for program changes, including budget modifications, must be submitted to the SSVF program office though the GIFTS grant management system. For the final quarter of the grant year, the program office offered two opportunities for requesting program change requests: August 15 and September1. Grantees who have did not submit an August 15, 2017 request may submit the Program Change requirement form by September 1, 2017. Grantees are encouraged to review the Program Change Companion Guide prior to submitting their change request in GIFTS. The Companion Guide provides detailed instructions for completing the Program Change requirement form and includes information on timelines for submission and approval of requests. The link to the Program Change Companion Guide on the SSVF website can be found here:
https://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/ssvf/docs/Companion_Guide_to_Program_Changes_FY2017_Final.pdf
Reminder: Homelessness Prevention Threshold Score
In October 2016, the update Homelessness Prevention Screening Form was published. Each grantee developed a new Homelessness Prevention Threshold score for FY17. After using this tool for 10 months, the SSVF Program Office is reminding grantees of the process for modifying the threshold score, should current data and resources indicate a need for a change. Increasing the targeting threshold score does NOT require grantees to request VA approval; however, such changes should be discussed with community stakeholders as part of ongoing community planning. A decrease in the targeted threshold score requires that grantees submit an updated HP Eligibility and Targeting Threshold Score Form and discuss the reasons for proposed decreases with their SSVF Regional Coordinator (i.e., potentially shifting resources from rapid re-housing to homelessness prevention). The FAQs are attached and also available on the SSVF website:
http://www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf/index.asp?page=/official_guide/participant_eligibility
HP Eligibility and Targeting Threshold Score Form is attached and also available on the SSVF website:
Thank you,
SSVF Program Office
NOTE: If you are receiving this email in error, please disregard. We request your patience as the SSVF Program Office continues to address system issues with the grants management database.