From: SSVF
Sent: Monday, July 10, 2017 9:57 AM
To: SSVF
Subject: SSVF Program Update Monday
June 12, 2017
Topics:
1. New: Practice Guidance - Use of SSVF with HUD-VASH
2. New: FY2017 HUD Income Limit Guidelines Published on April 25, 2017
3. Reminder: SSVF Monitoring Toolkit
4. Reminder: SSVF Grievance Process
5. Reminder: Clarification Regarding Mandatory Return of Funds for the 3rd Quarter
6. Resource: HUD Invites CoCs to Request Vets@Home Technical Assistance for Communities to End Veteran Homelessness in 2017
New: Practice Guidance - Use of SSVF with HUD-VASH
HUD-VASH and SSVF RRH TFA Referral Packet (revised)
The Program Office appreciates the feedback and suggestions that SSVF grantees and their HUD-VASH partners have provided in order to improve the referral process. The packet has been revised to incorporate these recommendations from the field. The revised packet has been uploaded to the SSVF website and can be found at:
http://www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf/index.asp?page=/official_guide/forms
Other Use of SSVF with HUD VASH
SSVF provides rapid rehousing and homelessness prevention services with the primary intention of those services resulting in sustainable permanent housing opportunities for Veterans. The SSVF Program Office recognizes there are certain instances where other VA Homeless Programs interact with, and support, Veterans with housing stability. There are circumstances in which multiple VA Homeless Programs must coordinate to provide adequate housing support; however, this is a targeted practice. This notice seeks to clarify the appropriate use of SSVF assistance for Veterans needing or utilizing HUD-VASH permanent supportive housing.
The guidance below will be incorporated into the October 2017 version of the SSVF Program Guide.
SSVF is a Permanent Housing Program
The intentional use of SSVF as a transitional subsidy while awaiting final HUD-VASH enrollment is not allowable and is inconsistent with PL-110-387 which created SSVF and 38 CFR 62 which govern its operations. VA funds major national initiatives through the Grant and Per Diem (GPD) and Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Residential to meet the needs of Veterans who need transitional housing services. When transitional housing is needed, staff is expected to work with available GPD and HCHV resources. SSVF cannot be used as a planned, transitional housing intervention with the intention of bridging HUD-VASH participants awaiting vouchers or the completion of housing inspections or other administrative needs. SSVF grantees should not house a Veteran with the sole intention of transitioning that Veteran to a HUD-VASH subsidy.
Acceptable HUD-VASH Coordination
1. As specified in Exhibit C of the SSVF Program Guide, Veterans with a HUD-VASH voucher may utilize SSVF resources for one-time costs not paid for by HUD-VASH, such as security deposits. However, these are one-time payments and HUD-VASH retains responsibility for housing services related to that Veteran’s individual service or treatment plan. Please see the SSVF Program Guide more information on eligibility and restrictions for these situations.
2. It is acceptable for Veterans to be housed with SSVF assistance and then be transferred to HUD-VASH as part of a progressive engagement approach, but in these situations the initial intent was to permanently house Veterans using SSVF. In progressive engagement, every effort is made by SSVF to support a successful tenancy with SSVF alone; the decision to use HUD-VASH is based on reassessment that occurs after SSVF enrollment and a progressive set of support has been offered or exhausted, and where that assessment demonstrates that SSVF resources will not be sufficient for the Veteran to maintain the tenancy without permanent supportive housing. See HUD FAQ 530 at https://www.hudexchange.info/faqs/530/is-an-individual-or-family-that-is-receiving-rapid-re-housing-assistance/ for restrictions and information related to eligibility across RRH and PSH projects. These situations should be rare and, where possible, only occur within the context of the local community’s Prioritization policies.
3. In the event suitable transitional housing is unavailable through GPD, HCHV or community resources while awaiting permanent housing placement, a Veteran household may be enrolled in SSVF to utilize authority available under 38 CFR 62.34(f), Emergency Housing Assistance (Section VII of the SSVF Program Guide). Such assistance is most typically, but not always, targeted to families with dependent children who cannot be served by most GPD or HCHV programs. SSVF Emergency Housing Assistance is subject to significant restrictions including a maximum stay of 45 days and the knowledge that permanent housing will be available prior to the end of that 45 day period. In addition, those seeking such assistance must meet SSVF enrollment eligibility criteria.
This Guidance is attached to the Program Update and available of the SSVF Website at:
https://www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf/index.asp?page=/official_guide/supportive_services
New: FY2017 HUD Income Limit Guidelines Published April 25, 2017
The SSVF Program defines an very low-income Veteran family as one whose annual income, as determined in accordance with 24 CFR 5.609, does not exceed 50 percent of the median income for an area or community. Unless VA announces otherwise in the NOFA, the median income for an area or community will be determined using the income limits most recently published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for programs under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f). Grantees must ensure that they are using the most current of these HUD established income limits found at: http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/il.html.
SSVF Monitoring Toolkit
The new Monitoring Toolkit is available on the SSVF website! This comprehensive toolkit will assist SSVF providers in preparing for monitoring visits by guiding grantees through the process and conducting a monitoring self-assessment. The toolkit includes a UMP Crosswalk that can be used to help grantees understand questions on the Uniform Monitoring Package and where to find additional information about each question. The link to the toolkit can be found on the SSVF website at:
SSVF Grievance Process
The SSVF Program Office recognizes the positive and professional manner in which SSVF providers are responding to Veteran complaints or grievances. As a reminder, SSVF providers are required to communicate their internal grievance policy to all SSVF program participants. In rare instances, it might not be possible to resolve disagreements or grievances within your program or local community. In these rare cases, Veterans can submit complaints or grievances to the SSVF program office at SSVF@va.gov. Grievances received by the program office will be processed internally and require grantees to respond to a request for information within the online grants management system (GIFTS). Please note that SSVF Regional Coordinators do not provide direct assistance to Veterans as part of the grievance process.
Reminder: Clarification Regarding Mandatory Return of Funds for the 3rd Quarter
As stated in each SSVF grant agreement, a grantee’s total expenditures (also known as draw-downs) must meet the minimum percentage milestones for each quarter. If during the course of the grant year VA determines that grantee spending is not meeting the minimum percentage milestones below, VA may elect to recoup projected unused funds and reprogram such funds to provide supportive services in areas with higher need. Please note that grantees do not submit physical invoices to the SSVF Program Office; therefore, quarterly expenditure rates are assessed using the draw down information available in the HHS Payment Management System.
For the third quarter, the minimum percentage milestone for spending is 65%. The SSVF Program Office will assess grantee spending based on payment requests made no later than 5pm EDT on June 30, 2017. To clarify, what is meant by “being 65% spent” is that 65% or more of an organization’s SSVF grant funds have been drawn down from the HHS Payment Management System. The SSVF Program Office recognizes the above process is common practice so a favorable lag of 10% (or 5.2 weeks of expenses) has been incorporated into the quarterly minimums. This allows for a grantee to meet the minimum while still reconciling the previous month’s SSVF expenses. For this reason, it is absolutely crucial for grantees to frequently review their spending information. There is no exception to the 65% minimum spending requirement for grantees, including those that had been on extension in the prior fiscal year.
The process for determining the amount of funds to be returned to VA by those grantees not meeting the minimum spending rate for the quarter will be as follows.
Identifying grantees below the minimum spending rate: The SSVF Program Office will retrieve the HHS PMS spending reports on the second business day of the new quarter (8am EDT). This report will be utilized to identify which grantees are below the 65% minimum spending rate. Spending rates will be rounded to a whole number (i.e. 64.4% will be rounded down to 64% and 64.6% will be rounded up to 65%).
Calculating the amount of funds to be returned to VA: The difference between 65% and the actual grantee spending rate reported by HHS PMS will be recouped, or swept, from the OVERALL grant award. For example, if a grantee is 60% drawn down, the difference is 5%. As such, there will be a 5% reduction of each of the subaccounts (ADM, SERVICES, TFA). The resulting amount will move a grantee closer to the quarterly minimum, with the understanding that this reduction may not always result in the grantee reaching that minimum. The intent of the sweep is to 1) reprogram unused funds to provide supportive services in areas with higher need, and 2) to assist grantees in ensuring compliance with grant requirements and minimize the need for a program extension at the end of the fiscal year.
Returning funds to VA: The unused grant funds, based on the calculation described above, will be swept from the HHS subaccounts on the second business day of the new quarter (for sweeps taking place after Q3, the second business day is July 5, 2017).. Please note that after funds are swept, a grantee may need to submit a Program Change in the subsequent quarter for modifications to their budget and/or HHS subaccount transfers.
What does this mean for the financial personnel of SSVF grantees?
The last day of the quarter is June 30th. Draw down requests can be made on this day by 5pm EDT. The Program Office will then wait one business day (July 3rd) for all requests to process. The next business day, which in this case is July 5th, at 8am EDT the Program Office will run a report to see where grantees stand in regards to meeting the 65% draw down requirement. These values will stand; there will be no exceptions. Since there will be no exceptions, it is recommended that grantee staff responsible for completing draw-downs do not wait until June 30th to do so. In addition, draw-downs made after 5pm EDT on the 30th may need an additional day to process. If a grantee finds it is necessary to wait until June 30th, it is important to enter the request early in the day. (The 5pm EDT deadline applies to all grantees, including but not limited to those in locations on the West Coast, Hawaii and Guam.) If you have any questions, please contact the SSVF Program Office at ssvf@va.gov. Please include your grant number and “3rd Quarter Mandatory Return of Funds Question” in the subject of the email. Please cc your Regional Coordinator.
Resource: SSVF Releases New Summary Briefs on Shared Housing and Service Directed Housing Interventions
The SSVF Program Office is pleased to share two summary briefs developed by VA and technical assistance providers to further enhance the provision of SSVF services by grantees and within communities. Please note that Service Directed Housing Interventions (SDHI) are previously known as “Light Touch” Services. Please review that briefs to learn more! Documents are attached to this update and will also available on the SSVF website.
Resource: Updated Versions of Master List Template and Benchmark Generation Tool and Federal Criteria and Benchmarks Review Tool
The updated version of the Master List Template and Benchmark Generation Tool has been released. This tool helps communities collect and track their master list while also gathering the necessary data for the benchmarks. The tool will automatically calculate benchmark performance. Please note that the tool reflects the updates to the Federal Criteria and Benchmarks that were released in February.
https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/4900/master-list-template-and-benchmark-generation-tool/
The updated version of the Federal Criteria and Benchmarks Review Tool provides a criteria checklist and benchmark worksheet to help communities assess their progress toward ending Veterans homelessness relative to the Federal Criteria and Benchmarks. An instruction tab is included and provides additional important clarifications, primarily concerning benchmarks A and B.
https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/4899/federal-criteria-and-benchmarks-review-tool/
Note: These tools are voluntary and are not required by the USICH and Federal Partners.
Resource: HUD Invites CoCs to Request Vets@Home Technical Assistance for Communities to End Veteran Homelessness in 2017 As established in Opening Doors, the country is committed to the goal of ending homelessness among its Veterans. To that end, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched the Vets@Home technical assistance effort in July 2015, to provide technical assistance and additional resources to Continuums of Care (CoCs). Since then, over 130 communities have received technical assistance through Vets@Home.
Today, HUD is continuing its effort by inviting CoCs who are new to Vets@Home to request technical assistance. As of April 2017, some CoCs are continuing their TA engagements, and all CoCs are invited to receive TA through Vets@Home. CoCs new to Vets@Home should submit a TA request through the HUD Exchange’s Request Technical Assistance form. HUD will provide all CoCs requesting TA through Vets@Home with remote TA. HUD will provide more intensive and tailored TA to some CoCs based on 2016 Point-in-Time (PIT) count data, as well as information provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
More information may be found at:
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.