From: Perkins, Patrice A. (KCVA)

Sent: Friday, April 9, 2021 8:37 AM

Subject: SSVF Program Update Friday April 9, 2021

TOPICS:

ACTION NEEDED:  SSVF Contacts for Approved Awards in SmartSimple

REMINDER: ACTION REQUIRED: New Activity in SmartSimple, due date 04/12/2021

RESOURCE: The National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) Tool to Locate Emergency Rental Assistance Programs by State

RESOURCE: Not enrolled, but need a COVID-19 vaccine?

RESOURCE: SSVF Compliance Corner- Review of Commonly Asked Compliance Questions

SHOUT OUT: SSVF Program Office Collaboration Highlight

ACTION NEEDED:  SSVF Contacts for Approved Awards in SmartSimple

In order for Grantees to receive communications from the SSVF Program Office, contacts will need to be added to at least the FY2021 approved grant award in SmartSimple.  Please take time to review the pre-recorded webinar titled: “SmartSimple Grants Management System: Adding Contacts to Grant Awards”  which explains how to add contacts to your current grant awards. The link to access the webinar:“SmartSimple Grants Management System: Adding Contacts to Grant Awards” is found here: https://youtu.be/oeCt3TuABgY.  

Note:  Contacts are added in the Grant file NOT the Organization file.  Grant account owners will need to first add themselves as a Grant Contact and then may send invitations to others, with designated roles.   If you have any questions, please contact your Regional Coordinator

REMINDER: ACTION REQUIRED: New Activity in SmartSimple, due date 04/12/2021

On February 12, 2021 SSVF grantees were notified, via the weekly program update, of an additional $114.5 million in CARES Act funding for Grantees in high need areas. Grantees were sent an email on February 25^th, indicating the amount of CARES 3.0 added to the existing FY2021/CARES 2.0 award. As a result, a new activity has been activated in SmartSimple that all grantees must complete. The activity is assigned to the SmartSimple account owner; this is the only person that can view/edit/submit the activity. The request asks grantees to submit a new budget to include all CARES 2.0, 3.0 (if received) and FY21 grant awards and to provide a new projected budget period for use of those funds as they relate to your organization. This activity is assigned to renewal grants only, shallow subsidy grants will have a separate activity to complete in the near future. This updated budget, in conjunction with HHS drawdown history, will be used to evaluate current SSVF grantee spending trends. Should you have any questions please submit them to: ssvf@va.gov.

RESOURCE: The National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) Tool to Locate Emergency Rental Assistance Programs by State

The NCSHA has published a tool to help individuals and providers locate information about the Federal opening of 2021 Emergency Rental Assistance Programs (ERAP) with federal funds through the U.S. Department of the Treasury as authorized by the Consolidate Appropriates Act of 2021.  The NCSHA site indicates various resources as they relate to housing resources for renters and homeowners.  Of the resources provided, there is a map which allows the user to click on a state and find information available about Emergency Rental Assistance Programs known to NCSHA.  For more information, follow the link: Emergency Housing Assistance — NCSHA

RESOURCE: Not enrolled, but need a COVID-19 vaccine?

VA has expanded eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine. If you are a Veteran, spouse, caregiver, or CHAMPVA recipient, you can be contacted when there is a vaccine for you. (Vaccine availability may vary by facility.) For more information and to sign up for a vaccine, please visit the link: https://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/stay-informed.

RESOURCE: SSVF Compliance Corner- Review of Commonly Asked Compliance Questions

Question: We have a system set up to make sure recertification for eligibility forms are completed prior to the 3-month deadline.  Unfortunately, we don’t always have the supervisor review after the case manager and sometimes we issue TFA payments.  We eventually get it signed, but the supervisor signs them in batches which could be up to a month later.  We have trained case managers, so it is never really an issue. 

Answer: In order to ensure SSVF participants continue to remain eligible for services, SSVF requires recertification at least once every 90 days, as supported via supervisory review and approval on both the initial Certificate of Eligibility and the subsequent Recertifications of Eligibility form. 

The Staff Recertification of Eligibility for SSVF Assistance form should be maintained in each participant’s file and is subject to review by VA.  This form should be completed for each household deemed eligible for SSVF assistance.  The form should be completed and signed by both the person determining eligibility and his or her supervisor for all households.  The supervisory review and approval after the fact creates potential risk where the participant may not actually be eligible, and if so, any TFA payment on behalf of this participant could lead to questioned cost.   If the supervisor cannot properly review and approve the eligibility in a timely manner (before TFA payments), then additional controls/measures should be implemented to ensure no TFA is paid prior to the required supervisory review and approval.  Failure to ensure timely review and approval of program eligibility may result in the Grantee providing services to a Veteran that may not be eligible. If TFA is provided, this will lead to questioned costs. (SSVF Program Guide page 36)

The grantee should ensure the following actions occur:

• Provide training to individuals authorized to review and approve Eligibility Forms
• Implement a formal process that requires supervisors to review and sign all Recertification of Eligibility Forms in a timely manner and before any services are provided
• Develop and implement a Quality Assurance/Quality Check(QA/QC) review process to ensure adequate completion of eligibility forms and related documentation
• Update the organization’s SSVF Program Policies and Procedures guide to include the new review process
• Provide training to staff on new QA/QC procedures

If you have a Compliance question that you would like to see included in the weekly blast, please email: Riccardo.aiello@va.gov.

SHOUT OUT: SSVF Program Office Collaboration Highlight

Maria Magallanes, a Coordinated Entry Specialist of VA Palo Alto, has provided the following shoutout to HomeFirst of Santa Clara County, CA.

Hunter Scott and his Health Care Navigator team at HomeFirst worked very hard with our VA Medical Center Outreach team to organize a vaccination event at one of their EHA hotels in San Jose yesterday. As a result, 15 SSVF participants received the Janssen vaccine! There was quite a bit of prep work that HomeFirst did in the form of- outreach to Veterans, scheduling, coordinating with the hotel and communicating with the Medical Outreach Team’s physician. This resulted in a very fast turn-around time in order to make this happen. Other local SSVF grantees were also invited to participate and schedule their Veterans as well.  The Medical Outreach team stationed their mobile van in the back of the hotel parking lot, with social distanced tables and chairs for both staff and Veterans.   SSVF staff were onsite to provide support to both the Medical Outreach Team as well as participating Veterans, and were on the phone placing reminder calls as well as contacting Veterans that were on stand-by (for cancellations/ no-shows) to ensure that the vaccines did not go to waste.  More importantly, it was great to see SSVF Grantees working directly with our VA Medical Center to make our Veterans safe during this pandemic!

Regards,

SSVF Program Office