From: SSVF
Sent: Friday, June 28, 2019 11:43 AM
To: SSVF
Subject: Program Updates
Topics:
1.
Reminder: Mandatory Return of Funds for 3rd Quarter FY 2019
2.
New: SSVF Income and Benefits Calculator
Reminder: Mandatory
Return of Funds for 3rd Quarter FY 2019
At the end of each
quarter, a grantee’s total payment requests for SSVF funds (also known as
drawdowns) must meet the minimum quarterly spending percentage rate outlined in
the SSVF grant agreement. Please note that grantees do not submit
physical invoices to the SSVF Program Office; therefore, expenditure rates are
assessed using the drawdown information in the HHS Payment Management System.
For the third
quarter ending on June 28 at 5 pm EDT, (June 28 is the last business day of the
quarter) the minimum spending rate of the overall grant award is 65%. To
clarify, a grant is "65% spent" when 65% or more of the SSVF grant
funds have been drawn down from the HHS Payment Management System. 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 rate while still
reconciling the previous month's SSVF expenses. For this reason, it is critical
for grantees to review their spending information frequently; there is no
exception to the 65% requirement for grantees that had been on extension during
the first quarter of FY19.
The process for
identifying grantees that will be required to return funds and for identifying
the amount of funds to be swept is as follows: At the start of the 4th quarter
(8 am EDT on the second business day of the new quarter, which is July 2), the
HHS Payment Management System drawdown report will be used to calculate grantee
expenditure rates. Those grantees that are below 65% spent will be
subject to mandatory funding sweeps. Note the expenditure rate
calculation will be rounded to a whole number (i.e., 64.4% will be rounded down
to 64%, and 65.6% will be rounded up to 65%). For any grantee below 65%, the
difference between 65% and that grantee's current drawn down rate will be the
amount swept from the OVERALL grant total. For example, if a grantee is 60%
drawn down, the difference is 5%; as such, there will be a 5% reduction of the
authorized award amount. The result will move a grantee closer to the quarterly
minimum rate of 65%. The intent of the funding sweep is to 1) reallocate
funds from geographic areas where the need is not currently being recognized to
areas of higher need where funding is lacking and 2) to assist grantees in
moving towards compliance with grant requirements and eliminating the need for
an extension. The funds will be swept on that second business day of the
new quarter, and a grantee will be notified by the SSVF Program Office of the
amount of funds that were swept from the grant.
How do the minimum
quarterly spending rates impact the fiscal staff of SSVF grantees?
The last business
day of the quarter is June 28. Payment requests (drawdowns) that are made
after 5 pm EDT on this day will NOT be included in the HHS drawdown report used
to calculate grantee expenditure rates. As a reminder, the grantees identified
as spending less than 65% of the total grant will have funds swept on the
second business day of the new quarter, July 2. These values will stand;
there will be no exceptions. Since there will be no exceptions, it is
recommended that grantee fiscal staff responsible for completing drawdowns not
wait until June 28 to complete payment requests, as these requests generally
require a full business day to process. If a grantee finds it is
necessary to wait until June 28, it would be important to enter the request early
in the day. (Note that any grantees outside of EDT, including but not
limited to the West Coast, Hawaii, and Guam, are still held to the 5 pm EDT
deadline, so plan accordingly).
If you have any
questions, please contact your SSVF Regional Coordinator. Please include your
grant number and "3rd Quarter Mandatory Return of Funds" in the
subject of the email.
NEW: SSVF Income
and Benefits Calculator
Veterans who work
or receive VA disability benefits may also qualify to receive SSA benefits. For
cash benefits, the receipt of VA benefits or income from work will affect SSI
and SSDI differently. The SSVF Income and Benefits Calculator is a tool
designed to provide an estimate of how Veterans can combine income from Social
Security Administration (SSA) disability benefits, the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA), and employment to maximize their income and housing
stability. The latest version of the SSVF Income and Benefits
Calculator and a link to the SSVF Income and Benefits Calculator Webinar can be
found on the SSVF Website under the Connections to Mainstream Benefits tab
here:
https://www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf/index.asp?page=/official_guide/supportive_services
Thank you,
SSVF Program
Office