From: SSVF
Sent: Friday, March 13, 2020 11:40 AM
To: SSVF
Subject: SSVF Program Update Friday March 13, 2020
Topics:
1.
NEW: Guidance to Protect Veterans at High-Risk from COVID
2.
NEW: VA Integration in Coordinated Entry Policy Guidance
3.
NEW: GPD Case Management Program and SSVF Referral Packet
4.
REMINDER: Mandatory Return of Funds for 2nd Quarter FY2020
Guidance to
Protect Veterans at High-Risk from COVID19
In consultation
with HUD, VA is exploring modifying guidance it provides to SSVF grantees
around emergency housing placements. Typically, such placements can only occur
when no other appropriate HCHV residential, GPD, or community shelter bed is
available. In response to the COVID19 outbreak, VA is exploring allowing emergency
housing placements even if other temporary housing options are available if
those options would place high-risk Veterans into congregate living
environments. High-risk veterans would include those Veterans over the age of
60 and/or Veterans with significant underlying health problems, particularly
those with a weakened immune system or health problems that impact lung
function. More information about this change is guidance will be disseminated
in the coming days.
VA Integration in
Coordinated Entry Policy Guidance
The SSVF Program
Office has released new policy guidance on VA’s requirement that all VA funded
programs must participate in Coordinated Entry (CE) planning and implementation
supported by local, HUD defined Continuums of Care (CoCs). VA’s
expectation is that homeless Veterans eligible for VA services are connected to
care as quickly as possible and rapidly assigned to an intervention that will
assist them in resolving their homelessness. While VA funded programs are
allowed to conduct assessments and make direct placements into homeless
assistance programs, this must be done in collaboration with the
CoC. SSVF providers are encouraged to work closely with CoCs and
the CE process to establish screening practices that facilitate rapid referrals
when Veteran households present for services. Active collaboration and
troubleshooting will produce improvements that have a positive impact not only
for Veteran households but for all households that flow through CE.
SSVF providers can review the entire document describing the new policy
guidance on the SSVF website here:
https://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/ssvf/docs/VA_CE_Policy_Guidance.pdf
GPD Case
Management Program and SSVF Referral Packet
The Grant and Per
Diem Grant (GPD) Case Management program is a new grant being offered by GPD as
authorized under Public Law 114-315. The goal of the grant is to improve the
retention of housing for Veterans who were previously homeless/and at risk for
homelessness. The GPD and SSVF Program Offices have developed a SSVF and
GPD referral packet to provide one-time assistance for Temporary Financial
Assistance (TFA), typically security deposit, to Veterans participating in the
GPD Case Management program. The packet, while similar to the
HUD-VASH packet, must only be used for Veterans who will be participating in
GPD Case Management program and cannot be used to make referrals on behalf of
Veterans who are enrolled in HUD-VASH or traditional GPD transitional housing
programs. SSVF providers can reach out to their Regional Coordinators if
they have questions about the packet. The SSVF and GPD Case Management
Grant Referral Packet and FAQ document is available on the GPD and SSVF websites
and can be found here:
https://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/ssvf/docs/GPD_Case_Management_Program_and_SSVF_Referral_Packet.pdf
https://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/ssvf/docs/GPD_Case_Management_and_SSVF_Referral_Packet_FAQs.pdf
Reminder: Mandatory
Return of Funds for 2nd Quarter FY 2020
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 second
quarter ending on March 31 at 5 pm EDT, the minimum spending rate of the
overall grant award is 40%. To clarify, a grant is "40% spent" when
40% 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 40% requirement for grantees that had
been on extension during the first quarter of FY20.
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 quarter (8
am EDT on the second business day of the new quarter, which is April 2), the
HHS Payment Management System drawdown report will be used to calculate grantee
expenditure rates. Those grantees that are below 40% spent will be subject
to mandatory funding sweeps. Note, the expenditure rate calculation will
be rounded to a whole number (i.e. 39.4% will be rounded down to 39% and 39.6%
will be rounded up to 40%). For any grantee below 40%, the difference between
40% and that grantee's current drawn down rate will be the amount swept from
the OVERALL grant total. For example, if a grantee is 35% 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
40%. 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 March 31. 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 40% of the total grant will have funds swept
on the second business day of the new quarter, April 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 March 31 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 March 31, 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 "2nd Quarter Mandatory Return of Funds" in the
subject of the email.
Thank you,
SSVF Program
Office