From: SSVF

Sent: Friday, March 22, 2019 4:09 PM

To: SSVF

Subject: SSVF Program Update Friday March 22, 2019

Topics:

1.           Important: SSVF April Regional Meetings

2.           Save the Date: SSVF National Webinar April 11, 2019, 2:00 PM EST

3.           Register Now: SSVF Rapid Resolution Plan Submission Q&A Office Hours March 26, 2019, 3:30 PM EDT

4.           Reminder: FY 2019 SSVF Customer Service Initiative - Veterans Rights Poster

5.           Announcement: Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Case Management Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA)

6.           Reminder: Mandatory Return of Funds for 2nd Quarter FY 2019

Important:  SSVF April Regional Meetings

Invitations for the SSVF April Regional Meetings have been sent and all meeting registration links are active.   Grantees that have already registered for the events do not need to take any action.  Grantees that have not already registered should register for their assigned regional meeting as soon as possible.  We look forward to seeing grantees at the events in April.

Save the Date: SSVF National Webinar, April 11, 2019, 2:00 PM EST

Topics:   Community Planning Survey and Local Housing Strategies

The SSVF Program Office will present a webinar on the release of FY 2019 VA, HUD, and USICH Community Planning Survey.   The webinar will also include a presentation by Elisha Harig-Blaine from National League of Cities and Jeffrey Lubell from Abt Associates.  The presenters will discuss how the production of new housing affects housing affordability, market dynamics that limit housing production, and what cities, towns and counties can do to address affordability challenges. 

Register Now: SSVF Rapid Resolution Plan Submission Q&A Office Hours March 26, 2019, 3:30 PM EDT

Topic: Rapid Resolution – Rapid Resolution Plan Submission This Office Hours call will be helpful to grantees with questions about how to prepare their Rapid Resolution plans for submission to the SSVF Program Office.  SSVF and Technical Assistance staff will be available to answer questions during this time.

Please register at

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4964226127793064706

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

New: FY 2019 SSVF Customer Service Initiative – Veterans Rights Poster

The SSVF Program Office will be implementing the Customer Services Initiative – Veterans Rights Poster nationally to include each SSVF grantee.   The SSVF Program Office reviewed results from Unannounced Standardized Veterans (USV) site visits and determined that Veterans Rights Posters must be displayed to inform Veterans of their rights when seeking services from SSVF providers. 

All SSVF Grantees are required to display the Veterans Rights Poster in locations visible to SSVF participants including front desks, case management offices, or other areas where Veterans interact with SSVF staff.  Grantees will be required to include senior staff (i.e., Program Manager) contact information on the Veterans Rights Poster.  During grantee audits, FOFAs, and future USV visits, auditors and surveyors will verify that the Veterans Rights Posters are displayed.  The deadline to post and educate staff on the Veterans Rights poster is March 22, 2019.  The poster can be downloaded from the SSVF Announcements page:  https://www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf/index.asp.  Please send questions to your SSVF Regional Coordinator.

Announcement: Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Case Management Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA)

The Grant and Per Diem (GPD) National Program Office is pleased to announce a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) to eligible entities to provide time-limited case management services to improve the retention of housing for Veterans who were previously homeless and are transitioning to permanent housing from programs such as VA’s Homeless Providers GPD Program or VA’s Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Contracted Residential Services (CRS) Program.

Information about the NOFA, the link to the application and various technical assistance products can be found on the GPD website www.va.gov/homeless/gpd.asp . One of the technical assistance products is a link to the recording of an 80-minute presentation which provides a detailed overview of the NOFA.  We encourage potential applicants, VA staff and community partners to watch this presentation to gain an understanding of the NOFA and how to apply (we have included the link for your convenience).  Potential applicants should read the NOFA and watch the presentation prior to attempting to complete the application. The application deadline in May 20, 2019 at 4pm eastern.  Questions about the GPD NOFA can be addressed to gpdgrants@va.gov

Link to GPD Case Management NOFA presentation http://va-eerc-ees.adobeconnect.com/p75iq9jdj95o/

Reminder:  Mandatory Return of Funds for 2nd 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 second quarter ending on March 29th at 5 pm EDT, (March 29th is the last business day of the quarter) 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 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 quarter (8 am EDT on the second business day of the new quarter, which is April 2nd), 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 29th.  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 2nd.  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 29th 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 29th, 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