Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Substantial Amendment Table of Contents Background ............................................................................................................................ 3 Consultation with the Continuum of Care ............................................................................. 3 Summary of Citizen Participation Process ............................................................................. 5 Match ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Proposed Activities and Overall Budget ................................................................................ 6 Discussion of Funding Priorities. ........................................................................................... 7 Overall Budget ....................................................................................................................... 8 Written Standards for Providing ESG Assistance .................................................................. 9 Describe Process for Making Sub-Awards ............................................................................ 9 Homeless Participation Requirement ..................................................................................... 9 Performance Standards .......................................................................................................... 9 Certifications ........................................................................................................................ 10 Second allocation of FY2011 funds for emergency shelter & street outreach activities. .... 10 Requirements for recipients who plan to use the risk factor under paragraph (1)(iii)(G) of the “at risk of homelessness ” definition. ........................................................................ 10 Centralized or Coordinated Assessment System ................................................................. 10 Monitoring ........................................................................................................................... 11 Attachment A: Policies & Procedures ................................................................................. 12
ESG Program Administrator Contact Information Name (Last, First)
Mensah, George
Email Address
[email protected]
Phone Number
305-416-1978
Mailing Address
444 SW 2 Avenue, 2 Floor Miami, FL 33130
Declaration of FY10 Grant Funds Commitments Activity Type
Obligated Amount
Homeless Assistance
$ 352,509.00
Homelessness Prevention
$0.00
Administrative Activities
$
Total FY 2010 Award
$ 363,411.00
ESG 2011‐2012 Substantial Amendment – DRAFT
10,902.00
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Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Substantial Amendment This document is a substantial amendment to the City of Miami’s Consolidated Plan FY2009-2014 and its Annual Action Plan FY2011-2012. The amendment addresses the second round of funding of the Emergency Solutions Grant program ($203,984). Interested persons are invited to review and provide written comments to this draft during a 30-day comment period ending May 13, 2012. Comments can be e-mailed to the attention of Robert Tazoe,
[email protected] or U.S. Mail to Attn: Robert Tazoe, 444 SW 2 Ave., Second Floor, Miami, FL 33130.
BACKGROUND Annually, the City has addressed emergency and transitional shelter rehabilitation needs with its Emergency Shelter Grant block grant. With the passage of the Homeless Emergency & Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2009 (HEARTH Act) and its proposed regulatory changes, the City will undertake expanded and new eligible uses of the grant. With the Act’s implementation, the name has been changed to Emergency Solutions Grant indicating a broader use of funds. The City’s first allocation of $362,639 is subject to the Emergency Shelter Grant program regulations. The City’s second allocation of $203,984 will be exclusively used for homelessness prevention assistance, rapid re-housing assistance, and administration. For the FY2011-2012 second allocation of ESG funds, the subject of this Substantial Amendment, the city will budget ESG resources to provide funding for rapid re-housing and homelessness prevention services. Between rapid re-housing and homelessness prevention, service preference is being given to rapid rehousing services in accordance with the national priority established for this course of action in Objective 10 of Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, which outlines the goal to “Transform homeless services to crisis response systems that prevent homelessness and rapidly return people who experience homelessness to stable housing,” (pg. 7) and is also noted in the Federal Register, whereby “HUD strongly encourages each jurisdiction to focus as much of its new ESG funding as possible on rapidly re-housing individuals and families living on the streets or in emergency shelters,” (Vol. 77, No. 18, 4339). Additionally, Secretary Donovan, in his video message to ESG recipients, further reiterated the need to invest in the rapid rehousing strategy above all, given its significant impact to helping get persons and families housed. It should be noted that even though the City is committed to rapid rehousing, it is also cognizant of the usage trend of HPRP dollars in our community, where the majority of the dollars have been needed in the homelessness prevention component. As such, we are waiting until the new ESG program evolves, to further gauge the community’s needs and allocate additional monies towards homelessness prevention, should those be necessary.
CONSULTATION WITH THE CONTINUUM OF CARE The Miami-Dade County, Florida, Continuum of Care (CoC) covers the entire county including the following communities: Hialeah, Miami, Miami Beach and North Miami. The Dade County Homeless Trust (Trust), charged with the responsibility of developing the Continuum of Care, consists of a 27-member Advisory Board comprised of representatives from State and local governments, businesses, nonprofit providers, educational and religious leaders, and formerly homeless individuals. Two of the Trust’s Board members are City of Miami administrators, including Mayor Tomás Regalado and City Manager Johnny Martinez, P.E. Besides this representation, the Miami’s Homeless Assistance Program (MHAP) is also a key component in the County-wide CoC and has been serving the City’s homeless population via outreach activities since 1992 mainly in the form of referrals to a myriad of social services, including behavioral, ESG 2011‐2012 Substantial Amendment – DRAFT
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mental, health, and supportive housing. It should be noted that, as part of the CoC agreement, the City of Miami does not operate any homeless shelters as these are operated by the County. For the past several years, MHAP has successfully implemented the City of Miami’s Emergency Solutions Grant dollars to provide for outreach services, and it will continue to serve in this capacity for the new Emergency Solutions Grant dollars. Since Program inception MHAP has placed 70,481 individuals and families into the Continuum of Care. MHAP currently employs thirty three formerly homeless as Community Outreach Specialists (COS). They are assigned as teams of two and network with the City’s thirteen Neighborhood Enhancement Team Offices (NET). As part of NET, MHAP carries out various community projects, such as building condemnations and site clean-ups. MHAP assists the homeless or near homeless during these operations. The program currently operates twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Estimates indicate that approximately 36% of the County’s homeless population resides within the City of Miami (2011-2012 Action Plan, p. 37). The CoC is tasked with developing the master Ten-year Miami-Dade County Community Homeless Plan which delineates a comprehensive strategy for the delivery and coordination of homeless housing and services for the entire County, including all its municipalities and jurisdictions. It is comprised of: homelessness prevention and diversion; coordinated outreach, assessment and placement; emergency, transitional and permanent housing; and, supportive services. This Substantial Amendment incorporates the requirements listed in 24 CFR Part 91 and the City of Miami’s Citizen Participation Plan. In accordance to the City’s Citizen Participation Plan, substantial amendments to the Consolidated Plan and/or Annual Action Plan, including the addition of a program or activity not previously described in the Consolidated Plan (or in the Annual Action Plan) requires a public hearing and a comment period. As such, public notice of this substantial amendment was advertised in the newspaper of greatest circulation, The Miami Herald, and all persons were provided with the 30-day comment period specified in the City’s Citizen Participation Plan. A draft of this Substantial Amendment was also posted for public review on the Department’s web site, and at the Department of Community Development offices. Starting in the Spring, the City of Miami consulted with the Miami Homeless Assistance Program and reached out to the Trust to begin discussions on the new ESG regulations and to plan for the portion of the FY 2011-12 allocation restricted to homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing. On Friday, April 13th it held its Public Meeting at the Chapman Partnership (Homeless Assistance Center) in downtown Miami to gather public input and feedback on its use of ESG Round 2 monies. On April 20th, it went before the Executive Committee of the Trust to present the draft of the Substantial Amendment and gather additional input. Then on April 27th, it went before the Board of the Trust to present the latest draft, further refine the document, and garner their approval. They approved the use of the ESG homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing in ways that: Foster greater access to permanent housing, that is affordable to persons at or below 30% of the area median income given that this is the top need identified, as noted in the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness; Leverage existing resources to achieve the program’s match and case management requirements; Coordinate across regional entitlement jurisdictions by utilizing standardized eligibility and assessment tools; Allow for variations in the program design that responds to the needs and resources of the jurisdiction Some of the ten essentials to ending homelessness as issued by the Continuum of Care in its Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness include: Emergency Prevention Programs, Outreach to Homeless on the Streets, Shorten the time people spend homeless, Rapid Re-Housing and Permanent Housing. These essentials will also be further reinforced by the City’s plan for the implementation of Emergency Solutions Grants funding.
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The most recent Point-in-Time survey of homeless populations in Miami-Dade County was conducted in late January 2012, during which a total of 868 persons were on the streets with the majority of these, 535, located within City of Miami limits. The total number of homeless on City streets in 2011 was 487, amounting to a 9% increase in one year. To further analyze the City’s numbers in 2012, approximately 66% of those homeless within City limits were situated in the Downtown Miami area (352 persons). The Point-inTime survey also noted another 3,086 persons in Miami-Dade County were sheltered, be it in an emergency shelter, hotel/motel, transitional housing, or safe haven. Recent data further refines the County’s homeless population’s characteristics, noting that that 1 in 3 people experiencing homelessness are in families and 1 in 4 are children. Concurrently, the County has seen a sharp increase in the number of homeless families in the system, which have required additional expense in stays at local motels/hotels due to the lack of available space in shelters. Aside from the lodging expenses, the hotel stays only further delay the Community goal of having persons housed as quickly as possible. The local Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is administered County-wide by the Homeless Trust. Providers who receive Trust funding are required to utilize the system. The providers submit monthly and annual progress reports which are used as part of their documentation for monthly billing, due to both the Trust and HUD. The system is also used to generate reports for all types of information, in particular our point in time count and other HUD and Trust Board reporting. The system is used for HPRP and for the County’s ESG provider, Camillus House. Referrals from one program to another are accomplished via HMIS. As required by the Interim Rule, data on all persons served under ESG will be entered into the HMIS system. Other systems which discharge persons into homelessness (e.g. the jails, crisis units, foster care and hospitals) also utilize the HMIS.
SUMMARY OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PROCESS In order to broaden participation of stakeholders and the homeless/formerly homeless community, the City decided to hold a neighborhood-level public hearing at the Chapman Partnership, the Homeless Assistance Center located in downtown Miami at 1550 North Miami Ave., on Friday, April 13, 2012, 10 a.m. At the meeting, City staff discussed the planned distribution methodology for Round 2 ESG funding and presented a proposed budget for the Round 2 funding. An e-mail notice about the hearing was sent to approximately 250 contacts including homeless shelters, service providers, Continuum of Care participants and ESG, HOPWA and HPRP grant recipients. At this hearing, the City welcomed comments on the record, as well as written comments. A public hearing on the Substantial Amendment will be held on May 10, 2012 before the City of Miami Commission. A summary of comments can be found under Attachment B to this document.
MATCH In accordance with 24 CFR 576.201, program regulations require the recipient or sub-recipient to match the second allocation with an equal amount of funding from federal, state or local resources. The sub-recipient, Citrus Health Network, Inc., intends to match $103,240 of the ESG dollars with a grant from the Veterans Administration Supportive Services to Military Families (VA SSVF), which is intended for the same types of rehousing services. Another $68,946 of the ESG dollars will be matched with in-kind resources. Activity Type Rapid Rehousing Homeless Prevention Total: ESG 2011‐2012 Substantial Amendment – DRAFT
ESG $103,420 $68,946 $172,366
Matching Funds VA SSVF In-Kind $ 103,420 $0 $0 $ 68,946 $ 103,420 $ 68,646
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PROPOSED ACTIVITIES AND OVERALL BUDGET City of Miami Homeless ProgramsRapid Re-housing Activities Priority Need: High Description of Provide for Rapid-Rehousing activities. Activity : Proposed Accomplishment: Assisting 24 persons who are literally homeless, on the street or in a shelter and moving them as quickly as possible into permanent housing with the goal of helping them achieve housing stability. ESG Funding: $ 103,420.00 Other Funding: $ 103,420.00 (VA SSVF) Objective: Decent Affordable Housing Outcome: Affordability Start Date: Upon Grant Execution Completion 24 months from start date Date: Location: Citywide Activity Performance At least 70% of the assisted households will remain in stable housing at least 90 days Indicators: following the period of assistance; At least 50% of the assisted households will not return into homelessness in the following 12 months; At least 50% of the assisted households will increase or maintain their income level in the following 12 months.
City of Miami Homeless ProgramsHomelessness Prevention Activities Priority Need: High Description of Provide for homelessness prevention activities Activity : Proposed Accomplishment: Assisting 16 people at-risk of being homeless, thereby preventing them from becoming homeless in a shelter or unsheltered situation, with the goal of helping them regain stability in current housing or other permanent housing. ESG Funding: $ 68,946.00 Other Funding: $ 68.946.00 (in-kind) Objective: Decent Affordable Housing Outcome: Affordability Start Date: Upon Grant Execution Completion 24 months from start date Date: Location: Citywide Activity Performance At least 70% of the assisted households will remain in stable housing at least 90 days Indicators: following the period of assistance; At least 60% of the assisted households will not return into homelessness in the following 12 months; At least 50% of the assisted households will increase or maintain their income level in the following 12 months.
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City of Miami Department of Community Development Program Administration Description of Activity : ESG Funding: Start Date: Completion Date: Location: Performance Indicators:
Program Administration $ 31,618.00 Upon Grant Execution 24 months from start date 444 SW 2 Avenue, 2 Floor Issue payment to program landlords within 14 days of receiving a request for payment package;
DISCUSSION OF FUNDING PRIORITIES. Explain why the recipient chose to fund the proposed activities at the amounts specified (recommended: if available, use locally relevant data to support the funding priorities, and explain how the funding priorities will support the national priorities established in Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness).Identify any obstacles to addressing underserved needs in the community. The City plans to use its second allocation to fund Rapid Re-housing and Homelessness prevention activities, distributing the available amount on a 60% , 40% basis, respectively. This distribution is being made because the City fully supports HUD’s recommendation that the bulk of new ESG funding be utilized towards rapidly re-housing individuals given the critical need for this activity and its ability to transition people out of the homeless assistance system as quickly as possible. The City concurs with HUD’s analysis that using ESG funds for rapid re-housing efforts is very effective because it guarantees the immediate end to homelessness for a segment of extremely low-income households and shortens their length of stay in shelter. This activity will support the national goal of preventing and ending homelessness for families, youth and children in 10 years, while furthering the national objective (#3) of providing affordable housing to people experiencing or most at risk of homelessness, as identified in Opening Doors the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness (p. 30). The City’s HPRP program has worked effectively with 466 persons served through homelessness prevention and another 201 served through rapid re-housing as of April 3rd, 2012. The City anticipates several obstacles in addressing underserved needs including: (1) funding for social services at the federal, state, and local levels are declining and consequently, establishing on-going support services for persons who are on the verge of homelessness or formerly homeless is difficult; (2) unemployment levels in South Florida continue to be some of the highest in the nation and lack of employment is a key factor in a person’s ability to retain housing; (3) there is a limited supply of affordable housing units within City limits.
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OVERALL BUDGET
FY 2011 Detailed Budget Table First Allocation
$362,639.00
Second Allocation
$203,984.00
Grant Amount
$566,623.00
FY 2011 Emergency Shelter Grants/ Emergency Solutions Grants Program Allocations
$42,497.00
Total Administration
Emergency Shelter Grants Program
First Allocation
Second Allocation
Total Fiscal Year 2011
Activity Amount
Activity Amount
Eligible Activities
Activity Amount
Homeless Assistance
$351,760.00
$0.00
$351,760.00
Rehab/Conversion
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
Operations
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$351,760.00
$0.00
$351,760.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$10,879.00
$0.00
$10,879.00
$362,639.00
$0.00
$362,639.00
Essential Services Homelessness Prevention Administration Emergency Shelter Grants Subtotal
Reprogramme d Amount
Emergency Solutions Grants Program
Emergency Shelter**
$0.00
$0.00
Renovation**
$0.00
$0.00
Operation**
$0.00
$0.00
Essential Service**
$0.00
$0.00
URA Assistance**
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
Street Outreach - Essential Services** HMIS
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
Rapid Re-housing
$0.00
$103,420.00
$103,420.00
Housing Relocation and Stabilization Services Tenant-Based Rental Assistance Project-Based Rental Assistance
$0.00
$0.00
Homelessness Prevention Housing Relocation and Stabilization Services Tenant-Based Rental Assistance Project-Based Rental Assistance
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$68,946.00
$68,946.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$31,618.00
$31,618.00
$203,984.00
$203,984.00
Administration Emergency Solutions Grants Subtotal
$0.00
$0.00 Total Grant Amount:
$566,623.00
**Allowable only if the amount obligated for homeless assistance activities using funds from the first allocation is less than the expenditure limit for emergency shelter and street outreach activities (see Section III.B. of this Notice).
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WRITTEN STANDARDS FOR PROVIDING ESG ASSISTANCE The City, in consultation with the CoC, will be preparing comprehensive standards for providing ESG
assistance over the next several months. In order to make critically needed prevention and rapid re-housing assistance available more quickly, it has established abbreviated standards to be applied to this second allocation of FY11 ESG funds, which are based upon some of the basic standards established for HPRP. The City understands that the HPRP and ESG program rules are different in many ways, coupled with the fact that HPRP funding was significantly higher than ESG funding, so the goal is to be as strategic as possible with the ESG funds. This strategy will better refine itself as the ESG funds are put to use, and concurrently the standards for ESG assistance will have to be modified and adapted as lessons are learned. Please refer to Attachment “A” for Policies and Procedures. To ensure long-term compliance with program requirements, the City will monitor the grant activities carried out by the sub-recipient, guaranteeing that program goals and requirements are met in accordance with HUD guidelines.
DESCRIBE PROCESS FOR MAKING SUB-AWARDS The City of Miami’s Department of Housing and Community Development is recommending the award of the second allocation of the Emergency Solutions Grant dollars to Citrus Health Network, Inc. (Citrus), based on the latter’s existent and established network of partner agencies who facilitate the intake process and the agency’s thorough knowledge of the necessary case management required by rapid rehousing and homelessness prevention activities. Aside from this, Citrus was contracted to handle the City and County’s HPRP allocations, among other local governments, and has been successfully handling the program for approximately three years.
HOMELESS PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENT This substantial amendment was presented in front of the Board of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust which is composed of 27-members, including the participation of three formerly homeless persons. In addition, the neighborhood-level public hearing took place at the Chapman Partnership, the Homeless Assistance Center, located in downtown Miami at 1550 North Miami Ave. This center houses more than 400 homeless families who were also able to participate and provide their comments at the meeting.
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS The performance standards for evaluating the use of the ESG activities have been developed with the cooperation of the CoC. Based on the funding available under both activities – Rapid Re-housing and Homelessness prevention – the City projects that 24 persons will exit homelessness and another 16 persons will avoid homelessness under the grant. The City worked with Citrus Health Network, Inc. to establish an initial set of performance standards which it believes will evolve over time, along with the Emergency Solutions Grant. These standards are as follows:
Monitor the number of households assisted who return to shelters after Homelessness prevention or Rapid Re-housing Assistance is provided. At least 70% of households will continue to be in stable housing at least 90 days following the period of assistance;
Monitor the number of households that are assisted directly from the shelter;
Based on need, ensure that 100% of clients are being referred to other appropriate supportive services in the community;
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Issue payment to program landlords within 14 days of receiving a request for payment package; Leverage programmatic dollars by ensuring that assisted clients are contributing towards their recovery from homelessness.
The most significant barrier encountered by homeless or formerly homeless clients in the City is access to safe, decent, and affordable housing. The City has a limited number of tenant based vouchers via the Housing Choice Voucher Program and is still working from a waitlist established back in 2008. Aside from this, Miami-Dade County manages over 9,000 public housing units but demand is extremely high and waitlists are lengthy. Very low income persons have few options available to them in South Florida in terms of finding affordable, permanent housing.
CERTIFICATIONS To be inserted prior to submission of amendment to HUD as attachments to this document.
SECOND ALLOCATION OF FY2011 FUNDS FOR EMERGENCY SHELTER & STREET OUTREACH ACTIVITIES. The City of Miami is not utilizing funds from the second allocation of ESG for FY2011-2012 for street outreach activities.
REQUIREMENTS FOR RECIPIENTS WHO PLAN TO USE THE RISK FACTOR UNDER PARAGRAPH (1)(III)(G) OF THE “AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS ” DEFINITION. The City of Miami is not planning to use the risk factor in 24 CFR 576.2, under paragraph (1)(iii)(G) of the ‘at risk of homelessness’ definition: “otherwise lives in housing that had characteristics associated with instability and an increased risk of homelessness” The City of Miami will be addressing the other six conditions in the “at risk homelessness” definition in 24 CFR 576.2 definitions.
CENTRALIZED OR COORDINATED ASSESSMENT SYSTEM The Homeless Trust provides a toll free Homeless Helpline which serves to direct people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness to prevention and outreach services, and allows for a centralized intake system. Families who call are directed to the Trust’s central prevention provider, Camillus House, who employs clinical staff. Families who are at risk of homelessness are provided an assessment to determine the best course of action. Families who require rental assistance and legal services are provided with those services either through Camillus, HPRP, or as planned, ESG prevention and rapid re-housing programming. Families who require immediate shelter placement are referred to an outreach team for shelter placement. All families with minor children are provided shelter regardless of capacity. If we do not have room in our shelter system, outreach teams provide placement into a hotel until such time as a shelter bed becomes available. Single individuals also access services via our Helpline. The Trust contracts with agencies (City of Miami and Miami Beach) to provide homeless outreach County-wide (Miami provides 24 hour coverage). The outreach teams provide access into our shelter system and serve as gatekeepers into shelters funded by the Homeless Trust as walk-ins are not permitted. The Homeless Trust also contracts a team of clinical staff who serve as outreach workers for people experiencing chronic homelessness. Persons identified as chronically homeless are staffed into new programs and vacancies as they occur in Housing 1st programs which place chronically homeless persons right from the streets into their own apartments, bypassing shelter. Families and individuals who wish to apply for transitional and permanent supportive housing programs ESG 2011‐2012 Substantial Amendment – DRAFT
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(other than the Housing 1st and new permanent supportive housing programs) may apply directly to any provider funded through the Homeless Trust.
MONITORING Existing monitoring procedures are sufficient to allow the City of Miami Department of Community Development to assure compliance with the new requirements. Sub-recipients have written agreements with the City of Miami. Each agreement details the requirements and outlines guidelines, objectives, and performance goals for the fiscal year. Sub-recipients are monitored on federal compliance requirements such as the documentation of income eligibility, timeliness of expenditures, and performance of goals. Monitoring is performed by the Department of Community Development.
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ATTACHMENT A: POLICIES & PROCEDURES
Policies & Procedures for the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) The City’s written standards for providing ESG Assistance as follows: A. Standard policies and procedures for evaluating individual’s and families’ eligibility for assistance. a. Must be residents of the City of Miami; b. Must be homeless or at risk of homelessness as defined in 24 CFR § 576.2, with the exception of
paragraph (1)(iii)(G) of the “at risk of homelessness” definition c. Household’s annual income must be at or below 30% of AMI as determined using the standards for calculations per 24 CFR § 5.609. d. Case files must include a completed eligibility form and certification (which meets HUD specifications) that the household meets the eligibility criteria. e. Records must be kept for each program participant that document: the services and assistance provided to that program participant; compliance with requirements under 24 CFR §576.101-106, 576.401 (a) and (b), and 576.401 (d) and (e); and, when applicable, compliance with the termination of assistance requirement in § 576.402. f.
For each individual and family determined ineligible to receive ESG assistance, the record must include documentation of the reason for that determination.
g. Eligible Uses of Funds: Funds may be used for rental application fees, security deposit, last months’ rent, utility payments/deposits, moving cost assistance, and short-term rental assistance. Funds may be paid only to a third-party provider; they may not be provided directly to the person applying for assistance.
B. Policies and procedures for coordination among emergency shelter providers, essential service providers, homelessness prevention and other homeless assistance providers, and mainstream service and housing providers. All referrals to the ESG program will be coordinated through one centralized helpline where clients can phone in and be referred accordingly to a participating network agency to schedule a meeting to determine eligibility. Staff will evaluate all clients using uniform criteria and will complete standard HUD-required HMIS data entry. The ESG provider must: Make assistance available to all eligible City of Miami households without regard to what agency provides shelter to the household;
Provide guidance to community partners about eligibility requirements and how to access assistance.
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C. Policy and procedures for determining and prioritizing which eligible families and individuals will receive homelessness prevention assistance and which eligible families will receive rapid rehousing assistance. In the rapid re-housing component, the program will first look at those persons who are currently homeless – meaning, as proven by referral from an outreach team or homeless program.
In the prevention component, we will focus on those households for whom homelessness is imminent because their landlord has begun the legal eviction process through the judicial system and the household lacks resources and support that could help them retain their housing. Our experience with our HPRP program tells us that those households who have been served with the court ordered eviction notice are most in danger because the legal proceedings have already begun.
At this point in South Florida, solely HPRP or ESG can assist the household. In both repaid rehousing and homelessness prevention, the applicant will be served based on a first-come, firstready basis, given funding availability.
D. Standards for determining the share of rent and utilities costs that each program participant must pay, if any, while receiving homelessness prevention or rapid re-housing assistance. Rental payments shall follow a declining subsidy schedule (see Figure 1) and after first two months, the amount of assistance gradually decreases so the tenant’s share of rent increases. Clients are responsible for contributing the part of the rent that is not covered by the ESG program. Figure 1 Month
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
City Share of Rent
100%
100%
75%
50%
50%
25%
25%
25%
25%
25%
25%
25%
E. Standards for determining how long a particular program participant will be provided with rental assistance and whether and how the amount of assistance will be adjusted over time. The ESG program will be used to provide short-term or medium-term rental assistance; with the initial assistance offered for a period of three (3) months. However, assistance can be extended for up to twelve (12) months, if the participant is able to show progress towards financial sufficiency.
Once in the program, the participant will be required to meet with a case manager not less than once per month to assist the program participant in order to ensure long-term housing stability and reduce the possibility of recidivism back into homelessness.
F. Standards for determining the type, amount and duration of housing stabilization and/or relocation services to provide a program participant, including the limits, if any, on the homelessness prevention or rapid re-housing assistance that each program participant may receive, such as maximum amount of assistance, maximum number of months the program participant receives assistance; or the maximum number of times the program participant may receive assistance. A stabilization plan will be customized to each client and will include referring the household to other agencies that can provide assistance in improving the financial situation of the household; obtaining mainstream benefits, referrals to budget counseling, etc. At a minimum, the case manager will have contact with the household once per month to ensure that the household is stable and rent is being paid. The maximum amount of assistance for any household will be $6,000 in one programmatic year.
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