Transcript Harris County Community and Economic Development Department Emergency Shelter Grant Workshop

Harris County
Community and Economic
Development Department
Emergency Shelter Grant Workshop
Agenda
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Overview of HCCEDD
Overview of ESG
Program Objectives
Eligible and Ineligible Activities
Recordkeeping & Monitoring
Questions & Wrap-up
Service Area
Service Area
Unincorporated Harris County and its 15 cooperative cities.
Bellaire
Deer Park
Galena Park
Humble
Jacinto City
Katy
LaPorte
Morgan’s Point
Seabrook
Shoreacres
South Houston
Tomball
Waller
Webster
West University Place
Houston, Baytown and Pasadena receive their own
community development funds and are not included
in the Harris County service area.
How it Works
Provides long term goals to improve
quality of life for low-income people
Competitive process through which
CDBG, ESG and HOME funds are
allocated
Annual update to the Consolidated
Plan allocating funds for the program
year
Implementation and Monitoring
Describes progress made towards
goals set forth in the Consolidated
Plan
The Consolidated Plan
 Five-year plan that addresses:
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Housing;
 Social services;
 Infrastructure; and
 Community revitalization needs.
 Specifies types of projects to be
funded
 Application for federal funds under
HUD’s formula grant programs:
 CDBG;
 HOME / ADDI; and
 ESG.
 Basis for assessing performance
The Consolidated Plan aids decision
makers in creating strategies to address
the following.
 Employment and employability
 Affordable housing
 Adequate streets
 Water, sewage and drainage systems
 Quality education and Workforce Development
 Parks and green space
 Community facilities
 Quality health care
 Crime awareness and public safety and
 Safe, peaceful and productive neighborhoods for lowand moderate-income communities
Request for Proposals (RFP)
 Solicitation and acceptance of
proposals
 According to federal and state
procurement laws and standards
 Applicants must:
 Be a non-profit organization or
governmental agency or entity;
 Expend funds within a 12-month
period;
 Have sufficient working capital;
 Meet one Consolidated Plan
Objective;
 Meet one National Objective;
 Benefit eligible residents in
CEDD’s HUD Service Area.
Annual Action Plan (AAP)
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Detailed description of the
allocations of Harris County
HUD entitlement dollars
(CDBG, HOME, and ESG).
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Discusses how resources
generated by tax dollars will
be utilized for the upcoming
program year.
Agencies Receive Allocations
 Contracts
are developed
between Harris County
and agencies.
 Funds
are dispersed on a
reimbursement basis.
 Grants
Management staff
monitors all projects.
Consolidated Annual Performance &
Evaluation Report (CAPER)
 Describes
progress.
 Reports
on and reviews
county’s use of
Entitlement funds.
 Benchmark
for projects
to be funded.
 Allows
for selfassessment.
Emergency Shelter Grant
Overview
The Emergency Shelter Grant program
is designed to be the first step in a
continuum of assistance to prevent
homelessness and to enable homeless
individuals and families to move
toward independent living.
Objectives
The objectives of the ESG program are to:
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Increase the number and quality of emergency
shelters and transitional housing facilities;
Operate these facilities and provide essential
social services; and
Help prevent homelessness.
Match Requirement
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100% match.
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The following may be used for match:
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Cash;
The value or fair rental value of any donated
material or buildings;
The value of any lease on a building;
Salary paid to staff to carry out the program;
and
The value of the time and services contributed
by volunteers at a rate of $5/hour.
Eligible Clients
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A person must be homeless (or at great risk of
becoming immediately homeless) to receive help from
ESG projects.
HUD’s definition of a homeless person is
someone who:
 Is living on the street; or
 Is in an emergency shelter; or
 Would be living on the street or in an
emergency shelter without HUD’s
homelessness assistance.
Eligible Activities
ESG eligible activities:
Renovation, rehabilitation and conversion
of buildings for use as emergency
shelters or transitional housing for the
homeless;
 Essential services;
 Operating costs such as maintenance,
insurance, rent, etc.; and
 Homeless prevention.
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Emergency Shelter Renovation,
Rehabilitation or Conversion
Renovation
 Includes
rehabilitation that costs less than
75% of the value of the building before
rehabilitation.
 Requires
the rehabilitated building to be
used as a shelter for three years.
Emergency Shelter Renovation,
Rehabilitation or Conversion
Major Rehabilitation
 Includes
rehabilitation that costs over 75%
of the value of the building before
rehabilitation.
 Requires
the rehabilitated building to be
used as a shelter for ten years.
Emergency Shelter Renovation,
Rehabilitation or Conversion
Emergency Shelter Conversion:
Conversion means a change in the use
of a building to an emergency shelter
for the homeless, where the cost of
conversion and any rehabilitation costs
exceed 75% of the value of the building
after conversion.
Emergency Shelter Renovation,
Rehabilitation or Conversion
Ineligible costs:
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Acquisition of real property;
New construction;
Property clearance or demolition;
Rehabilitation administration;
Staff training or fund raising activities
associated with rehabilitation; and
Building maintenance and repairs.
Essential Services
New Service or Quantifiable Increase
ESG Funds:
Can be used for a new service;
 Can be used for a quantifiable increase in
service;
 Cannot be used to replace existing
government or non-profit funding of the
same service.
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Essential Services
Eligible Activities:
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Assistance in obtaining permanent housing;
Medical and psychological counseling and
supervision;
Employment counseling;
Nutritional counseling;
Substance abuse treatment and counseling;
and
Assistance in obtaining other Federal, State
and local assistance. (mental health benefits, employment
counseling, medical assistance, Veteran’s benefits, and income support
assistance such as supplemental Security Income benefits)
Essential Services
Ineligible Activities:
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Existing services and staff;
Salary of case management supervisor when not
working directly on participant issues;
Advocacy, planning, and organizational capacity
building;
Staff recruitment/training; and
Transportation costs not directly associated with
service delivery.
Operating Costs
Eligible Activities
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Operation
Insurance
Utilities
Furnishings
Payment for shelter
maintenance
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Rent
Repairs
Security
Fuel
Equipment
Food
Maintenance
Operating Costs
Limitations on Funding
Staff salaries (including fringe benefits) are limited
to 10% of the grant.
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Maintenance and security salary costs are not
subject to the 10% cap.
Example: An organization receiving $55,000
in ESG monies for operational costs could
only use $5,500 (10%) for operational staff
costs.
Operating Costs
Ineligible Activities
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Recruitment or ongoing training of
staff
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Depreciation
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Public relations or
fund raising
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Staff training,
entertainment,
conferences, or
retreats
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Bad debts/late fees
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Mortgage payments
Costs associated with the organization rather than the
supportive housing project (advertisements, pamphlets
about organization, surveys, etc.).
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Homeless Prevention
Includes financial assistance to families who have
received eviction notices or notices of termination of
utility services if:
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The family cannot make the payments due to a sudden
reduction in income;
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Assistance is necessary to avoid the eviction or
termination of services;
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The family will be able to resume payments within a
reasonable period of time; and,
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Assistance will not supplant funding for preexisting
homelessness prevention activities from other
sources.
Homeless Prevention
Eligible Activities:
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Short-term subsidies (90 days) for rent and utilities for
families that have received eviction or utility
termination notices;
Security deposits or first month’s rent for homeless
families;
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Mediation programs for landlord-tenant disputes;
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Legal representation programs for indigent tenants in
eviction proceedings;
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Payments to prevent foreclosure on a home; and
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Other activities designed to prevent homelessness.
Homeless Prevention
Ineligible Activities
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Housing/services to homeless
persons
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Long-term assistance (beyond 90
days)
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Direct payments to individuals
Program Requirements
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Documentation of Homelessness
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Termination of Participation and
Grievance Procedure
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Participation of Homeless
Persons in Policy-Making and
Operations
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Ensuring Confidentiality
Program Requirements Documentation
of Homelessness
Documentation must be:
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Obtained from the participant or a third party;
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Obtained at the time of referral, entry, intake or
orientation to the ESG-funded project;
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Maintained in the client file to determine the
eligibility of persons served;
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In the form of either the Individual Eligibility
Form or other acceptable documents for different
situations.
Program Requirements
Termination of Participation and
Grievance Procedure
Organizations must have a procedure
that describes:
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Program requirements;
Termination process; and
Grievance procedure.
Program Requirements
Participation of Homeless Persons in
Policy-Making and Operations
Policy-Making
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Service providers of ESG funds are required
by law to provide for the participation of at
least one homeless or formerly homeless
person in a policy-making function within the
organization.
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All applicable policy-making homeless
person(s) must be noted by organization’s
board of directors.
Program Requirements
Participation of Homeless Persons in
Policy-Making and Operations
Operations
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Homeless participants must be
involved in the operation of the ESG
funded program.
Involvement can include participants’
employment or volunteerism in
project activities.
Program Requirements
Ensuring Confidentiality
To ensure the safety of participants fleeing
domestic violence situations, ESG-funded
organizations are required to:
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Implement procedures to guarantee
confidentiality;
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Not publicly disclose the address/location of the
family violence shelter (except with written
authorization of person(s) responsible for the shelter
facility’s operation); and
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Keep written records or files of families under
lock and key with limited access to those files.
Recordkeeping & Monitoring
Overview
General recordkeeping
requirements
 Access to records
 Retention of records
 Monitoring
 Reporting requirements
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General Recordkeeping Requirements
Records should be:
 Accurate, complete, orderly; and
 Maintained in order to:
 Document all ESG funded activities;
and
 Demonstrate compliance with all
applicable program and other
requirements.*
* According to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) 24
CFR Part 570 and Part 570.208.
General Recordkeeping Requirements
ESG funded organizations must
establish and maintain:
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Administrative records
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Financial Records, and
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Project/case files.
Access to Records
Records are used to create audits, examinations,
excerpts and transcripts. The following have
access to records of ESG funded organizations:
CEDD representatives;
 HUD representatives;
 Comptroller General’s Office of the United
States;
 Other authorized governmental agencies;
 Citizens (24 CFR 570.508).
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Monitoring
The primary mission of monitoring is to ensure that
organizations are:
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In compliance with all regulations governing
their:
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Administrative;
Financial; and
Programmatic operations; and
Achieving their performance objectives within
their schedule and budget, as outlined in the
Agreement.
Monitoring
Five steps in a monitoring visit
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Notification letter
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Entrance conference
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Documentation, data acquisition and
analysis
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Exit conference
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Monitoring letter
Reporting Requirements
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Reporting requirements are specified by the
Grantee (CEDD) in the Subrecipient
Agreement.
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Programmatic and Financial Reimbursement
Request Reports are due monthly.
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Quarterly and Annual reports may also
apply.
Questions
And
Answers
Questions?
Contact:
Shanna Lebrum
Senior Program Analyst
(713) 578-2000, ext. (2051)
[email protected]
Or visit our website at:
www.cedd.hctx.net