Topics:
1. Register Now: SSVF National Webinar, June 13, 2019, 2:00 EDT
2. Announcement: Proposed Amendment to 38 CFR 62
3. Register Now: Rapid Resolution Office Hours Call, June 19, 2019, 12:00 EDT
4. New: VHA Homeless Programs Office Promising Practices
5. Reminder: Mandatory Return of Funds for 3rd Quarter FY 2019
6. Reminder: Updated Rapid Resolution Compliance Guide
7. Register Now: Facts and Myths: Health Care Employment Opportunities for People with Criminal Records, June 18, 2019 at 1:00 EDT
Register Now: SSVF National Webinar, June 13, 2019, at 2:00 EDT
This webinar will provide an overview of the new SAMHSA SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) for Children initiative. During the presentation, Kristin Lupfer and Jen Elder from the SOAR TA center will describe how the SOAR model can assist children in Veteran families, who have disabling conditions, access income, and health insurance to stabilize housing and maximize treatment options. The presenters will cover child SSI eligibility, the SOAR Online Course: Child Curriculum, and how grantees can become involved in their local SOAR initiative. Kristin and Jen will be available for questions from grantees about SOAR for Children and can assist in connecting grantees to local, state, and national SOAR contacts.
Register for the upcoming webinar here:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5120152271015390978
Announcement: Proposed Amendment to 38 CFR 62
On May 19, 2019, a proposed rule was published in the Federal Register that would offer the option of a new SSVF rental subsidy in targeted communities. This rental subsidy would potentially become available starting October 1, 2019, in communities designated under Priority 3 in the last NOFA, which included the following CoCs: CA-500, CA-501, CA-502, CA-600, CA-601, DC-500, HI-501, IL-510, NY-600, and WA-500. Planning meetings will be scheduled for these CoCs to discuss the proposed rule.
The proposed rule is available on the SSVF website at:
https://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/ssvf/docs/FR_SSVF_Rental_and_Utility_Asst_Low_Income.pdf
Register Now: Rapid Resolution Office Hours Call, June 19, 2019, 12:00 PM EDT
The SSVF Program Office will continue to support grantees in their efforts to implement Rapid Resolution in their communities by holding Office Hours calls on the third Wednesday of each month. SSVF Program Office staff and Technical Assistance Providers will be available to answer questions and provide guidance during this time.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5432270636791836162
New: VHA Homeless Programs Office Promising Practices
The VHA Homeless Programs Office established a workgroup to examine innovative and promising practices to help VA staff and partner organizations accelerate progress in reducing homelessness among Veterans. These practices cover a wide range of topics related to Veteran homelessness. Through a peer review process, workgroup members will select practices that they believe are worthy of sharing with others in the community of practice. White Papers about these practices will be published here to inform VA staff, partners, and others of innovative ways to improve outcomes for Veterans who lack stable housing. White Papers may be found at:
https://www.va.gov/homeless/promising-practices.asp
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 28th at 5 pm EDT, (June 28th 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 2nd), 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 28th. 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 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 June 28th 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 28th, 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.
Reminder: Rapid Resolution Compliance Guide
The SSVF Program Office has released an updated version of the Rapid Resolution Compliance Guide. The guide was developed to help grantees in preparing to add Rapid Resolution services to their SSVF programs. This document will guide grantees on enrollment principles, documentation standards, use of temporary financial assistance, and HMIS data entry requirements.
The Rapid Resolution Compliance Guide is available on the SSVF Website at:
https://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/ssvf/docs/SSVF_Rapid_Resolution_Service_Compliance_Guidance_May_2019.pdf
Register Now: Facts and Myths: Health Care Employment Opportunities for People with Criminal Records Tuesday, June 18, 2019 1:00 EDT
The National Reentry Resources Center with support from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance will present the following webinar:
Health care is one of the fastest growing employment sectors in the country, with the demand for qualified workers greatly exceeding supply in many areas. But people who have criminal records are often unable to enter or advance within this relatively high-paying sector due to a complex web of legal barriers that make jobs and licenses difficult or impossible to obtain.
This webinar will start to separate the myths from the facts about these barriers in order to develop a better understanding of the true scope and impact of employment-related collateral consequences in the health care sector.
Presenters will
• Provide an overview of the state and federal laws and policies that limit health care employment opportunities for people with criminal records;
• Discuss what health care employers are doing to expand opportunities for workers with criminal records and examine the impact those efforts have had on their workforce; and
• Present models for cooperation between reentry service providers and health care employers that are aimed at placing qualified workers with criminal records in stable jobs in the sector.
Grantees may register for this optional webinar using the link below:
https://justicecenter.webex.com/mw3300/mywebex/default.do?nomenu=true&siteurl=justicecenter&service=6&rnd=0.8962521756438614&main_url=https%3A%2F%2Fjusticecenter.webex.com%2Fec3300%2Feventcenter%2Fevent%2FeventAction.do%3FtheAction%3Ddetail%26%26%26EMK%3D4832534b0000000497f09a9901c5b17347214daa1bb9bd454e101abd4a956976c39fea6fd66343c0%26siteurl%3Djusticecenter%26confViewID%3D126096764660886559%26encryptTicket%3DSDJTSwAAAAQvMeaxv1W1nk7rrty89n13SbbbHZ0nwD4eHPgBD_p6vg2%26
Thank you,
SSVF Program Office