Continuum of Care News

SP5 HUD Canned CoC APR Report and Multiple Providers HUD provided information that indicated Sage would be able to merge together multiple CSV uploads when a grantee has more than one provider set up in HMIS for a single APR submission. We have learned that this was a misunderstanding in communication and some projects will need to use a "Reporting Group" to submit a "combined" APR to HUD. Our Industry Compliance Officer is currently working with SP DEV to determine how best to generate the information needed in Question 4a which has limitations per HUD export specifications. We will let you know once we've updated the CoC APR to be able to handle multiple providers. In the interim, to assist in trouble-shooting issues, we recommend first running the APR on each individual provider and reviewing the data before reviewing the data for a "combined" APR. Please contact your CCA if you have further questions. Mediware Inf...

The registration deadline is 8:00 PM Eastern Time (ET) Monday, May 1, 2017 . Registration submission must be received in e-snaps on or before the registration deadline. Failure to submit a registration in e-snaps by the deadline will result in the Collaborative Applicant being unable to access the FY 2017 CoC Consolidated Application, which includes the project applications for reallocated projects, permanent housing bonus projects, renewal projects, CoC Planning projects, and Unified Funding Agency (UFA) costs. Consequently, the Collaborative Applicant will be unable to apply for funds. Therefore, it is imperative that all Collaborative Applicants meet this registration deadline. As of 8:00 AM EDT today, April 26, 2017: 138 CoCs have not completed the first step of registration, which is registering for the funding opportunity, that will allow the Collaborative Applicant to move to the second step of making the registration forms visible for data entry and completion. ...

April 25, 2017   FY 2017 HUD Income Limits HUD has released the estimated median family incomes (MFIs) and income limits for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. MFIs are used as the basis for income limits in several HUD programs, including the Public Housing, Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, Section 202 housing for the elderly, and Section 811 housing for persons with disabilities programs, as well as in programs run by agencies such as the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Agriculture, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. FY 2017 MFI estimates are calculated for 625 metropolitan areas and 1,974 nonmetropolitan counties in the U.S. and Puerto Rico using 2010–2014 5-year American Community Survey (ACS) and Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS) data, augmented by 2014 1-year ACS and PRCS data and brought forward to the midpoint of FY 2017 using a Consumer Price Index (CPI) foreca...

SNAPS is working with staff from Office of Strategic Planning & Management, in the Grants Management & Oversight (GMO) Division to bring our recipients into compliance with 2 CFR Part 200.  Federal regulations (2 CFR part 200) and HUD's Notices of Funding Availability (NOFA) for discretionary funds require non-Federal entities receiving Federal assistance awards, excluding States, to develop and maintain written standards/codes of conduct covering conflicts of interest and governing the actions of its employees engaged in the selection, award and administration of contracts. No employee, officer, or agent may participate in the selection, award, or administration of a contract supported by a Federal award if he or she has a real or apparent conflict of interest (2 CFR 200.318(c)(1)). With the implementation of 2 CFR Part 200, we found that a majority of CoC Program recipients Codes of Conduct are not in compliance , which will require a new Code of Conduc...

Beginning on April 1, 2017, Continuum of Care (CoC) homeless assistance grant recipients must submit their Annual Performance Report (APR) data through a new online database – the Sage HMIS Reporting Repository ( Sage ). Communities will no longer submit APRs in e-snaps. This change in systems applies to all CoC homeless assistance grants (e.g., Supportive Housing Program, Shelter Plus Care, Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy Program, CoC Program) administered by the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs (SNAPS) – regardless of when they were initially funded. Access to Sage To receive access to Sage , recipient staff need to access the Sage portal ( www.sagehmis.info ) and enter the contact information and the recipient affiliation (i.e., CoC). The CoC Primary Contact, who is the person identified by the Collaborative Applicant in the FY2016 CoC Program Registration as the Primary Contact, will then need to approve all users. The CoC Primary C...

Take Action! Join Advocates for Wednesday’s National Call-In Day to Urge Congress to Fund Affordable Housing Investments for the Remainder of Fiscal Year 2017 Tell your members of Congress to pass final spending bills for fiscal year 2017 before the April 28 deadline and to protect affordable housing investments Lawmakers must pass spending bills by April 28 to avoid a government shutdown. Failure to pass full spending bills puts vital investments in affordable housing and community development at risk. By participating in a national call-in day tomorrow, Wednesday, April 26 , you can urge Congress to pass a clean budget and protect critical investments. National Call-In Day: Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 26 NCHV and the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding will hold a national call-in day, tomorrow, Wednesday, April 26 . Tell your ...

Temporary Discontinuation of SOAR Consent Form and Alternative Steps Based on recent conversations with the Social Security Administration, we are temporarily discontinuing use of the SOAR Consent for Release of Information Form (SOAR Consent) while we revise the form to make it more compliant with SSA's privacy guidelines. Communities who do not currently use this form as part of their SOAR Process will be unaffected by this change; however, the information below will still be helpful as you complete applications using the SOAR model. The SOAR TA Center recommends the following steps in lieu of using the SOAR Consent : Gathering Information on Previous or Pending Claims If you use the SOAR Consent to request information on pending or previously filed SSI/SSDI applications, you can utilize the SS...

Learn About Coordinated Entry in Houston! How Houston and Harris County Are Developing and Using Coordinated Entry to End Homelessness     Coordinated entry is key to using our housing and services resources as efficiently and effectively as possible. Read Ana Rausch's description of how the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County and its partners have deployed coordinated entry across the community. Read Barbie Brashear and James Gonzalez's reflection on Houston's progress in implementing two pilot projects to test coordinated entry among domestic violence service providers. Analyzing Opportunities Within HUD's NOFA Registration Notice for the FY17 CoC Competition     HUD's registration notice, released April 10, creates opportunities to continue to strengthen communities' responses to homelessness, including the creation of a new Joint Component project type. ...