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Send the Alliance Your HPRP Plans
The Alliance is encouraging communities to send us
your draft plans for HUD's Homelessness Prevention
and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP). The
Alliance will post all draft substantial amendments to
communities' consolidated plans that we receive on
our HPRP Resources webpage. This will give
communities the opportunity to view other
jurisdictions' plans and get a sense of how other
localities across the country are planning to use the
new HPRP funds. If you are interested in posting your
community's plan on the Alliance's website, please
email it to Amanda Krusemark at
akrusemark@naeh.org.
HUD recently sent a message to communities
regarding data collection that says, in part, "While
preparing the substantial amendment, grantees
should realistically budget for existing and future HMIS
costs related to HPRP, remembering that HPRP funds
must be expended by September 30, 2012....HUD has
not established minimum or maximum funding
amounts for any HPRP activity category, except for
administrative funds which are capped at 5% of the
HPRP grant. HUD encourages grantees to carefully
consider potential costs to be incurred for expanding
HMIS for HPRP data collection, reporting and
participation in the HUD evaluation of HPRP, and to
budget accordingly."
For additional suggestions and information to help
you draft your community's plan and consider how to
design your HPRP program, please visit the Alliance's
HPRP Resources webpage, as well as HUD's
Homelessness Resource Exchange (HRE) HPRP
page.
Alliance's HPRP Resources Webpage
Alliance Hosts Briefing on the President's FY 2010 Budget Proposal
The Alliance will host its Annual Federal Budget
Briefing, "The President's FY 2010 Budget Proposal:
Implications for Housing and Homelessness
Assistance," via webinar next Tuesday, May
12 from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm ET.
Presenters will go over the federal budget and
appropriations process, the Alliance's analysis of the
Administration's FY 2010 budget proposal, and the
proposal's impact on affordable housing and
homelessness.
This also kicks off the Alliance's spring advocacy
agenda and collaborative work to advance
solution-focused policies in 2009. Presenters will
also provide details about this year's Capitol Hill Day,
held along with our Annual Conference on July 29-31.
Presenters will discuss how to participate in, prepare
for, and organize your state's Congressional visits
and conference advocacy activities.
Alliance presenters will include Nan Roman,
President and CEO; Steve Berg, Vice President for
Programs and Policy; Norm Suchar, Senior Policy
Analyst; and Sarah Kahn, Director of Field Mobilization.
You must register to participate.
Click here to register for the briefing. You
will receive additional materials and information on
how to participate in the webinar prior to the call.
Mangano to Leave USICH
After having served as Executive Director of the United
States Interagency Council on Homelessness
(USICH) since March 2002, Philip Mangano will be
leaving that position effective May 15. USICH works to
coordinate the federal response to homelessness.
Mr. Mangano focused the efforts of the USICH on
encouraging city, county, and state leaders to adopt
plans to end chronic homelessness, to implement
housing solutions to the problem, and to increase
their use of data and research in designing
responses. Under his leadership, the Council also
promoted the Project Homeless Connect model, a
one-day, consumer-focused, one-stop-shop for
homeless individuals first developed in San
Francisco. Over 300 communities have adopted
plans to end homelessness, and 200 communities
have held Project Homeless Connect events. Mr.
Mangano was a tireless spokesperson for homeless
people, especially those who are chronically
homeless. In constantly traveling across the country,
he spurred countless public officials and others to
take a new approach to homelessness. Mr. Mangano
came to USICH from the Massachusetts Housing and
Shelter Alliance, of which he was the Executive
Director.
Peter Dougherty, Director of Homeless Programs at
the Department of Veterans Affairs, has been named
Acting Executive Director. A permanent replacement
for Mr. Mangano has not yet been announced.
CMS Rescinds Medicaid Regulations
On Friday, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) issued rules to permanently rescind
at least partial implementation of four Medicaid
regulations originally pursed by the Bush
Administration. Of particular importance for homeless
service providers was the rule titled "Optional State
Plan Case Management," issued in 2007, which
would have put restrictions on billing for case
management services. The new guidance from CMS
removes restrictions on the definition of individuals
who qualify for case management services, removes
payment restrictions that would have charged
Medicaid billing procedures for activities such as
travel time to clients, and restores the definition of
eligible case management services. Comments on
the new rule are due June 1, 2009. Please note that
this new regulation does not cover three Bush
Administration Medicaid regulations, including one
restricting rehabilitation services. These three
regulations are still under review by the Department of
Health and Human Services.
Upcoming Webinar on Second Chance Act Solicitation for Section 211 Grants
Next Monday, May 11 from 2:00 to 3:30 pm ET, the
Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center
will host a free webinar, "Second Chance Act
Mentoring Grant Webinar: Guidance for Nonprofit
Applicants." On April 23, the Bureau of Justice
Assistance (BJA) released the solicitation for Section 211
grants of the Second Chance Act. Section 211
grants fund mentoring projects that aid the successful
reintegration into the community of individuals who
have been incarcerated. The deadline for the grant
application is May 21. Speakers will include Dr Gary
Dennis, Senior Policy Advisor for Corrections at BJA
and Jessica Nickel, Director of Government Affairs for
the CSG Justice Center. The webinar will provide
information about the application process and answer
common questions.
In the Media: 100 Most Influential People
Last week,
TIME Magazine announced its selection of the
world's 100 most influential people in 2009. The list
includes Sister Mary Scullion, Executive Director and
co-founder of Project H.O.M.E. (Housing,
Opportunities for Employment, Medical Care,
Education) in Philadelphia. Project H.O.M.E. provides
supportive housing, employment, education, and
health care to chronically homeless and low-income
individuals. The article cites the fact that more than 95
percent of those who go through a program by Project
H.O.M.E. remain housed. Sister Scullion has been
working as an advocate for homeless people for over
30
years in Philadelphia. For her work, she has received
numerous other honors, including the Ford
Foundation's prestigious "Leadership for a Changing
World Award" in 2002. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of
New York Times bestseller "Eat, Pray, Love,"
nominated Sister Scullion for this honor. The story is
featured in the May 11 edition of the magazine.
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