Alliance Online News: VA Announces SSVF Funding Availability

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Newsletters | December 6, 2011

December 6, 2011    
ISSUES  \|  POLICY  \|  SOLUTIONS  \|  NEWS & EVENTS Forward Editor: Anna Blasco

Spotlight On...
VA Announces SSVF Funding Availability

On Thursday, December 1, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced the availably of funds for the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program. Approximately $100 million is available for initial and renewal supportive services grants to be funded under this notice for a 1-year period. Applications are due to the SSVF Program Office by 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 15.

The SSVF Program's purpose is to provide supportive services grants to private nonprofit organizations and consumer cooperatives that will organize access to or provide supportive services to very low-income veteran families who are: residing in permanent housing, homeless and scheduled to become residents of permanent housing within a specified time period, and/or seeking other housing after exiting permanent housing within a specified time period. SSVF funds local nonprofits to provide veterans with the kinds of homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing services that were funded by HPRP.

More Informationr

 

Hill Update

This week, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees plan to continue working to finalize the remaining fiscal year (FY) 2012 appropriations bills by next Friday, December 16, when the current stopgap funding expires. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have reportedly reached agreement on some program funding levels, with funding for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education, remaining as a notable sticking points. Congressional leaders may be able to finalize appropriations for HHS, which includes funding for Runaway and Homeless Youth Act programs, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Homeless Services, and Health Care for the Homeless programs, among countless others, by next Friday. If both chambers are able to come to an agreement on all remaining appropriations bills, it is likely that they will release the details of these bills next week. Funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, along with other select departments and agencies was signed into law by the president on November 18, thereby finalizing FY 2012 appropriations for those programs under that department's purview.

New ESG Regulations and HPRP Lessons Webinar Now Posted
The recorded webinar and PowerPoint slides, as well as relevant Alliance materials on other topics discussed during the webinar, are now posted to a special site on the Alliance's webpage. For technical questions about ESG, participants should contact the HUD Virtual Help Desk through HUD's Homelessness Resource Exchange. All other questions relevant to the webinar itself can be sent to the Alliance's Center for Capacity Building.

CBPP Releases Paper on Shrinking TANF Benefits

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) has released a paper on the shrinking benefits provided through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The paper found that TANF purchasing power fell again in 2011 and is now at least 20 percent below its 1996 levels in 34 states, after adjusting for inflation. On top of this, large numbers of families that qualify for TANF benefits are not receiving them. In 2009, for every 100 families in poverty who qualified for benefits, only 27 received any cash assistance through TANF. The paper also found that there is not a single state in the nation in which the TANF benefit level for a family of three with no other income is at least equal to the Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom apartment. In a majority of states, TANF benefits amount to less than half of the Fair Market Rent.

National Conference on Ending Family and Youth Homelessness

Early registration for the 2012 National Conference on Ending Family and Youth Homelessness is now closed. The regular registration rate of $450 is available until midnight ET on Monday, January 16. In addition, the deadline to submit applications for conference scholarships ends at midnight ET on Wednesday, December 7. Scholarships are available for individuals who are currently, or have previously experienced homelessness.

New Research Brief on Linking Services and Housing for Families

How communities are linking housing and supportive services to help homeless families is the subject of a new brief issued by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The brief identified ten promising strategies that were utilized to serve families, including:
  • Forging relationships between program providers and landlords to increase housing options;
  • Creating common intake and assessment forms and data sharing across programs;
  • Relying on non-traditional providers and resources to augment interventions;
  • Streamlining the public housing agency (PHA) lease-up process; and
  • Integrating intensive case management with mainstream housing programs to serve families with the highest barriers to achieving housing stability.

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