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Department of Human Services recommending the Board, as the Governing Board of the El Dorado County Public Housing Authority (EDCPHA):
1) Approve and authorize submittal of a Family Unification Program application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for up to 25 vouchers under the County's ongoing Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program to assist families and youths 18 to 21 in obtaining affordable housing by expanding services to additional qualified households;
2) Authorize and direct the Chair to sign Certification of Consistency with the Consolidated Plan; and
3) Authorize the Department of Human Services Director, as the Executive Director of the Public Housing Authority, to execute the grant award, if funded and to sign subsequent amendments, contingent upon approval by County Counsel and Risk Management, that do not affect the dollar amount or term, and other documents including programmatic, and fiscal reports related to the Family Unification Program.
FUNDING: Federal funding.
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Fiscal Impact/Change to Net County Cost: There is no cost associated with the application process, and no county match is required if the vouchers are awarded. Funding to support the vouchers will be provided by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Background:
The El Dorado County Pubic Housing Authority (EDCPHA) administers the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program to assist low-income renters with obtaining safe and affordable housing throughout the County. Currently, the EDCPHA administers 374 vouchers, including 50 fully utilized Family Unification Program (FUP) vouchers, providing rental assistance to qualified households.
Reason for Recommendation:
A wait list of approximately 641 households continues to exist in the HCV Program. In addition to the current wait list, the EDCPHA continues to receive requests from service organizations seeking rental assistance to help youths 18 to 21 who have exited foster care or family's whose children are either in out-of-home care or facing imminent separation due to a lack of adequate housing.
The FUP is a program under which vouchers are provided to families for whom the lack of adequate housing is a primary factor in the imminent placement of the family's children in out-of-home care; or the delay in the discharge of the children to the family from out-of-home care. Youths at least 18 years old and not more than 21 years old who left foster care at age 16 or older and who do not have adequate housing are also eligible to receive housing assistance under the FUP for up to 18 months. The EDCPHA has administered FUP vouchers since November 1997 and will seek to increase the number of vouchers available by up to 25 new vouchers.
Through a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has made funding available under the Family Unification Program (FUP) category for the purpose of providing rental assistance to qualified households. If vouchers are awarded, HUD will provide the funding necessary to utilize and administer the new vouchers, and the EDCPHA will assist households from the Program's wait list. In the event that there are no qualified households on the wait list, the EDCPHA will ensure these vouchers continue to be provided to youth age 18 to 21 who have transitioned from foster care and households facing imminent separation by opening the wait list to receive applications from additional qualified households.
This application is consistent with the Consolidated Plan approved by the Board on April 13, 2010, Legistar File 10-0308.
Action to be taken following board approval:
Chair of the Board to sign two (2) Certifications of Consistency with the Consolidated Plan.
DHS will submit the 2010 Family Unification Program application to HUD no later than December 1, 2010.
Contact: Daniel Nielson, M.P.A., 642-7275
Concurrences: N/A