1 1 preventing and re-defining homelessness how new hud policies will help more children, youth, and...

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Preventing and Re-Defining Homelessness

How New HUD Policies Will Help More Children, Youth, and Families

Phillip LovellFirst Focus

Jeremy RosenNational Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness

November 15-16, 2009

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New Housing Policies to Prevent and End

Homelessness• Rewriting of law governing HUD

homeless assistance programs (HUD definition of homelessness)

• Protections for renters in foreclosed properties

• Prevention resources in “Recovery Act”

• FY 2010 HUD budget

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When Last We Left You…

• Election Day, 2008 (Obama won)• Foreclosures and poor economy

driving increases in child, youth, and family homelessness

• Schools struggling to respond; HUD effectively not helping

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Today’s State of Play

• New leadership at HUD and US Interagency Council on Homelessness

• New legislation to address homelessness

• New funding to address homelessness

• Take away: “A Mixed Bag!”

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New Leadership at HUD and USICH

• New HUD Secretary and top staff have met with us, but action still needed

• New USICH ED just named– Replaces Philip Mangano– Status of regional coordinators up in

air

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Recently Enacted Legislation:HUD McKinney-Vento

Reauthorization• Homeless Emergency Assistance

and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act

• Complete re-write of law governing HUD homeless programs

• HUD will have to write new detailed regulations

• Most changes positive, but not as far as we wanted in some key areas

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Reauthorization• When is the new law effective?

– Homeless definition – 6 months (11/20/09)• DEADLINE WILL NOT BE MET!!!

– Remainder of bill effective 3 months after final regulations due (8/20/10) or 18 months after bill passed (11/20/10) – in case regulations not completed on time

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Reauthorization• History – HUD definition basically

covers people living on the streets or in emergency and transitional shelter

• People living doubled up or in motels left out

• Major ED/HUD gap, preventing homeless students and their families from getting housing through HUD

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Reauthorization• Educators and other state and local

advocates brought this to the attention of national advocates

• NPACH, NAEHCY, First Focus led national campaign to fix the problem

• NAEH and other national groups opposed, along with USICH and HUD

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Reauthorization• What did we want?

– Very simple, very easy– Take existing HUD definition and add

people living in motels and people living doubled up

– Would have brought HUD definition into near alignment with ED definition

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Reauthorization• What did we get?• Three new categories• Unnecessarily complex• Full definition language on handout

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Reauthorization• Category 1: People who will lose

their housing w/ in 14 days, as shown by:– Court order– Living in a motel and doesn’t have

resources to stay for >14 days– Credible evidence that they cannot

stay where they are for >14 days

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Reauthorization• Category 2: Unaccompanied youth

and families w/ children defined as homeless under other federal laws, IF– Have not been in permanent housing for

a long time, AND experienced persistent instability as measured by frequent moves, AND can be expected to continue this way due to severe barriers

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Reauthorization• Category 3: Individuals or families

fleeing domestic violence or other dangerous or life threatening conditions in their current housing, including where the health or safety of children is jeopardized

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Reauthorization• Gaps???

– People in motels who have $ for 15+ days– Doubled up people who are not going to be thrown

out w/ in 14 days and haven’t made frequent moves

• Rest of people covered by ED definition are defined as “at risk of homelessness” and can only access some of HUD’s homeless assistance resources

• Needlessly complex, but if providers know rules, many people can be fully covered

• No counts of newly defined homeless persons

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Reauthorization:Provisions Related to Children and

Youth• Continuum of Care (CofC) plans must describe collaboration with LEA, including identification and informing of rights

• 2 years after enactment (5/20/11), no denying shelter based on age unless appropriate alternative living arrangements made (aka the “teenage boys law”)

• Programs providing services to families or youth must designate a staff person to ensure children/youth enrolled in school and receiving services

• Agencies must certify they will not restrict the exercise of educational rights

• Educational needs of children must be taken into account when placed in shelter, placing children, to the maximum extent practicable, close to school of origin

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Reauthorization• New prevention resources

– Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) renamed Emergency Solutions Grant; funding increased to 20%

– Communities can use a maximum of 3/5 for emergency shelter

– Remainder to prevention for “at risk”– Prevention expanded – can be used

for housing and other services

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Reauthorization• Program simplification

– No more Supportive Housing Program, Shelter Plus Care, Section 8 Mod Rehab; three programs with three sets of rules

– New law sets up one program with one set of rules – can fund housing or services

– 25% match for all activities except leasing; encourages permanent housing

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Reauthorization• Housing requirements / incentives

– 10% of funds for permanent housing for homeless families with children

– No disability requirement for permanent housing

– 30% of funds for permanent housing for disabled individuals or families with disabled head of household

– Families can be considered chronically homeless if head of household is disabled and other criteria are met

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Reauthorization• Rural communities

– Can serve all populations with all interventions, whether “at risk” or “homeless”

– Defined as areas with population density of less than 30 per square mile, in states where more than 1.25% of land is federal

– Unclear for now what areas are covered; must wait for HUD to determine this

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Renter Protections

• Up to 40% of foreclosed properties occupied by renters

• Most states offer few protections – foreclosure means lease is terminated and tenant can be evicted at any time

• These evictions are helping to drive current spike in family homelessness

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Renter Protections

• “Regular” (not Section 8) tenants– If they have a lease, they can stay until it

ends– EXCEPTION – If purchaser will use

property as primary residence, 90 days notice can be given even if lease runs longer

– If no lease or lease w/ in 90 days of expiring, must be given 90 days notice

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Renter Protections

• Section 8 tenants– New owner post foreclosure takes

property subject to existing lease between old owner and tenant AND the Section 8 contract between old owner and PHA. So no change post-foreclosure.

– EXCEPTION – If purchaser will use property as primary residence, 90 days notice can be given even if lease runs longer

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Renter Protections

• Effective immediately• Serve as a floor; if current or future

state law is better, then that law applies

• Expire December 31, 2012– Meant to deal with current crisis– Opportunity to extend if necessary

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American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:

HUD Homelessness Prevention Funds

• $1.5 billion for “Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program” (HPRP)

• Distributed through existing ESG formula• Money has already been allocated and has

“hit the streets” in past month• Who got it in your community???

– http://hudhre.info/documents/HPRPContactInfoJul09.pdf

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HUD HPRP Funds - Guidelines• Eligible Grantees:

– States, metropolitan cities, urban counties

– Grantees may subgrant to other local units of government or nonprofits as long as local unit of government in locality where the program operates certifies that it approves of the program

– Likely to have occurred in many communities

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HUD HPRP Funds - Guidelines• Eligible Recipients:

– People at risk of homelessness who need temporary rent, utility, or relocation assistance

– People who are homeless and need temporary assistance in order to obtain housing and retain it

– Both at-risk and homeless households must:• Be at or below 50% of Area Median Income• No appropriate subsequent housing identified• Lack financial resources and support networks needed to

obtain immediate housing or remain in existing housing– Any person receiving rental assistance must have an initial

consultation with case manager to determine need

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HUD HPRP Funds - Guidelines•Eligible Activities:

–short-term and medium-term rental assistance (up to 18 months), deposits; –housing relocation and stabilization services; –housing search; –mediation and outreach to property owners; –legal services; –credit repair; –resolution of security or utility deposits; –utility payments; –rental assistance for a final month at a location; –moving costs assistance; and –Other appropriate homelessness prevention and rehousing activities - including case management to link recipients to community services and ensure continued tenancy.

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HPRP Program - More Information

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Homelessness Resource Exchange - www.hudhre.info

National Center for Homeless Education -www.serve.org/nche

http://www.hudhre.info/

http://www.serve.org/nche

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FY 2010 HUD Budget

• Still not approved• Will be mostly maintenance of effort• Significant new $$$ for homeless

assistance ($175 million)• Very modest new Section 8 vouchers

– 10k for homeless veterans (including families) and 2k+ for family unification and youth aging out of foster care

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Next Steps

• For legislative emails, send email request to [email protected] and/or [email protected] (or give us your card/paper with email address)

• For web updates: www.firstfocus.net www.naehcy.org/update.html

www.npach.org

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.firstfocus.net/

http://www.naehcy.org/update.html

http://www.npach.org/

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Contact InformationPhillip Lovell

Vice President, Education, Housing, & Youth Policy First FocusPhone: 202.657.0679Email: [email protected]

Jeremy RosenExecutive DirectorNational Policy and Advocacy Council on

HomelessnessPhone: 202.714.5378Email: [email protected]



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