U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program Overview LIVE WEBCAST September 30, 2010

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 2 I.Ending Veteran Homelessness II.Overview of SSVF Program III.Background IV.Operations V.Participant Eligibility VI.Supportive Services VII.Application Process & Scoring VIII.Next Steps IX.Questions & Answers X.For More InformationAgenda

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 3 Expand existing programs and develop new initiatives to prevent Veterans from becoming homeless and assist those who are currently homeless oIncrease the number and variety of housing options, including safe havens, transitional, permanent, contracted, VA- and community- operated oProvide more supportive services through partnerships to prevent homelessness, improve employability, and increase independent living for Veterans oImprove access to VA and community-based mental health, substance abuse and support services Program enhancements will provide housing, VA health care and benefits, employment, and residential stability to more than 500,000 Veterans I. Ending Veteran Homelessness

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration Federal Strategic Plan VA Five-Year Plan 4 Built upon 6 strategic pillars: 1.Outreach/Education 2.Treatment 3.Prevention 4.Housing/Supportive Services 5.Income/ Employment/ Benefits 6.Community Partnerships I. Ending Veteran Homelessness (cont’d)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 5 II. Overview of SSVF Program Goal of SSVF Program Provide housing stability to homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families Process VA will award grants to grantees (private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives) Grantees will provide supportive services to very low-income Veterans and their families who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 6 How SSVF Complements Other Programs SSVF grant funds can be used as: A services “bridge”/enhancement to permanent supportive housing (e.g. in conjunction with the HUD-VASH Program) A stand-alone, short-term, intensive case management model (e.g. in conjunction with a program using a critical time intervention model) A homelessness, eviction, or housing crisis prevention program (e.g. in conjunction with a program such as HUD’s Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP)) II. Overview of SSVF Program (cont’d)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 7 How SSVF Differs from Other VA Programs Grantees will be community-based organizations Grantees will serve Veterans and their families Homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing focus Temporary financial assistance payments may be provided to third parties on behalf of participants II. Overview of SSVF Program (cont’d)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 8 III. Background  Authority: 38 U.S.C / Section 604 of the Veterans’ Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 (the Act) / Public Law  Purpose: To provide grants to eligible entities to facilitate the provision of supportive services to very low-income Veteran families who are “occupying permanent housing”  Status:  Proposed Rule published in Federal Register on May 5, 2010 (  Final Rule under review by OMB

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 9 VA Eligible Entities (private nonprofit organizations or consumer cooperatives) Participants (very low-income Veteran families “occupying permanent housing”) Provide Supportive Services Award Supportive Services Grants IV. Operations

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 10  Veteran Family:  Veteran who is a single person, or  Family in which the head of household, or the spouse of the head of household, is a Veteran  Very Low-Income: <50% area median income  “Occupying Permanent Housing”:  Category (1): Currently residing in permanent housing  Category (2): Currently homeless, scheduled to become resident of permanent housing within 90 days pending the location or development of suitable permanent housing  Category (3): Exited permanent housing within the previous 90 days in order to seek housing more responsive to needs and preferences V. Participant Eligibility

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 11 Required Supportive Services:  Outreach services  Case management services  Assist participants to obtain VA benefits  Assist participants to obtain and coordinate the provision of other public benefits provided by Federal, State, or local agencies, or any eligible entity in the area or community served by the grantee (provided directly or through referral to partner agencies) Housing counseling services Health care services Personal financial planning services Transportation services Income support services Fiduciary and representative payee services Legal services Child care Daily living services VI. Supportive Services

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 12 Optional Supportive Services: Temporary financial assistance payments Payments must help participants remain in or obtain permanent housing and can be for the following purposes Payments are subject to the restrictions in the Final Rule and the Notice of Fund Availability (NOFA), including time/amount limitations, development of housing stability plan, payments only to third parties VI. Supportive Services (cont’d) Rent, penalties, or fees Utility fees Security or utility deposits Moving costs Purchase of emergency supplies Transportation Child care

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 13 VII. Application Process & Scoring NOFA Issued Grant Agreements Executed VA Performs Threshold Review & Scores Applications That Pass Threshold Review VA Groups Applicants within Funding Priorities (if applicable) & Ranks Applicants within Funding Priority Groups (if any) Applicants Selected Grant Award Letters Issued Review of Additional Considerations* Applications Submitted *1. Preference given to applicants who serve Veteran families transitioning from homelessness 2. Equitable geographic distribution of grant funds, as practicable

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 14 VII. Application Process & Scoring (cont’d) Application Application package will be posted to SSVF website ( and also available on Corporation for Supportive Housing will be providing technical assistance to applicants Application content will include: 1.What supportive services will be provided? Is there a need for them? 2.What are the characteristics of the proposed participants? 3.How many participants do you estimate serving? 4.How many very low-income Veteran families occupying permanent housing are in your area or community? 4.What is the experience of the applicant and any identified subcontractors? 5.How will you coordinate with any identified subcontractors? 6.What is your managerial capacity to perform certain activities? 7.Other questions deemed appropriate by VA

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 15 Threshold requirements:  Application is submitted on time and is complete  Applicant is a non-profit organization or consumer cooperative  Proposed activities are eligible for funding  Proposed participants are eligible to receive supportive services  Applicant agrees to comply with the requirements in the Final Rule  Applicant does not have an outstanding obligation to the Federal government that is in arrears and does not have an overdue or unsatisfactory response to an audit  Applicant is not in default by failing to meet the requirements for any previous Federal assistance VII. Application Process & Scoring (cont’d)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 16 Scoring Criteria: VII. Application Process & Scoring (cont’d) CategoryPointsElements I.Background, Experience, Qualifications and Past Performance 35Background and organizational history Staff qualifications Organizational qualifications and past performance Experience working with Veterans II.Program Concept and Supportive Services Plan 25Need for program Outreach and screening plan Program concept Program implementation timeline Collaboration and communication with VA Ability to meet VA’s requirements, goals, and objectives for the SSVF Program Capacity to undertake program

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 17 Scoring Criteria (cont’d) VII. Application Process & Scoring (cont’d) CategoryPointsElements III.Quality Assurance and Evaluation Plan 15Program evaluation Monitoring Remediation Management and reporting IV.Financial Capability and Plan 15Organizational finances Financial feasibility of program V.Area and Community Linkages and Relations 10Area or community linkages Past working relationships Local presence and knowledge Integration of linkages and program concept

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 18 1.Following OMB approval, VA will publish the Final Rule in the Federal Register 2.VA will publish a NOFA in the Federal Register announcing the availability of funds and the application 3.VA will host a second webinar and Corporation for Supportive Housing will host training sessions on completing the application 4.Applicants will submit applications to VA 5.VA will select grantees 6.VA and selected grantees will execute grant agreements, and VA will disburse grant funds 7.Grantees will begin providing supportive services to very low- income Veteran families in their area or community VIII. Next Steps

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 19 IX. Questions & Answers Questions & Answers

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration 20 X. For More Information Thank you for joining us today. For more information about the SSVF Program, please visit: or call: