Section I: Program Overview - Homeless Alliance of WNY



RAPID REHOUSING PROGRAMPOLICIES & PROCEDURESFor Matt Urban and Catholic Charities ESG and CoC funded RRH ProjectsContents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Section I: Program Overview PAGEREF _Toc409184721 \h 2Section II: Definitions PAGEREF _Toc409184722 \h 2Section III: Participant Eligibility PAGEREF _Toc409184723 \h 3Section IV: Financial Assistance Guidelines PAGEREF _Toc409184724 \h 4Section V: Recordkeeping & Quality Control PAGEREF _Toc409184725 \h 5Section VI: Process PAGEREF _Toc409184726 \h 6Section VII – Terminations/Program Warnings/Suspension & Grievances PAGEREF _Toc409184727 \h 7Section I: Program OverviewThrough a competitive process, the City of Buffalo Emergency Solution Grant (ESG) and the Continuum of Care awarded funds to two agencies, Matt Urban Center and Catholic Charites of Buffalo to develop the details of the program while fulfilling a need identified by the continuum of care and the City of Buffalo’s Consolidated Plan. Homeless Alliance staff will be assisting on advising and administering the program as well as providing Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) licenses and training to ensure compliance with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HMIS regulations.The rapid rehousing program is intended to minimize the length of homelessness on individuals and families. In this round of Rapid Rehousing funded through the City ESG, there are two groups of homeless population who could receive assistance through this program: Chronically homeless individuals who are accepted to a permanent supportive housing or eligible for permanent supportive housing, but waiting for their housing placementHomeless Families who currently reside in shelters and whose Vulnerability Index & Family Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-F-SPDAT) score are 6-11.However, in the event of continued unfilled vacancies, the targeted groups may be expanded to provide services to other homeless families and individuals as defined by HUD’s regulations. The minimum requirement number of households to be served under this program within the grant period will be: Matt Urban Catholic CharitiesESG (start date-end date)15 CH individuals and 20 families30 familiesCoC (start date- end date)80 families30 familiesThe main objective of this program is to reduce shelter stay and reduce recidivism; thus minimizing the traumatic effects of homelessness on individuals and families. This will be achieved by households receiving rapid housing search assistance and intensive case management services for up to 12 months from the case management agencies. Section II: DefinitionsArea Median Income (AMI): ESG funding could only serve household’s annual income less than or equal to 30 % of the AMI. CoC funding could serve household’s annual income less than or equal to 50% of the AMI.Annual Gross Income: Annual gross income will be calculated on the income for the past month x 12. Assets: For the purpose of this program, we will use the term “available assets” which is any ownership of cash or of an item that will be converted to cash immediately. The available asset must not exceed $2,000. A vehicle is not included as an asset when it is the primary vehicle. Homeless – Participants must meet the criteria under paragraph (1) of the homeless definition or who meet the criteria under paragraph (4) of the homeless definition and live in an emergency shelter or other place as described in paragraph (1) of the homeless definition. Paragraph (1) An individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence, meaning the individual or family has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not meant for human habitation or is living in a publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living arrangements. This category also includes individuals who are exiting an institution where he or she resided for 90 days or less and individuals who resided in an emergency shelter or place not meant for human habitation immediately prior to entry into the institution. FY2014 CoC funding can only serve this category. Paragraph (4) An individual or family who is fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, sexual assault or other life-threatening conditions; has no other residence and lacks resources or support networks to obtain other permanent housing and who lives in an emergency shelter or other place as described in paragraph (1).For a more complete definition, see HEARTH Homeless Final Rule at III: Participant EligibilityIn order to receive CoC or ESG program assistance, participants have to meet the first 4 eligibility criteria outlined below. The rest of the criteria is for providing general guidelines and could vary on a case-by-case basis and/or at the case manager’s discretion/judgment. For CoC funded programs, participants must meet homeless definition Category 1. For ESG funded programs, participant must meet either Categories 1 or 4. (see definition on previous page)Program specific requirements:Chronically homeless persons who are accepted to a permanent supportive housing or eligible for permanent supportive housing, but waiting for their housing placement.Homeless Families who stayed in shelters and whose VI-F-SPDAT score are 6-11. (see section VI-referral process for specific rules of referral)Household incomes less than 30% of AMI for ESG program and less than 50% of AMI for CoC program. A household can only be eligible for this program 2 times in 3 years and total rental assistance could not exceed 24 months.Matt urban clients will be coming from Matt Urban Hope House Shelter and Catholic Charities clients will be coming from the Salvation Army. Other shelters referral will be reviewed in a case by case basis.Housing history, education level and employment history will also be considered when choice of transitional housing and rapid rehousing are both availableAssets <$2,000 (see asset definition)NOTE: In the event an individual who is enrolled in the program while residing in the shelter is asked to leave the shelter, the case manager may assist in securing alternative shelter placement. Individual must be homeless at the time of being housed.Residential Requirements:For the ESG portion of the program, the participant has to be City of Buffalo residents. For the CoC funded portion of the program, client could be Erie or Niagara County residents. If someone has relocated to Erie-Niagara area and staying at the Matt Urban Hope House or Salvation Army shelter and plans to live in the City of Buffalo, the Buffalo Rapid Rehousing Program can assist.Section IV: Financial Assistance GuidelinesShort to Medium Term Rental AssistancePrior to rental assistance, the apartment must pass the necessary inspections (habitability, and visual lead for families & pregnant individuals) and a one year lease must be provided. The rent for the apartment must also be within Rent Reasonableness Guidelines and not exceed the Fair Market Rent.Short to Medium Term financial/rental assistance may be provided. Amounts may vary depending on household need. The total amount of financial assistant for one household cannot exceed $10,000. The following percentage is based on the client responsible rent, which is the actual rent minus rental allowance that the Department of Social Service provides. The length of rental assistance should be determined by the client’s need and should not be longer than 12 months. The percentage of rent will be scaled if client and caseworkers determine that a briefer stay is more appropriate; the below numbers represent the maximum subsidy that will be paid at the months of stay below. For instance, no more than 70% of the rent will be covered by the subsidy at month four, but a client could pay a higher share of rent at month four if they and their caseworker determine that is appropriate. Client Pays Subsidy0-3 Months 0%100%4-6 Months30%70%7-9 Months70%30%10-12 Months100%0%Case management could be provided 6 months after the rental assistance stops.Note: Rental assistance cannot be paid if the individual or household receives Section 8 rental assistance or another rental subsidy. We may however pay Securing Deposit, utility assistance (if not included in the subsidy budget), moving & storage, one-time back rent, rental application fees and supportive services.Security DepositsIf landlord is unwilling to take a Security Deposit Agreement from the Department of Social Services (signed statement required), and no other security deposit resources are available, up to one month’s rent may be paid on the client’s behalf. At the end of lease, security deposit will be returned to client.Utility PaymentsIf all other resources are exhausted, utility payments may be provided.One-Time Back Rent for Program Participants ONLYA one-time payment of rental arrears, not to exceed six months, may be made on a program participant’s behalf with supervisor’s approval. Rental Application FeesReasonable Rental Application fees may be paid, but advocates should attempt to reduce the fee or ask that the fee be waived. All fees must be pre-approved by case manager. Moving/Storage ExpensesIf all other resources have been exhausted, reasonable moving and/or storage fee may be paid. This includes truck rental, moving company, up to 3 months storage.Section V: Recordkeeping & Quality ControlAll participating agencies will participate in BAS-NetAll participating agencies will use the VI-F-SPDAT form in BAS-Net(Currently VI-F-SPDAT is not available in BAS-Net. Scanned form will be uploaded to Bas-Net. The total score will be record in BAS-net as well)All supporting documentation will be uploaded to BAS-NetEach agency will set-up a Quality Control Procedure to ensure program complianceSee attached Master Check List to be used by case management agenciesThe funded agencies will provide monthly updates on the balance of client funds remainingAll requests for financial assistance will be processed in BAS-NetAll requests for services/service referrals will be processed in BAS-NetCase notes will be maintained in BAS-Net and open to participating agenciesParticipating agencies should monitor spending of client fundsSection VI: ProcessBAS-Net will be used to: maintain all records, send referrals, capture services provided, request checks for financial assistance, input elements from the Housing Stabilization plan and maintain case notes. All documents pertaining to a household’s record should be uploaded into BAS-Net. This includes: Client identification, leases, inspections, W9 completed by landlord, staff certification, rent reasonableness, housing stabilization plans, homeless/shelter verification, Release of Information (ROI), income documentation or affidavit of no income, and any other correspondence or vital documentation. The City will monitor remotely, so all documentation must be uploaded.All forms and contact lists related to this program have been uploaded to a fictitious client – “Betty BRAP”. Meeting announces are located in the note section of the first page, and helpful tips will be listed in the case notes section. Referral and screening process:For Families: Shelter staff will do an intake of all families using the VI-F-SPDAT and enter their information within a week in Bas-Net. Matt urban and Catholic Charities case managers will perform the eligibility screening and meet with the client after referral to determine final enrollment.For chronically homeless who are at a bridge period:Outreach Worker will do an intake of street homeless clients using the local Vulnerability Intake (local VI) form and determine the clients’ eligibility.Waitlist selection process:Matt Urban and Catholic Charities case managers will take clients who are currently staying in shelter Specific rules on taking clients from the waitlist:Household has to be staying in shelter at enrollment. Household with higher score has higher priority than those who have lower score, and household with higher score will be considered first regardless of date of entry.Household who has already enrolled into BRAP program should not be discontinued from receiving services just because a higher score household entered shelter. Households who are in the referral/screening process but have not yet enrolled into the BRAP program, will be treated like any other households in the waitlist.If two or more households have the same score, whoever has the longest homeless history will be prioritized and served first. Household whose score is 9-11, and meet the barriers below will be referred to transitional housing first. Otherwise, Rapid Rehousing should be considered the first choice of referral. A family that left the shelter before enrollment or during housing search period will not be qualified for housing subsidy unless present as homeless again in a later time.VI-F-SPDAT score for a family will be valid for 3 months from interview. After the 3 months period, Case managers will need to conduct another interview to reevaluate eligibility criteria.The below services will be provided based on needs after a household or individual is enrolled into the program:Housing SearchTenant counselingUnderstanding leasesArranging for utilities Making moving arrangementsMediation with property owners and landlordsDeveloping, securing and coordinating servicesProviding information and referrals to other providersDeveloping an individualized housing and service plan, including planning a path to permanent housing stabilityConducting re-evaluationsSection VII – Terminations/Program Warnings/Suspension & GrievancesThe following defines Warnings, Suspensions or Terminations which may impact the services of this program. Warnings: Written warnings are issued for the following circumstances; if a client receives three warnings, their financial assistance may be suspended or terminated from the program.Refusing to meet with the case manager.Refusing to provide updated income verification in a timely manner. Continually missing or cancelling scheduled appointments with case managerContinually missing or cancelling referral appointments.Suspensions: The issuance of financial assistance requires an agreement and participation of both the client and the case manager. A lack of participation may impact the case manager’s ability to issue financial assistance. Suspensions will be in writing and provide a 30-day notice of when financial assistance will be suspended. The following are examples:Failure to meet with case manager concerning determination of financial benefits may result in a program suspension. Participants are required to meet and participate with their case manager at least one time per month.Failure to provide income information or participate in budgeting counselling servicesFailure to follow through on securing resources, including employment, public benefits, education or training opportunities.Continued lease infractions such as damage to apartment property, menacing, community disruption, etc.Terminations: All terminations will be in written form and should include: (1) reason for termination or suspension and (2) an explanation of the Grievance Process. Most terminations will result in a 30-day notice during which time rent will be paid (the last agreed upon amount in the Housing Stabilization Plan). A client may be terminated due to the following program violations. Participant having received three (3) warnings or suspensions or a combination of warnings and suspensions may result in termination. [30-day notice given]Fraud including fraudulent statements and/or providing fraudulent documents in order to gain benefits or eligibility into the program may result in immediate termination. [30-day notice given]Assault of an employee with any of the participating agencies will result in immediate termination and the immediate termination of financial assistance. [immediate termination, no additional financial assistance]Conducting criminal activity in their apartment may result in termination from the program. Such activity would be confirmed by a conviction, or the case manager witnessing such activity that would put the case manager or other employee at risk of harm. [30 day notice given]Threatening or menacing case manager or any other BRAP collaborative partner may result in termination from the program. [30-day notice given]NOTE: Eviction by the landlord does not necessarily warrant termination from the program. Case managers may relocate client if needed. Reasonable moving expenses may be paid, if all other resources have been exhausted, and as long as the maximum household assistance has not been exceeded.Grievance ProcessParticipants have a right to appeal a decision that has a significant impact on their program participation, e.g. program eligibility, program suspension, program termination. The Grievance Process should be read as follows:Contact case manager’s immediate supervisor and request a review of the grievance. The supervisor should respond within 2-3 business days.Supervisor will have 5 days to review and inform participant of their decision (in writing).If termination of services is upheld, the supervisor will state why he/she is upholding decision.If suspension is upheld, correction action will be made clear.The participant may appeal the supervisor’s decision by contacting the Homeless Alliance at 853-1101 to request a review.Homeless Alliance staff will attempt to resolve the dispute within five business days, but in the event that she/he cannot resolve the dispute, a Grievance Committee will be called to hear the complaint.The client and grieved agency must be present at the Grievance Committee and bring any supporting documentation. If either party is not present, the other will win by default.The Grievance Committee will consist of a representative from all agencies in the BRAP collaborative, excluding the agency being grieved. The Grievance Committee will make a final decision and notify the client, in writing, and within five (5) business days. ................
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