Homelessness

• Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP)
• Continuum of Care
• Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program
• Health Care For the Homeless
• McKinney-Vento Technical Assistance (TA)
• Transitional Living Program (TLP)
• FORMULA GRANT PROGRAM
• Child and Adult Care Food Program
• Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness
• Emergency Food and Shelter Program

Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP)
Department of Labor

The program provides services to assist in reintegrating homeless veterans into meaningful employment within the labor force; and to stimulate the development of effective service delivery systems that will address the complex problems facing homeless veterans.

Grants are awarded competitively on an annual basis. Eligible applicants include State or local governments, Private Industry Councils or Workforce Investment Boards, nonprofit and faith-based organizations.

The program is employment-focused. The services provided under this program will be directed toward:

• increasing the employability of homeless veterans through training or arranging for the provisions of services which will enable them to work
• matching homeless veterans with potential employers; and
• creating linkages to appropriate services

Approximately $18,000,000 is appropriated for FY 2003, and the President requested $19,000,000 for the program for FY 2004.

Contact: Paul Hinkhouse, hinkhouse-paul@dol.gov, Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, (202) 693-4713, CFDA: 17.805

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Continuum of Care
Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Continuum of Care is HUD’s comprehensive approach to assisting individuals and families in moving from homelessness to independence and self-sufficiency. Because homeless people have varying needs, the Continuum of Care provides a continuum of services to help individuals move from emergency shelter to transitional housing and then to permanent housing. Along the way, individuals in need of counseling and supportive services, job training, and other social services are provided with these opportunities so that root causes of homelessness are addressed. Funding for Continuum of Care is provided through three competitive programs:

• Supportive Housing Program (SHP) helps homeless people live as independently as possible by facilitating the development of housing and related supportive services for people moving from homelessness to independent living.
• Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy (SRO) program is designed to ensure an adequate supply of SRO units to provide housing for the homeless. This program funds public housing authorities and private nonprofit organizations for rental assistance to homeless individuals.
• Shelter Plus Care (S+C) is designed to ensure the availability of supportive housing opportunities for homeless people with disabilities and their families through rental assistance.

In addition, the Continuum of Care is supported through the Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) formula program.

Organizations interested in applying for funds under HUD’s Continuum of Care programs should be aware that competitive applications are generated through a community-wide homelessness response strategy. Currently, there are 458 active continua of care, covering over 90% of the population of the Unites States. These continua are locally-based associations of homeless assistance providers, including non-profits, state and local government entities, public housing authorities, and other interested parties. As a first step, novice applicants should be in contact with their community’s continuum of care coordinator.

Approximately $920,000,000 is appropriated for FY 2003, and the President requested $964,000,000, for the program for FY 2004.

Applications estimated available in February or March.

Contact: (800) 483-8929 (voice), (800) 483-2209 (TTY), Supportive Housing CFDA: 14.235, Moderate Rehabilitation SRO CFDA: 14.249, Shelter Plus Care CFDA: 14.238

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Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program
Department of Veterans Affairs

The Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program is a component of the homeless programs run by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It provides grants and per diem payments to assist public and nonprofit organizations in establishing and operating new supportive housing and service centers for homeless veterans. Grant funds may also be used to assist organizations in purchasing vans to conduct outreach or provide transportation for homeless veterans. Since the first round of funding in FY 1994, VA has awarded more than 300 grants to faith and community-based service providers, units of state or local governments and Native American tribal governments in 45 states and the District of Columbia.

Approximately $7,000,000 is appropriated for FY 2003, and funding for the program for FY 2004 is to be decided.

Contact: 1-877-332-0334, CFDA: 64.024

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Health Care For the Homeless
Department of Health and Human Services

The purpose of this program is to enable grantees, directly or through contracts, to provide for the delivery of primary health services and substance abuse (alcohol and/or illicit drugs) services to homeless individuals including homeless children. The grants may be used to continue to provide services for up to 12 months to individuals who have obtained permanent housing if services were provided to these individuals when they were homeless. For the purpose of this program, the term "homeless individual" means an individual who lacks housing (without regard to whether the individual is a member of a family), including an individual whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility that provides temporary living accommodations or an individual who is a resident in transitional housing.

Nonprofit private organizations and public entities, including State and local governmental agencies, are eligible to apply. Grantees and other organizations with whom they may contract for services under this program must have an agreement with a State under its Medicaid program, and be qualified to receive payments under the agreement.

Approximately $122,000,000 is appropriated for FY 2003, and the President requested $131,000,000 for the program for FY 2004.

Contact: (301) 594-4420, CFDA: 93.151

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McKinney-Vento Technical Assistance (TA)
Department of Housing and Urban Development

McKinney-Vento TA is designed to improve the effectiveness of homeless assistance strategies implemented through HUD’s Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) program and Continuum of Care, which includes the Supportive Housing Program (SHP), Shelter Plus Care (S+C), and Section 8 Moderate Rehabilition for Single Room Occupancy (SRO). McKinney-Vento TA funds States, units of general local government, Public Housing Agencies (PHAs), and nonprofit or for-profit groups including educational institutions and area wide planning organizations. These organizations use the funds to provide technical assistance that enhances the planning, development, administration, and/or evaluation skills of McKinney-Vento program applicants, prospective applicants, funding recipients, and project sponsors.

More than $3,000,000 is available for FY 2002.

Applications estimated available in February or March.

Contact: (800) 483-8929(voice), (800) 483-2209 (TTY), CFDA: 14.235

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Transitional Living Program (TLP)
Department of Health and Human Services

Through the Transitional Living Program (TLP), the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) supports projects that provide longer term residential services to less youth ages 16-21 for up to 18 months. These services are designed to help youth that are homeless make a successful transition to self-sufficient living.

TLP grantees are required to provide youth with stable, safe living accommodations and services that help them develop the skills necessary to move to independence. Living accommodations may be host family homes, group homes, or supervised apartments. (Supervised apartments are either agency-owned apartment buildings or scattered site apartments, which are single-occupancy apartments rented directly by young people with support from the agency.)

Eligible Applicants: States, localities, private nonprofit community and faith based entities, and coordinated networks of such entities are eligible to apply for a Transitional Living Program grant unless they are part of the law enforcement structure or the juvenile justice system.

Approximately $40,500,000 is appropriated for FY 2003.

Contact: Curtis O. Porter, Acting Deputy Associate Commissioner, (202) 205-8102, cporter@acf.hhs.gov, CFDA 93.550

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FORMULA GRANT PROGRAMS

Child and Adult Care Food Program
Department of Agriculture

USDA's Child and Adult Care Food Program plays a vital role in improving the quality of day care and making it more affordable for many low-income families. Each day, 2.6 million children receive nutritious meals and snacks through CACFP. The program also provides meals and snacks to 74,000 adults who receive care in nonresidential adult day care centers. CACFP also provides meals to children in homeless shelters and youths participating in eligible after school programs.

USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers CACFP through grants to States. The program is administered within most States by the State educational agency. Independent centers and sponsoring organizations enter into agreements with their administering State agencies to assume administrative and financial responsibility for CACFP operations. CACFP also provides meals to children residing in homeless shelters, and snacks to youths participating in after school care programs.

To participate in CACFP, an emergency shelter must provide residential and food services to homeless children and their parents or guardians. It must be a public or private nonprofit institution. A homeless shelter or a temporary residential site sponsored by a shelter, or another public or private nonprofit agency, is eligible to participate in CACFP. A shelter may complete an application and sign an agreement with the State-administering agency, or it may participate as a facility under an existing CACFP sponsoring organization.

Approximately $1,925,000,000 is available for FY 2003, and the President requested $2,019,000,000 for the program for FY 2004.

Contact: Keith Churchill, Child Nutrition Division, Food and Nutrition Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 703-605-1220; or visit the website: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/care/cacfp/cacfphome.htm, CFDA: 10.558.

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Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness
Department of Health and Human Services

The purpose of this programs is to provide financial assistance to States to support services for individuals who are suffering from serious mental illness or serious mental illness and substance abuse; and are homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless. Programs and activities include: (1) Outreach services; (2) screening and diagnostic treatment services; (3) habilitation and rehabilitation services; (4) community mental health services; (5) alcohol or drug treatment services; (6) staff training; (7) case management services; (8) supportive and supervisory services in residential settings; (9) referrals for primary health services, job training, educational services, and relevant housing services; and (10) prescribed set of housing services.

This is a formula grant program. Application is made to the State agency responsible for managing the funding under this program.

Approximately $43,000,000 is appropriated for FY 2003, and the President requested $50,000,000 for the program for FY 2004.

Contact: Dorrine Gross, dgross@samhsa.gov, (301) 443-1237, CFDA: 93.150

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Emergency Food and Shelter Program
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

The Emergency Food and Shelter (EFS) Program was created by Congress in 1983 to help meet the needs of hungry and homeless people throughout the United States and its territories by allocating funds for the provision of food and shelter. To accomplish this, the program supplements the work of local agencies already providing such help at the community level. During its first 13 years of operation, the program disbursed more than $1.4 billion to 10,500 non-profit and local government agencies in more than 2,500 jurisdictions.

The EFS Program is governed by a National Board composed of representatives of the American Red Cross; Catholic Charities,USA; Council of Jewish Federations; The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA; The Salvation Army; and the United Way of America. The Board is chaired by a representative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and United Way of America serves as the program's secretariat. Locally, the program is a model of public-private cooperation. The National Board uses a formula involving population, poverty, and unemployment data to determine the eligibility of a civil jurisdiction. Each jurisdiction funded by the program must constitute a local board. The board must be composed o f the same organizations as those on the National Board, with a local government official replacing a FEMA representative. Since 1993, local boards are required to include a homeless or formerly homeless person as a member.

Contact: National Board staff (703) 706-9660 or (202)646-3652 or http://www.fema.gov/rrr/efs.shtm, CFDA: 83.523.

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