Family Self-Sufficiency Program - Renewal

archived

This Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) announces the availability of funding for salaries of program coordinators for the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program. Program Overview: The FSS program supports the Department's strategic goal of utilizing housing as a platform for improving quality of life by helping HUD-assisted renters increase their economic security and self-sufficiency. The purpose of the FSS program is to promote the development of local strategies to coordinate the use of assistance under the HCV and PH programs with public and private resources to enable participating families to increase earned income and financial literacy, reduce or eliminate the need for welfare assistance, and make progress toward economic independence and self-sufficiency. PHAs that administer FSS programs enter into five-year contracts with new families on an ongoing basis. The FSS contract spells out the terms and conditions governing participation and the responsibilities of both the PHA and the family. PHAs are not permitted to limit FSS participation to those families most likely to succeed because of current education level or job history. Program Framework: PHAs work in collaboration with a Program Coordinating Committee (PCC) to secure commitments of public and private resources for the operation of the FSS program, to develop the PHA's FSS Action Plan (the FSS policy framework), and to implement the program. Once an eligible family is selected to participate in the program, the PHA, and the head of each participating family execute a FSS Contract of Participation that specifies the rights and responsibilities of both parties. The term of the FSS contract is generally 5 years, but it may be extended for another 2 years by the PHA for good cause. The FSS contract also incorporates the family's individual training and services plan (ITSP). The ITSP is the document that records the plan for the family. That is, the series of intermediate and long-term goals and the steps the family needs to take and the services and resources they may need to access to achieve those goals.

High