Friday, August 1, 2008
HUD Approves FCRHA FY 2009 Annual Plan for Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher
Plan Update Includes Details in Implementation of Homelessness Strategy

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has approved the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s (FCRHA) Annual Plan for Fiscal Year 2009 (Federal Fiscal Year 2008). 

The Plan governs the FCRHA’s Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs, and is a requirement of the federal Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act (QHWRA) of 1998.  Through this plan the FCRHA advises HUD, residents of FCRHA-owned housing, and the public of the FCRHA’s mission to serve the needs of low-income and very low-income families, and the FCRHA’s strategy to address those needs. 

The QHWRA of 1998 mandates that Public Housing Authorities implement changes in operations to improve housing programs and to increase resident self-sufficiency and involvement in policy and management decisions.  One of the most significant provisions of the Act is that each Public Housing Authority that operates Public Housing and/or Housing Choice Voucher programs is required to submit Five-Year and detailed Annual Plans to explain how the agency will conduct its operations. 

The Five-Year Plan describes the mission of the FCRHA and the FCRHA’s long-range goals and objectives for achieving its mission over the subsequent five years. The Annual Plan provides details about the FCRHA’s immediate operations, program participants, programs and services for the upcoming fiscal year. The plans require the FCRHA to examine its existing operations and needs and to design long-range and short-range strategies to address those needs.

In the HUD-approved Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Plan, the FCRHA reaffirms its role in implementing Fairfax County’s Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in Ten Years (see www.fairfaxcounty.gov/homeless).  The FCRHA identifies a number of opportunities to link and coordinate activities with the goals of the homelessness plan and implement the “Housing First” model.  “Housing First”, the central concept behind the homelessness plan, calls for rapid re-housing of the homeless, with supportive services provided once the individual or family is in a unit.  In Fiscal Year 2009, it is anticipated that this will include giving priority for “Housing First” for 48 federal HOME Investment Partnership-funded Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) certificates and potentially, depending on federal regulations and the availability of willing landlords, 50 Housing Choice Vouchers. It is also anticipated that the FCRHA will assist non-profit developers in acquiring as many as 18 units for “Housing First”. Finally, the FCRHA will conduct benchmarking and review its admissions, occupancy and administrative data and policies to identify opportunities to better facilitate with its partner agencies the “Housing First” model.

The Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Plan can be viewed here.