Friday, Aug. 14, 2009
HUD Approves Fairfax County Plan for Homelessness-Related Stimulus Funds
New Federal Dollars Provide Kick-Start for County Plan to End Homelessness
On July 21, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) notified Fairfax County that it had approved the county’s plan to use $2.4 million in federal stimulus funds, under the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP). The HPRP, as authorized under Title XII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and implemented in Fairfax County, will include two major components of services that are integral to the community’s approved Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in Ten Years: Prevention Services, and Rapid Re-Housing Services.
As a recipient of certain federal community planning and development grant funds, Fairfax County is required to submit to HUD a Five-Year Consolidated Plan, as well as an annual action plan to implement the goals and objectives identified in the five-year plan. These grant programs include: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG), and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), as well as the new Neighborhood Stabilization Program and the HPRP.
Fairfax County’s One-Year Action Plan for FY 2009 was adopted by the Board of Supervisors on April 28, 2008, prior to inception of the stimulus package. In order to receive the HPRP funds, the county submitted an amended Consolidated Plan One-Year Action Plan for FY 2009, which was approved by HUD on July 21. Fairfax County’s planned uses of the funding include:
- Rapid Re-Housing Services: 55 percent, or $1,350,000 of HPRP funds, will be available for moving people who have become homeless back into housing as quickly as possible.
- Prevention Services: 37 percent, or $910,000 of HPRP funds, will be available for financial assistance targeted toward preserving the housing of households with incomes below 50 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI).
- Administration: 5 percent, or $123,119 of HPRP funds, will be allocated for the general administration of the HPRP.
- Data Collection and Reporting: 3 percent, or $79,279 of HPRP funds, will be allocated for data collection involved with the program and the HMIS as well as other HPRP reporting activities.
