Congress members Julia Carson (D-IN), Geoff Davis (R-KY), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Rick Renzi (R-AZ) have introduced the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act (H.R. 840) in the 110th Congress to reauthorize Federal funding for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Since it was enacted in 1987, the McKinney Act has provided the largest chunk of Federal money spent on homelessness. The reauthorization bill would replace what communities currently call the “lead entities” of their Continuums of Care—the groups charged with coordinating and prioritizing Federal monies for the development and implementation of housing and services for homeless people—with what would be referred to as Community Homeless Assistance Planning Boards (CHAP Boards). It would broaden the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) definition of homelessness to include people living “doubled-up” with friends or family, and people living in motels, hotels, or campgrounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations, and would also authorize the appropriation of $2.5 billion for Federal homeless assistance funding in fiscal year 2008.

Major Impacts

• Allow permanent housing units funded by HEARTH to be made available to able-bodied as well as disabled homeless people.
• Consolidate all current McKinney programs except for Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) into a single competitive grant program, and require the creation of Community Homeless Assistance Planning Boards that must conform to specific membership requirements (at least 51% of each Board must be homeless or formerly homeless; at least two advocates of homeless people or service providers; and one or more local educational agency liaisons), and will be charged with a broad range of responsibilities.
• Require grantees to match 25% of funds granted (except for ESG grantees, who must match one for one), either in cash or with in-kind services.
• Codify the Continuum of Care process that is currently implemented under HUD Notices of Funding Availability.
• Allow up to 3% of funds granted (after ESGs are made) to be used for homelessness prevention activities.
• Allow private, independently owned units to qualify for rental assistance funding.
• Remove funding caps on construction, rehabilitation or acquisition of housing.
• Allow up to 6% of funds granted to be used for administrative expenses, half of which would go to non-profit organizations and other project sponsors to fund management information system functions, application preparation, and preparation of annual performance and other evaluation reports.

CHAP Boards would be established to lead a collaborative planning process to design, execute, and evaluate programs, policies, and practices to prevent and end homelessness. Responsibilities would include:

• Design the process for evaluating, reviewing, and prioritizing projects and grant applications.
• Review and report on policies, practices, and ordinances that affect homeless people or people at risk of homelessness.
• May submit applications and carry out projects directly or form Collaborative Applicants.
• Once every three years submit to HUD an exhibit entitled Assessment of Relevant Policies and Practices, and Needed Corrective Actions to End Homelessness.
• Participate in the Consolidated Plan.
• Create targeted plan ensuring housing and services for homeless veterans.
• Ensure everyone implements outcome-based evaluations of their programs.
• Review local zoning laws to ensure they are inclusive of special needs and family populations.
• Maintain membership of not less than 51% homeless/formerly homeless people, providers, advocates and educational agencies. The remainder would be selected from local government, religious, business, and neighborhood groups and the Veterans and Social Security Administrations.
• Provide estimates on number of homeless people discharged by institutions into homelessness.

HUD

• Can designate an existing entity as a CHAP Board, or decertify a CHAP Board, according to the Secretary’s assessment.
• Evaluates grant proposals and awards grants.
• Monitors CHAP Boards.
• Must create an appeals process to handle rejected grant proposals.
• Advises CHAP Boards of estimated pro rata grant amounts.

Financial Impacts

HEARTH would authorize $2.5 billion for Federal homeless assistance funding, with the following allocations:

• Up to 15% for ESGs.
• Repeal 5% administrative fee allowance.
• Repeal 10% cap on maintenance and operating expenses.
• Repeal 30% cap on aggregate grants expended on essential services.
• Up to 6% for administrative expenses.
• Half would go to non-profit organizations and other project sponsors to fund management information system functions, application preparation, and preparation of annual performance and other evaluation reports.
• The other half would go to CHAP Boards.
• Up to 3% for homelessness prevention activities (after ESG grants have been made).
• Up to 1% for technical assistance.
• Remove funding caps on construction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of housing.

For more information, contact WRAP at wrap@wraphome.org or at www.wraphome.org or visit HomeBase at www.homebaseccc.org.

WRAP and Homebase

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