The Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program was created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 111-5), hereinafter referred to as ARRA. Originally called the Homelessness Prevention Fund in P.L. 111-5, the program was renamed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program in a March 19, 2009 notice (Docket No. FR-5307-N-01).
ARRA directed HUD to provide $1.5 billion in funding to states and entitlement communities to use to prevent homelessness and to provide rapid re-housing assistance to individuals and families who are already homeless. Only states and entitlement communities are eligible grantees, however, they may provide subgrants to nonprofit organizations.
Process
HUD published a notice on March 19, 2009 with information regarding the process, eligible grantees, activities, and reporting requirements. The notice also included a listing of states and entitlement communities. A link to that notice may be found in the link below to HPRP notices. States and entitlement communities have until May 18, 2009 to submit a substantial amendment to their Consolidated Plan 2008 Action Plan. HUD will complete reviews of the substantial amendments by July 2, 2009. Grantees must obligate funds to subgrantees by September 30, 2009.
Eligible Activities
Eligible activites fall into four categories: financial assistance, housing relocation and stabilization assistance, data collection and evaluation, and administrative costs.
Eligible financial assistance activities include:
- Short- and medium-term rental assistance
- Security deposits
- Utility deposits and payments
- Moving costs assistance
- Hotel and motel vouchers
Eligible housing relocation and stabilization assistance includes:
- Case management - includes assisting clients to obtain public benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits that may allow clients to obtain housing
- Outreach and engagement
- Housing search and placement
- Legal services - includes eviction prevention advocacy but excludes representation of homeowners to prevent mortgage foreclosure
- Credit repair
Reporting Requirements and HMIS
Grantees and subgrantees must report client level data into a Homeless Information Management System (HMIS), unless doing so would violate federal, state, or local laws. Domestic violence service providers who receive HPRP funding must collect client information in a comparable database and report aggregate data to the grantee. This requirement for domestic violence service providers is the same as the current reporting requirement under the McKinney-Vento Supportive Housing Program. Domestic violence service providers are defined as organizations with a "primary mission to serve victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assualt, or stalking." (Source: http://www.hud.gov/webcasts/2009-04-08slides.pdf).
Other grantees and subgrantees are also allowed to use comparable databases instead of HMIS when one of the following three conditions is met: 1) the grantee or subgrantee is not located with a Continuum of Care; 2) the Continuum of Care has not implemented an HMIS; or 3) a legacy data collection system is being used.
HUD HPRP Regional Trainings
HUD has announced free regional trainings for HPRP grantees and potential subgrantees to learn more about HPRP. The trainings will cover eligible activities, targeting, administration, data collection and reporting, and community presentations. Grantees and potential subgrantees may register for the trainings here: http://registration.hudhre.info/hprp/training.nsf/content/index.html. .
Trainings are currently scheduled in the following cities:
| City |
Dates |
| Dallas |
April 30-May 1, 2009 |
| Seattle |
May 7-8, 2009 |
| Los Angeles |
May 13-14, 2009 |
| Miami |
May 21-22, 2009 |
| Chicago |
June 4-5, 2009 |
| Boston |
June 9-10, 2009 |
| Atlanta |
June 16-17, 2009 |
| New York |
June 23-24, 2009 (Tentative) |
| Washington DC |
July-To Be Announced (Tentative) |
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Comments (2)
May 15, 2009
Sam Prince says:
URGENT - Does anyone have any new information on what services and/or legal issu...URGENT - Does anyone have any new information on what services and/or legal issues legal aid lawyers can provide to clients under the HPRP?
Time grows short and there are dozens of RFPs to respond to.
ALSO, what can legal aid lawyers provide to domestic violence victims under the HPRP grant program? Access to benefits?
Please advise?
Thanks
Sam
May 19, 2009
NLCHP-Admin says:
Hi Sam, I recently posted this question from the HUD Helpdesk: Question: Relat...Hi Sam,
I recently posted this question from the HUD Helpdesk:
Question: Related to housing, would legal services use HPRP funds to assist clients in divorce proceedings when there is a marital home at issue in which the client wants to stay? Thank you in advance for your help.
Response: No. Legal services are limited to the activities described in the HPRP Notice. Eligible legal services may include assisting program participants with legal advice and representation in administrative or court proceedings related to tenant/landlord matters or housing issues. Divorce proceedings are not an eligible legal expense. Furthermore, all program participants must meet all the eligibility criteria. They must be homeless but for HPRP assistance, not just wishing to stay in a particular home.
So, I imagine in context of assisting domestic violence survivors, the same rules under HPRP for legal services would apply (e.g. legal advice and representation related to L/T matters or other housing issues). That said, funding is directed to persons who are or would be homeless but for this assistance. Specifically, The eligibility requirements for HPRP funds are individuals and families who are homeless or about to become homeless who: 1) are at or below 50% of Area Median Income, 2) have no appropriate subsequent housing options identified, 3) lack financial resources and support networks needed to obtain or remain in housing.
Thanks for posting!