HUD has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for housing mobility-related services that target Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) families with children. The NOFO builds upon the Community Choice Demonstration (CCD), formerly known as the HCV mobility demonstration, which is ongoing at eight HA sites. Unlike the CCD, HUD is not making any new vouchers available through this funding opportunity, and there is no minimum voucher program size governing eligibility.
HUD is making $25 million available under this NOFO and anticipates making 11 awards. The minimum and maximum award amounts are $750,000 and $5,000,000, respectively. HAs may use up to 15 percent of the grant award for administrative expenses, including implementation planning, direct administration expenses, and all indirect costs.
Program Background
The CCD was funded through FY 19 and 20 appropriations, which made $50 million available for both housing mobility-related services ($40 million) and new vouchers for families with children ($10 million). HUD selected nine HA sites to participate in the CCD in April 2021, though one site later withdrew from the program.
HAs participating in the CCD provide mobility-related services to HCV families with children. The goal of the program is for more of these families to reside in high-opportunity, low-poverty neighborhoods. Enrollment in all services is voluntary, and unlike previous mobility programs (like Moving to Opportunity), participating families are not required to move to a certain type of neighborhood.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 made an additional $25 million available for a second round of mobility-related funding to HAs targeting voucher families with children. The NOFO states that HAs must provide a minimum set of housing mobility-related services, which are modeled after the services provided under the CCD. These include:
- Pre-move services
- Housing search assistance
- Landlord outreach in high-opportunity areas
- Lease-up and security deposit assistance
- Assistance to cover moving expenses
- Proactive participant engagement
- Salaries and benefits for qualified staff
In addition, HAs must adopt certain administrative policies, including adopting payment standards that encourage moves to opportunity neighborhoods and a minimum voucher search time of at least 90 days with at least one 30-day extension.
Eligibility
HAs that operate an HCV program and have no outstanding civil rights matters are eligible to apply. Joint applicants may apply as well, though the grant will solely be with the lead HA applicant. While there is no minimum voucher program size specified in the NOFO, members should note that HAs must provide services to at least 300 voucher families with children over the course of the five-year performance period. HUD estimates that annual caseloads will vary between 50–200 families.
HAs that have more voucher holders with children living in high-poverty census tracts will receive additional points toward their application, and the Department has provided these ‘concentration scores’ here. PHAs with a rank of five earn 15 points, those with a rank of four earn 10 points, and a rank of three earns five points. For joint applications, HUD will score this section based on the highest rank among the joint PHA applicants.
Applications Due August 30
Interested parties may submit applications to the NOFO through August 30, 2023. HUD will host informational webinars on June 22 and July 13; registration for these is available on HUD’s Housing Mobility website. The first webinar will provide an overview of the NOFO while the second webinar will provide an overview of the data tools that HAs must use to prepare their applications. Any questions regarding the NOFO should be addressed to: housingmobility@hud.gov.