VA – Supportive Services for Veteran Families (2018)

By NLADA on December 20, 2017

Applications Due: January 12, 2018, 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Funding Title: Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program (SSVF)

Description: This NOFA announces the availability of funds for supportive services grants under the SSVF Program and pertains to proposals for renewal of existing supportive services grant programs.

The SSVF program’s purpose is to provide supportive services grants to private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives, who will coordinate or provide supportive services to very low-income Veteran families who:

Are residing in permanent housing;
Are homeless and scheduled to become residents of permanent housing within a specified time period; or
After exiting permanent housing within a specified time period, are seeking other housing that is responsive to such very low-income Veteran family’s needs and preferences.

SSVF prioritizes the delivery of rapid re-housing services to homeless Veteran households. Rapid rehousing is an intervention designed to help individuals and families exit homelessness, return to housing in the community, and avoid homelessness again in the near term. The core components of a rapid re-housing program are housing identification, move-in and rent assistance, and rapid re-housing case management and services. These core components represent the minimum that a program must be providing to households to be considered a rapid re-housing program, but do not provide guidance for what constitutes an effective rapid re-housing program. Applicants should familiarize themselves with the Rapid Re-housing Performance Benchmarks and Program

Standards found on VA’s SSVF Web site at: www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf/index.asp.

Funding will be awarded for supportive services grants under this NOFA depending on funding availability (currently funding is only authorized to be appropriated for the SSVF program through FY 2017). Applicants should fill out separate applications for each supportive services funding request. Funding will be awarded under this NOFA to new and existing grantees for a 1 to 3-year period beginning October 1, 2017

Funding Opportunity Number: VA–SSVF–120517

Agency Name: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Funding Instrument Type: Grant

Express Language for Legal Aid: Yes. Page 3 of the NOFA states:

“Grantees are encouraged to provide, or assist participants in obtaining, legal services relevant to issues that interfere with the participants’ ability to obtain or retain permanent housing. (NOTE: Information regarding legal services provided may be protected from being released to the grantee or VA under attorney-client privilege, although the grantee must provide sufficient information to demonstrate the frequency and type of service delivered.) Support for legal services can include paying for court filing fees to assist a participant with issues that interfere with the participant’s ability to obtain or retain permanent housing or supportive services, including issues that affect the participant’s employability and financial security. Grantees (in addition to employees and members of grantees) may represent participants before VA with respect to a claim for VA benefits, but only if they are recognized for that purpose pursuant to 38 U.S.C. Chapter 59. Further, the individual providing such representation must be accredited pursuant to 38 U.S.C. Chapter 59.”

***Please note that legal services typically receives SSVF funding as subgrants in partnership with primary grantees.***

Target Population: Low-income Veteran families who:

Are residing in permanent housing;
Are homeless and scheduled to become residents of permanent housing within a specified time period; or
After exiting permanent housing within a specified time period, are seeking other housing that is responsive to such very low-income Veteran family’s needs and preferences.

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No

How to Apply: Applicants must submit applications electronically following instructions found at www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf.

Current Closing Date for Applications: January 12, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Eligible Applicants: For Priority 1 and 2, only eligible entities that are existing grantees can apply in response to this NOFA. For Priority 3, any eligible entity may apply for new funding in one of the listed target communities. In order to be eligible, an applicant must qualify as a private nonprofit organization (section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) tax exempt status is required) or a consumer cooperative as defined in 38 U.S.C. 2044(f). In addition, tribally designated housing entities (as defined in section 4 of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103)) are eligible.

Priority Consideration:

The following funding priorities for this NOFA are as follows:

Priority 1: Under Priority 1, VA will provide funding to those grantees with

3-year CARF, 4-year COA accreditations, or 3-year JC accreditations. Proof of accreditation must be submitted with the application no later than the application due date.

Grantees previously awarded a 3-year grant that is not scheduled to end by

October 1, 2018, cannot apply under this NOFA but are required to submit a letter of intent (LOI) by the NOFA deadline indicating their intention of continuing SSVF services in FY 2019. Grantees submitting a LOI must include proof of continued accreditation, a letter of support from the CoC (see Section II.C.7.) and a proposed budget for FY2019.

Priority 2: Priority 2 includes all other existing grantees seeking to renew their grants. Eligible applicants include those grantees who did not receive an award in FY 2018, but had been granted funding extensions on a previous SSVF award that extended program operations through the end of FY 2018 [NOTE: only extensions that lasted through

September 30, 2018, will be considered as being eligible to apply as renewal applicants].

Both Priority 1 and 2 applicants must apply using the renewal application. To be eligible for renewal of a supportive services grant, the Priority 1 and 2 applicants’ program concept must be substantially the same as the program concept of the grantees’ current grant award. Renewal applications can request funding that is equal to or less than their current annualized award. Depending on funding availability, VA may reduce awards by an amount from

1 to 10 percent. Should such a decrease take place, it will be applied uniformly to all grant recipients regardless of their grant award. This decrease would be made after any reductions to awards based on Sections II.C.4 and II.C.7. If sufficient funding is available, VA may provide an increase of up to 2 percent from the previous year’s award. Any percentage increase, if provided, will be awarded uniformly to all grant recipients regardless of their grant award.

Link to Full Announcement: Here

NOFA Training (includes audio webinar): www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf/docs/FY2019_SSVF_NOFA_Training_withAudio.pdf

Contact Information: Mr. John Kuhn, National Director, Supportive Services for Veteran Families at the following email address: SSVF@va.gov.