FY 20 ROSS NOFO MOD FR-6400-N-05 (2).pdf

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Public and Indian Housing

Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency Program

FR-6400-N-05

11/19/2020

Table of Contents Overview

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Program Description

B. Authority

II. Award Information

A. Available Funds

B. Number of Awards

C. Minimum/Maximum Award Information

D. Period of Performance

E. Type of Funding Instrument

F. Supplementation

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

B. Ineligible Applicants

C. Cost Sharing or Matching

D. Threshold Eligibility Requirements

E. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements Affecting Eligibility

F. Program-Specific Requirements Affecting Eligibility

G. Criteria for Beneficiaries

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Obtaining an Application Package

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

C. System for Award Management (SAM) and Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number

D. Application Submission Dates and Times

E. Intergovernmental Review

F. Funding Restrictions

G. Other Submission Requirements

V. Application Review Information

A. Review Criteria

B. Review and Selection Process

VI. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

B. Administrative, National and Department Policy Requirements for HUD recipients

C. Reporting

D. Debriefing

VII. Agency Contact(s)

VIII. Other Information

APPENDIX

Program Office:

Public and Indian Housing Funding Opportunity Title:

Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency Program Funding Opportunity Number:

FR-6400-N-05

Primary CFDA Number:

14.870 Due Date for Applications:

11/19/2020 Overview The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issues this Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) to invite applications from eligible applicants for the program and purpose described within this NOFA. Prospective applicants should carefully read all instructions in all sections to avoid sending an incomplete or ineligible application. HUD funding is highly competitive. Failure to respond accurately to any submission requirement could result in an incomplete or noncompetitive proposal.

During the selection process HUD is prohibited from disclosing 1) information regarding any applicant’s relative standing, 2) the amount of assistance requested by an applicant, and 3) any information contained in the application. Prior to the application deadline, HUD may not disclose the identity of any applicant or the number of applicants that have applied for assistance.

For Further Information Regarding this NOFA: Please direct questions regarding the specific requirements of this Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) to the office contact identified in Section VII.

OMB Approval Number(s):

2577-0229

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION.

A. Program Description.

1. Purpose A. Overview. The Resident Opportunity & Self-Sufficiency Service Coordinator (ROSS-SC) grant program is designed to assist residents of Public and Indian Housing make progress towards economic and housing self-sufficiency by removing the educational, professional and health barriers they face.

Self-sufficiency is defined as a household’s ability to maintain financial, housing, and personal/family stability. To achieve self-sufficiency, individuals in a household move along a continuum towards economic independence and stability; such movement is facilitated by the achievement of educational, professional, and health/mental health and financial empowerment-related goals. For the ROSS program, self-sufficiency is further defined as a resident’s ability to progress along the self-sufficiency continuum through training and the utilization of supportive services. In the case of elderly/disabled residents, self-sufficiency is defined as the utilization of supportive services which enable them to better age in place or remain living independently for as long as possible.

To help residents make progress towards self-sufficiency, HUD provides ROSS-SC grant funding to eligible applicants to hire a Service Coordinator who assesses the needs of Public and Indian housing residents and links them to training and supportive services that will enable participants to move along the self-sufficiency continuum. In the case of elderly/disabled residents, the Service Coordinator links them to supportive services which enable them to age/remain in place.

This place-based program targets the entire resident community within the project(s) to be served and aims to address the areas of need at both the community and individual level. The ROSS-SC must work with residents, PHA staff, local partners, and other stakeholders to develop local strategies to address the needs of residents and remove barriers so that residents make progress towards achieving economic and housing self-sufficiency.

ROSS-SC funds may only be used for the coordinator's salary and fringe benefits; travel and training expenses; and administrative costs. The ROSS-SC program is a cost-reimbursable grant meaning that costs are reimbursed by HUD after they are incurred.

B. Core Functions of ROSS-SC Program.

Resident Needs Assessment: ROSS applicants/grantees must assess the needs of residents in the project(s) to be served to determine the critical needs that residents identify as barriers to achieving self-sufficiency. The results of the needs assessment are a key component of your application.

Coordination: The role of each ROSS-SC shall be designed to meet the needs of both individual residents and the local community he/she will serve. The ROSS-SC must build partnerships with local service providers and other organizations in order to coordinate the delivery of services and to ensure that program participants are linked to the supportive services they need. The ROSS-SC may also coordinate educational and/or community events that help residents achieve economic independence and stability.

Case Management/Coaching: The ROSS-SC program must provide general case management to residents which includes intake, assessment, education, and referral to service providers in the local community.

Resident Engagement: Grantees must find creative ways, including identifying local partners, to engage residents and resident associations in activities that help build organizational capacity and leadership; this can include supporting resident-led projects that address the needs of the community.

Evaluation: Grantees must regularly monitor and evaluate the progress of participants and the overall success of the program.

C. Area of Need(s). Applicants must choose from the areas of need below to indicate which areas their ROSS-SC will focus on. The area(s) of need selected by the applicant must be supported by the resident needs assessment. Please see Section III.F.11.

Education Elderly/Disabled Employment Financial Literacy Health & Wellness Re-Entry Substance Abuse

D. Coordination between Programs with Services or Service Coordination. Grantees that are located in a jurisdiction that receives multiple sources of funding (from the programs listed below) to serve the same population or geographic area, should coordinate among those programs, where appropriate, so as to leverage shared resources, avoid duplication of services, and improve access and service delivery to participating families. These programs are:

Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS), Jobs Plus, Choice Neighborhoods, Elderly/Disabled Service Coordinators, HUD-VASH, Family Unification Program (FUP) vouchers, Multi-Family Service Coordinators, Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA), Continuum of Care programs and/or other special use housing assistance that include supportive services or service coordination. A PHA that administers both FSS and ROSS-SC programs and uses a single Program Coordinating Committee for both programs is an example of effective coordination.

Coordination between programs should be conducted by and between program coordinators and/or other program management staff.

2. Changes from Previous NOFA.

Though some of these changes were made under prior NOFAs, they may be unfamiliar to FY17 renewal applicants.

a. Letter of Support for Joint Applications

Two or more eligible organizations may collaborate to submit a joint application for proposed grant activities. However, joint applications must designate a lead applicant. The PHA (or other applicant type) listed first on both the SF424 and HUD-52768 will be considered the lead applicant. Lead applicants must obtain a letter of support from each joint applicant they intend to serve. This is a threshold requirement. Please see Section III.D for more information. For joint applicants requiring a Contract Administrator, please see the definition of a Contract Administrator under “Program Definitions.”

b. HUD-52768: This is the primary application form and continues to be a required document that all applicants must complete and submit. This mandatory form is now an electronic fillable form on www.grants.gov. This form has been revised to require input of salary comparability information. See section IV.B.2.c of this NOFA for instructions on completing this form.

c. HUD-52769: Applicants no longer submit this form. The HUD-52768 has been revised to include the match information. See sections III.C and III.D.3 of this NOFA for more information http://www.grants.gov regarding the match threshold requirement.

d. Determination of Need: Under this NOFA, applicants are no longer required to identify a minimum of ten need categories. Instead, this NOFA specifies seven areas of need upon which an applicant can choose to focus its efforts. The areas of need that an applicant proposes to focus on must be based on the findings of the resident needs assessment. HUD will use the areas selected by the applicant to evaluate the progress of each grantee. Please note that HUD has included a substance abuse category in this NOFA as an area of need. See sections III.F.2.a and III.F.11 for more information.

e. Rating Criteria: All applicants must submit a narrative addressing rating criteria. Applicants will be reviewed for past performance and capacity using a point system. Each applicant will need a minimum of 30 points to be eligible for funding. See section V.A for more information.

f. Current Nonprofit Status: All Resident Associations (RA) and Nonprofits must either be a locally-incorporated nonprofit organization or a federally-designated 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization by the application deadline of this NOFA. All renewal applicants must certify that their nonprofit status is current and in good standing on the HUD-52768 application form. All new applicants that are RAs and Nonprofits must submit a copy of the 2018 or 2019 Federal Annual Information return submitted to the IRS (for 501(c)(3) applicants) or for locally-incorporated nonprofit organizations, the 2018 or 2019 submission of the state or tribal equivalent annual return. If no annual return exists, the new applicants must submit other documentation that verifies the non-profit status is active and in good standing. See section IV.B.1.d for more information.

g. Narrative Requirement for All Applicants: In the past, HUD required that only new applicants submit a narrative. Under this NOFA, all renewal and new applicants must submit a narrative statement in order to be eligible for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 ROSS funding. See section V.A for more information.

h. Narrative Requirement for Tribes Designated as High-Risk. Tribes that have been informed of performance deficiencies or designated by their area Office of Native American Programs (ONAP) as "high risk grantees" per 2 CFR 200.205 must submit a narrative of no more than 10 pages (double-spaced, Times New Roman font 12 point, with one-inch margins) addressing the corrective actions they have put in place in response to their area ONAP's findings. See section V.A for more information.

i. Training and Travel Costs. In prior NOFAs, applicants could request up to $2,000 in training/travel costs per year for each coordinator. Under this NOFA, applicants can request up to $2,500 per year for each service coordinator. See section IV.F.3 for more information.

j. Administrative Costs. The maximum funding for administrative costs will be no more than 10% of the combined requested salary/fringe and training/travel amounts per ROSS-SC position.

For example, if an applicant requests $217,500 for salary/fringe and training costs, then the applicant can request up to 10% of $217,500 for administrative costs. See section IV.F.4 for more information.

k. Unexpended Balance Threshold. Renewal applicants (see definition) that have an unexpended balance of 60% or more of their FY17 ROSS funds by the application deadline are ineligible for FY20 ROSS funding. In addition, previous ROSS-SC grantees that received ROSS-SC funding prior to FY17 are ineligible for FY20 ROSS funding as new applicants if they have a remaining balance of 40% or more of their pre-FY17 ROSS-SC grant(s). See definition of “new applicants.” See also section II.C.2.a for more information.

l. Reduced Awards: HUD reserves the right to adjust requested funding amounts downward, as determined necessary by HUD, at its sole discretion, based on an applicant’s demonstrated financial need, capacity, and prior performance. See section II.C.2.b for more information.

m. Grant Term: The term of the FY20 ROSS grant is 36 months from the effective date of the grant agreement. See section III.F.10 for more information.

n. Resident Needs Assessment. All applicants are required to complete a resident needs assessment. The results of the resident needs assessment must inform the applicant's selection of which area(s) of need they choose to address. A sample resident needs assessment is provided with this NOFA. See section III.F.2.a for more information.

o. Non-Site Based Resident Associations must include a letter of support from the Public Housing Authority they intend to serve. See section III.D.4.

p. Maximum Number of ROSS-SCs per application: In past NOFAs, applicants based their request for ROSS-SCs on the number of occupied ACC/NAHASDA-assisted units in the PHA's/Tribe/TDHE's entire portfolio by September 30 of the preceding year. Under this NOFA, applicants must base their request for ROSS-SCs on the number of occupied ACC/NAHASDA-assisted units as of September 30, 2020 only in the properties the applicant intends to serve. See Sections II.C and III.F.4 for more information.

q. Eligible Public Housing Units: Under this NOFA, "Public Housing projects" include public housing developed through any of the development means described in 24 CFR 905.600(b), including conventional and Mixed-Finance public housing. See Section III.G for more information.

r. Eligibility of PHA Affiliates or Instrumentalities with Nonprofit Status: PHA affiliates or instrumentalities, as defined in PIH Notice 2011-47 (extending PIH Notice 2007-15), that are nonprofit organizations are prohibited from applying for funds under this NOFA if the PHA they intend to serve is applying for funds, or would not be an eligible applicant either because the PHA has a current ROSS grant (funded with FY18 or FY19 funds) or because the PHA has a high unexpended balance of a prior ROSS award. Similarly, PHAs are prohibited from applying for funds under this NOFA if their PHA affiliate is applying for funds or would not be an eligible applicant either because the PHA affiliate has a current ROSS grant (funded with FY18 and FY19 funds) or because the PHA affiliate has a high unexpended balance of a prior ROSS award. See "Program Definitions" in Section I.A.4 for more information about the definition of a Nonprofit Organization.

s. Resident Association Definition: A Resident Association (RA) must exclusively consist of persons residing in public housing or NAHASDA-assisted housing (including board members) and must exclusively represent residents residing in public housing or NAHASDA-assisted housing. RAs must also be either a locally-incorporated nonprofit organization or a federally-designated 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization by the application deadline of this NOFA. For the purposes of this NOFA, a RA does not include a nation-wide or nationally-based resident organization (e.g., National Resident Organization (NRO)). See Section I.A.4 for more information about the definition of Resident Association.

t. Minimum Qualifications for Service Coordinators: A description of the minimum qualifications required for Service Coordinators is being reintroduced. See "Program Definitions" in Section I.A.4 below for more information.

3. Definitions.

a. Standard Definitions

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH). The obligation to affirmatively further the purposes and policies of the Fair Housing Act.

Assistance Listings (formerly CFDA) is a directory of the various Federal listings, projects, services and activities offering financial and non-financial assistance and benefits to the American public. An Assistance Listing (CFDA) Number is the unique number assigned to each program, project, service or activity listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

(CFDA).

Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) is the person authorized to submit applications on behalf of the organization via Grants.gov. The AOR is authorized by the E-Biz point of contact in the System for Award Management. The AOR is listed in item 21 on the SF- 424.

Award, as used in this NOFA means a federal grant OR cooperative agreement as specified in Section II.E (Type of Funding Instrument).

Consolidated Plan is a document developed by states and local jurisdictions. This plan is completed by engaging in a participatory process to assess their affordable housing and community development needs and market conditions, and to make data-driven, place-based investment decisions with funding from formula grant programs. (See 24 CFR part 91 for more information about the Consolidated Plan and related Action Plan).

Contract means a legal instrument by which a non-Federal entity purchases property or services needed to carry out the project or program under a Federal award. The term as used in this NOFA does not include a legal instrument, even if the non-Federal entity considers it a contract, when the substance of the transaction meets the definition of a Federal award or subaward (See 2

CFR 200.22.)

Contractor means an entity receiving a contract.

Deficiency is information missing or omitted within a submitted application. Examples of deficiencies include missing documents, information on a form, or some other type of unsatisfied information requirement (e.g., an unsigned form, unchecked box.). Depending on specific criteria, deficiencies may be either curable or non-curable.

Curable Deficiency – Applicants may correct a curable deficiency with timely action.

To be curable the deficiency must:

Not be a threshold requirement, except for documentation of applicant eligibility;

not influence how an applicant is ranked or scored versus other applicants; and be remedied within the time frame specified in the notice of deficiency.

Non-Curable Deficiency – An applicant cannot correct a non-curable deficiency after the submission deadline.

Non-curable deficiencies are deficiencies that, if corrected, would change an applicant’s score or rank versus other applicants. Non-curable deficiencies may result in an application being marked ineligible, or otherwise adversely affect an application’s score and final determination.

DUNS Number is the nine-digit identification number assigned to a business or organization by Dun & Bradstreet and provides a means of identifying business entities on a location-specific basis. Requests for a DUNS number can be made by visiting the Online DUNS Request Portal.

Eligibility requirements are mandatory requirements for an application to be eligible for funding.

Grants.gov is the website serving as the Federal government’s central portal for searching and applying for federal financial assistance throughout the Federal government. Registration on Grants.gov is required for submission of applications to prospective agencies unless otherwise specified in this NOFA.

Non-Federal Entity is a state, local government, Indian tribe, institution of higher education (IHE), or non-profit organization carrying out a Federal award as a recipient or sub recipient.

If eligible applicants under the NOFA include for profit entities, this definition of non-federal entity includes for profit entities.

Opportunity Zone (OZs) are defined in 26 U.S.C. 1400Z-1. In general, OZs are census tracts located in low-income communities where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.

Point of Contact (POC) is the person who may be contacted with questions about the application submitted by the AOR. The POC is listed in item 8F on the SF-424.

Recipient means a non-Federal entity receiving an award directly from HUD to carry out an activity under a HUD program.

Subaward means an award provided by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient for the subrecipient to carry out part of a Federal award received by the recipient. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual beneficiary of a Federal program. A subaward may be provided through any form of legal agreement, including an agreement that the pass-through entity considers a contract. The legal agreement must contain the subrecipient’s assurance of compliance with program requirements, including but not limited to nondiscrimination and equal opportunity requirements.

Subrecipient is a non-Federal entity receiving a subaward from a pass-through entity to carry out part of a HUD program; but does not include an individual beneficiary of such program. A subrecipient may also receive other Federal awards directly from a Federal awarding agency (including HUD).

System for Award Management (SAM), is a U.S. Government system that consolidated the capabilities of Central Contractor Registry (CCR), Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) and the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA). Registration with SAM is required for submission of applications via Grants.gov. You can access the website at https://www.sam.gov/SAM/. There is no cost to use SAM.

Threshold Requirements are an eligibility requirement that must be met for an application to be reviewed. Threshold requirements are not curable, except for documentation of applicant eligibility and are listed in Section III.D Threshold Eligibility Requirements. Similarly, there are eligibility requirements under Section III.E, Statutory and Regulatory Requirements Affecting Eligibility.

Unique Entity Identifier is a number used to identify a specific commercial, nonprofit, or government entity. SAM states that currently Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) is the designated entity to establish and maintain the DUNS Number as the unique entity identifier required for registration in SAM and further used throughout federal procurement, financial assistance, and financial management systems. Beginning December 2020, the DUNS number will no longer be the official identifier for entities doing business with the government.

4. Program Definitions

a. Contract Administrator is an overall grant administrator or a financial management agent (or both) that oversees the implementation of the grant and/or the financial aspects of the grant.

Troubled applicants and all RA applicants are required to submit a Contract Administrator Partnership Agreement (CAPA) with their application. PHAs applying jointly with a Resident Association may not serve as the Contract Administrator for the Resident Association.

Similarly, if any applicant that is part of a joint application requires a Contract Administrator, the joint applicants must seek a Contract Administrator that is not part of their application. See section III.F.1 for more information.

b. Elderly person is any person 62 years of age or older.

c. Grant Term of the FY20 ROSS-SC grant is 36 months. If awarded ROSS funds, the grant term will start on the effective date of the grant agreement. HUD will allow grantees up to 60 days to begin implementation of their grant, therefore, the period of performance upon which the grantee will be evaluated is 34 months.

d. Indian Tribe is a federally-recognized or state recognized tribe as defined in section 4(13) of the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) 25 U.S.C. 4103(13).

e. Lottery means a random sample selection process, without replacement, through which each qualified applicant or qualified application has the same probability of being chosen. Once an applicant or application is selected from the pool, it will not be reintroduced to the pool when additional selections are made which will deliberately prevent selecting the same applicant or application a second time.

f. New Applicant is an applicant that has never received ROSS funding or a previously awarded ROSS grantee that received ROSS-SC funding prior to FY17 and has an unexpended balance of less than 40% of its pre-FY17 ROSS-SC funds remaining by the application deadline. FY18 and FY19 ROSS grantees will not be considered new applicants and are ineligible for FY20 ROSS funding. Note: funding from the Public Housing Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) or Jobs Plus (JP) programs is not considered ROSS funding.

g. Nonprofit Organization for the purposes of this NOFA refers to the following two types of organizations:

1. Locally Incorporated Non-profit Organization – A non-profit organization that has filed articles of incorporation with the state office (usually the Secretary of State or Attorney General) or tribal government responsible for incorporations and has been granted such status and has maintained this status by complying with state or tribal government requirements. Resident Association (RA) applicants, including tribal resident organizations, that are in the process of incorporating as a non-profit organization and have not been approved of such status by the time of the application deadline will not be eligible for a ROSS grant; or

2. Tax-Exempt Non-profit Organization is an organization that has been granted tax-exempt status by the IRS pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) before the deadline for submission of this application and is therefore exempt from federal taxation. For more information about tax-exempt status, go to irs.gov. Applicants who are in the process of applying for tax-exempt status and have not received this designation from the IRS by the deadline for submission will not be eligible, but may be eligible as a Locally Incorporated Non-profit Organization if they are a Resident Association and submit documentation attesting to having this status as of the application deadline.

Please see definitions of Resident Association and Tribal/TDHE Resident Group below for more information.

Notwithstanding the above definition, PHA affiliates or instrumentalities, as defined in PIH Notice 2011-47 (extending PIH Notice 2007-15), that are nonprofit organizations are prohibited from applying for funds under this NOFA if the PHA they intend to serve is applying, or would not be an eligible applicant either because the PHA has a current ROSS grant (funded with FY18 or FY19 funds) or because the PHA has a high unexpended balance of a prior ROSS award.

h. Non-Site Based Resident Association (RA) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization or a locally-incorporated non-profit organization of resident councils or resident management corporations representing multiple public housing projects at one or more PHAs. A http://www.irs.gov non-site-based RA must adhere to 24 CFR 964.115 "Resident Council Requirements." All elected governing board members must be public housing residents. All PHAs to be served in the ROSS application must submit a letter of support signed by the Executive Director or other authorized representative, acknowledging that they have monitored the election process and that the RA is in good standing.

i. Person with Disabilities is a person who:

1. Has a condition defined as a disability in section 223 of the Social Security Act; or

2. Has a developmental disability as defined in section 102 of the Developmental

Disabilities Assistance Bill of Rights Act.

The term “person with disabilities” does not exclude persons who have acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) or any conditions arising from the etiologic agent for AIDS. In addition, no individual shall be considered a person with disabilities, for purposes of eligibility for low-income housing, solely on the basis of any drug or alcohol dependence. Note that the definition of “person with disabilities” for certain program purposes (e.g., income determination, eligibility) under 24 C.F.R. 5.403 is different from the definition of “individual with handicaps” under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Where Section 504 applies, the definition of “individual with handicaps” under 24 C.F.R. 8.3 will apply.

j. PHAS-Troubled applicant refers to a PHA that carries a designation by HUD as “troubled” under the Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) on the national PHAS Operational List of Troubled PHAs as of the deadline date of the application. NOTE: In accordance with 24 CFR 902.66(a) a “high performance” or “standard performance” rating may be withheld, denied, or rescinded if fair housing/civil rights requirements are not met. Any applicant that is unsure of whether they are considered troubled by HUD should contact the Office of Public Housing in the local HUD field office/area and/or ONAP to determine their status. All PHAS troubled PHAs or tribes considered high-risk by their office/area ONAP are required to submit a Contract Administrator Partnership agreement with their application.

k. Project is specific to PHAs. This term means a group of properties as defined in PIH Notice 2007-28, "Changes in the Project Numbering System and Process for Requesting Changes in Project Identifications." The term "new project number" will refer to the new project number that will be assigned to each Asset Management Project (AMP). Henceforward, the terms ‘AMP,’ ‘project,’ and ‘new project number’ will be synonymous. These projects are identified in PIC with 11-digit codes. For tribes/TDHEs previously funded through the United States Housing Act of 1937, a project is identified by the 11-digit project code. For tribes/tribally designated housing entities (TDHE) funded by NAHASDA, a project is identified by an official project name. If you are a tribe and there is not an official project name in use, develop a unique project identifier that can be used in this application and future applications.

l. Renewal Applicants are FY17 ROSS-SC grantees. However, FY17 ROSS-SC grantees that have an unexpended balance of 60% or more of their FY17 ROSS funds by the application deadline are ineligible for FY20 ROSS funding. If an applicant is a new PHA with a new PHA identifying number and an ACC created by the consolidation of two or more divesting PHAs, the PHA's application shall be considered a renewal under this NOFA if at least one of the divesting PHAs had a ROSS Service Coordinators Program grant under the FY2017

ROSS-SC NOFA. To view a list of grantees and projects funded under the FY17 ROSS-SC NOFA, applicants should review the “Previously Funded Project Report” available on this page: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/spm/gmomgmt/grantsinfo/fundingopps/fy202 0_ross.

If the number of ROSS-SCs for which an applicant is eligible has changed since its FY17 application, a renewal applicant is eligible to apply only for the number of ROSS-SCs for which it is currently eligible.

A renewal applicant may make changes from its FY17 grant as to budget, projects served, number of ROSS-SCs, type of population to be served (family and/or elderly/disabled residents), partners, and will be considered a renewal if it is applying to serve the same PHA(s) or Tribe(s) for which it was originally funded.

m. Renewal Funding Category is reserved for renewal applicants. After the 25% Set-aside Category for Resident Associations is funded, eligible renewal applicants with FY17 ROSS grants will be funded. Applicants in the Renewal Funding Category have priority over applicants in the New Funding Category. Please see section V.A.1.a for more information.

n. Resident Association (RA) must exclusively consist of persons residing in public housing or NAHASDA-assisted housing (including board members) and must exclusively represent residents residing in public housing or NAHASDA-assisted housing. RAs must also be either a locally-incorporated nonprofit organization or a federally-designated 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non profit organization by the application deadline of this NOFA. For the purposes of this NOFA, a RA does not include a nation-wide or nationally-based resident organization (e.g. National Resident Organization (NRO).

To the extent these requirements are met, RAs may include but are not limited to any of the following types of resident organizations:

City-Wide Resident Councils;

Intermediary Resident Organizations;

Jurisdiction-Wide Resident Organizations (24 CFR 964.105);

Regional Resident Organizations;

Resident Councils (RC) (24 CFR 964.115);

Statewide Resident Organizations;

Site-Based Resident Associations; and Resident Management Corporations.

The NOFA will use “Resident Association” or “RA” to refer to all eligible types of resident organizations. All RA applicants must also submit form HUD-52753 “Certification of Election of Resident Council Board” and must indicate their RA type on the HUD-52768 “ROSS-SC Application Form.”

o. Resident Management Corporation (RMC) must consist of residents residing in public housing who propose to enter, or have entered into a contract to conduct one or more management activities of a PHA and meet the characteristics outlined in 24 CFR 964.120 https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/spm/gmomgmt/grantsinfo/fundingopps/fy2020_ross https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/spm/gmomgmt/grantsinfo/fundingopps/fy2020_ross including being a non-profit organization that is validly incorporated under the laws of the State in which it is located.

p. Service Coordinator Qualifications – Minimum qualifications for a ROSS- SC include the following:

(1) A Bachelor of Social Work or degree in Gerontology, Psychology, or Counseling is preferable; although any other completed degree is fully acceptable. You may also consider individuals who do not have a college degree but who have relevant work experience;

(2) Knowledge of procedures and eligibility for federal and applicable state entitlement programs; and legal liability issues related to providing Service Coordination;

(3) For applicants proposing to serve elderly residents, the ROSS-SC should possess knowledge of the aging process, elder services, disability services, drug and alcohol abuse by the elderly, and mental health issues;

(4) Two to three years' experience in social service delivery for low-income youth, adults, seniors citizens and/or people with disabilities;

(5) Demonstrated working knowledge of supportive services and other resources for youth, adults, senior citizens, and/or non-elderly people with disabilities available in the local area;

(6) Demonstrated ability to advocate, organize, problem-solve, and provide results for low-income families, the elderly, and/or people with disabilities; and

(7) Demonstrated ability to provide communications in a manner that is effective for persons with disabilities and persons with limited English proficiency (LEP).

q. Site-Based Resident Association (or Local Resident Association) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization or a locally-incorporated non-profit organization representing a specific public housing project. A site-based RA may only apply for one ROSS-SC position. A maximum of three site-based RAs serving the same PHA may be funded through this NOFA.

r. Tribes Designated High Risk are Tribes that have been informed of performance deficiencies or designated by their area ONAP as "high risk grantees" per 2 CFR Part 200.205.

Please Section V.A for more information.

s. Tribally Designated Housing Entity (TDHE) is an entity authorized or established by one or more Indian tribes to act on behalf of each such tribe as defined in section 4(22) of

NAHASDA (25 U.S.C. 4103).

t. Tribal/TDHE Resident Group refers to tribal/TDHE resident groups that are democratically elected groups such as tribe/TDHE-wide resident groups, area-wide resident groups, single project groups, or resident management corporations (RMCs). In order to be eligible for ROSS funding, these organizations must have either a state or tribal government designated incorporated nonprofit status or federally designated 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

B. Authority.

ROSS is authorized under Section 34 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.1437z-6). Funding for this program is authorized by the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116-94, enacted December 20, 2019).

II. Award Information.

A. Available Funds Funding of approximately $ 35,000,000 is available through this NOFA.

Additional funds may become available for award under this NOFA, because of HUD's efforts to recapture funds, use carryover funds, or because of the availability of additional appropriated funds. Use of these funds is subject to statutory constraints. All awards are subject to the funding restrictions contained in this NOFA.

B. Number of Awards.

HUD expects to make approximately 120 awards from the funds available under this NOFA.

The chart below identifies the total funding available in the three most recent funding cycles and awards for each funding category.

Funding Year

Funds Available (Approximate)

Number of Awards

25% Set Aside for Resident Associations

Renewal New

2019 $35,000,000 137 $1,141,702 $19,333,745 $17,509,276 2018 $35,000,000 118 $3,119,474 $18,069,168 $12,711,532 2017 $35,000,000 117 $4,955,926 $24,190,027 $5,827,079 C. Minimum/Maximum Award Information Per the chart below, you must base your request for positions on the number of occupied ACC/NAHASDA-assisted units as of September 30, 2020 in the developments that you are proposing to serve by the ROSS-SC. In order to be eligible for funding, all applicants must propose to serve a minimum of 50 units on the HUD-52768 (Part II).

Number of PHA/tribe/TDHE Units Max # of ROSS-SCs Max Grant 50-1,000 1 $239,250 1,001-2,500 2 $478,500 2,501 or more 3 $717,750

1. Salary Comparability Information: Award amounts will vary depending on HUD’s evaluation of information provided in applicants' salary requests for the Service Coordinator positions. Applicants must request funding that is commensurate with local wages for professions comparable to that of a ROSS-Service Coordinator and submit salaries for three comparable positions from different employers by completing the HUD-52768 form. NOTE: A salary request will be considered commensurate if it does not exceed the average of the three salaries submitted for comparability purposes by more than 10%. We encourage applicants to use the CareerOneStop salary finder (https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Wages/find-salary.aspx), but this tool can only be used as documentation for one of the three comparable salaries. Please see Section IV.B.2.c for salary comparability information requirements. Note that if an applicant is selected as a ROSS-SC grantee under this NOFA, the service coordinator(s) hired must have similar education and qualifications to the comparable positions https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Wages/find-salary.aspx https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Wages/find-salary.aspx http://www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/wages/find-salary.aspx), or professions used to assess whether a salary request is commensurate with local wages.

2. To promote the most efficient, effective and timely use of ROSS program funds, HUD is implementing the following changes for applicants:

a. Unexpended Balance Threshold: Renewal applicants that have an unexpended balance of 60% or more of their FY17 ROSS grant funds by the application deadline are ineligible for FY20 ROSS funding. In addition, ROSS-SC grantees that received ROSS-SC funding prior to FY17 are ineligible for FY20 ROSS funding as new applicants if they have a remaining balance of 40% or more of their pre-FY17 ROSS-SC grant(s). These applications will not be reviewed.

b. Reduced Awards: HUD reserves the right to adjust requested funding amounts downward as determined necessary by HUD, in its sole discretion, based on an applicant's demonstrated financial need, capacity, and prior performance. In reducing the FY20 award amount, HUD may take into consideration the applicant's award balance, grant term end date, and any grant extension(s) on the FY17 or prior ROSS grants that may have been provided, among other factors. Please see section V.A.2 for more information.

c. Unexpended Funds: HUD encourages ROSS applicants to expend all FY17 or prior ROSS funds awarded by the end of their grant term. This will avoid any further delays to the start of their FY20 grant since FY20 grantees cannot expend funds from FY17 (or prior) and FY20 ROSS-SC grants at the same time.

Estimated Total Funding:

$ 35,000,000 Minimum Award Amount:

$ 100,000 Per Project Period Maximum Award Amount:

$ 717,750 Per Project Period D. Period of Performance Estimated Project Start Date:

04/15/2021 Estimated Project End Date:

04/14/2024 Length of Project Periods:

36-month project period with three 12-month budget periods Length of Periods Explanation of Other:

Grant Extensions. Requests to extend the grant term beyond 36 months must be submitted in writing to the local HUD Field Office or area ONAP at least 60 days prior to the end of the grant term. Denials of extension requests are reserved for HUD Headquarters. NOTE: Grantees who receive extensions may receive unfavorable evaluations as part of reviews of future ROSS applications. Grant extensions may also affect future award amounts. Requests for grant extensions will be examined closely and are highly discouraged.

E. Type of Funding Instrument.

Funding Instrument Type:

G (Grant) Funding will be disbursed through HUD’s Line of Credit Control System (LOCCS), in accordance with each successful applicant’s executed Grant Agreement. All ROSS grantees are required to establish an account and drawdown funds utilizing LOCCS. LOCCS is HUD’s primary grant and subsidy disbursement system that disburses and tracks the payment of grant funds to grantees. Grantees must access and manage their grant funds through an internet version of LOCCS called eLOCCS. Additional terms and requirements of the grant will be specified in the Grant Agreement.

All current grantees should have already obtained access to LOCCS. Obtaining access to LOCCS requires HUD approval and can be a lengthy process. If your agency does not currently have LOCCS access, we encourage you to begin the process as soon as possible, in the event that your agency is awarded funds under this NOFA. Should you not receive LOCCS approval in sufficient time, you could potentially face a lapse in availability of ROSS service coordinator funding. For more information about gaining access to LOCCS, please visit http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/cfo/loccs_guidelines, or contact the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, User Support Branch at 1-877-705-7504 (toll free).

Grantees should also review the eLOCCS User Guide:

(http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=eloccs_registration_guide.pdf) for information on the steps needed to gain access to eLOCCS through HUD’s Secure Systems platform. For additional information, please contact your local field office (or Area ONAP) representative, or the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, User Support Branch at 1-877-705- 7504 (toll free).

When completing the LOCCS Access Authorization Form (HUD 27054), please indicate “ROSS” in section 5a (LOCSS Program Area) and “Resident Opport and Self Sufficiency” in block 5b (Program Name).

Please be reminded that there will be no amendment to any successful applicant’s Annual Contributions Contract, and HUD’s Financial Management Center will not disburse funding increments.

F. Supplementation.

For this NOFA, sub-section "F. Supplementation" is Not Applicable

III. Eligibility Information.

A. Eligible Applicants.

Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/cfo/loccs_guidelines http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=eloccs_registration_guide.pdf

Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification) Information on Eligible Applicants Resident Associations (RAs) are also eligible to apply. RAs and non-profit applicants that are not RAs must have either locally-incorporated nonprofit status (usually designated by the state) or 501(c)(3) nonprofit status designated by the IRS. All applicants with nonprofit status must submit documentation attesting to their nonprofit status. See "Definitions" for more information.

Indian Tribes as defined in Section 4(13) of NAHASDA are eligible to apply for FY20 ROSS funding. Tribally-designated housing entities (TDHEs) as defined in section 4(22) of NAHASDA (25 U.S.C. 4103) are also eligible to apply for FY20 ROSS funding.

For-profit entities are not eligible to apply.

EDSC Provision: PHAs that are currently eligible to receive annual funding under the Elderly/Disabled Service Coordinator (EDSC) program from the Public Housing Operating Fund that apply to serve elderly/disabled residents through this NOFA will forgo all future eligibility for EDSC funding through the Operating Fund. If you are receiving EDSC funds, you may apply to serve families only on the HUD-52768 to not risk your EDSC funding. To confirm if your PHA is affected by this EDSC provision, please see the list of PHAs that are eligible to receive EDSC funding: https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/PIH/documents/CY2020-EDSC-List.pdf.

B. Ineligible Applicants.

Any applicant that is not a Public Housing Authority, Tribe/TDHE, Resident Association, and/or Non-Profit organization is ineligible for ROSS funding. In addition, any applicant that is not a renewal or new applicant (see definitions) is ineligible for FY20 ROSS funding.

C. Cost Sharing or Matching.

This Program requires cost sharing or matching as described below.

The required match is 25 percent of the total requested in ROSS grant funding. Please see section III.D.3 for more information on what is necessary to satisfy the match threshold.

D. Threshold Eligibility Requirements.

Applicants who fail to meet any of the following threshold eligibility requirements will be deemed ineligible. Applications from ineligible applicants will not be evaluated.

1. Outstanding civil rights matters must be resolved to HUD’s satisfaction prior to grant award, provided that all applicable legal processes have been satisfied.

2. Timely Submission of Applications. Applications submitted after the deadline stated within this NOFA that do not meet the requirements of the grace period policy will be marked late. Late applications are ineligible and will not be considered for funding. See Section IV. D. Application Submission Dates and Times.

3. Match https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/PIH/documents/CY2020-EDSC-List.pdf

a. The purpose of the match is to ensure your ROSS program includes committed partners who are able to address the assessed needs of residents. All applicants are required to have in place a firmly committed match contribution equivalent to 25 percent of the total grant amount requested in order to be considered for funding. The 25% match is a non-curable threshold requirement. The match may be provided as a cash or in-kind donation. Resources/in-kind services that can be committed include: in-kind services provided to the applicant; funds from federal sources (not including ROSS or public housing funds) that by statute allow those funds to be used for matching purposes, including, for example, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds or Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) funds; funds from any state or local government sources; and funds from private contributions.

In the past, applicants were required to identify match funds on the HUD-52769 form. However, this form is no longer utilized with this NOFA. The HUD-52768 form has been revised to require submission of match information from applicants; match amounts must be included in this form. Applicants must maintain all letters from partners attesting to match contributions (please see Section IV.B for additional information on required forms). Applicants contributing their own resources to the match, in whole or in part, must also write a letter attesting to the match contribution they are making and keep it on file. NOTE: At any time during the grant term, HUD may ask to review match letters as well as a log of actual match contributions used.

Match may be for the value of services provided by partner organizations as well as for the eligible activities under this grant (e.g. salary, fringe, administration and training). The value of non-public housing space provided for activities related to carrying out the ROSS-SC program may be counted towards the value of match. The value of public housing resources provided to support the ROSS-SC program cannot be counted toward the value of match. See 2 CFR 200.306 for more information about matching requirements.

b. Things to remember when preparing to submit your match information:

The match certification on the HUD-52768 must be signed by the applicant’s Executive Director, Resident Association Board President, Tribal…