Housing Authority Of The County Of Kern

Housing Authority of the County of Kern, a U.S. local government entity headquartered in Bakersfield, California, is a federal grant recipient operating exclusively as a prime recipient under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), with no contract footprint and no subcontractor role.

The organization's federal grant portfolio is narrowly concentrated on two HUD offices. The Department of Housing and Urban Development's Public and Indian Housing Office funds the vast majority of the recipient's work—326 awards across recent years—covering formula grants for public housing operations, capital improvements, and employment services. The Department of Housing and Urban Development's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development funds 45 awards under the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program. Together these two customer offices account for 100% of the organization's recent federal grant activity.

Housing Authority of the County of Kern's grant work centers on three primary program areas. Public housing operations and maintenance are supported through formula grants under the Public Housing Operating Fund (CFDA 14.850), which fund day-to-day operational expenses, property management, routine and preventative maintenance, anti-crime and security activities, energy costs, resident supportive services, insurance, and debt service for public housing units serving low-income residents in Kern County. Public housing capital improvements are supported through formula grants under the Public Housing Capital Fund (CFDA 14.872), which provide funding for construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, modernization, and emergency repairs of public housing stock; recent awards include a $1.92 million formula grant effective April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2030. Economic self-sufficiency programming is supported through project grants under the Family Self-Sufficiency Program (CFDA 14.896), which fund FSS Program Coordinator salaries and fringe benefits to deliver employment and economic mobility services to low-income families in public housing and rental assistance programs; the most recent award was $165,486 for the calendar year 2026. Homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing activities are funded through project grants under the Continuum of Care Program (CFDA 14.267); the most recent award was $6.15 million, effective June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2027, supporting permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, transitional housing, supportive services, HMIS, and homelessness prevention activities in the Bakersfield area.

Award activity has remained stable at 14–19 awards per year over the past five years, with 19 awards carrying ultimate completion dates in the next twenty-four months, representing potential recompete exposure for these formula and project grants. The combined dollars obligated across all 371 recent awards total $174.7 million. Housing Authority of the County of Kern does not hold positions on federal IDIQs, GWACs, or BPAs; the organization operates as a direct federal grant recipient managing HUD funding for regional public housing and homelessness programs serving Kern County's vulnerable populations.