Milwaukee County

Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services - Housing Division, operating as Economic Development-Housing CDBG, is a U.S. local government entity functioning as the prime recipient of federal grant funding for homelessness intervention, affordable housing development, and transit services in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. The division administers formula and project grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Justice, with no federal contract prime or sub activity in its recent award footprint.

The Housing Division's federal grant portfolio centers on homelessness and housing programs under HUD's Continuum of Care Program (CFDA 14.267), which accounts for the plurality of its awards. Recent CoC project grants include $4.134 million awarded July 1, 2026, for establishment and operation of permanent supportive housing for persons with disabilities, rapid rehousing, transitional housing, supportive services, and Homeless Management Information Systems administration; $1.052 million awarded June 1, 2026, supporting similar housing and service delivery; and $573,639 awarded August 1, 2026, for CoC project operations in Glendale, Wisconsin through July 31, 2027. The division also received a $1.11 million HOME Investment Partnerships Program formula grant (CFDA 14.239) awarded September 17, 2025, extending through September 30, 2034, to fund rehabilitation of owner-occupied housing, homebuyer assistance, acquisition and rehabilitation of rental housing, and tenant-based rental assistance for low- and very low-income households. A $155,530 Emergency Solutions Grant Program award (CFDA 14.231) from September 17, 2025, through September 16, 2027, funds street outreach, emergency shelter operations, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing, and HMIS administration.

The division's secondary grant concentration involves Federal Transit Administration formula grants supporting the Milwaukee County Transit System. A $31.5 million Federal Transit Formula Grants award (CFDA 20.507) from September 3, 2025, funds procurement of seventy clean diesel buses (thirty in 2024, thirty-nine in 2025) for fixed-route service. Additional transit awards support bus maintenance, paratransit operations, marketing, and bus rapid transit implementation. The division also received a $7.75 million Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant (CFDA 14.905) from HUD's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control, effective March 1, 2025 through March 1, 2029, targeting lead-based paint hazard identification and control in privately owned rental and owner-occupied housing in low-income and minority neighborhoods. A $1 million Bureau of Justice Assistance Second Chance Act Reentry Initiative grant (CFDA 16.812), effective October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2027, funds the Smart Reentry Housing Demonstration Project providing safe and affordable housing and wraparound services for individuals exiting the Community Reintegration Center.

Customer concentration is extreme: HUD's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development funds 108 awards (58% of the 188-award portfolio), and the Federal Transit Administration accounts for 72 awards (38%), together representing 98% of recent awards. The division operates as the Continuum of Care planning body and designated entitlement grantee for Milwaukee County under HUD's formula grant programs. Award activity declined from 16 in 2022 to 5 awarded year-to-date in 2026, with eight awards facing ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months. The division issues sub-awards to nonprofit partners for service delivery, including Milwaukee County Outreach Services for targeted homeless outreach (February 27, 2023) and West Allis–based case management coordination (December 7, 2022). All performance occurs in Glendale, Wisconsin 53212, with the division operating as a child entity under Milwaukee County Department of Administration.