[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 133 (Thursday, July 10, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39840-39855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-15664]



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Part III





Department of Housing and Urban Development





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Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Continuum of Care 
Homeless Assistance Program; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 133 / Thursday, July 10, 2008 / 
Notices  

[[Page 39840]]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5220-N-01]


Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Continuum of Care 
Homeless Assistance Program

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

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SUMMARY: This notice of funding availability (NOFA) establishes the 
funding criteria for the Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance 
Program. HUD is making available approximately $1.42 billion in Fiscal 
Year 2008 for the program. The purpose of the CoC Homeless Assistance 
Program is to reduce the incidence of homelessness in CoC communities 
by assisting homeless individuals and families to move to self 
sufficiency and permanent housing.

Overview Information

    A. Federal Agency Name: Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, Office of Community Planning and Development.
    B. Funding Opportunity Title: Notice of Funding Availability for 
Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance Programs.
    C. Announcement Type: Initial Announcement.
    D. Funding Opportunity Number: The Federal Register number is FR-
5220-N-01. The OMB Approval number is 2506-0112.
    E. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers:
    1. 14.235, Supportive Housing Program (SHP).
    2. 14.238, Shelter Plus Care (S+C) and
    3. 14.249, Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy 
(SRO).
    F. Dates: As more full described in the body of this NOFA, CoCs and 
project applicants will be required to apply for the 2008 CoC 
competition electronically through HUD's e-snaps system. Because the 
application portion of the e-snaps system has not yet been launched, 
HUD is unable at this time to establish an application due date for the 
2008 CoC competition. HUD will announce the application due date 
through a separate Federal Register notice once the e-snaps system is 
able to process funding applications. The application due date will be 
at least 60 days from the publication date of the Federal Register 
notice. As of today's publication, HUD anticipates an approximate 
application due date of September 15, 2008. Please see section IV of 
this NOFA for application submission and timely receipt requirements.
    G. Additional Overview Content Information:
    1. Available Funds: Approximately $1.42 billion is available for 
funding. Carried over or recaptured funds from previous fiscal years, 
if available, may be added to this amount.
    2. Eligible Applicants: The program summary chart in section 
III.A.1 of this NOFA identifies the eligible applicants for each of the 
three programs under the CoC Homeless Assistance Programs.
    3. Match: Matching funds are required from local, state, federal 
(as eligible) or private resources. Refer to the General Section of the 
SuperNOFA (73 FR 14883; March 29, 2008) for more information on this 
requirement.
    4. Additional Notices:
    a. To encourage transparency at all levels of the CoC planning 
process, once a CoC has submitted the CoC application to HUD, the CoC 
is required to make Exhibit 1 available to its community for inspection 
(i.e., by request or post on local CoC Web site) and notify community 
members and key stakeholders that it is available upon request.
    b. Please note that all sections of the General Section of the 
SuperNOFA are critical and must be carefully reviewed to ensure an 
application can be considered for funding, with the exception of 
reference to the Grants.gov application process. The Continuum of Care 
application will be using an electronic system outside of Grants.gov. 
Applicants for project funding will still be required to register with 
Dun and Bradstreet to obtain a DUNS number, if they have not already 
done so, and complete or renew their registration in the Central 
Contractor Registration (CCR). For more information see 73 FR 23483, 
April 30, 2008. Applicants are still encouraged to sign up for the 
Grants.gov notification service as the availability of the 2008 
Continuum of Care application will be released via this Web site.

Full Text Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Description

    1. Overview. The purpose of CoC Homeless Assistance Programs is to 
reduce the incidence of homelessness in CoC communities by assisting 
homeless individuals and families to move to self-sufficiency and 
permanent housing. CoCs that sustain current successful interventions 
and advance the goal of ending chronic homelessness will be scored 
higher.
    2. The authorizing legislation and implementing regulations for all 
programs covered by this NOFA are outlined on the chart in section 
III.A.1 of this NOFA.
    3. Changes for 2008. This list includes all major changes to the 
CoC NOFA:
    a. CoCs and project applicants will be required to apply for the 
2008 CoC competition electronically through HUD's e-snaps system. e-
snaps is not a part of http://www.grants.gov. To access training on e-
snaps, see http://esnaps.hudhre.info/training/. If CoCs or applicants 
have additional questions they may contact the e-snaps Help Desk at 
[email protected], or by calling 1-877-6-esnaps (1-877-637-6277). 
More information is provided in section I.A.5.b of this NOFA.
    b. CoCs were required to register their CoC in e-snaps, the 
electronic application system, prior to the beginning of the 
competition. For more information on the CoC registration process see 
73 FR 23483; April 30, 2008.
    c. CoCs may create multiple Samaritan Housing Initiative projects 
as long as the total amount of funding requested for all bonus projects 
does not exceed 15 percent of the CoC's Preliminary Pro Rata Need. For 
more information on the Samaritan Bonus Initiative see section I.A.4.y 
below.
    d. HUD will continue to score CoC Homeless Assistance applications 
on a 100 point scale; however, the 40 need points previously allocated 
to projects will be redistributed into the existing point structure 
(see section V.A.1 of this NOFA for more information). Need will 
continue to be calculated through the higher of the formula that 
determines Preliminary Pro Rata Need or the Hold Harmless Need for the 
CoC.
    e. As directed by Congress in the FY2008 HUD appropriation 
(Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, H.R. 2764), HUD will implement 
a Rapid Re-Housing for Families Demonstration Program through the 2008 
CoC NOFA. This demonstration program will serve homeless households 
with dependent children. For more information see section I.A.4.w of 
this NOFA.
    f. Safe Havens (SH) will no longer be given Transitional Housing 
(TH) or Permanent Housing (PH) classifications and grantees seeking 
renewal will have an opportunity through the 2008 CoC NOFA to change 
the classification of their project without a grant amendment. Under 
the newly defined Safe Haven SHP program type, any chronically homeless 
person entering a Safe Haven will maintain his/her status

[[Page 39841]]

as chronically homeless, and will therefore be eligible for entrance 
into Samaritan Housing Initiative projects. For more information on the 
characteristics of a Safe Haven see section I.A.x of this NOFA.
    g. HUD is aware there has been some confusion over Shelter Plus 
Care (S+C) and new SRO grant amounts and is reminding grantees and 
applicants that S+C and new SRO grants may not exceed 100 percent of 
the Fair Market Rent (FMR) for the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) 
and unit size.
    h. CoCs that are in Hold Harmless Need status may seek to use the 
reallocation process to create new dedicated Homeless Management 
Information System (HMIS) projects. For more information on Hold 
Harmless Need status and the process for reallocating SHP renewal 
project funds to new permanent housing and/or HMIS dedicated projects, 
see section I.A.4.i of this NOFA.
    i. HUD will allow only one applicant for HMIS-dedicated grants 
within a CoC.
    j. HMIS funds contained in the Training and Technical Assistance 
line item of the HMIS budget may be used for travel, hotel, and per 
diem costs associated with the provision of technical assistance and 
training sessions by local HMIS staff; attendance at training sessions 
provided by local HMIS staff and/or outside trainers; attendance at 
HUD-sponsored HMIS training sessions or symposiums; attendance at HMIS 
vendor-sponsored user meetings; and attendance at other HMIS-related 
events as qualified and pre-approved by HUD Headquarters. Applicants 
may be asked to identify the number and type of HMIS training sessions 
for which they are requesting SHP funds prior to grant agreement. The 
approved budget will be limited to the reasonableness of travel 
expenses as listed in 24 CFR Parts 84 and 85.
    k. HUD may, after selection and subject to funding availability and 
as supported by a lease or leases evidencing the rent increase, provide 
SHP renewal projects up to a 4% increase in the leasing line item not 
to exceed local FMR amounts.
    l. HUD will no longer require that applicants/grantees funded for 
Tenant-based Rental Assistance, Sponsor-based Rental Assistance, and 
Project-based Rental Assistance without rehabilitation begin rental 
assistance within twelve (12) months of the date of HUD's grant award 
letter. These applicants/grantees and all other applicants/grantees 
must continue to meet statutory deadlines regarding the obligation of 
grant funds as stated in the HUD appropriations Act.
    4. Definitions and Concepts
    a. Annual Renewal Amount. The maximum amount that a SHP grant can 
receive on an annual basis when renewed. It includes funds for only 
those eligible activities (operating, supportive services, leasing, 
HMIS and administration) that were funded in the original grant (or the 
original grant as amended), less the unrenewable activities 
(acquisition, new construction, rehabilitation, and any administration 
costs related to these activities). It is used to calculate a CoC's 
Hold Harmless Need amount.
    To calculate the Annual Renewal Amount (ARA) for SHP grants, add up 
the amount of the renewable budget line items (i.e., operating, 
supportive services, leasing, HMIS, and administration) for all the 
years of the grant being renewed, and divide by the number of years in 
the grant term. Any funding for acquisition, rehabilitation, new 
construction--and any administration costs related to these 
activities--is not renewable. If the grant included these activities, 
administrative costs may only be calculated on 5 percent of the total 
of the eligible leasing, operating, HMIS, and supportive services costs 
contained in the initial grant. For example, if the initial three-year 
grant was for $472,500 ($150,000 for new construction, $150,000 for 
operating costs, $150,000 for supportive services, and $22,500 for 
administration), the new construction costs, and any administration 
costs associated with it, would not be eligible for renewal. Thus, the 
total renewable amount would be $315,000 ($150,000 for operating costs, 
$150,000 for supportive services, and $15,000 for administration) and 
the ARA is $105,000 ($315,000 divided by the three-year grant term).
    If the initial three-year grant was $315,000 and did not include 
acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction costs ($150,000 for 
operating costs, $150,000 for supportive services, and $15,000 for 
administration), the ARA would be $105,000 ($315,000 divided by the 
three-year grant term).
    b. Applicant. An entity that applies to HUD for funds. See the CoC 
Homeless Assistance Programs Chart in section III.A.1 of this NOFA for 
a list of eligible entities. An applicant must submit a SF-424 
(Application for Federal Assistance Form). If selected for funding, the 
applicant becomes the grantee and is responsible for the overall 
management of the grant, including drawing grant funds, distributing 
funds to project sponsors, overseeing project sponsors, reporting to 
HUD, providing performance data to the CoC for community-level 
analysis, and collecting information to provide the CoC with counts of 
the homeless through HMIS. Applicants can submit applications for 
projects on behalf of project sponsors, who will actually carry out the 
proposed project activities. Applicants can also carry out their own 
projects. In these cases, the applicant is responsible for both 
administering and managing the grant (as the grantee), and carrying out 
the project activities (as the project sponsor).
    c. Applicant Certification. The form (HUD-2991), required by law, 
in which an applicant certifies that it will adhere to certain 
statutory requirements, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
    d. Central Intake. An assessment hotline, a single point of entry, 
a central intake facility or a centralized group of people that is 
standardized across the CoC and has the responsibility of assessing 
homeless persons as a method for screening homeless individuals and 
families into appropriate housing placements and service needs.
    e. Chronically Homeless Person. An unaccompanied homeless 
individual with a disabling condition who has either been continuously 
homeless for a year or more OR has had at least four (4) episodes of 
homelessness in the past three (3) years. A disabling condition is 
defined as: (1) A disability as defined in section 223 of the Social 
Security Act; (2) a physical, mental, or emotional impairment which is 
expected to be of long-continued and indefinite duration, substantially 
impedes an individual's ability to live independently, and of such a 
nature that the disability could be improved by more suitable 
conditions; (3) a developmental disability as defined in section 102 of 
the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act; (4) 
the disease of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or any conditions 
arising from the etiological agency for acquired immunodeficiency 
syndrome; or (5) a diagnosable substance abuse disorder. The term 
``homeless'' in this case means a person sleeping in a place not meant 
for human habitation (e.g., living on the streets), in an emergency 
homeless shelter, or in a Safe Haven as defined by HUD.
    f. Consolidated Plan. A long-term housing and community development 
plan developed by state and local governments and approved by HUD (24 
CFR part 91). The Consolidated Plan contains information on homeless 
populations and should be coordinated with the CoC plan. It can be a 
source of information for the Unmet Needs sections of the Housing 
Inventory Chart.

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    g. Consolidated Plan Certification. The form, required by law, in 
which a state or local official certifies that the proposed activities 
or projects are consistent with the jurisdiction's Consolidated Plan 
and, if the applicant is a state or unit of local government, that the 
jurisdiction is following its Consolidated Plan.
    h. Continuum of Care. A collaborative funding and planning approach 
that helps communities plan for and provide, as necessary, a full range 
of emergency, transitional, and permanent housing and other service 
resources to address the various needs of homeless persons. HUD also 
refers to the group of service providers involved in the decision 
making processes as the ``Continuum of Care.''
    i. Continuum of Care Hold Harmless Need Reallocation. A CoC whose 
Final Pro Rata Need is based on its Hold Harmless Need amount (see 
section I.A.4.l.(2) of this NOFA) may reallocate funds in whole or part 
from SHP renewal projects to create one or more new permanent housing 
projects and/or a new dedicated HMIS project. The Hold Harmless Need 
Reallocation process allows eligible CoCs to fund new permanent housing 
or dedicated HMIS projects by transferring all or part of funds from 
existing SHP grants eligible for renewal (that are expiring between 
January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009). These new permanent housing 
projects may be for SHP (one, two or three years), S+C (five or ten 
years) and section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation (ten years). New HMIS 
projects may be for one, two or three years. New permanent housing 
projects and dedicated HMIS SHP projects being created through this 
process will be funded under the conditional renewal standards 
described in section 5.B.2.a.(iii). Like all projects submitted under 
the 2008 CoC NOFA, these projects must meet eligibility and quality 
standards established by HUD in order to be conditionally selected for 
funding. These reallocated funds may not be used to supplement a new 
Samaritan Housing Initiative project or a Rapid Re-Housing for Families 
Demonstration Project. This Hold Harmless Need Reallocation Process is 
not available to a CoC in Preliminary Pro Rata Need Status.
    j. Continuum of Care Lead Agency. Agency or organization designated 
by the CoC primary decision making body to be the entity that submits 
the CoC application.
    k. Continuum of Care Lead Agency Contact. Person(s) with the 
authority to submit the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Grants 
Competition application on behalf of the CoC, usually the Executive 
Director or CEO of the CoC Lead Agency.
l. Continuum of Care Need Amounts
    (1) Continuum of Care Preliminary Pro Rata Need (PPRN). Amount of 
funds a CoC could receive based upon the geography that HUD approves as 
belonging to that CoC. To determine the homeless assistance need of a 
particular jurisdiction, HUD will use nationally available data, 
including the following factors as used in the Emergency Shelter Grants 
(ESG) program: data on poverty, housing overcrowding, population, age 
of housing, and growth lag. Applying those factors to a particular 
jurisdiction provides an estimate of the relative need index for that 
jurisdiction compared to other jurisdictions applying for assistance 
under the 2008 CoC NOFA. Each year, HUD publishes the PPRN for each 
jurisdiction. A CoC's PPRN is determined by adding the published PPRN 
of each jurisdiction within the HUD-approved CoC.
    (2) Continuum of Care Hold Harmless Need (HHN). The amount of funds 
a CoC is eligible to receive where the ARA of all SHP grants expiring 
in that CoC during the period beginning January 1, 2009 and ending 
December 31, 2009 exceeds the PPRN for that CoC. The HHN is the amount 
needed to fund the expiring renewal grants for one year. To provide 
communities with maximum flexibility in addressing current needs, CoCs 
have the discretion to not fund or to reduce one or more SHP renewal 
project applications through the HHN Reallocation process and still 
receive the benefit of the hold harmless need amount if the CoC 
proposes to use that amount of reduced renewal funds for new permanent 
supportive housing or dedicated HMIS SHP projects.
    (3) Continuum of Care Final Pro Rata Need (FPRN). The higher amount 
of: (1) PPRN and (2) HHN.
    m. Continuum of Care Primary Decision Making Group. This group 
manages the overall planning effort for the CoC, including, but not 
limited to, the following types of activities: setting agendas for full 
Continuum of Care meetings, project monitoring, determining project 
priorities, and providing final approval for the CoC application 
submission. This body is also responsible for the implementation of the 
CoC's HMIS, either through direct oversight or through the designation 
of an HMIS implementing agency. This group may be the CoC Lead Agency 
or may authorize another entity to be the CoC Lead Agency under its 
direction.
    n. Continuum of Care Registration. A step in the electronic 
application process during which time a CoC claims geography and 
appoints a CoC Lead Agency that will be responsible for the submission 
of the electronic application to HUD. See section I.A.5.b of this NOFA 
for a detailed explanation.
    o. Current Inventory. A complete listing of the community's HUD- 
and non-HUD-funded beds and supportive services.
    p. Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS). An HMIS is a 
computerized data collection application designed to capture client-
level information over time on the characteristics of service needs of 
men, women, and children experiencing homelessness, while also 
protecting client confidentiality. It is designed to aggregate client-
level data to generate an unduplicated count of clients served within a 
community's system of homeless services. An HMIS may also cover a 
statewide or regional area, and include several CoCs. HMIS can provide 
data on client characteristics and service utilization.
    q. Homeless Person. As defined by the McKinney Act (42 U.S.C 
11302), a homeless person is a person sleeping in a place not meant for 
human habitation or in an emergency shelter; and a person in 
transitional housing for homeless persons who originally came from the 
street or an emergency shelter. The programs covered by this NOFA are 
not for populations who are at risk of becoming homeless.
    r. Housing Emphasis. The relationship between funds requested for 
housing activities (i.e., transitional and permanent) and funds 
requested for supportive service activities. Housing emphasis will be 
calculated on eligible new and renewal projects within FPRN, eligible 
Samaritan Housing Initiative projects, eligible Rapid Re-Housing for 
Families Demonstration Program projects and eligible S+C renewal 
projects. HUD will count as housing activity all approvable requests 
for funds for rental assistance and approvable requests for 
acquisition, rehabilitation, construction, leasing and operations when 
used in connection with housing. HMIS costs and administrative costs 
will be excluded from this calculation.
    s. Match. Grantees and project sponsors must match SHP funds 
provided for acquisition, rehabilitation, and new construction with an 
equal amount of cash from other sources. Since SHP by statute can pay 
no more than 75 percent of the total operating budget for supportive 
housing, agencies must provide at least a 25 percent cash match of the 
total annual operating costs. In addition, for all SHP funding

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for supportive services and HMIS, applicants must provide a 20 percent 
cash match. This means that of the total supportive services budget 
line item, no more than 80 percent may be from SHP grant funds. For 
more information see section III.B of the General Section of the 
SuperNOFA.
    Grantees and project sponsors must match rental assistance provided 
through the Shelter Plus Care Program in the aggregate with supportive 
services. Shelter Plus Care requires a dollar for dollar match; the 
recipient's match source can be cash or in kind.
    Documentation of the match requirement must be maintained in the 
grantee's financial records on a grant-specific basis.
    t. Private Nonprofit Status. Private nonprofit status is documented 
by submitting either:
    (1) A copy of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruling providing 
tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code; or (2) 
documentation showing that the applicant is a certified United Way 
agency; or (3) a certification from a licensed CPA that no part of the 
net earnings of the organization inures to the benefit of any member, 
founder, contributor, or individual; that the organization has a 
voluntary board; that the organization practices nondiscrimination in 
the provision of assistance; and that the organization has a 
functioning accounting system that provides for each of the following 
(mention each in the certification):
    (a) Accurate, current and complete disclosure of the financial 
results of each federally sponsored project.
    (b) Records that identify adequately the source and application of 
funds for federally sponsored activities.
    (c) Effective control over and accountability for all funds, 
property and other assets.
    (d) Comparison of outlays with budget amounts.
    (e) Written procedures to minimize the time elapsing between the 
transfer of funds to the recipient from the U.S. Treasury and the use 
of the funds for program purposes.
    (f) Written procedures for determining the reasonableness, 
allocability and allowability of costs.
    (g) Accounting records, including cost accounting records, which 
are supported by source documentation.
    u. Project Sponsor. An entity that is responsible for carrying out 
the proposed project activities. A project sponsor does not submit an 
SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance), unless it is also the 
applicant. To be eligible to be a project sponsor, the organization 
must meet the same program eligibility standards as applicants, as 
outlined in section III.A.1 of this NOFA. The only exception to this 
standard is under the Sponsor-based rental assistance (SRA) component 
of the S+C Program, where a sponsor must be a private, nonprofit 
organization or a community mental health agency established as a 
public nonprofit organization; therefore, eligible project sponsors for 
this component are statutorily precluded from applying for S+C funding.
    v. Public Nonprofit Status. Public nonprofit status is documented 
for community mental health centers by including a letter or other 
document from the authorized state official stating that the applicant 
is organized and in good standing under state law as a public nonprofit 
organization.
    w. Rapid Re-Housing for Families Demonstration Program. HUD will 
implement through the 2008 CoC NOFA a demonstration program for 
households with dependent children residing on the street or in 
emergency shelters as directed by Congress in the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act for 2008 (H.R. 2764). Through this focused effort on 
assisting this population, HUD will both learn more about how to best 
serve families who are homeless and also contribute to the research 
that has already been done in this area.
    Each CoC may submit no more than one project under the Rapid Re-
Housing for Families Demonstration Program. That project must have a 
grant term of three-years and may request up to 30 percent of the CoC's 
PPRN or $2 million, whichever is less. Grants awarded under the Rapid 
Re-Housing for Families Demonstration Program will be administered in 
accordance with the requirements of the SHP program, TH component, with 
the exception that the eligible activities are limited to 
administration, leasing (up to 18 months), and supportive services; 
that the grantee must participate in the evaluation phase; and that 
they must comply with all Rapid Re-Housing Demonstration Program 
requirements established in this NOFA. No more than 30 percent of the 
total eligible program activities (grant total minus administration 
costs up to five percent) may be used for supportive services, 
including case management. Eligible supportive services are limited to 
housing placement, case management, legal assistance; literacy 
training, job training, mental health services, childcare services, and 
substance abuse services. Eligible housing activities include leasing 
only. One household may receive leasing dollars one time for three to 
six months or twelve to fifteen months, as determined at the time of 
the assessment. Households are expected to independently sustain 
housing, either subsidized or unsubsidized, at the end of the leasing 
subsidy; therefore, it is crucial that households are appropriately 
assessed. The Rapid Re-Housing Demonstration program will include an 
evaluation phase, which will focus on determining the efficacy of the 
assessment process and the housing/service intervention related to how 
successfully households are able to independently sustain housing after 
receiving short-term leasing assistance.
    x. Safe Haven. A Safe Haven is a form of supportive housing funded 
and administered under the Supportive Housing Program serving hard-to-
reach homeless persons with severe mental illness who are on the 
streets and have been unwilling or unable to participate in supportive 
services.
    All projects classified as Safe Havens (SH) must have the following 
characteristics:
    (1) Located in a facility, meaning a structure, or structures, or 
clearly identifiable portion of a structure or structures;
    (2) Provide 24-hour residence for eligible persons who may reside 
for an unspecified duration;
    (3) Provide private or semiprivate accommodations;
    (4) Overnight capacity is limited to no more than 25 persons;
    (5) Provide low-demand services and referrals for the residents of 
the safe haven;
    (6) Prohibit the use of illegal drugs in the facility; and,
    (7) Must target homeless individuals with serious and persistent 
mental illness, primarily from the streets.
    Safe Havens may also provide for the common use of kitchen 
facilities, dining rooms, and bathrooms.
    New in 2008, any chronically homeless persons entering a Safe 
Haven, as defined by above, will maintain their chronically homeless 
status, and will therefore be eligible for entrance into Samaritan 
Housing Initiative projects.
    Grantees with renewal projects submitted in 2008 that are 
designated as Safe Haven-Transitional Housing (SH-TH) or Safe-Haven 
Permanent Housing (SH-PH) will be required, in 2008, to change the 
classification of their project without a grant amendment. Each project 
that is currently designated as either a SH-TH or SH-PH will, in the 
2008 application, designate itself as either Transitional Housing, 
Permanent Housing, or as a Safe Haven depending on its program design.
    y. Samaritan Housing Initiative. To qualify for the Samaritan 
Housing

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Initiative, each CoC must submit one or more new permanent housing 
projects under the Samaritan Housing Initiative (an initiative designed 
to develop permanent housing projects that serve exclusively 
chronically homeless persons). Each CoC shall be eligible for a 
Samaritan Bonus Amount up to 15 percent of the CoC's PPRN amount or $6 
million, whichever is less. Samaritan Housing Initiative projects may 
be SHP, S+C, or SRO. For projects applying under the SHP, each project 
can request no more than 20% of the total of its eligible program 
activities (grant total minus administration costs up to five percent) 
for case management. Safe Havens do not qualify for the Samaritan Bonus 
Initiative.
    Rental assistance under the S+C and section 8 Moderate-
Rehabilitation programs is an eligible housing activity under the 
Samaritan Housing Initiative.
    z. SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. The application 
cover sheet required to be submitted by applicants requesting HUD 
Federal Assistance.
    5. Continuum of Care Processes
    a. CoC Planning Process.
    (1) A CoC system is developed through a community-wide or region-
wide process involving the coordination of nonprofit organizations 
(including those representing persons with disabilities), state and 
local government agencies, public housing agencies, community and 
faith-based organizations, other homeless providers, service providers, 
housing developers, private health care associations, law enforcement 
and corrections agencies, school systems, private funding providers, 
and homeless or formerly homeless persons to successfully address the 
complex and interrelated problems related to homelessness. The 2008 CoC 
NOFA emphasizes HUD's determination to integrate and align plans, 
including jurisdictional, state, and city ten-year plans 
(jurisdictional ten-year plans) encouraged by the U.S. Interagency 
Council on Homelessness and Consolidated Plans. These plans serve as a 
vehicle for a community to comprehensively identify each of its needs 
and to coordinate a plan for addressing them. A CoC should address the 
specific needs of each homeless subpopulation: those experiencing 
chronic homelessness, veterans, persons with serious mental illnesses, 
persons with substance abuse issues, persons with HIV/AIDS, persons 
with co-occurring diagnoses (these may include diagnoses of multiple 
physical disabilities or multiple mental disabilities or a combination 
of these two types), victims of domestic violence, youth, and any 
others. To ensure that the CoC system addresses the needs of homeless 
veterans, it is particularly important that CoCs involve veteran 
service organizations with specific experiencing in serving homeless 
veterans.
    (2) CoC Geographic Area. In deciding what geographic area a CoC 
will cover as part of its CoC strategy, CoCs should be aware that a key 
factor in being awarded funding under the 2008 CoC NOFA will be the 
strength of a CoC process when measured against the CoC rating factors 
described in this NOFA. When a CoC determines what jurisdictions to 
include in its CoC strategy area, include only those jurisdictions that 
are fully involved in the development and implementation of the CoC 
strategy.
    The more jurisdictions a CoC includes in the CoC, the larger the 
pro rata need share that will be allocated to the strategy area (as 
described in section I.A.5.a.(1) and section I.A.5.a.(2) of this NOFA). 
If a CoC is located in a rural county, it may wish to consider working 
with larger groups of contiguous counties to develop a region-wide or 
multi-county CoC strategy covering the combined service areas of these 
counties. Areas covered by CoC strategies cannot overlap.
    (3) CoC Components. A CoC system typically consists of five basic 
elements, as follows:
    (a) A system of outreach, engagement, and assessment for 
determining the needs and conditions of individuals or families who are 
homeless, and necessary support to identify, prioritize, and respond to 
persons who are chronically homeless;
    (b) Emergency shelters with appropriate supportive services to help 
ensure that homeless individuals and families receive adequate 
emergency shelter and referral to necessary service providers or 
housing search counselors;
    (c) Transitional housing with appropriate supportive services to 
help homeless individuals and families prepare to make the transition 
to permanent housing and independent living;
    (d) Permanent housing, or permanent supportive housing, to help 
meet the long-term needs of homeless individuals and families; and,
    (e) Prevention strategies, which play an integral role in a 
community's plan to eliminate homelessness by effectively intervening 
for persons at risk of homelessness or those being discharged from 
public systems--e.g., corrections, foster care, mental health, and 
other institutions--so that they do not enter the homeless system. By 
law, prevention activities are ineligible activities in the three 
programs included in this NOFA but are eligible for funding under the 
Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) program and many other programs.
    (4) Regardless of the CoC structure and planning process, the 2008 
electronic application process will require that each CoC select up to 
two persons, from the CoC Lead Agency, who are authorized to submit the 
CoC application and the project applications to HUD.
    (5) Once the CoC application has been submitted and scored the CoC 
will receive its conditional award. This is the total amount of monies 
conditionally awarded to a CoC's eligible projects including, new and 
renewal SHP and S+C projects, new SRO Moderate-Rehabilitation projects, 
Samaritan Housing Initiative and Rapid Re-Housing for Families 
Demonstration projects.
    b. CoC Registration Process. CoCs were required to register in the 
electronic database, e-snaps, prior to the beginning of the 2008 CoC 
competition. For more information on the CoC Registration Process see 
73 FR 23483; April 30, 2008.
    6. CoC Funding is provided through the programs briefly described 
below. Please refer to the CoC Homeless Assistance Programs Eligibility 
Chart in section III.A.1 of this NOFA for a more detailed description 
of each program:
    a. The Supportive Housing Program (SHP) provides funding for the 
development and/or operation of transitional housing, permanent 
supportive housing, safe havens, and services that help homeless 
persons transition from homelessness to living as independently as 
possible. Services are also funded to assist in achieving the goal of 
self-sufficiency. See section I.A.4.s of this NOFA for SHP match 
requirements.
    b. The Shelter Plus Care (S+C) Program provides funding for rental 
assistance and requires a dollar match in supportive services for every 
dollar of rental assistance. This gives applicants flexibility in 
devising appropriate housing and supportive services for homeless 
persons with disabilities.
    c. The Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy 
(SRO) Program provides rental assistance on behalf of homeless 
individuals in connection with the moderate rehabilitation of SRO 
dwellings. The SRO Program has no match requirements.

II. Award Information

    A. Amount Allocated. Approximately $1.42 billion is available for 
funding.

[[Page 39845]]

Carried over or recaptured funds from previous fiscal years, if 
available, may be added to this amount.
    B. Distribution of Funds: HUD will not specify amounts for each of 
the three programs: SHP, S+C, and section 8/SRO. Instead, the 
distribution of funds among the three programs will depend largely on 
locally determined priorities and overall demand.
    1. Renewals. HUD reserves the authority to conditionally select for 
one year of funding eligible SHP renewal projects that fall below the 
National Funding Line and would not otherwise receive funding for these 
projects. HUD reserves the right to establish a minimum CoC scoring 
threshold for these projects. The funding of these renewal projects 
allows homeless persons to continue to be served and move towards self-
sufficiency. Not renewing these projects would likely result in the 
closure of these projects and displacement of the homeless people being 
served. Shelter Plus Care Renewals will continue to be funded outside 
of the competitive ranking process, as required in the 2008 
Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2764).
    2. Grant Terms. See chart in section III.A.1 of this NOFA for 
information on the term of assistance for each of the three CoC 
programs covered under the 2008 CoC NOFA.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

    1. Eligible applicants for each program are those identified in the 
following chart:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Elements                   Supportive housing       Shelter plus care          Section 8 SRO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authorizing Legislation..............  Subtitle C of Title IV   Subtitle F of Title IV   Section 441 of the
                                        of the McKinney-Vento    of the McKinney-Vento    McKinney-Vento
                                        Homeless Assistance      Homeless Assistance      Homeless Assistance
                                        Act, 42 U.S.C. 11381.    Act, 42 U.S.C. 11403.    Act, 42 U.S.C. 11401.
Implementing Regulations.............  24 CFR part 583........  24 CFR part 582........  24 CFR part 882,
                                                                                          subpart H, except that
                                                                                          all persons receiving
                                                                                          rental assistance must
                                                                                          meet the McKinney-
                                                                                          Vento definition of
                                                                                          homelessness.
Eligible Applicant(s)................   States........   States........   PHAs.
                                        Units of         Units of         Private
                                        general local            general local            nonprofit
                                        government.              government.              organizations.
                                        Special          PHAs.           .......................
                                        purpose units of
                                        government, e.g., PHAs.
                                        Private
                                        nonprofit
                                        organizations.
                                        Community
                                        Mental Health Centers
                                        that are public
                                        nonprofit
                                        organizations.
Eligible Component(s)................   Transitional     Tenant-based     SRO housing.
                                        housing.                 housing.
                                        Permanent        Sponsor-based   .......................
                                        housing for disabled     housing.
                                        persons only.
                                        Supportive       Project-based   .......................
                                        services not in          housing.
                                        conjunction with
                                        supportive housing.
                                        Safe Havens...   SRO-based       .......................
                                                                 housing.
                                        Innovative
                                        supportive housing.
                                        Homeless Mgmt.
                                        Info. System (HMIS).
Eligible Activities. See footnotes 1,   Acquisition...   Rental           Rental
 2, and 3.                                                       assistance.              assistance.
                                       Rehabilitation                                    .......................
                                        including
                                        accessibility
                                        requirements.
                                        New
                                        construction including
                                        accessibility
                                        requirements.
                                        Leasing.
                                        Operating
                                        costs.
                                        Supportive
                                        services.
Eligible Populations. See footnote 2.   Homeless         Homeless         Homeless
                                        individuals and          disabled individuals.    disabled individuals.
                                        families.
                                                                 Homeless        .......................
                                                                 individuals & their
                                                                 families.
Populations Given Special               Homeless         Homeless         N/A.
 Consideration.                         persons with             persons who are
                                        disabilities.            seriously mentally ill.
                                        Homeless         Have chronic    .......................
                                        families with children.  problems with alcohol
                                                                 and/or drugs.
                                                                 Have AIDS &     .......................
                                                                 related diseases.
Initial Term of Assistance. See         2 or 3 years     5 years: TRA,    10 years.
 footnote 4.                            for new SHP.             SRA, and PRA without
                                                                 rehab.
                                        1, 2 or 3        10 years SRO,   .......................
                                        years for new HMIS.      and PRA with rehab.
                                        1, 2 or 3                                .......................
                                        years for new
                                        reallocated projects.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnote 1: Homeless prevention activities are statutorily ineligible under these programs.
Footnote 2: Persons at risk of homelessness are statutorily ineligible for assistance under these programs.
Footnote 3: Acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, leasing, and operating costs are statutorily ineligible
  for assistance under Shelter Plus Care and Section 8 SRO.
Footnote 4: The term of a new grant with funds for acquisition, construction or rehabilitation also includes the
  time to acquire the property, complete construction and begin operating the project, which may be no greater
  than 39 months. A one year initial term may be requested only for HMIS or hold harmless reallocated new
  permanent housing projects.


[[Page 39846]]

    2. Renewal Applicants. An applicant is eligible to apply for 
renewal of a grant only if it has a signed grant agreement for the 
project directly with HUD for SHP or S+C programs. Project sponsors or 
sub-recipients are not eligible to apply for renewal of these projects. 
Reminder, renewal applicants must also have a DUNS number and be 
registered in the CCR.

B. Matching

    Applicants must meet the match requirements for SHP and S+C 
programs. For more information on matching see section I.A.4.s of this 
NOFA and/or applicable program regulations.

C. Other Project Eligibility Requirements

    1. Eligible Activities. Eligible activities for the SHP, S+C, and 
SRO Programs are outlined in the preceding CoC Homeless Assistance 
Programs Chart at Section III.A.1 of this NOFA.
    2. Threshold Requirements
    a. Project Eligibility Threshold. HUD will review all projects to 
determine if they meet the following eligibility threshold 
requirements. If HUD determines that these standards are not met by a 
specific project or activity, the project or activity will be rejected 
from the competition.
    (1) Applicants and project sponsors must meet the eligibility 
requirements of the specific program as described in program 
regulations, and provide evidence of eligibility and capacity, and 
submit the required certifications as specified in this NOFA.
    (2) The population to be served must meet the eligibility 
requirements of the specific program as described in the program 
regulations, and the application must clearly establish eligibility of 
program participants.
    (3) The only persons who may be served by permanent housing 
projects are those who come from the streets, emergency shelters, safe 
havens, or transitional housing. Persons in transitional housing must 
have originally come from the streets or emergency shelter. As 
participants leave currently operating projects, participants who meet 
this eligibility standard must replace them.
    (4) Samaritan Housing Initiative Projects and Rapid Re-Housing for 
Families Demonstration Projects will have additional eligibility 
requirements. The additional eligibility requirements for Samaritan 
Housing Initiative Projects are described in section I.A.4.y of this 
NOFA. The additional eligibility requirements for Rapid Re-Housing for 
Families Demonstration Projects are provided in section III.C.2.a.(12) 
of this NOFA.
    (5) Projects that involve rehabilitation or new construction must 
certify that they will meet the accessibility requirements of section 
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the design and construction 
requirements of the Fair Housing Act and the accessibility requirements 
of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as applicable.
    (6) The project must be cost-effective, including costs associated 
with construction, operations and supportive services with such costs 
not deviating substantially from the norm in that locale for the type 
of structure or kind of activity.
    (7) For those applicants applying for the Innovative component of 
SHP, whether or not a project is considered innovative will be 
determined on the basis that the particular approach proposed is new 
and can be replicated.
    (8) Renewal applications must be submitted as part of a CoC 
application.
    (9) Under the Sponsor-based rental assistance S+C component, an 
applicant must subcontract the funding awarded with an eligible project 
sponsor: A private nonprofit organization or a community mental health 
agency established as a public nonprofit organization that owns or 
leases the housing where participants will reside.
    (10) For the section 8 SRO program, only individuals meeting HUD's 
definition of homeless are eligible to receive rental assistance. 
Therefore, any individual occupying a unit at commencement of the 
unit's rehabilitation will not receive rental assistance if they return 
to their unit (or any other) upon completion of its rehabilitation.
    (11) Applicants agree to participate in a local HMIS system when it 
is implemented in their community.
    (12) Applicants for Rapid Re-Housing for Families Demonstration 
Programs must meet the following additional project eligibility 
thresholds.
    (a) The CoC in which the applicant is applying must have 
centralized intake as defined in this NOFA (see section I.A.4.) for 
households with dependent children.
    (b) The population to be served must be households with dependent 
children who have lived in emergency shelters or on the streets for at 
least seven consecutive days, must be able to independently sustain 
housing at the end of the short-term housing assistance, and must have 
at least one moderate barrier to housing. A moderate barrier to housing 
is defined as:
    (i) A financial strain that is not ongoing and will not impact the 
ability to independently sustain housing once re-housed (in subsidized 
or unsubsidized housing);
    (ii) Inadequate employment or a loss of employment. The family most 
appropriate for this demonstration should have, or be willing to 
obtain, employment that increases the income of the household to such a 
degree that it can independently sustain housing at the end of the 
short-term housing assistance;
    (iii) Inadequate childcare resources;
    (iv) A head of household with a low level of education or low 
command of the English language, but who is willing to obtain the 
language skills and/or education level necessary to obtain employment 
and maintain housing;
    (v) Legal problems. HUD leaves it to the discretion of the 
individual communities to determine which legal problems it is able to 
address;
    (vi) Mental health diagnosis that do not greatly impact the 
household's ability to independently sustain housing;
    (vii) A history of substance abuse, without any active use;
    (viii) Poor rental history, including up to three evictions; and,
    (ix) Poor credit history.
    (c) The agency must have one assessment tool that it uses to assess 
all families.
    b. Project Quality Threshold. HUD will review new projects, 
including those requested as part of HHN Reallocation, to determine if 
they meet the following quality threshold requirements with clear and 
convincing evidence. A S+C or SHP project renewal will be considered as 
having met these requirements through its previously approved grant 
application unless information to the contrary is received. The housing 
and services proposed must be appropriate to the needs of the program 
participants and the community. HUD will assess the following:
    (1) That the type, scale and general location of the housing fit 
the needs of the participants and that the housing is readily 
accessible to community amenities.
    (2) That the type, scale and location of the supportive services 
fit the needs of the participants and the mode of transportation to 
those services is described.
    (3) That the specific plan for ensuring clients will be 
individually assisted to obtain the benefits of the mainstream health, 
social service, and employment programs for which they are eligible is 
provided.

[[Page 39847]]

    (4) How participants are helped to obtain and remain in permanent 
housing is described.
    (5) How participants are assisted to both increase their incomes 
and live independently using mainstream housing and service programs is 
described.
    (6) Applicants and project sponsors must evidence satisfactory 
performance for existing grant(s).
    (7) For expansion projects, applicants must clearly articulate the 
part of the project that is the expansion.
    (8) In addition to meeting the quality threshold standards above, 
applicants for Rapid Re-Housing for Homeless Families Demonstration 
projects must meet the following quality threshold standards:
    (a) The applicant's experience in forming relationships with 
landlords and maintaining an affordable housing stock is described.
    (b) The type, scale, and general location of the centralized intake 
meets the needs of the participants is provided.
    (c) The specific plan for assessing households with dependent 
children and for ensuring that all households are placed in appropriate 
housing is described.
    (d) The applicant's connection with mainstream, community based 
social services is described.
    (e) The applicant and project sponsors must evidence satisfactory 
performance for existing projects serving homeless households with 
dependent children and existing Rapid Re-Housing for Families projects.
    c. Project Renewal Threshold. A CoC must consider the need to 
continue funding for projects expiring in calendar year 2009. HUD will 
not fund competitive renewals out of order on the priority list except 
as may be necessary to achieve statutory, regulatory or NOFA funding 
requirements as detailed in this NOFA. It is important that SHP 
renewals and S+C non-competitive renewals meet minimum project 
eligibility, capacity and performance standards identified in this NOFA 
or they will be rejected from consideration for either competitive or 
non-competitive funding.
    d. Civil Rights Thresholds: Applicants and the project sponsors 
must be in compliance with the threshold requirements of the General 
Section of the SuperNOFA.
    3. Program Requirements
    a. Under section 808(e)(5) of the Fair Housing Act, HUD has a 
statutory duty to affirmatively further fair housing. HUD requires the 
same of its funding recipients. If you are a successful applicant, you 
will have a duty to affirmatively further fair housing when providing 
housing and housing related services for classes protected under the 
Fair Housing Act. As successful applicants you required to certify that 
they will comply with the requirements of the Fair Housing Act (42 
U.S.C. 3601-19), Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 
2000d), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), 
and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101), and will 
affirmatively further fair housing. You are also required to comply 
with the program regulations regarding affirmatively furthering fair 
housing. Instead of the actions for affirmatively further fair housing 
in the General Section of the SuperNOFA, successful applicants must 
affirmatively further fair housing by requiring each project sponsor to 
(a) adopt actions and procedures and maintain records of the 
implementation of the actions and procedures taken to affirmatively 
further fair housing; (b) make information available on the existence 
and location of facilities and services that are accessible to persons 
with a disability; and (c) ensure that reasonable steps are taken to 
inform all eligible persons on the availability of the project so that 
they may apply for the housing or services provided.
    b. Local Resident Employment. To the extent that any housing 
assistance (including rental assistance) funded through the 2008 CoC 
NOFA is used for housing rehabilitation (including reduction and 
abatement of lead-based paint hazards, but excluding routine 
maintenance, repair, and replacement) or housing construction, then it 
is subject to section 3 of the Housing and Urban Rehabilitation Act of 
1968, and the implementing regulations at 24 CFR Part 135. Section 3, 
as amended, requires that economic opportunities generated by certain 
HUD financial assistance for housing and community development programs 
shall, to the greatest extent feasible, be given to low- and very low-
income persons, particularly those who are recipients of government 
assistance for housing, and to businesses that provide economic 
opportunities for these persons.
    c. Relocation. The SHP, S+C, and SRO programs are subject to the 
requirements of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property 
Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as amended (URA). These requirements 
are explained in HUD Handbook 1378, Tenant Assistance, Relocation and 
Real Property Acquisition. Also see General Section of the SuperNOFA.
    d. Environmental Reviews. All CoC assistance is subject to the 
National Environmental Policy Act and applicable related Federal 
environmental authorities. Conditional selection of projects under the 
CoC Homeless Assistance competition is subject to the environmental 
review requirements of 24 CFR 582.230, 583.230 and 882.804(c), as 
applicable. The recipient, its project partners and their contractors 
may not acquire, rehabilitate, convert, lease (under S+C/TRA where 
participants are required to live in a particular structure or area as 
described in section III.C.3.g(3)(a) of this NOFA), repair, dispose of, 
demolish or construct property for a project under this CoC NOFA, or 
commit or expend HUD or local funds for such eligible activities, until 
the responsible entity has completed the environmental review 
procedures required by Part 58 and the environmental certification and 
Request for Release of Funds (RROF) have been approved or HUD has 
performed an environmental review under Part 50 and the recipient has 
received HUD approval of the property. The expenditure or commitment of 
Continuum of Care assistance or non-federal funds for such activities 
prior to this HUD approval may result in the denial of assistance for 
the project under consideration. If the program receiving HUD 
assistance is exclusively for the provision of services and none of the 
above stated activities are included, and the services provided meet 
the requirements of an exemption or exclusion listed at 24 CFR 58.34 or 
58.35(b), the responsible entity may determine and record that no 
further environmental review is required, citing the appropriate 
exemption or exclusion.
    e. Expiring/Extended Grants. If a SHP or S+C grant will be expiring 
in calendar year 2009, or if a S+C Program grant has been extended 
beyond its original five-year term and is projected to run out of funds 
in FY 2009, a grantee may apply for a renewal under the 2008 CoC NOFA 
to receive continued funding. Generally, if a renewal project is not 
awarded funding in 2008, then the project will not be allowed to extend 
its grant to apply in the 2009 competition.
    f. Promoting Energy Efficiency and Energy Star. In keeping with the 
Administration's policy priority of promoting energy efficient housing 
while protecting the environment, applicants applying for new 
construction or rehabilitation funding, who maintain housing or 
community facilities or provide services in those facilities, are 
encouraged to promote energy efficiency and are specifically

[[Page 39848]]

encouraged to purchase and use Energy Star-labeled products. Refer to 
the General Section of the SuperNOFA for detailed information about 
this policy priority.
    g. Program-Specific Requirements. Please be advised that where an 
applicant for the SHP funding is a state or unit of general local 
government that utilizes one or more nonprofit project sponsor(s) to 
administer the homeless assistance project(s), administrative funds 
provided as part of the SHP grant must be passed on to the nonprofit 
organization(s) in proportion to the administrative burden borne by 
them for the SHP project(s). HUD will consider states or units of 
general local government that pass on at least 50 percent of the 
administrative funds made available under the grant as having met this 
requirement. This requirement does not apply to either the SRO Program, 
since only PHAs administer the SRO rental assistance, or to the S+C 
Program, since paying the costs associated with the administration of 
these grants is ineligible by regulation.
    New this year, HUD will award funds to rehabilitate leased 
property. However, certain conditions must be met during Technical 
Submission and, if they are not met, the award will be withdrawn. The 
recipient must have a lease for 25 or more years with a landowner that 
is not the applicant, the project sponsor, a parent or affiliated 
organization and must submit it to HUD for approval. The landowner must 
execute and record against the land the lease and the HUD form Use and 
Repayment Covenant. Under certain circumstances, where the useful life 
of the improvements is greater than 25 years, the recipient may be 
required to repay the residual value of the improvements.
    (1) SHP--New Projects:
    (a) Please note that applicants for new grants can request 2 or 3 
years worth of funds for operating, supportive services and leasing 
costs and that the grant term will be the 2 or 3 years requested. 
However, if an applicant also requests funds for acquisition, 
construction or rehabilitation, the grant term will be the 2 or 3 
years, plus the time to acquire the property, complete construction and 
begin operating the project (no greater than 39 months). The two 
exceptions to this rule are: (1) New permanent housing projects and 
HMIS projects proposed under HHN Reallocation may request one year of 
funding; and (2) new HMIS projects may request one year of funding.
    (b) HUD will require recordation of a HUD-approved use and 
repayment covenant (a form may be obtained from the field office) for 
all grants of funds for acquisition, rehabilitation or new 
construction. The covenant will enforce the use and repayment 
requirements found at section 423(b)(1) and (c) of the McKinney-Vento 
Act and must be approved by HUD counsel before execution and 
recordation. Proof of recordation must be provided to HUD counsel 
before funds for rehabilitation or new construction may be drawn down.
    (c) All project sponsors must meet applicant eligibility standards 
as described in section III.A.1 of this NOFA. As in past years, HUD 
will review project sponsor eligibility as part of the threshold review 
process. Project sponsors for new projects are required to submit 
evidence of their eligibility with the application.
    (2) SHP--Renewal Projects
    (a) For the renewal of a SHP project, applicants from a CoC whose 
final FPRN is based on PPRN may request funding for one (1), two (2) or 
three (3) years; whereas applicants from a CoC whose FPRN is based upon 
HHN may request funding for only one (1) year.
    (b) The total request for each renewable project cannot exceed the 
Annual Renewal Amount received in the current grant for that project. 
Because capital costs cannot be renewed, grants being renewed whose 
original expiring award included ``hard'' development costs 
(acquisition, new construction, and rehab) may only renew eligible line 
items and cannot exceed five percent to be used for administration 
costs. For more information on the Annual Renewal Amount see section 
I.A.4.a of this NOFA.
    (c) HUD will recapture SHP grant funds remaining unspent at the end 
of the previous grant period when it renews a grant.
    (3) S+C--New Projects
    (a) A project may not include more than one component, e.g., 
combining Tenant-based Rental Assistance (TRA) with Sponsor-based 
Rental Assistance (SRA) is prohibited within the same grant. Under the 
TRA component, in order to help provide supportive services or for the 
purposes of controlling housing costs, a grantee may require 
participants to live in a particular structure for the first year of 
assistance or to live in a particular area for the entire rental 
assistance period. Where this option is exercised, an environmental 
review and clearance must be performed prior to any commitment to lease 
a particular structure or unit for participant occupancy as described 
in section III.C.3.d of this NOFA, Environmental Reviews.
    (b) S+C/SRO Component. If an applicant is a state or a unit of 
general local government, that applicant must subcontract with a public 
housing agency to administer the S+C assistance. Also, no single 
project may contain more than 100 units.
    (c) S+C SRA Component. Project sponsors must submit proof of their 
eligibility to serve as a project sponsor.
    (d) Requested amounts must be based on the applicable 2008 FMRs and 
cannot exceed 100 percent of the FMR.
    (e) The Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act (42 U.S.C. 4821-
4846), the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 
(42 U.S.C. 4851-4856), and the relevant subparts of the implementing 
regulations at 24 CFR Part 35, such as subparts A, B, J, and R apply to 
activities under this grant program.
    (4) S+C Renewal Projects. HUD encourages the consolidation of 
appropriate S+C renewal grants when the grants are under the same 
grantee, have the same component and expire in the same year. However, 
renewal requests for expiring S+C grants that have not yet been 
combined should submit separate project applications (Exhibit 2) as 
individual renewal grants. Where the grantee wishes to consolidate the 
renewal grants, this action will be subsequently accomplished by the 
field office at the point of renewal grant agreement execution. The 
field office will receive instructions for this process in the S+C 
Operating Procedures guidance for 2008 awards.
    (a) For the renewal of a S+C project, including S+C/SROs, the grant 
term will be one (1) year, as specified by Congress. For S+C grants 
having been awarded one year of renewal funding in 2007, the number of 
units requested for renewal this year must not exceed the number of 
units funded in 2007. As is the case with SHP, HUD will recapture S+C 
grant funds remaining unspent at the end of the previous grant period 
when it renews a grant. The one-year term of non-competitively awarded 
S+C renewal projects may not be extended.
    (b) For the first time renewal of S+C rental assistance that is 
Tenant-based (TRA), Sponsor-based (SRA), or Project-based (PRA), an 
applicant may request up to the amount determined by multiplying the 
number of units under lease at the time of the application for renewal 
funding by the applicable 2008 Fair Market Rent(s) by 12 months. For 
S+C grants awarded one-year of renewal funding in 2007, the number of 
units requested for renewal this year may not exceed the number of 
units funded in 2007. For first-time S+C/SRO renewals,

[[Page 39849]]

the number of units must not exceed the number of units under grant 
agreement and Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract.
    Current FMRs can be found at http://www.huduser.org. Requested 
amounts must be based on the applicable 2008 FMRs and cannot exceed 100 
percent of the FMR.
    (c) Under the FY 2008 HUD Appropriations Act, eligible S+C Program 
grants whose terms are expiring in 2009 and S+C Program grants that 
have been extended beyond their original five-year terms but which are 
projected to run out of funds in 2009, will be renewed for one year 
provided that they are determined to be needed by the CoC. These 
projects must also demonstrate that applicants and project sponsors 
meet eligibility, capacity and performance requirements described in 
this NOFA. Non-competitive S+C renewals should be submitted by the 
application deadline. A CoC's FPRN does not include S+C renewals since 
these projects are being funded outside of the competition.
    (d) The Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act (42 U.S.C. 4821-
4846), the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 
(42 U.S.C. 4851-4856), and the relevant subparts of the implementing 
regulations at 24 CFR Part 35, such as subparts A, B, J, and R apply to 
activities under this grant program.
    (5) Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation SRO Program--New Projects. As 
an applicant, the following limitations apply to the section 8 SRO 
program:
    (a) SRO assistance may not be provided to more than 100 units in 
any structure.
    (b) Under 24 CFR 882.802, applicants that are private nonprofit 
organizations must subcontract with a public housing agency to 
administer the SRO assistance.
    (c) Under 24 CFR 882.802, rehabilitation must involve a minimum 
expenditure of $3,000 for a unit, including its prorated share of work 
to be accomplished on common areas or systems, to upgrade conditions to 
comply with HUD's physical condition standards in 24 CFR Part 5, 
subpart G.
    (d) Under section 441(e) of the McKinney-Vento Act and 24 CFR 
882.805(d)(1), HUD publishes the SRO per unit rehabilitation cost limit 
each year to take into account changes in construction costs. This cost 
limitation applies to eligible rehabilitation costs that may be 
compensated for in the Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract 
rents. For purposes of Fiscal Year 2008 funding, the cost limitation is 
raised from $21,000 to $21,500 per unit to take into account increases 
in construction costs during the past 12-month period.
    (e) The SRO Program is subject to the Federal standards at 24 CFR 
Part 882, subpart H.
    (f) Individuals assisted through the SRO Program must meet the 
definition of homeless individual found at section 103 of the McKinney-
Vento Act.
    (g) Resources outside the program pay for the rehabilitation, and 
rehabilitation financing. The rental assistance covers operating 
expenses of the SRO housing, including debt service for rehabilitation 
financing. Units may contain food preparation or sanitary facilities or 
both.
    (h) Requested amounts must be based on the applicable 2008 FMRs and 
cannot exceed 100 percent of the FMR.
    (6) Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation SRO Program--Renewals. This 
NOFA is not applicable to the renewal of funding under the section 8 
SRO program. The renewal of expiring section 8 SRO projects is not part 
of the competitive CoC application process. Rather, expiring section 8 
SROs will be identified at the beginning of the applicable year by the 
public housing agency and HUD field office. One-year renewal funds for 
expiring section 8 SRO HAP contracts will be provided by HUD under a 
separate, non-competitive process. For further guidance on section 8 
SRO renewals, please contact the local HUD field office.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Addresses To Request Application Package

    The electronic system will provide a submission summary that lists 
the elements required to complete the application. A CoC will not be 
able to submit an application to HUD until all required elements are 
completed. The application may be accessed at http://www.hud.gov/esnaps.
    An applicant may obtain a copy of the General Section of the 
SuperNOFA and this NOFA online at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/gov/fundsavail.cfm. Please note that all sections of the General Section of 
the SuperNOFA are critical and must be carefully reviewed to ensure an 
application can be considered for funding, with the exception of 
reference to the Grants.gov application process. The Continuum of Care 
program will be using an electronic system outside of Grants.gov. 
Applicants will still be required to register with Dun and Bradstreet, 
if they have not already done so, and complete or renew their 
registration in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). Applicants 
are still encouraged to sign up for the Grants.gov notification service 
as the availability of the 2008 Continuum of Care application will be 
released via this Web site.

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

    The only option for submitting a viable application under this NOFA 
is to submit the entire Continuum of Care application, with all of its 
projects. Each application will consist of one Continuum of Care 
Exhibit (Exhibit 1) and submissions from one or more applicants and 
project sponsors (Exhibits 2). HUD will not accept any projects not 
connected to a community-wide or region-wide CoC. The General Section 
of the SuperNOFA contains certifications that the applicant will comply 
with fair housing and civil rights requirements, program regulations, 
and other Federal requirements, and (where applicable) that the 
proposed activities are consistent with the HUD-approved Consolidated 
Plan of the applicable state or unit of general local government.
1. Continuum of Care Application Submission Requirements
    a. A completed application for a CoC will include one Exhibit 1 
(CoC) and any number of Exhibits 2, depending on the number of projects 
and the type of programs proposed for funding. For example, if your CoC 
is proposing five SHP Renewal projects and one S+C New project, then 
the CoC would submit one Exhibit 1 and six Exhibits 2.
    b. Each CoC must submit the entire CoC application. The application 
will include the following parts, which will be submitted 
electronically either through a database or as an uploaded attachment 
(For more information see the Training on e-snaps at http://esnaps.hudhre.info/training/):
    (1) Exhibit 1 Charts, Narratives and Attachments, including:
    (a) HUD-40090-1: the CoC plan with all charts completed as 
applicable;
    (b) HUD-27300, America's Affordable Communities Initiative/Removal 
of Regulatory Barriers with supporting documentation;
    (c) HUD-2994-A, You Are Our Client! Grant Application Survey 
(optional).
    (2) Applicant Documents, including:
    (a) SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance. Submit one SF-424 
for each applicant applying for one or more projects in the CoC. Each 
SF-424 must also include the applicant's DUNS number. Please see the 
General Section of the SuperNOFA for more information on obtaining a 
DUNS number and CCR Registration.

[[Page 39850]]

    (b) The SF-424 Supplement, Survey on Ensuring Equal Opportunities 
for Applicants, is for private nonprofit applicants only and 
completion/submission of this survey is voluntary.
    (c) Documentation of Applicant Eligibility. All applicants must 
attach documentation of eligibility as defined in the chart in section 
III.A.3 of this NOFA. Also see section I.A.8.m & o of this NOFA for 
information on the documentation required to validate non-profit 
status.
    (d) SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying of Activities, must be attached 
as applicable.
    (e) Applicant Code of Conduct. All applicants for HUD funding must 
have a Code of Conduct on file with HUD. An applicant is prohibited 
from receiving an award of funds from HUD if it fails to meet this 
requirement for a Code of Conduct. An applicant who previously 
submitted an application and included a copy of its code of conduct 
will not be required to submit another copy if the applicant is listed 
on HUD's Web site: http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/codeofconduct/cconduct.cfm, and if the information has not been revised. An applicant 
not listed on the Web site must attach a copy of its Code of Conduct 
with its FY2008 CoC application. An applicant must also include a copy 
of its Code of Conduct if the information listed on the above Web site 
has changed (e.g., the person who submitted the previous application is 
no longer your authorized organization representative, the organization 
has changed its legal name or merged with another organization, or the 
address of the organization has changed, etc.). See the General Section 
of the SuperNOFA for additional information on Code of Conduct 
requirements.
    (f) HUD 40090-4, Applicant Certifications.
    (3) Exhibit 2 Charts, Narratives and Attachments, including:
    (a) HUD-40090-2: the Project application with charts and narratives 
completed as applicable;
    (b) Only sponsors for new projects must include information related 
to eligibility as defined in the chart in section III.A.3 of this NOFA. 
See also section I.A.8.n of this NOFA for information on the 
documentation required to validate sponsor eligibility.
    (b) HUD-96010, Program Outcome Logic Model must be attached for 
each project (for Logic Model instructions, see the General Section of 
the SuperNOFA);
    (c) HUD-2880, Applicant/Recipient Disclosure/Update Report must be 
attached for each project; and;
    (d) HUD-2991, Certification of Consistency with Consolidated Plan.

C. Submission Dates and Times

1. Application Deadline Date
    a. HUD strongly suggests that CoCs require applicants applying for 
one or more projects to submit completed electronic Exhibit 2 project 
application(s) to the CoC on or before August 15, 2008 to allow for 
ample time for the CoC to review and process these applications prior 
to the submission deadline.
    b. Each CoC must submit its completed application to HUD on or 
before 4 p.m. EDT on the deadline date. At 4:01 p.m. EDT the electronic 
system will be closed. The deadline is during business hours so that 
CoCs may access Help Desk resources until the application system is 
closed.
    c. CoCs must print a copy of the Submission Summary before closing 
their browser after the CoC application has been submitted to HUD. This 
is your receipt of submission and proof of compliance with the 
submission deadline. Applicants whose applications are determined to be 
late, who cannot provide HUD with a record of submission that verifies 
the application was submitted prior to the submissions deadline date 
and time will not receive funding consideration.
    d. HUD strongly suggests that each CoC and all project applicants 
utilize the ``Export to PDF'' functionality of e-snaps to print a hard 
copy of all submission documents for their records.

D. Intergovernmental Review

    Not Applicable.

E. Funding Restrictions

    Not Applicable.

F. Other Submission Requirements

    1. Waiver of Electronic Submission Requirements. The regulatory 
framework of HUD's electronic submission requirement is the final rule 
established in 24 CFR 5.1005. CoCs seeking a waiver of the electronic 
submission requirement must request a waiver in accordance with 24 CFR 
5.1005. HUD's regulations allow for a waiver of the electronic 
submission requirement for good cause. For the 2008 Continuum of Care 
competition, HUD is defining good cause as follows: (1) There are no 
computers that could be used by applicants and/or the CoC Lead Agency 
that are newer than 5 years anywhere within the CoC, or (2) there are 
no computers that could be used by applicants and/or the CoC Lead 
Agency anywhere within the CoC, or (3) there is no Internet access that 
could be used by applicants and/or the CoC Lead Agency anywhere within 
the CoC. HUD will grant waivers only at the CoC level and not at the 
individual project applicant level, and only to CoCs that were 
validated by HUD during the required CoC Registration process. If the 
waiver is granted, the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs' 
response will include instructions on how many copies of the paper 
application must be submitted, as well as where to submit them. CoCs 
that are granted a waiver of the electronic submission requirement will 
not be afforded additional time to submit their applications. 
Therefore, CoCs seeking a waiver of the electronic submission 
requirement should submit their waiver request with sufficient time to 
allow HUD to process and respond to the request. CoCs should also allow 
themselves sufficient time to submit their application so that HUD 
receives the application by the established deadline date. For this 
reason, HUD strongly recommends that if a CoC finds it cannot submit 
its application electronically and must seek a waiver of the electronic 
grant submission requirement, it should submit the waiver request to 
the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs no later than 30 days 
after the publication date of this NOFA. To expedite the receipt and 
review of such requests, CoCs may fax their written requests to Ann 
Marie Oliva, Director, at (202) 401-0805. If HUD does not have 
sufficient time to process the waiver request, a waiver will not be 
granted. Paper applications received without a prior approved waiver 
and/or after the established deadline will not be considered.

V. Application Review Information

A. Criteria

1. Criteria for Scoring the CoC Application
    HUD will award up to 100 points as follows:
    a. CoC Housing, Services, and Structure: HUD will award 14 points 
based on the extent to which a CoC's application demonstrates:
    (1) The existence of a coordinated, inclusive, and outcome-oriented 
community process, including organizational structure(s) and decision-
making processes for developing and implementing a CoC strategy;
    (2) That this process includes nonprofit organizations (such as 
veterans service organizations, organizations representing persons with 
disabilities, faith-based and other community-based organizations, and 
other groups serving homeless and other low-income persons), state and 
local

[[Page 39851]]

governmental agencies, public housing agencies, housing developers and 
service providers, school systems, law enforcement, hospital and 
medical entities, funding providers, private businesses and business 
associations, jurisdictional ten-year planning bodies, and homeless or 
formerly homeless persons;
    (3) That the CoC has a process in place to achieve fair and 
impartial project review and selection, with representation and input 
from diverse parties such as those outlined under Criteria for 
Application Review (See section V.B.1 of this NOFA);
    (4) That a well-defined and comprehensive strategy has been 
developed which addresses the components of a CoC system (i.e. , 
outreach, intake and assessment, emergency shelter, transitional 
housing, permanent supportive housing, and prevention), and that the 
strategy has been designed to serve all homeless subpopulations in the 
community (e.g., seriously mentally ill, persons with multiple 
diagnoses, veterans, persons with HIV/AIDS), including those persons 
living in emergency shelters, supportive housing for homeless persons, 
or in places not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular 
sleeping accommodation for human beings; and,
    (5) A CoC has created, maintained, and built upon a community-wide 
inventory of housing and services for homeless families and individuals 
(both HUD and non-HUD funded); identified the full spectrum of needs of 
homeless families and individuals; and coordinated efforts to fill gaps 
between the current inventory and existing needs. The coordinated 
effort must appropriately address all aspects of the continuum, 
especially permanent housing.
    b. Homeless Needs and Data Collection: HUD will award 24 points 
based on the extent to which a CoC's application demonstrates an 
understanding of the number of homeless individuals and families within 
the CoC and their needs, and the progress in the planning, 
implementation and operation of an HMIS system covering at a minimum 
all street outreach, emergency shelters and transitional housing 
programs so that a reliable, unduplicated count of homeless persons on 
the street and in shelters may be conducted. CoCs are cautioned to 
carefully read HUD guidance on the timing, and acceptable methods, for 
conducting Sheltered and Unsheltered Point-in-Time (PIT) counts to 
ensure maximum points. Waivers of the PIT standard for FY 2008 must be 
received by the submission deadline. To request a waiver, send a 
written request to 451 7th St., SW., Room 7262, Washington, DC 20410, 
Attn: Michael Roanhouse.
    c. CoC Strategic Planning: HUD will award 16 points based on the 
extent to which a CoC's application demonstrates:
    (1) The existence of, and alignment with, a performance-based 10-
year strategy for ending chronic homelessness that establishes specific 
action steps to achieve the five objectives listed in section VI.B.1.a, 
with measurable achievements. It should be integrated with other ten-
year plans in the community to eliminate chronic homelessness (if 
applicable), the local HUD Consolidated Plan, and other state and local 
plans related to homelessness;
    (2) The Continuum's progress in working with the appropriate local 
government entity to develop and implement a discharge policy for 
persons leaving publicly funded institutions or systems of care (such 
as health care facilities, foster care or other youth facilities, or 
correction programs and institutions) in order to prevent such 
discharge from immediately resulting in persons entering the homeless 
system;
    (3) Proposes projects that are consistent with identified unmet 
needs;
    (4) Provides estimates of renewal funds needed through 2013 for SHP 
and S+C projects; and,
    (5) Demonstrates leveraging of funds requested under this NOFA with 
other resources, including private, other public, and mainstream 
services and housing programs for proposed projects and ongoing 
efforts.
    d. CoC Performance: HUD will award 28 points based upon the CoC's 
progress in reducing homelessness, including chronic homelessness. CoC 
Performance will be measured by demonstrating:
    (1) That the CoC has taken specific action steps and made progress 
toward achieving its goals;
    (2) That the CoC has increased the number of permanent housing beds 
for the chronically homeless and made progress toward eliminating 
chronic homelessness;
    (3) Program participants' success in moving to and maintaining 
permanent housing as reported in the most recent Annual Progress Report 
(APR);
    (4) The extent to which participants successfully become employed 
and access mainstream programs. These measures emphasize HUD's 
determination to assess grantees' performance in the prior program year 
and to determine if they are meeting the overall goal of the homeless 
assistance grants under which they are funded. Both housing and 
supportive services-only projects will be assessed;
    (5) That the CoC has no unexecuted grants awarded prior to 2007;
    (6) That projects within the CoC have policies and practices in 
place to hire, and have hired, low and very-low income employees and 
subcontractors under Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act 
of 1968;
    (7) That projects within the CoC incorporate energy-efficiency 
measures in the design, construction, rehabilitation, and operation of 
housing or community facilities; and,
    (8) The Removal of Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing: As 
provided for in the General Section of the SuperNOFA, HUD will award up 
to 2 points, within the 28 points for this rating factor, based on the 
extent to which the CoC's application demonstrates a local plan and/or 
existing policy to remove regulatory barriers to the production of 
affordable housing. Applicable activities include the support of state 
and local efforts to streamline processes, eliminate redundant 
requirements, statutes, regulations, and codes that impede the 
availability of affordable housing. The response (one questionnaire per 
CoC) should be submitted for consideration as a completed HUD Form 
27300, Questionnaire for HUD's Removal of Regulatory Barriers. The 
Continuum should submit the questionnaire for the local jurisdiction 
where the majority of its CoC assistance will be provided. The 
completed questionnaire must include appropriate documentation, where 
requested, and identify a point of contact.
    e. Emphasis on Housing Activities: HUD will award 18 points based 
on the relationship between funds requested for housing activities 
(i.e., transitional and permanent) and funds requested for supportive 
service activities among renewed projects. HUD will count as housing 
activity all approvable requests for funds for rental assistance and 
approvable requests for acquisition, rehabilitation, construction, 
leasing and operations when used in connection with housing. HMIS costs 
and administrative costs will be excluded from this calculation. CoCs 
are not required to have 100 percent housing activities to receive the 
full 18 points for this scoring criteria.
    2. Criteria for Scoring of Rapid Re-Housing for Families 
Demonstration Projects. All projects applying for the Rapid Re-Housing 
for Families Demonstration Program will be considered for funding based 
upon the following review, ranking, and

[[Page 39852]]

conditional selection process. HUD will award up to 100 points (as 
described below) and add this score to the CoC score to determine the 
project's final score.
    a. Applicant Experience in Operating Rapid Re-Housing for Families 
Projects: HUD will award up to 25 points based upon the applicant's 
ability to demonstrate:
    (1) Previous, specific agency and staff experience operating Rapid 
Re-Housing projects for homeless households with dependent children 
and/or agency and staff experience operating traditional housing 
programs for homeless households with dependent children.
    (2) That performance for previous projects serving households with 
dependent children and/or Rapid Re-Housing for Families projects was 
measured.
    b. Assessment Process: HUD will award up to 20 points based upon 
the applicant's ability to demonstrate:
    (1) Appropriate criteria for determining whether a family is 
eligible for the demonstration project (see section III.C.2.a.(11) of 
this NOFA).
    (2) The types of services and referrals that will be made to 
households based upon the assessment, regardless of whether the family 
is eligible for the demonstration program, is described.
    (3) A single homeless family assessment tool (that is attached to 
the application) that is used across the entire CoC.
    c. Applicant Relationship with Mainstream Community Social 
Services: HUD will award up to 15 points based upon an applicant's 
ability to demonstrate that it has a variety of mainstream, community-
based social services with which it routinely connects, including any 
with which it has Memorandums of Understanding or formal agreements.
    d. Applicant Ability to Maintain an Affordable Housing Stock: HUD 
will award up to 15 points based upon an applicant's ability to 
demonstrate:
    (1) A formalized process for providing outreach to local landlords 
that is already used across the CoC.
    (2) A process through which the applicant already maintains 
relationships with local landlords.
    (3) A formalized protocol for dealing with conflicts between 
landlords and program participants.
    (4) A system in place to locate landlords for participation in the 
project and to track the units that may be leased with grant funds 
(i.e., a Web-based housing locator, distribution list).
    e. CoCs Centralized Intake for Households with Dependent Children: 
HUD will award up to 20 points based upon an applicant's ability to 
demonstrate that centralized intake (see section I.A.4.d of this NOFA) 
exists for households with dependent children within the CoC that is 
well advertised to the community and easily accessible by households 
with dependent children.
    f. CoCs HMIS Bed Coverage Rate for Households with Dependent 
Children: HUD will award up to 5 points on a sliding scale for a CoCs 
HMIS coverage of emergency shelters serving households with dependent 
children. Full points will be awarded if a CoC has a bed coverage rate 
(the total number of emergency shelter beds for households with 
dependent children entered into the HMIS as listed in the Housing 
Inventory Chart divided by the total number of year-round emergency 
shelter beds for households with dependent children from the Housing 
Inventory Chart--not including the total number of beds provided by 
domestic violence providers) of at least 65 percent for emergency 
shelters serving households with dependent children. In the case of a 
tie between projects, preference will be given to those communities who 
participated in AHAR 3.
    h. Geographic Diversity. HUD has determined that geographic 
diversity is an appropriate consideration in selecting projects for the 
Rapid Re-Housing for Families Demonstration Program. To this end, HUD 
reserves the right to fund eligible project(s) with the highest total 
score in each of the 10 HUD regions. In making this determination, HUD 
will also consider population to ensure that urban and rural 
communities are selected.

B. CoC and Project Review and Selection Process

1. Review, Rating, and Ranking
    Two types of reviews will be conducted--selection criteria rating 
for the overall CoC application and threshold review for applicants and 
projects. Applicant and Sponsor Eligibility and Capacity as well as 
Project Eligibility and Project Quality are threshold reviews. 
Threshold reviews are explained in section III.C.2 of this NOFA, which 
covers eligible applicants and projects. The projects will then be 
ranked nationally from highest to lowest.
    (a) HUD may employ rating panels to review and rate all or part of 
CoC applications according to the rating criteria in sections V.A.1 and 
V.A.2 above. See the General Section of the SuperNOFA for more 
information on rating panels.
    (b) Threshold Review: Applicant and project sponsor eligibility, 
capacity and quality. HUD will review project applications to ensure 
that the applicant and project sponsor meet the eligibility and 
capacity standards outlined in this Section. If HUD determines these 
standards are not met, the project will be rejected from the 
competition. General information on eligibility, capacity and 
performance standards is below. For more detailed information regarding 
eligibility, capacity and performance standards see section 
III.C.3.g(4)(c) of this NOFA.
    (i) Applicants must be eligible to apply for the specific program. 
See section III.A.1 of this NOFA.
    (ii) Applicants and project sponsors must demonstrate ability to 
carry out the project(s). With respect to each proposed project, this 
means that, in addition to knowledge of and experience with 
homelessness in general, the organization carrying out the project, its 
employees, or its partners, must have the necessary experience and 
knowledge to carry out the specific activities proposed, such as 
housing development, housing management, and service delivery.
    (iii) If an applicant or the project sponsor is a current or past 
recipient of assistance under a HUD McKinney-Vento Act program, there 
must have been no delay in meeting applicable program timeliness 
standards (see section VI.B.3 of this NOFA) unless HUD determines that 
the delay in project implementation was beyond the applicant's or the 
project sponsor's control, there are no serious unresolved HUD 
monitoring findings, and no outstanding audit findings of a material 
nature regarding the administration of the program.
2. Conditional Selection and Adjustments to Funding
    a. Conditional Selection Priorities.
    (i) HUD will fund all eligible one-year Shelter Plus Care renewal 
projects.
    (ii) HUD will competitively fund up to $23.75 million in Rapid Re-
Housing for Families.
    (iii) HUD will fund all SHP renewal projects and HMIS new projects 
for at least one year if they are within a CoC's Final Pro Rata Need 
(HUD has determined that the Congressional goal of enhancing homeless 
data collection at the CoC level is best achieved by assisting CoCs 
seeking dedicated Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) to 
receive Supportive Housing Program funds. To this end, HUD reserves the 
right to fund, for at least one year, lower-rated eligible dedicated 
HMIS projects. HUD also reserves the right to establish a

[[Page 39853]]

minimum CoC scoring threshold for these projects).
    (iv) HUD intends to fund at least 4,000 beds for chronically 
homeless persons in projects serving 100 percent CH (could include 
Samaritan Initiative projects, reallocated projects and other new 
projects submitted by CoCs in PPRN status).
    (v) After meeting the funding priorities of section V.B.2.a.i-iv of 
this NOFA, HUD will proceed to competitively fund by projects in rank 
order by CoC score. When CoC scores are tied, HUD will apply tie 
breaking rules described in section V.B.3.2.c of this NOFA. SHP, SPC 
and SRO new projects and the remaining terms of renewal projects will 
be conditionally selected until all funds are expended. To be eligible 
for funding, all projects must be within the CoCs Final Pro Rata Need.
    b. Adjustments to Funding: HUD may also be required to adjust the 
selection of competitive projects as follows:
    (i) The FMRs used in calculating award amounts for Shelter Plus 
Care and/or SRO applications will be those in effect at the time the 
grants are approved, which may be higher or lower than those in effect 
at the time of application. This only applies to projects requesting 
100 percent of FMR in Exhibit 2.
    (ii) Thirty Percent Permanent Housing Requirement. Local priorities 
notwithstanding, the FY 2008 HUD Appropriations Act requires that not 
less than 30 percent of this year's Homeless Assistance Grants 
appropriation, excluding amounts provided for renewals under the S+C 
Program, must be used to fund projects that meet the definition of 
permanent housing. Safe Havens will not count towards the permanent 
housing requirement. Projects meeting the definition of permanent 
housing are:
    (1) New and renewal projects under SHP that are designated as 
permanent housing for homeless persons with disabilities. HUD will 
award no less than 30 percent of the total FY 2008 Homeless Assistance 
Grants application, excluding amounts for S+C renewals, for permanent 
housing projects unless an insufficient number of approvable permanent 
housing projects are submitted; (2) New S+C projects; and (3) SRO 
projects.
    In order to meet this permanent housing funding requirement and 
stay within the total funding amount available, initially selected 
Supportive Services Only (SSO) and non-permanent housing projects will 
be deselected, if necessary, to add an adequate number of permanent 
housing projects, even if they are lower scoring housing projects. HUD 
will, if necessary, first proceed to de-select new SSO projects, 
initially selected, starting with lowest scoring new projects and 
proceeding to higher scoring new SSO projects initially selected. If 
the funding line is still exceeded, HUD will proceed to de-select the 
lowest scoring new non-permanent housing projects initially selected 
and proceed to higher scoring new non-permanent housing projects. 
Finally, if the funding line is still exceeded HUD will proceed to de-
select SSO and then other non-permanent housing renewal projects until 
sufficient permanent housing projects are within the funding line.
    (iii) Geographic Diversity. HUD has determined that geographic 
diversity is an appropriate consideration in selecting homeless 
assistance projects in the competition. HUD believes that geographic 
diversity can be achieved best by awarding grants to as many CoCs as 
possible. To this end, in instances where any of the 50 States, the 
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the 
Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa does 
not have at least one funded CoC, HUD reserves the right to fund 
eligible project(s) with the highest total score in the CoC.
    (iv) Distribution of Selections. In accordance with section 429 of 
the McKinney-Vento Act, HUD will award Supportive Housing Program funds 
as follows: Not less than 25 percent for projects that primarily serve 
homeless families with children; not less than 25 percent for projects 
that primarily serve homeless persons with disabilities; and not less 
than 10 percent for supportive services not provided in conjunction 
with supportive housing. After projects are rated and ranked, based on 
the factors described above, HUD will determine if the conditionally 
selected projects achieve these minimum percentages. If not, HUD will 
skip higher-ranked projects in order to achieve these minimum 
percentages.
    In accordance with section 463(a) of the McKinney-Vento Act, at 
least 10 percent of competitive S+C funds will be awarded for each of 
the four components of the program: Tenant-based Rental Assistance; 
Sponsor-based Rental Assistance; Project-based Rental Assistance; and 
Single Room Occupancy (provided there are sufficient numbers of 
approvable projects to achieve these percentages). After projects are 
rated and ranked, based on the factors described above, HUD will 
determine if the conditionally selected projects achieve these minimum 
percentages. If necessary, HUD will skip higher-ranked projects in 
order to achieve these minimum percentages.
    In accordance with section 455(b) of the McKinney-Vento Act, no 
more than 10 percent of the assistance made available for S+C in any 
fiscal year may be used for programs located within any one unit of 
general local government. In accordance with section 441(c) of the 
McKinney-Vento Act, no city or urban county may have SRO section 8 
projects receiving a total of more than 10 percent of the assistance 
made available under this program. HUD is defining the 10 percent 
availability this fiscal year as $10 million for S+C and $10 million 
for section 8 SRO. However, if the amount awarded under either of these 
two programs exceeds $100 million, then the amount awarded to any one 
unit of general local government (for purposes of the S+C Program) or 
city or urban county (for the purposes of the section 8 SRO Program) 
cannot exceed 10 percent of the actual total amount awarded for that 
program.
    (v) Funding Diversity. HUD reserves the right to reduce the amount 
of a grant, if necessary, to ensure that no more than 10 percent of 
assistance made available under this NOFA will be awarded for projects 
located within any one unit of general local government or within the 
geographic area covered by any one Continuum of Care.
    If HUD exercises a right it has reserved under this NOFA, that 
right will be exercised uniformly across all applications received in 
response to this NOFA.
    c. Tie-breaking Rules. HUD will break ties among CoCs with the same 
total score by comparing scores received by the projects for each of 
the following scoring factors, in the order shown: Overall CoC score, 
CoC Housing, Services and Structure, CoC Strategic Planning, CoC 
Performance, CoC Enrollment and Participation in Mainstream Programs, 
Housing Emphasis, and Housing and Employment Performance. The final 
tie-breaking factor is the priority number of the competing projects on 
the applicable CoC priority list(s).
3. Corrections to Deficient Applications
    HUD reserves the right to respond to both unanticipated system 
defects, ambiguities, and technical difficulties in application 
submissions through a flexible implementation of its authority to cure 
application deficiencies through callbacks and written inquires seeking 
clarification and additional information. HUD will exercise the 
authority for curing deficiencies as stated in the General Section of 
the SuperNOFA, if

[[Page 39854]]

needed, on a consistent and uniform basis for all CoCs and applicants. 
HUD will expect responses to callbacks and inquiries to be returned in 
an expedited manner, generally within 14 days of receiving a HUD 
request. Upon proper publication in the Federal Register, HUD reserves 
the right to extend the competition deadline for good cause related to 
technical difficulties in the implementation of e-snaps.

VI. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

1. Action on Conditionally Selected Applications
    HUD will notify conditionally selected applicants in writing. HUD 
may subsequently request them to submit additional project information, 
which may include documentation to show the project is financially 
feasible; documentation of firm commitments for cash match; 
documentation showing site control; information necessary for HUD to 
perform an environmental review; a copy of the organization's Code of 
Conduct; and such other documentation as specified by HUD in writing to 
the applicant, that confirms or clarifies information provided in the 
application. HUD will notify SHP, SRO, S+C and S+C/SRO applicants of 
the deadline for submission of such information. If an applicant is 
unable to meet any conditions for fund award within the specified 
timeframe, HUD reserves the right not to award funds to the applicant 
and add them to funds available for the next competition.
2. Applicant Debriefing
    See the General Section of the SuperNOFA for applicant debriefing 
procedures.
3. Appeals Process
    Applicants may appeal the results of HUD's review and selection 
process if they believe a HUD error has occurred. Appeals must be 
submitted in writing to the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning 
and Development and must state what HUD error the applicant believes 
has occurred.

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

1. Administrative and Other Program Requirements
    a. The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) requires 
Federal agencies to measure the performance of their programs. HUD 
captures this information not only from monitoring visits and APRs, but 
also on the data gathered in annual competitions. For example, the 
description of methods used in determining the project priority order 
submitted in Exhibit 1 provides verification that projects are 
performing satisfactorily and are effectively addressing the needs for 
which they were designed. HUD's homeless assistance programs are 
measured in 2008 by the objective to ``end chronic homelessness and to 
move homeless families and individuals to permanent housing.'' This 
objective has a number of measurable indicators, five of which relate 
directly to the Continuum of Care homeless assistance programs. These 
five indicators, as described below, will be collected in Exhibit 1:
    (1) At least 415 functioning CoC communities will have a functional 
Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) by Fiscal Year 2008.
    (2) The percentage of formerly homeless individuals who remain 
housed in HUD permanent housing projects for at least 6 months will be 
at least 71.5 percent.
    (3) The percentage of homeless persons who have moved from HUD 
transitional housing into permanent housing will be at least 63.5 
percent.
    (4) The employment rate of persons exiting HUD homeless assistance 
projects will be at least 19 percent.
    b. To achieve this objective and each of these measurable 
indicators, HUD needs your community's help. The emphasis in this 
year's competition on housing chronically homeless persons, helping 
clients access mainstream service programs and jobs, and implementing 
HMIS are all aligned with this GPRA objective and its performance 
indicators.
    c. Executive Order 13202, ``Preservation of Open Competition and 
Government Neutrality Towards Government Contractors' Labor Relations 
on Federal and Federally Funded Construction Projects.'' Please see the 
General Section of the SuperNOFA for further information.
    d. Procurement of Recovered Materials. Please see the General 
Section of the SuperNOFA for further information.
    e. Please reference the General Section of the SuperNOFA for other 
administrative requirements.
2. Sanctions
    Should HUD determine, in its sole discretion, that sufficient 
evidence exists to confirm that the entity responsible for convening 
and managing the CoC process in a community has failed to follow 
locally established or accepted procedures governing the conduct of 
that process or has failed to provide for a fair process, including a 
project priority selection process that gives equal consideration to 
projects proposed by nonprofit organizations, HUD reserves the 
authority to impose sanctions up to and including a prohibition on that 
entity and the individuals comprising that entity from participating in 
that capacity in the future. In making this determination, HUD will 
consider as evidence court proceedings and decisions, or the 
determinations of other independent and impartial review bodies. This 
authority cannot be exercised until after a description of procedural 
safeguards, including an opportunity for comment and appeal, and the 
specific process and procedures for imposing a prohibition or 
debarment, have been published in the Federal Register.
3. Timeliness Standards
    The FY 2008 HUD appropriations act requires HUD to obligate all FY 
2008 CoC homeless assistance funds by September 30, 2010, except for 
$5,000,000 which is available until expended. All obligated funds will 
remain available for expenditure until September 30, 2015, except for 
ten-year projects which remain available until expended.
    The applicant is expected to initiate the approved projects 
promptly in accordance with section VI.B.3 of this NOFA. In addition, 
HUD will take action if the grantee fails to satisfy the following 
timeliness standards:
    (1) SHP: HUD will deselect an award if the grantee does not 
demonstrate site control within one (1) year of the date of its grant 
award letter, as required by the McKinney-Vento Act (see 42 U.S.C. 
11386(a)(3)) and implemented in program regulations at 24 CFR 
583.320(a). HUD may deobligate SHP funds if the following additional 
timeliness standards are not met:
    (a) Construction activities do not begin within eighteen (18) 
months of the date of HUD's grant award letter and be completed within 
thirty-six (36) months after that notification.
    (b) Activities that cannot begin until construction activities are 
completed, such as supportive service or operating activities that will 
be conducted within the building being rehabilitated or newly 
constructed, do not begin within three (3) months after construction is 
completed.
    (c) All activities that may proceed independent of construction 
activities, including HMIS and supportive services, do not begin within 
twelve (12) months of the date of HUD's grant award letter. HUD may 
deselect or terminate a grant agreement if the grantee is not in 
compliance with this requirement. HUD may reduce a grant

[[Page 39855]]

agreement term to one (1) year where implementation delays have reduced 
the amount of funds that reasonably can be used in the original term.
    (2) S+C Except SRO Component. HUD may deselect an award or 
deobligate S+C funds if an applicant/grantee does not meet the 
following timeliness standards:
    (a) For Project-based Rental Assistance with rehabilitation, the 
applicant/grantee must complete the rehabilitation within twelve (12) 
months of the date of HUD's grant award letter.
    (3) Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation SRO Program and SRO Component 
of the S+C Program. For the section 8 SRO program and the SRO component 
of the S+C program projects awarded under this NOFA, the Annual 
Contributions Contract (ACC) must be executed no later than September 
30, 2010. The rehabilitation work must be completed and the HAP 
contract executed within twelve (12) months of execution of the Annual 
Contributions Contract. HUD may reduce the number of units or the 
amount of the annual contribution commitment if, in HUD's 
determination, the Public Housing Agency fails to demonstrate a good 
faith effort to adhere to this schedule.

C. Reporting

    1. Once conditionally selected applications advance to full award 
and execution of a grant agreement, grantees are required to submit an 
Annual Performance Review (APR) and a completed Logic Model showing 
outputs and outcomes achieved for the year to both HUD Headquarters and 
the respective Field Office each year. Grantees must also respond to 
the management questions contained in the Logic Model. Completed Logic 
Models may be submitted to [email protected]. Questions 
regarding the logic model submission process can be sent to [email protected]. HUD will post Frequently Asked 
Questions about the Logic Model on http://www.hudhre.info.
    In addition, applicants must report race and ethnicity data for 
beneficiaries of HUD programs in conformity with form 27061 HUD Race 
and Ethnic Data Reporting Form. CoC applicants may report this data as 
part of their Annual Performance Report submission to HUD.
    Also, Grantees who expend $500,000 or more in a year in Federal 
awards are reminded they must have a single or program-specific audit 
for that year in accordance with the provisions of 24 CFR part 45 and 
OMB Circular No. A-133.
    2. Section 3 Reporting Regulations. Pursuant to 24 CFR 135.3(a)(2), 
the section 3 requirements apply to housing and community development 
assistance that is used for housing rehabilitation, housing 
construction and other construction. Grantees doing any of these 
activities must submit HUD-60002 to the Office of Fair Housing and 
Equal Opportunity (FHEO) at the time they submit their APR to the 
Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs. This form may be completed 
electronically at http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/section3/section3.cfm.

VII. Agency Contacts

A. For Further Information

    Individuals may contact the HUD Field Office serving their area, at 
the telephone number shown in the General Section of the SuperNOFA, or 
individuals may contact the NOFA Information Center at 1-800-483-8929. 
Individuals who are hearing- or speech-impaired should use the 
Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 (these are toll-free 
numbers).

B. For Technical Assistance

    HUD will make appropriate resources available for technical 
assistance related to the new electronic application in FY 2008. 
Specifically, HUD will make available an electronic application Help 
Desk at 1-877-6ES-NAPS (1-877-637-6277) or via e-mail at 
[email protected]. To address technical or other questions, HUD Field 
Office staff also will be available to help citizens identify 
organizations in the community that are involved in developing the CoC 
system. HUD staff and contractors cannot provide CoCs and applicants 
with guidance that will result in a competitive advantage for any CoC 
or project applicant.
    Following conditional selection of applications, HUD staff will be 
available to assist selected applicants in clarifying or confirming 
information that is a prerequisite to the offer of a grant agreement or 
Annual Contributions Contract by HUD. However, between the application 
deadline and the announcement of conditional selections, HUD will 
accept no information that would improve the substantive quality of a 
CoCs application pertinent to HUD's funding decision.

C. Satellite Broadcast

    HUD will hold one or more information broadcasts via satellite for 
potential applicants to learn more about the program and preparation of 
the application. Viewing of these broadcasts, which will provide 
critical information on the application process, is highly recommended. 
For more information about the date and time of the broadcast, 
individuals should consult the HUD Web site at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm.

VIII. Other Information

A. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The information collection requirements contained in this document 
have been submitted for approval by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) 
and the OMB approval number is 2506-0112. In accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD may not conduct or sponsor, and a person 
is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the 
collection displays a currently valid OMB control number. Public 
reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to 
average 196 hours per annum per respondent for the application and 
grant administration. This includes the time for collecting, reviewing, 
and reporting the data for the application, semi-annual reports and 
final report. The information will be used for grantee selection and 
monitoring the administration of funds. Response to this request for 
information is required in order to receive the benefits to be derived.

B. Findings and Certifications

1. Environmental
    This NOFA provides funding under, and does not alter the 
environmental requirements of 24 CFR parts 582 and 583 and subpart H of 
24 CFR part 882. Accordingly, under 24 CFR 50.19(c)(5), this NOFA is 
categorically excluded from environmental review under the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321). For environmental 
review of activities funded under this NOFA, see the requirements 
described at section III.C.3.d above.

    Dated: July 1, 2008.
Nelson R. Breg[oacute]n,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development.
 [FR Doc. E8-15664 Filed 7-9-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P