SSVF Program Update: May, 13 2014
1. Proposed Rule Published in the Federal Register on May 9, 2014
2. Households Served by Continuum of Care (CoC) Survey – Missing Grantee Information!
3. National Center on Homelessness Research Brief: Impact and Performance of the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program: Results from the FY 2013 Program Year
4. Program Guide and SSVF University Updates
5. Q3 Program Change Requests Reminder
6. Cancellation of SSVF May Webinar
Proposed Rule Published in the Federal Register on May 9, 2014
Attached, please find the recently published Proposed Rule. The VA proposes to amend its regulations concerning the SSVF Program. The proposed changes would clarify that grantees must focus on providing permanent housing to eligible Veteran families who, without SSVF assistance, would likely be homeless. The proposed clarifications are intended to emphasize the intended goals of SSVF. The proposed rule would expand grantees' authority to provide certain services to all very low-income Veteran families, and specifically to those Veteran families with significantly lower economic resources, which we would identify as extremely low-income Veteran families. The purpose of this expanded authority is to address identified needs based on the administration of SSVF since its inception, and to provide greater incentive to grantees to assist these particularly vulnerable Veteran families. Finally, the proposed rule would clarify that certain services are not permissible uses of SSVF funds. Comments must be received by VA on or before June 23, 2014.
Households Served by Continuum of Care (CoC) Survey – Missing Grantee Information!
The attached list of grantees have NOT yet completed the following required survey. If your agency is on this list, please use the survey link below and complete by May 16th, 2014. In this survey you will be asked to break down your total number of Veteran Households served (for the entire FY14) by CoC. Please refer to the PDF links below for information on CoC numbers and your annual number of households (per your grant agreement). One survey should be completed for each SSVF grant that your organization has for FY 2014 (the current program year). Your participation is critical to our mapping and data analysis objectives for SSVF.
Here is the survey link: http://survey.abtassociates.com/surveys/sep/fy14-ssvf-gr/
Please utilize the following two links to assist you in completing the survey:
- Households to be served by grant agreement and region: http://survey.abtassociates.com/m/sep/Households%20Served%20by%20Grantee%20(SSVF).pdf
- Current List of CoCs: http://survey.abtassociates.com/m/sep/HUD%20CoC%20List%20(2014).pdf
National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans Research Brief: Impact and Performance of the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program: Results from the FY2013 Program Year
The National Center on Homelessness has developed and disseminated a research brief on the SSVF Program. This brief summarizes the impact and performance of the SSVF program during its second year of operation in FY 2013, drawing comparisons, where relevant, with the information presented for FY 2012 in a previous report. Using data collected by SSVF grantees and from other VA sources this brief provides an overview of the SSVF program's funding and households served, characteristics of SSVF participants, and program outcomes. The brief concludes by taking stock of the important achievements of the SSVF program during its first two years. It also discusses opportunities for program refinement to maximize its effectiveness in preventing and ending homelessness among Veterans. The full research brief is attached to this e-mail and can also be found at: http://www.endveteranhomelessness.org/research.
Program Guide and SSVF University Updates
The SSVF Program Guide (attached) has been updated as of March, 31, 2014 and has been uploaded on the SSVF University website. The following revisions were made to the March 20, 2014 Edition and published in the March 31, 2014 Edition:
- Removed all references to Veteran Healthcare Administration eligibility as a requirement for SSVF eligibility
- Addition of Exhibit G: Domestic Violence Guidance for HMIS Reporting (attached to this e-mail and can be found at:
- Addition of Federal Financial Report (FFR) guidance
Additionally, please find attached the updated SSVF Data Guide (April 2014). This Guide can also be found at http://www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf/index.asp?page=/program_requirements/hmis_and_data.
Of important note, most required and suggested tools, updated templates and sample forms are posted on the SSVF University website. Grantees and stakeholders are strongly encouraged to review the documents available, particularly as it relates to eligibility.
Q3 Program Change Requests Reminder
All Program Change Requests for Quarter 3 must be submitted to the SSVF Program Office no later than COB May 31st. As discussed on the April 24th Webinar, the Program Office does not plan to process any significant program change requests involving budget modifications in Q4. Therefore, the Program Office strongly encourages grantees to finalize their expenditure plans for the remaining fiscal year and submit any major budget modifications prior to the May 31st deadline. Submit all change requests packets to SSVF_ChangeRequests@va.gov and copy your Regional Coordinator on the submission.
Cancellation of SSVF May Webinar
The SSVF webinar scheduled for May 22nd has been cancelled. Stay tuned for more information on upcoming webinars.
Regards,
The SSVF Program Office