Topics:
1. Reminder: Mandatory Return of Funds for 3rd Quarter FY 2019
2. Update: USICH Criteria and Benchmarks for Achieving the Goal of Ending Veteran Homelessness
3. Update: Rapid Resolution Compliance Guide
Reminder: Mandatory Return of Funds for 3rd Quarter FY 2019
At the end of each quarter, a grantee's total payment requests for SSVF funds (also known as drawdowns) must meet the minimum quarterly spending percentage rate outlined in the SSVF grant agreement. Please note that grantees do not submit physical invoices to the SSVF Program Office; therefore, expenditure rates are assessed using the drawdown information in the HHS Payment Management System.
For the third quarter ending on June 28 at 5 pm EDT, (June 28 is the last business day of the quarter) the minimum spending rate of the overall grant award is 65%. To clarify, a grant is "65% spent" when 65% or more of the SSVF grant funds have been drawn down from the HHS Payment Management System. A favorable lag of 10% (or 5.2 weeks of expenses) has been incorporated into the quarterly minimums. This allows for a grantee to meet the minimum rate while still reconciling the previous month's SSVF expenses. For this reason, it is critical for grantees to review their spending information frequently; there is no exception to the 65% requirement for grantees that had been on extension during the first quarter of FY19.
The process for identifying grantees that will be required to return funds and for identifying the amount of funds to be swept is as follows: At the start of the 4th quarter (8 am EDT on the second business day of the new quarter, which is July 2), the HHS Payment Management System drawdown report will be used to calculate grantee expenditure rates. Those grantees that are below 65% spent will be subject to mandatory funding sweeps. Note the expenditure rate calculation will be rounded to a whole number (i.e., 64.4% will be rounded down to 64%, and 65.6% will be rounded up to 65%). For any grantee below 65%, the difference between 65% and that grantee's current drawn down rate will be the amount swept from the OVERALL grant total. For example, if a grantee is 60% drawn down, the difference is 5%; as such, there will be a 5% reduction of the authorized award amount. The result will move a grantee closer to the quarterly minimum rate of 65%. The intent of the funding sweep is to 1) reallocate funds from geographic areas where the need is not currently being recognized to areas of higher need where funding is lacking and 2) to assist grantees in moving towards compliance with grant requirements and eliminating the need for an extension. The funds will be swept on that second business day of the new quarter, and a grantee will be notified by the SSVF Program Office of the amount of funds that were swept from the grant.
How do the minimum quarterly spending rates impact the fiscal staff of SSVF grantees?
The last business day of the quarter is June 28. Payment requests (drawdowns) that are made after 5 pm EDT on this day will NOT be included in the HHS drawdown report used to calculate grantee expenditure rates. As a reminder, the grantees identified as spending less than 65% of the total grant will have funds swept on the second business day of the new quarter, July 2. These values will stand; there will be no exceptions. Since there will be no exceptions, it is recommended that grantee fiscal staff responsible for completing drawdowns not wait until June 28 to complete payment requests, as these requests generally require a full business day to process. If a grantee finds it is necessary to wait until June 28, it would be important to enter the request early in the day. (Note that any grantees outside of EDT, including but not limited to the West Coast, Hawaii, and Guam, are still held to the 5 pm EDT deadline, so plan accordingly).
If you have any questions, please contact your SSVF Regional Coordinator. Please include your grant number and "3rd Quarter Mandatory Return of Funds" in the subject of the email.
Update: USICH Criteria and Benchmarks for Achieving the Goal of Ending of Veteran Homelessness
USICH has released the latest revision to the Criteria and Benchmarks for Achieving the Goal of Ending Veteran Homelessness. The updated version will provide guidance on how to incorporate Grant and Per Diem program models. The June 2019 version is available on the USICH website at:
https://www.usich.gov/tools-for-action/criteria-for-ending-veteran-homelessness/
Update: Rapid Resolution Compliance Guide
The SSVF Program Office has released an updated version of the Rapid Resolution Compliance Guide. The guide was developed to help grantees in preparing to add Rapid Resolution services to their SSVF programs. This document will guide grantees on enrollment principles, documentation standards, use of temporary financial assistance, and HMIS data entry requirements.
The Rapid Resolution Compliance Guide is available on the SSVF Website at:
https://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/ssvf/docs/SSVF_Rapid_Resolution_Service_Compliance_Guidance.pdf
Thank you,
SSVF Program Office