Topics:
1. Important: Activation of FY2020 Accounts for Grantees on Extension
2. Save the Date: Shallow Subsidy Office Hours Call October 31, 2019 12:00 PM ET
3. Reminder: Federal Partners Housing Conferences
4. Reminder: FY2020 Grant Resolution Requirement Available in GIFTS
5. New: FY2020 Participant Satisfaction Survey Update
6. New: FY2020 VA Data Guide
Important: Activation of FY2020 HHS accounts for Grantees on Extension:
For those grantees that requested a 1-month extension of the FY19 grant period, but do not require the full month to meet program goals and spend down funds, HHS activations for FY20 will occur every two weeks after 10/1/19. It is imperative that grantees email the Regional Coordinator (email subject line must include your SSVF grant ID) to notify the Program Office of the last day they incur SSVF expenses of their FY19 award. At that time, the grantee's FY20 HHS account will be activated in the next round of activations.
For example, if a grantee requested a 1-month extension (thru 10/31/2019) and identifies the last day of incurred expenses to the FY19 grant is on 10/11/19, then the grantee must email the SSVF Regional Coordinator to report this final date of expenditures and confirm the end of the grant extensions. Having completed these steps, the grantee can expect the HHS PMS account for the FY20 grant award to be activated on 10/15/19. If the last day of incurred expenses to the FY19 grant is identified between 10/15/19 and 10/31/19, then activation will occur on 11/01/19. To be clear, if a grantee with an extension does not notify the program office of the final day their grant incurred FY19 expenses, then the SSVF Program Office will assume the full month extension was needed and will activate the FY20 HHS PMS accounts between 11/1/19 and 11/15/19.
Save the Date: Shallow Subsidy Office Hours Call October 31, 2019 12:00 PM ET
SSVF Program Office and technical assistance staff will present updates to the Shallow Subsidy Program Guide. Grantees will have an opportunity to ask planning, implementation and compliance questions and to share processes and practices they are developing to implement the new service. Call-in information will be provided when available.
Reminder: Federal Partners Housing Conference
The SSVF Program Office, with the support of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the US Interagency Council on Homelessness and other federal and national partners, is pleased to announce confirmed locations for the upcoming 2019 Federal Permanent Housing Conferences. The events are targeted to SSVF Grantees, HUD-VASH representatives, and CoC Partners. Please note location changes for the East and West coast conferences:
• East Coast (Ft Lauderdale, FL): October 22-23, 2019
• Mid-Region (Dallas, TX): November 5-6, 2019
• West Coast (Hollywood, CA): November 19-20, 2019
Registration is now open for the East Coast, Mid-Region and West Coast conferences; please register for your assigned conference and book hotel rooms as soon as possible. Questions related to these events can be sent to the SSVF program's technical assistance address at
ssvf@tacinc.org.
Reminder: FY 2020 Grant Resolution Requirement Available in GIFTS- Due October 30, 2019
The Grant Agreement Resolution verifies the key program components for each grant award, including service area, households to be served, homelessness prevention threshold score, subcontracts (if applicable) and confirmation of the budgeted Services, TFA and Administrative allocations within approved budget for FY 2020. When completing this form, please keep in mind that responses must reflect program components that have been approved by VA. Significant changes to the grant program that may occur after this resolution process will require submission of a Program Change Request in the second and third quarters of the fiscal year.
SSVF Grant Resolution submissions are due no later than Wednesday, October 30, 2019
The grantee portal can be found at
https://www.grantrequest.com/SID_2115/. Grantees are required to attach the completed CoC Distribution Excel document, which has been emailed to all grantees. The CoC Distribution Excel document and a sample copy of the Resolution Requirement are available on the SSVF website at:
https://www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf/index.asp?page=/official_guide/reporting_and_monitoring_requirements
New: FY2020 SSVF Participant Satisfaction Survey Update
All grantees have received the web link to be used to register Veterans to take the Participant Satisfaction Survey, for use in the new fiscal year. If you do not have your registration link for FY20, please contact M. Davis and Company, Inc. at
VASSVF@mdavisco.com or 215-790-8900 x124. The registration process is exactly the same as FY19. As a reminder, here are a few points of which to take note:
TIP: Please ensure the registration link is saved as a desktop shortcut on all PC's which will be used to register Veterans.
• The registration portal displays the Grant ID at the top of the welcome screen. If an organization operates multiple SSVF grants, grantees will be able to easily verify that staff is using the appropriate link by verifying the Grant ID at the top of the screen.
• When registering multiple Veterans, you must close your browser window after registering each Veteran. To begin the next registration, you must re-access the registration link from your desktop shortcut (do not use your browser's "back" button).
• For future auditing and compliance purposes save the "Thank You" screen of each registration for your records.
• When a Veteran is registered using an e-mail address, the Veteran will receive the survey link via e-mail within 2 minutes of registration.
• When a Veteran is registered using a telephone number connected to a smart phone, the Veteran will receive a text message with the survey link within 15 minutes.
Again, if you have not received the survey registration link or if you have any questions regarding the registration process, please contact M. Davis and Company at:
VASSVF@mdavisco.com or 215-790-8900 x124.
New: FY2020 VA Data Guide
The updated VA Data Guide describes data management expectations for SSVF grantees that are required to participate in HMIS. The guide conveys information regarding the tools needed to properly meet HMIS requirements and manage program data. The reporting requirements in 38 CFR 62.71 have been designed to provide VA with the information needed to assess the outcomes associated with grantees' programs. As a result of this, VA anticipates grantees' programs will assist in reducing the number of Veteran families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Grantees are encouraged to pay close attention to updates in the VA Data Guide related to data standards, including new guidance on Returning Home and Rapid Resolution data capture requirements.
New in FY2020, the SSVF Program Office will collect information on all Rapid Resolution interventions, including Rapid Resolution conversations that do not result in SSVF enrollments. In order to capture all Rapid Resolution activities, including conversations only, HMIS Administrators must create a separate project in HMIS utilizing the Coordinated Entry Event data element. This data element is intended to standardize data collection on core components of Coordinated Entry like access, assessment, referral and prioritization. This data element will be used by SSVF providers as needed to record all Rapid Resolution conversations. After recording the conversation result, the client can be exited from the Rapid Resolution project. In many cases, households will be enrolled in either SSVF Rapid Rehousing or SSVF Homelessness Prevention project types after being exited from the Rapid Resolution Coordinated Entry Event project.
Please work with your HMIS Administrator/HMIS Lead for project set up of these new Rapid Resolution projects. The VA expects these projects to be in operation no later than December 1, 2019, and for all data to be fully captured on all active clients with whom conversations are being held as of the date the project is established by HMIS Leads.
The FY2020 VA Data Guide is located on the SSVF website and can be found using the link below:
https://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/ssvf/docs/FY2020_VA_Provider_Data_Guide_October_2019.pdf
Thank you,
SSVF Program Office