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DHA Resolution 2020-13 Admin Plan Revisions

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DUPAGE HOUSING AUTHORITY
RESOLUTION NO. 2020-13
ADMINISTRATIVE PLAN REVISIONS

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE DUPAGE HOUSING AUTHORITY (DHA), as follows:

  •  Section 1:
    It is in the best interests of the DuPage Housing Authority to take the following action:

    Approve the attached revisions to the DuPage Housing Authority Administrative Plan: Replace the current Part XI Mainstream Housing Choice Voucher with the attached revision.

  • Section 2:
    This Resolution is effective upon its adoption.

Approved by the DuPage Housing Authority Board of Commissioners on the 15th day of October, 2020.

Signed by Sherrin R. Ingram, Chair, and John N. Berley, Vice Chair

Ayes: 6
Nays: 0
Abstain: 0

15-XI.A. PROGRAM OVERVIEW

HCV Mainstream Voucher Program
Commonly referred to as Mainstream Program, Mainstream Vouchers or Mainstream - (also formerly known as Mainstream 5- Year Vouchers and Section 811 Vouchers) are tenant-based vouchers that serve a special population of households of non-elderly persons with disabilities (defined as a household composed of one or more persons 18 to 61 years of age with disabilities, which may include additional household members who are not non-elderly persons with disabilities), particularly those who:

  • are currently homeless;
  • have previously experienced homelessness and currently a client in a permanent supportive housing or rapid rehousing project; or
  • are individuals who are transitioning out of institutional or other segregated settings.

This program helps to further the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act by helping persons with disabilities live in the most integrated setting. The program also encourages partnerships with health and human service agencies with a demonstrated capacity to coordinate voluntary services and supports to enable individuals to live independently in the community.

Move On Project Partnership
The Move On Project is a collaborative partnership between the DuPage Housing Authority (DHA) and partner agencies who are members of the DuPage Continuum of Care (CoC), to help households transition into a Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) as they continue efforts to reach self-sufficiency.

Households for this project are generally DuPage CoC partner agency clients, enrolled in a Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) and/or a Rapid Rehousing Program (ARP) - but also can include qualifying households identified from the Coordinated Entry System (CES).

15-XI.B. REGULATION AUTHORITY

Special Criteria
Aside from separate funding appropriations and serving a specific population, Mainstream Vouchers are administered the same as regular voucher assistance, in that Mainstream Vouchers are regulated under the same program requirements at [24 CFR Part 982] as are Housing Choice Vouchers. Federal nondiscrimination laws and requirements apply as with all HCVs, including for example, requirements regarding nondiscriminatory eligibility criteria, and obligations to provide reasonable accommodations for person with disabilities. There is no special authority to treat families that receive a Mainstream Voucher differently from other applicants and participants of the HCV program.
 
15-XI.D. WAITING LIST

List Type
PHAs must maintain one waiting list for all tenant-based assistance [24 CFR 982.204(f)], which includes Mainstream voucher assistance - meaning DHA cannot have a separate waiting list for Mainstream voucher assistance. To effectively apply and manage preferences, the PHA must have a written policy for how preferences will be applied including how families with the same preference will be selected, either in order by the date and time of their application or a random choice technique [24 CFR 982.207(c)].

DHA Policy
OHA will maintain a single HGV waiting list. When issuing a Mainstream Voucher, DHA will choose the Mainstream-eligible family from its tenant-based HGV waiting list based on the number of qualifying preferences, then by date & time of application.

Updating the List
PHAs may choose to do a full waiting list update or a limited update. A full or limited update may be done regardless of whether a PHA will be opening the waiting list or not.

DHA Policy

  • Full Waiting List Update: OHA may update the entire existing waiting list to determine if all current applicants meet the eligibility criteria preferences for Mainstream Vouchers, plus any new preferences (if adopted).

  • Limited Waiting List Update: If DHA is NOT adopting a new preference, then DHA may determine the eligibility of existing families on the waiting list in smaller batches.

Regardless of the number of Mainstream families DHA is required to serve, the next family on the waiting list MUST be served in accordance with the DHA's administrative plan. Therefore, the DHA cannot skip over a Mainstream-eligible family because it is currently serving the required number of Mainstream families. For example, if DHA has leased 100 percent of the Mainstream Vouchers, but is ready to issue five regular vouchers, and the next five families on the DHAs waiting list all include a non-elderly person with disabilities, the regular vouchers would be issued to the next five families on the waiting list, which in this case would be five families that include a non-elderly person with disabilities. However, note that this action does not increase the Mainstream baseline for DHA, which is solely determined by the number of special purpose vouchers targeted specifically for Mainstream-eligible families that were allocated to the DHA.

Opening the List
The PHA may adopt criteria defining which families may apply for assistance when opening its waiting list [24 CFR 982.206(b)(1 )]. For example, if the PHA opens its waiting list solely for applicants that meet the preference for targeted subgroups identified in the Mainstream Voucher NOFA, the PHA must provide public notice that it
 
DuPage Continuum of Care (CoC) - 1 point (otherwise 10 points when initially seeding the waiting list); or

  • referred to DHA through the DuPage CoC who are transitioning out of institutional or other segregated settings - 1 point (otherwise 10 points when initially seeding the waiting list).

In all cases, the applicant will be provided information on how to create an online account to select additional preferences they may qualify for, and to complete the online pre-application and any other documents as required to be added on to the HCV waiting list.

Intake and Program Eligibility
Move On Project applicants must meet the minimum qualifications of a HCV Program applicant as established by DHA. These qualifications require:

  • total household income eligibility;

  • no household member is a registered or registry-eligible sex offender (if another family member in the household not the head of household is the registered or registry-eligible sex-offender, the family may be eligible for the voucher if the family member subject to the registration requirement is removed from the household);

  • all household members 18 and over must pass a criminal background check involving arrests or convictions for weapon, drug or violent criminal activity related crimes;

  • applicant has not been evicted from federally-assisted housing for the manufacture, sale or delivery of methamphetamine; and

  • at least one member of applicant household is an eligible citizen.

Program Resources
Partner agencies and DHA staff are available to assist each Move On Project participant successfully transition into the HCV Program when selected from the DHA HCV waiting list. However, applicants must understand that DHA may not have any funds available to cover all or part of a security deposit, and does not provide funds to cover any other needs including rental application fees, moving, utility deposits and reconnection fees or furniture assistance. If referred by a partner agency, that agency will be able to provide a referral to another partner agency within the CoC who may offer that financial assistance or a voucher to obtain household goods and/or furniture.

Supportive Services
For those referred from PSH and/or ARP it is expected that the partner agency case manager attends all appointments with the applicant to ensure they understand the HCV Program and have a smooth transition. Participants can expect six months of supportive services, if needed from their PSH and/or RRH provider after they receive
 
Additionally, and if available, DHA may offer a Mainstream voucher family a regular HCV in the tenant-based program that no longer has a household member 18 to 61 or a qualifying disability in order to make the Mainstream HCV available for another non­ elderly disabled family on the DHA HCV waiting list.

In either case, any Mainstream family that is offered a regular HCV will not be subject to the initial total household income limit requirements outlined in [DHA Plan: Chapter 3, Program Eligibility], but all other program eligibility requirements still apply.

15-XI.H. MAINSTREAM, SEMAP AND VMS REPORTING
Mainstream HCV's are monitored in the Voucher Management System (VMS) separately from all other Tenant Based vouchers and are included in the Section Eight Management Assessment Program (SEMAP) leasing indicator denominator because they are not dependent on referrals from the DuPage CoC. The code for Mainstream HCV Program will be recorded in Section 2n of the Form HUD-50058 to indicate in PIC that the family is a Mainstream HCV Program participant.