Item 31 - Emergency Housing Vouchers

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Emergency Housing Vouchers July 20, 2021 Page 3 1 8 8 7 Memorandum of Understanding with Continuum of Care As a requirement for accepting the EHVs, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) established a requirement under which the Housing Authority must enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with the Orange County Continuum of Care (“CoC”) to establish a partnership for the administration of the EHVs (Exhibit 2). The primary responsibility of the CoC under the MOU is to make direct referrals of qualifying individuals and families to the Housing Authority from the Coordinated Entry System list. The CoC is responsible for determining whether the family qualifies under one of the four eligibility categories for EHVs. Additionally, this CoC and designated service providers assists the Housing Authority to offer or make connections to supportive services for families that are referred to the Housing Authority, including, but not limited to, short- or long-term case management, collecting necessary verifications to support referrals, housing counseling, housing search assistance and utility deposit assistance. As a requirement, the Housing Authority must accept referrals for EHVs directly from the Coordinated Entry (“CE”) System. Accepting direct referrals from the CE System will help ensure families are able to get assistance quickly and eliminate the administrative burden on the Housing Authority regarding the determination as to whether the family meets the definition of a qualifying individual or family for EHV assistance. The MOU is a complete statement of the responsibilities of the parties and evidence of a commitment of resources to the EHV program. The MOU includes: 1. The Housing Authority’s and CoC’s commitment to administering the EHVs in partnership. 2. The goals and standards of success in administering the EHVs. 3. The staff position for each organization that will serve as the lead EHV liaison. 4. A statement that all parties agree to cooperate with any program evaluation efforts undertaken by HUD, or a HUD-approved contractor, including compliance with HUD evaluation protocols and data sharing requests. 5. The specific populations eligible for the EHV assistance that will be referred to the Housing Authority by the CoC or other partnering referral agency. 6. The services, including financial assistance, that will be provided to assist EHV applicants and participants and who will provide them. 7. The roles and responsibilities of the Housing Authority and CoC, including but not limited to the CoC making direct referrals of families to the Housing Authority through the CE system. The MOU is contingent on approval by the Board of the Orange County CoC. The Housing Authority has a seat on the Board, but will be conflicted to vote on the item. Update to HCV Administrative Plan HUD requires housing authorities that administer an HCV program to have an Administrative Plan. The purpose of the HCV Administrative Plan is to establish policies for implementing the HCV program in a manner consistent with HUD requirements and local goals and objectives contained in the Housing Authority’s 5-Year and Annual Plans.