SACRAMENTO, CA (Sept. 10, 2018) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Fiscal Year 2018 Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Competition on June 20. Sacramento Steps Forward issued a public solicitation for new projects in the Sacramento Bee July 6. A mandatory kick-off conference and technical assistance workshop for applicants was held July 16. The local competition was finalized with the adoption of a project priority listing by the Continuum of Care Advisory Board. The Continuum of Care’s application is due date of Sept. 18.
This funding, which is provided for under the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act, supports local homeless service providers who make up Sacramento’s CoC. Last year, ten CoC providers operating 31 programs were awarded $20,180,083. That is a 35 percent or $5.2 million increase in federal funding since Sacramento Steps Forward became the lead agency for the program in 2011.
To maximize the funding award each year, Sacramento Steps Forward and the CoC Advisory Board take great care ensuring that local agencies have the opportunity to participate in a fair and competitive application process. Key to that process is the Advisory Board’s appointment of non-conflicted panelists to a Review and Rank Committee who are charged with reviewing local projects based on application criteria and recommending a ranked project priority list.
The ranked list is made up of Tier 1 and Tier 2 projects. By HUD regulation, 12 percent of local project funding must be placed in the Tier 2 category. While Tier 1 projects are likely to be funded, Tier 2 projects must compete nationally for funding. We understand this places a lot of stress on Tier 2 projects but it is a necessary HUD requirement.
The Rank and Review Committee recommended and the Continuum of Care Advisory Board has adopted the final priority listing on Aug. 29, 2018. The priority listing can be found by clicking here.
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