Categories: New York State
09.28.2020
State updates from the month of September, including announcements regarding restoring the 20% withholds impacting all scattered-site contracts, the release of ESSHI and HHAP RFPs, and ESSHI conditional award extensions.
SUPPORTIVE HOUSING EXEMPT FROM NYS BUDGET WITHHOLDS
The NYS Division of Budget approved restoring the 20% withholds impacting all scattered-site contracts that had been issued for the months of July-September. The restoration will go to all OMH, OASAS, and DOH Medicaid Redesign Team scattered site contracts that had received the twenty percent reduction. This restoration does not include any funding withholds that might have been made to congregate supportive housing programs funded through local counties.
In addition, both OMH and DOH have said that all supportive housing, both scattered site and congregate, will be exempt from an additional 20% withhold for October – December.
NYS RELEASED ESSHI & HHAP RFPs
New York State released the fifth-round of the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI) Request for Proposals (RFP), due on October 19th. The State is issuing this RFP to advance the goal of developing 6,000 units of supportive housing over five years. Funding for at least 1,200 units will be awarded through this RFP. This is the last round of the five-year funding commitment. The eligible target populations are families with a qualifying individual, individuals, and/or young adults who are both homeless and who are identified as having an unmet housing need as determined by the Continuum of Care Program (CoC)/local planning entity/other supplemental local, state and federal data, AND have one or more disabling conditions or other life challenges.
OTDA released the 2020-21 Homeless Housing Assistance Program Request for Proposals. Applications will be accepted beginning October 9th. A total of $128 million of capital funding is available for nonprofits developing supportive housing. $5 million may be reserved for the development of projects serving homeless persons with HIV/AIDS, and another $5 million may be reserved for the development of projects serving homeless veterans. Additionally, up to $1 million may be used for emergency shelter repairs in local social service districts with a population of less than five million. HHAP will give preference to:
• Applications that propose supportive housing developed utilizing services and operating funding obtained through the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI); or
• Applications that propose supportive housing projects targeted to veterans; or
• Applications that propose supportive housing projects targeted to long-staying families in emergency housing; or
• Applications where the majority of funding will come from a source, or sources, other than HHAC and at least 75% of the non-HHAP funding is already committed.
Applications will be accepted by mail only, starting on October 9, 2020. HHAP is an open-window RFP. Applications will be approved until funding is exhausted.
ESSHI Providing Six-Month Extensions on Conditional Awards
The ESSHI Interagency Workgroup issued a blanket six-month extension for any existing active conditional awards, with the option to request a second six-month extension making existing conditional awards good through May 18th 2021. In addition, awardees can request an additional six-month extension if capital isn’t available or if the applicant’s’ capital was still under consideration when the award would have expired.