Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Program, 39840-39855 [E8-15664]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 133 (Thursday, July 10, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39840-39855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-15664]



[[Page 39839]]

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Part III





Department of Housing and Urban Development





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Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Continuum of Care 
Homeless Assistance Program; Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 133 / Thursday, July 10, 2008 / 
Notices

[[Page 39840]]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5220-N-01]


Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Continuum of Care 
Homeless Assistance Program

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

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SUMMARY: This notice of funding availability (NOFA) establishes the 
funding criteria for the Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance 
Program. HUD is making available approximately $1.42 billion in Fiscal 
Year 2008 for the program. The purpose of the CoC Homeless Assistance 
Program is to reduce the incidence of homelessness in CoC communities 
by assisting homeless individuals and families to move to self 
sufficiency and permanent housing.

Overview Information

    A. Federal Agency Name: Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, Office of Community Planning and Development.
    B. Funding Opportunity Title: Notice of Funding Availability for 
Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance Programs.
    C. Announcement Type: Initial Announcement.
    D. Funding Opportunity Number: The Federal Register number is FR-
5220-N-01. The OMB Approval number is 2506-0112.
    E. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers:
    1. 14.235, Supportive Housing Program (SHP).
    2. 14.238, Shelter Plus Care (S+C) and
    3. 14.249, Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy 
(SRO).
    F. Dates: As more full described in the body of this NOFA, CoCs and 
project applicants will be required to apply for the 2008 CoC 
competition electronically through HUD's e-snaps system. Because the 
application portion of the e-snaps system has not yet been launched, 
HUD is unable at this time to establish an application due date for the 
2008 CoC competition. HUD will announce the application due date 
through a separate Federal Register notice once the e-snaps system is 
able to process funding applications. The application due date will be 
at least 60 days from the publication date of the Federal Register 
notice. As of today's publication, HUD anticipates an approximate 
application due date of September 15, 2008. Please see section IV of 
this NOFA for application submission and timely receipt requirements.
    G. Additional Overview Content Information:
    1. Available Funds: Approximately $1.42 billion is available for 
funding. Carried over or recaptured funds from previous fiscal years, 
if available, may be added to this amount.
    2. Eligible Applicants: The program summary chart in section 
III.A.1 of this NOFA identifies the eligible applicants for each of the 
three programs under the CoC Homeless Assistance Programs.
    3. Match: Matching funds are required from local, state, federal 
(as eligible) or private resources. Refer to the General Section of the 
SuperNOFA (73 FR 14883; March 29, 2008) for more information on this 
requirement.
    4. Additional Notices:
    a. To encourage transparency at all levels of the CoC planning 
process, once a CoC has submitted the CoC application to HUD, the CoC 
is required to make Exhibit 1 available to its community for inspection 
(i.e., by request or post on local CoC Web site) and notify community 
members and key stakeholders that it is available upon request.
    b. Please note that all sections of the General Section of the 
SuperNOFA are critical and must be carefully reviewed to ensure an 
application can be considered for funding, with the exception of 
reference to the Grants.gov application process. The Continuum of Care 
application will be using an electronic system outside of Grants.gov. 
Applicants for project funding will still be required to register with 
Dun and Bradstreet to obtain a DUNS number, if they have not already 
done so, and complete or renew their registration in the Central 
Contractor Registration (CCR). For more information see 73 FR 23483, 
April 30, 2008. Applicants are still encouraged to sign up for the 
Grants.gov notification service as the availability of the 2008 
Continuum of Care application will be released via this Web site.

Full Text Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Description

    1. Overview. The purpose of CoC Homeless Assistance Programs is to 
reduce the incidence of homelessness in CoC communities by assisting 
homeless individuals and families to move to self-sufficiency and 
permanent housing. CoCs that sustain current successful interventions 
and advance the goal of ending chronic homelessness will be scored 
higher.
    2. The authorizing legislation and implementing regulations for all 
programs covered by this NOFA are outlined on the chart in section 
III.A.1 of this NOFA.
    3. Changes for 2008. This list includes all major changes to the 
CoC NOFA:
    a. CoCs and project applicants will be required to apply for the 
2008 CoC competition electronically through HUD's e-snaps system. e-
snaps is not a part of https://www.grants.gov. To access training on e-
snaps, see https://esnaps.hudhre.info/training/. If CoCs or applicants 
have additional questions they may contact the e-snaps Help Desk at 
esnaps@hud.hre.info, or by calling 1-877-6-esnaps (1-877-637-6277). 
More information is provided in section I.A.5.b of this NOFA.
    b. CoCs were required to register their CoC in e-snaps, the 
electronic application system, prior to the beginning of the 
competition. For more information on the CoC registration process see 
73 FR 23483; April 30, 2008.
    c. CoCs may create multiple Samaritan Housing Initiative projects 
as long as the total amount of funding requested for all bonus projects 
does not exceed 15 percent of the CoC's Preliminary Pro Rata Need. For 
more information on the Samaritan Bonus Initiative see section I.A.4.y 
below.
    d. HUD will continue to score CoC Homeless Assistance applications 
on a 100 point scale; however, the 40 need points previously allocated 
to projects will be redistributed into the existing point structure 
(see section V.A.1 of this NOFA for more information). Need will 
continue to be calculated through the higher of the formula that 
determines Preliminary Pro Rata Need or the Hold Harmless Need for the 
CoC.
    e. As directed by Congress in the FY2008 HUD appropriation 
(Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, H.R. 2764), HUD will implement 
a Rapid Re-Housing for Families Demonstration Program through the 2008 
CoC NOFA. This demonstration program will serve homeless households 
with dependent children. For more information see section I.A.4.w of 
this NOFA.
    f. Safe Havens (SH) will no longer be given Transitional Housing 
(TH) or Permanent Housing (PH) classifications and grantees seeking 
renewal will have an opportunity through the 2008 CoC NOFA to change 
the classification of their project without a grant amendment. Under 
the newly defined Safe Haven SHP program type, any chronically homeless 
person entering a Safe Haven will maintain his/her status

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as chronically homeless, and will therefore be eligible for entrance 
into Samaritan Housing Initiative projects. For more information on the 
characteristics of a Safe Haven see section I.A.x of this NOFA.
    g. HUD is aware there has been some confusion over Shelter Plus 
Care (S+C) and new SRO grant amounts and is reminding grantees and 
applicants that S+C and new SRO grants may not exceed 100 percent of 
the Fair Market Rent (FMR) for the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) 
and unit size.
    h. CoCs that are in Hold Harmless Need status may seek to use the 
reallocation process to create new dedicated Homeless Management 
Information System (HMIS) projects. For more information on Hold 
Harmless Need status and the process for reallocating SHP renewal 
project funds to new permanent housing and/or HMIS dedicated projects, 
see section I.A.4.i of this NOFA.
    i. HUD will allow only one applicant for HMIS-dedicated grants 
within a CoC.
    j. HMIS funds contained in the Training and Technical Assistance 
line item of the HMIS budget may be used for travel, hotel, and per 
diem costs associated with the provision of technical assistance and 
training sessions by local HMIS staff; attendance at training sessions 
provided by local HMIS staff and/or outside trainers; attendance at 
HUD-sponsored HMIS training sessions or symposiums; attendance at HMIS 
vendor-sponsored user meetings; and attendance at other HMIS-related 
events as qualified and pre-approved by HUD Headquarters. Applicants 
may be asked to identify the number and type of HMIS training sessions 
for which they are requesting SHP funds prior to grant agreement. The 
approved budget will be limited to the reasonableness of travel 
expenses as listed in 24 CFR Parts 84 and 85.
    k. HUD may, after selection and subject to funding availability and 
as supported by a lease or leases evidencing the rent increase, provide 
SHP renewal projects up to a 4% increase in the leasing line item not 
to exceed local FMR amounts.
    l. HUD will no longer require that applicants/grantees funded for 
Tenant-based Rental Assistance, Sponsor-based Rental Assistance, and 
Project-based Rental Assistance without rehabilitation begin rental 
assistance within twelve (12) months of the date of HUD's grant award 
letter. These applicants/grantees and all other applicants/grantees 
must continue to meet statutory deadlines regarding the obligation of 
grant funds as stated in the HUD appropriations Act.
    4. Definitions and Concepts
    a. Annual Renewal Amount. The maximum amount that a SHP grant can 
receive on an annual basis when renewed. It includes funds for only 
those eligible activities (operating, supportive services, leasing, 
HMIS and administration) that were funded in the original grant (or the 
original grant as amended), less the unrenewable activities 
(acquisition, new construction, rehabilitation, and any administration 
costs related to these activities). It is used to calculate a CoC's 
Hold Harmless Need amount.
    To calculate the Annual Renewal Amount (ARA) for SHP grants, add up 
the amount of the renewable budget line items (i.e., operating, 
supportive services, leasing, HMIS, and administration) for all the 
years of the grant being renewed, and divide by the number of years in 
the grant term. Any funding for acquisition, rehabilitation, new 
construction--and any administration costs related to these 
activities--is not renewable. If the grant included these activities, 
administrative costs may only be calculated on 5 percent of the total 
of the eligible leasing, operating, HMIS, and supportive services costs 
contained in the initial grant. For example, if the initial three-year 
grant was for $472,500 ($150,000 for new construction, $150,000 for 
operating costs, $150,000 for supportive services, and $22,500 for 
administration), the new construction costs, and any administration 
costs associated with it, would not be eligible for renewal. Thus, the 
total renewable amount would be $315,000 ($150,000 for operating costs, 
$150,000 for supportive services, and $15,000 for administration) and 
the ARA is $105,000 ($315,000 divided by the three-year grant term).
    If the initial three-year grant was $315,000 and did not include 
acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction costs ($150,000 for 
operating costs, $150,000 for supportive services, and $15,000 for 
administration), the ARA would be $105,000 ($315,000 divided by the 
three-year grant term).
    b. Applicant. An entity that applies to HUD for funds. See the CoC 
Homeless Assistance Programs Chart in section III.A.1 of this NOFA for 
a list of eligible entities. An applicant must submit a SF-424 
(Application for Federal Assistance Form). If selected for funding, the 
applicant becomes the grantee and is responsible for the overall 
management of the grant, including drawing grant funds, distributing 
funds to project sponsors, overseeing project sponsors, reporting to 
HUD, providing performance data to the CoC for community-level 
analysis, and collecting information to provide the CoC with counts of 
the homeless through HMIS. Applicants can submit applications for 
projects on behalf of project sponsors, who will actually carry out the 
proposed project activities. Applicants can also carry out their own 
projects. In these cases, the applicant is responsible for both 
administering and managing the grant (as the grantee), and carrying out 
the project activities (as the project sponsor).
    c. Applicant Certification. The form (HUD-2991), required by law, 
in which an applicant certifies that it will adhere to certain 
statutory requirements, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
    d. Central Intake. An assessment hotline, a single point of entry, 
a central intake facility or a centralized group of people that is 
standardized across the CoC and has the responsibility of assessing 
homeless persons as a method for screening homeless individuals and 
families into appropriate housing placements and service needs.
    e. Chronically Homeless Person. An unaccompanied homeless 
individual with a disabling condition who has either been continuously 
homeless for a year or more OR has had at least four (4) episodes of 
homelessness in the past three (3) years. A disabling condition is 
defined as: (1) A disability as defined in section 223 of the Social 
Security Act; (2) a physical, mental, or emotional impairment which is 
expected to be of long-continued and indefinite duration, substantially 
impedes an individual's ability to live independently, and of such a 
nature that the disability could be improved by more suitable 
conditions; (3) a developmental disability as defined in section 102 of 
the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act; (4) 
the disease of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or any conditions 
arising from the etiological agency for acquired immunodeficiency 
syndrome; or (5) a diagnosable substance abuse disorder. The term 
``homeless'' in this case means a person sleeping in a place not meant 
for human habitation (e.g., living on the streets), in an emergency 
homeless shelter, or in a Safe Haven as defined by HUD.
    f. Consolidated Plan. A long-term housing and community development 
plan developed by state and local governments and approved by HUD (24 
CFR part 91). The Consolidated Plan contains information on homeless 
populations and should be coordinated with the CoC plan. It can be a 
source of information for the Unmet Needs sections of the Housing 
Inventory Chart.

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    g. Consolidated Plan Certification. The form, required by law, in 
which a state or local official certifies that the proposed activities 
or projects are consistent with the jurisdiction's Consolidated Plan 
and, if the applicant is a state or unit of local government, that the 
jurisdiction is following its Consolidated Plan.
    h. Continuum of Care. A collaborative funding and planning approach 
that helps communities plan for and provide, as necessary, a full range 
of emergency, transitional, and permanent housing and other service 
resources to address the various needs of homeless persons. HUD also 
refers to the group of service providers involved in the decision 
making processes as the ``Continuum of Care.''
    i. Continuum of Care Hold Harmless Need Reallocation. A CoC whose 
Final Pro Rata Need is based on its Hold Harmless Need amount (see 
section I.A.4.l.(2) of this NOFA) may reallocate funds in whole or part 
from SHP renewal projects to create one or more new permanent housing 
projects and/or a new dedicated HMIS project. The Hold Harmless Need 
Reallocation process allows eligible CoCs to fund new permanent housing 
or dedicated HMIS projects by transferring all or part of funds from 
existing SHP grants eligible for renewal (that are expiring between 
January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009). These new permanent housing 
projects may be for SHP (one, two or three years), S+C (five or ten 
years) and section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation (ten years). New HMIS 
projects may be for one, two or three years. New permanent housing 
projects and dedicated HMIS SHP projects being created through this 
process will be funded under the conditional renewal standards 
described in section 5.B.2.a.(iii). Like all projects submitted under 
the 2008 CoC NOFA, these projects must meet eligibility and quality 
standards established by HUD in order to be conditionally selected for 
funding. These reallocated funds may not be used to supplement a new 
Samaritan Housing Initiative project or a Rapid Re-Housing for Families 
Demonstration Project. This Hold Harmless Need Reallocation Process is 
not available to a CoC in Preliminary Pro Rata Need Status.
    j. Continuum of Care Lead Agency. Agency or organization designated 
by the CoC primary decision making body to be the entity that submits 
the CoC application.
    k. Continuum of Care Lead Agency Contact. Person(s) with the 
authority to submit the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Grants 
Competition application on behalf of the CoC, usually the Executive 
Director or CEO of the CoC Lead Agency.
l. Continuum of Care Need Amounts
    (1) Continuum of Care Preliminary Pro Rata Need (PPRN). Amount of 
funds a CoC could receive based upon the geography that HUD approves as 
belonging to that CoC. To determine the homeless assistance need of a 
particular jurisdiction, HUD will use nationally available data, 
including the following factors as used in the Emergency Shelter Grants 
(ESG) program: data on poverty, housing overcrowding, population, age 
of housing, and growth lag. Applying those factors to a particular 
jurisdiction provides an estimate of the relative need index for that 
jurisdiction compared to other jurisdictions applying for assistance 
under the 2008 CoC NOFA. Each year, HUD publishes the PPRN for each 
jurisdiction. A CoC's PPRN is determined by adding the published PPRN 
of each jurisdiction within the HUD-approved CoC.
    (2) Continuum of Care Hold Harmless Need (HHN). The amount of funds 
a CoC is eligible to receive where the ARA of all SHP grants expiring 
in that CoC during the period beginning January 1, 2009 and ending 
December 31, 2009 exceeds the PPRN for that CoC. The HHN is the amount 
needed to fund the expiring renewal grants for one year. To provide 
communities with maximum flexibility in addressing current needs, CoCs 
have the discretion to not fund or to reduce one or more SHP renewal 
project applications through the HHN Reallocation process and still 
receive the benefit of the hold harmless need amount if the CoC 
proposes to use that amount of reduced renewal funds for new permanent 
supportive housing or dedicated HMIS SHP projects.
    (3) Continuum of Care Final Pro Rata Need (FPRN). The higher amount 
of: (1) PPRN and (2) HHN.
    m. Continuum of Care Primary Decision Making Group. This group 
manages the overall planning effort for the CoC, including, but not 
limited to, the following types of activities: setting agendas for full 
Continuum of Care meetings, project monitoring, determining project 
priorities, and providing final approval for the CoC application 
submission. This body is also responsible for the implementation of the 
CoC's HMIS, either through direct oversight or through the designation 
of an HMIS implementing agency. This group may be the CoC Lead Agency 
or may authorize another entity to be the CoC Lead Agency under its 
direction.
    n. Continuum of Care Registration. A step in the electronic 
application process during which time a CoC claims geography and 
appoints a CoC Lead Agency that will be responsible for the submission 
of the electronic application to HUD. See section I.A.5.b of this NOFA 
for a detailed explanation.
    o. Current Inventory. A complete listing of the community's HUD- 
and non-HUD-funded beds and supportive services.
    p. Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS). An HMIS is a 
computerized data collection application designed to capture client-
level information over time on the characteristics of service needs of 
men, women, and children experiencing homelessness, while also 
protecting client confidentiality. It is designed to aggregate client-
level data to generate an unduplicated count of clients served within a 
community's system of homeless services. An HMIS may also cover a 
statewide or regional area, and include several CoCs. HMIS can provide 
data on client characteristics and service utilization.
    q. Homeless Person. As defined by the McKinney Act (42 U.S.C 
11302), a homeless person is a person sleeping in a place not meant for 
human habitation or in an emergency shelter; and a person in 
transitional housing for homeless persons who originally came from the 
street or an emergency shelter. The programs covered by this NOFA are 
not for populations who are at risk of becoming homeless.
    r. Housing Emphasis. The relationship between funds requested for 
housing activities (i.e., transitional and permanent) and funds 
requested for supportive service activities. Housing emphasis will be 
calculated on eligible new and renewal projects within FPRN, eligible 
Samaritan Housing Initiative projects, eligible Rapid Re-Housing for 
Families Demonstration Program projects and eligible S+C renewal 
projects. HUD will count as housing activity all approvable requests 
for funds for rental assistance and approvable requests for 
acquisition, rehabilitation, construction, leasing and operations when 
used in connection with housing. HMIS costs and administrative costs 
will be excluded from this calculation.
    s. Match. Grantees and project sponsors must match SHP funds 
provided for acquisition, rehabilitation, and new construction with an 
equal amount of cash from other sources. Since SHP by statute can pay 
no more than 75 percent of the total operating budget for supportive 
housing, agencies must provide at least a 25 percent cash match of the 
total annual operating costs. In addition, for all SHP funding

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for supportive services and HMIS, applicants must provide a 20 percent 
cash match. This means that of the total supportive services budget 
line item, no more than 80 percent may be from SHP grant funds. For 
more information see section III.B of the General Section of the 
SuperNOFA.
    Grantees and project sponsors must match rental assistance provided 
through the Shelter Plus Care Program in the aggregate with supportive 
services. Shelter Plus Care requires a dollar for dollar match; the 
recipient's match source can be cash or in kind.
    Documentation of the match requirement must be maintained in the 
grantee's financial records on a grant-specific basis.
    t. Private Nonprofit Status. Private nonprofit status is documented 
by submitting either:
    (1) A copy of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruling providing 
tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code; or (2) 
documentation showing that the applicant is a certified United Way 
agency; or (3) a certification from a licensed CPA that no part of the 
net earnings of the organization inures to the benefit of any member, 
founder, contributor, or individual; that the organization has a 
voluntary board; that the organization practices nondiscrimination in 
the provision of assistance; and that the organization has a 
functioning accounting system that provides for each of the following 
(mention each in the certification):
    (a) Accurate, current and complete disclosure of the financial 
results of each federally sponsored project.
    (b) Records that identify adequately the source and application of 
funds for federally sponsored activities.
    (c) Effective control over and accountability for all funds, 
property and other assets.
    (d) Comparison of outlays with budget amounts.
    (e) Written procedures to minimize the time elapsing between the 
transfer of funds to the recipient from the U.S. Treasury and the use 
of the funds for program purposes.
    (f) Written procedures for determining the reasonableness, 
allocability and allowability of costs.
    (g) Accounting records, including cost accounting records, which 
are supported by source documentation.
    u. Project Sponsor. An entity that is responsible for carrying out 
the proposed project activities. A project sponsor does not submit an 
SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance), unless it is also the 
applicant. To be eligible to be a project sponsor, the organization 
must meet the same program eligibility standards as applicants, as 
outlined in section III.A.1 of this NOFA. The only exception to this 
standard is under the Sponsor-based rental assistance (SRA) component 
of the S+C Program, where a sponsor must be a private, nonprofit 
organization or a community mental health agency established as a 
public nonprofit organization; therefore, eligible project sponsors for 
this component are statutorily precluded from applying for S+C funding.
    v. Public Nonprofit Status. Public nonprofit status is documented 
for community mental health centers by including a letter or other 
document from the authorized state official stating that the applicant 
is organized and in good standing under state law as a public nonprofit 
organization.
    w. Rapid Re-Housing for Families Demonstration Program. HUD will 
implement through the 2008 CoC NOFA a demonstration program for 
households with dependent children residing on the street or in 
emergency shelters as directed by Congress in the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act for 2008 (H.R. 2764). Through this focused effort on 
assisting this population, HUD will both learn more about how to best 
serve families who are homeless and also contribute to the research 
that has already been done in this area.
    Each CoC may submit no more than one project under the Rapid Re-
Housing for Families Demonstration Program. That project must have a 
grant term of three-years and may request up to 30 percent of the CoC's 
PPRN or $2 million, whichever is less. Grants awarded under the Rapid 
Re-Housing for Families Demonstration Program will be administered in 
accordance with the requirements of the SHP program, TH component, with 
the exception that the eligible activities are limited to 
administration, leasing (up to 18 months), and supportive services; 
that the grantee must participate in the evaluation phase; and that 
they must comply with all Rapid Re-Housing Demonstration Program 
requirements established in this NOFA. No more than 30 percent of the 
total eligible program activities (grant total minus administration 
costs up to five percent) may be used for supportive services, 
including case management. Eligible supportive services are limited to 
housing placement, case management, legal assistance; literacy 
training, job training, mental health services, childcare services, and 
substance abuse services. Eligible housing activities include leasing 
only. One household may receive leasing dollars one time for three to 
six months or twelve to fifteen months, as determined at the time of 
the assessment. Households are expected to independently sustain 
housing, either subsidized or unsubsidized, at the end of the leasing 
subsidy; therefore, it is crucial that households are appropriately 
assessed. The Rapid Re-Housing Demonstration program will include an 
evaluation phase, which will focus on determining the efficacy of the 
assessment process and the housing/service intervention related to how 
successfully households are able to independently sustain housing after 
receiving short-term leasing assistance.
    x. Safe Haven. A Safe Haven is a form of supportive housing funded 
and administered under the Supportive Housing Program serving hard-to-
reach homeless persons with severe mental illness who are on the 
streets and have been unwilling or unable to participate in supportive 
services.
    All projects classified as Safe Havens (SH) must have the following 
characteristics:
    (1) Located in a facility, meaning a structure, or structures, or 
clearly identifiable portion of a structure or structures;
    (2) Provide 24-hour residence for eligible persons who may reside 
for an unspecified duration;
    (3) Provide private or semiprivate accommodations;
    (4) Overnight capacity is limited to no more than 25 persons;
    (5) Provide low-demand services and referrals for the residents of 
the safe haven;
    (6) Prohibit the use of illegal drugs in the facility; and,
    (7) Must target homeless individuals with serious and persistent 
mental illness, primarily from the streets.
    Safe Havens may also provide for the common use of kitchen 
facilities, dining rooms, and bathrooms.
    New in 2008, any chronically homeless persons entering a Safe 
Haven, as defined by above, will maintain their chronically homeless 
status, and will therefore be eligible for entrance into Samaritan 
Housing Initiative projects.
    Grantees with renewal projects submitted in 2008 that are 
designated as Safe Haven-Transitional Housing (SH-TH) or Safe-Haven 
Permanent Housing (SH-PH) will be required, in 2008, to change the 
classification of their project without a grant amendment. Each project 
that is currently designated as either a SH-TH or SH-PH will, in the 
2008 application, designate itself as either Transitional Housing, 
Permanent Housing, or as a Safe Haven depending on its program design.
    y. Samaritan Housing Initiative. To qualify for the Samaritan 
Housing

[[Page 39844]]

Initiative, each CoC must submit one or more new permanent housing 
projects under the Samaritan Housing Initiative (an initiative designed 
to develop permanent housing projects that serve exclusively 
chronically homeless persons). Each CoC shall be eligible for a 
Samaritan Bonus Amount up to 15 percent of the CoC's PPRN amount or $6 
million, whichever is less. Samaritan Housing Initiative projects may 
be SHP, S+C, or SRO. For projects applying under the SHP, each project 
can request no more than 20% of the total of its eligible program 
activities (grant total minus administration costs up to five percent) 
for case management. Safe Havens do not qualify for the Samaritan Bonus 
Initiative.
    Rental assistance under the S+C and section 8 Moderate-
Rehabilitation programs is an eligible housing activity under the 
Samaritan Housing Initiative.
    z. SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. The application 
cover sheet required to be submitted by applicants requesting HUD 
Federal Assistance.
    5. Continuum of Care Processes
    a. CoC Planning Process.
    (1) A CoC system is developed through a community-wide or region-
wide process involving the coordination of nonprofit organizations 
(including those representing persons with disabilities), state and 
local government agencies, public housing agencies, community and 
faith-based organizations, other homeless providers, service providers, 
housing developers, private health care associations, law enforcement 
and corrections agencies, school systems, private funding providers, 
and homeless or formerly homeless persons to successfully address the 
complex and interrelated problems related to homelessness. The 2008 CoC 
NOFA emphasizes HUD's determination to integrate and align plans, 
including jurisdictional, state, and city ten-year plans 
(jurisdictional ten-year plans) encouraged by the U.S. Interagency 
Council on Homelessness and Consolidated Plans. These plans serve as a 
vehicle for a community to comprehensively identify each of its needs 
and to coordinate a plan for addressing them. A CoC should address the 
specific needs of each homeless subpopulation: those experiencing 
chronic homelessness, veterans, persons with serious mental illnesses, 
persons with substance abuse issues, persons with HIV/AIDS, persons 
with co-occurring diagnoses (these may include diagnoses of multiple 
physical disabilities or multiple mental disabilities or a combination 
of these two types), victims of domestic violence, youth, and any 
others. To ensure that the CoC system addresses the needs of homeless 
veterans, it is particularly important that CoCs involve veteran 
service organizations with specific experiencing in serving homeless 
veterans.
    (2) CoC Geographic Area. In deciding what geographic area a CoC 
will cover as part of its CoC strategy, CoCs should be aware that a key 
factor in being awarded funding under the 2008 CoC NOFA will be the 
strength of a CoC process when measured against the CoC rating factors 
described in this NOFA. When a CoC determines what jurisdictions to 
include in its CoC strategy area, include only those jurisdictions that 
are fully involved in the development and implementation of the CoC 
strategy.
    The more jurisdictions a CoC includes in the CoC, the larger the 
pro rata need share that will be allocated to the strategy area (as 
described in section I.A.5.a.(1) and section I.A.5.a.(2) of this NOFA). 
If a CoC is located in a rural county, it may wish to consider working 
with larger groups of contiguous counties to develop a region-wide or 
multi-county CoC strategy covering the combined service areas of these 
counties. Areas covered by CoC strategies cannot overlap.
    (3) CoC Components. A CoC system typically consists of five basic 
elements, as follows:
    (a) A system of outreach, engagement, and assessment for 
determining the needs and conditions of individuals or families who are 
homeless, and necessary support to identify, prioritize, and respond to 
persons who are chronically homeless;
    (b) Emergency shelters with appropriate supportive services to help 
ensure that homeless individuals and families receive adequate 
emergency shelter and referral to necessary service providers or 
housing search counselors;
    (c) Transitional housing with appropriate supportive services to 
help homeless individuals and families prepare to make the transition 
to permanent housing and independent living;
    (d) Permanent housing, or permanent supportive housing, to help 
meet the long-term needs of homeless individuals and families; and,
    (e) Prevention strategies, which play an integral role in a 
community's plan to eliminate homelessness by effectively intervening 
for persons at risk of homelessness or those being discharged from 
public systems--e.g., corrections, foster care, mental health, and 
other institutions--so that they do not enter the homeless system. By 
law, prevention activities are ineligible activities in the three 
programs included in this NOFA but are eligible for funding under the 
Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) program and many other programs.
    (4) Regardless of the CoC structure and planning process, the 2008 
electronic application process will require that each CoC select up to 
two persons, from the CoC Lead Agency, who are authorized to submit the 
CoC application and the project applications to HUD.
    (5) Once the CoC application has been submitted and scored the CoC 
will receive its conditional award. This is the total amount of monies 
conditionally awarded to a CoC's eligible projects including, new and 
renewal SHP and S+C projects, new SRO Moderate-Rehabilitation projects, 
Samaritan Housing Initiative and Rapid Re-Housing for Families 
Demonstration projects.
    b. CoC Registration Process. CoCs were required to register in the 
electronic database, e-snaps, prior to the beginning of the 2008 CoC 
competition. For more information on the CoC Registration Process see 
73 FR 23483; April 30, 2008.
    6. CoC Funding is provided through the programs briefly described 
below. Please refer to the CoC Homeless Assistance Programs Eligibility 
Chart in section III.A.1 of this NOFA for a more detailed description 
of each program:
    a. The Supportive Housing Program (SHP) provides funding for the 
development and/or operation of transitional housing, permanent 
supportive housing, safe havens, and services that help homeless 
persons transition from homelessness to living as independently as 
possible. Services are also funded to assist in achieving the goal of 
self-sufficiency. See section I.A.4.s of this NOFA for SHP match 
requirements.
    b. The Shelter Plus Care (S+C) Program provides funding for rental 
assistance and requires a dollar match in supportive services for every 
dollar of rental assistance. This gives applicants flexibility in 
devising appropriate housing and supportive services for homeless 
persons with disabilities.
    c. The Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy 
(SRO) Program provides rental assistance on behalf of homeless 
individuals in connection with the moderate rehabilitation of SRO 
dwellings. The SRO Program has no match requirements.

II. Award Information

    A. Amount Allocated. Approximately $1.42 billion is available for 
funding.

[[Page 39845]]

Carried over or recaptured funds from previous fiscal years, if 
available, may be added to this amount.
    B. Distribution of Funds: HUD will not specify amounts for each of 
the three programs: SHP, S+C, and section 8/SRO. Instead, the 
distribution of funds among the three programs will depend largely on 
locally determined priorities and overall demand.
    1. Renewals. HUD reserves the authority to conditionally select for 
one year of funding eligible SHP renewal projects that fall below the 
National Funding Line and would not otherwise receive funding for these 
projects. HUD reserves the right to establish a minimum CoC scoring 
threshold for these projects. The funding of these renewal projects 
allows homeless persons to continue to be served and move towards self-
sufficiency. Not renewing these projects would likely result in the 
closure of these projects and displacement of the homeless people being 
served. Shelter Plus Care Renewals will continue to be funded outside 
of the competitive ranking process, as required in the 2008 
Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2764).
    2. Grant Terms. See chart in section III.A.1 of this NOFA for 
information on the term of assistance for each of the three CoC 
programs covered under the 2008 CoC NOFA.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

    1. Eligible applicants for each program are those identified in the 
following chart:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Elements                   Supportive housing       Shelter plus care          Section 8 SRO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authorizing Legislation..............  Subtitle C of Title IV   Subtitle F of Title IV   Section 441 of the
                                        of the McKinney-Vento    of the McKinney-Vento    McKinney-Vento
                                        Homeless Assistance      Homeless Assistance      Homeless Assistance
                                        Act, 42 U.S.C. 11381.    Act, 42 U.S.C. 11403.    Act, 42 U.S.C. 11401.
Implementing Regulations.............  24 CFR part 583........  24 CFR part 582........  24 CFR part 882,
                                                                                          subpart H, except that
                                                                                          all persons receiving
                                                                                          rental assistance must
                                                                                          meet the McKinney-
                                                                                          Vento definition of
                                                                                          homelessness.
Eligible Applicant(s)................   States........   States........   PHAs.
                                        Units of         Units of         Private
                                        general local            general local            nonprofit
                                        government.              government.              organizations.
                                        Special          PHAs.           .......................
                                        purpose units of
                                        government, e.g., PHAs.
                                        Private
                                        nonprofit
                                        organizations.
                                        Community
                                        Mental Health Centers
                                        that are public
                                        nonprofit
                                        organizations.
Eligible Component(s)................   Transitional     Tenant-based     SRO housing.
                                        housing.                 housing.
                                        Permanent        Sponsor-based   .......................
                                        housing for disabled     housing.
                                        persons only.
                                        Supportive       Project-based   .......................
                                        services not in          housing.
                                        conjunction with
                                        supportive housing.
                                        Safe Havens...   SRO-based       .......................
                                                                 housing.
                                        Innovative
                                        supportive housing.
                                        Homeless Mgmt.
                                        Info. System (HMIS).
Eligible Activities. See footnotes 1,   Acquisition...   Rental           Rental
 2, and 3.                                                       assistance.              assistance.
                                       Rehabilitation                                    .......................
                                        including
                                        accessibility
                                        requirements.
                                        New
                                        construction including
                                        accessibility
                                        requirements.
                                        Leasing.
                                        Operating
                                        costs.
                                        Supportive
                                        services.
Eligible Populations. See footnote 2.   Homeless         Homeless         Homeless
                                        individuals and          disabled individuals.    disabled individuals.
                                        families.
                                                                 Homeless        .......................
                                                                 individuals & their
                                                                 families.
Populations Given Special               Homeless         Homeless         N/A.
 Consideration.                         persons with             persons who are
                                        disabilities.            seriously mentally ill.
                                        Homeless         Have chronic    .......................
                                        families with children.  problems with alcohol
                                                                 and/or drugs.
                                                                 Have AIDS &     .......................
                                                                 related diseases.
Initial Term of Assistance. See         2 or 3 years     5 years: TRA,    10 years.
 footnote 4.                            for new SHP.             SRA, and PRA without
                                                                 rehab.
                                        1, 2 or 3        10 years SRO,   .......................
                                        years for new HMIS.      and PRA with rehab.
                                        1, 2 or 3                                .......................
                                        years for new
                                        reallocated projects.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnote 1: Homeless prevention activities are statutorily ineligible under these programs.
Footnote 2: Persons at risk of homelessness are statutorily ineligible for assistance under these programs.
Footnote 3: Acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, leasing, and operating costs are statutorily ineligible
  for assistance under Shelter Plus Care and Section 8 SRO.
Footnote 4: The term of a new grant with funds for acquisition, construction or rehabilitation also includes the
  time to acquire the property, complete construction and begin operating the project, which may be no greater
  than 39 months. A one year initial term may be requested only for HMIS or hold harmless reallocated new
  permanent housing projects.


[[Page 39846]]

    2. Renewal Applicants. An applicant is eligible to apply for 
renewal of a grant only if it has a signed grant agreement for the 
project directly with HUD for SHP or S+C programs. Project sponsors or 
sub-recipients are not eligible to apply for renewal of these projects. 
Reminder, renewal applicants must also have a DUNS number and be 
registered in the CCR.

B. Matching

    Applicants must meet the match requirements for SHP and S+C 
programs. For more information on matching see section I.A.4.s of this 
NOFA and/or applicable program regulations.

C. Other Project Eligibility Requirements

    1. Eligible Activities. Eligible activities for the SHP, S+C, and 
SRO Programs are outlined in the preceding CoC Homeless Assistance 
Programs Chart at Section III.A.1 of this NOFA.
    2. Threshold Requirements
    a. Project Eligibility Threshold. HUD will review all projects to 
determine if they meet the following eligibility threshold 
requirements. If HUD determines that these standards are not met by a 
specific project or activity, the project or activity will be rejected 
from the competition.
    (1) Applicants and project sponsors must meet the eligibility 
requirements of the specific program as described in program 
regulations, and provide evidence of eligibility and capacity, and 
submit the required certifications as specified in this NOFA.
    (2) The population to be served must meet the eligibility 
requirements of the specific program as described in the program 
regulations, and the application must clearly establish eligibility of 
program participants.
    (3) The only persons who may be served by permanent housing 
projects are those who come from the streets, emergency shelters, safe 
havens, or transitional housing. Persons in transitional housing must 
have originally come from the streets or emergency shelter. As 
participants leave currently operating projects, participants who meet 
this eligibility standard must replace them.
    (4) Samaritan Housing Initiative Projects and Rapid Re-Housing for 
Families Demonstration Projects will have additional eligibility 
requirements. The additional eligibility requirements for Samaritan 
Housing Initiative Projects are described in section I.A.4.y of this 
NOFA. The additional eligibility requirements for Rapid Re-Housing for 
Families Demonstration Projects are provided in section III.C.2.a.(12) 
of this NOFA.
    (5) Projects that involve rehabilitation or new construction must 
certify that they will meet the accessibility requirements of section 
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the design and construction 
requirements of the Fair Housing Act and the accessibility requirements 
of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as applicable.
    (6) The project must be cost-effective, including costs associated 
with construction, operations and supportive services with such costs 
not deviating substantially from the norm in that locale for the type 
of structure or kind of activity.
    (7) For those applicants applying for the Innovative component of 
SHP, whether or not a project is considered innovative will be 
determined on the basis that the particular approach proposed is new 
and can be replicated.
    (8) Renewal applications must be submitted as part of a CoC 
application.
    (9) Under the Sponsor-based rental assistance S+C component, an 
applicant must subcontract the funding awarded with an eligible project 
sponsor: A private nonprofit organization or a community mental health 
agency established as a public nonprofit organization that owns or 
leases the housing where participants will reside.
    (10) For the section 8 SRO program, only individuals meeting HUD's 
definition of homeless are eligible to receive rental assistance. 
Therefore, any individual occupying a unit at commencement of the 
unit's rehabilitation will not receive rental assistance if they return 
to their unit (or any other) upon completion of its rehabilitation.
    (11) Applicants agree to participate in a local HMIS system when it 
is implemented in their community.
    (12) Applicants for Rapid Re-Housing for Families Demonstration 
Programs must meet the following additional project eligibility 
thresholds.
    (a) The CoC in which the applicant is applying must have 
centralized intake as defined in this NOFA (see section I.A.4.) for 
households with dependent children.
    (b) The population to be served must be households with dependent 
children who have lived in emergency shelters or on the streets for at 
least seven consecutive days, must be able to independently sustain 
housing at the end of the short-term housing assistance, and must have 
at least one moderate barrier to housing. A moderate barrier to housing 
is defined as:
    (i) A financial strain that is not ongoing and will not impact the 
ability to independently sustain housing once re-housed (in subsidized 
or unsubsidized housing);
    (ii) Inadequate employment or a loss of employment. The family most 
appropriate for this demonstration should have, or be willing to 
obtain, employment that increases the income of the household to such a 
degree that it can independently sustain housing at the end of the 
short-term housing assistance;
    (iii) Inadequate childcare resources;
    (iv) A head of household with a low level of education or low 
command of the English language, but who is willing to obtain the 
language skills and/or education level necessary to obtain employment 
and maintain housing;
    (v) Legal problems. HUD leaves it to the discretion of the 
individual communities to determine which legal problems it is able to 
address;
    (vi) Mental health diagnosis that do not greatly impact the 
household's ability to independently sustain housing;
    (vii) A history of substance abuse, without any active use;
    (viii) Poor rental history, including up to three evictions; and,
    (ix) Poor credit history.
    (c) The agency must have one assessment tool that it uses to assess 
all families.
    b. Project Quality Threshold. HUD will review new projects, 
including those requested as part of HHN Reallocation, to determine if 
they meet the following quality threshold requirements with clear and 
convincing evidence. A S+C or SHP project renewal will be considered as 
having met these requirements through its previously approved grant 
application unless information to the contrary is received. The housing 
and services proposed must be appropriate to the needs of the program 
participants and the community. HUD will assess the following:
    (1) That the type, scale and general location of the housing fit 
the needs of the participants and that the housing is readily 
accessible to community amenities.
    (2) That the type, scale and location of the supportive services 
fit the needs of the participants and the mode of transportation to 
those services is described.
    (3) That the specific plan for ensuring clients will be 
individually assisted to obtain the benefits of the mainstream health, 
social service, and employment programs for which they are eligible is 
provided.

[[Page 39847]]

    (4) How participants are helped to obtain and remain in permanent 
housing is described.
    (5) How participants are assisted to both increase their incomes 
and live independently using mainstream housing and service programs is 
described.
    (6) Applicants and project sponsors must evidence satisfactory 
performance for existing grant(s).
    (7) For expansion projects, applicants must clearly articulate the 
part of the project that is the expansion.
    (8) In addition to meeting the quality threshold standards above, 
applicants for Rapid Re-Housing for Homeless Families Demonstration 
projects must meet the following quality threshold standards:
    (a) The applicant's experience in forming relationships with 
landlords and maintaining an affordable housing stock is described.
    (b) The type, scale, and general location of the centralized intake 
meets the needs of the participants is provided.
    (c) The specific plan for assessing households with dependent 
children and for ensuring that all households are placed in appropriate 
housing is described.
    (d) The applicant's connection with mainstream, community based 
social services is described.
    (e) The applicant and project sponsors must evidence satisfactory 
performance for existing projects serving homeless households with 
dependent children and existing Rapid Re-Housing for Families projects.
    c. Project Renewal Threshold. A CoC must consider the need to 
continue funding for projects expiring in calendar year 2009. HUD will 
not fund competitive renewals out of order on the priority list except 
as may be necessary to achieve statutory, regulatory or NOFA funding 
requirements as detailed in this NOFA. It is important that SHP 
renewals and S+C non-competitive renewals meet minimum project 
eligibility, capacity and performance standards identified in this NOFA 
or they will be rejected from consideration for either competitive or 
non-competitive funding.
    d. Civil Rights Thresholds: Applicants and the project sponsors 
must be in compliance with the threshold requirements of the General 
Section of the SuperNOFA.
    3. Program Requirements
    a. Under section 808(e)(5) of the Fair Housing Act, HUD has a 
statutory duty to affirmatively further fair housing. HUD requires the 
same of its funding recipients. If you are a successful applicant, you 
will have a duty to affirmatively further fair housing when providing 
housing and housing related services for classes protected under the 
Fair Housing Act. As successful applicants you required to certify that 
they will comply with the requirements of the Fair Housing Act (42 
U.S.C. 3601-19), Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 
2000d), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), 
and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101), and will 
affirmatively further fair housing. You are also required to comply 
with the program regulations regarding affirmatively furthering fair 
housing. Instead of the actions for affirmatively further fair housing 
in the General Section of the SuperNOFA, successful applicants must 
affirmatively further fair housing by requiring each project sponsor to 
(a) adopt actions and procedures and maintain records of the 
implementation of the actions and procedures taken to affirmatively 
further fair housing; (b) make information available on the existence 
and location of facilities and services that are accessible to persons 
with a disability; and (c) ensure that reasonable steps are taken to 
inform all eligible persons on the availability of the project so that 
they may apply for the housing or services provided.
    b. Local Resident Employment. To the extent that any housing 
assistance (including rental assistance) funded through the 2008 CoC 
NOFA is used for housing rehabilitation (including reduction and 
abatement of lead-based paint hazards, but excluding routine 
maintenance, repair, and replacement) or housing construction, then it 
is subject to section 3 of the Housing and Urban Rehabilitation Act of 
1968, and the implementing regulations at 24 CFR Part 135. Section 3, 
as amended, requires that economic opportunities generated by certain 
HUD financial assistance for housing and community development programs 
shall, to the greatest extent feasible, be given to low- and very low-
income persons, particularly those who are recipients of government 
assistance for housing, and to businesses that provide economic 
opportunities for these persons.
    c. Relocation. The SHP, S+C, and SRO programs are subject to the 
requirements of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property 
Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as amended (URA). These requirements 
are explained in HUD Handbook 1378, Tenant Assistance, Relocation and 
Real Property Acquisition. Also see General Section of the SuperNOFA.
    d. Environmental Reviews. All CoC assistance is subject to the 
National Environmental Policy Act and applicable related Federal 
environmental authorities. Conditional selection of projects under the 
CoC Homeless Assistance competition is subject to the environmental 
review requirements of 24 CFR 582.230, 583.230 and 882.804(c), as 
applicable. The recipient, its project partners and their contractors 
may not acquire, rehabilitate, convert, lease (under S+C/TRA where 
participants are required to live in a particular structure or area as 
described in section III.C.3.g(3)(a) of this NOFA), repair, dispose of, 
demolish or construct property for a project under this CoC NOFA, or 
commit or expend HUD or local funds for such eligible activities, until 
the responsible entity has completed the environmental review 
procedures required by Part 58 and the environmental certification and 
Request for Release of Funds (RROF) have been approved or HUD has 
performed an environmental review under Part 50 and the recipient has 
received HUD approval of the property. The expenditure or commitment of 
Continuum of Care assistance or non-federal funds for such activities 
prior to this HUD approval may result in the denial of assistance for 
the project under consideration. If the program receiving HUD 
assistance is exclusively for the provision of services and none of the 
above stated activities are included, and the services provided meet 
the requirements of an exemption or exclusion listed at 24 CFR 58.34 or 
58.35(b), the responsible entity may determine and record that no 
further environmental review is required, citing the appropriate 
exemption or exclusion.
    e. Expiring/Extended Grants. If a SHP or S+C grant will be expiring 
in calendar year 2009, or if a S+C Program grant has been extended 
beyond its original five-year term and is projected to run out of funds 
in FY 2009, a grantee may apply for a renewal under the 2008 CoC NOFA 
to receive continued funding. Generally, if a renewal project is not 
awarded funding in 2008, then the project will not be allowed to extend 
its grant to apply in the 2009 competition.
    f. Promoting Energy Efficiency and Energy Star. In keeping with the 
Administration's policy priority of promoting energy efficient housing 
while protecting the environment, applicants applying for new 
construction or rehabilitation funding, who maintain housing or 
community facilities or provide services in those facilities, are 
encouraged to promote energy efficiency and are specifically

[[Page 39848]]

encouraged to purchase and use Energy Star-labeled products. Refer to 
the General Section of the SuperNOFA for detailed information about 
this policy priority.
    g. Program-Specific Requirements. Please be advised that where an 
applicant for the SHP funding is a state or unit of general local 
government that utilizes one or more nonprofit project sponsor(s) to 
administer the homeless assistance project(s), administrative funds 
provided as part of the SHP grant must be passed on to the nonprofit 
organization(s) in proportion to the administrative burden borne by 
them for the SHP project(s). HUD will consider states or units of 
general local government that pass on at least 50 percent of the 
administrative funds made available under the grant as having met this 
requirement. This requirement does not apply to either the SRO Program, 
since only PHAs administer the SRO rental assistance, or to the S+C 
Program, since paying the costs associated with the administration of 
these grants is ineligible by regulation.
    New this year, HUD will award funds to rehabilitate leased 
property. However, certain conditions must be met during Technical 
Submission and, if they are not met, the award will be withdrawn. The 
recipient must have a lease for 25 or more years with a landowner that 
is not the applicant, the project sponsor, a parent or affiliated 
organization and must submit it to HUD for approval. The landowner must 
execute and record against the land the lease and the HUD form Use and 
Repayment Covenant. Under certain circumstances, where the useful life 
of the improvements is greater than 25 years, the recipient may be 
required to repay the residual value of the improvements.
    (1) SHP--New Projects:
    (a) Please note that applicants for new grants can request 2 or 3 
years worth of funds for operating, supportive services and leasing 
costs and that the grant term will be the 2 or 3 years requested. 
However, if an applicant also requests funds for acquisition, 
construction or rehabilitation, the grant term will be the 2 or 3 
years, plus the time to acquire the property, complete construction and 
begin operating the project (no greater than 39 months). The two 
exceptions to this rule are: (1) New permanent housing projects and 
HMIS projects proposed under HHN Reallocation may request one year of 
funding; and (2) new HMIS projects may request one year of funding.
    (b) HUD will require recordation of a HUD-approved use and 
repayment covenant (a form may be obtained from the field office) for 
all grants of funds for acquisition, rehabilitation or new 
construction. The covenant will enforce the use and repayment 
requirements found at section 423(b)(1) and (c) of the McKinney-Vento 
Act and must be approved by HUD counsel before execution and 
recordation. Proof of recordation must be provided to HUD counsel 
before funds for rehabilitation or new construction may be drawn down.
    (c) All project sponsors must meet applicant eligibility standards 
as described in section III.A.1 of this NOFA. As in past years, HUD 
will review project sponsor eligibility as part of the threshold review 
process. Project sponsors for new projects are required to submit 
evidence of their eligibility with the application.
    (2) SHP--Renewal Projects
    (a) For the renewal of a SHP project, applicants from a CoC whose 
final FPRN is based on PPRN may request funding for one (1), two (2) or 
three (3) years; whereas applicants from a CoC whose FPRN is based upon 
HHN may request funding for only one (1) year.
    (b) The total request for each renewable project cannot exceed the 
Annual Renewal Amount received in the current grant for that project. 
Because ca