Emergency Shelter Grants Program (14.231)

Program

14.231 Emergency Shelter Grants Program

Federal Agency

Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office: Office of Community Planning and Development

Authorization

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, Title IV, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 11371-78.

Program Number

14.231

Last Known Status

Active

Objectives

To help improve the quality of emergency shelters and transitional housing for the homeless, to make available additional shelters, to meet the costs of operating shelters, to provide essential social services to homeless individuals, and to help prevent homelessness.

Types of Assistance

FORMULA GRANTS

Uses and Use Restrictions

Grantees may use the grant for one or more of the following activities relating to emergency shelter and transitional housing for the homeless: (1) renovation, major rehabilitation, or conversion of buildings for use as shelters for the homeless; (2) provision of essential services to the homeless (not more than 30 percent of the grant, unless waived by HUD); (3) payment of operations (not more than 10 percent of the grant for staff management costs), maintenance, rent, repair, security, fuel, equipment, insurance, utilities, and furnishings; and (4) homeless prevention activities (not more than 30 percent of the grant), and (5) administrative costs not to exceed five percent of the ESG grant. In the case of State grantees, the grant for administration must be shared with funded recipients.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

States, metropolitan cities, urban counties, and territories. Local governments receiving formula allocations may distribute all or part of their grants to nonprofit recipients to be used for ESG activities. State grantees must distribute ESG funds to local governments, or directly to nonprofit organizations with the approval of the local government. Only local governments and nonprofit organizations may apply for ESG funds directly from States. The territories receive their allocations based on their population size.

Beneficiary Eligibility

Homeless families and individuals, and low-income persons in immediate risk of losing their housing due to eviction, foreclosure, or utility shutoffs.

Credentials/Documentation

States, metropolitan cities, urban counties, and territories that elect to participate in the program must submit (1) an approved Consolidated Plan; and (2) certifications that each grantee will (a) supplement the assistance provided under the program with an equal amount of funds from other sources, except for State grantees under the $100,000 exemption, (b) ensure that any building using ESG funds will continue as a homeless shelter for specified periods, (c) ensure that assisted rehabilitation is sufficient to make the structure safe and sanitary, (d) provide for a procedure to ensure the confidentiality of victims of domestic violence, and assist homeless individuals in obtaining appropriate supportive services and other available assistance, and (e) meet other generally applicable requirements, such as nondiscrimination and equal opportunity. Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-133 for State and local governments. State grantees are exempt from matching the first $100,000 of their award, but States must certify that they will provide the benefits of that exemption to local government and nonprofit recipients. OMB Circular No. A-87 applies to this program.

Application and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

Preapplication coordination is required. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure

OMB Circular No. A-102 applies to this program. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-110. Application Procedure: To be eligible, each grantee must have a HUD-approved Consolidated Plan, which contain descriptions of the community's homeless assistance needs, details available resources, and provides a five-year plan and an annual action plan. The annual action plan specifies new projects being funded, along with any revisions in the overall document. Each participating grantee must submit certifications required by HUD.

Award Procedure

The HUD field office reviews the grantee's Consolidated Plan and, if approved, executes a grant agreement.

Deadlines

Contact the headquarters or regional office, as appropriate, for application deadlines.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

The Consolidated plan is generally approved in 10 working days or deemed approved by HUD within 45 days of receipt.

Appeals

Not Applicable.

Renewals

Not Applicable.

Assistance Considerations

Formula and Matching Requirements

Statutory Formula:
Matching Requirements: After a portion of the ESG appropriation is set aside for the territories, the amount of each grant for formula grantees is determined by the Community Planning Block Grant (CDBG) formula using several objective measures of community need, including poverty, population, housing overcrowding, age of housing and growth lag. Allocations among the territories are based on their populations. If, according to the formula, an eligible government receives less than 05. percent of the yearly appropriation, then that grant is added to the allocation for that State. A State must allocate to its local government or to nonprofit organizations the entire grant, except for the up to five percent used to administer the grant. The administrative funds must be shared with local government grantees in that State. Grantees must match grant funds with an equal amount of funds from other sources including donated material or a building, leasehold value, additional staff salaries, and volunteer time.
MOE requirements are not applicable to this program.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Grant awards should be made within 45 days of HUD's receipt and approval of the Consolidated Plan. A State should make available to its recipients all of its grant allocation within 65 days of the date of the grant award by HUD. A State recipient should have its entire grant obligated by 180 days from the date on which the State made the grant available to it, and spent the entire grant within 24 months of this date. For State homeless prevention funds, the State may continue to make available homeless prevention funds within 180 days of grant award. State recipients that are local government agencies and nonprofit organizations then have 30 days to obligate the funds, and up to 24 months to spend them. Each local government grantee should have all of its grant funds obligated by 180 days from its grant award by HUD, and entirely spent within 24 months. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: by letter of credit.

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Audits

In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133. In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A- 133, "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Institutions, "State and local governments that expend total Federal financial assistance of $500,000 or more within their fiscal year must have an independent financial audit conducted for that year. This single audit combines the government's annual financial statement audit with additional audit coverage of its Federal funds.

Records

According a portion of ESG regulations, grantees and recipients must retain records for four years from the date of submission of the annual performance report.

Program Accomplishments

Fiscal Year 2009: No Current Data Available Fiscal Year 2010: No Current Data Available Fiscal Year 2011: No Current Data Available

Financial Information

Account Identification

86-0192-0-1-604.

Obligations

(Formula Grants) FY 08 $160,000,000; FY 09 est $160,000,000; FY 10 est $150,000,000

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

The 05. percent minimum entitlement allocation resulted in a $80,000 minimum grant in 2009. The maximum entitlement allocation was $7,969,489. The average grant was $444,400.

Regulations, Guidelines and Literature

The program is governed by streamlined final regulations published in the Federal Register on October 2, 1996, at 24 CFR Part 576. A comprehensive "Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) Program Desk Guide" is available from HUD at 1-800-998- 9999, Or or can be found on the ESG homepage on HUD's Website at http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/library/esg/esgdeskguide/.

Related Programs

14.235 Supportive Housing Program; 14.238 Shelter Plus Care; 14.241 Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS; 97.024 Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

See Regional Agency Offices. Contact appropriate HUD Field Office listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog.

Headquarters Office

Michael Roanhouse, Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs, Room 7262
Office of Community Planning and Development, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, District of Columbia 20410 Email: Michael.Roanhouse@hud.gov Phone: (202) 708-1226

Web Site Address

http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/programs/esg/index.cfm.

Examples of Funded Projects

Not Applicable.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

Proposed ESG projects are part of the prospective grantee's Consolidated Plan, which are reviewed according to criteria set forth in 24 CFR 91.