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Hill Update
House Holds Hearing on Special Needs Appropriations
On Thursday, February 28, Rep. John Olver (D-MA), Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, held a hearing entitled "Special Needs Programs Appropriations." The hearing focused on McKinney Homeless Assistance Grants, Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA), Section 202 elderly housing, and Section 811 housing for people with disabilities. Mark Johnston, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs Programs at HUD, and John Garvin, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs at HUD, both testified. The Administration's fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget would fund Homeless Assistance Grants at $1.636 billion, HOPWA at $300 million, Section 202 at $540 million, and Section 811 at $160 million.
Senate Briefing on National Affordable Housing Trust Fund
On Monday, March 3, the National Housing Trust Fund Campaign held a briefing in the Senate on S. 2523. The briefing focused on why a national housing trust fund is needed and on how it would be structured. The bill, which would produce, preserve, or rehabilitate 1.5 million units of affordable housing over ten years, was introduced in December by Senators Kerry (D-MA) and Snowe (R-ME). The comparable House bill, H.R. 2895, passed the full House of Representatives in October 2007 with a strong bipartisan majority.
Rep. Frank Agrees to Compromise on FHA Modernization
In last week's
House Financial Services Committee markup of its FY 2009 Budget Views and Estimates, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), in an effort to reach a compromise with the Senate on the FHA modernization bill, agreed to drop the provision in the House bill that would direct funds to a national housing trust fund. The bill, H.R. 1852, had originally called for increased revenue generated by increasing caps on the home equity conversion mortgage (HECM) program to be directed toward the trust fund. Though Rep. Frank agreed to drop the provision in order to move FHA legislation forward and deal with the mortgage crisis, he only agreed to increasing the caps for one year and would revisit the issue of using increased revenue for a trust fund in future years.
LIHTC Modernization Bill Introduced in Senate
On February 26, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and six other cosponsors introduced S. 2666, the Affordable Housing Investment Act of 2008. The bill would make a number of changes to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), including setting a constant 4 percent or 9 percent credit (rather than having the amount of credit fluctuate with borrowing rates), which would increase the amount of resources available for each project; give states greater authority to apply 130 percent credits to target areas, including very low- income properties; change the name of the tax credit to the "affordable housing tax credit;" and a number of other changes. Further, there are several provisions related to supportive housing. The bill would allow Multifamily Housing Bonds to finance SRO units; would ensure that federal subsidies, such as those provided by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants, are not counted as grants and therefore do not reduce the amount of LIHTC that a property is eligible for; and would expand the allowable basis for community service facilities, such as job training, childcare, and other service programs. The bill has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee.
Changes in Medicaid Reimbursement for TCM Services Begin
Last week, a new Administration rule took effect regarding targeted case management (TCM) services reimbursed by Medicaid. These regulations were created as a result of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and are meant to reduce Medicaid spending on targeted case management services. States have not been given guidance regarding implementation of these regulations and it is unclear how reimbursements submitted after March will be handled.
TCM services are essential in efforts to end homelessness, especially for those in permanent supportive housing. Many states use the allowable Medicaid services under TCM to reimburse programs for a wide variety of case management activities. The changes proposed in the rule, such as requiring programs to bill in 15 minute increments, will reward programs for serving clients willing to receive services immediately, needing less intensive services, and requiring little travel time. In addition, the benefits eligible for reimbursement are restricted. For example, programs cannot be reimbursed under TCM when case managers provide direct delivery of medical, education, social, or other services. So, if a case manager travels an hour to see a client and the case manager provides counseling services only, neither the travel time nor the visit can be reimbursed under the targeted case management option. This also applies to child welfare/child protective services because they provide a direct service and therefore cannot receive Medicaid reimbursement. Case managers could be reimbursed for direct services under the Medicaid rehabilitation option but programs will have to work with state Medicaid officials to negotiate this change.
Christian Science Monitor published an article about Safe Haven, a residence in Santa Monica that places chronically homeless individuals in permanent housing. The article details the life of Timothy Caldwell, who was at first wary of moving into the 25-bed residence, but now considers it home. The housing complex represents a growing nationwide effort to help chronically homeless people. Recent studies indicate that people who experience chronic homelessness consume $35,000 to $150,000 annually per person in medical and psychological services, as well as in the time of police, courts, and jails. Housing them, even with substantial support services, costs much less, from $13,000 to $25,000 annually, according to experts.
Last week, the Salt Lake Tribune published an article on Utah's growing housing complexes for homeless people. After the success of Sunrise Metro, an apartment complex near downtown Salt Lake City utilizing a Housing First philosophy, Utah is undergoing a major increase in supportive housing for homeless people. Grace Mary Manor, a Salt Lake County housing authority project for 84 homeless men and women, is scheduled to open this week and will be followed by a 200-unit building for homeless families and single men and women that is expected to open in early 2009 at a former hotel.
On April 9, 2008 the Alliance will hold its Annual Awards Ceremony honoring private, nonprofit, and public sector leaders who are making a difference in ending homelessness. The event will be held at the Terrace Theater of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. This year's public sector awardee is Gail Dorfman, Hennepin County Commissioner.
Gail Dorfman was first elected Hennepin County Commissioner in 1999, representing Minneapolis and the first-ring suburb of St. Louis Park. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the County Board and chairs the county Housing and Redevelopment Authority and the Community Health Committee.
In her eight years on the Hennepin County Board, Commissioner Dorfman has actively responded to the need for dignified shelter and housing. She established the City/County Task Force on Homelessness, out of which grew the Community Advisory Board on Homelessness. She was responsible for the creation of new county resources for affordable and supportive housing, providing funding to more than 65 housing projects over the last five years. Commissioner Dorfman helped bring Project Homeless Connect to Minneapolis and co-chaired the Commission to End Homelessness, which developed "Heading Home Hennepin," the ten- year plan to end homelessness in Minneapolis and Hennepin County.
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Legislative Updates 
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This audio conference covered the HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program.
This video highlights how communities across the country are decreasing homelessness among families. Thanks to the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, it’s yours to use for free. 
Take a five minute break from whatever you are doing to hear about emerging issues, new research, and personal stories from experts and leaders in homelessness and housing policy.