Affordable Housing News

Now Accepting Nominations for LeadingAge Florida’s 2012 Service Coordinator Award – LeadingAge Florida is now accepting nominations for our 2012 Service Coordinator Award. If you know a deserving Service Coordinator from a LeadingAge Florida member community, who you would like to see receive state recognition, please nominate them today! This award will be presented in Jacksonville at our Affordable Housing and Service Coordinator Conference September 12th - 14th. The deadline for nominations is August 24, 2012.

To nominate someone, please click here. Please make sure to pass this information along to your colleagues and encourage them to nominate deserving individuals.

Grants Available Through LeadingAge Innovations Fund – The LeadingAge Innovations Fund is designed to catalyze innovation among our members to develop programs that have the potential for demonstrable impact on residents, clients, families, employees or the broader community and have the potential for replication. Grants from the Innovations Fund are made possible through the generosity of LeadingAge members and a $50,000 matching grant from the NewCourtland Foundation which doubled the size of the Innovations Fund to $100,000 in this round of funding.

An affiliate of NewCourtland, a leading, non-profit provider of community services, housing, a nursing home, education and workforce development and LeadingAge member headquartered in Philadelphia, The NewCourtland Foundation supports not-for-profit organizations that have a stated mission of providing housing and/or programming to low-income seniors. The Foundation’s commitment will also extend to train and educate personnel who work, or wish someday to work, in support of those seniors.

At the present time, funding activities of the NewCourtland Foundation are restricted to the joint venture with LeadingAge.

The NewCourtland Foundation will work jointly with LeadingAge to administer the grants which will be awarded in increments of up to $25,000 in the first year. Multi-year proposals will be considered.

The LeadingAge Board of Directors has designated the inaugural grant awards to projects that address the critical importance of bringing housing and services together to meet with the needs of lower income elderly to age safely in place.

It is our hope that, by showing promising practices through projects funded by the Innovation Fund, we will influence both policy and practice in years to come.

Any LeadingAge member is eligible to apply.

Funding areas

We are seeking proposals that address one or several of the following dimensions of housing with services, with examples of areas of possible emphasis noted:

• Assessment –development/implementation of resident assessment tools; using information to prioritize services; developing resident service plans.
• Health and Wellness Programming –health promotion activities; self-care management; chronic care management; transitional care and health education.
• Partnerships with Service Providers –co-location of services; development of formal collaborations with community health and social service agencies.
• Workforce Training –service coordinator training; property manager training around linking housing and services.
• Technology –assistive devices; retrofitting and home modification; wireless communication; telehealth

Innovation Fund deliverables

At the end of the project period, grantees will submit a report summarizing the project, including what was produced, lessons learned, successes and failures and outcomes for the residents and clients. Grantees should also submit any tools or products developed through the project.

Grantees will be asked to participate in a workshop at a LeadingAge conference and will give permission to Leading Age to disseminate their report and/or products or tools to other members.

LeadingAge Center for Applied Research staff will be in contact with each grantee about meaningful data collection appropriate to the project.

How do I apply to the Innovations Fund?

All applications must be submitted through our online application form. Budgets must use our Excel budget template, which is attached to the budget through the online application. Application reviewers may request a site visit before awarding a grant.

Timeline for the Innovations Fund

Applications will be due on or before Oct. 30, but priority consideration will be given to applications submitted by Sept. 30. Recipients will be announced in November.

What if I have Questions about the Innovations Fund?

Questions about proposals or the Innovation Fund may be sent to innovations@leadingage.org.  

Active Partners Performance System (APPS) News – HUD now accepts duly signed PDF signature packages in lieu of wet signatures for e2530 submissions. Applicants may upload the duly signed PDF packages instead of mailing the same. After uploading the PDF for Organization changes, please send an email to the Headquarters 2530 contact (posted on APPS as there is no automatic system generated notification available. For property submissions, the PM/BPM will get notification of 2530 submission package upload.

Industry can upload signed 2530 submission package (only PDF format) after sending the submission to HUD.
Steps for applicant to upload 2530 submission package:

1. Sign the submission package, scan and save it, using the submission ID, as a PDF file on a computer.
2. From the APPS Home page select Upload Signed 2530 Submission Package from the Submission Processing drop down list and click the Go button.
3. Click the Browse button next to Submission ID and select the submission package file from its saved location on your computer. Click the Upload button.
4. File Upload Successful message will display.

The following changes were made to the 2530 Submission Package:

1. Added a Name column between Signature and Date on the signature page to enter the name of the person who signs. 
2. Removed the check box beside each participant name on the signature page as this has no significance. 
3. Added a check box Attach proof of signature authority to the signature page.

Added a check box All principal who have not signed have the same previous participation record to the signature page for the applicant to check if this stipulation applies.

Active Partners Performance System (APPS) 2530 Submission Package pdf upload

• After hitting "send to HUD" with your e-2530 submission, print the 2530 Submission Package and obtain signatures, just as before.
• Scan the signed package into a pdf, saving the document with the APPS Submission ID# in the file name.
• The Coordinator should log back into APPS and use the "Upload Signed 2530 Submission Package" to upload the file. Select the radio button for the submission you are uploading the package for and then complete the upload process.
• If your e-2530 was for an Organization Change, there is one more step. Identify the HUD Headquarters Contact (found in the margin at the APPS Home page) and send an email letting HUD know that you have uploaded the pdf. (Last step is not required for Property Submissions.)

Section 202: Urge Congress to Adopt 2013 House Funding Level – LeadingAge and LeadingAge Florida are urging Congress to adopt the 2013 U.S. House of Representatives funding level for Section 202 Housing for the Elderly program with the $50 million allocated for new construction.

The House and Senate are about to negotiate a 6-month continuing resolution that will fund federal programs for the first half of fiscal 2013.

If Congress fails to provide funding for new Section 202 construction in 2013, it will likely mean a second consecutive year with no funding for new Section 202 projects, which would be very difficult to reverse in future years.

Please contact your member of Congress now. Ask him/her to support new Section 202 housing construction and to urge leaders to adopt the House funding levels for Section 202 in the FY 2013 continuing resolution.

“Government” Scams – Be Aware – Every year, consumers lose billions of dollars to scammers claiming to be officials from government agencies and legitimate businesses. Recently, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has noticed an increase in complaints regarding consumers who have been contacted by individuals falsely claiming to be from government agencies. These scammers attempt to get money or personal information for purposes of identity theft. Although elderly consumers tend to be disproportionately targeted, anyone can be a victim.  

Variations of the scam that have been reported include:

• A representative claiming to be from the local electric company knocks on your door and informs you that the government has a special program to assist you in paying your utility bill. You'll then be pressured into disclosing your Social Security number to apply for the program. In return, you'll receive a bogus routing and account number to provide to the utility company as payment.
• Your phone rings and a person claiming to represent Medicare informs you that they are issuing a new national Medicare card to all beneficiaries. The caller asks for the number on your current Medicare card and your mailing address for “verification purposes.” They may also ask for bank information, claiming that they can provide a new Medicare card, but for a fee. 
• A person claiming to be from the State Attorney's office calls to inform you that they have received restitution on your behalf. The caller requests that you send money, by wire transfer or another untraceable method, to cover the “filing fees.” 
• You receive an email from someone claiming tp represent the United States Department of State. The email will inform you of an inheritance from another country that belongs to you. All you have to do is provide your personal information such as your bank account number or Social Security number. You may also receive a request to wire fees to cover your taxes in advance.

Here are a few tips to help protect you from becoming a victim of a scam:

• Know who you are dealing with by obtaining and then confirming the identity of the person requesting information from you. Be wary of verifying an individual's identity by contacting a number they have given you. Scammers will give a potential victim a phone number and then have a third party available to verify their identity. 
• Do not give your checking account number or Social Security number in response to solicitations from unknown individuals.
• Be wary of anyone requiring payment by a method that's difficult to track, such as wire transfer, money order or by sending cash via an overnight courier. This is usually one of the first indications of a scam.
   

Get details in writing before signing any agreements, sending money or giving out any credit card or bank information.

• Take your time and resist the urge to act quickly no matter how good the offer is. It's better to think things through than make an impulsive decision based on an emotional whim. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Be wary of unsolicited emails. Cyber criminals may use the names of government agencies or law firms and spoofed email or web addresses to add legitimacy to their scams.
• If you do seek assistance in dealing with a business transaction, remember that state consumer protection agencies do not charge fees for complaint mediation or for accepting and processing consumer refunds.
   

The department is available to assist consumers who have received unsolicited calls or visits and are concerned about the possibility of fraud. They will assist you in finding answers for any consumer related questions you may have or direct you to the best resource for assistance. Please call 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) within Florida, 1-800-FL-AYUDA (352-9832) en Español, (850) 410-3800 from outside of Florida or visit them online at www.800helpfla.com. The Consumer Assistance Center is staffed with trained analysts who answer more than 218,000 calls and emails annually from consumers and businesses. Through their website, you will find the department's online A-Z Resource Guide, a directory of agencies and other resources that consumers can utilize to find appropriate assistance on a wide variety of subjects.  

This article first appeared in the July 2012 Florida Consume E-Newsletter. 

HOME Program’s Expiring Funds Reports – The HOME program's Expiring Funds reports as of 7/30/12 are now posted here.

Let’s Preserve the Nation’s Stock of Affordable Housing – Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) is a central part of the Department's rental housing preservation strategy, which works to preserve that nation's stock of deeply affordable rental housing, promote efficiency within and among HUD guidelines, and build strong, stable communities. With the publication of the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) final rules in the Federal Register on July 26, HUD officially implemented a groundbreaking strategy to preserve tens of thousands of units of public and assisted housing. RAD allows public housing agencies and owners of certain at-risk, federally-assisted properties to convert their current assistance to long-term contracts. Such contracts will better allow owners to leverage millions of dollars in debt and equity to address immediate capital needs and preserve these affordable housing units. “RAD allows HUD to test the conversion of assistance as a means of preserving this scarce inventory of affordable housing and keep it on firm financial footing well into the future,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.  

Last year, HUD released Capital Needs in the Public Housing Program, a Congressionally-funded study of capital needs in public housing. The study found that the nation’s 1.2 million public housing units need nearly $26 billion to keep these homes in safe and decent condition for families, a figure well in excess of the roughly $2 billion annually that the Congress appropriates for capital repairs. Beyond the public housing stock, the Moderate Rehabilitation (Mod Rehab), Rent Supplement (Rent Supp), and Rental Assistance Payment (RAP) programs either offer no option to renew and risk being lost from the affordable housing stock or cannot renew on terms that attract sufficient capital to preserve long-term affordability. The initial RAD program rules issued in March gave the general public an opportunity to comment on the overall framework for RAD, including eligibility criteria, ranking factors, application instructions, review and approval processes, and anticipated timelines. The final program rules reflect HUD’s consideration of the more than 100 different individuals and organizations that submitted comments. Along with the publication of the final rules, HUD has published a document detailing its response to public comments. The initial application window for the competitive component of RAD (for public housing and owners of Mod Rehab projects) is scheduled to be open from September 24, 2012 to October 24, 2012. The non-competitive component of RAD (for owners of Mod Rehab, Rent Supp and RAP projects) is effective immediately. You can also join the RAD mailing list here.