September 7, 2021
To: Wyoming Continuum of Care Stakeholders
From: The Wyoming Homeless Collaborative (WHC)
Re: Guidance for FY 2021 HUD Continuum of Care Competition-Letter of Intent (LOI) & Application Process
The 2021 Notice of Funding Availability for the Continuum of Care Program Competition was released by
HUD on August 18, 2021. Agencies desiring to participate in the FY2021 Balance of State (BoS) Continuum of Care Competition will need to read and complete the following process in order to be eligible and prepared for
this year’s application submission.
ELIBIGLE PROJECTS
All applicants must have an active unique entity identifier (DUNS number) and have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) before submitting an application.
Renewal Projects
All Projects currently funded by the CoC Program, SHP and S+C Programs are eligible for renewal if they are currently in operation and have an executed grant agreement that expires in Calendar Year (CY) 2022.
New Projects
CoCs may request funding for new projects through (1) the reallocation process, (2) the bonus project, or (3) the Domestic Violence Bonus Project. WHC encourages lower performing renewal projects to reallocate funding for the creation of new projects.
- Through the Bonus Project ($62,447 available), the CoC may request funds for the following types of new projects.
- New permanent supportive housing projects that meet the requirements of DedicatedPlus or will serve 100% chronically homeless families and individuals. A DedicatedPLUS project is a permanent supportive housing project where 100% of the beds are dedicated to serve individuals with disabilities and families in which one adult or child has a disability, including unaccompanied homeless youth, that are chronically homeless.
- New rapid re-housing projects for homeless individuals and families coming directly from the streets or emergency shelters, and include persons fleeing domestic violence situations and other persons meeting the criteria of paragraph (4) of the definition of homelessness.
- New joint Transitional Housing and Permanent Housing – Rapid Rehousing projects combine these two project components into a single project to serve individuals and families experiencing homelessness. It is required that the project follow a Housing First approach.
- Expand existing eligible renewal projects that will increase the number of units, persons served, services provided to existing program participants, or to add additional activities to HMIS and SSO-Coordinated Entry Projects
- Through the DV Bonus ($187,341 available), the CoC may request funds for up to 3 types of projects:
o New rapid re-housing projects for homeless individuals and families fleeing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking
- New joint Transitional Housing and Permanent Housing – Rapid Rehousing projects that combine these two project components into a single project to serve individuals and families experiencing homelessness. It is required that the project follow a Housing First approach.
- New Supportive Services Only Projects for Coordinated Entry to implement policies, procedures, and practices that equip the CoC’s coordinated entry to better meet the needs of survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
- Expand existing eligible renewal projects that will increase the number of units, persons served, services provided to existing program participants, or to add additional activities to HMIS and SSO-Coordinated Entry Projects
All Applicants
Prepare, if funded, to participate in the HUD-mandated Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and Coordinated Entry. HUD funded agencies are responsible for the technological responsibilities of participation in HMIS.
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- Applicants should start to plan for and secure commitments of match
- Match – a 25% cash or in-kind match is required for all program components except leasing. Match is required for both new and renewal projects.
- Match documentation can be in the form of signed letters, memoranda of understanding, or other written evidence of a commitment and must be turned in with the DRAFT application. At a minimum, they must:
- be on letterhead stationary from the organization providing the funds
- be signed and dated by an authorized official
- contain the name of the organization providing the contribution
- contain the type of contribution (cash, childcare, case management, mental health services, etc.)
- contain the monetary value of the contribution
- contain the name of the applicant agency and the name of the project to which the contribution will be given
- contain the date that the contribution will be available
- Commitments of land, building and equipment are one-time only and cannot be claimed in more than one competition. For example, the value of donated land or donated computers claimed in the 2013, 2014 or 2015 competitions by a project cannot be claimed as leveraging by that project or any other project in subsequent competitions.
- It is the responsibility of each agency to understand and adhere to all HUD guidelines and regulations.
The Ranking and Rating Committee is responsible for ensuring that the entire application is complete and submitted appropriately using a standardized rating and ranking tool. The committee will rank projects using the following criteria:
- HUD Threshold Requirements
- Coordinated Entry Participation
- Housing First Implementation
- Documented, Secured Match
- Reasonable Costs Per Permanent Housing Exit
- Project Financial Feasibility
- Data Quality
- Bed/Unit Utilization Rate
- Racial Equity
- System Performance Measures (i.e. Length of Stay, Exits to Permanent Housing, Returns to Homelessness, New or Increased Income)
- Serving High Need Populations
- HMIS Participation (Or Comparable Database)
IMPORTANT DEADLINES
*All deadlines are subject to change based on the deadlines established by HUD in the FY2021 NOFA.
All Project Applicants (including new project applicants):
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- Project Applicants will submit a first draft of their Project Application in eSNAPS by October 18, 2021.
Training materials for e-snaps can be found here: https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/e-snaps/
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- The WHC rating and ranking committee will review project applications between October 22-25th, 2021 and will contact you about any outstanding issues that need to be addressed.
- All project applicants will receive notification, in writing by October 26, 2021, if their application was either accepted or rejected
- Revised and finalized Project Applications and all applicable documents will be due by 6:00pm MDT
November 16, 2021.
For more information regarding the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), please visit
https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/coc/
To receive email updates from HUD, visit www.hudexchange.info to sign up for the HUD Exchange program mailing list for the CoC Program
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