BoS CoC Full Membership Webinar - Mandatory for CoC and ESG-Funded Agencies 

The Kentucky Balance of State Continuum of Care (KY BoS CoC) will hold a CoC membership meeting at 2 p.m. ET Tuesday, June 30, 2020. The meeting will be held via webinar only.

Registration for the webinar is required.  

All CoC and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG)-funded agencies in the BoS are required to have at least one representative participate. In the event an agency representative is not able to participate in the live webinar, a recorded version will be available for one-week. Live attendance is strongly encouraged.

This webinar is being held in place of the traditional CoC regional meetings that typically take place during the spring. Due to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, these in-person meetings did not occur.

The meeting is open to the public and all people interested in preventing and ending homelessness. The BoS includes all Kentucky counties except Fayette and Jefferson counties. People from Lexington and Louisville are invited to join the meeting, but agenda items will pertain mainly to BoS matters.

An agenda will be available on the CoC page of KHC's website prior to the meeting.

If you have any questions, please submit a ticket on the Housing Contract Administration (HCA) Help Desk. 

KY BoS CoC Advisory Board Member Election to Be Held Electronically  

As noted in the previous eGram article, the KY BoS CoC will hold a CoC membership meeting at 2 p.m. ET Tuesday, June 30, 2020. This webinar is being held in place of the traditional CoC regional meetings that typically take place during the spring.

The KY BoS CoC Advisory Board, which represents and acts on behalf of the full membership, is made up of two representatives from each of the six CoC Regions, in addition to at-large members, and non-voting, ex-officio members. Regional representatives serve staggered two-year terms and are traditionally selected at the spring regional meetings. This year, members of each region will select their representative by voting electronically following the June 30 webinar. A list of all Advisory Board representatives is available on KHC's website.

The following regional representatives have terms expiring at the end of the month. Each is currently in their first term on the board and are eligible to serve again.

• Region 1: Caleb Rose, Housing and Outreach Coordinator, Pennyroyal Veteran's Center
• Region 2: Pam Hurt, Deputy Director, Barren River Area Safe Space, Inc. (BRASS)
• Region 3: Danielle Amrine, Executive Director, Welcome House of Northern Kentucky
• Region 4: Rebekah Stamper, Veterans Services Program Manager, Volunteers of America Mid-States
• Region 5: Jennifer Smith, Vice President for Operations, KCEOC Community Action Partnership 
• Region 6: Kelly Asher, Landlord-Tenant Liaison, Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky  

Each member above has been nominated to serve again. Additional nominations for any of these six regional seats can be made by emailing Shaye Rabold at [email protected] prior to June 30. Nominations will be announced during the webinar and a vote will be taken electronically following the meeting.

If you have any questions, please submit a ticket on the HCA Help Desk.

Get Ready for the Mainstream Voucher Program 

KHC, through its Tenant Assistance Programs, will begin accepting referrals for the new Mainstream Voucher Program on Wednesday, July 1, 2020.  

To be eligible for the Mainstream Voucher Program, the individual or household must 1) meet the income thresholds and other minimum eligibility criteria for KHC's Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program, 2) be non-elderly (62 or younger), 3) have a disability, and 4) meet one of the following criteria:

• Currently experiencing homelessness
• Experienced homelessness upon entry into a Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) project, a Rapid Rehousing (RRH) project, or another Tenant-Based Rental Assistance Program (TBRA). (Note: TBRA participants must have been leased in that program for at least a full 12 months to be eligible)
• At risk of homelessness
• Transitioning out of institutional or other segregated settings serving persons with disabilities
• At serious risk of institutionalization

Referrals will be accepted from Kentucky Balance of State Continuum of Care (KY BoS CoC) partner agencies. Partner agencies will submit referral packets to KHC via mail or email, attesting to the person's age, disability status, and housing status. KHC will provide KY BoS CoC partners with a password-protected link to access referral documents and instructions prior to July 1, 2020.

Stay tuned to future eGrams for more details. In the meantime, you can learn more about KHC's Mainstream Voucher Program by listening to a recording of the KY BoS CoC's May Advisory Board Meeting. To listen, enter your information and click "Register." The Mainstream Voucher presentation begins at minute 15:10.

If you have any questions, please contact the HCA Help Desk.

ESG CAPER Reports Due Soon

It's that time again for the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) CAPER Reporting! If you receive ESG money from KHC, your ESG Report Contact person should have received an automated email from KHC explaining the reporting process for this year. If you, or someone in your agency, was not contacted concerning your ESG reporting, please send an email to [email protected].

Subrecipients do not have permission to enter information directly into SAGE and may only submit data via the hyperlinks provided by the recipient (KHC). Your ESG Report Contact person will be receiving the link(s) along with reporting instructions to submit each ESG CAPER report in SAGE at the end of the reporting period (you should receive these links around the first of July).

Please take this time to check your Data Quality and make any corrections. If you need assistance with this, please submit an HCA Help Desk ticket.

When generating your ESG CAPER reports, please use the reporting period of July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020. The deadline for agencies to submit their ESG CAPER report(s) in SAGE is by close of business day Wednesday, July 15, 2020. This will allow KHC time to review and request any necessary corrections before the final submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

KHC developed an ESG CAPER Report Training which can be found on the HCA Help Desk. If you have any questions throughout this process, please submit a Help Desk ticket or send an email to KHC's Data and Reporting team at [email protected].

HUD Issues Additional Waivers and Extensions for CoC, ESG, and HOPWA Programs

On May 22, 2020, HUD issued additional waivers and the extension of some previously issued waivers for the CoC, ESG, and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) programs to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and provide additional supports to eligible individuals and families who are economically impacted by COVID-19. These waivers are in addition to the waivers previously issued by HUD on March 31, 2020. Please read the full HUD Memo for waiver details.

KHC strongly encourages agencies to explore the flexibilities that these waivers provide. We recommend you request use of all the waivers even if you don't anticipate utilizing them. The additional flexibility they provide could prove to be very beneficial to your clients as we continue to provide housing assistance to vulnerable Kentuckians during a global pandemic. The COVID-19 Waiver Guidance tools are available on the Help Desk, including the additional waivers and extensions granted in the May 22, 2020 Memo. These tools also include KHC's Emergency Record Keeping policy that details the required documentation for both the agency and, when applicable, client-level file documentation for all the waivers featured in both HUD Memos.  

If your agency has not yet requested waivers of certain regulatory requirements and are interested in learning a more about them, please visit HCA Help Desk. Agencies can read the waivers, watch KHC webinars covering waiver specifics for each of the above referenced programs, and learn about the KHC subrecipient COVID-19 waiver request process in the COVID-19 Section. To reiterate, even if your agency does not anticipate needing all applicable program waivers, KHC encourages subrecipients request all of them to ensure maximum program flexibility and continued compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please note: Agencies that are CoC program direct HUD grantees (not KHC subrecipients) must request waivers for those specific programs directly from the Louisville HUD Field Office at [email protected]. When submitting waiver requests to HUD, KHC requests that all Direct Grantees copy Jen Oberlin and Shaye Rabold at [email protected] and [email protected], respectively.

HUD Publishes FY2020 Income Limits

HUD has published the Community Planning and Development (CPD) Income Limits for FY 2020 for the following programs:

• Brownfield Economic Development Initiative (BEDI)
• Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG)
• CDBG Disaster Recovery Assistance (CDBG-DR)
• HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME)
• Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA)
• Housing Trust Fund (HTF)
• Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP)
• Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program
• Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity (SHOP)

HUD has also published the Rent Limits for FY 2020 for the following programs:

• HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME)
• Housing Trust Fund (HTF)

These updated limits are effective as of July 1, 2020 and can be accessed on the HUD Exchange's Income Calculator page under "Related Materials."

If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

KHC Needs Your Feedback
Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) requests your participation in a survey about KHC's new updates to our website, www.kyhousing.org . We want to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our users , everyone from lenders to property managers. Your feedback is important and will help shape the website that is currently in production.  

Please complete the survey by Thursday, June 25, 2020.