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In this Week's Edition
News
Congress Holds Back
Executive Branch Cuts
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Advocating for Community
Behavioral Health Resources
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Transition Action Teams
Release Final Reports
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Governor Sherrill Takes Action
to Protect Safety, Defend Constitutional Rights
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Advocating on FY27 State Budget
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Addressing Fair Housing Act
Disparate Impact Rule
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NJHMFA Updates:
Asset Test Requirement
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DMHAS Request for Proposals SUD Prevention, Education & Support
for Mental Health Agencies
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NJCDD Community Blueprint Workgroup #3
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Improving Equity in Housing & Under the Lens
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Conversation Starters:
Affordability and Housing First
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Why Building Alone Won’t
Solve the Housing Crisis
Resources & Events
Solutions for Older Adults' Homelessness Virtual Summit
February 20, 2026
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Transform Your Financial Future: Webinar Series for People with Disabilities in NJ
February 25 - April 29, 2026
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The Monthly Close That Prevents Fraud
(And Impresses Funders)
February 26, 2026
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Medicaid Work Requirements:
Strategies for Supportive Housing Providers
February 26, 2026
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Leveraging H.R. 1’s Affordable Housing
Provisions for Housing and Health Initiatives
March 4, 2026
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NJCDD Public Meeting with Acting NJ DHS Commissioner, Dr. Stephen Cha
March 12, 2026
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A Community Approach to Immigration: The Rights & Responsibilities of Owners/agents, Residents, & Frontline Staff in Senior Housing
March 17, 2026
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SHA Member Events
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Developers Meeting
March 9 | Virtual
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SHA Member Meeting
April 1, 2026
In-Person
Not yet a member?
Learn more here.
SHA members can email Joseph Christensen for member event details
and registration.
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SHA Members Housing Supports Program Provider Roundtable
Updated Time
March 17th | 1:30-2:30pm
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November 13, 2026
SHA 2026 Conference
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Community Events
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NLIHC Housing
Policy Forum
Registration Open
March 10-13, 2026
NLIHC Capitol Hill Day
March 13, 2026
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Save the Date
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NJACP Annual Conference
Learn more here.
March 12-13, 2026
Resorts Casino & Hotel
Atlantic City
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NJAMHAA Spring
Conference
Evolving Behavioral Health, Advancing Together
for 75 Years
April 14-15, 2026
Iselin, NJ
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LeadingAge NJ & DE
Changemakers Conference
June 16-18, 2026
| | SHA Job Board & Housing Opportunities | | |
CIL released their annual report "Dollars and Sense" and included a great section with Chris Canna, Vice President of Real Estate Development reviewing what to consider in Real Estate Mergers and Acquisitions.
CIL also released the latest episode of Accessible Futures: Live with a strategy planning discussion with Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer Michael Bloom of Incompass Human Services.
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LeadingAge New Jersey & Delaware held their annual awards ceremony recently and SHA members Paul Vlecides, Administrator, Home & Community Services and Robyn Barnes, CALA, CADDCT, CEE Senior Director, Adult Day Health Services with Parker Health Group received an Excellence in Innovation award
| | Thank you to the The Montclair Foundation and the The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey for hosting last week's event with grant makers. The grantmakers shared reminders of how foundations balance the competing urgencies and demands of the moment while also staying focused on their impact, the future, and innovation in the nonprofit space! Partners for Health Foundation was joined on stage along with fellow grantmakers. | | |
SHA Welcomes New &
Returning Members in 2026
| | Congress Holds Back Executive Branch Cuts | | |
Nearly one year after President Trump took office, Congress has rejected much of hisproposed budget with some of the steepest spending reductions in U.S. history.
In a little-noticed development, lawmakers have systematically brushed off many of the most severe cuts for this fiscal year, leaving intact a vast set of federal education, health, housing and research programs that the White House had tried to slash or eliminate. Overall, Congress is on track to approve more than $1.6 trillion in discretionary spending for 2026, amounting to little change from the previous fiscal year, according to a preliminary analysis of federal budget records by the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a nonpartisan research organization.
| | Advocating for Community Behavioral Health Resources | | |
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) make a real difference in our community by offering comprehensive mental health and substance use care to anyone who walks in the door. They reduce ER visits and homelessness and help keep people with serious mental illness out of jail. The bipartisan Ensuring Excellence in Mental Health Act would expand access to these lifesaving clinics nationwide. Urge Congress to pass it today!
SHA's member community recognizes the support and quality of care improvements made possible by Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, including Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services, Catholic Charities - Diocese of Trenton, Oaks Integrated Care, Rutgers - University Behavioral Health Care, and SERV Centers of New Jersey, Inc.
| | Transition Action Teams Release Final Reports | | |
The Sherrill-Caldwell transition Action Teams released their final reports, including recommendations to the administration. The Action Teams were led by New Jersey and national experts and included members with diverse and distinguished experience. SHA's community will find particular interest in the reports, "Lowering Housing Costs and Expanding Homeownership" and "Affordable Healthcare: Addressing Washington's Medicaid Cuts." Addressing the need for changes, the housing report states, "The Sherrill-Caldwell Administration must take swift action to improve all parts of the housing ecosystem so it can work for New Jersey residents."
Addressing the release of the reports, "The Sherrill-Caldwell administration is grateful for all the hard work and collaboration that went into these reports, and we are actively reviewing their recommendations – some of which have already been included in Gov. Sherrill’s first executive orders. Our transition brought together leaders from New Jersey and across the country – and no matter the different perspectives, what united our Action Teams was a commitment to public service and making a difference," said Lt. Gov. Dr. Dale Caldwell and New Jersey Chief Operating Officer Kellie Doucette, who were Chair and Executive Director of the Transition, respectively.
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Governor Sherrill Takes Action to Protect
Safety, Defend Constitutional Rights
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Many in New Jersey and across the nation are experiencing heightened concern about activities authorized by the Trump administration and being carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
As reflected in a press release last week, NJ Governor Sherrill takes seriously her responsibility to protect New Jerseyans’ safety and Constitutional rights and has launched a new state website. This website enables New Jerseyans to quickly find information about their rights when interacting with federal agents. You can visit the website at nj.gov/knowyourrights.
The Governor – along with administration officials, the Office of New Americans, and other partners – will continue to share the website and “Know Your Rights” information online and across the state.
Please share this resource with your networks, staff, family members, friends, and neighbors.
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NLIHC Joins Center for Law and Social Policy Letter Urging Congress
to Enact the “Protecting Sensitive Locations Act”
The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) joined a Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) letter with over 400 organizations urging Congress to limit immigration enforcement in “sensitive locations.” The letter describes how incorporating protections offered in the “Protecting Sensitive Locations Act” (S.455/H.R.1061) into Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending legislation acts as a meaningful step to protecting communities. NLIHC endorsed the bill with over 800 national, state, and local organizations.
| | Advocating on FY27 State Budget | | |
In March, Governor Sherrill will introduce her State Budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2027. Now is the time to speak up and make your voice heard. Help join the efforts to speak for housing and services in collaboration with SHA member The Arc of New Jersey. It is critical for the Governor to hear from our community about the importance of housing along with services and supports for populations including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and the priorities that must be funded in the upcoming fiscal year.
Click here to sign on and make your voice heard.
| | Addressing Fair Housing Act - Disparate Impact Rule | | NJHMFA Updates: Asset Test Requirement | | |
Smart Start DPA and First Generation Smart Start DPA
Once a borrower fails the Asset Test due to excessive assets, a six-month lockout period applies before the borrower is eligible to reapply for a DPA loan.
- Lockout Period: The six-month period begins on the date of the asset review decision. New loan reservations are not eligible for this borrower until the six-month period has lapsed.
- Lender changes: The borrower is not eligible to reapply for either DPA program for six months, regardless of the lender used. NJHMFA understands a new lender may not be aware of the asset test failure under a prior lender. NJHMFA will provide reporting once the loan is submitted for review.
- Documentation: NJHMFA will continue to use all asset documentation submitted for review to meet both our sixty-day asset statement requirement and documents used to support:
- Earnest Money Deposit (EMD)
- Payoff of debt
- Gift funds
At NJHMFA’s discretion, we may require up to 6 months of asset documentation for any borrower that has previously failed the asset test.
Questions? Need Help?
If you have questions about one of our loan products or need help with a loan in the Lender Portal system, please e-mail your requests to SFLenders@njhmfa.gov.
| | DMHAS Request for Proposals SUD Prevention,
Education & Support for Mental Health Agencies | | |
This Request for Proposals (RFP) is issued by the New Jersey Department Human Services (DHS), Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) for an authorized New Jersey Department of Health (NJ DOH) Harm Reduction Center (HRC) to develop and provide overdose prevention and infectious disease prevention education, as well as purchase and distribute life-saving supplies to statewide NJ DOH licensed substance use disorder (SUD) and mental health (MH) agencies. Funding for this RFP is subject to the availability of Federal funding. Total funding of $550,000 is anticipated to be available for the initial year of this program through September 29, 2026 and $250,000 for up to four subsequent years if DMHAS receives SOR grant funding and subject to the availability of federal funding. DMHAS anticipates making one (1) award.
Questions on RFP Due Date - no later than 4:00 p.m. ET on February 19, 2026
Intent to Apply/ DHS SFTP Login Credentials Due - 4:00 p.m. ET on March 9, 2026
Proposal Due Date - no later than 4:00 p.m. ET on March 16, 2026
Notify Date - TBD | Appeal Deadline - TBD
| | NJCDD Community Blueprint Workgroup #3 | | Improving Equity in Housing & Under the Lens | | |
Tying Minimum Wage
to Fair Market Rents
What happens when you connect wages to local housing costs? Officials in Santa Fe, New Mexico, hope that doing so will help ease the pressure of rapidly rising rents and allow people who work in the city to also live there. Santa Fe approved an update to its living wage ordinance, raising the minimum wage to $17.50 an hour starting in 2027. The update also changed how that wage is calculated in the future. Beginning in March 2028, the city will incorporate HUD’s Fair Market Rent (FMR) into the formula. Housing advocates and local officials believe it’s the first city in the country to do so.
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Increasing Racial
Equity in Housing
For housing justice and racial equity advocates, it’s a challenge to identify strategies that effectively increase access to stable housing and wealth-building for communities that have been excluded from housing opportunities. Most interventions can be categorized into one of three frameworks. Defining the scope and limitations of each framework can help map out how different approaches can be operationalized.
- Inclusive Framework
- Transformative Framework
- Reparative Framework
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Shelterforce is currently working on their Under the Lens series and seeks input to understand the intersections of aging and housing.
- Is your work focused on the intersection between aging and housing? If so, what should housers, policymakers, and others pay attention to and fight for? What is missing?
- Is there an underreported story or trend we should know about?
- Do you know of examples of naturally occurring retirement communities, or NORCs, that truly work? What about CLTs or other shared housing models that stabilize older adults? Where is zoning, funding, or politics getting in the way?
- Do you know of innovative housing models for care workers?
- Do you know of examples of cities that have made successful investments in housing for low-income, older adults? Where are Aging in Place programs working?
- Do you know of policies that support multigenerational housing, whether in the same house, on the same block, or in the same neighborhood?
Share your thoughts by emailing Lillian@shelterforce.org before Wednesday, February 25, 2026.
| | Conversation Starters: Affordability and Housing First | | Why Building Alone Won’t Solve the Housing Crisis | | |
The United States has not built enough housing for years, and a consensus has coalesced around a simple solution — if communities simply built more homes, rents and home prices would come down.
But a new report raises doubts about that narrative, finding that in cities that aggressively built housing in recent years, rents rose dramatically for low-income households and stabilized for wealthier ones. The new rental housing that was built was often luxury housing, with studios and one-bedrooms, units that targeted young, single professionals but were too small and too expensive for low-income households with children. New single-family homes for sale were larger than they were in the past, aimed at wealthier buyers, rather than cash-strapped, first-time home buyers.
Read more on affordability with the following study from Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, "Abundance for Who? Housing Access and Affordability in High-Growth Metropolitan Areas."
| | Solutions for Older Adults' Homelessness Virtual Summit | | |
February 20, 2026 | 1:30 PM ET
Rates of homelessness are increasing among older adults, making up one-fifth of the population experiencing homelessness in this country, while many communities are underprepared to effectively respond to and prevent it. Join this session to hear from local, regional and national leaders in both the Aging and Homeless Services Networks about the growing issue of older adults' homelessness and, crucially, what we can do to address it.
Click here to register for the virtual summit.
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Transform Your Financial Future:
Webinar Series for People with Disabilities in New Jersey
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Five Key Strategies to Financial Wellness
Feb 25, 2026: 1pm-2pm ET
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Review of Benefits from Social Security Admin.
Mar 25, 2026: 1pm-2pm ET
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Extra Costs Living with a Disability/Dispelling Myths
Apr 29, 2026: 1pm-2pm ET
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The Monthly Close That Prevents Fraud
(And Impresses Funders)
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Thursday, February 26, 2026 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET
Is your organization preparing for an audit at the last minute? You're not alone—but you're paying the price in higher fees, scheduling challenges, and missed funding opportunities. Join Chazin and SHA member Withum for a practical conversation about how implementing disciplined monthly financial closes can revolutionize your audit process and open doors to new opportunities.
Click here to register for this event.
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Medicaid Work Requirements:
Strategies for Supportive Housing Providers
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Thursday, February 26, 2026 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET
Join SHA member CSH for an informative session on the new Medicaid work requirements introduced under H.R.1. These work requirements could threaten continuous health care coverage for supportive housing tenants who rely on Medicaid for their healthcare and supportive services, especially people with disabilities and older adults. Learn practical strategies to influence your state’s implementation and protect Medicaid coverage for the people who need it most.
Click here to register for this session.
| | Leveraging H.R. 1’s Affordable Housing
Provisions for Housing and Health Initiatives | | |
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 | 4:00 - 5:00 PM ET
For states advancing “housing for health” initiatives, H.R. 1’s provisions related to federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) could provide an important source of financing for affordable housing.
H.R. 1 made significant increases and changes to LIHTC that are projected to increase affordable housing development by 1.22 million housing units over the next 10 years. For state Medicaid and other health care agencies, this increase in affordable housing development activity could mean more housing units for members experiencing homelessness or other housing challenges.
Join this session for an interactive webinar discussing:
- H.R. 1’s changes to LIHTC and how these changes could lead to more opportunities to advance “housing for health” initiatives
- How to effectively coordinate LIHTC-subsidized housing and Medicaid Home and Community Based Services
- What state actions are needed to bring about these opportunities
Click here to register for this webinar.
| | NJCDD Public Meeting
with Acting NJ DHS Commissioner, Dr. Stephen Cha | | |
March 12, 2026 | 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Hybrid Event
SHA member, The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities (NJCDD) Hybrid Public Meeting will be held on Thursday, March 12, 2026, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Hilton Garden Inn, 800 US Route 130 in Hamilton, NJ. Dr. Stephen Cha, Acting Commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS) will attend and give remarks during the morning session.
To make a public comment (by Wed, March 11) or for in-person accommodations, language interpretation, and/or other accommodations (by Wed, Feb 25), please send your written public comments or accommodations to Jacinta.Williams@njcdd.org.
Click here to register for the NJCDD Public Meeting.
| | A Community Approach to Immigration: The Rights & Responsibilities of Owners/agents, Residents, & Frontline Staff in Senior Housing | | |
March 17, 2026 | 10:30 - 11:30 AM ET
With rapid changes in federal housing and immigration policies, understanding your legal rights and responsibilities is crucial. This webinar shared by SHA member LeadingAge New Jersey & Delaware and presented by the American Friends Service Committee focuses on best practices for navigating sensitive immigration & customs encounters. At the conclusion of their presentation, you will have the opportunity to raise questions.
Click here to register for the webinar.
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Thank you for your support!
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Want all the member benefits with SHA? Visit our website or contact Joseph Christensen to apply or manage your membership.
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Members can post jobs to find applicants within the wider supportive housing community. Click on the button to visit our job page.
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Advocate ● Educate ● Support
The Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey unites its diverse coalition of members to advance, promote, and increase supportive housing opportunities across New Jersey. Since 1998, our statewide mission seeks to enhance lives and accessibility to enable independent living within our communities.
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Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey
185 Valley Street, South Orange, NJ 07079
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