DISCUSSION
The following is a status report for the month of March 2016:
Program Eligibility: All participants of the Housing Choice Voucher Program must be income eligible. Applicants are ranked on the Waiting List by local preferences. When an applicant is next on the Waiting List, they have an Initial Qualifying (IQ) interview where their eligibility is verified. If they are eligible, they receive a program briefing and their voucher. The Authority replaces those families who terminate from the program as a part of normal turnover. Once on the program, they are re-certified for eligibility at least annually and their portion of the rent adjusted according to their income.
INITIAL QUALIFICATION (IQ) INTERVIEWS: Staff conducted no Initial Qualification interviews (IQ) from the Waiting List and the following:
(a) Emergency Situations - 0
(b) Referred by a Garden Grove Homeless Shelter - 0
(c) Incoming Portability – 2
Briefings: Two briefings were conducted this month, and 17 vouchers were issued.
Re-certifications: Staff conducted 249 re-examination interviews with participants to determine continued eligibility. Eighty-four tenants were interviewed who had interim changes in income,which necessitated an adjustment in their portion of the rent.
Moves: Staff met with 32 tenants currently on the program that were moving and were briefed on move procedures.
Terminations: There were 8 families who terminated from the program during the month.
FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY PROGRAM (FSS): Assists families to become employed and no longer dependent on public assistance. The Family Self-Sufficiency Program enters into contracts with Voucher participants to provide support services such as education, training, and career development.
Status of FSS participants this month: There were three prospective FSS participants interviewed for the month of March. There were three new contracts signed and no contracts were terminated. There are a total of 362 families who have signed contracts for the FSS program. Forty-three contracts are active. Six update meetings were held with FSS participants.
One hundred and twenty-four families have completed their FSS goals and 55 of these are self-sufficient and no longer need housing assistance. Eight families have purchased houses. There are 24 escrow accounts. Fifteen escrow accounts are active with monthly deposits.
The Authority has paid out a total of $1,029,618 in escrow funds to tenants who have completed their contract obligations. Each graduate that successfully completes his or her family obligations on the contract after October 21, 1998, reduces the minimum program size. The original program size of 140 is now reduced to 21.
UNIT INSPECTIONS: All units that are leased under the Housing Choice Voucher program must pass an initial Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspection before the Housing Assistance Payments contract is signed, and must pass a biennial HQS inspection to continue to receive rental assistance payments. HQS inspections determine that the unit is decent, safe and sanitary, and has passed City building codes.
New Leases: There were 25 requests for new lease approvals with 11 units passing and 14 units failing.
Annuals: There were 151 annual inspections conducted this month. Sixty-nine units passed and 82 units failed to meet Housing Quality Standards (HQS) and code requirements. The owners were requested to make the necessary repairs.
Re-inspections: There were 116 re-inspections conducted on units that failed their first inspection.
Move-out: There were no move-out inspections conducted.
Specials: There were no special inspections conducted.
Quality Control: There were 6 quality control inspections conducted this month. These inspections are required by HUD to ensure that field staff is in compliance with inspection requirements and are conducted by supervisory staff.