This page will be periodically updated with questions received from applicants and responses that were sent to them. Please continue to check this page for updates as you work on your applications. Please also note that there is no guarantee of reply to questions submitted after 5:00 PM on Thursday, August 9, 2018.
It has come to our attention that some applicants are running into an error on their e-snaps applications in Section 1E – SF-424 Compliance, question 19: “Is the Applicant Subject to Review by State Executive Order 12372 Process?” CoC program funds, and Michigan-based programs generally are not covered by this Executive Order process, but e-snaps is not allowing some applicants to select the third option in the drop-down, “Program is not covered by E.O. 12372.” My recommendation is to select the drop-down option “Program is subject to E.O. 12372 but has not been selected by the State for review,” and then enter today’s date.
If you are still encountering an error after doing this, select “Yes” from the drop-down menu, and enter today’s date. Please let us know if you run into further errors on this section.
Question: We do not currently receive any HUD funding. Are we still eligible to put in an application?
Response: Yes, you are still eligible to submit a new, permanent housing bonus, or domestic violence bonus application. Please reference the Instructions document for more details on these specific application types. Please also note that in order to receive funding, your organization and project must meet specific eligibility and qualification thresholds set by HUD (these are referenced in the Instructions document and in the NOFA from HUD).
If you plan on submitting a new project application, please be advised that you will only receive funding if a renewal project voluntarily gives up their funding, or a renewal project is determined to be low-performing and loses their funding, and the Funding Review Committee determines that your project is a good fit for HUD funding based on the scoring criteria (please see the new/bonus scorecard). Domestic violence bonus and permanent housing bonus projects are eligible to be funded by HUD regardless of the status of renewal projects (please again refer to the Instructions document for more specific details on these application types).
Question: Question 7 on the Renewal Application states, “Provide detail from policy established by the Local Planning Body.” This is a new question this year and I’m not sure what this is referring to. We receive 100% of referrals prioritized by Coordinated Entry; do I need to reference a CoC policy document for this section?
Response: This question came from the Balance of State’s revised local applications for the 2018 funding competition. Essentially, the question is asking how your project prioritizes the most vulnerable individuals for services. In answering it, please reference how your procedures comply with applicable CoC policies (i.e. the Coordinated Assessment Policies and Procedures and the Prioritization Policy for PSH projects – please see the CoC policies on this page on the Coalition’s website: https://endhomelessnesskent.org/policies/.)
Question: On the first page of the renewal application, where it asks “Project Start Date,” do you mean the year that this project was first funded or do you mean the start date of the project’s grant year?
Answer: For the “Project Start Date,” please enter your renewal project’s start date for this funding competition – i.e. when you will start using FY 2018 funds for the project.
Question: In regards to the required match documentation (Attachment #4 – Renewal Application; Attachment #8 – New/Bonus Application), are you looking for match documentation for the last completed grant year, or documentation of the match as proposed for the FY 2018 grant period?
Answer: For the required match documentation, please provide documentation for the FY 2018 grant period.
Regarding question 1b in the renewal application: where in the APR do I pull the number of households served for rapid rehousing projects?
Please refer to APR 8a for the number of households served. Please also note that this question is not scored (refer to the Renewal Application Scorecard); it is intended to provide Funding Review members with an idea of your project’s scope and reach in the community.
Regarding question 3 on the renewal application: for rapid rehousing projects, where do I pull information for the number of units served and prioritized populations?
With respect to units, please use the same data for households that you will need to enter in your e-snaps application, question 5A – “Project Participants – Households.” Please use your best judgment in determining which units to enter for each population category.
With respect to prioritization, please answer based on the specific population focus you are required to identify in e-snaps, question 3B-2a – “Please identify the specific population focus.”
Regarding question 7 on the renewal application: doesn’t Coordinated Entry prioritize participants?
Please answer this question with respect to how your project engages with the Coordinated Entry/Coordinated Assessment system in the community to prioritize participants.
For questions 16 and 17 on the renewal application, the APR’s referenced show persons, not households. How do I answer this question?
Please provide percentages of persons for each respective question.
Question: On the e-snaps application, in Section 1.E – “SF-424 Compliance,” question 19 asks if the application is subject to review by the State Executive Order 12372 Process. How should I answer
Answer: Please answer “No,” as Michigan no longer participates in the Intergovernmental Review system (as of 7/1/18).
Question: I am submitting a new application to consolidate 2-4 projects. How do I go about submitting local and e-snaps applications?
Answer: Please refer to page 3 of the Local Application Instructions document and page 9 of the HUD NOFA for details about consolidating projects. In light of some confusion about these requirements, you will only be required to submit one new local project application for the consolidated project. However, on e-snaps, you will need to complete one consolidated application for the combined projects, and separate renewal applications for the projects you are combining. The new local application for the consolidated project must be received by the deadline of Friday, August 10 at noon. You will have until Friday, August 17 at noon to submit the additional project applications for the renewal projects you are combining in e-snaps.
Question: For question 9b on the renewal application, my organization has not finished drawing down grant funds from the last completed program year. How do I answer this question?
Answer: Please enter the remaining balance that you will be drawing down in eLOCCS with “will be drawn” in parantheses. However, if any percentage of this funding has been recaptured, for question 9b, please enter the amount that has been recaptured with “recaptured” in parantheses, and enter the percentage of the grant award that was recaptured in question 9c.