HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 10282
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10282
June 4, 2019
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
Page 1 of 1
SUBJECT: IMPLEMENTATION OF HIV/AIDS-RELATED RENTAL ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM
The City of Fort Worth receives Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) grant funds from
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with which it has funded a Tenant-Based
Rental Assistance (TBRA) program for low income persons with HIV/AIDS for many years. AIDS Outreach
Center (AOC) has been the nonprofit project sponsor, but advised the City in January 2019 that they
would no longer be able to administer the program.
Fort Worth Housing Solutions and Samaritan House were approached as potential alternate sponsors for
the program, but they both advised that the current extent of other special projects prevented them from
taking on this new program. Administrative alternatives were considered infeasible due to legal and
policy constraints.
The HOPWA TBRA program pays rent for approximately 55 households. Many have received long-term
assistance and have limited capacity to adjust to full self-sufficiency, so terminating their rental assistance
is not a viable option. Case managers in the Community Services Division of the Neighborhood Services
Department (NSD) presently work with similar clients, and also work with landlords in providing
emergency rental assistance. The local HUD office has confirmed that program operation by a non-profit
agency is not required and TBRA supportive services costs would be eligible for a municipality. Based on
all of these factors, Staff plans on recommending in the upcoming 2019-2020 Action Plan that the TBRA
program be transitioned to NSD.
The 2019-20 Action Plan funding recommendations will propose $602,966 in HOPWA funds for the City of
Fort Worth. This is made up of $479,000 for rent payments and $123,966 for supportive services. The
new HOPWA allocation to the City from HUD increased by $172,000 compared to 2018-19, so funding for
nonprofit HOPWA partner agencies was not affected relative to last year.
AOC has already begun working proactively with City staff to ensure a smooth transition. Unexpended
unds are available to support this TBRA program startup. A HUD-required public
notice to amend Action Plan for $35,000 of the unexpended funds is being published to allow
NSD to hire and train qualified staff in advance of the program transition on October 1.
For additional information about this topic, please contact Sonia Singleton, Interim Director of the
Neighborhood Services Department, at 817-392-5774.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS