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Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program - Section 8

The Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program provides participating families both with financial incentives to work their way off welfare and housing subsidies, and with services to help them do so.

Eligibility

Families are eligible if they have gross non-excluded incomes less than the "Low" income limit and if they receive Section 8 assistance through one of the voucher or certificate programs. (See: Section 8 Income Limits for information about those limits. See: Tenant-Based & Project-Based Voucher & Certificate Programs for details about those programs.)

Check with your Public Housing Agency (PHA) to see if the PHA has any FSS slots available.

Financial Incentives

The primary financial incentive is the FSS escrow account. Although the specifics are more complex, the general idea is that your PHA puts into an escrow account each month the amount of any rent increase that is caused by an increase in earnings once you start participating in the program.

The PHA gives you all the money from the escrow account when your family either:

·      Fulfills the terms of a "Contract of Participation" that requires the head of household to seek and maintain employment and, if your family receives welfare benefits, that your family no longer needs cash welfare benefits for a year; or

·      Your family's income increases such that 30% of your adjusted income equals or exceeds the published existing housing fair market rent for the size of the unit for which the your family qualifies based on the PHA's occupancy standards.

ALERT: If you receive Medicaid through the 1619(b) provision for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you must plan carefully for the time when PHA gives you the money from your escrow account. If that money causes you to be over the Medicaid resource limit in your State, you could lose your Medicaid coverage. Consult with your benefit counselor or Medicaid office prior to receiving the money to find out your alternatives.

See below for more on the Contract of Participation.

Services

Your PHA may provide, or arrange with other agencies to provide any of the following services:

·      Child care--child care of a type that provides sufficient hours of operation and serves an appropriate range of ages;

·      Transportation--transportation necessary to enable a participating family to receive available services, or to commute to their places of employment;

·      Education-- remedial education; education for completion of secondary or post secondary schooling;

·      Employment--job training, preparation, and counseling; job development and placement; and follow-up assistance after job placement and completion of the contract of participation;

·      Personal welfare--substance/alcohol abuse treatment and counseling;

·      Household skills and management--training in homemaking and parenting skills; household management; and money management;

·      Counseling--counseling in the areas of:

i) The responsibilities of homeownership;

ii) Opportunities available for affordable rental and homeownership in the private housing market, including information on an individual's rights under the Fair Housing Act; and

iii) Money management; and

·      Other services--any other services and resources, including case management, reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities, that the PHA may determine to be appropriate in assisting FSS families to achieve economic independence and self-sufficiency.

Contract of Participation

If your PHA has an FSS opening and you choose to participate, you will enter into a Contract of Participation with your PHA. It will detail the services to be provided and the actions that the family must take, as well as a time-line for achievement of the goals.

As part the contract the head of household must agree to seek and maintain employment. Others in the family may also agree to seek and maintain employment, but they are not required to do so.

Another part of the contract is to become self-sufficient in the sense that the family does not need cash welfare benefits. The cash welfare benefits referred to do not include short-term emergency benefits; amounts solely direct to meeting housing expenses; amounts for health care; food stamps; Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), or Social Security retirement benefits.

The contract can be terminated (without the family getting the money held in escrow) if both parties agree or if the family fails to live up to the terms of the contract.

The contract is somewhat portable – that is, you may be able to participate in an FSS program if you move out of the area. You must negotiate with both your current and new PHA about portability.

Source:

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): 24CFR984

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Section 8 Housing Overview

Federal Rent Assistance

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