Los Angeles Office of Public Housing
Quarterly Newsletter Fall 2013
Serving Southern California

Members of Congress Visit the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles

Congressman Alan Lowenthal Visits the Carmelitos Public Housing Development

Long Beach, July 3, 2013 - The Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles (HACoLA) welcomed Congressman Alan Lowenthal to the Carmelitos Public Housing Development (Carmelitos), located in the City of Long Beach and California's newly-created 47th Congressional District.

Carmelitos is HACoLA's largest public housing development, with 558 family units and 155 elderly units, housing over 1,500 Los Angeles County residents all together. Aside from seeing the development's housing components, Congressman Lowenthal toured the family learning center, as well as The Growing Experience, an award-winning, 7-acre urban farm, located centrally within Carmelitos. The farm grows vegetables and fruits using sustainable methods, and makes healthy produce available year-round to our public housing residents and the surrounding Long Beach community.

"Congressman Lowenthal has been very supportive of our public housing program, and we appreciate him taking time out of his busy schedule for a visit to see these program dollars in action," said HACoLA Executive Director Sean Rogan.

Congressman Lowenthal successfully ran for Long Beach City Council in 1992, where he served for six years, and then continued his leadership in Sacramento, first serving three terms as a State Assembly member and then two terms as a State Senator. Congressman Lowenthal is currently the U.S. House Representative of California's newly-created 47th Congressional District, which includes portions of Long Beach, Signal Hill, Lakewood, Cypress, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Garden Grove, Westminster, Stanton, and Buena Park.

Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Alard Visits the Nueva Maravilla Public Housing Development 

East Los Angeles, August 7, 2013 - The Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles (HACoLA) welcomed Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard to the Nueva Maravilla Public Housing Development (Nueva Maravilla), located in East Los Angeles and California's newly-created 40th Congressional District.

Nueva Maravilla is one of HACoLA's largest public housing developments, with over 500 family and senior units. After participating in a round-table discussion with Nueva Maravilla residents, community partners including the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Southern California Edison (SCE), and HACoLA staff; Congresswoman Roybal-Allard toured modernization and greening projects that have recently been completed at the site. This included the rehabilitation of Nueva Maravilla's Child Care Center and xeriscaping around the property to reduce utility costs.

"Congresswoman Roybal-Allard has always been a friend to Nueva Maravilla residents, and we were excited to show her how these improvements have made this development and its residents one of the largest public housing "green" communities in Southern California." said HACoLA Executive Director Sean Rogan.

The "Going Green" energy conservation measures concluded in December 2012, and included installation of a new irrigation system with a "weather-based controlled" computer system, replacement of domestic hot water and plumbing fixtures, parking lot and sidewalk improvements, energy efficient lighting, and the installation of cool roofs with solar panels to provide the entire site with approximately 25% of annual energy consumption.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters Visits the Harbor Hills Public Housing Development

City of Lomita, August 27, 2013 - The Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles (HACoLA) welcomed Congresswoman Maxine Waters to the Harbor Hills Public Housing Development (Harbor Hills), located in the City of Lomita and California's newly-created 43rd Congressional District.

Completed in 1941, Harbor Hills consists of 301 public housing units. After participating in a round-table discussion with HACoLA staff and the Sheriffs' Department Community Policing staff, the Congresswoman took a tour of the site's Family Learning Center, childcare center, and gymnasium. She then met with the residents at a Town Hall Meeting organized by Jewel Bumpers, Vice President of the Harbor Hills resident council. During this time, the Congresswoman stressed the importance of resident councils, civic engagement, and community relationships; and encouraged residents to attend meetings of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, sit on advisory boards, and hold voter registration drives in the community.

"Congresswoman Waters continues to be one of the strongest voices for Public Housing in Congress, and our residents were both eager and enthusiastic about her visit and participation in their regularly scheduled Town Hall Meeting." said HACoLA Executive Director Sean Rogan.

Aside from providing housing units, Harbor Hills has innovative programs and services designed to improve the quality of life for residents and enable them to attain self-sufficiency. Harbor Hills offers the Family Self- Sufficiency Program, computer training and homework assistance, English as a Second Language, employment opportunities, case management, and drug prevention/intervention programs.

What's Happening in SoCal?

The Community Development Foundation (CDF) Awards 2013 Housing Authority Resident Scholarships

The Community Development Foundation (CDF) awarded over $25,000 in scholarship funds to HACoLA's public housing residents and Section 8 participants on August 28, 2013. In total, 28 scholarships were awarded to students attending a 4-year university, community college, or vocational program. Past scholarship recipients have not only become architects, doctors, counselors, and lawyers, but have also become positive role models for youth growing up in subsidized housing.

Among the esteemed speakers at this event was Ed Moses, HUD Regional Director of Public Housing. Moses offered a heartfelt congratulations to the scholarship awardees as they celebrated their proud accomplishments.

One of the awardees, Juan Gutierrez, strives to move out of public housing and be a role model for others. He was once a lost student failing to thrive in both traditional and alternative schools. It's not that Juan wasn't smart enough to keep up, but rather, he lacked motivation. In 2011, Juan enrolled in LA CAUSA's YouthBuild charter school, which helped develop him into a motivated student. This past June, at the age of 23, Juan graduated from high school and enrolled at East Los Angeles College and Antioch University Los Angeles' Bridge Program, all while helping expand the first community garden in East Los Angeles with a grant from the Lead Now Fellowship. Juan aspires to be an academic counselor to help motivate students like him that slip through the cracks of overcrowded schools. HAR Scholarships are made possible by generous donations from CDC/HACoLA employees, Southern California Edison, Union Bank, and other private donors.

The Mission of the CDF is to promote economic empowerment and self-reliance among children and families who live in County public and Section 8 housing communities.

Non-Elderly Disabled (NED)
Housing Assistance for Non-Elderly Persons with Disabilities

In 1999, the Supreme Court, in the case of Olmstead v. L.C., determined that individuals with disabilities have the right to live in the community and that unnecessary institutionalization can lead to decreased quality of life, limit connections to family and social life, and hinder economic independence. On June 22, 2009 the White House issued a press release to commemorate the Supreme Court's decision and to launch "The Year of Community Living." Focused on assisting Americans with disabilities, the initiative calls on the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to collaborate to, "improve access to housing, community supports, and independent living arrangements."

The groundbreaking collaboration between HHS and HUD has resulted in the development and implementation of the "Rental Assistance for Non-Elderly Persons with Disabilities Program" in conjunction with state and local authorities throughout the country. These vouchers include NED Category 1 and NED Category 2 allocations. The NED Category 1 allocation is targeted towards non-elderly disabled applicants on a PHA's waiting list, while the NED Category 2 vouchers are intended to enable non-elderly people with disabilities to transition from nursing homes and other health care facilities into the community. In April of 2010, HUD issued a NOFA including approximately $32.5 million to support an estimate 4,300 vouchers for Category 1, and approximately $7.5 million to support an estimated 1,000 vouchers for Category 2.

Throughout Southern California, 1,910 NED Category 1 vouchers are administered by 15 Public Housing Authorities (PHAs). The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara, the Housing Authority of the City of Pasadena, and the Orange County Housing Authority were awarded a total of 115 vouchers, making them three of the 24 PHAs awarded NED Category 2 vouchers. Currently, PHAs in Southern California serve approximately 1,900 households with NED vouchers, and more than 38,500 non-elderly disabled households through all programs.

The NED vouchers, and in particular the NED 2 vouchers are important vehicles to improving access to housing, but implementation requires a good deal of expertise, patience, and coordination. Beyond that, the financial strain resulting from sequestration has added its own set of complications, including diminished administrative fees and complicated voucher issuance restrictions. In July 2013, the Technical Assistance Collaborative (www.tacinc.org), as part of the Housing Capacity Building Initiative for the Community Living Project prepared a brief regarding the implantation of the NED Category 2 program (www.neweditions.net/housing/index.asp). The report, Non-Elderly Disabled Vouchers - Category 2 Lessons Learned from Implementation 2011-2013 (www.neweditions.net/housing/documents/NED2LessonsLearned.pdf), deals with the lessons learned from implementation and identifies successful strategies for expanding housing opportunities for families and individuals with disabilities.

Unlike the regular tenant based voucher program where the PHA handles the entire eligibility and leasing process, the NED 2 program is designed so that PHAs receive referrals for participants that are currently residing in an approved health care facility. In order to support this process, PHAs partner with state Money Follows the Person (MFP) programs. In California, PHAs work with California Community Transitions (CCT) - MFP (www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/ltc/pages/cct.aspx) providers that furnish referrals and assist with identifying and providing services to the participant. Although PHAs identified and worked with specific CCT-MFP providers during the initial application process, many PHAs have used the program as an opportunity to expand their networks and develop relationships with other providers, nursing homes, and care facilities.

The experiences of NED 2 PHAs around the country have revealed a few conditions that enhance the implementation of the program. A PHA is more likely to succeed if it has a strong relationship with its referring partner, takes advantage of the flexibility offered by HUD to create or change policies as needed, and has a service provider that is familiar with housing and can assist with housing activities. Although few PHAs met the initial leasing targets, some important innovations have made huge impacts on the success of the program. PHAs, including some in Southern California, have begun conducting NED 2 briefings via Skype to allow the applicants to remain in the nursing home without PHA staff having to travel what are sometimes great distances to meet in person. Additionally, tailoring portability requirements for the NED 2 program improves leasing rates by allowing participants to broaden their housing search. Participants, health care partners, and even landlords have noted that the flexibility provided through portability can make all the difference when it comes to generating referrals and finding appropriate housing. These practices are indicative of the creative and bold strategies being developed to successfully implement the program in the face of funding cuts, increased market rents, and the ever present need.

When the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Health and Human Services began their work on the NED program, it was the first time two federal agencies offered a combination of rental assistance, health care, and other supportive services targeted to this population. Likewise, the partnerships forged between PHAs and MFP agencies are often new and groundbreaking and can expand to other areas, such as Section 811 housing. As such, it can be expected that difficulties will have to be overcome. The complexities of housing markets, housing search times, attrition, and voucher issuance will continue to be challenging, but the lessons learned by partner agencies have already resulted in hundreds of beneficiaries moving out of nursing homes and health care facilities and into their communities. 

Equipping Homeless Families to Rebuild Their Lives

 November 12, 2013 - At the quarterly Proactive Exchange, guest speaker, Andrew Fike, delivered an impassioned narrative on his work with homeless families. Fike is a Case Manager at Door of Hope, a non-profit, faith-based organization whose mission is to equip homeless families to rebuild their lives. Fike described the success of his agency's holistic approach to addressing homelessness, which includes housing, employment, and other social services.

Also presenting, was Carrian Troxlar, Director, Rapid Re-Housing at Door of Hope. As a former participant she provided much insight into how she benefited from the programs offered. This participant told an inspiring story of transformation as she utilized Door of Hope to conquer homelessness and achieve career success and overall wellbeing.

Since 1985, this organization has been providing transitional housing and a restoration program especially designed for homeless families with children. Door of Hope was founded by Steve and Iris Lazarian, who noticed a large homeless population coupled with the lack of employment opportunities available in the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley areas. The staff holds strongly to loving your neighbor and helping those in need.

The Proactive Exchange is a standing quarterly meeting hosted by the Los Angeles Office of Public Housing where Housing Authority and HUD Staff meet to share ideas and engage in discourse around the goal of housing families.

The Energy Performance Information Center (EPIC)
Change in EPIC Reporting Frequency

In order to provide PHAs with some administrative relief, starting October 1, 2013, PHAs will only be required to report on planned/completed Energy Efficiency Measures (EEMS) in the Energy and Performance Information Center (EPIC) system ANNUALLY. Under the revised system, PHAs would report at the end of their fiscal year rather than each quarter, as follows:

*Reminder: EPIC reports are cumulative. For example, if a PHA installs 10 Energy Star refrigerators in the first quarter in which it is reporting on a grant, it would report that in the Q1 report - if it then installs 5 more Energy Star refrigerators in the next quarter, it is to report 15 in the next quarter's report, not 5.

What is EPIC?

The Energy and Performance Information Center (EPIC) is a program designed to collect summary capital fund grant activity and energy efficiency measures (EEM) - planned and completed - being implemented with PIH Capital Fund Formula or RHF grants. It is similar in appearance and functionality to the RAMPS program which was used to collect EEM for ARRA grants. PHAs are required to report their activities in EPIC on a quarterly basis after the conclusion of each quarter. PHAs must submit a report for all open Formula and RHF grants.

Accessing EPIC

EPIC can be found at: http://portal.hud.gov/app_epic. Please add this to your Favorites in your web browser for easy future access.

Help!

EPICHelp@hud.gov In your help request, you should include your M number, your full name, your office telephone number, and your PHA code. Additionally, the EPIC login page provides additional information about what to do and who to contact if you encounter problems logging into the system. To access EPIC, go to:http://portal.hud.gov/app_ epic. Please add this to your Favorites in your web browser for easy future access.

Announcements

Public Housing Capital Fund Program Final Rule Publication

The Public Housing Capital Fund Program Final Rule was published in the Federal Register October 24, 2013 (Docket No. 5236-F-02) and will be effective on November 25, 2013. This new regulation combines the Capital Fund requirements for modernization and development into a single regulation. It also updates and streamlines many of the Capital Fund and development requirements, incorporates recent energy requirements, and directs more funding towards modernization. This rule along with a new Capital Fund guidebook, which is under development and expected to be available in the Spring, will ensure that the Capital Fund Program is more efficiently and uniformly implemented by PHAs and managed more effectively by the HUD Field Offices.

HUD Monitoring of PHA Program Compliance

As part of its internal control efforts, the Department's Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) continuously monitors the timeliness and accuracy of tenant information reported to the Public and Indian Housing Information Center (PIC). REAC performs data comparisons of tenant information reported in PIC to data obtained from other Federal databases to validate the accuracy of tenant-reported Social Security Numbers (SSNs), names, and date of birth. The intended outcome of this monitoring is to identify, reduce, and recover improper payments within HUD's rental assistance programs; improve the accuracy and integrity of tenant data; and to verify Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) compliance with PIC reporting and use of the Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system.

What REAC monitors and what the PHAs should be monitoring on a monthly (m) or quarterly (q) basis:

PIC Delinquency Report (m)

PIC Rexam Report (m)

EIV PHA Usage Report

EIV Deceased Tenants Report (m)

EIV Identity Verification Report (m)

EIV Multiple Subsidy Report (q)

EIV Immigration Report (m)

EIV Income Report (m)

Tenant Unreported Income (m)

If further assistance and/ or questions regarding the notice of deficiencies for the reports due by the respective deadlines, please contact Martha.E.Murillo@hud.gov.

HUD Secure System Password Reset

Please be advised that your HUD-PIH EIV Coordinator or agency User Administrator cannot reset your HUD Secure System password. For password resets, you must go to: https://hudapps.hud.gov/reac/wass/resetPwd.html, and provide the requested information and then click on the Reset Password button at the bottom of the form.

In an effort to further protect the privacy and security of data submitted to REAC by our business partners, Secure Systems passwords will begin to expire every sixty (60) calendar days. The 60-day clock will start ticking the first time a user logs in to Secure Systems on or after April 5, 2005. When a user's password expires, he/she will be presented with the "Change Password" page instead of the Secure Systems main menu. All Secure Connection users will be required to create a new password at each expiration notice.

Note: Passwords must be eight (8) characters in length, should be comprised of both mixed case letters and numbers, and are case sensitive. The new password must be different from the last ten passwords the user has had. Each time a password is changed, the 60-day clock resets.

If you require additional assistance, you may contact the Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) Technical Assistance Center (TAC). Their contact information is available online at: http://www.hud.gov/offices/reac/support/tac.cfm.

EIV DEBTS OWED & TERMINATION MODULE - REINSTATEMENT OF DELETED RECORDS

Effective with the May 6, 2013 EIV 9.5 Release, HUD automatically deletes 50058 records in the DebtsOwed/Termination module if the EOP dates are more than 60 days old. As a result, when a PHA User attempts to records Debts Owed amounts or termination information for these expired records, the EIV Debts Owed/Termination module delivers the following message:

"You are not authorized to enter/update information for the SSN entered"

The "not authorized" response is not an EIV error. It is an EIV system functionality change for the Debts Owed/Termination module.

When PHA Users are not allowed to enter a record or records in the Debts Owed module, a check on the EOP date will help them figure out that it's not an error but a System Functionality.

Although PHA Users are not able to access deleted records, the records still reside in the EIV system. They are identified as "HUD Deleted Records".

To access the records, PHA Users will need to request that a REAC-EIV System Administrator reinstate the deleted EOP(s).

The process for requesting reinstatement of HUD Deleted Records is as follows:

PHA Users prepares a request for reinstatement that includes: (i) number of records to be reinstated, (ii) EOP date of each record and, (iii) SSN for each Head of Household.

PHA User submits the request to its local HUD Field Office EIV Coordinator.

Local HUD Field Office reviews the request and submits the request with the Field Office recommendation to EIV Help Mailbox.

REAC-EIV System Administrator will review the request and make a decision whether to reinstate all or some of the deleted records.

REAC-EIV System Administrator will convey its decision to the local HUD Field Office and Local HUD Field Office will convey the decision to the requesting PHA User.

Reinstatement of deleted records will consist of moving the 50058 records back into the Debts Owed/Termination Module and enabling the requesting PHA User to access the records and enter the Debts Owed/Termination information.

It is important for PHA Users to record the information shortly after the REAC-EIV System Administrator makes them available in order to prevent the records from being automatically deleted again.

Helpful Resource Links

Two Year Forecasting Tool - PHA staff can use this tool to forecast the relationship between current HCV leasing and future funding. - http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/hcv

REAC Technical Assistance Center - The Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) Technical Assistance Center analyses data and develops objective performance scores. PHA staff can use the REAC technical assistance for helpful links. http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/reac/support/tac

POST - At the POST Website, PHA staff can obtain quick access to PIH systems, tools, training opportunities, program requirements, commonly used external websites, PIH contacts for using Public Housing one stop tool.http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/post

Take Notice of PIH Notices!

Upcoming Deadlines

Financial Data Schedule (FDS) Submission Deadlines

Unaudited submissions are due no later than 2 months after the PHA's FYE; for those entities required to have an audit, the audited submissions are due 9 months after the PHA's FYE. PHAs are required to submit their financial information through the FASS-PH system.

The table below illustrates the common PHA FYEs and associated dates that the annual unaudited and audited submissions are due. For example, a PHA with a March 31 (3/31) FYE needs to submit its unaudited submission to HUD no later than May 31, and its audited submission no later than December 31 (12/31).

Financial Reporting Schedule Due Dates 

Proactive Exchange Roundup

On November 12, 2013, the 1st Quarter Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2014 Proactive Exchange was hosted by the Los Angeles Office of Public Housing. Housing Authorities from Southern California gathered at the HUD Los Angeles Field Office, the HUD Santa Ana Field Office, and the HUD San Diego Field Office to share ideas and information regarding the administration of our programs.

The following topics were discussed by Housing Authority and HUD staff:

FY 2014 Finance Update - Linda Chu and Gregory Nunn, Financial Analysts

"Equipping Homeless Families to Rebuild Their Lives" - Andrew Fike, Caseworker, Door of Hope

New Capital Fund Rule - Johnson Badalpour, General Engineer and Christopher Granger, Portfolio Management Specialist

PHA Governance-Priority Goal in FY 2014 - Anthony Sprowl, Public Housing Revitalization Specialist

PHA Website Highlight - Jim Wheeler, Wasco PHA

Resident Council vs. Resident Advisory Board - Mayfelisa Miso, Public Housing Revitalization Specialist

The date for the next Proactive Exchange will be announced soon. The meeting will take place at 611 W. 6th Street, Suite 813, Los Angeles, CA 90017. We encourage your participation in this event where valuable information is shared. We always welcome ideas and suggestions. Please contact Maria Granata at maria.j.granata@hud.gov, or at (213) 534-2491 to submit ideas or suggestions, or for more information.

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