HUD AWARDS $384,335 IN GRANTS TO HELP HAWAII LOW-INCOME FAMILIES GET JOB TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT
Guam to Receive $53,672

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston today announced that four public housing agencies in Hawaii will receive $384,335 to provide low-income people with the necessary job training to
put them on a path toward self-sufficiency. The Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Agency will receive $53,672 for
its program.

Funded through HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency Program (HCV/FSS), the grants allow public housing agencies (PHAs) to work with welfare agencies, schools, businesses, and other local partners to develop a comprehensive program to help participating individuals develop the skills and experience to enable them to obtain jobs that pay a living wage.

"This program has proven its effectiveness in helping families develop the skills that lead to stable employment," said Preston. "Getting a decent job and increasing a person's potential for higher paying employment is the first step to becoming economically independent."

PHAs use the funding to hire family self-sufficiency coordinators to link adults in the Housing Choice Voucher
program (formerly Section 8) to local organizations that provide job training, childcare, counseling, transportation
and job placement. PHAs can also hire homeownership coordinators to help families get homeownership counseling.

Hawaii grants include Hawaii County ($64,900), City and County of Honolulu ($126,976), Kauai County ($126,959)
and Hawaii Public Housing Authority ($65,500). While all housing authorities are required to operate a Self-
Sufficiency Program, additional federal funding to local Housing Authorities requires an application that meets all guidelines.

Participants in the HCV/FSS program sign a contract that stipulates the head of the household will get a job and
the family will no longer receive welfare assistance at the end of the five-year term. As the family's income rises, a portion of that increased income is deposited in an interest-bearing escrow account. If the family completes its FSS contract, the family receives the escrow funds that it can use for any purpose, including a down payment on a
home, paying educational expenses, starting a business or paying back debts.

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