MARTINEZ ANNOUNCES $593,937 IN GRANTS TO HELP MISSOURI FAMILIES
Funding Aimed at Making Families Employable, Self-Sufficient

KANSAS CITY, KS - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez announced $593,937 in grants today
to 12 housing authorities in Missouri that will be used for job training and placement for low-income citizens.

"This funding will help hundreds of citizens in Missouri find employment and eventually become economically independent," said HUD Secretary Mel Martinez. "HUD is committed to revitalizing communities through job
advocacy, training programs and economic development."

A total of 771 housing authorities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico will receive $47,688,000 in HUD Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program grants.

The following housing authorities in Missouri will receive funding:

HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency (HCV/FSS) Program provides funds to public housing agencies specifically for the employment of family self-sufficiency coordinators. The FSS coordinators assist adults with job training, childcare, counseling, transportation and job placement programs.

Participants in the job preparedness program, some of whom are on welfare, sign a contract that stipulates the
head of the household will get a job and the family will become self-sufficient within five years. While enrolled in the program, as a family's income rises, a third of that income goes to an interest-bearing escrow account.

If a family fulfills the contract requiring employment and independence from welfare, they can use the escrow
account for down payment on a home purchase, starting a business, paying back debts and paying educational expenses. If a family fails to fulfill the contract, they do not get the funds in the escrow account and may be terminated from the FSS Program.

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