HUD Archives: News Releases
HUD No. 08-130
Tom Friesen
(406) 447-1488		 For Release
Friday
January 2, 2009

HUD AWARDS $49 MILLION IN GRANTS TO HELP LOW-INCOME FAMILIES
GET JOB TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT
Montana to Receive $172,241

HELENA, MT - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston today announced that public housing agencies in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico will receive nearly $49 million to provide low-income people with the necessary job training to put them on a path toward self-sufficiency (see attached).

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.

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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HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities;
creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the
Internet and espanol.hud.gov.

The following states and territories will receive funding:

State

Amount

 

State

Amount

Alabama

$589,942

 

Missouri

$904,910

Alaska

$64,909

 

Montana

$172,241

Arizona

$1,083,043

 

Nebraska

$314,078

Arkansas

$712,171

 

Nevada

$458,514

California

$5,197,292

 

New Hampshire

$397,477

Colorado

$872,685

 

New Jersey

$1,722,430

Connecticut

$513,813

 

New Mexico

$478,836

District of Columbia

$198,000

 

New York

$3,269,907

Florida

$1,481,544

 

North Carolina

$1,465,790

Georgia

$871,536

 

North Dakota

$190,103

Guam

$53,672

 

Ohio

$2,614,013

Hawaii

$384,335

 

Oklahoma

$272,058

Idaho

$580,049

 

Oregon

$1,624,188

Illinois

$1,417,505

 

Pennsylvania

$1,736,806

Indiana

$1,172,659

 

Puerto Rico

$64,180

Iowa

$885,416

 

Rhode Island

$668,370

Kansas

$465,045

 

South Carolina

$408,100

Kentucky

$1,224,556

 

South Dakota

$143,049

Louisiana

$221,956

 

Tennessee

$967,019

Maine

$287,419

 

Texas

$2,272,895

Maryland

$1,315,919

 

Utah

$466,342

Massachusetts

$2,553,395

 

Vermont

$321,881

Maine

$44,653

 

Virginia

$1,224,880

Michigan

$1,152,837

 

Washington

$1,379,009

Minnesota

$624,037

 

West Virginia

$359,315

Mississippi

$577,079

 

Wisconsin

$506,421

Total Funding: $48,948,279

 
 
Content Archived: June 27, 2011