HUD AWARDS SOUTH DAKOTA $505,174 TO PROMOTE JOBS, SELF-SUFFICIENCY, INDEPENDENT LIVING FOR HUD-ASSISTED HOUSING RESIDENTS
Nationally, funding allows local entities to hire new employees
or retain approximately 650 jobs across the U.S.

SIOUX FALLS - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded South Dakota
$505,174 in grants to help public and assisted housing residents find employment; connect with needed services; and help the elderly and people with disabilities maintain independent living. The funding also allows the grantees to retain or hire "service coordinators" or case workers to work directly with these HUD-assisted families to connect them to the supportive services that meet their individual needs.

Regional Administrator Rick M. Garcia said that the entities in South Dakota received the following:

The funding announced today includes: approximately $35 million through the Resident Opportunities and Self Sufficiency – Service Coordinators Program (ROSS-SC) Program; approximately $15 million through the Public Housing – Family Self-Sufficiency Program (PH-FSS); and $45 million through the Multifamily Housing Service Coordinator Program (MHSC).

"Providing housing assistance alone is often not enough to help individuals increase their independence," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "The service coordinators funded through these programs open doors that help HUD-assisted families find jobs, access services and assist the elderly and disabled to continue living as independently as possible in their homes."

The ROSS-SC and PH-FSS programs allow grantees across the U.S. hire or retain service coordinators to work
directly with residents to assess their needs to connect them with education, job training and placement programs and/or computer and financial literacy services available in their community to promote self-sufficiency. Only public housing authorities are eligible for PH-FSS grants. ROSS-SC grants can be awarded to public housing authorities, resident associations and non-profit organizations. Grantees that receive ROSS-SC grants can also use the funding
for this purpose, which allows the elderly or persons with disabilities who live in public housing to maintain their independent lifestyle.

In a similar fashion, the MHSC program provides funding to owners of private housing developments under contract from HUD to house low-income individuals. These owners, or their management companies, hire or contract service coordinators with backgrounds in providing social services, especially to the elderly and people with disabilities, to assist their residents with special needs.

Combined, HUD estimates this funding will allow the grantees to hire new employees or retain approximately 650 service coordinators that are currently working with HUD-assisted individuals.

The purpose of the ROSS-SC and PH-FSS programs is to encourage local, innovative strategies that link public housing assistance with public and private resources to enable participating families to increase earned income; reduce or eliminate the need for welfare assistance; and make progress toward achieving economic independence
and housing self-sufficiency.

The MFSC program allows multifamily housing owners to assist elderly individuals and nonelderly people with
disabilities living in HUD-assisted housing and in the surrounding area to obtain needed supportive services from the community, to enable them to continue living independently. The grants are awarded for an initial three-year period
to eligible owners of multifamily housing for the elderly or disabled, to enable them to hire and support a service coordinator. The funds cover such costs as salary, fringe benefits, quality assurance, training, office space, equipment, and other related administrative expenses. A report HUD released in 2009 noted that aging in place reduces rates of premature institutionalization for low-income elderly residents, thus reducing the costs borne by taxpayers.

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