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Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Descriptions

14.231:  Emergency Shelter Grants Program

Popular Name:  ESG

Objectives:  The program is designed to help improve the quality of emergency shelters and transitional housing for the homeless, to make available additional shelters, to meet the costs of operating shelters, to provide essential social services to homeless individuals, and to help prevent homelessness.

PROGRAM AND AWARD	FINANCIAL AND INFORMATION CONTACTS
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS	FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO.
APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS	INFORMATION CONTACTS
RELATED PROGRAMS	ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS
PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS	POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS

14.231 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Credentials/Documentation:  States, metropolitan cities, urban counties, and territories that elect to participate in the program must submit (1) an approved Consolidated Plan; and (2) certifications that each grantee will (a) supplement the assistance provided under the program with an equal amount of funds from other sources, except for State grantees under the $100,000 exemption, (b) ensure that any building using ESG funds will continue as a homeless shelter for specified periods, (c) ensure that assisted rehabilitation is sufficient to make the structure safe and sanitary, (d) provide for a procedure to ensure the confidentiality of victims of domestic violence, and assist homeless individuals in obtaining appropriate supportive services and other available assistance, and (e) meet other generally applicable requirements, such as nondiscrimination and equal opportunity. Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-133 for State and local governments. State grantees are exempt from matching the first $100,000 of their award, but States must certify that they will provide the benefits of that exemption to local government and nonprofit recipients.

14.231 APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS:

Preapplication Coordination:  This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the State office or official designated as the single point of contact for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. The Consolidated Plan required by 24 CFR Part 91 must be used for this program.

Application Procedure:  To be eligible, each grantee must have a HUD-approved Consolidated Plan, which contain descriptions of the community's homeless assistance needs, details available resources, and provides a five year plan and a yearly action plan. The yearly action plan is updated annually, along with any revisions in the overall document. Each participating grantee must submit certifications required by HUD.

Award Procedure:  The HUD State or local field office reviews the grantee's Consolidated Plan and, if approved, executes a grant agreement.

Deadlines:  Each State, metropolitan city, urban county, and territory grantee should submit its Consolidated Plan to its local HUD office no later than 45 days before the start of its program year as required by 24 CFR Part 91.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:  The Consolidated plan is generally approved in 10 working days or deemed approved by HUD within 45 days of receipt.

Appeals:  None.

Renewals:  None.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals:  Proposed ESG projects are part of the prospective grantee's Consolidated Plan, which are reviewed according to criteria set forth in 24 CFR 91.

Examples of Funded Projects:  Not applicable.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:  For fiscal year 1999, the grant allocations ranged from $75,000 to $7,868,000.

14.231 RELATED PROGRAMS:

• 14.235 Supportive Housing Program;
• 14.238 Shelter Plus Care;
• 14.241 Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS;
• 83.523 Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program;
• 93.151 Health Center Grants for Homeless Populations.

14.231 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

14.231 FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO:

Federal Agency:  COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Type of Assistance:  Formula Grants.

Obligations:  (Grants) FY 99 $150,000,000; FY 00 est $150,000,000; and FY 01 est $150,000,000. (NOTE: Amounts reported reflect allocation of new budget authority rather than obligation amounts.)

Budget Account Number:  86-0192-0-1-604.

Authorization:  Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, Title IV, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 11371-78.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature:  The program is governed by streamlined final regulations published in the Federal Register on October 2, 1996, at 24 CFR Part 576.

14.231 INFO CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:  Contact appropriate HUD State or Field Office listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog.

Headquarters Office:  John Garrity, Director, Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs, Room 7262. Phone: (202) 708-4300.

(See Appendix IV for more contact info.)

14.231 ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:  After the ESG appropriation is set aside for the territories, the amount of each grant for formula grantees is determined by the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) formula using several objective measures of community need, including poverty, population, housing overcrowding, age of housing and growth lag. Allocations among the territories are based on their populations. If, according to the formula, an eligible government receives less than .05 percent of the yearly appropriation, then that grant is added to the allocation for that State. A State must allocate to its local governments or to nonprofit organizations the entire grant, except for the up to five percent used to administer the grant. The administrative funds must be shared with local government grantees in that State. Grantees must match grant funds with an equal amount of funds from other sources as described in "Credentials/Documentation".

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:  Grant awards should be made within 45 days of HUD's receipt and approval of the Consolidated Plan. A State should make available to its recipients all of its grant allocation within 65 days of the date of the grant award by HUD. A State recipient should have all of its grant obligated by 180 days from the date on which the State made the grant available to it, and spent the entire grant within 24 months of this date. For the homeless prevention set aside, the State has 180 days to make the funds available to its recipients, and the recipients have 30 days to obligate and 180 days to spend the funds. Each local government grantee should have all of its grant obligated by 180 days from its grant award by HUD, and entirely spent within 24 months.

Uses and Use Restrictions:  Grantees may use the grant for one or more of the following activities relating to emergency shelter and transitional housing for the homeless: (1) renovation, major rehabilitation, or conversion of buildings for use as shelters for the homeless; (2) provision of essential services to the homeless (not more than 30 percent of the grant, unless waived by HUD); (3) payment of operations (not more than 10 percent of the grant for staff management costs), maintenance, rent, repair, security, fuel, equipment, insurance, utilities, and furnishings; and (4) homeless prevention activities (not more than 30 percent of the grant). Grantees can use up to five percent of the allocation for administering the grant. In the case of State grantees, the grant for administration must be shared with funded recipients.

14.231 POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:  Each grantee shall annually report on its uses of funds and program progress in a HUD-approved format within 90 days after the close of its program year. Local governments report via an on-line computer linkup with HUD, and a consolidated annual performance and evaluation report. Most States will report their performance in a written format.

Audits:  In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133, "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Institutions," State and local governments that receive total Federal financial assistance of $300,000 or more within their fiscal year must have an independent financial audit conducted for that year.

Records:  According to the ESG regulations, grantees and recipients must retain records for four years from the date of submission of the annual performance report.