24 C.F.R. Subpart C—Program Operation
Title 24 - Housing and Urban Development
(a) Program implementation deadline—(1) Voluntary program. There is no deadline for implementation of a voluntary program. A voluntary program, however, may not be implemented before the requirements of §984.201 have been satisfied. (2) Mandatory program—(i) Program start-up. Except as provided in paragraph (a)(3) of this section, operation of a local FSS program must begin within 12 months of the earlier of notification to the PHA of HUD's approval of the incentive award units or of other funding that establishes the obligation to operate an FSS program. Operation means that activities such as outreach, participant selection, and enrollment have begun. Full delivery of the supportive services to be provided to the total number of families required to be served under the program need not occur within 12 months, but must occur by the deadline set forth in paragraph (a)(2) of this section. (ii) Full enrollment and delivery of service. Except as provided in paragraph (a)(3) of this section, the PHA must have completed enrollment of the total number of families required to be served under the FSS program (based on the minimum program size), and must have begun delivery of the supportive services within two years from the date of notification of approval of the application for new public housing units for a public housing FSS program or for new rental certificates or rental vouchers for a Section 8 FSS program. (iii) Extension of program deadlines for good cause. HUD may extend the deadline set forth in either paragraph (a)(1) or paragraph (a)(2) of this section if the PHA requests an extension, and HUD determines that, despite best efforts on the part of the PHA, the development of new public housing units will not occur within the deadlines set forth in this paragraph (a), the commitment by public or private resources to deliver supportive services has been withdrawn, the delivery of such services has been delayed, or other local circumstances warrant an extension of the deadlines set forth in this paragraph (a). (b) Program administration. a PHA may employ appropriate staff, including a service coordinator or program coordinator to administer its FSS program, and may contract with an appropriate organization to establish and administer the FSS program, including the FSS account, as provided by §984.305. [61 FR 8815, Mar. 5, 1996, as amended at 65 FR 16733, Mar. 29, 2000] (a) Public housing FSS program. The performance funding system (PFS), provided under section 9(a) of the 1937 Act, shall provide for the inclusion of reasonable and eligible administrative costs incurred by PHAs in carrying out the public housing FSS programs. These costs are subject to appropriations by the Congress. However, a PHA may use other resources for this purpose. (b) Section 8 FSS program. The administrative fees paid to PHAs for HUD-approved costs associated with operation of an FSS program are established by the Congress and subject to appropriations. [61 FR 8815, Mar. 5, 1996, as amended at 65 FR 16733, Mar. 29, 2000] (a) General. Each family that is selected to participate in an FSS program must enter into a contract of participation with the PHA that operates the FSS program in which the family will participate. The contract of participation shall be signed by the head of the FSS family. (b) Form and content of contract—(1) General. The contract of participation, which incorporates the individual training and services plan(s), shall be in the form prescribed by HUD, and shall set forth the principal terms and conditions governing participation in the FSS program, including the rights and responsibilities of the FSS family and of the PHA, the services to be provided to, and the activities to be completed by, the head of the FSS family and each adult member of the family who elects to participate in the program. (2) Interim goals. The individual training and services plan, incorporated in the contract of participation, shall establish specific interim and final goals by which the PHA, and the family, may measure the family's progress toward fulfilling its obligations under the contract of participation, and becoming self-sufficient. For each participating FSS family that is a recipient of welfare assistance, the PHA must establish as an interim goal that the family become independent from welfare assistance and remain independent from welfare assistance at least one year before the expiration of the term of the contract of participation, including any extension thereof. (3) Compliance with lease terms. The contract of participation shall provide that one of the obligations of the FSS family is to comply with the terms and conditions of the respective public housing lease or Section 8-assisted lease. (4) Employment obligation—(i) Head of family's obligation. The head of the FSS family shall be required under the contract of participation to seek and maintain suitable employment during the term of the contract and any extension thereof. Although other members of the FSS family may seek and maintain employment during the term of the contract, only the head of the FSS family is required to seek and maintain suitable employment. (ii) Seek employment. The obligation to seek employment means that the head of the FSS family has applied for employment, attended job interviews, and has otherwise followed through on employment opportunities. (iii) Determination of suitable employment. A determination of suitable employment shall be made by the PHA based on the skills, education, and job training of the individual that has been designated the head of the FSS family, and based on the available job opportunities within the jurisdiction served by the PHA. (5) Consequences of noncompliance with the contract. The contract of participation shall specify that if the FSS family fails to comply, without good cause, with the terms and conditions of the contract of participation, which includes compliance with the public housing lease or the Section 8-assisted lease, the PHA may: (i) Withhold the supportive services; (ii) Terminate the family's participation in the FSS program; or (iii) For the Section 8 FSS program, terminate or withhold the family's Section 8 assistance, except in the case where the only basis for noncompliance with the contract of participation is noncompliance with the lease, or failure to become independent from welfare assistance. However, failure to become independent from welfare assistance because of failure of the head of household to meet the employment obligation described in paragraph (a)(4) of this section, or failure of the FSS family to meet any other obligation under the contract of participation, except the interim goal concerning welfare assistance, is grounds for the PHA to terminate or withhold Section 8 assistance. (c) Contract term. The contract of participation shall provide that each FSS family will be required to fulfill those obligations to which the participating family has committed itself under the contract of participation no later than 5 years after the effective date of the contract. (d) Contract extension. The PHA shall, in writing, extend the term of the contract of participation for a period not to exceed two years for any FSS family that requests, in writing, an extension of the contract, provided that the PHA finds that good cause exists for granting the extension. The family's written request for an extension must include a description of the need for the extension. As used in this paragraph (d), “good cause” means circumstances beyond the control of the FSS family, as determined by the PHA, such as a serious illness or involuntary loss of employment. Extension of the contract of participation will entitle the FSS family to continue to have amounts credited to the family's FSS account in accordance with §984.304. (e) Unavailability of supportive services—(1) Good faith effort to replace unavailable services. If a social service agency fails to deliver the supportive services pledged under an FSS family member's individual training and services plan, the PHA shall make a good faith effort to obtain these services from another agency. (2) Assessment of necessity of services. If the PHA is unable to obtain the services from another agency, the PHA shall reassess the family member's needs, and determine whether other available services would achieve the same purpose. If other available services would not achieve the same purpose, the PHA shall determine whether the unavailable services are integral to the FSS family's advancement or progress toward self-sufficiency. If the unavailable services are: (i) Determined not to be integral to the FSS family's advancement toward self-sufficiency, the PHA shall revise the individual training and services plan to delete these services, and modify the contract of participation to remove any obligation on the part of the FSS family to accept the unavailable services, in accordance with paragraph (f) of this section; or (ii) Determined to be integral to the FSS family's advancement toward self-sufficiency (which may be the case if the affected family member is the head of the FSS family), the PHA shall declare the contract of participation null and void. Nullification of the contract of participation on the basis of unavailability of supportive services shall not be grounds for termination of Section 8 assistance. (f) Modification. The PHA and the FSS family may mutually agree to modify the contract of participation. The contract of participation may be modified in writing with respect to the individual training and services plans, the contract term in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section, and designation of the head of the family. (g) Completion of the contract. The contract of participation is considered to be completed, and a family's participation in the FSS program is considered to be concluded when one of the following occurs: (1) The FSS family has fulfilled all of its obligations under the contract of participation on or before the expiration of the contract term, including any extension thereof; or (2) 30 percent of the monthly adjusted income of the FSS family equals or exceeds the published existing housing fair market rent for the size of the unit for which the FSS family qualifies based on the PHA's occupancy standards. The contract of participation will be considered completed and the family's participation in the FSS program concluded on this basis even though the contract term, including any extension thereof, has not expired, and the family members who have individual training and services plans have not completed all the activities set forth in their plans. (h) Termination of the contract. The contract of participation is automatically terminated if the family's Section 8 assistance is terminated in accordance with HUD requirements. The contract of participation may be terminated before the expiration of the contract term, and any extension thereof, by: (1) Mutual consent of the parties; (2) The failure of the FSS family to meet its obligations under the contract of participation without good cause, including in the Section 8 FSS program the failure to comply with the contract requirements because the family has moved outside the jurisdiction of the PHA; (3) The family's withdrawal from the FSS program; (4) Such other act as is deemed inconsistent with the purpose of the FSS program; or (5) Operation of law. (i) Option to terminate Section 8 housing and supportive service assistance. The PHA may terminate or withhold Section 8 housing assistance, the supportive services, and the FSS family's participation in the FSS program, if the PHA determines, in accordance with the hearing procedures provided in 24 CFR 982.555 that the FSS family has failed to comply without good cause with the requirements of the contract of participation as provided in paragraph (b)(5) of this section. (j) Transitional supportive service assistance. a PHA may continue to offer to a former FSS family who has completed its contract of participation and whose head of family is employed, appropriate FSS supportive services in becoming self-sufficient (if the family still resides in public housing, or Section 8-assisted housing), or in remaining self-sufficient (if the family no longer resides in public, Section 8-assisted housing, or other assisted housing). (a)(1) Public housing FSS program: Calculation of total tenant payment. Total tenant payment for a family participating in the public housing FSS program is determined in accordance with the regulations set forth in 24 CFR part 913. (2) Section 8 FSS program: Calculation of family rent. For the rental certificate program, total tenant payment for a family participating in the Section 8 FSS program and the amount of the housing assistance payment is determined in accordance with the regulations set forth in subpart F of 24 CFR part 5, and subpart K of 24 CFR part 982. For the rental voucher program, the housing assistance payment for a family participating in the FSS program is determined in accordance with the regulations set forth in 24 CFR §982.505. (b) Increases in FSS family income. Any increase in the earned income of an FSS family during its participation in an FSS program may not be considered as income or a resource for purposes of eligibility of the FSS family for other benefits, or amount of benefits payable to the FSS family, under any other program administered by HUD, unless the income of the FSS family equals or exceeds 80 percent of the median income of the area (as determined by HUD, with adjustments for smaller and larger families). [61 FR 8815, Mar. 5, 1996, as amended at 64 FR 13057, Mar. 16, 1999] (a) Establishment of FSS account—(1) General. The PHA shall deposit the FSS account funds of all families participating in the PHA's FSS program into a single depository account. The PHA must deposit the FSS account funds in one or more of the HUD-approved investments. (2) Accounting for FSS account funds—(i) Accounting records. The total of the combined FSS account funds will be supported in the PHA accounting records by a subsidiary ledger showing the balance applicable to each FSS family. During the term of the contract of participation, the PHA shall credit periodically, but not less than annually, to each family's FSS account, the amount of the FSS credit determined in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section. (ii) Proration of investment income. The investment income for funds in the FSS account will be prorated and credited to each family's FSS account based on the balance in each family's FSS account at the end of the period for which the investment income is credited. (iii) Reduction of amounts due by FSS family. If the FSS family has not paid the family contribution towards rent, or other amounts, if any, due under the public housing or section 8-assisted lease, the balance in the family's FSS account shall be reduced by that amount (as reported by the owner to the PHA in the Section 8 FSS program) before prorating the interest income. If the FSS family has fraudulently under-reported income, the amount credited to the FSS account will be based on the income amounts originally reported by the FSS family. (3) Reporting on FSS account. Each PHA will be required to make a report, at least once annually, to each FSS family on the status of the family's FSS account. At a minimum, the report will include: (i) The balance at the beginning of the reporting period; (ii) The amount of the family's rent payment that was credited to the FSS account, during the reporting period; (iii) Any deductions made from the account for amounts due the PHA before interest is distributed; (iv) The amount of interest earned on the account during the year; and (v) The total in the account at the end of the reporting period. (b) FSS credit—(1) Computation of amount. For purposes of determining the FSS credit, “family rent” is: for the public housing program, the total tenant payment as defined in 24 CFR subpart F of 24 CFR part 5; for the rental certificate program, the total tenant payment as defined in 24 CFR subpart F of 24 CFR part 5; and for the rental voucher program, 30 percent of adjusted monthly income. The FSS credit shall be computed as follows: (i) For FSS families who are very low-income families, the FSS credit shall be the amount which is the lesser of: (A) Thirty percent of current monthly adjusted income less the family rent, which is obtained by disregarding any increases in earned income (as defined in §984.103) from the effective date of the contract of participation; or (B) The current family rent less the family rent at the time of the effective date of the contract of participation. (ii) For FSS families who are low-income families but not very low-income families, the FSS credit shall be the amount determined according to paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section, but which shall not exceed the amount computed for 50 percent of median income. (2) Ineligibility for FSS credit. FSS families who are not low-income families shall not be entitled to any FSS credit. (3) Cessation of FSS credit. The PHA shall not make any additional credits to the FSS family's FSS account when the FSS family has completed the contract of participation, as defined in §984.303(g), or when the contract of participation is terminated or otherwise nullified. (c) Disbursement of FSS account funds—(1) General. The amount in an FSS account, in excess of any amount owed to the PHA by the FSS family, as provided in paragraph (a)(3)(iii) of this section, shall be paid to the head of the FSS family when the contract of participation has been completed as provided in §984.303(g), and if, at the time of contract completion, the head of the FSS family submits to the PHA a certification, as defined in §984.103, that, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, no member of the FSS family is a recipient of welfare assistance. (2) Disbursement before expiration of contract term. (i) If the PHA determines that the FSS family has fulfilled its obligations under the contract of participation before the expiration of the contract term, and the head of the FSS family submits a certification that, to the best of his or her knowledge, no member of the FSS family is a recipient of welfare assistance, the amount in the family's FSS account, in excess of any amount owed to the PHA by the FSS family, as provided in paragraph (a)(3)(iii) of this section, shall be paid to the head of the FSS family. (ii) If the PHA determines that the FSS family has fulfilled certain interim goals established in the contract of participation and needs a portion of the FSS account funds for purposes consistent with the contract of participation, such as completion of higher education (i.e., college, graduate school), or job training, or to meet start-up expenses involved in creation of a small business, the PHA may, at the PHA's sole option, disburse a portion of the funds from the family's FSS account to assist the family meet those expenses. (3) Verification of family certification. Before disbursement of the FSS account funds to the family, the PHA may verify that the FSS family is no longer a recipient of welfare assistance by requesting copies of any documents which may indicate whether the family is receiving any welfare assistance, and contacting welfare agencies. (d) Succession to FSS account. If the head of the FSS family ceases to reside with other family members in the public housing or the Section 8-assisted unit, the remaining members of the FSS family, after consultation with the PHA, shall have the right to designate another family member to receive the funds in accordance with paragraph (c) (1) or (2) of this section. (e) Use of FSS account funds for homeownership. A public housing FSS family may use its FSS account funds for the purchase of a home, including the purchase of a home under one of HUD's homeownership programs, or other Federal, State, or local homeownership programs unless such use is prohibited by the statute or regulations governing the particular homeownership program. (f) Forfeiture of FSS account funds—(1) Conditions for forfeiture. Amounts in the FSS account shall be forfeited upon the occurrence of the following: (i) The contract of participation is terminated, as provided in §984.303(e) or §984.303(h); or (ii) The contract of participation is completed by the family, as provided in §984.303(g), but the FSS family is receiving welfare assistance at the time of expiration of the term of the contract of participation, including any extension thereof. (2) Treatment of forfeited FSS account funds—(i) Public housing FSS program. FSS account funds forfeited by the FSS family will be credited to the PHA's operating reserves and counted as other income in the calculation of the PFS operating subsidy eligibility for the next budget year. (ii) Section 8 FSS program. FSS account funds forfeited by the FSS family will be treated as program receipts for payment of program expenses under the PHA budget for the applicable Section 8 program, and shall be used in accordance with HUD requirements governing the use of program receipts. [61 FR 8815, Mar. 5, 1996, as amended at 64 FR 13057, Mar. 16, 1999] (a) Relocating FSS family. For purposes of this section, the term “relocating FSS family” refers to an FSS family that moves from the jurisdiction of a PHA at least 12 months after signing its contract of participation. (b) Initial occupancy—(1) First 12 months. A family participating in the Section 8 FSS program must lease an assisted unit, for a minimum period of 12 months after the effective date of the contract of participation, in the jurisdiction of the PHA that selected the family for the FSS program. However, the PHA may approve a family's request to move outside the initial PHA jurisdiction under portability (in accordance with §982.353 of this chapter) during this period. (2) After the first 12 months. After the first 12 months of the FSS contract of participation, the FSS family may move outside the initial PHA jurisdiction under portability procedures (in accordance with §982.353 of this chapter). (c) Portability: relocation but continued participation in the FSS program of the initial PHA—(1) General. A relocating FSS family may continue in the FSS program of the initial PHA if the family demonstrates to the satisfaction of the initial PHA that, notwithstanding the move, the relocating FSS family will be able to fulfill its responsibilities under the initial or modified contract of participation at its new place of residence. (For example, the FSS family may be able to commute to the supportive services specified in the contract of participation, or the family may move to obtain employment as specified in the contract.) (2) Single contract of participation. If the relocating family remains in the FSS program of the initial PHA, there will only be one contract of participation, which shall be the contract executed by the initial PHA. (d) Portability: relocation and participation in the FSS program of the receiving PHA—(1) General. A relocating FSS family may participate in the FSS program of the receiving PHA, if the receiving PHA allows the family to participate in its program. a PHA is not obligated to enroll a relocating FSS family in its FSS program. (2) Two contracts of participation. If the receiving PHA allows the relocating FSS family to participate in its FSS program, the receiving PHA will enter into a new contract of participation with the FSS family for the term on the remaining contract with the initial PHA. The initial PHA will terminate its contract of participation with the family. (e) Single FSS account. Regardless of whether the relocating FSS family remains in the FSS program of the initial PHA or is enrolled in the FSS program of the receiving PHA, there will be a single FSS account which will be maintained by the initial PHA. When an FSS family will be absorbed by the receiving PHA, the initial PHA will transfer the family's FSS account to the receiving PHA. (f) FSS program termination; loss of FSS account; and termination of Section 8 assistance. (1) If an FSS family that relocates to another jurisdiction, as provided under this section, is unable to fulfill its obligations under the contract of participation, or any modifications thereto, the PHA, which is party to the contract of participation, may: (i) Terminate the FSS family from the FSS program and the family's FSS account will be forfeited; and (ii) Terminate the FSS family's Section 8 assistance on the ground that the family failed to meet its obligations under the contract of participation. (2) In the event of forfeiture of the family's FSS account, the funds in the family's FSS account will revert to the PHA maintaining the FSS account for the family. [61 FR 8815, Mar. 5, 1996, as amended at 65 FR 16733, Mar. 29, 2000]
Title 24: Housing and Urban Development
PART 984—SECTION 8 AND PUBLIC HOUSING FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY PROGRAM
Subpart C—Program Operation
§ 984.301 Program implementation.
§ 984.302 Administrative fees.
§ 984.303 Contract of participation.
§ 984.304 Total tenant payment, family rent, and increases in family income.
§ 984.305 FSS account.
§ 984.306 Section 8 residency and portability requirements.
