HUD AWARDS $49 MILLION IN GRANTS TO HELP LOW-INCOME FAMILIES GET JOB TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT
WASHINGTON - 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.
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 at www.hud.gov 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
Dist. 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
For a list of local housing authorities receiving funding, visit HUD's website.
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