The Big Picture: Housing Policy Update

1. The Big Picture: Housing Policy Update • Presented by Jeremy Rosen, Executive Director, National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness. • (202) 714-5378 • jrosen@npach.org • www.npach.org

2. The Big Picture: Housing Policy Update • Key messages: • U.S. affordable housing crisis continues. • Being made worse by economy / foreclosures. • Economy / foreclosure is driving an increase in family homelessness. • Federal response gets a grade of incomplete so far. • This presentation will focus on “the good news.”

3. The Big Picture: Housing Policy Update • Two key issues for this session: • Family Unification Program (FUP) Section 8 vouchers • National Housing Trust Fund • Ask me later • Neighborhood Stabilization (foreclosure) • HUD-VASH Section 8 vouchers for disabled homeless veterans

4. Family Unification Program (FUP) • What is FUP? • Section 8 vouchers for families, used specifically to prevent families from losing their children to the foster care system or to reunify children who have been in foster care with their parent(s). • Section 8 vouchers for youth aging out of foster care, time limited to 18 months, so that youth can have stable housing as they transition to independence.

5. Family Unification Program (FUP) • Why is FUP so important? • Preventing family separation due primarily to housing is vital to child well-being. • Without stable housing, far too many youth aging out of foster care go directly to a homeless shelter. • Cost effective: • The average family involved with child welfare has 2.7 children. Foster care for those children costs $46,000 per year; FUP voucher plus services costs $13,000. Could save $2 billion / year nationwide.

6. Family Unification Program (FUP) • Last year, advocates obtained $20 million in new FUP funding. First new money since 2000. • Any day now, HUD will release a nationwide application for approximately 3,000 new FUP vouchers. • Application must come jointly from Public Housing Agency and local child welfare agency. • Vouchers will hopefully be awarded very early in 2009.

7. National Housing Trust Fund • NHTF has been a long standing goal of affordable housing advocates (there are over 300 state and local trust funds). • NHTF concept – Get federal money, outside of the HUD budget, to pay for production, preservation, and rehabilitation of 1.5 million units of affordable housing over 10 years. • Key concept – dedicated source of funds.

8. National Housing Trust Fund • After nearly 10 years of trying, legislation finally passed in Summer, 2008. • Money to be taken from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – a % of their “new business purchases.” • Delayed implementation – money would begin to flow in Fall, 2009. – more would come in 2010, 2011, and beyond. • Money would go to states and in turn from states to developers of affordable housing.

9. National Housing Trust Fund • 75% of money would have to be spent on the lowest income people (at or below 30% of area median income). • Key concerns: • Not enough $$$. • Fannie and Freddie have been taken over by new federal regulator – we are hopeful that by Fall of 2009 the regulator will allow them to make payments into the NHTF. • Politics - “slush fund for liberal groups.”