Representative Pete Aguilar (D-CA), a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, introduced the Affordable Housing Resident Services Act on September 12. The bill would expand eligible grantees and eligible grant uses of the existing Affordable Housing and Supportive Services Demonstration, which is administered by HHS’s Administration for Children and Families.

Under the bill, a broad array of housing providers would be eligible for the program’s grant funding, including low income housing tax credit, Section 202, and project-based Section 8 properties, etc. Affordable housing properties could use up to 25% of funding received under the grant for a service coordinator at the property; remaining funds could be used to provide supportive services to residents. Eligible services funded by the grant would include supports for older adults, mental health, alcohol and addiction treatment, educational opportunities for youth and adult residents, after-school programs for children and teenagers, self-sufficiency resources, resources on future home ownership, financial literacy training, assistance to residents with disabilities, and other community services. “As we work to address the nation’s housing crisis and California’s homelessness epidemic by building more affordable housing, the importance of connecting residents with quality supportive services is even more vital to help them succeed,” Representative Aguilar said in a statement upon the bill’s introduction.

LeadingAge worked with staff on the bill, which LeadingAge supports.

As enrollment in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans increases steadily (now 54% of Medicare beneficiaries), many older adults are selecting MA or Special Needs Plans (SNPs) offering special supplemental benefits (SSBs) in the form of flexible benefit cards (“flex cards”). The flex cards provide a monthly or annual allowance for beneficiaries to use on a select list of items or services, including over-the-counter medications, groceries, but in some cases, assistance with utilities or rent.

Some older adults are unknowingly jeopardizing their eligibility for various government assistance programs—such as Medicaid, SSI, and federal rental assistance—because there is widespread confusion on whether flex card benefits should be included in income and/or asset calculations.

Learn more about LeadingAge’s advocacy here.

Although the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding for direct, non-shelter services is rare, funding for certain supportive services is available for HUD Section 202 PRAC properties to support older adults with low incomes as they age in community.

A new LeadingAge resource reviews HUD’s Supportive Services Fee for Section 202 PRAC properties and explains how housing providers can request and utilize the funding to impact resident outcomes. LeadingAge members can access the resource for free here (more than $200 value).

HUD posted its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for grants for Service Coordinators in Multifamily Housing, applications for which are due May 23. The FAQs are replete with questions posed by LeadingAge and our housing provider members and give insight and guidance on questions that will help HUD multifamily providers submit applications for the $40 million HUD is making available for new service coordinator grants in this round of funding. For example, whether software expenses are eligible program cost (they are) and whether applicants need a community needs assessment survey for this NOFO (they do not, but they do need to submit a Supportive Services Plan).

LeadingAge advocates vigorously for new service coordinator grant funds from Congress and is pleased that HUD can make available this $40 million to fund about 160 three-year service coordination programs. These are the first such service coordinator funding grants in 10 years. The FAQs can be found at the bottom of HUD’s “Service Coordinators in Multifamily Housing Discretionary FY24” page, here. Access LeadingAge resources on the service coordinator NOFO here.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) again postponed the application deadline for the agency’s current Service Coordinator funding opportunity. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) materials have been updated on grants.gov to reflect the new deadline of May 23. Read the full article with more details. 

HUD has extended the NOFO deadline for the new service coordinator grant applications to April 9, 2024. HUD is still working to complete its NOFO FAQ, which LeadingAge helped to develop.

Listen to the recording of HUD’s recent webinar.

HUD hosted a webinar on new funding for Service Coordinator grants on February 6. Hundreds of people attended the webinar, where HUD provided an overview of the Notice of Funding Opportunity and addressed questions sent in advance, including questions submitted by LeadingAge. During the webinar, HUD stated that the minimum office space guideline of 350 square feet—seen as infeasible by many housing providers—will be considered a recommendation rather than a requirement by HUD staff reviewing applications.

The webinar recording will be posted soon.

HUD has made technical corrections to its Service Coordination Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). After LeadingAge made the agency aware of discrepancies in submission requirements, HUD posted new versions of the documents that clarify narrative lengths for grant application components and correct the overall submission limit to 25 pages. The requirements for the 25-page total includes:

1. Affirmative Marketing – 1 page
2. Experience Promoting Racial Equity – 1 page
3. Advancing Racial Equity – 1 page
4. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing – 1 page
5. Narrative describing the role of the service coordinator in implementing the supportive services plan – 1 page
6. Office Space Requirement – 5 pages
7. Continued Education for SC- 5 pages
8. Supportive service plan – 10 pages

The application submission deadline is still March 14; members can register for LeadingAge’s next Service Coordinator grant funding workshop on February 8.

LeadingAge has published a new members-only resource on HUD’s new service coordinator grant funding opportunity. The resource goes through each section of the Notice of Funding Opportunity and covers application scoring, program budgeting, and key application components.

There are two upcoming opportunities to learn more about HUD’s new grant funding for Service Coordinators in Multifamily Housing communities.

• Service Coordinator NOFO Webinar hosted by HUD: February 6, 2-3 p.m. ET
• LeadingAge Workshop Series: HUD Service Coordinator Grant Opportunity #2: February 8, 12:30-3 p.m. ET, free and exclusively for LeadingAge members

You can view all of LeadingAge’s housing gatherings, including the recording of our first Service Coordinator grant workshop on January 11. Contact LeadingAge Director of Housing Operations and Policy: Juliana Bilowich jbilowich@leadingage.org / 2025081212 for more info on accessing Service Coordination.

Join LeadingAge for a members-only workshop series on January 11 and February 8 at 12:30 p.m. ET to discuss the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and the application process. Together, we’ll navigate the application requirements, including best practices for creating a supportive services plan.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released new funding for Service Coordination programs in affordable senior housing on December 13. LeadingAge was instrumental in securing the funds for the much-anticipated expansion of HUD’s Service Coordination programs.

The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) posted by HUD will fund approximately 160 Service Coordination programs across the country.  The program, called the Service Coordinators in Multifamily Housing program, has not seen new funding from HUD since 2013. Current Service Coordinators are funded through renewal funding through the agency, and there is high demand for new funding. The deadline to apply for new Service Coordinator funding is March 14, 2024.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced new funding for the Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) Service Coordinator program for Public Housing Agencies on October 19. ROSS service coordinators serve Public and Indian Housing (PIH) residents by providing case management and coordinating available resources in the community.

HUD also extended eligibility of the ROSS Service Coordination Program to multifamily housing properties that converted from public housing to Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) properties, including either Project-based Voucher (PBV) or Project-based Rental Assistance (PBRA). This key change helps properties to maintain (or restart) service coordination through RAD conversion.

Multifamily housing properties that did not convert under RAD are not eligible for ROSS Service Coordination Program funding.

Following strong LeadingAge advocacy, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has begun approving affordable senior housing property requests for HUD to waive outdated requirements that prohibit service coordination programs at certain properties. In 2022 and 2023, several LeadingAge Service Coordinator programs were cut from HUD property budgets in instances where the property did not meet standards related to minimum property unit count or minimum resident frailty levels. LeadingAge pushed back strongly and urged HUD to correct its interpretation of outdated policies on property eligibility requirements.

LeadingAge will continue to work with HUD on a long-term policy solution that will prevent disruptions in both budget-based and grant funded service coordination programs.

Following LeadingAge advocacy, lawmakers introduced the Expanding Service Coordinators Act to grow and improve Service Coordination programs in affordable housing on August 9, 2023. The legislation would increase funding for federal service coordinator grant programs and make improvements to training and retention opportunities.

LeadingAge helped craft the bill before it was reintroduced, including advocacy with the congressional offices to create new service coordination grants for affordable senior housing developed through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), which currently does not have a clear funding mechanism to incorporate service coordinators.

On February 9, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published LeadingAge-driven guidance on the supportive services fee for Section 202 PRAC properties. The additional budget allotment helps HUD-assisted properties provide independent living services to older adults aging in community.

The fee, which can total between $15-$27 per unit per month at Section 202 PRAC properties, funds services and activities that support independent aging. LeadingAge initiated the gudiance process with HUD and was instrumental in producing the resulting Housing Notice, which will help providers request and implement the additional funding.

In an August 25 letter to HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, LeadingAge and the American Association of Service Coordinators (AASC) requested urgent action to release Service Coordinator grant payments. After two consecutive years with nine-month delays in grant funding for the 12-month Service Coordinator program, LeadingAge’s letter urged both quick action to remedy the funding lapse and comprehensive action to reform grant administration.

“The [funding] delay is forcing property owners across the country to disrupt access to services for HUD-assisted older adults by laying off Service Coordinators, discontinuing programming, delaying building repairs to free up funding, and threatening property operations to make ends meet,” reads the letter.