Standards for Success is the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) data collection and reporting framework for measuring HUD Participants’ self-sufficiency and ability to obtain and maintain housing. It is the approach used by discretionary grant programs to report their work. The Standards for Success framework focuses on eighteen (18) indicators aligned to measure Participants’ self-sufficiency and quality of life.

Following is the text of the message HUD sent out on February 15:

This email notification is for all HUD Multifamily Housing Service Coordinator (MFSC) Program grantees and Multifamily Housing budget-based (B-b) service coordinator properties. If you have reported under Standards for Success in the past, thank you for continuing to report in the current reporting period (October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019). If this is your first time reporting under Standards for Success, welcome.

To reiterate for past participants and to introduce for new participants, HUD Standards for Success is HUD’s newly developed standardized reporting framework for its discretionary-funded programs. The framework’s main tenets are: (1) standardization of data elements, measures, definitions, metrics, and reporting periods across HUD programs; (2) alignment of programmatic data elements and measures with higher-level agency priority goals and objectives; and (3) the utilization of record-level reports for greater analysis and responsiveness of programs.

The third tenet, record-level reports, may be new to those reporting under Standards for Success for the first time. While in the past HUD programs may have asked for aggregated information, under Standards for Success you will simply create, maintain, and submit a report for each individual receiving services per your HUD Multifamily Housing program. You will not have to aggregate this data; HUD will do those calculations after reports are submitted.

The four bullets below specify who must register for Standards for Success.

• If you are a Multifamily Housing budget-based (B-b) service coordinator property that will be reporting under Standards for Success for the first time and DO NOT use AASC Online or FamilyMetrics software, then you NEED to register for Standards for Success.
• If you are a Multifamily Housing budget-based (B-b) service coordinator property that will be reporting under Standards for Success for the first time and use AASC Online or FamilyMetrics software, then you DO NOT need to register for Standards for Success. AASC Online / FamilyMetrics will register for you.
• If you are a Multifamily Housing Service Coordinator grantee and have not reported under Standards for Success before, you DO NOT need to register for Standards for Success. Your account will be created automatically by GrantSolutions.
• If you are a Multifamily Housing Service Coordinator grantee or budget-based service coordinator property and have reported under Standards for Success before, you DO NOT need to register. You are already accounted for and may continue to report under Standards for Success.

***You will receive a subsequent email notification providing you with the web link to register online for Standards for Success.***

MFSC grantees and B-b properties reporting under Standards for Success for the first time, your reporting period start date will be January 1, 2019. (Please be aware that in the GrantSolutions inForm tool, it will state the reporting period start date as October 1, 2018. This can be ignored. Your reporting period start date is January 1, 2019.) For everyone, the reporting period end date is September 30, 2019. For everyone, the report submission due date is October 30, 2019. After this reporting period concludes on September 30, 2019, thereafter everyone’s reporting period start date, end date, and submission date will be October 1, September 30, and October 30, respectively.

General expectations are that you collect and report Standards for Success data to the best of your ability, timely, following your program’s terms, conditions, and requirements. All data elements applied to your account must be answered in order to submit successfully; HOWEVER, you should act and engage with your service recipients per your program’s standards practices. Where appropriate, answers such as “Information not collected” and “N/A” (Not Applicable) may be used in those specific circumstances.

Accessible to you is the HUD Exchange Standards for Success Web Page. It is an online resource for you to find important information, technical assistance, training materials, and important links. It will be updated in the next few days to reflect 2019 updates. Currently, it has old 2018 information; notwithstanding, the links to the Reporting Tools, Contacts, and Training Material and Resources are still up-to-date.

Training materials posted online on HUDExchange review the Standards for Success program’s objectives, components, and the Grantee’s role within it, enabling those new to the online platform with the understanding of the key activities Grantees are requested to perform, where to access training and reference resources, and how to communicate feedback and questions.

Please refer to the following resources for additional assistance:

Thank you again for your participation and we appreciate what your work brings to your communities.