2019 Family Unification Program Notice of Funding Availability | FR 6300 N 41

Opportunity Information: Apply for FR 6300 N 41

The 2019 Family Unification Program (FUP) Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) is a discretionary HUD grant competition that expands Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) assistance through a formal partnership between local Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) and Public Child Welfare Agencies (PCWAs). The basic aim is to prevent family separation and reduce homelessness among young people exiting foster care by using tenant-based rental assistance paired with child welfare coordination and supportive services. The opportunity was issued by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development under CFDA 14.880, with applications due December 17, 2019 (electronic submissions required by 11:59 p.m. ET).

The program targets two specific populations. First, it serves families where the lack of safe, stable, or adequate housing is a primary reason a child is at imminent risk of being placed into out-of-home care, or where inadequate housing is delaying a childs return home from out-of-home care. In other words, the voucher assistance is intended to remove housing as the barrier that is driving foster care placement or preventing reunification. Second, it serves youth who are at least 18 and not more than 24 years old (meaning they have not reached their 25th birthday) who have left foster care or will leave foster care within 90 days, consistent with a transition plan referenced in Section 475(5)(H) of the Social Security Act, and who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. A key statutory rule applies to the youth component: any voucher issued to an eligible youth can only provide housing assistance for up to 36 months, which makes the supportive service and self-sufficiency strategy especially important.

HUD also uses this NOFA to push several policy priorities that go beyond simply issuing vouchers. A central theme is stronger coordination across systems: HUD expects applicants to increase collaboration between the PHA, the PCWA, and the local Continuum of Care (CoC) homelessness planning network so housing resources and child welfare/homelessness services are aligned rather than operating in silos. Another priority is better community use of data, meaning applicants are encouraged to leverage available local information to target need, track outcomes, and allocate resources strategically. HUD also emphasizes linking FUP households to the HUD Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program or comparable self-sufficiency efforts, reflecting the idea that rental assistance should be paired with employment, education, and financial stability supports when possible. Increased access to supportive services is highlighted as a priority as well, reinforcing that successful family stabilization and successful transitions from foster care often require more than rent help alone. Finally, HUD stresses community accountability, encouraging applicants to set clear goals and standards of success so the community can measure whether the program is actually preventing unnecessary foster care placements, speeding reunifications, and reducing youth homelessness.

Compared with the prior FUP NOFA, HUD flags several notable changes applicants needed to pay attention to. The NOFA revises the maximum number of vouchers that can be awarded based on PHA voucher size, which affects how large an award a given housing agency can receive. It also expands or clarifies definitions by adding additional terms, which can matter for eligibility and for how an applicant structures its approach. HUD streamlines the required Statement of Need, suggesting a more focused or less burdensome narrative compared with earlier rounds. In addition, the NOFA introduces a new rating factor related to certification (spelled in the notice as a "Rating Factor Ceterification"), signaling that HUD updated the way applications would be scored and what documentation or assurances would be evaluated during review.

Administratively, this funding opportunity is a grant instrument with an award ceiling listed at $1,200,000 and an expectation of about 40 awards. Eligible applicants are described broadly as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)," which in practice generally points to PHAs as the primary applicants given the voucher program structure, operating in required partnership with child welfare agencies and in coordination with the CoC. Overall, the 2019 FUP NOFA is designed to use HCV vouchers as a housing platform while requiring cross-agency collaboration and outcome focus, with the specific goal of keeping families together and helping youth exiting foster care avoid homelessness during a time-limited assistance period.

• The US Department of Housing and Urban Development in the housing sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2019 Family Unification Program Notice of Funding Availability" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 14.880.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 18, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 17, 2019 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 40 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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