Rental and Utility Assistance for Certain Low-Income Veteran Families

• Published date: 28 September 2020
• Citation: 85 FR 60882
• Record Number: 2020-21352
• Section: Notices
• Court: Veterans Affairs Department

Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 188 (Monday, September 28, 2020)

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 188 (Monday, September 28, 2020)]
                [Notices]
                [Page 60882]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2020-21352]
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                DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
                Rental and Utility Assistance for Certain Low-Income Veteran
                Families
                AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.
                ACTION: Notice.
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                SUMMARY: The Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program
                has enabled grantees to augment available housing options for homeless
                Veterans in high-rent burden communities by increasing the rental
                assistance for up to 2 years before recertification. This notice will
                establish locations where the SSVF grantees can place Veterans in
                housing with this rental subsidy.
                DATES: SSVF grantees can place Veterans in housing with the rental
                subsidy described in title 38 CFR 62.34(a)(8) effective October 1,
                2019.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Kuhn, Homeless Program Office,
                Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program Office, 810 Vermont
                Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, 202-632-8596. (This is not a toll-free
                number.)
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a document published in the Federal
                Register on August 28, 2019, the Department of Veterans Affairs
                published a final rule, which revised its regulations that govern the
                SSVF Program, which is authorized under 38 U.S.C 2044. 84 FR 45074.
                This rule, which amended 38 CFR 62.34(a)(6) and (8), extends the
                ability of SSVF grantees to provide rental assistance in certain areas
                where the limited availability of affordable housing makes it difficult
                to reduce a community's population of homeless Veterans. Through the
                provision of these subsidies, the pool of available housing can be
                expanded as program participants have access to a broader rental
                market. Section 62.34(a)(8) states that extremely low-income Veteran
                families and very low-income Veteran families who meet the criteria of
                38 CFR 62.11 may be eligible to receive a rental subsidy for a 2-year
                period without recertification. Section 62.34(a)(8) further states that
                the applicable counties will be published annually in the Federal
                Register. As stated in the notice, a family must live in one of these
                applicable counties to be eligible for this subsidy. The counties will
                be chosen based on the cost and availability of affordable housing for
                both individuals and families within that county.
                 On February 12, 2020, VA published a list of eligible counties for
                Fiscal Year 2020. SSVF seeks to expand the that list to include some
                adjacent counties frequently used as housing options for Veteran
                families. On July 20, 2020, VHA issued a memorandum consistent with 42
                U.S.C. 5141, which waived the limitation in section 62.34(a)(8) on the
                publication of eligible counties to once annually. Accordingly, SSVF
                may now publish applicable counties for the rental subsidy in section
                62.34(a)(8) more than once annually in the Federal Register during the
                period indicated in the July 20, 2020, memorandum. This notice
                identifies additional counties designated for purposes of the shallow
                subsidy under the SSVF program.
                 Locations: In addition to the counties listed in 85 FR 8098, this
                rental subsidy will be available in the following counties:
                 California: Sacramento, Kings, Tulare, Ventura, Solano, Santa Cruz,
                Amador and San Joaquin;
                 Maryland: Prince Georges and Montgomery;
                 Virginia: Fairfax and Prince William;
                 Washington: Pierce and Snohomish;
                 Hawaii: Kauai, Maui and Hawaii; and
                 New York: Nassau, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Ulster, Sullivan
                and Suffolk.
                Signing Authority
                 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, approved this
                document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document
                to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as
                an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Brooks D.
                Tucker, Acting Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, approved
                this document on September 21, 2020 for publication.
                Luvenia Potts,
                Regulation Development Coordinator,Office of Regulation Policy &
                Management, Office of the Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs.
                [FR Doc. 2020-21352 Filed 9-25-20; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 8320-01-P