***NEW! FSS Funding Notices***
FY24 Priority Deadline: Friday, November 1, 2024

Updated FSS Online Training is available!  Every FSS program is required to have at least one person take the training and pass the quiz by July 31, 2024.  

Overview

What is FSS? on Vimeo

Que es FSS? on Vimeo

Promotes the development of local strategies to coordinate public and private resources that help housing choice voucher program participants, public housing tenants, and tenants in the Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) program obtain employment that will enable participating families to achieve economic independence and reduce dependence on welfare assistance and rental subsidies.

Nature of Program: The FSS program is administered by public housing agencies (PHAs) with the help of program coordinating committees (PCCs). Owners of a multifamily property with a Section 8 assistance contract may voluntarily have an FSS program and may pay for FSS coordinators using residual receipt accounts. The PHA/owner and an adult member of each participating family execute a Contract of Participation, generally for five years with a possible two-year extension for good cause, incorporating the specific training and services plan for the family. Participating families are provided with an interest-bearing escrow account made up of the difference of the rent the family pays when entering the program and the increased rent that would be charged as the family’s earned income increased. On completion of the FSS contract, a family may claim its escrow account, if the person who signs the Contract is employed, no family member is receiving welfare assistance, and the family has met their other individual goals.

FSS Coordinators in each local program build partnerships with employers and service providers in the community to help participants obtain jobs and services. These services may include childcare, transportation, basic adult education, job training, employment counseling, substance/alcohol abuse treatment, financial empowerment coaching, asset-building strategies, household skill training, homeownership counseling, and more.

Other than annual funding by a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), for FSS program coordinators’ salaries, no specific funding is provided by HUD.

(NEW!) FSS Fact Sheet: Provides general FSS program information.

PHA Contact Information: for contact information of all PHAs by State, not only PHAs that administer an FSS program, click here.

Funding for FSS Program Coordinator Salaries

• FY23 New and Renewal Awards
• Please Read for Information on FY23 FSS Funding (FY23 NOFO)        
• FY23 Appendix D for NOFO - Funded FY22 with Updated FY23 requests
• FY23 Appendix E for NOFO - Updated Eligible but Not Funded in FY22
• FY22 Appendix C
• FY22 FSS New and Renewal Awards & Updated Guidebook Announced
• Prior Years’ NOFAs

FSS ACHIEVEMENT METRIC (FAM)

PIC Reporting

• PIH Notice 2016-08 - Inventory Management System/PIH Information Center (IMS/PIC) Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Reporting and FSS Program Portability Provisions - The purpose of this notice is to provide information to PHAs on how to improve the accuracy of the FSS information submitted into IMS/PIC.
• Eight-part webinar discussing PIH Notice 2016-08
  • Powerpoint Slides, click here
• Letter to PHAs on PIC system changes related to Section 17 “FSS Addendum” of form HUD-50058 (August 28, 2014)
• PIH-2010-25- Timely Reporting Requirements of the Family Report (form HUD-50058 and form HUD-50058 MTW) into the Public and Indian Housing Information Center

FSS Guidebook and Trainings 

• Updated Administering an Effective Family Self-Sufficiency Program: A Guidebook Based on Evidence and Promising Practices (January 2023)
• Program Design - Trauma-Informed Care & ACES - This training was given to Jobs Plus grantees, but is applicable to all supportive services programs. (March 2023)
  • Slides
• Self-Sufficiency Best Practices for Program Design & Collaboration - What skills do your staff need to have? What should you consider in your workflow? Relational Organizing as the key for Recruitment & Retention. What are some innovative ways to engage and connect residents? (March 2023)
  • Slides
• FSS Online Training 
• FSS Resource Library page on HUDExchange
• FSS During COVID-19: A Conversation with HUD and Compass on HUD's Guidance, Flexibility, and Innovation - This page includes the webinar recording, the slides for download, and the written Q&A.
• FSS During COVID-19, Part II: Innovations & Lessons from the Field- This also includes a high-level overview of the Eviction Prevention and Stability Toolkit

• July 28, 2020 HUD PIH webinar on supportive services available to PHAs and Tribes/TDHEs during the COVID-19 epidemic. Recording, slide deck

• PHAs, Apprenticeship Programs & Unions – Why and How To!
  On February 17th, 2022, HUD's Office of Field Policy and Management hosted four-hour workshop for PHAs to gain a deeper understanding of best practices, tools, and resources needed to implement new or connect with already established pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships in their communities. Topics included recruitment and retention of workers, benefits of apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships, increasing women’s economic opportunity in construction, and funding sources to support workforce development and career support services. 

• Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Guide to Remote Financial Coaching and related Bureau resources. You can access the recording, slides, transcript, links to the resources discussed, and output from group activities.  This is an excellent corollary to CFPB’s Your Money, Your Goals financial empowerment and consumer protection resources for frontline staff and volunteers to use with traditionally underserved populations. This series is designed for new and experienced practitioners who would like to receive an overview of the latest resources and exchange tips and strategies for using the tools with clients. The series will focus on content related to: financial well-being, consumer protection, cash flow, credit, debt, savings, financial products, and other topics.

Program Rules and Requirements

• FY22 Grant Agreement for Renewal and New FSS grantees
• 2023 FSS Grant Agreement
• FY21 and FY22/23 NOFO Eligible Activities
• Close-Out Documents
  • SF-425 Financial Close-Out 
  • Certificate of Compliance Sample 
  • Certificate of Project Completion Sample 
• Does my FSS program have to comply with the HUD Housing Counseling Certification Requirements?
• Resources for Family Self-Sufficiency programs in Multi-Family (Project Based Rental Assistance) Properties
• FSS Mandatory Programs Exceptions - State or Area Office Approval of Exceptions to Section 8 and Public Housing Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Programs of the Mandatory Minimum Size
• Letter from IRS stating that FSS Escrow is not taxable

Accounting

• How to Report Escrow
• Accounting Brief #26 - Financial Reporting for the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program
• PIH Notice 2022-20 on Establishment of the Escrow Accounting Line and Use of Forfeited FSS Escrow

Family Unification Program (FUP) Youth and FSS Program Demonstration & Fostering Youth Initiative (FYI) Vouchers & Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities (FSHO)

In the FY2015 Appropriations Act for HUD, Congress authorized a demonstration to test the effectiveness of combining Housing Choice Vouchers for eligible youth lacking adequate housing under FUP with assistance under the FSS program.

The Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Amendments, passed by Congress in the 2021 Appropriations pairs FUP Youth and FYI vouchers with the FSS program (or similar) to extend the life of the vouchers as long as the participant is in the FSS program.  See Implementation of the Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Amendments for the Federal Register notice calling for public comment on its implementation

• Notice PIH 2016-1: Outlines the FUP-FSS demonstration and gives information on how to apply to participate.
• FUP_FSS Demonstration Slides
• FUP_FSS Demonstration Approved PHAs
• For more information about FUP click here.

Publications on HUD's FSS program

• Strengthening economic mobility through the Family Self-Sufficiency Program (2024)
• More Multifamily Owners Are Discovering One Of The ‘Best-Kept Secrets’ Of U.S. Housing Policy (2023)
• Helping renters build assets and move out of poverty by scaling HUD's best kept secret (brookings.edu) (2023)
• Abt’s Evaluations of Compass Working Capital‘s innovative model for implementing HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program (2017-2021)
• Work, Engagement, and Well-being at the Midpoint: Findings from the Family Self-Sufficiency Evaluation (2021)
• Services in HUD-Assisted Housing – HUD PD&R Quarterly Update - April 29, 2021 (2021)
• MTW FSS Innovations (2020)
• Upward Mobility in the Family Self-Sufficiency Program: An Expert Q&A (2018)
• FSS Celebrates 25 Years! 25 Years of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program: Families Working, Families Prospering (2017)
• Improving Outcomes among Employment Program Participants Through Goal Attainment: A Conceptual Framework (2017)
• The Family Self-Sufficiency Program Demonstration (ongoing): MDRC’s national evaluation of FSS which builds upon the Opportunity NYC-Work Rewards and provides FSS’s effectiveness in diverse cities and local contexts.
• Evaluating the Impacts of an Enhanced Family Self-Sufficiency Program (2017) – including Review of FSS Evaluation Literature
• Report to Congress on FSS Best Practices in response to Committee Request, FY16 Appropriations
• Report to Congress on FSS Best Practices in response to Committee Request, FY15 Appropriations
• Reflections on the Experience of Launching an Asset Building and Financial Capability Model for the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program (2015)
• Housing More People More Effectively through a Dynamic Housing Policy (2014)
• The Bridge to Family Self-Sufficiency (BridgeFSS) Demonstration: MDRC and the Crittenton Women’s Union (2014)
• Asset-Oriented Rental Assistance: Next Generation Reforms for HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program (2013)
• Working Toward Self-Sufficiency (2011): a report on Opportunity NYC-Work Rewards, the first random assignment of FSS conducted by MDRC.
• The Business Case for FSS (2011)
• Evaluation of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program: Prospective Study (2011): a study which examined programmatic features and family characteristics that appear to influence the success of families in completing FSS program requirements. The final analysis of a prospective study of the FSS program for families that use HCVs is presented in this report.
• Taking Asset Building and Earnings Incentives to Scale in HUD-Assisted Rental Housing (2011)
• Rental Assistance Asset Accounts: An Opportunity to Support Work and Savings Among Recipients of Federal Housing Assistance (2009)
• CSS and FSS: A Perfect Marriage (2006): an article on how HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program Can Help HOPE VI Sites Achieve their Self-Sufficiency Objectives.
• “HUD Program Evaluation Confirms FSS’ Success in Promoting Self-Sufficiency and Asset-Building” (2006)
• Evaluation of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program: Retrospective Analysis (2004): a report describing the FSS program and the change in self-sufficiency among participants of the program (1996 through 2000 data used).
• Supporting the Employment Outcomes of SSI and SSDI Beneficiaries in Section 8 or Subsidized Housing (2003)
• The Family Self-Sufficiency Program: HUD's Best Kept Secret for Promoting Employment and Asset Growth (2001): a paper that analyzes the value of the FSS program for tenants and PHAs and offers suggestions for overcoming perceived or actual barriers to PHA implementation or expansion of the program.

Other Resources

• (New!) Bridging the Wealth Gap: An Agenda for Economic Justice and Asset Building for Renters (2023)
• Healthy Together: A Toolkit for Health Center Collaborations with HUD-Assisted Housing and Community-Based Organizations Webinar (2022)
• Choice Neighborhoods Toolkits on Family Resiliency, Education, Internet Connectivity and Employment (2021)
• CSS Repositioning matrix (2021)
• RAD Notice (2019)
• It Starts with Housing (2016) – Public Housing & Re-Entry
• PIH 2015-12 Administering the Community Service and Self-Sufficiency Requirement (CSSR)
• From the Ground Up: Creating Sustainable Partnerships between Public Housing Authorities and Workforce Investment Boards (2014)
• PIH 2014-26 – Financial Literacy and Asset Building
• PIH 2000-11 Guidance on Establishing Cooperation Agreements for Economic Self-Sufficiency between Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Agencies
• PIH Notice 2011-51, Promoting Partnerships to Utilize Housing as a Platform for Improving Quality of Life.
• FY24 SSP Congressional Justification
• FY23 SSP Congressional Justification
• FY22 HUD Congressional Justification
• FY21 HUD Congressional Justification
• FY20 HUD Congressional Justification
• FY19 FSS HUD Congressional Justification
• HCV Program Regulations: HCV program regulations are found at 24 CFR Part 982.
• PH Program Regulations: Admission and Occupancy PH regulations are found at 24 CFR Part 960.