HUD Secretary Asks Housing Authorities for MFP Update

HUD Secretary Asks Housing Authorities for MFP Update

HUD and MFP, Another Handle - Information Bulletin #217 (7/07)

On July 9, 2007, Secretary Alphonso Jackson, U.S. Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, wrote a "Dear Executive Director" 
letter to each public housing authority. In this letter, he traced 
the Money Follows the Person legislation, together with the New 
Freedom Initiative and Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. This letter 
follows, in part, his meeting in March 2007 with ADAPT members in 
Washington, D.C.

The Secretary has asked each Executive Director to submit to HUD 
by August 31, 2007 "details about how your agency [i.e., Public 
Housing Authorities] is implementing strategies to carry out the 
MFP Rebalancing Initiative." You might remember that Secretary 
Jackson in October 2006 wrote another "Dear Executive Director" 
letter in which he "encouraged" them "to set local preferences for 
the use of Public Housing units, Housing Choice Vouchers, and 
Mainstream Vouchers to promote the MFP Rebalancing Initiative."

In the July 9, 2007 letter, he goes further. He recommends they 
"engage" those agencies that "play a critical role by advocating 
for integrated housing opportunities for seniors and people with 
disabilities," specifically mentioning P&A agencies and 
Independent Living Centers.

He asks each Public Housing Authority to determine how it can 
"accommodate people who may benefit from the MFP Rebalancing 
Initiative," including "establishing local preferences [for people 
coming out of institutions], ensuring access to waitlists [which 
could be opened for persons being deinstitutionalized], and 
modifying your application process."

Advocates should use the July 9, 2007 HUD letter to meet with your
Executive Director (and Board of Directors) as soon as possible to 
review how both the July 9, 2007 and October 2006 suggestions have 
been implemented, if at all. Specifically:
 
1. Are the Mainstream Vouchers and Housing Choice Vouchers
   directed to persons with disabilities who are part of the MFP
   program?

2. Is there a local preference for both vouchers and for public
   housing units for persons leaving nursing homes and other
   institutions?

3. Can people in the MFP gain immediate access to waiting lists
   for vouchers and public housing units?

Given the July 9, 2007 letter, there should not be excuses that a 
Housing Authority cannot do, at least, these three. The Secretary 
stated that he and his Department "strongly supports greater 
housing choice for seniors and people with disabilities. By 
expanding the availability of accessible, affordable, integrated 
housing options, we can, collectively, make this endeavor 
successful."
 
The HUD July 9, 2007 letter can be found at 
www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/disabilities/MFP-RebalancingMemo.PDF

At that website, there is a name and address of a Deputy Assistant
Secretary to whom the Executive Directors are to forward their 
submissions.

We hope and assume HUD would like to hear directly from you 
regarding both your successes and difficulties with your local 
Housing Authorities. So would we.

Source: Steve Gold, The Disability Odyssey continues
________________________________________________________________

For more housing news issues, see:
http://www.aapd.com/News/housing/indexhousing.php

# # #

MODERATOR, Anne Sommers, JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of the
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). To
contact Anne, please email her at JFAmoderator@aol.com. To
respond to a JFA alert or to submit an article, please see
http://www.aapd.com/JFA/JFAcontent.html.

DISCLAIMER: The JFA Listserv is designed to share information
of interest to people with disabilities and promote dialogue
in the disability community. Information circulated does not
necessarily express the views of AAPD. The JFA Listserv is
non-partisan. 

JFA ARCHIVES: All JFA postings from 1995 to present are 
available at: http://www.jfanow.org/jfanow/

JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national
coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today at 
http://www.aapd.com.

                  Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions
                     To subscribe or unsubscribe,
                send an email to majordomo@JFAnow.org
            with subscribe justice OR unsubscribe justice
                 in the body of your email message.