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Presentation, discussion, and possible action on State Fiscal Year 2027 Homeless Housing and Services Program Award.
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
WHEREAS, the Homeless Housing and Services Program (HHSP) was created by the 81st Texas Legislature to be administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (the Department) to fund homelessness prevention and homeless services in Texas municipalities with populations over 285,500;
WHEREAS, the Texas Legislature has, through the enactment of House Bill (HB) 1 (89th Legislature), provided General Revenue funds of $6,299,984 each year of the biennium for HHSP;
WHEREAS, HB 1 included Rider 14, designating $1,500,000 of HHSP funds each year of the biennium to provide services to unaccompanied homeless youth and homeless young adults 24 years of age and younger to be distributed through a youth set-aside within HHSP;
WHEREAS, after a reduction of $72,000 for annual Department administrative expenses, funds in the amount of $4,727,984 are available for award for the HHSP general set-aside;
WHEREAS, the allocation formula for HHSP is set forth in 10 TAC §7.23, Allocation of Funds and Formula;
WHEREAS, the cities in Texas with a population that meet the threshold criteria for HHSP are Arlington, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, Plano, and San Antonio;
WHEREAS, at the Board meeting of July 9, 2026, the Department presented and the Board approved HHSP SFY 2027 awards to all eligible entities, except for Haven for Hope of Bexar County; and
WHEREAS, the Previous Participation Review Approval Process (PPRAP) included a review of award and compliance history, and recommends approval of the 2027 HHSP award Haven for Hope of Bexar County with no conditions;
NOW, therefore, it is hereby
RESOLVED, that the Director and his designees be, and each of them hereby is, authorized, empowered, and directed, for and on behalf of the Department, to take any and all actions necessary or advisable to effectuate the award of not less than $868,712 in SFY 2027 HHSP General funds to Haven for Hope of Bexar County.
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BACKGROUND
HHSP funding is allocated to municipalities with a population of 285,500 or greater for the provision of homeless assistance and homeless prevention activities. HB 1 passed in Regular Session by the 89th Texas Legislature authorized state general revenue funding totaling $12,599,968 over the biennium for HHSP. Rider 14 requires that of the total authorized funds, $3,000,000 is set-aside for provision of HHSP homeless assistance to youth under the age of 25. The Department programmed $9,455,968 of the funds to be awarded to HHSP eligible Subrecipients and retained the remaining $144,000 ($72,000 per year) for its administration.
The Department administers HHSP in accordance with Tex. Gov’t Code §2306.2585 and 10 TAC Chapters 1 and 2, and Chapter 7, Subchapters A and B. Allowable activities include case management for households experiencing or at-risk of homelessness; construction, conversion, or rehabilitation of structures targeted to serving Homeless persons or persons at-risk of homelessness; essential services for Homeless persons or persons at risk of homelessness; provision of direct services; operation of emergency shelters or administrative facilities; and other Homeless-related activity, as approved by the Department in writing. For the HHSP youth set aside funds, Rider 14 specifically lists eligible services as case management, emergency shelter, street outreach, and transitional living.
In accordance with 10 TAC §7.21, Purpose and Use, HHSP provides funding to municipalities eligible for an award based on their population, as determined by the most recent available One Year American Community Survey (ACS). HHSP is allocated to Arlington, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, Plano, and San Antonio. The allocation formula outlined in 10 TAC §7.23 resulted in the allocations shown in Attachment A. The most recent full Point-In-Time Count as referenced in 10 TAC §7.23, which includes a full demographic count for sheltered and unsheltered persons, was conducted in 2024; therefore, the Department utilized the 2024 Point-In-Time Count in allocating the HHSP funds.
During the Board meeting of July 9, 2026, the Board approved HHSP SFY 2027 awards for all eligible municipalities, except for the City of San Antion’s General Set-Aside allocation. Pursuant to 10 TAC §7.22, a municipality eligible for an HHSP allocation may designate a nonprofit organization to administer HHSP funds on its behalf. The City of San Antonio had indicated its intent to designate Haven for Hope to administer its SFY 2027 General Set-Aside allocation; however, the required resolution had not been submitted in time to present the award recommendation during the July 9th Board meeting. The Department has now received the required resolution and recommends awarding the General Set-Aside allocation to Haven for Hope of Bexar County.
In accordance with the Previous Participation Rule at 10 TAC §1.302, Haven for Hope of Bexar County underwent a review of compliance history and prior program performance before being presented for Board consideration. Based on that review, the PPRAP recommends approval of an award to Haven for Hope of Bexar County.
The effective contract term will be September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2027, unless an alternative term is requested by the Subrecipient and approved by the Department. In any case, the contract must be executed and begin no later than November 30, 2026.