Sneak Preview: VA Program To Provide Legal Services to Homeless Vets
(The following was excerpted from a recent Grants Management Compliance Expert article.) The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has authorized a new grant program that will award federal funds to eligible entities that will provide certain legal services for homeless veterans and veterans at risk for homelessness. The agency recently issued an interim final rule, which goes into effect July 1, establishing the program’s eligibility criteria, application requirements, scoring criteria, a list of constraints on the allocation and use of the funds, and other applicable requirements.
The interim rule implements regulations at 38 C.F.R. Part 79 for the new Legal Services for Homeless Veterans and Veterans At-Risk Homelessness Grant Program, which is authorized under the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act (Pub. L. 116-315).
To be eligible for funding under the program, a public or private entity must: (1) have the capacity to effectively administer the grant; (2) demonstrate that adequate financial support will be available to carry out the services for which the grant is sought, consistent with the legal services grant application; and (3) agree to meet the program’s applicable criteria and requirements. Eligible entities are state, local and tribal governments; local public authorities; school districts; special districts; intrastate districts; councils of government; any other regional or interstate governmental entity; nonprofit organizations; and organizations of past or present members of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Veterans eligible to receive services under the program must be homeless or those who do not have sufficient resources or support networks (e.g., family, friends, faith-based or other social networks) immediately available to prevent them from moving to an emergency shelter or another place, referred to as veterans at risk of being homeless. The rule notes that an at-risk veteran also meets one or more of several other conditions, among which include that the veteran: (1) has moved because of economic reasons two or more times during the 60 days immediately preceding the application for assistance; (2) is living in the home of another because of economic hardship; (3) has been notified in writing that his or her right to occupy his or her current housing or living situation will be terminated within 21 days after the date of application for assistance; and (4) is constructively evicted from his or her current housing because of untenable conditions created by the landlord, such as shutting off electricity and water or discriminatory acts.
(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)
Join us for our following Thompson Grants events:
Federal Grants Forum | June 15-17, 2022 | Denver, Colo.
Federal Grants Forum For Institutions of Higher Education | Sept. 28-29, 2022 | Virtual Event
