Housing Expansion Task Force for People with Disabilities
5th Floor West Conference Room
General Assembly Building
Richmond, Virginia 23219
1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
October 1, 2009
DRAFT MEETING NOTES
Members in attendance: Ed Turner (Chair), Barry Merchant, Bruce DeSimone, Bill Fuller, Teri Morgan, MaryMargaret Cash, Lee Price, Pat Cummins, Jason Rachel, Julie Stanley, Skip Stanley, Bill Ernst, Linda Wyatt
Members participating by phone: Marie Gerardo, Maureen Hollowell, and Joan Manley
Special Guest: Kimberly Lambert (Virginia Apartment Management Association)
UPDATES: HOUSING ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Federal
HUD Non-Elderly Disability Vouchers: Julie reported on the MFP call yesterday which highlighted the role of
MFP grantee states in working with local PHAs to apply for vouchers. The NOFA has not yet been released.
Julie stated that there are rumors that there will be 6,000 vouchers, not 4,000 and the NFA will not be released
until after October. (Sharon subsequently checked this out with HUD and got the following response: “I met with
the disability task force yesterday and did mention that there is funding left over from the 2008 NOFAs that will be
folded into the current NOFA. I did not state how much funding because I don't know how much there is. It's
possible that someone has done the math by subtracting the amount that was awarded last year (which is public
information) from the 30 million and simply added it to this year's funding. The problem with that methodology is
that there were some funds awarded after the initial public announcement and I don't think that information has
been released publicly.”) Ann Denton’s PowerPoint from the MFP call will be distributed to the group once
permission is received. (Permission was subsequently received, and the PowerPoint was distributed).
Maureen stated that Virginia is ahead of the game in establishing good working relationships with local PHAs.
Barry mentioned that it will be very important to get the needed data to illustrate need to the PHAs. Maureen
stated that in far southwest Virginia, the local CIL and PHA worked to gather the needed data by visiting nursing
facilities and determining the exact number of people needing housing assistance.
Barry also reported on the shortfall for some PHAs and the need to retract some vouchers. He explained that
PHAs no longer have the reserves to cover current vouchers, and therefore, the PHAs are forced to pullback
some of the vouchers offered. He distributed a summary, which was later distributed electronically to the group.
Unlocking Doors: Julie reported on the conference call with HUD on September 9 which was attended by Bill E.,
Liz, Jason, Skip, and Julie. HUD is currently reviewing messages and asked attendees to generate ideas about
specific pieces of information that could be used in the Information Fair in April 2010. A follow up call will occur in
the near future.
Section 202 and 811 Funding: Barry reported that HUD awarded $511 million nationally for units, however
Virginia’s share will fund only 55 units.
Other federal initiatives: No one has heard any news on the Federal Housing Trust Fund.
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State
DBHDS Housing Study: Lee reported that DBHDS has requested a 30-day extension to submit this report to the
Secretary. He noted that the need to separate services from housing is prominent in the report. Lee stated that
the DBHDS is currently in the editing process and will submit the report by Nov. 1, 2009.
Adult Foster Care Expansion: Karin Clark had sent the following information, which Julie shared with the group:
September 2009 – 17 localities reported 56 AFC homes, with 58 residents total. All 17 have at least one resident
with 9 of the 17 having plans to increase the number of AFC homes: Fairfax, Montgomery, Henrico, VA Beach,
Portsmouth and Harrisonburg/Rockingham have the majority of homes/residents.
May 2009 – 16 localities reported 53 AFC homes. 15 of the 16 had at least one resident.
April 2008: An informal survey shoed 9 localities with programs, 33 AFC homes total.
Sponsored Residential Expansion: Lee reported that SR continues to be pathway for individuals to transition
from facilities to the community and DBHDS will continue to work with both SEVTC and SSVTC to encourage use
of SR. He also stated that SWVTC has a discharge planner who specifically works with individuals and families to
transition from the facility to MFP qualified housing in the community. Lastly, Lee stated that SR continues to
grow dramatically, with 28 providers across the Commonwealth.
VHDA Housing Solutions Workgroup: Barry reported that the workgroup has met twice in September. The
meetings focused on LIHTC input sessions and the Qualified Allocation Plan. A follow-up meeting will be
scheduled in the near future to discuss other options for addressing housing and behavioral health. Barry added
that the goal is to build a community of developers that build accessible housing.
Auxiliary Grant Portability Project: Julie reported that the SSA considered a third permanent category for the
Auxiliary Grant, and determined that this would likely endanger Virginia’s MOE. The only other option at this time
is the creation of a non-SSI (i.e., General Fund) program) that would have same eligibility as the proposed pilot.
Julie remarked that this sounds very similar to the community living supplement that has been discussed and
unsuccessfully proposed for several years. Secretary Tavenner will report soon to the General Assembly on why
the AG Portability pilot could not take place.
Governor’s Housing Conference: Julie was happy to announce that the proposal for a Governor’s Housing
Conference workshop, Increasing Housing Options for Virginia’s Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities, was
accepted and will include an MFP update; housing data and barriers; progress implementing the MFP Housing
Action Plan; progress of the CILs with the SPIL; and promising HUD activities. Julie asked the group for any
specific ideas to be sent to her.
Local
CIL Activities: Maureen reported that the CILs continue their work with PHAs. She also noted that the SLIC has
provided funding for training to CILs that will take place in November in Charlottesville.
NIMBYism continues to be a barrier to community integration and increasing the capacity of community housing
options. Julie reported that members of the Olmstead Implementation Team decided to communicate legal
obligations to localities. She asked the group for any materials that might be helpful in educating local officials.
DISABILITY COMMISSION
Julie brought to the attention to the group the PowerPoint presentation for the Disability Commission. She asked
the group for input and comments by mid-October, as a presentation is likely to be requested for the October 22
meeting of the Commission..
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OLMSTEAD DISCUSSION: FINALIZE PROPOSAL FOR STATEWIDE DATA COLLECTION
Julie reported that on 9/22, the Olmstead Team discussed the part of the 2009 Community Integration Strategic
Plan which calls for developing and funding a mechanism for collecting statewide data on the number of
individuals in institutions who cannot transition due to inability to afford housing or find accessible housing, the
number who risk institutionalization for these reasons, the type of housing needed, and the number of units
needed by geographic location in Virginia. It appears that use of the THA toolkit and/or the JLARC study is not
feasible. One alternative suggestion was to break down the data needs and work on each component separately,
perhaps with a different approach for gathering each piece of data. Another suggestion was to pursue legislation
that would require state licensing offices to administer a “census” of sorts to individuals living in institutions Julie
asked the group to consider any other ideas or approaches. The suggestion was to incorporate any data
gathering into an existing process, such as the annual resident review. Julie noted that making any changes to
the UAI was not possible at this time due to funding. She agreed to develop a proposal for the group to consider
at its next meeting.
MFP
Annual Housing Action Plan Semi-Annual Report: Julie asked the group to review and submit any updates to
her by October 16. She will compile the updates and present them at the next meeting. The report is due to the
Secretaries of HHR and Commerce and Trade in mid-November.
MFP Bridge Rent: Jason provided a quick overview of how the conceptual framework that was originally
developed for bridge rent. He asked that this discussion be deferred to the November meeting and will discuss
with Shea prior to the next meeting.
Final MFP CMS Housing Report: Jason distributed the final copy of this January-June 2009 report, and it was
later distributed electronically to the group.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 p.m.
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