(a) General. VA may award grants for case management services to non-profit organizations and State, local and tribal governments for the provision of case management services to improve the retention of housing by veterans who were previously homeless and are transitioning to permanent housing and to veterans who are at risk of becoming homeless. (For purposes of this program, the term “tribal government” means an entity described in paragraph (2) of the definition of “public entity” in 38 CFR 61.1.) The goals of the grant program are: The maintenance of permanent housing by a veteran following discharge from homeless residential services, a reduction in recidivism, and an increase in exits to permanent housing. These grant funds may not be used for veterans who are receiving case management services from permanent supportive housing programs (e.g. Housing and Urban Development—VA Supportive Housing) or rapid re-housing/homeless prevention programs (e.g. Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF)).

(b) Case management services. Case management services include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Making home visits by the case manager to monitor housing stability;

(2) Providing or coordinating educational activities related to meal planning, tenant responsibilities, the use of public transportation, community resources, financial management, and the development of natural supports;

(3) Making referrals to needed services, such as mental health, substance use disorder, medical, and employment services; and

(4) Participating in case conferencing with other service providers who are working with the veteran.

(c) Time limit. Case management services may be provided for a particular veteran for up to 6 months, unless VA receives and approves a written request for additional time before the 6-month time limit expires.

(a) General requirements. When funds are available for grants for case management services authorized under §§ 61.90 through 61.98, VA will publish a Notice of Fund Availability (NOFA) in the Federal Register in accordance with § 61.3. The applicant must meet all of the following requirements or the application will be rejected without further consideration:

(1) The applicant must submit an application and comply with the application requirements identified in the NOFA, e.g., complete all parts of the correct form and include all information requested in the NOFA.

(2) Include a signed Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424) that contains the applicant's Employer Identification Number or Taxpayer Identification Number (EIN/TIN). All non-profit applicants must provide their Internal Revenue Service 501(c)(3) or (19) determination letter, which includes the EIN/TIN contained in the application. Applicants that apply under a group EIN/TIN must be identified by the parent EIN/TIN as a member or sub-unit of the parent EIN/TIN and provide supporting documentation.

(3) The application must be received before the deadline established in the NOFA.

(4) The applicant must be a nonprofit organization or a State, local, or tribal government.

(5) The activities for which assistance is requested must be eligible for funding under §§ 61.90-61.98.

(6) The applicant must agree to comply with the requirements of §§ 61.90 through 61.98 and demonstrate the capacity to do so.

(7) The applicant must not have an outstanding obligation to VA that is in arrears, or have an overdue or unsatisfactory response to an audit.

(8) The applicant must not have been notified by VA as being in default.

(b) Rating criteria. To be eligible for a case management grant, an applicant must receive at least 750 points (out of a possible 1000) and must receive points under paragraphs (c) through (f) of this section.

(c) Project plan. VA will award up to 400 points based on the demonstration and quality of the following:

(1) The process used for deciding which veterans are referred and accepted for case management services.

(2) How, when, and by whom the progress of participants who are receiving case management services toward meeting their individual goals will be monitored, evaluated, and documented. This monitoring includes, but is not limited to, a description of how home visits would be provided and the general purpose and frequency anticipated of the home visits.

(3) How the participant's system of natural supports would be assessed and developed.

(4) How crisis intervention services will be coordinated, as needed, to promote the maintenance of permanent housing, access to medical care, mental health or substance use disorder treatment.

(5) How the applicant will provide education to case management participants, as needed, in the areas of tenant rights and responsibilities, rental/lease agreements, landlords rights and responsibilities, and budgeting.

(6) How case management services will be phased out.

(d) Ability of the applicant to develop and operate a project. VA will award up to 200 points based on the extent to which the applicant demonstrates the necessary staff and organizational experience to develop and operate the proposed project, based on the following:

(1) Staffing plan for the project that reflects the appropriate professional staff, both administrative and clinical;

(2) Experience of staff, or if staff is not yet hired, position descriptions and expectations of time to hire;

(3) Applicant's previous experience assessing and providing for the housing needs of formerly homeless veterans;

(4) Applicant's previous experience in providing case management services to assist persons in maintaining permanent housing;

(5) Applicant's previous experience in coordinating crisis intervention services, including medical, mental health, and substance use disorder services.

(6) Applicant's experience in working with local landlords as part of providing housing support services.

(7) Historical documentation of past performance both with VA and non-VA projects, including those from other Federal, state and local agencies, and audits by private or public entities.

(e) Need. VA will award up to 150 points based on the extent to which the applicant demonstrates:

(1) Substantial unmet need for formerly homeless veterans who have exited homeless transitional housing or residential services and are in need of time limited case management to maintain permanent housing. Demonstration of need must be based on reliable data from reports or other data gathering systems that directly support claims made; and

(2) An understanding of the formerly homeless population to be served and its supportive service needs.

(f) Completion confidence. VA will award up to 50 points based on the review panel's confidence that the applicant has effectively demonstrated the case management services project will be completed as described in the application. VA may use historical program documents demonstrating the applicant's past performance, including those from other Federal, state and local agencies, as well as audits by private or public entities in determining confidence scores.

(g) Coordination with other programs. VA will award up to 200 points based on the extent to which the applicant demonstrates that it has coordinated with Federal, state, local, private, and other entities serving homeless persons or persons at risk for homelessness in the planning and operation of the case management services project. Such entities include, but are not limited to, shelters, transitional housing, Public Housing Authorities, health care or social service providers, providers funded through Federal initiatives, local planning coalitions or provider associations, or other program providers relevant to the needs of formerly homeless veterans in the local community. Applicants are required to demonstrate that they have coordinated with the VA medical facility of jurisdiction or VA regional office of jurisdiction in their area. VA will award up to 50 points of the 200 points based on the extent to which commitments to provide supportive services are documented at the time of application. Up to 150 points of the 200 points will be given to the extent applicants demonstrate that:

(1) They are part of an ongoing community-wide planning process within the framework described in this section, which is designed to share information on available resources and reduce duplication among programs that serve homeless veterans (e.g. Continuum of Care);

(2) They have consulted directly with the closest VA medical facility and other providers within the framework described in this section regarding coordination of services for project participants; and

(3) They have coordinated with the closest VA medical facility their plan to assure access to health care, case management, and other care services.

(a) Award priority. Grants for case management services will be awarded in order of priority as follows:

(1) VA will give extra priority to grants for case management services to applications from operational Grant and Per Diem funded organizations that have given up per diem or special need funding and converted their transitional housing to permanent housing. In order to obtain this extra priority, organizations must provide documentation showing that their permanent housing meets the quality housing standards established under section 8(o)(8)(B) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(8)(B)).

(2) VA will give priority to applications from organizations that demonstrate a capability to provide case management services, particularly organizations that are successfully providing or have successfully provided transitional housing services using grants provided by VA under 38 U.S.C. 2012 and 2061.

(3) Applications from other organizations without a Grant and Per Diem grant that seek to provide time limited case management to formerly homeless veterans who have exited VA transitional housing or other VA homeless residential treatment services to permanent housing.

(b) Higher award priority. Within each of the three priorities in paragraph (a) of this section, an application with more points using the rating criteria in § 61.92(b) will be given a higher priority for a grant award.

(a) Funding. Grants for case management services will be offered from the current Grant and Per Diem Program budget and will be limited annually by VA's funding availability and commitments to existing programs.

(b) Use of grant funds for administrative costs. Grant funds may be used for the following administrative purposes

(1) Case management staff;

(2) Transportation for the case manager;

(3) Cell phones and computers to facilitate home visits and other case management activities associated with the grant; and

(4) Office furniture for the use of the case management staff.

(c) Awards. VA will execute an agreement and make payments to the grantee in accordance with the award and funding actions applicable to the Grant and Per Diem Program as described in § 61.61.

VA will oversee grants for case management services to ensure that each grantee operates its program in accordance with §§ 61.90 through 61.98. VA's oversight responsibilities include reviewing and responding to requests from grantees for extensions to the otherwise applicable maximum 6-month time limit. Grantees must also comply with the requirements of 38 CFR 61.65; 61.67(d) and 61.67(e); and 61.80(c), (g), (h), (i), (n), (o), (p), and (q). VA may disapprove of case management services provided by the grantee if VA determines that they are of unacceptable quality in which case grant funds may not be used to pay for them.