Family Self Sufficiency Program (FSS) & Homeownership Program

FSS is a program that enables HUD-assisted families to increase their earned income and reduce their dependency on welfare assistance and rental subsidies and offers the opportunity of moving to home ownership.

Once an eligible family is selected to participate in the program, MCHA and the Head of FSS   execute an FSS Contract of Participation that specifies the rights and responsibilities of both parties. The term of the FSS contract is generally 5 years. But it may be extended for another 2 years by MCHA for good cause.

The FSS contract also incorporates the Head of FSS individual training and services plan (ITSP.) The ITSP is the document that records the plan for the family. That is, the series of intermediate and long-term goals, along with the steps the family needs to take and the services and resources they may need to access to achieve those goals.

Some of the services coordinated through the program include: child care, transportation, education, job training, employment counseling, and financial literacy, along with home ownership counseling. Services are generally not provided by MCHA, but rather outsourced to service providers in the community.

An interest bearing escrow account is established by MCHA for each participating family. Any increases in the family’s rent as a result of increased earned income during the family’s participation in the program result in a credit to the family’s escrow account. Once a family graduates from the program, they may access the escrow and use it for any purpose.

The FSS program through the Mohave County Housing Authority (MCHA) is only available to current Section 8 participants. Those who have ported in from another jurisdiction and are enrolled in an FSS program through their initial housing authority may also participate.

FSS program coordinators assist the family in the development of the ITSP, they assure FSS program participants are linked to the supportive services they need to achieve economic self-sufficiency and that the escrow account is properly maintained, among other responsibilities such as conducting interviews and processing annual re-exams, interims, port outs and moves.

MCHA may screen families for interest and motivation to participate in the FSS program, as long as the factors used by MCHA are those which solely measure the family’s interest and motivation, MCHA may not screen for education, job history, credit rating, marital status, or number of children for example, and may not consider any factors which may result in discriminatory practices or treatment toward individuals with disabilities or minority or non-minority groups.

One of the basic requirements of the FSS program is the execution of an FSS Contract of Participation between the Head of FSS and MCHA. The FSS Contract of Participation includes the rights and responsibilities of the FSS family and MCHA, the services to be provided to the family and the activities to be completed by the family.

The term of the FSS contract is up to five years; however, such term may be extended for up to two more years provided that there is good cause for the extension, such as serious illness or involuntary loss of employment. Participants may also successfully graduate in less than five years.

The FSS contract requires that the family comply with the lease, that all FSS family members (not just family members who elected to participate in FSS) are welfare free at the time the FSS contract is completed and that the Head of FSS seek and maintain suitable employment.

Noncompliance with the FSS contract without good cause may result in the termination from the FSS program or withholding/termination of supportive services. Termination (or exit) from the FSS program may not result in the termination of the family’s rental assistance.

The ITSP is a written plan that lists the services to be provided to each participating family member, the activities to be completed by the family member and the agreed upon completion dates of the services and activities. The ITSP also establishes specific interim and final goals by which MCHA and the family can measure the family’s progress toward self-sufficiency. The ITSP is incorporated into the Contract of Participation.

An interest bearing account established by MCHA on behalf of the FSS family where deposits are made throughout the duration of the family’s participation in the FSS program, if and when a family’s rent increases as a result of increased earned income of the FSS family.

MCHA may make a portion of the escrow account available to the family during the term of the contract if MCHA determines that the family has fulfilled certain interim goals established in the contract and requires a portion of the FSS escrow account funds for purposes consistent with the contract of participation.

Generally, when the family has fulfilled all of its FSS obligations under the contract on or before the expiration of the contract (including the obligation to be welfare free at the time of the FSS contract expiration date) that no family member is a recipient of welfare assistance.

A FSS family will forfeit its escrow account if the contract of participation is terminated in accordance with the regulations, the family is still receiving welfare at the expiration of the contract term or the contract was not completed at the end of the contract term.

Participation of families in the FSS program is voluntary and cannot be a condition of receipt of assistance under the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Section 8 programs.

While one of the objectives of the program is to reduce the dependency of low-income families on federal, state and local housing assistance programs; most families that complete the program will still need any may continue to receive assistance for housing.

FSS was established in 1990 by section 554 of the National Affordable Housing Act, which amended Title I of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 by adding Section 23 for the FSS program. It is a successor program to project self-sufficiency and operation bootstrap. It was modified by the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act (QHRWA) of 1998.

You may contact Mohave County Housing Authority FSS Program Coordinator, Amy McReynolds, at (928) 753-0723 or email to McReyA@mohave.gov