WASHINGTON, DC. President Barack Obama today is signing the FY 2009 federal budget into law, representing final action on the budget for the current fiscal year. The budget adds new targeted and mainstream resources to prevent and end homelessness in the nation. This Special Issue of the news highlights several of the increases, and future issues of the enews will provide additional information on the expanded resources and their availability from federal agencies.

Highlights of the increases at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are provided here.

Homeless Assistance Grants. $1.67 billion in record resources are in the new budget for HUD's Homeless Assistance Grants, which are funded about $90 million above the 2008 level. At least 30% of the awarded funds, with the exception of renewals of Shelter Plus Care, will continue to be for permanent housing.

Homeless Veterans Demonstration. The funds include a new $10 million HUD-VA-DOL interagency collaboration urban and rural veterans demonstration on preventing homelessness. More details are below.

New Research on Prevention and Youth. $3 million of the HUD funds are to be used to conduct research on homeless issues, including homeless prevention and youth homelessness. At least $500,000 is to be invested for research on housing models for homeless youth aged 16-24.

Demonstration Programs. The budget also addresses the renewal of demonstration awards, such as the recently awarded demonstration grants for rapid rehousing for families, by providing that the Secretary may renew grants made under the demonstration program and may treat such original grants and any renewal grants as if these grants were made under the Supportive Housing Program.

HUD-VASH. $75 million is included for an estimated 10,000 new vouchers in the HUD-VASH program for homeless veterans.

Family Unification Program. $20 million is included for rental vouchers for the Family Unification Program (FUP) which can also serve aging out foster care youth.

Section 8 Vouchers. $16.8 billion is included for Section 8 Tenant Based vouchers which is a $341 million increase over last year. Project Based vouchers were funded at $7.1 billion, an increase of $668 million above 2008.

Other HUD Programs. Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) is funded at $310 million, a $10 million increase. HOME is funded at $1.8 billion, an increase of $121 million. Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) formula funds for community and economic development were funded at $3.9 billion, or $34 million above 2008.

Housing for Elderly and Disabled. HUD's Housing for the Elderly program is funded at $765 million, or $30 million over the FY 2008 level. Housing for Persons with Disabilities is funded at $250 million, $13 million above the FY 2008 level, to buy, rehabilitate, and build housing.

Further Details on the HUD Veterans Demonstration. As described above, funding for the demonstration is to be used for housing and appropriate services to prevent veterans and their families from becoming homeless or reduce the length of time veterans and their families are homeless. Funding will be used by selected grantees to help veterans, as well as any dependent family members, find and maintain housing, including up to 18 months of rental assistance, first and last month's rent, back rent or other related services as appropriate.

HUD is directed to choose a limited number of urban and rural sites to carry out the veterans demonstration. In selecting sites, HUD is to evaluate the rate of homelessness among veterans in the area, and the experience of the grantees in coordinating with Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Labor to enable veterans to access mainstream programs. Of the sites selected, up to three are to have a high number of service members separating from the military and transitioning into civilian life. HUD is also to select up to four sites located in rural areas to evaluate how to effectively serve veterans in rural areas, many of whom may have been part of the National Guard, may have limited access to the Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers, and may have dependent family members.

Below are key increases in HHS programs.

The bill includes $3.3 billion for HHS' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which is $100.86 million more than FY 2008 funding level. Within the total provided for Programs of Regional and National Significance across SAMHSA, the bill included $75 million for homeless programs. SAMHSA is directed to continue to fund supportive services programs within the authority of the Programs of Regional and National Significance.

Also within the total for Center for Mental Health Services Programs of Regional and National Significance, the bill provided $7 million for a new program to integrate primary care and specialty medical services in community mental health centers and other community-based behavioral health agencies. SAMHSA is urged to issue one or more competitive awards to national entities with experience in providing training and technical assistance to these community sites in order to ensure the success of this integrated treatment model.

The Congress noted that the SOAR program has been successful in connecting disabled people experiencing homelessness with federal disability benefits and appropriate supportive services, such as housing, medical benefits, and vocational training. SAMHSA's is specifically encouraged to continue funding the SOAR program within the Programs of Regional and National Significance and to apply this approach nationally with adequate technical assistance and to share lessons learned to assist other disadvantaged populations.

Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) programs were also increased, as are Health Care for the Homeless and Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH). Community Services Block Grant increased to $700 million, an increase of $46 million. Compassion Capital Fund to emulate model social service programs and to encourage research on the best practices of social service organizations was funded at $47.6 million.

Following are key highlights of the Department of Labor programs.

DOL's Veterans Employment and Training programs are funded at $239.4 million, $11.3 million above the FY 2008 funding level.

Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program. The DOL McKinney-Vento Act program for homeless veterans employment is funded at $26.3 million, a $2.7 million increase .

Job Corps. This residential training program for young people nationwide is funded at $1.7 billion, a $73 million increase. The funds provided for Job Corps Operations are intended to support the operations of the 122 current Job Corps centers, as well as allow two new centers, in Florida and Wisconsin, to begin operations, as scheduled, in program year 2009. The Department also should work to reverse the erosion in training offerings that has occurred over the past two years. In restoring career training slots, priority should be given to matching training to labor market needs, including growth sectors, such as health care, and to prepare students for careers that respond to the growing demand for energy-efficient building techniques and other "green'" jobs. Within the funds provided for Job Corps renovation and construction are sufficient funds to continue the development of three new Job Corps centers, with the intention that the timelines for accepting students at these new centers--New Hampshire in September 2010, Iowa in November 2010 and Wyoming in February 2011 will be met.

YouthBuild. The amount provided for YouthBuild will allow for the selection of additional YouthBuild grantees. DOL is encouraged to incorporate a priority for use of green building techniques in its competitive selection of additional YouthBuild programs and to explore ways to expand assistance to YouthBuild programs to enhance their ability to teach green building techniques, to prepare youth for employment in green construction while increasing the energy efficiency of local housing.

The bill includes new language that will allow YouthBuild grantees to use grant awards for program year 2009, as well as remaining funds available in program year 2008, to serve individuals who have dropped out of high school and reenrolled in an alternative school, if that reenrollment is part of a sequential service strategy. This is the same integrated approach used when the program was administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Second Chance Program. The new Second Chance Program for the reentry population was funded at $25 million to reduce criminal recidivism by providing grants to establish and expand offender re- entry programs. $15 million of that figure will be available for grants to state and local governments for adult and juvenile offender demonstration projects to coordinate re-entry efforts and establish best practices. Allowable uses of these funds include employment services, housing, substance abuse treatment, family programming, mentoring, and victim services. In addition, $10 million is provided for grants to nonprofit organizations for mentoring and transitional services to help offenders reintegrate into society. DOJ is expected to continue to work in collaboration with the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Education in the implementation of offender re-entry programs.

Also funded were $40 million for Drug Courts, $10 million for grants for Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners, and $10 million for mental health courts and adult and juvenile collaboration program grants.

At the Department of Education, the McKinney- Vento program for the education of homeless children and youth is funded at $65.4 million, or $1.36 million over the 2008 level.

At the Department of Agriculture, The new budget provides $902.5 million for the rural Rental Assistance Program and $63.8 million for the Rural Community Facilities Program Account. $250 million is allocated for commodity purchase for the Emergency Food Assistance Program.

Just prior to the start of the FY 2009 budget year on October 1, 2008, the complete FY 2009 appropriations bills for the Departments of Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, and Defense were signed into law. That measure included an additional $7.5 million for VA's Homeless Grant and Per Diem (GPD) liaisons, an additional $8 million which brought the GPD to its full authorization level of $130 million, and an additional $30 million for the HUD-VASH program for any increase in authorized vouchers (directing VA to increase caseworkers if needed for the increase in vouchers). VA was directed to provide at least $5 million for caseworkers for the HUD demonstration program of homeless prevention among the veteran population.

FEMA's Emergency Food and Shelter Program. The EFSP funding level is $200 million, an increase over the FY 2008 figure of $153 million. EFSP helps prevent homelessness, and provides food and shelter in communities across the nation through the oldest targeted homeless program, which last year marked its 25th anniversary. EFSP grant funds are used to supplement food, shelter, rent, mortgage and utility assistance programs for people with non-disaster related emergencies.

The U.S Interagency Council on Homelessness, revitalized in March 2002, was reauthorized by the FY 2009 budget through FY 2010, with an increase for the current fiscal year.

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