The vendor is required to provide that housing assistance administrator services (HAA) must be able to serve all geographic areas of county.
1. 1a - subsidy administration
- Providing rental assistance involves the administration of housing subsidies, which include the following duties:
• Networking with landlords, developing a list of landlords willing to work with a third-party payer, and maintaining knowledge of available rental units.
• Providing directions to help participants and supports look for apartments, including providing at least 2 potential rental unit leads per household.
• Conducting initial and periodic (minimum of annual) income certifications, tenant rent calculations, and utility allowances.
• Determining apartment eligibility (fair market rent limit, rent reasonableness, unit inspections).
• Generating and signing contracts/ leases/ lease-addendums, as appropriate.
• Prompt and regular ongoing payment of rent/ rental subsidy/ utility allowances, as appropriate.
• Collection of tenants rent payments, as appropriate.
• Promote housing stability of participants by conducting ongoing/periodic outreach to the landlords in an effort to spot problems early, acting as a single-point-of-contact when issues arise, and facilitating communication with all parties.
• The HAA will not terminate a participant’s program eligibility without agreement from department
2. 1b – programs’ details
- There are three (3) programs that fall under the rental assistance component.
A. Mental health (MH) tenant based rental assistance (TBRA) program:
• Size: Twenty-five (25) households consisting mostly of single adults.
• Length: The program operates as a permanent supportive housing (PSH) program.
• Access: the gateway is through the YWH process.  
• Oversight: the program operates under your way home (YWH) with additional oversight by Mental Health/ Developmental Disabilities/ Early Intervention (MH/DD/EI).
• Funding and eligibility:  The program is funded through MH/DD/EI with annualized state and county funds designated for mental health services and requires that individuals that utilize this funding have mental illness.
• Participant’s rent portion: 30% of household income
B. Residential transformation program (RTP)
• Size: Twenty-four (24) households consisting mostly of single adults.
• Length: Medium-term subsidies meant to last a maximum of twenty-four (24) months.
• Access: Through mental health residential programs the main purpose of the residential transformation program is to serve persons who are ready to leave a MH residential program, but whose main barrier is affordable housing.
• Oversight: MH/DD/EI
• Funding and eligibility: the program is funded through MH/DD/EI with annualized state and county funds designated for mental health services and requires that individuals that utilize this funding have mental illness.  
• Participant’s rent portion: Year 1 = 30% of contract rent (CR) (not income).  year 2 = 40% of cr.  the program is intended to temporarily support individuals for no more than 24 months of subsidy.
• In rare circumstances when an individual needs additional time on the subsidy – approval must be received by MH/DD/EI.  
• If an individual is approved for assistance past the 24 months, the participant’s rent portion will increase by an additional 10% of CR each year.  
• This rent structure is meant to encourage participants to financially progress to a point where the subsidy is no longer needed (housing stability).  
• Additional info: this program has a strong focus on participants obtaining housing stability without the RTP subsidy.  
• The HAA is expected to collaborate with service providers to monitor the participants’ progress towards housing stability.
• The HAA is expected to include MH service providers in scheduled communications to the tenant with reminders of scheduled rent portion increase and time remaining in the RTP.
C. Reinvestment pilot program – This is a new program conceptualized as follows:
• Size: The goal is to support approximately twenty-seven (27) households per year and up to fifty-four (54) over two years, including priority for households with children.
• Details:  While it is expected that the majority of support for this reinvestment program will be short to medium-term rental subsidy, these funds are flexible based on the needs of the person.  
• The components listed in this RFP (rental subsidy; master leasing or contingency) can be used to support individuals connected to this program.
• Length: The maximum amount of support is 24 months.
• Access: Your way home coordinated entry
• Oversight: The vision is that the program will operate similar to a rapid re-housing (RRH) program under your way home (YWH) program with additional oversight by office of managed care solutions (OMCS).
• Funding and eligibility: Through OMCS by a health choices reinvestment plan which is scheduled to expire 12/31/2027 (with possible extension).  
• Participant eligibility includes at least one household member having a behavioral health diagnosis and health choices enrollment.  
• Individuals must also homeless or housing insecure.
• Participant’s rent portion: 30% of household income
3. 1c - housing stability coaching
• In collaboration with mental health supports, the HAA will deliver housing stability coaching to the households on the residential transformation and reinvestment programs
• The housing stability coach(es) will meet with households at a minimum of once per month per household, in the community or at their home, though frequency should be determined based on the level of need
• It can be determined that the individual does not require monthly housing stability coaching by mutual agreement of the participant and housing stability coach, but only after 30 days housed with RTP or reinvestment program
• The housing stability coach (coach) will regularly assess and connect households to community supports needed to obtain or maintain stable housing, including child care, income, employment, budgeting, soar, job training programs, educational supports and programming, and health services, among others.
• If approval was received for extending the subsidy beyond the 24-month mark, then the letter will include language of the increase to a tenant rental contribution of 50% with subsequent 10% increases annually.
- Provide a brief history/overview of your organization, including ownership, current officers, advisory board (including people/family members with lived experience), philosophy and goals. attach an organizational chart showing program leadership/management.
- Contract Period/Term: 1 year
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: March 12, 2025