FY 2024 Family Unification Program Notice of Funding Opportunity | FR 6800 N 84

Opportunity Information: Apply for FR 6800 N 84

The FY 2024 Family Unification Program (FUP) Notice of Funding Opportunity is a discretionary HUD grant that expands Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) assistance for households connected to the child welfare system. The program is built around formal partnerships between Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) and Public Child Welfare Agencies (PCWAs), with coordination also tied to the local Continuum of Care (CoC). The main idea is to use tenant-based rental assistance to prevent unnecessary family separations and to reduce homelessness among young people exiting foster care, by treating housing instability as a solvable barrier to family stability and safe transitions to adulthood.

FUP serves two eligible populations. The first is families where the lack of adequate housing is a primary reason a child is at imminent risk of being placed into out-of-home care, or where inadequate housing is delaying a child being discharged from out-of-home care back to the family. In other words, if housing is the key factor preventing a child from staying safely at home or returning home, FUP vouchers can be used to stabilize the household. For families assisted under FUP, the vouchers are not time-limited, meaning assistance can continue as long as the family remains eligible under standard HCV requirements and program rules.

The second population is youth who are at least 18 years old and not more than 24 years old (they must not have reached their 25th birthday) who have left foster care, or will leave foster care within 90 days, consistent with the transition planning requirements in Section 475(5)(H) of the Social Security Act. These youth must also be homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, with the homelessness risk tied to circumstances at age 16 or older. For youth, FUP assistance is generally time-limited by statute to 36 months. However, the opportunity highlights an important policy update under the Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities (FSHO) amendments (Section 103 of Division Q of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Public Law 116-260), which allows certain FUP youth to extend assistance beyond the 36-month cap for up to an additional 24 months if they meet specified requirements. HUD implemented this through guidance published in the Federal Register on January 24, 2022 (87 FR 3570). This matters because youth served with vouchers funded under this NOFO may qualify for the extension, since FSHO applies to youth who first leased (or lease) a unit after December 27, 2020.

Only PHAs with an existing Annual Contributions Contract (ACC) with HUD for the Housing Choice Voucher program are eligible to apply, meaning applicants must already be established HCV administrators. The NOFO also allows flexibility in how PHAs work together. PHAs can submit a joint application to share administration with another PHA, but HUD will execute the ACC only with the lead PHA, and the lead PHA is responsible for all reporting. The maximum number of vouchers requested is tied to either the lead PHA voucher program size or the documented need for the shared jurisdiction, whichever is lower, consistent with the NOFOs cap and methodology referenced in Section II.C. If a PHA instead partners with another PHA to administer the vouchers on its behalf (without that partner PHA applying for FUP vouchers), the ACC and reporting responsibilities still remain with the applicant PHA, and the voucher request limit is similarly based on the applicant PHAs program size or documented need, whichever is lower. In either collaboration model, the agreement describing how administration will be shared or delegated must be included in the application package.

A key threshold requirement is that eligible PHAs must show a demonstrated commitment to operate FUP, verified through an executed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among the PHA(s), the PCWA, and the CoC. The MOU must meet the specific requirements laid out in Section III.F.5 of the NOFO, which is meant to ensure that child welfare, housing, and homelessness-system partners have a clear, operational plan for referrals, eligibility screening, supportive service coordination, and ongoing program responsibilities.

HUD will only consider one application per PHA under this funding round. This one-application limit applies even to state or regional PHAs. If a PHA operates under more than one PHA code because it falls under multiple HUD Field Offices, it may submit separate applications by code, but the total vouchers requested across those applications cannot exceed the maximum number that same PHA would be eligible to request if it had only one code. The NOFO also clearly excludes individuals, foreign entities, and sole proprietorships from eligibility.

From the funding synopsis provided, this opportunity is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under CFDA 14.880, categorized under Housing. The funding instrument is a grant and the opportunity is labeled discretionary. The opportunity number is FR 6800 N 84 and the funding opportunity title is "FY 2024 Family Unification Program Notice of Funding Opportunity." The application closing date listed is October 30, 2024, with an award ceiling shown as $1,700,000 and an expectation of around 10 awards. The practical takeaway is that HUD is looking to fund a limited number of awards that expand FUP voucher resources through PHAs that can demonstrate strong cross-system coordination with child welfare and homelessness partners, with the end goal of preventing foster care placements driven by housing instability and supporting successful, stable transitions for young adults leaving foster care.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development in the housing sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2024 Family Unification Program Notice of Funding Opportunity" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 14.880.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-08-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-10-30. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,700,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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