During FY 2008, AHA will continue the re-engineering of the Housing Choice Voucher Program. The re-engineering initiative is focused on redesign of systems and business processes utilizing state-of-the-art technology to move closer towards paperless administration of the Housing Choice Program. The re-engineering efforts also include the development and implementation of continuous quality improvement initiatives that will result in improved customer service and operational efficiencies and effectiveness.
Supporting Activities
A1. Re-engineering Housing Choice Operations. During FY 2008, AHA will implement the following supporting activities as part of the re-engineering of the Housing Choice Voucher Program.
A1a. Annual Re-certification Re-engineering. AHA will complete the development of the automated re- certification module during FY 2008. Re-certification processes will continue to be streamlined. Households that are exempt from the work/program participation requirement (i.e. Elderly and Disabled) will be re-certified every two years effective July 1, 2007. Households fully compliant with the work/program participation requirement as of their FY 2008 annual re-certifications will also be re-certified every two years upon completion of their FY 2008 re- certifications.
A1b. Re-engineering Property Owner/Vendor Process. AHA will re-engineer the process for approval and processing of property owners prior to execution of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract and eliminate paper checks and mailing of remittance forms to landlords by creating web-based access for each property owner. This project will be merged with the Landlord Certification and Training project into one coordinated effort to improve the quality of property owners participating in the Housing Choice Program. AHA will complete the development of the automated module for screening and approval of property owners and begin implementation during FY 2008. Enhanced owner screening and approval process will include criminal background checks, credit checks and foreclosure history. All current property owners will be required to be certified during FY 2008 and all new property owners will be certified prior to approval of their first Housing Assistance Payment contracts.
A1c. UHAP Bankcards. In FY 2008, paper checks for payment of Utility Housing Assistance Payments (UHAP) will be eliminated and bankcards will be issued to eligible program participants. Cards will be loaded monthly with the amount of the UHAP payment and use will be restricted to Atlanta area utility providers only.
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A1d. Automated Outbound Portability Billing. AHA will work with the Housing Authority of Fulton County (HAFC) in FY 2008 to develop a demonstration to create an automated billing and payment process for all AHA vouchers ported to Fulton County. AHA and HACF will utilize the HUD PIC system to determine the amount of subsidy to be paid. A payment process directly through AHA’s ORACLE MIS accounts payable module will be developed and implemented.
A1e. File Purge and E-copy. AHA will continue e-copying permanent files on an ongoing basis as a part of its routine operations.
A1f. Automated Rent Reasonableness System. AHA will continue to utilize the automated rent reasonableness system established in FY 2007 as part of its routine operations.
A1g. Program Performance Indicators. AHA will continue to develop and implement tracking systems for all key Housing Choice program performance indicators. During FY 2008, the automated voucher tracking system will be fully implemented to monitor all vouchers issued by type, average days to lease, voucher success rates for applicants, and program moves. Census tract data for all households will be captured to track impact of deconcentration strategies.
A1h. Customer Service Call Center. AHA will enhance the design of the customer service call center to deliver improved customer service and to respond more quickly to customer needs. AHA has institutionalized the call center into its routine operations and will continue to operate the call center during FY 2008 and beyond.
A1i. Relocation Policies. During FY 2007, AHA developed corporate policies for discretionary actions under the Uniform Relocation Act (URA) to guide relocation staff in providing relocation assistance and processing relocation claims. AHA will continue the implementation of these policies during FY 2008.
A1j. Automated Hearing Database. During FY 2007, AHA developed and implemented an automated system to track proposed terminations, hearing requests, hearing actions, and final disposition of terminations in the voucher program. AHA has incorporated the use of this system in its routine operations and will continue to utilize the system during FY 2008.
A1k. Develop Re-occupancy Process. AHA will refine and improve the process for the re-occupancy of newly developed mixed-income communities. Revised procedures for the re-occupancy of the revitalized communities will be completed and included in AHA’s Relocation Implementation Procedures Manual during FY 2008. A bi-annual web-based search will be conducted for relocated residents that have moved outside of the AHA-administered programs to secure and maintain the most up-to-date addresses. Research will continue to populate the re-
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occupancy data in the automated system and reliable data for all AHA relocation activity.
A1l. Pre-qualification of Units. This activity is focused on establishing a methodology to pre-qualify available housing units prior to listing on AHA’s website. AHA is postponing the development and implementation of this activity until FY 2009.
A1m. Automated Collections Process. This activity focuses on the development and implementation of an automated system for fraud recovery and tracking of repayment agreements in the voucher program. AHA is postponing the development and implementation of this activity until FY 2009.
A2. Housing Choice Voucher Administration Reform. AHA will implement the following activities to align the Housing Choice Program with its strategic vision.
A2a. Standards for Residency in Single Family Homes. AHA will adopt and implement single family home eligibility standards (1-4 units) to assure that families are prepared financially and otherwise to live in single family homes and be successful in neighborhoods. These standards may include, but are not limited to, household compliance with the work/program participation requirement, a demonstrated ability to maintain a single family home, an acceptable participant household history, and a minimum amount of earned income.
A2b. Homeownership Standards. AHA will review and refine certain eligibility criteria and standards for using the voucher for homeownership and open the voucher waiting list for families that demonstrate homeownership readiness. AHA will expand the area in which AHA voucher participants may purchase a home. Homeownership standards may include, but are not limited to, successful participant history as occupants of a single family unit, a limit on the percentage of a mortgage that can be paid using voucher subsidy, household compliance with the work/program participation requirement, and minimum household income requirements. In FY 2008, AHA will undertake the development of a Homeownership Self-Sufficiency (HSS) Program.
A2c. Intake/Waitlist Re-engineering. AHA will design and implement a new intake process to align with CATALYST eligibility requirements. AHA will procure a third party vendor during FY 2008 to purge the existing Housing Choice waiting list to assure that all applicants are compliant and/or exempt from the work/program participation requirement. Development of the automated waitlist and eligibility module will be completed and fully implemented with all waitlist data transferred from the old database system. Enhanced standards will be developed for inbound portability to enforce all CATALYST policy requirements.
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A2d. Housing Choice Fair Market Rent Standards. AHA has developed its own Payment Standards based on local market conditions and identified submarkets that exist within the City of Atlanta. Utilizing a third party Real Estate Market Research firm, the submarkets were determined in FY 2007, and in FY 2008 separate payment standard schedules will be implemented for each of the identified submarkets in the City of Atlanta upon establishment of new contracts and at the next recertification for existing contracts.
To implement these and other voucher related activities included in this FY 2008 Implementation Plan and the Business Plan, AHA will continue the modification of certain HUD mandated forms and documents, including but not limited to, the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contracts, the Agreement to make Housing Assistance Payments (AHAP), and the Housing Choice Voucher. AHA may also create new documents and forms to substitute for the typical HUD mandated forms used with the Housing Choice program.
A2e. Program Moves. During FY 2007, AHA began implementing strategies to reduce the number of moves participants make while in the program. AHA will allow moves only for a limited number of reasons, including, but not limited to, emergencies and foreclosures. During FY 2008, AHA will continue to implement and refine these strategies as part of its routine operations.
A3. AHA Standards and Incoming/Outbound Ports. AHA currently requires housing choice voucher holders to be in full compliance with the CATALYST standards, including compliance with its work/program participation requirement, criminal background screening in accordance with AHA’s standards, and participation in AHA-approved self-sufficiency programs and the Good Neighbor program prior to approving the family’s request to port to another jurisdiction. However, once under contract with a receiving PHA, AHA has no mechanism that allows continued enforcement of these requirements. During FY 2008, AHA will work with the Housing Authority of Fulton County (HAFC) to develop a demonstration to enforce CATALYST and other MTW requirements on all AHA voucher holders ported to Fulton County. AHA will not establish limits on the number of families who can port but will apply Program Move guidelines to participants who desire to port out. In addition, inbound portability will only be accepted if the household is in full compliance with the work/program participation provisions and other CATALYST criteria.
A4. Housing Choice Fixed Subsidy Initiative. During FY 2008, AHA will implement changes in recertification requirements for certain households that have an interim income change. All interim reporting will be eliminated and a single annual and/or bi-annual recertification process will be implemented. AHA will conduct a rent impact analysis, obtain necessary Board of Commissioners approval, and submit the information to HUD as required by its MTW Agreement. Fixed deductions will be initiated pursuant to the impact analysis.
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A5. Enhanced Business Systems (Family Obligations Document Enforcement, Enhanced Criminal Screening, and Health and Safety Standards.) As part of its Housing Choice Reform initiative, AHA will continue to refine the business processes associated with implementing CATALYST policies in the Housing Choice program. Enhanced business systems for implementing CATALYST policies, enhanced criminal screening and health and safety standards are established and will continue to be implemented as a part of Housing Choice routine operations during FY 2008.
A6. Elderly Income Disregard. On October 1, 2004, AHA implemented an income disregard for the Public Housing and Housing Choice programs for employment income earned by elderly residents or participants on fixed income. AHA will continue to recognize and implement this income disregard as part of its routine operations during FY 2008.
A7. $125 Minimum Rent. Effective October 1, 2004, AHA raised its minimum rent from $25 to $125 under its Public Housing and Housing Choice programs as well. Households on fixed incomes, where all members are either elderly or disabled, are exempt from the minimum rent increase and their total tenant payment continues to be based on 30% of their adjusted gross incomes. Hardship waivers may be granted under certain limited circumstances, on a case-by-case basis, based on criteria established in AHA’s Administrative Plan. AHA will keep its minimum rent at this level for FY 2008, and will continue to implement the $125 minimum rent as part of its routine operations during FY 2008.
A8. Housing Choice Landlord Certification and Training. AHA is delaying its plans to develop a mandatory Landlord Certification and Training Program to educate landlords on the requirements for placing and maintaining their properties in the Housing Choice Program, until FY 2009. However, landlord briefings are being implemented in March of 2007 and will continue into FY 2008 with the objective of providing an informational approach to AHA landlord expectations and program participation requirements.
A9. Housing Choice Inspection Fees. AHA will charge landlords reasonable fees for pre-inspections and subsequent re-inspections following the initial re-inspection to cover the administrative costs associated with these additional inspections. Additionally, participant households may be charged a fee to cover the administrative costs of re-inspections due to certain deficiencies which are the responsibility of the household and remain unaddressed. AHA is delaying the implementation of this project.
A10. Place-based and People-based Deconcentration Strategy. AHA will develop and implement a deconcentration strategy with the goal of decreasing the number of Housing Choice assisted families residing in areas of concentrated poverty. Briefing information to voucher holders will be revised in FY 2008 to identify areas of lower concentration of poverty to assist families to make informed choices in selecting residential locations. Marketing will be implemented to increase the number of professionally managed multifamily properties in areas of lower poverty. Statistical reporting will be developed and implemented to support monitoring of voucher movement under this project until FY 2009.
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A11. Enhanced Real Estate Inspection Systems. During FY 2008, AHA will continue to use its higher inspection standards for all subsidized units and integrate various inspection processes and systems. Distinct standards have been developed for multifamily and single family inspections and a property assessment program has been implemented for multifamily properties. This assessment program looks at all areas within the land footprint of the property as well as the surrounding neighborhood conditions. Single family standards also include inspection of the surrounding neighborhood as well as the specific property under contract. These standards will continue to be enhanced in FY 2008 and the program fully implemented for enforcement pursuant to these standards. More details describing AHA’s FY 2008 plan for enhancing its Housing Choice real estate inspection systems are included in Appendix K.
A12. Enhanced Relocation Process and Database Enhancements. In FY 2008, the Consolidated Relocation Management System (CRMS) will be integrated into the ORACLE E-business suite and simplified to remove duplicate data now existent in the Housing Choice data system. We will continue to refine and develop reports to provide additional support to the QLI, and the Relocation Implementation Plan and Procedures Manual will be completed and used as the guidebook for all relocation staff. AHA will coordinate the relocation of family communities with Atlanta Public Schools and expand the use of strategic partners and stakeholders to assist with relocation in support of revitalization and QLI activities.
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