February 9, 2023

Volume: 227

In this Week's Edition

News

New Executive Order To Seek

Advancing Racial Equity And

Support For Underserved Communities

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Call for Entries: HUD Secretary’s Award

For Public-Philanthropic Partnerships

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CMS Proposes Benefit Expansion For

Mobility Devices, Advancing Health Equity

For People With Disabilities 

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Federal Agencies Announce Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit

Program Tax Incentives

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DCA Awards $1.8 Million

In Grants Through Financial

Empowerment Pilot Program

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NJHMFA Update:

Affordable Housing

Production Fund Guidelines

Volume Cap Allocation

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A Closer Look At Who Benefits From SNAP:

State-by-State Fact Sheets

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Policy Brief: Cities, Zoning,

And The Fragmented

Response To Homelessness

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Housing Opportunity Through

Modernization Act Final Rule Available: Important Changes For

Multifamily Owners And Operators 

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ANCHOR Tax Relief Deadline

Extended To February 28th

New Eligibility For Homeowners

and Renters in PILOT Housing

Resources & Virtual Forums

HSRC Webinar On

Transportation And Housing Stability

February 27, 2023

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CSH And Capital Impact Partners Virtual Event How Supportive Housing Can Leverage Assisted Living Programs To

Promote Aging In Place

February 28, 2023

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Arc of New Jersey Webinar Series

Exploring Mental Health And Behavioral

Health Challenges In People With IDD

February 28, 2023 - June 2023

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NJ LGBTQ+/HIV+ LTC

Bill Of Rights Designate Training

March 13, 2023

Members can check

for 2023 meeting dates

on the SHA website.

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Next SHA

Developers Meeting

March 13, 2023

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Next SHA

Members Meeting

April 5, 2023

In-Person, Trenton

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Save the Date

HCDNNJ Summit

Healthy Homes & Communities Summit Coming April 28

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Save the Date!

SHA's 25th Annual Conference

November 3, 2023

New Job Available

DCM Associates, Inc. is leading the search for an

Executive Director for Monmouth County, NJ-based MonmouthCares

MonmouthCares is a non-profit Care Management Organization (CMO) in Monmouth County, NJ serving youth and families up to age 21. The organization is part of the NJ Children’s System of Care with a mission to facilitate positive change so that children with emotional and behavioral challenges, along with their families, have the greatest opportunity to live, thrive and develop in their communities. Our youth may also have intellectual / developmental, substance use and/or physical health challenges. At this time, the organization is recruiting a dynamic, forward-thinking leader to serve as its next Executive Director.

The ideal candidate for this position will have a master degree in a relevant discipline as well as five years of experience post-masters and supervisor experience in child welfare, children’s mental health, juvenile justice, special education, public administration, or management, or related public sector human services or behavioral health field. The organization seeks an empathetic, approachable Executive Director who leads with integrity. The ideal candidate for this position will be strategic leader who can build positive external relationships, alliances and partnerships, Click here to few the full Ideal Candidate Profile.

If you would like to express your interest in this position, please send a cover letter and resume to Jim McGuirk, Executive Vice President, at jim.mcguirk@dcm-associates.com. If you would like to discuss the opportunity further or would like to recommend a candidate, please contact Dennis C. Miller, Founder & Chairman at dennis.miller@dcm-associates.com.

SHA Welcomes New & Returning

Members In 2023

Dimension Renewable Energy

iStrive Community

St Peter's Residence

TaUrt's Village

TD Bank

Woods Services

New Executive Order To Seek Advancing Racial Equity And Support For Underserved Communities

Yesterday, President Biden signed a new Executive Order, titled Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. Building on a previous Executive Order that instructed federal agencies to release agency-specific Equity Action Plans in 2022, the new Executive Order launches a process under which federal agencies are required to issue annual public Equity Action Plans. These plans will assess current and include new actions to address the barriers underserved communities may face in accessing and benefitting from the agency’s policies, programs and activities. The Executive Order also directs federal agencies to spur economic growth in rural areas and advance more equitable urban development by ensuring that federal resources contribute to building wealth and opportunity in these communities. The White House noted that HUD, which released its first ever Equity Action Plan in April 2022, has already taken actions to expand federal investment in and support for underserved communities, including proposing a new Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule to help overcome patterns of housing segregation.

Call for Entries: HUD Secretary’s Award

For Public-Philanthropic Partnerships

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary’s Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships nominations are open. HUD encourages governors, mayors, and tribal leaders to nominate their philanthropic partners. Foundations can also apply for the award directly. HUD partners with the Council on Foundations on this award that highlights best practices in public-philanthropic partnerships. Applications are due on Friday, February 24, 2023, and HUD will announce the winners at the Council on Foundations’ Leading Locally Conference, in Denver, Colorado, in mid-June 2023. Below is a synopsis of the award.

“The Secretary’s Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships recognizes excellence in partnerships that have both transformed the relationship between the public and philanthropic sectors and led to measurable benefits in terms of increased economic employment, health, safety, education, disaster resilience, inclusivity and cultural opportunities, and/or housing access for low- and moderate-income families.”

The informational brochure can be found here:

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/HUD-Sec-Award-Public-Phil-Partnerships-brochure-2023.pdf.

The application link can be found here:

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/HUD-Sec-Award-Public-Phil-Partnerships-application-form-2023.pdf.

CMS Proposes Benefit Expansion For Mobility Devices, Advancing Health Equity For People With Disabilities 

Proposal supports coverage of power seat elevation equipment for power wheelchairs

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed National Coverage Determination (NCD) decision that would, for the first time, expand coverage for power seat elevation equipment on certain power wheelchairs to Medicare individuals. The proposed NCD is open for public comment for 30 days.

If finalized, power seat elevation equipment would be covered by Medicare for individuals with a Group 3 power wheelchair, which are designed to meet the needs of people with Medicare with severe disabilities, in order to improve their health as they transfer from the wheelchair to other surfaces. Transfers often strain shoulder and back muscles and constrain an individual’s daily mobility at home and other customary locations.

CMS follows a long-standing process established by Congress to determine whether a medical item or service can be covered nationally by Medicare, including when an item or service is reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis of and/or treatment of an illness or injury. Today’s proposed NCD follows an evidence-based clinical analysis CMS initiated in August 2022 to examine whether the use of power seat elevation equipment on power wheelchairs: 1) falls within a Medicare benefit category and 2) if yes, whether it is reasonable and necessary.

This NCD proposal incorporates feedback from interested parties, particularly those who are focused on eliminating health disparities for people with disabilities. CMS encourages comments from all interested parties, in particular, people with Medicare and their families, providers, clinicians, consumer advocates, health care professional associations, and from individuals serving populations facing disparities in health and health care. Additionally, CMS is specifically interested in gathering additional scientific literature that provides evidence surrounding the medical necessity for seat elevation systems through studies that include measurable characteristics related to the performance of transfers.

The proposed National Coverage Determination decision memorandum is available to review here. The 30-day comment period will close March 17, 2023.

For more information on the Medicare coverage determination process, please visit: Medicare Coverage Determination Process

Federal Agencies Announce Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program Tax Incentives

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Departments of Treasury and Energy recently released new information on key provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act intended to incentivize investment in underserved communities. The federal agencies issued a notice that establishes the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit program, which will provide a boost of up to 20 percentage points to the investment tax credit for solar and wind energy projects in low-income communities. The notice defines qualified projects as eligible clean energy facilities that generate electricity solely from wind or solar energy and are either located in low-income communities or on Tribal land;serve federally subsidized residential buildings, including housing financed by the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit; or where at least 50% of the financial benefits of the electricity produced go to households with incomes below 200% of the poverty line or below 80% of the area median gross income. 

DCA Awards $1.8 Million In Grants

Through Financial Empowerment Pilot Program

Grants Will Enable Nonprofits to Offer Financial Counseling

to Individuals in Underserved Communities

TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) announced that it recently awarded $1.8 million in funding to 10 nonprofit organizations through the Financial Empowerment Pilot Program. SHA congratulates member New Jersey Community Development Corporation on receiving one of these grants. DCA is managing the three-year Financial Empowerment Pilot Program, which is designed to create financial empowerment programs pursuant to Assembly Bill A3062, known as P.L. 2021, c. 321, which was signed by Governor Murphy on December 21, 2021.

The Financial Empowerment Pilot Program continues the Administration’s dedication to the financial resiliency of New Jersey residents. Last spring, Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio and the Department of the Treasury launched NJ FinLit, a free online financial wellness platform, available to all adults across the state. Thousands of residents have taken advantage of the site’s highly personalized and interactive learning experience.

Awards were given to nonprofit organizations with demonstrable success using the field of financial empowerment services to mitigate the effects of structural poverty.

The programs must focus on serving traditionally underserved cultural or linguistic communities and those communities historically disenfranchised from access to banking and wealth-building tools, including:

• Youth transitioning from foster care or the juvenile justice system,
• Veterans,
• Seniors, especially those raising their grandchildren,
• People with behavioral health needs,
• People with disabilities,
• Re-Entry participants, and
• Survivors of domestic violence.

Selected programs may be an expansion of existing, successful services or may be the creation of an adjacent service.

Click here to see a full listing of the award recipients

NJHMFA Update:

Affordable Housing Production Fund Guidelines

Volume Cap Allocation

Developer Bulletin 2023-3:

Affordable Housing Production Fund Guidelines

Attention Developers

The Affordable Housing Production Fund (AHPF) Guidelines were updated effective January 12, 2023.  Revisions include the following:

• The project must be approved as part of a Fair Share Settlement Agreement and a deviation from the settlement agreement’s unit count and distribution not in excess of 5 units or 5 percent of units, whichever is greater, shall be considered de minimis and in compliance with the plan for the purposes of eligibility under this program. Any deviations from the settlement that exceed the de minimis standard must include an order from the relevant court approving the revised plan in order to be considered in compliance for the purposes of this program.
• The maximum award was increased from $8 million to $10 million.

Please use the link here to view the updated guidelines.

Questions? Need Help? 

If you have questions regarding the AHPF Program please email your requests to Tanya Hudson-Murray, Managing Director of Multifamily Programs, or Donna Spencer, Director of the Multifamily/Supportive Housing and Lending Division.

Access forms, checklists, policies, previous developer bulletins, and more under the Developer Tab, on the NJHMFA website.

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Developer Bulletin 2023-4:

Volume Cap Allocation

Attention Developers

As you are aware, the HMFA recently announced the Affordable Housing Production Fund Program and has set-aside up to $305,000,000 to provide subsidy financing for projects that are 100-percent affordable and are included in an approved Mount Laurel Fair Share Settlement Agreement. The AHPF is expected to increase the number of affordable housing units to be financed by 2025 by more than 3,300 units. The subsidy will be made available for gap financing on housing projects that utilize the 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (4% LIHTC) Program and Tax-Exempt Bond Financing from HMFA. AHPF Program funds may not be utilized in conjunction with conduit financing.

Given the finite nature of the State of New Jersey’s volume cap allocation, coupled with strict federal expenditure deadlines associated with the AHPF funding, projects applying to the Affordable Housing Production Fund Program may take priority over other proposed uses of agency volume cap. Accordingly, proposed projects seeking large volume cap allocations, meaning any request in excess of $30 million, will be subject to additional scrutiny and may be deferred to a subsequent year as part of balancing the various competing needs for volume cap at this time. Should you anticipate presenting a large volume-cap request to the Agency in the near future, please be mindful of these constraints, seek to minimize the scale of the request being submitted, and come in to discuss the project proposal with staff early in the development process to better benchmark expectations regarding the size of and timing for your proposed issuance.

Important: The submission of an application to HMFA does not obligate the Agency to take further action in advancing the project, inclusive of approval to allocate tax-exempt bond volume cap, issue bonds, or provide financing. Additionally, the timing of an application submission to HMFA does not give a project preference over other projects in the multifamily pipeline. 

Questions? Need Help? 

If you have questions please email your requests to Tanya Hudson-Murray, Managing Director of Multifamily Programs, or Donna Spencer, Director of the Multifamily/Supportive Housing and Lending Division.

Access forms, checklists, policies, previous developer bulletins, and more under the Developer Tab, on the NJHMFA website.

A Closer Look At Who Benefits From SNAP:

State-by-State Fact Sheets

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, reaching 38 million people nationwide in 2019 alone. These fact sheets provide state-by-state data on who participates in the SNAP program, the benefits they receive, and SNAP’s role in strengthening the economy.

Click here to download a fact sheet on SNAP in New Jersey

Some key SNAP stats for New Jersey include:

• In 2022, SNAP helped 857,300 NJ residents, or 9% of the state population (1 in 11)
• More than 63% of SNAP participants are in families with children
• More than 47% are in families with members who are older adults or are disabled
• More than 44% are in working families 

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation’s most important and effective anti-hunger program. Congress made many temporary improvements to SNAP during the COVID-19 pandemic to take advantage of the program’s ability to deliver benefits quickly in response to job and income losses, including by authorizing emergency allotments and certain eligibility and administrative changes. These changes have either already ended or will expire when the public health emergency ends on May 11, 2023. Emergency allotments are set to expire nationwide at the end of February 2023.

Policy Brief: Cities, Zoning,

And The Fragmented Response To Homelessness

This brief explores whether local governments incorporate housing and land use planning in their homelessness policies. It includes analysis of homelessness plans from the nation’s 100 largest cities, results from a nationally representative survey of mayors, and current federal homelessness and housing plans.

America’s cities are facing a pressing homelessness crisis, with insufficient affordable housing as the chief cause. Local governments are critical policy partners in addressing and ending homelessness through their control over land use policy, what housing gets built in a community, and where it can be built.

This policy brief explores the fact that there is little coordination of cities’ homelessness and zoning/land use planning policies, with findings such as:

• Only 54% of the nation’s 100 largest cities have homelessness plans. Plans are important documents that help to coordinate complex policies and services across different departments. Their absence suggests a serious general fragmentation in local homelessness policy-making.
• A small share of those cities that do have homelessness plans mention housing policies. Only 30% mention land use and zoning — the most powerful policy tools that local governments wield in reducing the local cost of housing. Higher shares mention eviction (61%) and affordability (87%).
• Mayors similarly do not perceive land use and zoning to be an important component of homelessness policy. Only 32% believe that land use and zoning are significant barriers to addressing homelessness, despite the centrality of these policies to reducing housing costs.
• Federal government plans have begun to incentivize connecting these important policy arenas, but could do more to clarify and strengthen the link between homelessness and housing policy.

Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act

Final Rule Available: Important Changes

For Multifamily Owners And Operators 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published its final rule in the Federal Register implementing the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA). The official publication in the Federal Register follows HUD's publication of a preview version on January 31, 2023.

As communicated on January 31, the rule covers sections 102, 103, and 104 of HOTMA; only sections 102 and 104 apply to Multifamily Housing (MFH) programs. Specifically, these sections affect owners participating in the following programs: Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), Section 202 Housing for Low-Income Elderly, and Section 811 Housing for Low-Income Persons with Disabilities.

This final rule is effective January 1, 2024. Owners may not implement these provisions prior to their effective dates.

Sections 102 and 104

The changes put into effect by sections 102 and 104 of HOTMA are described below:

• Section 102 addresses income reviews, making modifications to such things as the frequency of income reviews and the definitions of income and assets.
• Section 104 establishes an asset limitation for families assisted under the PBRA program while also implementing deductions and exceptions for certain investments, including retirement savings and modest increases in income.

Updates to TRACs are under way and will be released prior to the effective dates of these provisions.

HOTMA Resources for Multifamily Property Owners

MFH has updated its HOTMA Web page with information to assist MFH stakeholders in understanding the final rule. This page will be refreshed as new resources become available. Subscribe here to the Office of Housing’s email list to receive notification of new resources.

In the late spring of 2023, MFH and the Office of Public and Indian Housing will publish comprehensive implementation guidance (programs administered by public housing agencies are likewise subject to sections 102 and 104).

MFH is also developing a series of webinars and other materials to assist owners in implementing HOTMA.

ANCHOR Tax Relief Deadline Extended To February 28th

New Eligibility For Homeowners and Renters in PILOT Housing

Attention ANCHOR Applicants

The deadline for filing your ANCHOR benefit application is January 31, 2023.

Important Update: The extension now includes a provision allowing homeowners or tenants living in units which make Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) to be eligible for this program. This could potentially benefit many seniors or people with disabilities. More details will follow and we will update you as we know more.

ANCHOR benefits will roll out in the late Spring of 2023. ANCHOR payments will be paid in the form of a direct deposit or check, not as credits to property tax bills. Homeowners who filed a homestead benefit application last year may be able to obtain their ID and PIN numbers online. Tenants do not need an ID or PIN number to file. Visit the Division’s ANCHOR page for all filing information. Due to high call volume, the ANCHOR and Homestead Benefit Hotline may be unable to take your call at certain times. If that occurs, please try your call at another time. Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

More than three million residents are eligible for up to $1,500 in property tax relief under the ANCHOR program.

To be eligible for this year's benefit, you must have occupied your primary residence on October 1st, 2019. The deadline for filing is now January 31st, 2023. ANCHOR replaces the Homestead Benefit program.

Homeowners

You are considered a homeowner if, on October 1, 2019, you:

• Owned a house,
• Owned a condominium and paid property taxes on your unit;
• Were a resident shareholder of a cooperative housing complex;
• Were a resident of a continuing care retirement community and your continuing care contract requires you to pay the proportionate share of property taxes attributable to your unit.

You may not qualify if your residence was completely exempt from paying property taxes.

Tenants

You are considered a tenant if, on October 1, 2019, you:

• Rented an apartment, condominium, or house;
• Rented or owned a mobile home located in a mobile home park.

You may not qualify if you lived in tax-exempt, subsidized, or campus housing.

CSH & Capital Impact Partners

Survey And Virtual Event

How Supportive Housing Can Leverage

Assisted Living Programs To Promote Aging In Place

February 28, 2023 | 10:00AM ET

CSH and Capital Impact Partners are seeking input from the supportive housing field around the needs of aging clients, challenges when serving the aging population, and difficulties faced in retaining older adults in housing. During this brainstorming session, they will discuss methods in which the supportive housing field can better collaborate with assisted living programs (ALPs), to promote aging in place.



If you are a New Jersey supportive housing developer, service provider, or property manager, join a virtual brainstorming session to share your input and expertise.

Before the event, please fill out our survey to help prepare for the virtual brainstorming session and discussion.

After completing the survey, register for the event here.

This virtual event is hosted in partnership with Capital Impact Partners.

HSRC Webinar On Transportation and Housing Stability

Monday, February 27, 2023 | 1:00-2:00 PM ET

Partnerships across housing, transportation, aging and disability, and health are essential to ensure housing stability for people with disabilities, older adults, and caregivers. Transportation options support access to everyday locations. Partnerships help ensure accessible, reliable, and safe transportation options are available so people can live where they choose, with the people they choose, and engage in their communities as they see fit. 

Join the Housing and Services Resource Center (HSRC) for insights into the important role of partnerships — between transportation and housing, aging and disability networks, and health — in addressing housing stability and access to services for older adults, people with disabilities, and those experiencing homelessness. 

This webinar will:

• Highlight effective pathways for creating cross-sector collaborations with public transportation as a key partner to improve housing stability.
• Build awareness of technical assistance resources to strengthen partnership development, including an online tool that identifies possible community transportation partners.
• Answer participants’ questions about forming effective cross-sector partnerships to address housing stability through transportation access.

Registrants will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the webinar. The webinar will include real-time captioning and ASL interpreting. Everyone who registers by 9:00 AM ET on Monday, February 27 will receive the slides in advance. If you need any additional accommodations, or if you have questions, please send an email to HSRC@acl.hhs.gov.

Click here to register for this webinar

Arc of New Jersey Webinar Series

Exploring Mental Health And Behavioral

Health Challenges In People With IDD

The Mainstreaming Medical Care Program of The Arc of New Jersey is pleased to present the 2023 webinar series:

Exploring Mental Health and Behavioral Health Challenges in People with IDD

This 5-part webinar series will examine the issue of dual diagnosis - co-occurring mental health and/or behavioral health disorders in persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Topics will include diagnosis, treatment options, best practice, etc.

Join us the 4th Tuesday of every month, February through June, for this informative series.

WEBINAR #1

Unpacking the Complexities of Dual Diagnosis (Mental Illness and Intellectual and Developmental Disability)

Although mental health concerns are not uncommon among individuals with IDD, they are difficult to diagnose and treat. This webinar will include considerations for the diagnosis and non-pharmacological treatment of mental health concerns for individuals with IDD and serve as an introduction to The Arc of NJ's series on dual diagnosis.

Presenter:

Lucille Esralew, Ph.D., NADD-CC

Senior Psychologist Supervisor and Clinical Lead of the Clinical Services Branch

Office of Statewide Clinical Services, California Department of Developmental Services

When:

Tuesday, February 28, 2023, 12:00 - 1:30 pm

Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4755945671127524960

Questions? Email conference@arcnj.org.

NJ LGBTQ+/HIV+ LTC Bill of Rights Designate Training

Live Webinar for NJ LGBTQI+, HIV+ Long-term Care Bill of Rights (NJS2545)

"Designate In-Person" Certification

Monday March 13th, 9:30AM - 4PM

5.5 hours of Continuing Education Credits available (added fee) for National Nursing, NJ Social Work, National Activities Professionals, National LTC Administrators, National Therapeutic Recreation.



Click here to register

Diane Riley, Executive Director

diane.riley@shanj.org

Joseph Christensen, Membership & Communication Manager

j.christensen@shanj.org

Kate Kelly, MSW – Integrated Community Project Manager

kate.kelly@shanj.org

Kate Leahy, Housing Navigator Project Manager

kate.leahy@shanj.org

Janai Johnson, Administrator

j.johnson@shanj.org

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Have a story worth SHAre-ing? Send it to Joseph Christensen for future consideration.