Family Self-Sufficiency Program

The Housing Authority implemented the Family Self-Sufficiency Program in 1992. The Program’s success is evident by the 18 families that have successfully completed the Program and have moved on to homeownership.

The Family Self-Sufficiency Program is a contractual program that is available only to existing Public Housing residents and Housing Choice Voucher participants. The program is designed to help families become self-sufficient within a five-year period. The Housing Authority provides the housing assistance and works closely with agencies in the community that provide needed resources to participating families. The family enters into a five-year Contract of Participation with the Housing Authority and sets specific goals to be achieved over the term of the Contract. As part of the Contract, the Housing Authority opens an escrow account for each participating family and any time there is an increase to the family’s earned income during the term of the Contract, money is deposited into the family’s escrow account. Upon successful completion of the Program, the family receives the balance in their escrow account. The balance in a family’s escrow account varies from family to family, but the Housing Authority has made final escrow payments in excess of $27,000.00.

The Housing Authority also provides monthly training to these families in the areas of healthcare, parenting, financial management, budgeting, stress management, employment preparedness and training, homeownership, and life-skills training.

Families currently receiving assistance from the Housing Authority that are interested in participating in the Family Self-Sufficiency Program must only complete a program application. There is no waiting list for this program.

Program Qualification Guidelines

To qualify for housing assistance, families must qualify as low income (below 80% of the area median income). The income limits that are published annually in the Federal Register dictate what these figures are and will determine income eligibility.

The Housing Authority has also implemented a Working Family Preference. Applicants who have been working a minimum of 24 hours per week at minimum wage for the previous 6 months qualify for the preference. Applicants who are attending school full-time (12 credit hours per semester) or who are participating in a self-sufficiency program also receive the preference.

Families who are determined to be elderly, handicapped or disabled also receive a preference.

Guidelines that regulate the Pubic Housing Program are stipulated in the Housing Authority’s Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy (ACOP). The Guidelines that regulate the Housing Choice Voucher Program are stipulated in the Administrative Plan. The Family Self-Sufficiency Program guidelines are contained in the Program’s Action Plan. These guidelines are posted in the lobby of the Housing Authority’s Administration Office.

Click here to download the Housing Assistance Application