Overview

FSS is a program that enables HUD-assisted families to increase their earned income and reduce their dependency on welfare assistance and rental subsidies.

Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) work in collaboration with a Program Coordinating Committee (PCC) to secure commitments of public and private resources for the operation of the FSS program, to develop the PHA’s FSS Action Plan (the FSS policy framework), and to implement the program.

Once an eligible family is selected to participate in the program, the PHA, and the head of each participating family execute a FSS Contract of Participation that specifies the rights and responsibilities of both parties. The term of the FSS contract is generally 5 years, but it may be extended for another 2 years by the PHA for good cause.

The FSS contract also incorporates the family’s individual training and services plan (ITSP). The ITSP is the document that records the plan for the family. That is, the series of intermediate and long-term goals and the steps the family needs to take – and the services and resources they may need to access – to achieve those goals.” 

Family Unification Program (FUP) Youth and FSS Program Demonstration

In the FY2015 Appropriations Act for HUD, Congress authorized a demonstration to test the effectiveness of combining Housing Choice Vouchers for eligible youth lacking adequate housing under FUP with assistance under the FSS program.  

• Notice PIH 2016-1: Outlines the demonstration and gives information on how to apply to participate.
• For more information about FUP click here.
• (NEW) FUP_FSS Demonstration Approved PHAs

FSS Fact Sheet: provides general FSS program information.

FSS PHAs and Tribes: provides a list of PHAs and Tribes that have received FSS funding from HUD between 2011 and 2016.  

PHA Contact Information: for contact information of all PHAs by State, not only PHAs that administer an FSS program, click here.

Funding for FSS Program Coordinator Salaries: each year, once Congress appropriates funding for the FSS program, HUD makes that funding available through a competitive process under a NOFA.  Funding is specifically for PHAs and Tribes that administer an FSS program to pay for the salaries of an FSS program coordinator(s); not for the payment of services.  Additionally, individuals are not eligible to apply for funding through a NOFA.  Instead, eligible families that are interested in participating in FSS may contact a PHA in their area that administers an FSS program. 

Below are links to FY 2016 FSS NOFA and archived FSS NOFAs from prior years.

• FY 2016 FSS NOFA | Webcast | PowerPoint Slides
• FY16 Funding Announcement
• Archived NOFA and Funding Announcements

Related Notices, Regulations, and Other Information

• NEW! PIH Notice 2016-08 - Inventory Management System/PIH Information Center (IMS/PIC) Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Reporting and FSS Program Portability Provisions - The purpose of this notice is to provide information to PHAs on how to improve the accuracy of the FSS information submitted into IMS/PIC.
• How to Report Escrow
• Accounting Brief #23
• Logic Model (FY 2013) and PIC Results
• FY13 Logic Model Training
• Letter to PHAs on PIC system changes related to Section 17 “FSS Addendum” of form HUD-50058
• FSS Logic Model Guidance as of 2015
• FSS Regulations: FSS regulations are found at 24 CFR Part 984
• FSS Forms:
  • FSS Contract of Participation (HUD-52650): this is a required form.
  • FSS Escrow Credit Worksheet (HUD-52652): this is an optional form.
  • FSS Program Coordinator Funding (HUD-52651): this form is only used if applying for FSS funding under a NOFA.
• HCV Program Regulations: HCV program regulations are found at 24 CFR Part 982.
• PH Program Regulations: Admission and Occupancy PH regulations are found at 24 CFR Part 960.
• HCV Forms and Guidance: Access to the HCV Program Guidebook (Chapter 23 of the HCV Guidebook provides additional information on the HCV-FSS program), HCV Forms, and PIH Notices related to the HCV program.
• PIH Notice 2011-51, Promoting Partnerships to Utilize Housing as a Platform for Improving Quality of Life.

Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program Listserv
If you are a public housing agency (PHA) administering the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program, we recommend that you subscribe to our listserv. This listserv is for FSS program coordinators and any pertinent PHA staff. Subscribers will automatically receive email notifications of important program news and updates. This is a free service.

Evaluation and Research Papers of HUD’s FSS Program

• Evaluation of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program: Prospective Study (2011) : a study which examined programmatic features and family characteristics that appear to influence the success of families in completing FSS program requirements. The final analysis of a prospective study of the FSS program for families that use HCVs is presented in this report.
• A Diamond in the Rough: the Remarkable Success of HUD’s FSS Program: an evaluation of HUD’s FSS program that confirms FSS' success in promoting self-sufficiency and asset-building.
• Evaluation of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program: Retrospective Analysis (2004): a report describing the FSS program and the change in self-sufficiency among participants of the program (1996 through 2000 data used).
• Working Toward Self-Sufficiency: a report on Opportunity NYC-Work Rewards, the first random assignment of FSS conducted by MDRC.
• The Family Self-Sufficiency Program Demonstration: MDRC’s national evaluation of FSS which builds upon the Opportunity NYC-Work Rewards and provides FSS’s effectiveness in diverse cities and local contexts.
• CSS and FSS: A Perfect Marriage: an article on how HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program Can Help HOPE VI Sites Achieve their Self-Sufficiency Objectives.
• The Family Self-Sufficiency Program: HUD's Best Kept Secret for Promoting Employment and Asset Growth: a paper that analyzes the value of the FSS program for tenants and PHAs and offers suggestions for overcoming perceived or actual barriers to PHA implementation or expansion of the program.

Other Resources

• FY17 FSS HUD Congressional Justification
• Resources for Community and Supportive Services webpage: an informational tool for Community and Supportive Services (CSS) practitioners which provides links to several resources on a variety of topics and gives CSS practitioners a space for information-sharing.