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.”

FSS Fact Sheet: provides general FSS program information.

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

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.
• FUP_FSS Demonstration Slides
• FUP_FSS Demonstration Approved PHAs
• For more information about FUP 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 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.

• FY19 FSS Renewal NOFA
• FY19 NOFA Award Announcements
• FY18/FY19 FSS NEW APPLICANTS NOFA
• Prior Years’ NOFAs

PIC Reporting

• PIH-2010-25 - Timely Reporting Requirements of the Family Report (form HUD-50058 and form HUD- 50058 MTW) into the Public and Indian Housing Information Center

• 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.

• Eight-part webinar discussing PIH Notice 2016-08
  • Powerpoint Slides, click here
• Letter to PHAs on PIC system changes related to Section 17 “FSS Addendum” of form HUD-50058 (August 28, 2014)
• FY20 “Get Ready” letter
• FY19 "Get Ready" Letter 
• FY18 FSS "Get Ready" Letter & FY18 Get Ready Searchable Appendix D

• "Get Ready" Letter 2017 Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program Coordinator Funding

• Second “Get Ready” Letter 2017 Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program Coordinator Funding

• PIH-2010-25- Timely Reporting Requirements of the Family Report (form HUD-50058 and form HUD-50058 MTW) into the Public and Indian Housing Information Center

FSS Guidebook and Training are Available

• Announcement from PIH GDAS and Office of Housing GDAS
• Administering an Effective Family Self-Sufficiency Program: A Guidebook Based on Evidence and Promising Practices
• FSS Online Training
• FSS Resource Library page on HUDExchange
  PLEASE DO utilize the “Get Credit” function, as it is possible that the training will be mandatory for eligibility for future FSS NOFA funding.

Program Rules and Requirements 

• Does my FSS program have to comply with the HUD Housing Counseling Certification Requirements?
• Resources for Family Self-Sufficiency programs in Multi-Family (Project Based Rental Assistance) Properties
• Federal Register Notice on FSS Waivers and Alternative Requirements (December 29, 2014)
• FSS Mandatory Programs Exceptions - State or Area Office Approval of Exceptions to Section 8 and Public Housing Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Programs of the Mandatory Minimum Size
• 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.
• PIH 95-5 – Modifying the FSS CoP to delete “terminate Section 8 assistance”
• PIH 2007-20 – Impact of Non-Parental Child-Only Welfare Grants on Families Participating in the FSS Program
• Letter from IRS stating that FSS Escrow is not taxable

Accounting

• How to Report Escrow
• Accounting Brief No. 23 - Financial Reporting for the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program. This brief provides information on the FDS line items and financial transactions involved in reporting the Family Self-Sufficiency Program. Note: This brief supersedes information issued in Accounting Brief No. 23, issued in May of 2015. Summary of Changes.

FSS program Performance Management

• Proposed FSS Performance Measurement System:
  • Federal Register Notice for Public Comment – Proposed FSS Performance Management System (Dec 2017)
  • ​Scores for Funded Non-MTW, Non-Tribal FSS programs Using Proposed Performance Measurement System (Dec 2017)
  • Explanation of Spreadsheet Columns - Proposed Performance Measurement System (Dec 2017)
• Logic Model (FY15 and earlier funding)
  • FSS Logic Model Guidance as of 2015
  • Logic Model report and analysis FY13
  • FY13 Logic Model Training

Publications on HUD's FSS program

• Upward Mobility in the Family Self-Sufficiency Program: An Expert Q&A (2018)
• Compass FSS Policy brief (2018)
• Compass FSS Cost Benefit Report (2018)
• Compass FSS Blog summarizing key points (2018)
• FSS Celebrates 25 Years! 25 Years of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program: Families Working, Families Prospering (2017)
• Improving Outcomes among Employment Program Participants Through Goal Attainment: A Conceptual Framework (2017)
• Evaluation of the Compass Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Programs Administered in Partnership with Public Housing Agencies in Lynn and Cambridge, Massachusetts (2017)
• The Family Self-Sufficiency Program Demonstration (ongoing): 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.
• Evaluating the Impacts of an Enhanced Family Self-Sufficiency Program (2017) – including Review of FSS Evaluation Literature
• Report to Congress on FSS Best Practices in response to Committee Request, FY16 Appropriations
• Report to Congress on FSS Best Practices in response to Committee Request, FY15 Appropriations
• Housing More People More Effectively through a Dynamic Housing Policy (2014)
• The Bridge to Family Self-Sufficiency (BridgeFSS) Demonstration: MDRC and the Crittenton Women’s Union (2014)
• Asset-Oriented Rental Assistance: Next Generation Reforms for HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program (2013)
• Working Toward Self-Sufficiency (2011): a report on Opportunity NYC-Work Rewards, the first random assignment of FSS conducted by MDRC.
• More Than a Roof: Case Studies of Public Housing Agency Initiatives to Increase Residents’ Economic Security (2012) 
• The Business Case for FSS (2011)
• 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.
• Taking Asset Building and Earnings Incentives to Scale in HUD-Assisted Rental Housing (2011)
• Rental Assistance Asset Accounts: An Opportunity to Support Work and Savings Among Recipients of Federal Housing Assistance (2009)
• CSS and FSS: A Perfect Marriage (2006): an article on how HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program Can Help HOPE VI Sites Achieve their Self-Sufficiency Objectives.
• “HUD Program Evaluation Confirms FSS’ Success in Promoting Self-Sufficiency and Asset-Building” (2006)
• 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).
• The Family Self-Sufficiency Program: HUD's Best Kept Secret for Promoting Employment and Asset Growth (2001): 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

• PIH 2000-11 Guidance on Establishing Cooperation Agreements for Economic Self-Sufficiency between Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Agencies
• PIH Notice 2011-51, Promoting Partnerships to Utilize Housing as a Platform for Improving Quality of Life.
• PIH 2014-26 – Financial Literacy and Asset Building
• PIH 2015-12 Administering the Community Service and Self-Sufficiency Requirement (CSSR) - /sites/documents/PIH2015-12.PDF and /sites/documents/PIH2016-06.PDF
• FY21 HUD Congressional Justification
• FY20 HUD Congressional Justification 
• FY19 FSS HUD Congressional Justification
• FY18 FSS HUD Congressional Justification
• FY17 FSS HUD Congressional Justification
• RAD Notice 
• 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.