Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program

Street Outreach services are provided on the street or in parks, abandoned buildings, bus stations, campgrounds and in other such settings where unsheltered persons are staying. Staff salaries related to carrying out street outreach activities are also eligible costs. Eligible Program Participants are individuals and families who are homeless and living in a place not meant for human habitation. Eligible costs include engagement, case management, emergency health and mental health services, transportation and services for special populations.

Subject to the expenditure limit in § 576.100(b), ESG funds may be used for costs of providing essential services to homeless families and individuals in emergency shelters, renovating buildings to be used as emergency shelter for homeless families and individuals, and operating emergency shelters. Funds are to be used for eligible activities identified in this section only, including staff time and personnel costs, in support of eligible activities.  

Essential Services such as case management, childcare, education services, employment assistance and job training, outpatient health services, legal services, life skills training, mental health services, substance abuse treatment services, transportation and services for special populations.

Homelessness prevention may be provided to individuals and families who meet the criteria under the “at risk of homelessness”, or who meet the criteria in paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of the “homeless” definition in Subsection 576.2. The cost of homelessness prevention is only eligible to help the program participant regain stability in the program participant’s current permanent housing or move into other permanent housing and achieve stability in the housing.

Housing relocation and stabilization services §576.105 and short- and/or medium-term rental assistance §576.106 may be provided to prevent an individual or family from moving into an emergency shelter or another place if:

1. Annual income of the individual or family is below 30 percent of median family income.
2. Assistance is necessary to help program participants regain stability in their current permanent housing or move into other permanent housing and achieve stability in that housing.

Eligible costs include utilities, rental application fees, security deposits, last month's rent, utility deposits and payments, moving costs, housing search and placement, housing stability case management, landlord-tenant mediation, tenant legal services and credit repair.

ESG financial assistance cannot be provided to a program participant receiving the same type of assistance for the same period of time from another public program.

Housing relocation and stabilization services and short-and or medium-term rental assistance as necessary to help individuals or families living in shelters or in places not meant for human habitation move as quickly as possible into permanent housing and achieve stability in that housing.

Program participants may be provided up to 24 months of rental assistance during any three-year period. This assistance may be short-term rental assistance, medium-term rental assistance, payment of rental arrears, or any combination of this assistance.

The maximum amount of rental assistance provided and, an individual or family’s level of responsibility for rent payments, over time, shall be determined by the ESG subrecipient and shall be reflective of the individual or family’s need for rental assistance and the level of financial resources available to the ESG subrecipient.

Eligible costs also include utilities, rental application fees, security deposits, last month's rent, utility deposits and payments, moving costs, housing search and placement, housing stability case management, landlord-tenant mediation, tenant legal services and credit repair.

HMIS is a client-level data collection and management system that allows for better coordination among agencies providing services to clients. It is not a national reporting system and it is not designed to be a financial reporting/accounting system.

Section 416 (F) of the McKinney-Vento Act requires that projects receiving funding under Emergency Solutions Grant program participate in HMIS. With the exception of victim service or legal service providers, all ESG subrecipients MUST enter client-level data into the HMIS in accordance to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HMIS Data Standards. Victim service providers will use a comparable database that collects client-level data over time and generates unduplicated aggregate reports based on the data. Information entered into a comparable database must not be entered directly into or provided to a HMIS system.

The total subrecipient funds that can be spent on administrative activities are typically 5.0% percent of the ESG grant and is allocated through the program’s funding matrix. Employee compensation and other overhead costs directly related to carrying out street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing and HMIS activities are eligible costs of those activities and not subject to the spending limit for administrative costs. Case Management costs should be charged as program costs as described as allowable in program eligible activities and are not to be considered administrative costs.

Eligible Activities

• Accounting for the use of grant funds
• Preparing reports for submission to HUD
• Obtaining program audits
• Subrecipient staff salaries associated with eligible administrative costs
• ESG training for program administrator and case managers