For more information contact: Ashley Lommers-Johnson, Director of Housing Policy, (206) 574-1188 or Rhonda Rosenberg, KCHA, Communications Director, (206) 574-1185

September 11, 2003

KING COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY AND HUD ANNOUNCE MTW AGREEMENT

Special needs populations will be among the first to benefit

Seattle– The King County Housing Authority has executed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to participate in Making Transition Work (MTW), a demonstration program that allows high-performing housing authorities greater flexibility under HUD rules and more local control over their federal assistance budgets. KCHA is among a select group of 26 housing authorities nationwide chosen to participate in this program.

"Becoming an MTW agency allows us to make good programs even better," said Stephen Norman, executive director of the King County Housing Authority. "Making Transition Work will enable us to initiate program and policy changes that will better serve King County’s low-income families, disabled and elderly persons."

The MTW agreement with HUD allows the housing authority programmatic flexibility in accomplishing three main goals: 1) increasing housing choices for low-income families; 2) helping residents attain economic self-sufficiency; and 3) increasing the cost-effectiveness and administrative efficiency of its operations.

King County Housing Authority will have seven years to design and implement policy and program changes to achieve these goals. Although many of the changes will focus on internal operations, others will have direct implications for Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) tenants. First on the agenda: Expanding the capacity of the Section 8 program in serving the County’s growing population of homeless and disabled households.

People with special needs and homeless families can encounter difficulty finding and renting apartments on the private market (even with Section 8 vouchers) because they often need supportive services, which are not available at conventional apartment complexes. Under the MTW agreement, KCHA can now link a portion of its Section 8 subsidy on an ongoing basis to specific housing units instead of tenants. This will maximize coordination of federal, state and local resources. With the ability to "project base" the subsidy, KCHA can contract directly with nonprofit service providers such as those funded under the Gates Foundation’s homeless families initiative to provide subsidized units for a specified number of years. The program also allows KCHA to cluster project-based units at a single site, making it cost-effective to deliver necessary supportive services to help special needs adults live independently.

"KCHA is pleased to be able to better coordinate the Section 8 subsidy with local resources to benefit the people who desperately need it," said Mr. Norman. "This is just one of the ways in which the MTW program will enable more housing choices and a better quality of life for homeless and low-income persons with special needs. Ultimately, the programs will create a more effective and efficient safety net in King County’s communities."

Other initiatives to be implemented this year include reviewing the agency’s Public Housing rent policy to support resident self-sufficiency and identifying opportunities to streamline burdensome administrative processes.

KCHA administers a range of quality affordable rental and homeownership programs for residents of King County. The Authority serves more than 15,000 families, elderly and disabled households on a daily basis.