Transitional Housing Program FAQs
View the answers to frequently asked questions.
FAQs Related to Coordinated Community Response
Q: Do we report in question 14 if we do not have an official CCR meeting?
A: Yes. To report in this section, you do not have to have an official CCR town meeting. The CCR section captures all meetings your grant-funded staff have with agencies/ organizations in your community that are related to your Transitional Housing program.
FAQs Related to Accessibility
Q: Is a unit reported as “accessible” in question 10 regardless of whether any clients needed that access?
A: No. For q.10, only report units as accessible when they are occupied by people who require the accessibility during the reporting period.
Q: What is the difference between “Victim Services” and “Housing” in question 16, Accessibility and Security?
A: The difference between “Victim Services” and “Housing” in question 16, is dependent on whether grants funds were used to enhance accessibility for a particular victim/survivor or for a housing unit. For example, in q.16, if you purchase a cell phone that the victim takes with them when they leave the unit, this is considered a victim service. However, if the cell phone remains in the unit when the victim leaves, this is considered housing accessibility.
FAQs Related to Victim Services
Q: What does it mean to have a victim/survivor accepted into the transitional housing program?
A: This depends on how your agency defines acceptance into your Transitional Housing program. For example, most agencies provide acceptance only after the client is housed and support services are offered. Some agencies accept clients upon receiving a TH application. Other agencies may have several different funding streams to consider upon receiving an application, before determining which one best meets the survivor’s described needs and provide acceptance to the OVW Transitional Housing program. Please seek out additional guidance from your OVW Program Specialist if you need assistance with making this distinction.
Q: If someone is accessing grant-funded Transitional Housing but they do not accept or request any support services offered under the Transitional Housing grant, are they considered fully served?
A: Yes, count this victim/survivor as fully served since they received all of the grant-funded services (transitional housing) that they requested.
Q: If we terminate a victim/survivor from the program, is the victim reported as partially served?
A: Yes. This victim is reported as partially served. If a program terminates a victim/survivor from the program, report them as partially served because they still wanted the grant-funded service(s) but your agency decided not to continue providing them.
Q: Our grant-funded units are full. Are additional victims who request our grant-funded transitional housing services reported as “Not Served” because we do not have any additional units to provide?
A: Yes. These additional victims/survivors are reported as not served in q.20 because they requested grant-funded services that you are unable to provide due to all of your units being occupied. Report these victims in q.21 as not served due to lack of available housing. Report the reason “program reached capacity” in q.22.
Q: How do we report a victim/survivor if we cannot provide the requested grant-funded housing due to our program owned/rented units being full, but we are able to provide support services?
A: Transitional Housing grant funds should not be used to provide support services to a victim/survivor if your program is not able to provide a transitional housing unit as well. Therefore, these victim/survivors would be reported as not served. In addition, report this survivor, any children, and any other dependents in q.21 as not served due to lack of available housing. Report the reason “program reached capacity” in q.22.
Q: How do we report a victim/survivor who is receiving support services while they are looking for a transitional housing unit with a grant-funded rent subsidy?
A: If this victim/survivor has been accepted into the transitional housing program, and you are providing support services while the victim is searching for a unit, report this victim as partially served. In addition, report this survivor, any children, and any other dependents in q.21 as partially served due to lack of available housing.
Q: How do we report a victim/survivor who has completed an intake and a housing assessment, but has not moved into a unit by the end of the reporting period?
A: This depends on the reason for why the victim/survivor is not moved into the unit.
- If your transitional housing program has not yet provided any grant-funded support services and an available unit has not been located, then report the victim as not served. In addition, report this survivor, any children, and any other dependents in q.21.
- If this victim/survivor has been accepted into the transitional housing program, and you are providing support services while they are searching for a unit (most likely with a rent subsidy), report this victim as partially served. In addition, report this survivor, any children, and any other dependents in q.21.
- If the victim/survivor is receiving all of the support services they have requested, they have secured housing, but the timing of their move into the unit happens to be during the next reporting period, then report the victim as fully served.
Q: How do we report a victim in question 20 if they are accepted into our program during the last week of the reporting period (end of June or December) and they begin receiving grant-funded support services immediately, but our agency begins funding their transitional housing the first week of the next reporting period (week of January 1st or July 1st)?
A: In this example, report the victim/survivor as served because they are receiving all the grant-funded services they are asking for, it just so happens the transitional housing service bill is being paid the day after the close of the reporting period.
Q: How do we report a waitlisted victim/survivor?
A: If a victim/survivor requests transitional housing and meets the criteria for entering into your transitional housing program and is added to your waitlist, report this victim/survivor as not served. If they do not have definitive housing and cannot receive support services until they do, then they are considered not served. Please seek out guidance from your OVW Program Specialist if you need assistance with better understanding waitlist management.
FAQs Related to Housing
Q: If we answer “No” to question 9, what additional questions do we skip on the form?
A: If you answer “No” to q.9, then do not fill out questions 25, 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35.
Q: What types of vouchers can we report?
A: There are two types of vouchers you can report in this reporting form.
The first is a voucher for rental assistance/rent subsidy that is used to make a payment to a third-party owned unit(s). Rent subsidies/vouchers are reported in q.9 and q.26.
The second is a voucher for support services independently chosen by the victim/survivor. Support service vouchers are reported in q.30.
Q: Do rent subsidies/vouchers have to be given directly to the client?
A: Vouchers/rent subsidies can be provided either directly to the landlord or to the client. Most often the lease of the third-party owned unit is in the client’s name.
Q: For question 21, what is an example of “lack of available housing?”
A: An example of lack of available housing is if a victim/survivor spends several months searching for a unit to rent and they are not successful in their search.
Q: In question 26, do we report the mortgage payments of our program-owned units?
A: No, do not include mortgage payments in q.26. There is not a question on the form to report mortgage payments of program-owned units.
Q: Does housing assistance in question 26 include emergency lodging?
A: No, emergency lodging is not a grant-funded service of the OVW Transitional Housing grant.
Q: What is the typo in the instructions for question 31?
A: In the directions for q.31: “Destination Upon Exit”, in parentheses it states “q31-38 should only be completed by those grantees who are using funds to support housing units as described in q.9.” This note should actually state “q31-35.” Questions 36-38 should be completed by all grantees providing grant-funded follow up services.
FAQs Related to Destination upon Exit or Length of Stay
Q: If a victim/survivor chooses to live with family or friends permanently, is that reported under “Permanent housing of choice”?
A: Yes, that is correct.
Q: If a victim/survivor chooses to return to live with the perpetrator of the crime, is that reported under “Permanent housing of choice?”
A: Yes, that is correct.
Q: How do we report length of stay in question 33 and question 35?
A: Length of stay is the entire time a victim/survivor is in your transitional housing program. It is not restricted to the 6 month reporting period. For example, someone is in your transitional housing program for eleven months, then report that as eleven months in q.33 if they exit the program or as eleven months in q.35 if they are terminated from the program.
Q: Do we report the same victims/survivors in both question 33 and question 35?
A: No. In q.33 report the length of stay of people who exit the grant-funded transitional housing program. In q.35 report the length of stay of people who are terminated from the grant-funded transitional housing program.
Q: When reporting the number of months for the length of stay, is this per person? For example, if six people stay for twelve months, then we report all six victims/survivors in the row labeled “12” months?
A: Yes, that is correct. This applies to q.33: “Length of Stay/Exited” and q.35: “Length of Stay/Terminated”.
Q: If our agency does not provide grant-funded housing, because we use our Transitional Housing grant to provide supportive services, do we report victims/survivors’ destination when they exit our program?
A: No. Do not report exit destination if you did not support transitional housing with your OVW Transitional Housing grant funds. If you answer “No” to q.9, then do not fill out questions 25, 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35.
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