Governor Terry McAuliffe today announced the establishment of a new $1.8 million housing support pilot program that will provide additional assistance to Fostering Futures participants in Richmond and Charlottesville/Albemarle County.
Fostering Futures provides transitional assistance for up to three years for Virginians who are “aging out” of foster care. The new housing support pilot will provide additional housing support options such as rent subsidies, host homes, and other methods of support that are based on best practices to ensure a successful transition to adulthood.
“I am proud of our bipartisan efforts through Fostering Futures to give young adults aging out of foster care support at a critical juncture in their life,” said Governor McAuliffe. “The pilot program I am announcing today will greatly enhance our ability to ensure that these young people have access to housing. All young people deserve the best possible chance to succeed in adulthood, and I have tasked several state agencies with using this pilot to create that opportunity for these young adults.”
The Governor tasked the Department of Social Services (DSS), Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), and the Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) to implement the program. Nonprofit grantees will develop and administer the new housing support pilot at the local level. The grantees will develop housing support options for up to three years for each participant either during their time in Fostering Futures or through a transition time after Fostering Futures funds are depleted.
DSS will continue to administer the Fostering Futures program and coordinate with the new housing support options provided by grantees at the local level. DHCD will award grants from existing housing support resources to local grantees that will provide the direct assistance to young adults “aging out” of foster care. VHDA will augment the DHCD-administered Affordable and Special Needs Housing (ASNH) program for each year of the pilot to ensure that the $1.8 million in program investments over three years will be in addition to existing housing efforts in Virginia.
The program will begin in the summer of 2018 and will last for three years.
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Chris Graham
