DSS explains steps to address lease-up gap and SOTA differences
Hudson asks what DSS is doing to close the lease-up gap and how CityFHEPS compares with one-time assistance. French says CityFHEPS is a voucher while SOTA is not, and recertification has about 90% retention with a four-month renewal window.
Are there any specific steps you're taking to address the gap?
I think all of the steps we have already mentioned in terms of reorganization and attempting to process as fast as possible the inspections that we just discussed and so on.
So I think we are very focused on doing that as quickly as we can.
And is there a difference between folks?
Leasing up with a city FEPS voucher versus a one-time assistance voucher.
You referred to soda?
Right, the SOTA program.
Yes.
Yeah, I think first, and I'll let the executive director, Christopher, speak as well.
CityFaps is a voucher.
Soda would not be a voucher.
Soda is a sort of one-year...
Commitment based upon certain criteria that individuals meet.
Many of those people are not eligible for city FEPS because they have employment, they have income.
And so we track them differently.
So we don't really have comparable timing between those two pieces.
Also, when it comes to soda, individuals, when they sort of step forward for soda, they have identified the unit most likely.
Okay.
And what is the median time it takes applicants who are recertifying their eligibility to lease up?
So as it comes to recertification,
Right.
That happens very differently than lease up.
So those are also not really comparable for someone who's recertifying four months before the end of that sort of lease period.
We will start to send individuals reminders that they can actually renew their.
CityFEP's voucher now.
So individuals have a four-month period, right?
So basically from month eight to 12, at any point, someone can step forward and say, and submit the documentation that's needed to do a lease up.
I think, you know, we see about 90% of, you know, retention rates.
Year over year.
So I think that sort of gives a sense on like how things are going.
And we don't expect that to be a hundred as people will move.
People, you know, may pass away.
There are many other reasons of that, but I would say that that I think gives an indicator on the recertification process in general.
And we just, we allow a longer period of time where people can choose to start that process.
Okay, thank you so much.