The Family Self Sufficiency Program (FSS) is designed to help eligible SMHA families to overcome obstacles as they strive to achieve self sufficiency. The FSS program focuses on such areas as education, job training, job placement assistance as well as other supportive services to address other family needs.
Who is eligible for the program?
The FSS program is available to Public Housing (PH) residents and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program participants.
How do families enroll in the program?
Eligible families should discuss participation in the FSS program with SMHA staff.
How do I start the program?
To begin the FSS program, you will meet with SMHA staff to develop your own personalized service plan by setting goals and working towards self sufficiency.
What is the process?
Once an eligible family is selected to participate in the program, the PHA, and the head of each participating family execute a FSS Contract of Participation that specifies the rights and responsibilities of both parties. The term of the FSS contract is generally 5 years, but it may be extended for another 2 years by the PHA for good cause.
The FSS contract also incorporates the family’s individual training and services plan (ITSP). The ITSP is the document that records the plan for the family. That is, the series of intermediate and long-term goals and the steps the family needs to take – and the services and resources they may need to access – to achieve those goals.
Some of the services coordinated through the program include: child care, transportation, education, job training, employment counseling, financial literacy, and homeownership counseling, among others.
Services are generally not provided by the PHA, but rather outsourced to service providers in the community. An interest-bearing escrow account is established by the PHA for each participating family. Any increases in the family’s rent as a result of increased earned income during the family’s participation in the program result in a credit to the family’s escrow account.
Once a family graduates from the program, they may access the escrow and use it for any purpose.
