Housing Choice Voucher Program

Housing Choice Voucher waiting list is closed.

The Housing Choice Voucher Program is one of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)'s major programs for assisting low and moderate income families, the elderly and the disabled to afford decent, safe and sanitary housing in the private market. Since housing assistance is provided on behalf of the family or individual, participants are able to find their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses multi-family homes and apartments. The participant is free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the Housing Choice Voucher program. Housing Choice Vouchers are administered locally by the public housing agencies (PHAs) and receive federal funds from HUD to administer the voucher program. A family that is issued a housing voucher is responsible for finding a suitable housing unit of the family's choice where the owner agrees to rent under the Program. This unit may include the family's present residence. Rental units must meet minimum standards of health and safety (Housing Quality Standards (HQS), as determined by the local Housing Authority and HUD. A housing subsidy is paid directly to the landlord by the Housing Authority.

Federal guidelines for affordability equates to a household not spending more than 40% of their income on housing costs. The Housing Authority of the City of Ansonia currently administers Housing Choice Vouchers in Ansonia, Seymour, and Shelton.

Payments standards effective June 2022 for the Ansonia Housing Authority’s HCV Program are listed below. These standards are established by HUD annually as part of Fair Market Rents (FMR’s).

For Waitlist Status please go to tab “Portals” and click on Waiting List Status

For general information you can contact: Melanie Rivera at 203-736-8888 ext. 300

For Portability Intake contact: Melanie Rivera, Mrivera@ansoniahousing.com

For Active Ansonia Housing Authority Section 8 Participants contact:
Housing Specialist Donna Sember at dsember@ansoniahousing.com
Housing Specialist Aida Davis at adavis@ansoniahousing.com

For Housing Quality Standard Inspections contact:
HQS Coordinator, Tiesha Fleming at tfleming@ansoniahousing.com

The Housing Authority of the City of Ansonia is currently not accepting applications to Housing Choice Voucher Program. You can refer to www.211ct.org to see if any other Housing Authorities are currently accepting applications and/or browse other forms of assistance.

Housing Choice Voucher Family Self Sufficiency Program

The Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program is a working program developed by HUD to promote economic self-sufficiency to our clients. The program enables families assisted through the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program and Public Housing to increase their earned income and reduce their dependency on public assistance and rental subsidies. Under the FSS program, low-income families are provided with opportunities for education, job training, counseling, and other forms of social service assistance, while living in assisted housing, so they can obtain skills necessary to achieve economic independence and self-sufficiency.

Public housing agencies (PHAs), including the Ansonia Housing Authority (AHA), work with social service agencies, schools, businesses, and other local and accessible partners to develop a comprehensive program. These connections give participating FSS families the skills and experience to work towards meeting their personal educational and financial growth goals.

The Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program lasts 5 years with an option of a 2 year extension and is designed to assist participants in reaching their chosen goals. Some elgible goals would be saving up for a downpayment on a home, increasing household income, building and improving credit, continuing education, etc…

Our housing authority opens an escrow account that would accrue income as long as the participant is earning increasing income. (i.e., When there is a raise, promotion, second job, higher paying job, etc…) The amount is calculated based off of your income and funds become accessible upon graduating the program.

• Families choose their personal goals in alignment with the FSS program goal of becoming self-sufficient and develop individual training and service plans (ITSP) that outline steps to reach their goals.
• The FSS program offers monthly workshops including topics such as parenting and child care, job training, local opportunities, financial management, nutrition, and many more presentations to assist families in reaching their goals.
• Families can change their personal goals at any point in the program

FSS (The Final Rule) – This is a new version of the program is HUD’s response to public comments entails new rules and changes regarding funding, enrollment, escrow, extensions, and graduation from the program.

Points to consider joining this version of FSS:

• Enrollment –
  • Allows participating families to decide who acts as the Head of Household for FSS. Escrow goes to this person.
  • FSS lasts up to 5 years from the first annual recertification date instead of the effective date (more time on the program).
• Escrow –
  • Any forfeited escrow set aside by HUD can now be used to benefit FSS participants to reduce barriers families face in achieving their goals.
  • Families who are no longer able to continue the program, may still be able to receive escrow funds, even when terminated.
  • Removes the cap on increases in escrow monthly savings for families between 50% and 80% AMI (Area Median Income).
• Graduation –
  • The 30% rule has been removed. (This rule required families to immediately graduate from the program when their earnings have increased to the point at which 30% of the monthly adjusted income equals or exceeds the published fair market rent). Without the 30% rule, the goal is to allow families to have an additional 6 months to meet their FSS goals.
  • The requirement that mandates families be free from welfare assistance for at least the last 12 months before graduation, has been removed. Instead, the household would have to be independent from welfare assistance by the day of graduation.
• Extensions –
  • The definition for “good cause” when determining a contract extension has been expanded. The definition now extends to participants who are actively engaging in pursuing self-sufficiency goals, which may extend beyond those who have had an impact that is beyond their control.

Q: How many people does AHA serve?

A: AHA currently has 20 HCV FSS participating families with room to grow.

Q: What is the percent of participants having escrow funds?

A: Currently, 45% of clients in the program have escrow funds accumulated.

Q: What are the top three services offered in the program?

A: Job training, Counseling, and Financial Planning and Management.

Q: What are the top career paths for participants and why?

A: CNA (Nursing), Phlebotomy, Health Assistant (Dental Assistant, Medical Assistant) seem to be the career paths most chosen because there is a higher availability of jobs in this region.

Q: Have we graduated anyone?

A: A total of 34 FSS participating families have graduated since the beginning of the program.

For more information, please contact the FSS Coordinator, Tiesha Fleming at (203) 736-8888 ext. 322.

HCV Homeownership

Many clients utilize the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program to work towards Homeownership as a goal.

Ways the FSS program benefits Homeownership:

• Some clients use their funds in their escrow accounts as a down payment for a home.
• Clients build and improve their credit to get a better interest rate on their mortgages.
• Clients further their education to get higher paying positions and grow their income allowing for more borrowing power.

The HCV Homeownership program allows the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) to be utilized to buy a home and receive monthly assistance in meeting homeownership expenses, including mortgage. Please see this link that expands on how it works and the rules and regulations of it. https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/hcv/homeownership

The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) - They are a separate program that assists with first time homebuyers. Their site has a lot of information. Attending a workshop where you can find out more and ask questions to their counselors directly is recommended. https://www.naca.com/purchase/

24CFR link to Homeownership - https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/subtitle-B/chapter-IX/part-982/subpart-M/subject-group-ECFRf437f8edadff613

Housing Counseling - To participate in Homeownership, clients would need to complete a homebuyers counseling seminar and provide certification (This is free) to their Housing Authority. https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/housing-counseling

Points to consider:

• The participant can choose their own financing. (It’s required.)
• The road to Homeownership is a process and as such, research is highly encouraged.
• Not every Public Housing Authority (PHA) participates in HCV Homeownership.

For more information, please contact the FSS Coordinator, Tiesha Fleming at (203) 736-8888 ext. 322.