Housing
Weekly Email 12/11/20
• Clarification on FYI Vouchers: Because Bridges is extended foster care, our Participants cannot
receive both the FYI voucher and be served in Bridges simultaneously. Right now, our best strategy is
still to assist Participants with the voucher process as part of their discharge plan from Bridges. The
timeframe to start the process will depend heavily on the availability/timing of receiving the voucher.
Best practice dictates that at approximately 90 days prior to termination, contact is made with the
local housing authority to determine the availability and timing. This is because, if a voucher is
received by a Participant, they have a very short window of time to use the voucher which may
include finding an approved landlord and moving. If not used in that window, they risk losing it and
cannot get it again; vouchers can only be received one time.
o For Participants terminating from Bridges who may wish to reenroll, they will need to be aware
prior to termination that they have a choice: They can either apply for an FYI voucher and
work with their county's post emancipation services for additional support or reenroll in
Bridges without the FYI voucher. The best strategy here is to explain that if they reenroll in
Bridges, we will pay rent and provide all of the other services until they turn 21 at which time,
they can apply for the FYI voucher and get the most benefit from it.
o If by chance a young person wants to enroll in Bridges who already has an FYI voucher, they
will need to terminate the voucher with the housing authority prior to enrolling in Bridges.
o Another great strategy is to advocate to landlords to become Section 8 certified which would
significantly benefit Participants by not having to move upon discharge.
Weekly Email 11/13/20
• Please remember that we should not be contacting a young adult still in PCSA/IV-E Court/DYS
custody without obtaining permission first. Once you have reached out to their worker and received
permission to contact the young person, simply enter it into an activity log.
Weekly Email 11/4/20
• Eligibility Clarification: Some applications have been submitted with a weekly pay stub or work
schedule indicating the Participant will or did work 20 hours for a given week which is not sufficient
to determine eligibility. In order for a Participant to be eligible for Bridges, he or she must show 80
hours over a consecutive 30-day period. Therefore, documentation that supports only 20 hours in a
given week is not sufficient because we need to show 80 hours over 30-days.
Weekly Email 10/23/20
• A few words on our In-home and Supportive In-home housing types:
o When using the Supportive In-home housing type, please ensure that additional supports are
actually taking place. Additional supports are typically in the form of life skills (assistance with
cooking, shopping, budgeting, homework, cleaning, transportation) and "family" interaction
(sharing meals, holidays, special events). When doing visits, check in to be sure these kinds of
activities are occurring.
o The base rate for these housing types is $300 for In-home and $400 for Supportive In-home.
Depending on the services, this rate can be increased slightly. If there are other expenses the
Participant and the Provider have agreed to share such as utilities, food, phone/internet, those
will be annotated accordingly on the Participant's budget.
o Regardless of the In-home type, a Host Home Agreement (found on the Portal) needs to be
accomplished. This includes a walkthrough "inspection" of the living situation to ensure it is
safe and habitable.
• Guidance for Landlords to become Section 8 Certified (Provided on the Portal)
o Many of the landlords serving our Participants are already section 8 certified which allows the
Participant to remain stably housed in their existing apartment as they transition out of
Bridges if they have a Section 8 certificate or FYI voucher. If their landlord is not section 8
certified there is a good chance the Participant will need to move in order to continue to afford
the rent post Bridges.
o Please provide this information to as many Landlords as possible to help our Participants
remain stably housing and avoid the stress of moving.
o Remember that FYI vouchers need to be part of the Participant's exit plan and they should be
encouraged to apply for these vouchers 3-6 months prior to program exit. We will provide
additional information/updates in our December Regional meeting regarding FYI Vouchers.
Weekly Email 10/13/20
• If you need a date corrected for a housing, service tier, or a dependent record please send these
requests to your ODJFS Policy Developer vs. utilizing the Helpdesk. Doing so will ensure updates
happen quickly.