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Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) Program FSS is a program that enables HUD-assisted families to increase their earned income and reduce their dependency on welfare assistance and rental subsidies. The HACR work in collaboration with a Program Coordinating Committee (PCC) to secure commitments of public and private resources for the operation of the FSS program, to develop the Public Housing Agency FSS Action Plan (the FSS policy framework) and to implement the program. Once an eligible family is selected to participate in the program, the HACR and the head of each participating family execute a FSS Contract of Participation that specifies the rights and responsibilities of both parties. The termof the FSS contract is generally 5 years, but it may be extended for another two years by the HACR 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. The ITSP will specify 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. 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.

Family Self-Sufficiency ProgramGraduates: Ms. Shirley Smith starting receiving rental assistance in August 2003. Ms. Smith joined the FSS Program on October 1, 2011. Over the years, Ms. Smith’s earned income from her employment at Walgreens began increasing and she worked her way up the Walgreens’ corporate ladder. In 2011 her annual earned income was $21,428. At the time of her graduation from the FSS Program, her earned income was more than $59,000/year and she has maintained 14 years of continuous employment. She is now the Human Resource Generalist. Through her increase in earned income since 2011, Ms. Smith graduated with an escrow savings account totaling $30,502.49. She plans on purchasing a home of her own.

Riverside Veteran Rewarded for Self-Sufficiency,Inspires Others to Achieve the Same Veteran Robert Lees Jr successfully earned his way off of the Section 8 rental assistance program by increasing his income from employment. He worked with the Housing Authority’s Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) and Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) programs to earn enough money to be able to afford to pay all of his rent without public assistance. Along the way, his increases in income saved the Housing Authority $21,132 through decreased payments of rental assistance to his landlord. Upon his successful completion of self-sufficiency, he was presented with a check for the full $21,132. Mr. Lees got onto the VASH and FSS programs in 2011 as a single father and veteran, just a few years out of jail. As part of his continuing recovery from addiction, Mr. Lees landed a job at the VA medical center, working in the cafeteria. After some time there, he shifted to the hospital as a housekeeper.

Seeing the need for further advancement, he returned to school and earned two associates degrees fromCalifornia State University. This set him up for promotion and his annual salary from the VAMedical Center has progressed from $24,000 per year…to $35,000 per year and now $45,000 per year. At this higher income level, Mr. Lees is now able to afford all of his rent and no longer needs any form of public assistance. In preparation for home ownership, Mr. Lees has increased his credit score from 520 to 680. He has been paying off his outstanding debts, as well. Mr. Lees plans to use his escrow funds towards his first home purchase. He delivered an inspirational speech at the 2017 all-staff meeting, encouraging the Economic Development Agency to continue helping people like him to get back on their feet and achieve independence.

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