The purpose of the Continuum of Care Homeless
Assistance Programs is to fund projects that will fill gaps
in locally developed Continuum of Care systems to assist homeless
persons to move to self-sufficiency and permanent housing. An
important element of meeting this objective is to fund projects
that will meet the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's
goal of ending chronic homelessness. The County of Orange coordinates
an “Associated Application” for homeless assistance on behalf
of all jurisdictions and agencies in the County of Orange who
wished to participate. The County of Orange/Housing and Community
Services Department (HCS) will be responsible for oversight,
planning and coordination of the Continuum of Care Strategy,
application process, and project evaluation and prioritization.
However, applicants who receive conditional funding awards will
contract directly with HUD for receipt of funds. Applicants
will have monitoring, compliance and contract administration
responsibilities. HUD typically releases their annual request
for Continuum of Care funding proposals under the SuperNOFA
(Notice of Funding Availability) notification in the spring
of each year. In 2008 Orange County’s Continuum of Care local
application process has changed in an effort to provide applicants
with more time to complete the process. As such, portions of
the application are being released in advance of the national
HUD announcement.