Program Description
The Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program (Section 811) provides funding exclusively to non-profit developers building and operating housing for low-income households with disabilities.  The Section 811 program is often referred to by the disability community as the “one stop shopping” program because it provides both capital funding and a project rental assistance contract for non-profits to develop new permanent supportive housing for persons with disabilities.  Since 1997, 25 percent of the program’s appropriations has also been used for tenant based rental assistance. This change has made the program more flexible, but it also has had  the effect of reducing the number of new supportive housing units that can be developed for people with disabilities.

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Program Intent
Being part of the community and living as independently as possible are among the most important values and goals shared by people with disabilities, their families, and advocates.  A home of one’s own – either rented or owned – is the cornerstone of independence for people with disabilities, including people with severe disabilities who may also need other in-home or community based supports.  However, across the nation, millions of people with severe disabilities face a crisis in the availability of decent, safe, affordable and accessible housing.  People with severe disabilities continue to live unnecessarily in large congregate facilities or other restrictive settings such as nursing homes or institutions.  Hundreds of thousands of adults with disabilities continue to live at home with parents over the age of 65.  People with mobility or sensory impairments have great difficulty finding affordable housing with even basic accessible features, such as an entrance with no steps or an accessible bathroom.  This difficulty is magnified in rural areas where there is a scarcity of any rental housing and new units are rarely developed.  The Section 811 program was specifically authorized and designed to address these supportive housing needs.

Eligible Participants
Section 811 provides housing for people with physical or developmental disabilities, or people with chronic mental illness who are 18 years of age or older and have very low incomes.  Adults with disabilities with household income at or below 50 percent of the area median income are eligible to participate.  Section 811 participants may live in supportive housing developed and owned by non-profit organizations or they may receive tenant-based rental assistance that helps them rent decent and safe housing in the private rental market.  In either instance, program participants may also receive the benefit of the services and supports that are the “supports” component of the Section 811 supportive housing program.  It is important to note, however, that all services and supports offered to Section 811 participants must be voluntary and cannot be mandated as a condition of participation in the Section 811 housing program.

Program Structure
The Section 811 program has three components:
 
Capital Advance - Under the Section 811 program, HUD provides interest-free capital advances to non-profit sponsors to help finance the development of rental housing such as independent living projects, condominium units, and small group homes that also offer voluntary supportive services for people with disabilities.  The capital advance can finance the construction, rehabilitation, or acquisition (with or without rehabilitation) of supportive housing. The capital advance does not have to be repaid as long as the housing remains available for very low income people with disabilities for at least 40 years. 

Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) - Along with the capital advance, the Section 811 program also provides a five year renewable Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) to the project owner covering the difference between the HUD-approved cost of operating the housing (maintenance, repairs, property insurance, etc.) and the amount the residents pay in rent.  Under the capital advance/PRAC component of Section 811, tenants pay 30 percent of their adjusted income for rent which ensures affordability for very low income households.

Tenant-Based Rental Assistance - Under the Section 811 authorizing statute, up to twenty-five percent of appropriations can be used by HUD to fund tenant-based rental contracts.  Since 1997, Congress has provided appropriations for tenant-based rental assistance activities which HUD has used to fund the Section 8 Mainstream Housing Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities program.  Initially made available only to Public Housing Agencies, HUD waiver authority has permitted non-profit disability organizations to apply for these Mainstream vouchers since 1999. While these vouchers are treated essentially the same as other Section 8 vouchers in terms of programmatic rules, renewal of these Mainstream vouchers, which have five year terms, are funded out of the appropriation for the Section 811 program.

Funding
HUD publishes a Notice Of Funding Availability (NOFA) each year for the Section 811 funding appropriated by Congress.  The NOFA specifies the number of Section 811 units allocated to each HUD Field Office according to needs factors that include the number of persons age 16 years or older with disabilities.  Applications approved by HUD for funding must include a supportive services plan that is well designed to meet the needs of persons with disabilities.  This determination is made by the appropriate state or local agency prior to the submission of the application.  Examples of supportive services offered in conjunction with Section 811 projects include case management, assistance with housing/residential skills such as landlord/tenant obligations, housekeeping assistance, assistance with skills of daily living, etc.  However, residents cannot be required to accept any supportive services as a condition of occupancy.

For FY 2004, Congress appropriated $249 million for Section 811 – a $9 million cut from FY 2003 funding levels.  On-going obligations to renew funding associated with units already in existence will continue to drain more program resources away from new units unless appropriations are increased.  For example, HUD projects that it will cost $52 million of FY ‘04 funding to renew all expiring  five-year  project and and tenant based rental assistance contracts – more than 20 percent of the entire appropriation. 

From the FY 2003 appropriation of $258, HUD awarded $51 million in tenant based rental assistance funding to support 1,336 new vouchers.  Grantees included 17 Public Housing Agencies and 11 non-profit disability organizations. HUD also awarded $151 million in capital advance/PRAC funding to non-profit disability organizations to support the creation of 1,475 new units of supportive housing.  

Issues 
The major issue facing the Section 811 program is the insufficient funding of the program.  The funding issue is two-fold:  (1) 811 appropriation levels have not been increased and have not even kept pace with inflation at a time when the need for supportive housing for people with disabilities has increased dramatically; and (2) renewals – particularly the renewal of Mainstream vouchers – will increasingly take up more and more of Section 811 funding.  Recently, the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force projected that unless appropriations levels rise, the entire Section 811 program will be allocated to tenant based rental assistance and PRAC renewals – completely eliminating the original purpose of the program as authorized in 1990 – which was to produce new supportive housing units for people with severe disabilities.

Another issue of concern to disability advocates is HUD’s tracking of Section 8 Mainstream vouchers which are funded from Section 811 appropriations.  Over 12,000 vouchers have been awarded since 1997.  Most of these vouchers have been awarded to PHAs but non-profit disability organizations also have been funded.  No HUD monitoring/ tracking mechanisms have been implemented to ensure that these vouchers are being issued to people with disabilities in need of supportive housing.  National disability organizations that are members of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force have expressed concern to HUD and Congress because without such procedures, there is no assurance that all 811-funded vouchers are being used for the purposes authorized in Section legislation – to provide housing for people with disabilities.

What Advocates Can Do?
Advocates can urge members of Congress to increase Section 811 appropriation levels so that they are more commensurate with the unmet need for supportive housing among people with disabilities. Recent HUD Worst Case Housing Needs data show that people with disabilities make up more than 25 percent of households with worst case housing needs – needs not reflected by current Section 811 appropriation levels.   The CCD Housing Task Force has recommended that Section 811 appropriations be increased by approximately $50 million in FY 2005 – to a level of $300 million.  This amount of funding is needed in order to ensure renewal funding and maintain the programs current “output” of new units under both the Capital Advance/PRAC and tenant based rental assistance components.