The State of Texas HOPWA formula program, first funded in 1992, provides housing assistance and supportive services for income-eligible individuals living with HIV/AIDS and their families to establish or better maintain a stable living environment in housing that is decent, safe, and sanitary, to reduce the risk of homelessness, and to improve access to health care and supportive services.
As of the end of 2011, 69,212 persons were known to be living with HIV/AIDS in Texas; this does not include persons with HIV who have not been diagnosed. The 2008-2010 Texas Statement of Coordinated Need reported oral health care and housing as the two most frequent gaps in services identified by clients in six of the seven HIV Service Delivery Areas (HSDAs) assessed in Texas.
The State of Texas HOPWA formula program is administered by the TB/HIV/STD Unit- HIV/STD Prevention and Care Branch and provides the following services:
Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program: The TBRA program provides tenant-based rental assistance to eligible individuals until they are able to secure other affordable and stable housing.
Short-Term Rent, Mortgage, and Utilities (STRMU) assistance program: The STRMU program provides short-term rent, mortgage, and utility payments to eligible individuals for a maximum of 21 weeks of assistance in a 52-week period.
Supportive Services program: The Supportive Services program provides case management, basic telephone service and assistance to purchase smoke detectors to eligible individuals.
Permanent Housing Placement Services (PHP): The PHP program provides assistance for housing placement costs which may include application fees, related credit checks, and reasonable security deposits necessary to move persons into permanent housing.
Areas of service coverage within jurisdiction: The State of Texas HOPWA Formula program serves all counties in Texas, with the exception of the 26 counties served by five directly-funded Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs): Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. The 26 counties not served by the State of Texas HOPWA program are: Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, Williamson, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, Rockwall, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant, Chambers, Fort Bend, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, Waller, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, and Wilson.
Grant Management: DSHS selects seven Administrative Agencies (AA) across the state through a combination of competitive Requests for Proposals (RFP) and intergovernmental agency contracts. The AAs act as an administrative arm for DSHS, with DSHS oversight, by administering the HOPWA program locally for a five-year project period. The AAs, in turn, select HOPWA Project Sponsors through local competitive processes. DSHS reserves three percent of the total HOPWA award for the administrative costs of both DSHS and its AAs. Project Sponsors are allowed up to seven percent of their Project Sponsor allocation amount for administrative costs. The HIV/STD Prevention and Care Branch has a team of consultants and managers that are assigned to monitor the contract activities of the AAs. This monitoring involves periodic site and technical assistance visits by the consultants, and the submission of monthly billing reports and quarterly progress reports by the Project Sponsors and AAs. AAs are required to comply with HUD regulations, the DSHS Program Manual and their contractual Statement of Work.
| File Type |
Resource |
DSHS HOPWA Program Manual and Tools
|
HOPWA Program Manual
(Word : 392 kb) |
|
HOPWA Income Eligibility Packet
(Word : 120 kb) |
|
HOPWA Client Enrollment Packet
(Word : 423 kb) |
|
STRMU 21-week Tracking Worksheet
(Excel : 27 kb) |
|
Form L STRMU Worksheet revised
(Word : 23 kb) |
|
Grantee Oversight Resource Guide
(PDF : 1,400 kb) |
HOPWA Web Seminar PowerPoint Presentations
HOPWA Training Resources
HOPWA 101 (PowerPoint : 384 kb)
HOPWA eLearning [VPI] - Includes links to HOPWA Best Practices Training Series, HOPWA Getting to Work Employment Initiative, and Office of HIV/AIDS Housing.
HOPWA Program Resource Exchange [OneCPD] - includes links to:
Learn about HOPWA Eligibility Requirements
Learn about HOPWA Performance Management and Monitoring
Learn about HOPWA National Technical Assistance
View HOPWA Law, Regulations, and Notices
View HOPWA Operating Instructions
View HOPWA CPD Notices
HOPWA Guides, Tools, and Webinars [OneCPD]
HUD’s Implementation Plan for the National HIV/AIDS Strategy [OneCPD]
HUD’s HOPWA Program Information [HUD]
HOPWA Action Plans and Annual Reports
Action Plans
Annual Reports
HUD HOPWA Regulations
Other important HOPWA links
HHSCC State Agency Reference Guide & Training Manual
The Reference Guide provides valuable information on those state housing and health services programs which provide community based assistance for persons with disabilities.
HUD Homelessness Resource Exchange [HUD]
National AIDS Housing Coalition [NAHC]
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs [TDHCA]
FAIR MARKET RENTS (FMRS) [HUD]
HUD provides the Fair Market Rents (FMRs) at this Section 8 Public Housing site. Select the most current year (i.e., 2002 Fair Market Rents) in the format you need (i.e., PDF, Word, MS Excel or as executable file.
INCOME LIMITS [HUD]
HUD provides the Section 8 Income Limits at this Section 8 Public Housing site. Select the most current year (i.e., FY2002 Income Limits) in the format you need (i.e., PDF, Word, MS Excel or as executable file.