§11360a Collaborative Applicants

Summary

Local partners in a geographic area must set up a collaborative applicant to apply for money under this program and to carry out certain duties. The collaborative applicant does not have to be a formal legal entity. If there is no acceptable collaborative applicant, or one is not meeting rules, the Secretary can step in, pick someone else, or let other eligible groups apply. The collaborative applicant may name an agent to apply for grants under section 11382(c), receive and hand out funds, and do other admin work, but the collaborative applicant still keeps all its responsibilities. Nothing here overrides conflict-of-interest or government fairness laws. The collaborative applicant must run a group process to prepare applications and to check project results so the Secretary can confirm compliance with program rules under section 11386 and selection criteria under section 11386a, and so local funding priorities can be set. It must take part in the area's Consolidated Plan and make sure project sponsors use a community HMIS that counts people without duplication, studies use of help under parts B and C, and gives data for needs and funding decisions. HMIS must follow Secretary standards like encryption, recordkeeping, controlled access, service-user rights, and penalties for unlawful disclosure. If chosen or designated as the unified funding agency, the collaborative applicant must collect and distribute funds and require sponsors to use proper fiscal controls, generally accepted accounting principles, and yearly audits or evaluations. Board members cannot vote on grants or benefits that go to themselves or their organizations.