§11384 Incentives for High-performing Communities

Summary

The Secretary must pick every year which collaborative applicants count as high‑performing communities. In the first 2 years after the law takes effect, no more than 10 applicants may get that label each year. If more than 10 could qualify in that period, the Secretary will choose the 10 with the best performance under the rules. The label lasts only for the year it is given, but it can be renewed each year. To try for the label, a collaborative applicant must send an application that shows how its program money was spent the prior year and proves it meets the required standards. The Secretary will publish those reports in the local area and ask the public for comments. Money awarded to projects in a high‑performing community may be used for the program’s eligible activities. A community with the label must also help the Secretary share information about what worked to reduce homelessness. A “high‑performing community” is a geographic area that meets five rules: short average homeless episodes (under 20 days or at least 10 percent shorter than the year before); very few people return to homelessness (under 5 percent or a 20 percent drop from the year before); active outreach and full tracking of people using local homeless services; evidence that past funded activities cut new homelessness in the area; and effectiveness in serving certain homeless children and youth under other Federal laws, by standards the Secretary sets.